The Complete Commentaries: On the Four Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and Five Minor Prophets
Date: 2026-08-15T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Scripture Commentary
Description: Saint Theophylact of Ohrid (ca. 1050 – after 1120), Archbishop of the Bulgarian church, composed the most comprehensive New Testament exposition in the Byzantine tradition — a lemma-by-lemma commentary on all four Gospels, Acts, the Pauline and Catholic Epistles, and five Old Testament Minor Prophets. Rooted in Chrysostom’s tradition, they have been praised as “the finest works of their sort after St. John Chrysostom” and have served Orthodox readers for nine centuries. This edition collects thirty-one of those commentaries in modern English.

The Complete Commentaries

On the Four Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and Five Minor Prophets

Saint Theophylact of Ohrid

Royal Archives

2026

Copyright

The modern English translation and the cover design are © 2026 Royal Archives. All rights reserved.

The underlying source text is in the public domain.

Published by Royal Archives

First published 2026

Translated by Royal Archives

Source: Theophylacti Bulgariae Archiepiscopi Opera Omnia

Cover: Saint Theophylact of Ohrid (17th-century miniature) by Anonymous (17th century), Wikimedia Commons, which is in the public domain.

Edition identifier: urn:royalarchives:biblical_commentaries:en:1

Introduction

The Author

Saint Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and all Bulgaria (ca. 1050 – after 1120), ranks among the most productive biblical commentators of the Byzantine world. Born at Euripus, on the strait separating the island of Euboea from the Greek mainland, he came to Constantinople as a young man and there studied under the leading teachers of rhetoric and philosophy of the age, among them Michael Psellos, the foremost Neoplatonist of the day and the dominant intellectual presence in the capital. Psellos’s instruction left its mark: Theophylact’s writings show a mind fully at home in the vocabulary of classical Greek learning, but one that keeps that vocabulary firmly in the service of Scripture rather than speculative philosophy. In one of his own letters he calls himself a true Constantinopolitan, and by every account he was, for the first half of his life, thoroughly a man of the capital.

His gifts carried him quickly into the service of the Great Church. He was ordained deacon at Hagia Sophia and rose to the senior teaching post of rhetorician in the patriarchal school, a position at the intellectual center of Byzantine ecclesiastical life. His reputation for eloquence brought him into the orbit of the imperial court, where he became tutor to Constantine, the young son of the Empress Maria of Alania and heir presumptive under Emperor Michael VII Doukas; for that charge he composed a treatise on the upbringing of a Christian ruler. He was, in short, a cultivated courtier and scholar entirely at home among the libraries and the splendor of the capital—and it is worth holding this picture in mind, because almost everything he is remembered for was written after he left it.

Theophylact was consecrated bishop and sent to Ochrid, seat of the archbishopric governing the Bulgarian church, late in the eleventh century; the traditional date of ca. 1078 has been revised by modern scholarship, which places the appointment around 1088–1090. He never fully reconciled himself to the move. His surviving letters—more than 130 of them, the richest window we have onto his inner life—are frank about how far the rough Bulgarian frontier felt from the elegance of Constantinople, and they return often to his longing for the capital and its familiar companions. Yet the same letters show a man who did not merely endure his post but actively governed it: he petitioned the imperial government for relief from the tax burdens crushing the Bulgarian poor, defended his flock against the Bogomil and Paulician heresies then troubling the region, and attended to the ecclesiastical affairs of a vast and unfamiliar diocese. He is commemorated in the Church as Saint Theophylact of Ohrid, with his feast kept on the thirty-first of December.

The date and place of his death are not perfectly settled. The latest event that can be dated from his own correspondence falls around 1107–1108, and on this basis he is often said to have died shortly after; other threads in the letters, and the tradition that he withdrew toward Thessalonica in his final years, suggest to some modern scholars a longer episcopate. What is certain is only that he held the see of Ochrid for something like a quarter of a century, and that the commentaries gathered in this volume are the fruit of those years—the sustained scholarly labor of an exile who channeled into exegesis the learning and energy he could no longer spend on a career in Constantinople.

The Historical Situation

The archdiocese Theophylact presided over was unlike most Byzantine sees. Ochrid, the ancient seat of the Bulgarian church, administered a vast territory across the Balkan interior whose population was predominantly Slavic-speaking outside the principal towns. Its archbishops—typically, as Theophylact was, Greek appointees sent out from the capital—governed communities whose language, customs, and history were foreign to nearly everything the capital had prepared them for. Theophylact’s letters preserve the texture of the resulting tension: a deeply cultivated Greek scholar administering, for two decades, a church whose people he at first found alien, yet whom he also came to defend, energetically and repeatedly, in their dealings with the imperial government. It was precisely this bifurcated position—an insider to Byzantine power who had become the voice of a peripheral church—that gave the biblical commentaries their occasion. They belong to a man with time, learning, and no other outlet for either.

The Work Itself

In scope, Theophylact’s biblical commentaries constitute the most comprehensive New Testament exposition produced by any Byzantine author: all four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the thirteen letters traditionally ascribed to Saint Paul together with Hebrews, and all seven Catholic Epistles—James; First and Second Peter; First, Second, and Third John; and Jude. To this New Testament corpus he added commentaries on five books of the Old Testament Minor Prophets—Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, and Habakkuk—read in their Septuagint text. Taken together, the commentaries amount to a systematic working-through of nearly the whole biblical canon as the Byzantine church received it.

The commentaries are not uniform in shape, though their underlying method is constant. The four Gospel commentaries open with the fullest apparatus: a short Life of the Evangelist drawn from earlier sources, a list of the Gospel’s chapters or headings, and a prologue addressing why there are four Gospels and what each contributes. The commentaries on Paul’s letters instead open with an “Argument,” a compact preface setting the letter’s occasion—to whom Paul wrote, why, and in what spirit. Beneath these differing thresholds, every commentary proceeds by the same discipline: the lemma. Theophylact quotes the biblical text—a verse, or a small cluster of verses when the sense demands it—in full, and only then expounds it. Every interpretive remark is thus anchored to a specific quoted passage, so that the exposition never floats free of the words that prompted it, and a reader can pause at any single lemma and read Theophylact’s comment on that passage alone.

Theophylact’s Method and Doctrine

The relationship to Saint John Chrysostom (ca. 347–407) is foundational throughout. Chrysostom’s vast homiletical expositions of the New Testament had, by Theophylact’s day, stood for the better part of a millennium as the unsurpassed authority in Byzantine biblical interpretation, and Theophylact draws on them extensively, condensing and adapting Chrysostom’s arguments as they move through the same text—most closely of all in the commentary on Luke, which is explicitly a compendium of Chrysostom’s homilies on that Gospel. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica put the relationship exactly: the commentaries are “founded on those of Chrysostom,” yet earn their place by “appositeness, sobriety, accuracy and judiciousness”—qualities that show themselves wherever Theophylact keeps closer to the text than Chrysostom’s preaching had room to, holding doctrinal controversy in the background and moving steadily from the words of a passage to their claim on the reader.

Theophylact’s place in the history of Christian exegesis is a distinctive one. He wrote at the far end of the great age of Greek patristic commentary, several centuries after the Fathers whose interpretations he had absorbed, but before the later Byzantine catenae—anthologies stringing together excerpts from many authorities around each verse—had come to dominate the field. He belongs to both worlds and to neither. Like the catenists, he understands his task as the faithful transmission of an inheritance rather than the invention of something new; but unlike them, he does not merely quote and juxtapose his sources. He digests them and speaks in one continuous voice, so that the reader hears not a chorus of citations but a single teacher expounding the text from beginning to end—which is a large part of why his commentaries read so smoothly, and why they outlived so many of their competitors.

Doctrinally, the commentaries stand confidently within the faith of the ecumenical councils. Theophylact defends the eternity and full divinity of the Word against Arius, who made the Son a creature, and against Sabellius, who collapsed the three divine Persons into one; he upholds the reality of the incarnation and the two natures of Christ, and he defends the perpetual virginity of the Theotokos. His comment on the opening of John’s Gospel amounts to a small treatise on Trinitarian orthodoxy, patiently worked out against the ancient heresies by name. Because these are doctrines the whole Christian Church confesses in common, his witness on them has been valued well beyond the Christian East.

The Old Testament commentaries show the same method applied to harder material. Approaching the Minor Prophets through the Septuagint, Theophylact is acutely aware that prophetic texts carry a difficulty the Gospels and Epistles do not: the Spirit conveys to each prophet what that prophet is equipped to receive, and the resulting words must then be rendered from Hebrew idiom into the very different resources of Greek. His response is not to accumulate historical background on the Assyrian and Syrian campaigns that lie behind Hosea or Nahum, but to press through the historical surface to the figure beneath it—reading Hosea’s unfaithful wife as Israel’s apostasy and the Church’s calling home, Jonah’s three days in the sea-monster as a type of the Resurrection, and the Minor Prophets as a body as sustained testimony to Christ and the life of the New Covenant.

Textual History

The Greek text of the commentaries is well preserved and has been continuously accessible since the eighteenth century. The first modern critical edition of Theophylact’s collected works—Greek text with a facing Latin translation and an introductory dissertation—was produced by J. F. B. de Rubeis and published in four folio volumes at Venice between 1754 and 1763; it remained the standard reference for a century and a half. Jacques Paul Migne subsequently incorporated the de Rubeis edition into his Patrologia Graeca, where Theophylact’s works fill volumes 123 through 126—still the most widely available form of the Greek text, since no new critical edition has superseded de Rubeis. Margaret Mullett’s monograph on the letters remains the most thorough English-language scholarly account of the man; Dimitri Obolensky’s portrait in his collected Byzantine studies gives the fullest treatment of the broader career.

Reception

Among Orthodox Christians the commentaries have been in continuous use since the eleventh century, translated into Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and modern Greek. The judgment most often quoted in English is Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović of Ohrid’s—himself Theophylact’s successor in the same see and himself a Serbian saint—who wrote that the commentaries on the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament “are the finest works of their sort after St. John Chrysostom, and are read to this day with great benefit.”

In the Latin West the reach has been almost as long. Thomas Aquinas commissioned a Latin translation of Theophylact’s Gospel commentaries for his Catena Aurea, and by the scholar Jane Sloan Peters’s count Theophylact is cited 1,017 times across three of its four Gospel volumes—second in frequency among Greek authors only to Chrysostom. In the sixteenth century the Greek text was printed at Rome, and Latin translations followed from scholars on both sides of the Reformation divide; Erasmus made use of the Gospel commentaries in his own work on the New Testament, for a time citing the author under the mistaken name “Vulgarius,” a misreading of the manuscript tradition that took decades to correct. That a Byzantine archbishop should have been read with profit by a medieval Scholastic, a Renaissance humanist, and reformers of opposing camps is itself a measure of the balance his commentaries offer: he remains one of the few interpreters whom Christians of many traditions can still read together without suspicion.

The ongoing vitality of the commentaries in both Orthodox and wider Christian use reflects what they genuinely offer—not merely the record of a Byzantine exegetical tradition, but working tools of biblical interpretation. Theophylact’s preoccupations are not historical curiosities: what Scripture means, how it speaks of Christ, and what it asks of the person who reads it are questions as alive now as they were at the court of Alexios Komnenos.

A Note on This Edition

This composite edition brings together thirty-one of Saint Theophylact’s biblical commentaries—the five Minor Prophet commentaries, the four Gospels, Acts, the thirteen Pauline letters together with Hebrews, and the seven Catholic Epistles—arranged in canonical order and presented as consecutive sections of a single work. Each commentary carries its own introduction, oriented to that book in particular, so that a reader may take up any single commentary and find it whole, or follow the whole edition from the Old Testament Minor Prophets through to the Catholic Epistles as one continuous exposition of Theophylact’s biblical theology.

The English throughout is a fresh translation made directly from the Greek—chiefly the text preserved in the Migne Patrologia Graeca. Within each commentary, the biblical passage under discussion appears at the head of its section in quotation marks, set off from Theophylact’s own prose; this is the lemma, and the reader can always tell at a glance which words are Scripture and which are the commentator’s. Scriptural lemmata follow Theophylact’s own quoted wording rather than being conformed to any familiar modern version. The original Greek, a Russian translation, and a Latin facing-column edition are available as parallel views alongside the English for readers who wish to trace the commentary through the languages in which it has chiefly been read.

Commentary on the Prophet Hosea

Introduction

A Marriage as a Sermon

God’s first word to the prophet Hosea is not an oracle but an instruction, and a scandalous one: “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry, and children of harlotry.” Before a single line of judgment against Israel is spoken, the prophet himself is made to act one out. Theophylact takes the command at face value—the marriage genuinely happened, he insists, and no allegorizing may be permitted to dissolve it into a parable that never occurred—and then asks why God would ask such a thing of one of his own. His answer sets the pattern for the whole commentary: prophets are sent to do shocking things precisely when the people they address have grown too hardened to hear a plain rebuke. Isaiah walked naked and unshod; Jeremiah wore a yoke about his neck; Ezekiel dug through a city wall. Hosea marries a harlot so that Israel, watching, might recognize its own likeness in her and be shamed into repentance rather than merely lectured into indifference. The harlot is Israel; the faithful husband who will not let her go is God himself, bearing with a bride who mingles with idols the way she mingles with other men.

Theophylact does not let the image close there. Reading past its historical and national sense, he presses the same marriage into a second register, addressed to the individual soul: the mind, made for God, instead takes to itself the harlot of sense-perception, scattering its attention on every fleeting pleasure until it is taught to see such pleasures for what they are—faithless and unstable, exactly like a harlot’s promises. Theophylact’s method throughout Hosea is exactly this layering: a plain historical reading of the eighth-century kingdom that never disappears from view, held together with a reading that reaches forward to Christ and the Church, and a third that turns inward to the discipline of the individual believer. No single register cancels the others; each is drawn out of the same words in turn.

Why Prophecy Is Hard to Read

Before he reaches the first lemma of the book proper, Theophylact devotes a substantial preface—printed here as the “Argument”—to a question every reader of the Minor Prophets eventually asks: why is prophetic speech so often obscure? His answer is careful and unhurried. True prophecy, he explains, is not the same thing as the natural foreknowledge of animals sensing a coming storm, nor the trained inference of physicians and sailors reading the signs of their trades, nor the demonic counterfeit that traffics in entrails and omens and serves only to unsettle. Prophecy proper is given by God, through virtue, for the correction of souls—and it is necessarily somewhat veiled, both because it concerns things not yet come to pass and because the Spirit gives to each prophet only what that prophet is able to receive and report in his own voice. A further obscurity is added, Theophylact notes, simply because the words were first Hebrew and have since been carried into Greek, a language whose idiom does not always bend to fit the original. He is also careful, here, to close off a wrong reading of inspiration itself: against the Montanists, who held that a prophet possessed by God loses his own mind and judgment, Theophylact insists that the prophets always spoke with understanding—the Spirit supplied what they said, but they themselves, knowingly, said it.

A Voice Reaching Toward Christ

Across Hosea’s fourteen short chapters, Theophylact repeatedly finds the prophet speaking further than his own century, toward the Gospel still to come. The most consequential instance is a single line God addresses to Israel remembering the Exodus—“Out of Egypt I called back his children”—which Theophylact reads first, honestly, as the historical liberation of the enslaved nation, before observing that the same words return, transfigured, when the infant Christ is carried into Egypt and then called back out of it: what was said of the nation as a whole is fulfilled, and surpassed, in the one who recapitulates the nation’s whole history in himself. Later, expounding Israel’s promised recovery after chastisement—“he will sanctify us after two days; on the third day we shall rise, and shall live before him”—Theophylact hears in the number of days an unmistakable anticipation of the Resurrection, without letting the verse lose its own force as a promise to the chastened nation of Hosea’s own day. Even Israel’s cry to “seek my face in their affliction” becomes, in his reading, a foreshadowing of the Jews who will one day turn to the Son as the very face and image of the Father. Theophylact’s Christological readings are never asserted at the expense of the plain sense; they are laid alongside it, as a second harvest gathered from the same field.

The Life Appended to the Commentary

Manuscripts of Theophylact’s Hosea traditionally close with a short Life of the prophet, translated here as it stands in the Greek: a handful of lines naming Hosea’s tribe and home and recounting a legendary portent of an oak tree at Shiloh dividing into twelve, foretelling the God who would one day appear on earth and save the whole world. This is not Theophylact’s own composition but inherited material, part of a genre of prophetic biography that circulated widely in the Byzantine world and drew on legend as freely as on history. It is included in this edition as it has always accompanied the commentary—a brief, traditional coda, distinct in character from the careful exegesis that precedes it, and worth reading with that distinction in mind.

Argument

[…] Having spoken also concerning the things to come, but being inspired rather as to the things that had already happened; for it is not the foretelling of things to come, or these alone, that makes a prophet;[1][…] to Caiaphas. But the demonic foreknowledge belongs only to the ministers of the demons, professing to know the future through corpses, and meal, and rams, and entrails, and the flight of birds, and other tokens. And the foreknowledge of the saints is through virtue, but that other through evil craft; and the one is for the correction of souls, while that of the demons seems to foretell concerning wars and money, and diseases, and all such bodily things, or things hurtful to the soul as well. And whatever dreadful things those men foretell come to pass as a coincidence of men telling the truth, and not through anything that depends on us; but whatever the saints foretell both comes to pass through what depends on us, and does not come to pass through the same; for it is that the hearers may be made better that these things are foretold. God too foretells dreadful things, and lays down the undoing of them; and this is our betterment;[2] when, therefore, we are bettered, the things threatened are not brought upon us; but when we are not bettered, they are brought upon us inexorably.[3] And those demons have need of instruments, and matter, and places, and[4] they divine for money also; but to the saints God himself is all these things, and virtue.

There is also a natural foreknowledge: many of the animals have it—ants, hedgehogs, halcyons—and they foreknow by nature rains and winds and storms. And there is a foreknowledge by skill, among physicians and helmsmen. And there are also certain men who guess at the future from sagacity, whom we often use as counselors; as Balaam counseled Balak to put harlots forward, guessing that through them Israel would give offense to God.[5] And there is a common and popular foreknowledge: as that for three months it will be spring, or summer. Now all the rest are called foreknowledge and prophecy by a common name; but properly prophecy and foreknowledge is that which is given by God, whether through virtue to the worthy, or through dispensation to the unworthy.

Not every divine prophecy is written down, but countless men have prophesied unwritten as well; yet those who after David and Solomon are acknowledged to have prophesied conspicuously to the people are reckoned at sixteen; of whom the twelve are accounted worthy of a single volume—not as being contemporaries (for at different times different ones prophesied), but because the things they composed were not of many lines, nor long, nor such that each would suffice for the composition of a single book. Gathered together, the writings of all at once filled out one book; while the four, as being most copious of voice, were marked off into four books. In all of them, however, there is observed an obscurity, both because the discourses are concerning things to come (for every prediction has in it something overshadowed), and further because they were translated out of the Hebrew tongue into the Greek; for many of the idioms of that tongue do not fit this one, whence obscurity also is bred. And if one is more obscure than another, one ought not to wonder; as Isaiah is than both, or Ezekiel than Jeremiah. For obscurity comes about in many ways: either through the nature of the things declared—as it is with the description of the building of the tabernacle in Moses, and in Ezekiel the construction of the temple; or through the hearers, who are not worthy to hear things more plainly—as the Lord too spoke to the crowds in parables. And often the obscurity is bred through the peculiarity of the speaker in his manner of reporting. As here too: the Holy Spirit suggested to each of the prophets, but they thereafter reported the things of the Spirit as each was able; he used the same men. Just as is the possession of the demons,[6] but he willed that they should both know and understand. So that they spoke all things with their own judgment as well; for let us by no means agree with those of the godless Montanus who say that the prophets, possessed by God, do not know what they say. For where then is the saying, Out of the mouth? and where the saying, The Lord will do nothing, unless he reveal his instruction? […][7] and for certain other unspeakable reasons, the Paraclete who distributes these things would know; but inasmuch as it has come to us, on account of the firmness of the faith already established. For just as the builders of arches prop them up while they are newly framed, putting certain supports beneath them, but when they have become firm, take those away; so also in the Churches, while the faith was newly framed, there was need that the gift of prophecy should be a citizen among them, holding it up and supporting it.[8] For if any unbeliever, it says, enter into a church, being reproved by those who prophesy, falling down he worships God, and confesses that God is truly among you. But now that the word has been made firm, there is no longer need of the prop; and the crowns are more now, when, seeing nothing such as those of old saw, we nevertheless do not stand away from the firmness in the faith. And perhaps one will also reflect upon this: that the times of old needed prophets, both to introduce other things to the people, and to foreshow the coming of Christ; but moreover the things concerning the consummation, and the son of lawlessness, and the cessation after these things, had been foretold beforehand by the Lord and the apostles; and whatever tends toward an earnest and heavenly life. Since, then, nothing further is lacking, and so necessary that prophecy must be spoken, the gift was reasonably withdrawn. And perhaps it would even have lifted up the lighter sort into conceit, and through the good a death would have been wrought. Concerning these things, then, enough.

And since among the twelve prophets Hosea is set first—both as far surpassing the others in time, and although a contemporary of Amos and Joel (for these too prophesied under the same kings), yet as having begun to prophesy before them—we must take him in hand first, having called upon the goodness of the Spirit, that what it inspired in him it may make plain to us, so far as may be. Now Hosea is interpreted “Saved”; and he is entrusted with the prophecy for the correction of all the people. For when Jeroboam, the man of the tribe of Ephraim, having drawn off the ten tribes from the remaining two—that of Judah and that of Benjamin—established a kingdom of his own in Samaria, and persuaded the people under him, the ten tribes which were named Israel and Ephraim, to worship idols, the Lord was angered. And since they were in need of chastisement and instruction, and were worthy to be delivered to their enemies, he sends the prophet to proclaim to them beforehand what they would suffer, if they should not turn back to him. For God threatens punishments, not that he may bring them on, but that by fear he may terrify the hearers, and so, being set right, they may escape the punishments; but to the two tribes also, which had the kingdom in Jerusalem (and they were as a whole called Judah, because the tribe of Judah was the more dominant; though sometimes they were also called Benjamin), the prophet is sent, foreshowing both the benefit that would come to them from God in the matter of Sennacherib, and proclaiming beforehand the evils that would come after these things; and through both leading them to correction. But neither were the ten persuaded (wherefore they were given over to utter destruction: first, when Hazael the Syrian warred them down, and Pul the Assyrian exacted tribute, and after him Tiglath-pileser made many of their cities desolate; and last, when Shalmaneser carried them all away as colonists into Babylon), nor were the two tribes set right. Yet God showed his own love for mankind, that he might teach us also to display the same. According to the letter, then, such is the aim of Hosea’s prophecy; but may the Spirit open our eyes, both to perceive from it the wonders, and to behold the mystery according to Christ through the mirror of the letter, and to see the beauty of virtue appearing in it, and calling us forth to the adornment of our ways.

[1] Translator’s note: The Migne column is damaged here; several lines cannot be recovered. The surviving fragments touch on the modes by which prophets foretell the future—the bronze serpent as a type of the cross, Jeremiah’s iron collars, and the several senses of “prophecy.”

[2] Translator’s note: Reconstruction: βελτίωσις with initial syllable supplied editorially (col. 568 damaged).

[3] Translator’s note: Reconstruction: ἀπαραιτήτως, first syllables restored from damaged column.

[4] Translator’s note: Word χρημάτων secluded here as apparent dittograph; the phrase περὶ χρημάτων appears immediately above.

[5] Translator’s note: Reconstruction: προτεῖναι supplied editorially.

[6] Translator’s note: The word here is ἐπίπνοια (“possession/inspiration”).

[7] Translator’s note: The Migne column is heavily damaged at this point, and the text cannot be recovered here. The text resumes below.

[8] Translator’s note: This reads plainly, with no lacuna: “so also in the Churches, while the faith was newly established, there was need that… should be,” matching the facing Latin, “opus erat prophetiae dono.”

Chapter 1

Hos. 1:1. The word of the Lord, which came to Hosea the son of Beeri. Isaiah, then, sees, that he may the more terrify the hearers, as though the evils were already before their eyes; but to Hosea a word comes, as of some teacher—God conversing more gently with the disobedient, and shaming them both by what he says and by what he does. And it seems that the Word of God too, as God the wisdom of the Father, came to Hosea, and himself spoke through the prophet. And to everyone who pursues the things that lead to salvation the word comes, and this word prevails in him, ordering aright the irrational part of the soul.

Hos. 1:1. In the days of Uzziah, and Jotham, and Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. These things show that the prophet was sent as an instructor to both kingdoms, both to that of the two tribes and to that of the ten, over which Jeroboam then ruled—not the one who of old drew off the people (for that one was the son of Nabat, but this one of Joash); for on account of the likeness of name the name of his father also is added; and it shows too that he continued proclaiming for a long time, that we may learn two things: one, that we also ought to do thus, and not, having spoken to those who err once or twice, be quit of them, but speak often and over a long time; and the other, that no one may accuse God, how he utterly destroyed so great a people; for in these things the judgment upon them appears just, seeing that, when God had borne with them and admonished them for so long a time, they were not set right.

Hos. 1:2. The beginning of the word of the Lord to Hosea. Nothing else, he says, did he enjoin before this; but at one and the same time both he began to speak to me, and commanded me to take a harlot. And from this they soundly supposed that this man first began to prophesy in writing. Now in those who utter from the belly there is no beginning of the Word, but in them there rule either human reasonings or demonic; whereas in this true prophet the beginning was the Word of God, he dictating the things that were inspired in him by that one. But in every saved man also the whole beginning is the Word, as of some king, or general, presiding over all.

Hos. 1:2. Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry, and children of harlotry. When God sent the prophets to hard men, he commanded them to do such things as were likely to shame those men; for thus he ordered Isaiah also to make his prophecy running naked and unshod, and Jeremiah to put collars about himself, and Ezekiel to dig through the wall and go out, so that those who saw these things, done by such men, might not despise them, but might search out the causes for which they are done, and, learning, be brought to a sober mind. So here too, even if this does not seem so to the teachers of the Hebrews, Hosea takes the harlot, that they may learn that they themselves are the harlot, and that God bears with them—being a bridegroom—while they mingle with idols; and that, if the harlot is shameful, they too are shameful, and must change. And the prophets are wonderful, how they obeyed God even in things so strange and shameful; for where there is a command of God, there is nothing foul. Since indeed in another way too things are judged from their aim, and on account of the aim the same things often seem not the same: as marriage and adultery are the same act, even the union; but in marriage it is not blameworthy, while in adultery it is even to be punished. And Cain, having murdered, is condemned, as acting through envy; but Phinehas is righteous, as acting through zeal; to steal is not lawful, yet Jacob stole the blessing; Elijah fasted, as self-controlled; those who bore false witness against Naboth also fasted, as false accusers; Saul pitied Agag, whom God had commanded to be slain, and was condemned; Samuel slew him, and pleased God.[1] So here too the prophet, not yielding to desire, but to the command of God, took the harlot, and was not defiled by her, since not even God was defiled, in his union with the unchaste Synagogue of the Israelites.[2] Thus, wherever the word is present to things that are done, it adorns them, even if otherwise they would be unadorned. And the mind of the earnest man takes to himself for a wife the harlot—the sense-perception, that was before senselessly poured out upon every pleasant thing of sense, and entwined with it, and become one with it—persuading it to perceive his own worth, and to be entwined with him, and not to be deceived by the apparent form of sensible things, but to consider their nature, that it is transient and unstable, even as the harlot’s intrigues are faithless and uncertain; and from this teaching it neither to be lifted up by pleasant things, nor to fall down at painful ones, because of the short duration in both.

Hos. 1:2. Because the land shall surely go a-whoring from following the Lord. By “shall go a-whoring,” instead of “all the land of the Israelite tribes has gone a-whoring”; that is, it has turned aside from following the Lord, and has followed idols. And perhaps the expression is also inclined toward the future. The word gives us to understand the faithlessness of the Jews toward our Lord Jesus Christ, who might be called “land,” as having willed to think nothing lofty and heavenly. These, then, were so far from following after Christ that, seeing even others following, they said, raging and indignant, “Behold, the world goes after him.” When, then, the land in us—that is, the body of our lowliness—follows the true Master, and Lord by nature, and takes up his cross, it might be said of it, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof”; and the fullness of the body is the members that fill it up; but when it does not follow the Master, the Word by nature, it might be called the land of the alien demons.

Hos. 1:3–4. And he went, and took Gomer, the daughter of Debelaim, and she conceived and bore him a son; and the Lord said to him: Call his name Jezreel. The prophet did these things perceptibly, even if, as has been said above, the Hebrews by no means accept that the prophet did such things—being truly senseless; for when the prophet plainly says, I went, and I took, how do they say that the thing did not happen? Else all the rest too is false. And he was hinting at the Synagogue of the Jews, poured out into polytheism, out of which Christ was born according to the flesh, who is interpreted Jezreel. But Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit. Yet also, if the mind beget anything—taking to itself the once-harlot sense-perception, and uniting it to itself—it will be a seed of God, as cast down from God, which altogether needs our care that it may grow and be brought to its end. Thus he who from the greatness and beauty of created things has beheld the Author of their generation, and has scanned his invisible things, understood through the things made, gives birth to a seed of God.

Hos. 1:4. For yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu. Even if some of the copies have, Upon the house of Judah, yet, Upon the house of Jehu, ought to be written, which the sense also requires; for “Judah” is senseless. Many interpretations, then, are brought to bear on this, but not apt ones. The unobjectionable one is this: Jezreel was the name both of Naboth and of Ahab; for both being kinsmen, they had this as a kind of ancestral name. God says, then, that: Just as, when Ahab was an idolater, and was working countless other injustices, I sent Jehu as his chastiser, and promised him the kingdom of the ten tribes to the fourth generation, if he should utterly destroy the race of Ahab; so now the house of Jehu—that is, his descendants, reigning, and themselves still over the ten tribes, and doing the same things as Ahab—I will punish, and will avenge the blood of Jezreel, that is, of Ahab; not that he was in truth unjustly slain, but that the house of him who slew that man are liable to the same charges, and seem, from the result, and from their pursuing the same things as he, to live unjustly themselves, since that man was put to death by them, by men of like ways with him; for he ought not to have been slain by them, but by other righteous men. This the Apostle too says: You are without excuse, O man, every one who judges; for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself. Or do you reckon that you will escape the judgment of God?

Hos. 1:5. And I will make to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel; and it shall be in that day, I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. Since the descendants of Jehu, reigning, as we said, in Israel, became impious and lawless, and turned the people aside to the same things, he says, I will make to cease the kingdom of Israel; which also came to pass—when both Hazael came upon them, and other kings, and last Shalmaneser, when indeed the kingdom of the ten tribes, that is of Israel, underwent utter destruction. And in that day—that of the avenging, namely—I will break also the bow of Israel, that is, its power; and he said, The bow, emphatically, to show that they trusted in the bow, and not in God. And we have observed that in the Scripture, beyond the other weapons, the bow is rejected, because it contributes greatly to guile. Wherefore the more reputable Hebrews did not use it, except indeed Esau, the profane, and the sons of Ephraim, drawing and shooting with their bows. And he said he would break the bow in the valley of Jezreel, that he might call to mind the murder of Ahab, which because of idolatry and the other injustices came back upon him, and that he might persuade the emulators of that man to stand off from like deeds. And the blood of Christ also was avenged—of him who is in very truth Jezreel, as has been said—when, a little while after his death, those were given over to utter destruction who said: His blood be upon us, and upon our children. And by the valley of Jezreel understand the condescension of Christ and his humbling, and his laying in the tomb. For having condescended, and humbled himself to the cross, and been buried, he broke the bow of Israel, that is, their crooked boasting in the letter of the law, and the false accusations with which they slandered him as one opposed to God, drawing their bow. A bitter thing, to shoot down in secret the blameless one; and altogether blameless was he, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; even as he himself says: Which of you convicts me concerning sin? And human reasonings also kill the seeds of God in us, seeming to be powerful, and as it were to reign, and to rule, and to have as certain bows their crooked sophisms; but by the valley and the humbling of the divine Word they are broken. For the foolishness of God is wiser than the things of men.

Hos. 1:6. And she conceived again, and bore a daughter; and he said to him: Call her name Not-pitied, for I will no more again pity the house of Israel, but setting myself against them, I will set myself against them. The literal sense is plain; for it teaches that he will no longer count Israel worthy of love for mankind, but rather will avenge himself on them as on an apostate and an enemy, and that not simply, but with intensity; for this is what, Setting myself against, I set myself against, signifies. And by a daughter Not-pitied you will understand also the generation of the Jews after the sojourn of Christ, which the Father no longer pitied, but himself set himself against them, since they insulted his Son. And among the movements of the mind also, if anything is female, and like to sense, and clothed about with much weakness, and not able for all things in Christ who strengthens his own disciples, our God the Word does not pity it, but sets himself against it.

Hos. 1:7. But the sons of Judah I will pity, and will save them in the Lord their God; and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by war, nor by chariots, nor by horses, nor by horsemen. Plainly through these things he made clear the things that came to pass concerning Sennacherib; for then the Assyrians were defeated, no battle-line being formed, or grappling, but by an angelic power, which destroyed a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And these things he foretells, and makes Judah more eager toward the divine love. For even among them there were certain impious and sinful men, but nevertheless there were also those who served the Lord. The prophet, then, was turning the sons of Israel from sin, and persuading them to imitate those men, and virtue, and through it to enjoy the mercy from him. And there are saved, even out of the generation of the Hebrews, as many as are of Judah—that is, of confession and repentance—to whom Peter also in the Acts said: Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. And indeed, having obeyed him, there were saved about three thousand souls. And they are saved not in Hellenic wisdom, nor in syllogisms, nor in the persuasive words of human wisdom, out of which come strife, and disputes, and wars; but in the faith of Christ, who is our peace.[3] And in us also confession is the forerunner of salvation; but this too, the confession made in the Lord God, is with contrition and humility of mind. For it is possible for one to call himself a sinner even with self-conceit, which is humble speech, not humility of mind. One ought not, he says, to trust in works, but in the Lord God, according to him who says: But I have hoped on the mercy of God for ever; and according to Paul: But I obtained mercy; for from works no flesh is justified. For who will boast that he is clean from defilement, or will speak boldly of having a clean heart? For often not even that which one seems to do well is unimpeachable before God. For in many things, it says, we all sin; and, I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified in this.

Hos. 1:8. And it was revealed to Not-pitied.[4] A great benefit to the not-pitied generation of the Hebrews—to stand off from the milk of the law, which nourishes infants, and to need solid food, which belongs to those whose faculties are trained by practice for the discernment of good and evil.[5]

Hos. 1:9. She conceived again, and bore a son, and he said: Call his name Not-my-people, for you are not my people, and I am not yours.[6] See, that men first fall away from God and become not his people, and then God falls away from them, and becomes not theirs. For where we must be made his own, he himself pursues us, as David too says: Your mercy shall pursue me; and Paul: I was laid hold of by Christ. But in the case of estrangement, it is not so; rather we first fall away from him, and thus, scarcely compelled, he falls away from us.[7] And by “not-my-people” Paul means the nations, who afterward through faith became a people. And they are called sons of the Synagogue, because those of the Jews begot them through the Gospel.[8] And whenever someone conceives trouble, and brings forth lawlessness (for the works of shame do not come without toils and labors), he is not worthy to be called of God.[9] For neither is he like Joseph, who says: I am God’s. Wherefore neither is God called his, as it was said, the God of Abraham, and as David said: The Lord my God; and, The God of my heart.

Hos. 2:1. And the number of the sons of Israel was as the sand of the sea, which shall not be measured, nor numbered.[10] Do not suppose that he casts away those who are few and easily numbered; for indeed they were as many as he promised Abraham they would be. But God does not rejoice in multitude. For where there are two, or three, gathered in his name, there is he in the midst of them. Thus he preferred Noah before all men, thus Abraham, thus Moses. But their descendants, although overcoming number, he calls Not his people. And he likens to sand the Synagogue that killed the Lord, because they are of the sea—of this turbulent world—minding nothing heavenly (For how, he says, can you believe, seeking glory from men?), and because of their incoherence and implacability toward one another; since the sands too are such: for they stand apart from one another. Which may no soul suffer from this world—the soul chosen by Christ, and bidden to have its citizenship in the heavens—lest it too be said of it,[11] that It shall not be measured, nor numbered. For virtue has as its measure the mean, inclining neither to the right nor to the left, but proceeds by the middle and royal road;[12] whereas to vice belong the deviations and turnings aside, which are many. And the stars the Lord numbers—that is, the men full of light, and he holds them as known to him, who are, as luminaries in the world, holding forth the word of life. Since in another way too the saved are few and numbered; while the common and perishing are many.

Hos. 2:1. And it shall be in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there they too shall be called sons of the living God. Being loving to mankind, God brings the more cheerful verdict alongside the severe one, and makes his own those who were cast off. And behold his kindness: those whom he did not judge worthy even of the appellation of “the people,” these he now names sons of the living God.[13] And what is, In the place where it was said to them? Learn: Being in their homeland, they were idolaters; wherefore there too it was said to them, Not my people; but being set in the midst, as captives in Babylon, they neither sang nor sang the songs of the Lord. For how, he says, shall we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land? Since, then, having gone up again from Babylon, they used the law once more, and did all things as elect and sons of God, he says, To your homelands you shall be restored, and there you shall be well-pleasing to God, where formerly, being there, you were called Not His People.[14] And since the law, understood according to the letter, kills, but according to the Spirit gives life, fittingly in one and the same place the Hebrews are at one time called Not a people, when they are in bondage to the letter; and at another, Sons of the living God, when, having understood him spiritually, and having believed in Christ, they receive the adoption through the Spirit. And a soul that sins, whether through reasonings or through the bodily organs, is called Not a people of God; but having been set right through these same things, becomes a son of God, when the same man both serves with his mind the law of God, and presents his members as weapons of righteousness to God; and, to speak summarily, having cleansed himself from every defilement of flesh and spirit, glorifies God in his body and in his spirit.

Hos. 2:2. And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel shall be gathered together to the same place, and shall set for themselves one rule, and shall go up out of the land. He foretells the going-up from Babylon, and that, having returned from there, they shall no longer have divided kings, the one called Judah, the other Israel; but being united, they shall have one ruler—which came to pass under Zerubbabel, when the whole captive people went up out of the land of the Babylonians.[15] So too those of the Hebrews who believed set for themselves one beginning, I mean the cross of the Lord, concerning which it is said: Of whom the rule is upon his shoulder; who were gathered to Christ by the law; for the law is a tutor, gathering us to Christ. But also, when one shall gather his own reasonings from their wandering, and, driven together into a perception of his own evils, becomes a son of Judah through confession, and, cleansed through it, be shown to be a son of Israel, that is, a beholder of God—then he sets for himself one beginning, God[16], and is led by him, saying truly to him: Your will be done; and, I became as a beast before you, and I am continually with you; that God may be to him all in all, having nothing human, but having denied himself, such as was he who said: It is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. For then indeed he goes up truly out of the land and out of earthly things, ever advancing, and forgetting the things behind, and stretching forward to the things before.

Hos. 2:2. For great is the day of Jezreel. Since I brought upon you a great punishment, in the day of the avenging of Jezreel, I will count you worthy of a great salvation also, and, having freed you from bondage, will lead you back to your homeland. Great, then, became the day of the cross and of the resurrection of Christ, who was called Jezreel. And to him who goes up from earthly things, and advances, the day becomes great, through the illumination of the knowledge of Christ; so that he says: This is the day of the Lord—not mine, nor through my labors, but of his grace; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

[1] Translator’s note: This reads “Samuel slew him, and pleased [God],” matching the facing Latin exactly: “eum ipsum postea interemit Samuel, Deoque propterea placuit.”

[2] Translator’s note: This reads, across the col. 573/574 page break: “was not defiled by her, since not even God [was defiled], being joined to the unchaste [Synagogue],” matching the facing Latin: “neque propterea se corpusque suum polluit. Quemadmodum neque pollutus Deus est, cum sese impudicae Israelitarum Synagogae permiscuit.”

[3] Translator’s note: This reads plainly, with no lacuna: “in the faith of Christ.”

[4] Translator’s note: The Theophylact text reads ἀπεκαλύφθη (“was revealed”) where the standard LXX has ἀπεγαλάκτισεν (“weaned”); this may reflect a variant reading or textual damage.

[5] Translator’s note: The Greek here echoes Hebrews 5:14: “those who by practice have their faculties trained to discern good and evil.”

[6] Translator’s note: Col. 587’s commentary opens with “See, that men first fall away from God…,” confirmed word-for-word by the facing Latin (“Animadverte, homines primum deserere Deum…”).

[7] Translator’s note: This clause discusses estrangement from God, matching the facing Latin: “cum contra de nostra a Deo defectione agitur, non ita se res habet. Scilicet nos primum ab eo recedimus, atque tum et ipse, quodammodo coactus, a nobis aegre recedit.”

[8] Translator’s note: The Greek reads “begot them through the Gospel,” matching the Latin “ipsos per Evangelium genuerunt.”

[9] Translator’s note: The Greek here echoes Psalm 7:15 (LXX): “he conceived trouble, and brought forth lawlessness.”

[10] Translator’s note: This verse is LXX Hos. 1:10; here tagged as OSIS/MT Hos. 2:1, following the standard LXX–MT renumbering (LXX vv. 1:10–11 = MT vv. 2:1–2).

[11] Translator’s note: This continues without any lacuna in Migne’s own print, matching the facing Latin word-for-word: “quae coeleste regimen obire jubetur, ut ne dicatur et de ipsa, Non mensurabitur…”

[12] Translator’s note: The Greek reads “the mean” (μεσότητα), developing the classical mean-between-extremes doctrine.

[13] Translator’s note: God chooses, softening the austere sentence with kindness, and makes the rejected His own.

[14] Translator’s note: This reads “you were called Not-My-People”—the very reproach named in the Hosea lemma (1:9).

[15] Translator’s note: The passage names the return under Zerubbabel and “the whole” people, no longer divided into Judah and Israel but united under one ruler.

[16] Translator’s note: The Greek plays on Ἰσραήλ as “one who sees God” (θεωρός), balancing the preceding “son of Judah”—itself a play on Judah’s name through ἐξομολόγησις, “confession.”

Chapter 2

Hos. 2:3–4. Say to your brother, My people, and to your sister, Pitied; plead with your mother, plead. You, he says, who have come back from Babylon, become judges of your mother and of me—that is, of your forefathers, who transgressed against me. Something of this kind is found in Isaiah also: And now, O house of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.[1]

Hos. 2:4. she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. A divorce, he says, came to be between me and this woman, who had received so many good things from me; and it was not I who gave the cause of the divorce, but she, for she withdrew; my wife before, but she withdrew from me. And these things might be said by those who shared fellowship with those who believed in Christ—who shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, that is, condemning those who did not believe out of the land of the Jews; she who was altogether the mother of those who are judged. And the more ancient generation too, when it came out of Egypt, did not yet have a law, nor had drawn from so many of God’s ordinances and sacrifices; wherefore the Lord is said not to be a husband. And whenever the sense-perception withdraws from the mind, and does not enjoy the world to the glory of the Creator, it is condemned by the true offspring of the mind, those begotten by the mind and the sense-perception to the knowledge of God. For instance I say: One man knows the creation, that it is good, and beholding it with mind marveled at the Maker; another saw it, and deified it, because he used sense-perception alone as a mother, withdrawn from the mind. Such a one is condemned by the former. One man saw the beauty of a body, and marveled at the Craftsman, how in clay and flesh he fashioned such splendor; another, seeing, was disposed toward the thing itself, because he followed the sense-perception, apart from the mind. Will not, then, that man be to the condemnation of this one?[2]

Hos. 2:4. And I will remove her harlotry from my presence, and her harlotry from between her breasts. He shows that, The divorce which I made with her, I made for her benefit, in order to free her from harlotry, that is, from idolatry; for indeed, having been removed to Babylon, she will no longer sacrifice to the golden heifers, to which she sacrificed before—from the time that that Jeroboam set them up—nor will my presence see her serving such abominations; but I will root out her harlotry from between her breasts, that is, of the heart, out of which come evil reasonings, envyings, murders, adulteries, fornications. Or he shows the shamelessness through the breasts, which they had, going with bared head to every evil. For she showed, it says, the breasts bare, and so plainly and unconcealed displayed her wickedness. Every chastisement of the Lord, then, even the seeming aversion, is to our benefit, freeing us from evil, according to the saying: It is good for me that you humbled me, that I might learn your ordinances. Harlotry too was the voice of those who said, We have no king but Caesar, and who withdrew from him who is truly King, who also were lifted away from the presence of the Lord, given over to those very ones whom they chose to be kings. And perhaps the breasts are the law and the prophets, out of which is for the Hebrews the elementary milk of the letter. Their harlotry, then, was removed from between such breasts. For neither law nor prophets recognize them, nor nourish them. And who would not pray that the harlotry of the senseless sense-perception be removed and wiped out, so that it may not be made manifest to the face of God? Lamenting, the prophet says: You have set our iniquities before you; and again elsewhere, praying, Turn your face, he says, away from my sins. But moreover the harlotry of avarice is nourished through abundance of possessions; that of vainglory, through ruling in palaces and cities; and bodily harlotry, through gazing at beauties, and one through one means and another through another. These are to each passion breasts, and it is good for a man, when the evil is removed, not being nourished by the materials that nourish it.[3]

Hos. 2:5. That I may strip her naked. I will strip her, he says, of my shelter, and will make her behave shamefully, overcome by her enemies; just as on the contrary, formerly sheltering her, and keeping her unconquered, I made her not only seemly, but most glorious.

Hos. 2:5. And I will restore her, as in the day of her birth. That is, as she was in bondage to the Egyptians, so also she shall be in bondage to the Assyrians. And he calls the sojourn in Egypt the day of her birth, because there they were multiplied. For seventy-five souls having gone down, six hundred thousand became the men of war alone. The Father stripped also those who disbelieved Christ, taking away from them all the glory of the law, and restoring them as they were before they received the law. For they have neither temple, nor do they sacrifice, nor do they do any other of the things in the law. And whenever one, having put on Christ through baptism, is stripped of him through the pleasure of sense, God strips him of his own grace and of the adoption, and makes him to be characterized by the marks of fleshly and passionate birth, which is to live according to the flesh, and to walk according to man; for where there are strifes, and jealousies, and dissensions, there is the living after the flesh, and the walking according to man.

Hos. 2:5. And I will make her as a wilderness, and will set her as a waterless land, and will kill her with thirst. I will make her, he says, a wilderness of my help, and the water of my providence I will not supply to her, but I will kill her—that is, I will give her over to death to her enemies, thirsting for help, and bereft of the alliance from me. A wilderness too has the Synagogue of the Hebrews become, deprived of every good; for the whole good, and goodness itself, was the Lord, whom they killed; and those who kill those who believe in him—holding fast the letter of the law, and not receiving the Spirit—are reasonably “land,” as lying below, and understanding all things in a bodily way; and “waterless,” as not having the Spirit, which was rendered to be the water. And the sinner is not made a wilderness, but as a wilderness, that he may not despair; and he is set as a waterless land for the same cause. For God, even if he knows the end of each, nevertheless does not appear to despair. He, then, who has made himself unfruitful, and who works those things which that rich man also worked, who begged Abraham to send Lazarus, and, having dipped the tip of his finger in water, to cool him, is as a wilderness and waterless land.

Hos. 2:6. And her children I will not pity, for they are children of harlotry. That is, having been begotten of idolatrous fathers, they emulated the loathsomeness of those men; for plainly he calls idolatry harlotry.

Hos. 2:7. for their mother went a-whoring. Not simply did she go a-whoring, but went a-whoring excessively, having embraced idolatry and the worship of created things; for of the trees too, as many as were tallest and most shady, to these they burned incense.

Hos. 2:7. She that bore them brought them to shame. That is, she practiced every shameful thing—she who brought her children to shame, making them shameless, both by begetting them, and by training them in evil.

Hos. 2:7. Because she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread, and my water, and my garments, my wine, and my oil, and all things that belong to me. She supposed, he says, that from her lovers—that is, from the idols—she has all things needful and useful for her life, and not from me the true God; wherefore she made her children unworthy of my mercy. And the Hebrews of today also go after such lovers—demons, and teachers, who deceive them—supposing that they will receive the loaves of the showbread, and the water of sprinkling, and the priestly garments, and the wine, both that for libations and that given according to the law to the priestly tribe as firstfruit and tithe, and the oil of anointing, and all the rest, whatever she brought to the worship according to the law. And if injustice and covetousness are inventions of demons, let him who thinks to do well no otherwise than by multiplying his own living, except through injustice, see that he too goes after these, as giving him the loaves, and the garments, and all things that belong. And observe: he did not say, The good loaves likewise that come from wealth as mine, but in all cases my loaves; to use what one has in a God-pleasing way belongs to gratitude; but the other man supposes them to come from going after the demons. So too he in the Gospel who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God, said, My goods, and my barns; for in another way too such a one was most akin to corruptible things, who indeed strove to make even the incorruptible thing in him, the soul—because it was upon him—corruptible, having made it fleshly.

Hos. 2:8–9. Therefore, behold, I hedge up her way with thorns, and I will wall up her ways, and she shall not find her path; and she shall pursue her lovers, and shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, and shall not find them. And this punishment too is full of love for mankind; for it procures the renouncing of impiety. For, he says, I set thorns in her way—that is, I bring upon them many troublesome and stinging things, wars I mean, and captivity, and bondages, and famine; constrained by which they shall no longer be able to serve the golden heifers. For how should they, who were even deprived of their liberty, and had no leisure to do their accustomed things, even if they greatly wished? Rather they shall recognize also the weakness of the demons, when, calling upon them in their calamities, they shall be nothing benefited by them. And she shall say, I will go, and return to my former husband, when it was well with me; then, rather than now. Having wrestled with calamities, he says, and having known the weakness of the demons—who were formerly gods to her, and who then were not able to help her—she shall call to mind God, the true one, who by nature is Master, but calls himself a husband, because such is the affection of a wife toward her husband, and their disposition toward the master, and God wishes there to be in men such a relation toward him as a wife has toward her husband; which the Apostle too seems to say: He who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit; and again, The two shall be one flesh; this mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. Closed up too for the God-slaying Hebrews were the passages to the legal worship, already abolished. Thorns for them were the Romans who destroyed the temple; or perhaps also the cross of Christ, which they fixed up together with two others, having become their undoing. They pursue, then, their lovers—priests, and chief priests—and nowhere find them; for they are not at all. Wherefore many of the Synagogue also turn to Christ—whom you would call her husband, inasmuch as out of her he became man; and the former, inasmuch as even before becoming man he was, as God. The husband; then say, The former, that is, the pre-existent, the one before all, the one from the beginning. Yet moreover Christ was the former husband of the Synagogue of the Hebrews also; for he it was who led them through, the captain of the host of the Lord of powers, and the spiritual rock that followed. And the signs too were done in the power of God; and Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God. But also everyone who, through being well-bodied and spreading himself out among sensible things, despises God, and serves the passions—when he is fixed upon thorns and the difficulties of life, whether falling ill, or coming to want, can no longer attend to the same things; but the ways to those passions are blocked up for him, even if he himself has a disposition toward them, and seeks them, and is not allowed to enjoy them, being pressed by hardships.[4]

Hos. 2:10. And she did not know that I gave her the grain, and the wine, and the oil, and multiplied silver for her; but she made silver and gold things for Baal. Again he takes up the matter, and accuses the ingratitude of the Israelites, who attributed the abundance of the good things supplied to them not to God, but to Baal—that is, the god of the Babylonians, whom the Greeks called Bel, saying he is the same as Zeus. Honoring this one, then, he says, they made golden and silver offerings to him. He gave, then, to the Hebrews both the libations, and the firstfruits, and the silver—that is, the oracles of the law, and of the prophets. Whenever, then, you see the Hebrews not using the things of Scripture well, nor having come to the knowledge of Christ, nor attributing to him the gold and the silver (the gold as indicative of the Godhead, the silver of the manhood, which he made splendid in himself, having scraped off all the rust of sin; or the gold, as having introduced a pure life, the silver, as splendid teaching, and doctrines, in which he abolished the law of commandments)—but expecting all things for the man of lawlessness who is to come and is awaited by them, and attributing these to him: these reckon to be those here accused. But also the Greeks, and those of the heresies, having received from God the mind as gold, and eloquence as silver, and having misused these to the harm of many souls, and having dedicated them—that is, having given them over to natural reasonings, and dialectical, and sophistical, and having hung our affairs upon nature, and upon the motion of the heavenly bodies—are like those here arraigned. And the rich man too, whenever he uses his wealth not for the relief of the needy, but rather for tyrannizing over them, or even for wantonness, and impurity, and insults, seems to dedicate the things of God to Baal.[5]

Hos. 2:11. Therefore I will turn back, and take away my grain in its season, and my wine in its time, and will remove my garments and my linens, so as not to cover her shame. I will turn back, he says; that is, I will choose another road, that of hardness, and I will no longer count them worthy of my good things. But I will take also the grain, and the wine from them, and, what is more grievous, in season; that is, when the fruits become ripe and mellow, then I will deprive them of these, that they may be the more grieved. And by garments and linens perhaps he means these sensible things; for they went off captive, naked and unseemly. But perhaps he brought in also his shelter and help, having which they were most glorious, and prevailed over their enemies; but having the unseemliness from bondage, they cannot hold together. And he took away also from the Synagogue of the Jews, in the due season, and when the fullness of time was come, the firstfruits of the crops, and the tithes, which are signified through the grain and the wine. For then he was made flesh, when the fitting season was, when all evil was consummated, and no form of it any longer remained, but it even burst forth its own depravity. Then came the Physician, bringing the great remedy of his own incarnation to the disease. And if the mysteries of the Church too are accomplished from grain and wine—these being changed into the body and blood of Christ through the blessing—let the disbelieving Hebrews consider how in them the prophecy comes true. And well is it added, In its season, and, In its time. For now these mysteries have a time and a season, of being accomplished through grain and wine; but in the kingdom of the heavens, they shall be accomplished in some other manner, newer and more mystical. And being deprived of baptism, they are deprived also of the garments of Christ. For as many as were baptized into Christ, put on Christ. But also from the faithful in the Church who sin the grain and wine—that is, the communion of the mysteries—is taken away. And since this happens proportionally to the sins, therefore he said, In a time, and, In a season. For not for all sins simply, and the chance ones, has the deprivation of communion been laid down as a penalty, nor for all those condemned to it simply is the same time spread out; but for some it is extended, for others contracted. And such men are stripped both of grace and of help, which, so long as it is with us, makes us walk seemly, covering and sheltering our weakness; but lifted from us, and forsaking us, allows us to do the works of shame. And perhaps too from those who sin in the priesthood, and are deposed, God takes away his garments, and the linens, the priestly robe I mean; so that their unseemliness be not covered by these, who appear sinless through performing the sacred rites.

Hos. 2:12. And now I will uncover her uncleanness before her lovers. Either he says this, that Just as she forsook me, so also she will forsake those, having known their weakness, and will be shown faithless toward them also, according to the saying, How long will you go limping on both your hams? either to God, God, or to Baal, Baal; or, When I show her thus behaving shamefully, they will not be able to help her, as being powerless. And hear also what follows:

Hos. 2:12. And none shall deliver them out of my hand. By “hand” he names the punishing power, of which the God-slayers too had experience, being given over to the Romans; and those who sin, and are given over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved—like the fornicator in Corinth—experience the hand of the Lord. For the power that brings them to a sober mind, by divine dispensation, or by the permission of God, you will call a hand. So Job too: The hand of the Lord, he says, is that which has touched me; and the blows brought upon him by the enemy, by divine permission, were said to be arrows of the Lord in his body.

Hos. 2:13. And I will turn away all her mirth, her feasts, and her new moons, and the sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies. For being taken captive into Babylon, they had no occasion either otherwise to make merry, or to keep feast. For how shall we sing, he says, the song of the Lord in a foreign land? Since they served neither God purely, nor the idols, but were of two minds, he says that, given over to the Babylonians, they shall neither perform the feasts to God—that is, the sabbaths, and the new moons—nor the other solemn assemblies to Baal. One must know, however, that a solemn assembly and a feast are not the same. For it is possible to be a solemn assembly, and not upon a feast; but a feast without a solemn assembly, that is, without a gathering, cannot be. The term “solemn assembly,” then, is more general. These things the Christ-slayers now suffer; for it is not possible for the impious to rejoice. And where is for them the new moon, or sabbath according to the law? But also those who sin, owing to mourn and to be downcast, and to wash their bed with tears, are deprived of the spiritual gladness, which God bestows on the pious, which has in them a certain beginning and origin of light. […] of spiritual baptism, nor sabbaths, that is, divine rests; for the conscience does not allow them to have good hopes concerning things to come.[6]

Hos. 2:14. And I will destroy her vine, and her fig trees, all that she said: These are my hires, which my lovers gave me. She said, he says, that from the idols she has the things that contribute to life—this being a reward they gave her in return for the idolatrous worship and adoration. I will destroy these, then, since she attributes them to the idols. […] not to me, but to her lovers.[7]

Hos. 2:14. And I will set them for a testimony, and the beasts of the field shall devour them, and the birds of heaven, and the creeping things of the earth. These good things, being devoured by birds, and beasts, and creeping things, because of the desolation of men, will testify against them, that they were not worthy to praise him, nor to enjoy them. And for this cause some of them being put to death, and others taken captive, they left these to the beasts. Or by “beasts” he means the Babylonians, who ate the good things in the fields of the Israelites, because they were besieged, shut up and famishing in the cities. And the vine and the fig tree might be understood as the law and the prophets: the vine, as yielding the wine that gladdens the heart of man, I mean the joy according to the Gospel; and the fig tree, having astringency, because of the laboriousness of the commandment, yet has nonetheless something gladdening, because of the promises in the heavens. For the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed to us. And the law, understood spiritually, gladdens in itself with the grace and the polity of the Gospel; as a vine, then, are the law and the prophets; and a fig tree, because to the infant Israel they brought forth sweet fruits, the promise of the good things of the earth. For if, he says, you hear me, you shall eat the good things of the earth; and the rough things they had in leaves—transient, I mean, and easily-withering things; for he did not threaten them with Gehenna, outer darkness, or the falling away from heavenly good things, but captivity, and bondage, and temporary death, and all such punishments. These, then, both the vine and the fig tree, were taken away from Israel, and given to the nations, who were likened to the birds of heaven, because of the lightness and senselessness of their mind, and because they were arrayed under the ruler of the authority of the air; and to beasts and creeping things, because of the savagery of their manner. Yet these nations, having followed Christ—who was made for us wisdom from God—cast off their senselessness, and were re-taught to mind the things above, where Christ is; and learning from him that he is meek and lowly in heart, set right the bitterness of their ways. And that to the nations was given the vine of the law, the Lord too says in the Gospel: The vineyard shall be given to other husbandmen, to a nation bringing forth its fruits. A vine too is the Lord, who said: I am the vine; and a fig tree, as being sweetness, and all desire. So long, then, as we do not go a-whoring from God, we delight in the Lord; but when we sin, we either become birds of heaven through haughtiness, or beasts of the field—that is, cattle—through desire, or creeping things of the earth through wrath (for their wrath, it says, is according to the likeness of a serpent), and then we deliver the divine word in us over to these within ourselves, by which it is devoured.[8]

Hos. 2:15. And I will avenge upon her the days of the Baalim, in which she burned incense to them, and put on her earrings, and her necklaces, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, says the Lord. These things I will do to her, because of those days in which she sacrificed to the Baalim—that is, the idols of Baal—and kept their feasts, using adornment of every kind. Now earrings are the ornaments put in the ears; and necklaces are the things hung about from the ornament around the neck; for a “necklace” is the ornament about the neck. With such adornment, he says, she kept feast to the idols, but forgot me. Perhaps, then, the Hebrews of today wear such earrings and necklaces, receiving the false teachings of the Pharisees in their ears, which also, as descending upon their heart, might be called necklaces, through which they are persuaded that they will receive back the legal worship, and will be consecrated to idols—that is, to the fabrications of their own opinion, according to which they make an idol of the temple, and the other such things. And whenever you see one sacrificing the idolatrous sacrifices, and attending in mind to such words—a youth immature, or an old man—and giving ear to these, and letting them down upon his heart rather than the words concerning chastity and self-control, and keeping feast to the idols, I mean to the pleasures, which are not truly pleasures, but idols of pleasure, because they have the enjoyment temporary and lying, but the pain everlasting and true—say the prophetic words over him.[9]

Hos. 2:16. Therefore, behold, I will lead her astray, and will set her as a wilderness. I will prepare her—this you will understand, either that I will provide a place to dwell in, this when she flees, and this when she is taken captive, and is deprived of all good things; which, as was said above, I will make a wilderness; or that, Running well in evil, and being borne toward the idols, I will lead her astray—that is, I will remove her from such a road, which is a benefit; for he who is led astray from the evil road—that is, turned about—is altogether brought over to the good. And I will make her also a wilderness, that is, dry, and useless to the idols. Formerly she seemed pleasing to demons, and they dwelt in her as in a resting-place; but now I will make her a wilderness, having nothing of the things loved by those, and for this reason to be shunned by them. So too the unclean spirit in the Gospels, going through waterless places, finds no rest there. For the holy and God-loving souls are not places to the demons, not having the filth that is dear to those. God made to be led astray the Synagogue of the God-slayers, scattering it into all the lands, as formerly was the multitude of the nations, which was called barren, concerning which it is said: Rejoice, O barren that bears not; Many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that has the husband. And would that for everyone running well toward evil it might come to pass to be led astray from this road, that is, turned about, and from disorder to be set in order, that is, to take order, so that no longer in him should desire and wrath rule over reason, but rather that one over them; for this belongs to order; and to become a wilderness, and waterless, not having the flooding water concerning which David prays: Let not the tempest of water drown me; and, If the Lord had not been among us, then the water would have drowned us. And such water might be the trials and assaults of the Evil One, in which the souls that do not sober up and are not able to hold out are choked.

Hos. 2:16–17. And I will speak to her heart, and will give her her possessions from there. I will surely make her take perception both of my glory and power and of her own offenses; and to her, having turned back from there—namely from the captivity—I will give her possessions, that is, the land, which she possessed before, having cast out the Canaanites, the land which she inherited. And plainly here he promises also the grace through Christ, when God speaks to the heart of those formerly cast away, as he says also elsewhere: Giving my laws into their heart, and upon their hearts I will write them. And all shall be taught of God, having the Spirit of God, teaching them all things, and Christ dwelling in their hearts. And he gives them also their possessions—the adoption, the grace, the glory, the reigning together with him. And what is, From there? That is, from the speaking to their heart; for from this we have such possessions. And the possessions of everyone baptized in Christ are the forgiveness of sins, and the mansions above, which one acquires for himself, each through the road that leads to it; for as the mansions are many and various, so also are the roads. And these possessions the sinner unacquires, and is deprived of them, so long as the divine word is silent in him. But whenever, having touched the heart, he speaks in it, then are given to him these possessions from there, that is, from the heart; for the kingdom of the heavens is within us, and our heart either takes these away from us, or restores them.[10]

Hos. 2:17. And the valley of Achor, to open her understanding. Joshua the son of Nun, warring against Jericho, proclaimed that none of the soldiers should acquire any spoil taken from it, as being accursed—that is, dedicated to God—but that to him who acquired it, the penalty should be death, as to one committing sacrilege. Achar, then, having stolen from the spoils, and been detected, all the people stoned, by command of Joshua, in the ravine, which from this was called the valley of Achor, that is, Achar. He says, then, here, that I will give them the valley of Achor; for, I will give, comes from the verb to give; so that, having considered what Achar suffered in it, they too may take understanding, their mind being opened to not transgressing, nor giving offense to the commands of God. And in another way: since on account of the theft of Achar the people were being defeated, but after his death, weeping and lamenting, they propitiated God, he says here too, that just as those ancients learned, through the punishment of Achar, how great an evil transgression is, so also these through captivity shall take perception of their own negligences. But also the Lord Jesus destroys in the ravine those who set at naught his commandments, and make the spoils of this world their own, and do not render the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God. And a ravine and a valley is sin: a valley, as making lowly; and a ravine, as setting us apart from God; and Achor means perversion, since it is so interpreted. So Christ, when the Hebrews tempted him with a question, was entangled by them, but turned their questions about for them, asking in return things harder to solve, not that he might perplex them, but that he might open their understanding, and bring them into the knowledge of the truth. Thus, when they asked him, By what authority do you do these things? he asked in return: The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men? And sin is a perversion, fallen away from the natural rightness. For God made man upright, and man himself sought out reasonings. Whenever, then, there is in us sin making a valley, a downfall, it opens for us understanding, and the knowledge of divine things. For in the destroying, it says, of the sinners in you—that is, the reasonings—then you shall see, that is, you shall behold, the divine things.

Hos. 2:17. And she shall be humbled there, according to the days of her infancy, and according to the days of her going up out of the land of Egypt. In the manner, he says, in which they served the Egyptians, and after going out of Egypt, going up toward Palestine, suffered hardship in the wilderness; so there, that is, serving among the Assyrians, they shall be humbled. For he calls “infancy” the sojourn in Egypt, both because there the people began their growth, and because they were not yet given a law, but were unrestrained; for to be given a law belongs already to men. And it is a benefit to the boastful Synagogue of the Hebrews to be humbled, and to be made subject to Christ; just as in the beginnings it obeyed Moses, calling them to the freedom out of Egypt; and after going out, going up again, they obeyed him as he gave the law, saying: All things, whatever God has said, we will do, and we will hear. And just as, going up out of Egypt, they passed through the sea, and so inherited the land; in the same manner those who now believe in Christ, passing through the baptism into his death, acquire such an inheritance. Let him too be humbled who has just now been born in Christ out of water and Spirit, and let him not be lifted up over the gift of the forgiveness of sins, but let him say: By grace we have been saved, and not of works in righteousness, which we did. And even if he go up out of the land of Egypt, and toil in the working of the virtues, and attain to be able to say, I labored more than they all, let him add: Yet not I, but the grace.

Hos. 2:18–19. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, she shall call me My husband, and shall not call me any more Baalim; and I will remove the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their names. No longer, he says, will they put my appellation—that is, “God”—upon the idols, nor will they say that God is Baal; “in that day,” that is, in the day of the affliction and captivity, but they will recognize me as God, and bridegroom, betrothed to them of old; and henceforth they will not even remember the name of the Baalim—I mean, of the idols of Baal. And having said, I will remove the names of the Baalim, he shows that this was his own work. And how did he remove them? Through casting them into afflictions and tribulations. And when the Sun of righteousness, Christ, shone, and made a day of his presence on earth—that is, a season—all idolatry was removed both from the Jews and from the nations, and the knowledge of the true God is a citizen among all. But also in those who repent, when the light of the Word, shining, makes a day, all the idols, and the passionate fantasies of sins, are removed, and no longer is the belly deified, nor has covetousness, which is idolatry, together with the other passions and the desires, any place there.

Hos. 2:20. And I will make a covenant for them in that day, with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of heaven, and the creeping things of the earth. Either he says this, that Just as, when I was angered at them, I gave over the fruits of the earth to the beasts, and to the birds and the creeping things, so, when I am reconciled to them—having as it were made a truce with them—those too shall cease from devouring the fruits; or, by “beasts and creeping things” meaning the enemies who formerly set upon them, he says, that I will prepare them to make peace with the Israelites, and to deal most gently with them. Wherefore he also adds:

Hos. 2:20. And bow, and sword, and war I will break upon the earth. That is, upon the earth of Judea; or the word foreshows also the things that came to pass later upon all the earth after the coming of Christ. And perceptibly, all having come under one rule, that of the Romans, the many wars ceased. But also with the gentiles God made the covenant for the Synagogue of the Hebrews, having made them one, and having made both one, and having become a chief cornerstone, that he might create the two into one new man, and having through the evangelic law introduced the peace, and having persuaded men to despise all things, even one’s own body, for the sake of which are the wars. For he who said, From him who takes your things, ask them not back, and such things, wished us to have peace, which he also left to us. Of this peace he too enjoys who has subjected the passions to reason. And when does it come to pass? When one, having mortified the members that are upon the earth, makes a covenant; and a covenant over the dead is firm.

Hos. 2:20. And I will make you dwell in hope. Not only will I free you from the difficulties of captivity, but I will also settle you in your homeland, and will put good hopes in you, persuading you from the present things to hope also concerning the things to come. And reckon these things to be said already also to the Church of Jews and nations, which even now he has settled in his house, having granted forgiveness of sins, and has given to hope also for the good things in heaven; and to this fits also what follows; and hear:[11]

Hos. 2:21. And I will betroth you to myself for ever. What is, To myself? Either, that Through myself; for it was no angel, no ambassador, but the Lord himself who saved us; for to the fathers he spoke in the prophets, but to us in a Son. Or, that the old Synagogue he betrothed to Moses—wherefore he said also to him: Your people has transgressed; but the one that believed in the incarnate coming of the Son he betrothed to himself, as Paul too witnesses: But I speak concerning Christ, and concerning the Church. But neither did he betroth that Synagogue for ever; for the worship of the law was temporary; but now he betroths to himself for ever those who believe. And the bridegroom Word might say also to the soul cleansed out of repentance, that I will make you dwell in hope, whenever, having separated her from the Church on account of sins—which is the house of the living God—he again, when she has turned back, makes her to dwell, having received her, and does not thrust her away according to the unclean haughtiness of Novatus. Then he gives her also the better hopes, that he will receive her also into the heavenly dwelling, when the bridegroom becomes to her eternal. For whatever, he says, you bind upon the earth, shall be bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose upon the earth, shall be loosed in heaven.

Hos. 2:21. And I will betroth you to myself in righteousness, and in judgment, and in mercy, and in compassions. In righteousness, inasmuch as, just as through a man came death, so also through a man comes the resurrection of the dead; for, having himself become man, he was the firstfruits of the resurrection; and in judgment, inasmuch as he condemned the ruler of the world, because, not having found sin in him, he put him to death. And mercy, and compassions he displayed toward all, whom he saved not from works, but according to his own mercy through the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Hos. 2:22. And I will betroth you to myself in faith, and you shall know the Lord. Since it was necessary that we too who have received mercy be not altogether idle and contributing nothing, but that we ourselves also bring in something, he says, that I will betroth you in faith; for he who comes to God must believe. And out of faith comes the knowledge of God. For if you do not believe, he says, neither shall you understand. And see that not in sacrifices, nor in the legal worship, but in faith does the Lord betroth those whom he betroths; and let those cease who boast greatly in the law.

Hos. 2:23–24. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, I will hearken to the heaven, and the heaven shall hearken to the earth, and the earth shall hearken to the grain, and the wine, and the oil, and these shall hearken to Jezreel. After the foretelling concerning the heavenly good things, he promises them the bodily gifts also. For being earthly and grovelling, they were drawn more by these than by those. He promises, then, that I will hearken to the heaven; that is, I will assent to the heaven, and will give it leave, so as to rain—it having by nature the power to do this, but contracted because of my anger. For just as the heaven, having a kind of disgrace in not doing its accustomed things, put forward this very thing as a kind of suppliant’s plea, I will hearken to it, and will loose this disgrace. And the heaven shall hearken to the earth; instead of, It shall fulfill its desire, as it thirsts and needs rain, and, as it were through its dryness, cries out that the drought must be loosed. And the earth shall make a peace-offering toward the fruits, and shall let these forth abundantly, and the fruits, which were before hidden, and not made manifest, to Jezreel—that is, to the son begotten of the harlot, that is, to the people formerly idolatrous—shall hearken, and shall be made manifest to him who calls them forth. When, then, the vineyard of the Lord—that is, the Israelite people—brought forth thorns, then the Lord commanded the clouds, the angelic powers, and the prophets, not to rain upon them, whence they were left both irrational and unadmonished. But when they were entwined with the true vine, Christ, then by the inflowings of wisdom and knowledge through the angelic powers, and by the waterings of the prophetic oracles, he fattens them. For those truly have the prophets, and enjoy them, who receive the things prophesied among them. And they who were formerly upon the earth, and minded earthly things, have the grain and the wine—that is, the partaking of the mysteries—and the oil, with which they are anointed for the contests, and for the wrestling against the principalities and the authorities. And then they receive these, when they become Jezreel, and a seed of God, having been made sons of God, through the birth in the Spirit of baptism. And a soul, so long as it sins, no heavenly thought falls upon it, but having become earth, that is, having all but lost its flesh, it is dry; but whenever it is wedded to the Word, then it receives the inflowings from above, and bears as fruit grain—the solid and life-giving food; and wine—the divine gladness; and oil—the cheerfulness and meekness; and again, Receive him that is weak in the faith, in a spirit of meekness; whenever one is overtaken in a fault.

Hos. 2:25. And I will sow her for myself upon the earth; and I will pity her that was not pitied; and I will say to my people, You are my people; and he shall say, You are the Lord my God. That is, I will make her my own tilled field, and will cast down in her the seeds of righteousness, and of the knowledge of God. And these things came to pass typically in the time of Zerubbabel, after the return from Babylon; but in truth, after the Incarnation. For then those who believed in him were truly called his people, and he their God, truly and purely, and as it were a fruitful land the Son sowed for himself the souls of those fit for faith, which, seeing them even now bearing fruit, like those of the Samaritans, he said to the disciples: Lift up your eyes, and behold the fields, that they are white to harvest already; and again elsewhere, The harvest indeed is great, that is, those ready for the faith are many; but the workers few—the apostles, namely, who were to take them up for the teaching. And no one who has mammon for lord, and the belly for god, can say to the true Master, God, You are the Lord my God.

[1] Translator’s note: Lemma covers LXX 2:1–2 in Rahlfs numbering; in the LXX tradition used by Theophylact, these verses may be numbered 2:3–4 (with LXX 2:1–2 = MT 1:10–11). OSIS/MT refs Hos.2.1–2 are used throughout this chapter.

[2] Translator’s note: Lemma is the continuation clause of the same LXX verse (Hos. 2:2); a lacuna of several unrecoverable lines precedes the passage beginning “εἴτε οἱ κοινωνήσαντες.”

[3] Translator’s note: This lemma (“ἐξαρῶ τὴν πορνείαν”) forms a first-person divine declaration that in the MT (2:2) is a conditional demand addressed to the mother; the LXX text used by Theophylact reads it as God’s direct declaration, reflecting a versification difference between the LXX and MT.

[4] Translator’s note: The Hos. 2:7b clause (“Καὶ ἐρεῖ· Πορεύσομαι…”) is rendered as inline continuation of this paragraph; a lacuna of partially damaged columns falls toward the end.

[5] Translator’s note: This reads, across the col. 603 page break, the triad “wantonness, and impurity, and insults,” matching the facing Latin, “vel ad luxuriam et flagitia et injurias.”

[6] Translator’s note: A lacuna of several unrecoverable lines falls between “φωτὸς ἔχουσα ἐν αὐτοῖς” and “τισμοῦ πνευματικοῦ”; the surviving text appears to be the end of a word (perhaps “βαπτίσματος” or “πνευματισμοῦ”).

[7] Translator’s note: A lacuna of several unrecoverable lines falls before “οὐκ ἐμοὶ, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐραστοῖς.”

[8] Translator’s note: Lemma continues from the previous verse (Hos. 2:12); the sentence “τὸν ἐν ἡμῖν θεῖον λόγον… κατοδαπανώμενος” trails off into a lacuna.

[9] Translator’s note: A lacuna follows the final sentence.

[10] Translator’s note: The Jeremiah citation (Jer.31.33) appears in LXX as Jer.38.33 owing to the well-known LXX/MT chapter-numbering divergence in Jeremiah; the OSIS/MT reference is used here.

[11] Translator’s note: The lemma “κατοικιῶ σε ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι” may be the closing clause of LXX 2:18 (“I will make you dwell in safety”) rather than a separate verse.

Chapter 3

Hos. 3:1–4. And the Lord said to me yet again: Go, and love a woman who loves wicked men, and an adulteress, even as God loves the sons of Israel, while they look toward strange gods and love cakes with raisins. And I hired her to myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and a gomor of barley, and a nebel of wine; and I said to her: You shall sit for me many days; you shall not play the harlot, neither shall you be for another man, and I also will be for you. For the sons of Israel shall sit many days, with no king, and no ruler, no sacrifice, and no altar, neither priesthood, nor manifestations. The first woman, whom the prophet took, was a type of the generation that before the captivity had played the harlot into idolatry; but this second woman, whom he is now bidden to take to himself, is a type of those led into captivity. For just as she, having renounced her former lovers, chose to dwell with the prophet—yet the prophet did not consort with her—so also these, who were formerly an adulteress, in that they poured themselves out into idolatry and offered to the demons cakes, that is, loaves of fine flour with raisins (for such an offering too was dear to the demons, since those who brought it showed thereby that they held them to be the givers both of grain and of wine), shall, when they are carried off into the captivity, cease indeed from idolatry; yet neither shall they perform the divine rites, but shall sit idle, as being unable to sacrifice or to exercise the priesthood, because there are no altars; and the priesthood not being, neither shall there be the manifestations. And what this means, learn. To the high priest there was attached upon the breast a four-cornered woven cloth, a span in size, called the oracle, having twelve stones, through which the things to come were made plain to the high priest, certain divine signs coming to pass in them; whence this oracle was said to possess the manifestation and the truth. He says, then, that neither shall the manifestations be—that is, the divine signs through which the things to come were made plain. This, then, is the sense of the letter. But you will understand the former harlot to be a type of the Synagogue before Christ, which was also given to idolatry; and the one now taken, after Christ, who likewise is received by God on account of those who, by the election of grace, were in due season to believe—yet she is an adulteress, having given herself over to the Pharisees and Scribes, who teach for doctrines the commandments of men, and being wedded to things not perfected by the word of Christ. And the prophet hires her to himself for fifteen pieces of silver, that is, the five books of the Law and the ten commandments; for they are held under the letter, and are drawn along by it, so that they seem at least to acknowledge God, though wrongly. For he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father; and, You know neither me, he says, nor my Father. And the barley hints at the irrational nourishment which they feed upon, thinking nothing spiritual or worthy of reasonable souls. And the nebel of wine signifies their drunkenness and frenzy; for seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not understand, which is proper to those who are drunken. They sit, then, who do not believe in Christ, remaining unmoved in their unbelief, having neither a king perceptibly, nor a ruler, nor yet intelligibly; for there is in them no mind reigning or ruling, since they are not even sons of the free Sarah, who is interpreted “she that rules,” but are offspring of the bondwoman, who bears children to bondage. Neither is there manifestation in them, nor truth; but, being truly blind, they sit in the darkness of falsehood, neither themselves understanding the truth, nor having wherewith to make it plain to others. For how could they, who slew the Word by crucifying him—him who said, I am the truth, and who made plain to us the things from the Father? For what I heard, he says, from my Father, these things I spoke to you. These are they who are here remembered, who also love the cakes with raisins, not receiving the loaves that seem to nourish the soul, apart from what is for favor and for pleasure. And altogether of this sort are the expositions of the teachers, having the sweetness of raisins and promising perceptible goods, which are altogether quick to wither. To this woman is like the man who seems to serve God for a wage and for the bestowal of perceptible goods—wealth being signified by the pieces of silver, whose number is fifteen, that you may learn that of such a man the whole body and soul and spirit has perception united and arrayed to itself, while the things needful for living, both moist and dry, are signified by the wine and the barley; or else it sets forth the proportion of such a life. Only, he who seems to serve for such a wage will quickly be transferred to another master, whenever the wage shall fail. So also David speaks concerning such a one: He will give you thanks, whenever you do well to him; that is, He will give you thanks, O Lord, whenever you give him good things; but as soon as these flow away, he will blaspheme you. Even so the enemy, hoping Job too to be some such man, begged him; wherefore he said: Does Job worship the Lord for nothing? Have you not fenced about the things within and the things without of him? And again, urging him on to blasphemy, he said: Speak some word against the Lord, and die. He who serves God for such goods, and not for the good itself, and loves cakes with raisins, not choosing the new and evangelical law, which seems even harsh because of the hardness of its discipline, but the baked and easily-digested and pleasant one. And since, according to the Proverbialist, he who is pleasant and free from pain shall end in want, with reason does this man too sit idle, performing nothing holy, nor being able to say: The hidden and secret things of your wisdom you have made plain to me.

Hos. 3:5. And after this the sons of Israel shall return, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and they shall be amazed at the Lord, and at his good things, in the last of the days. The tribes were divided, as was said at the beginning, and there came to be two kingdoms: one, that of the ten tribes, which was called both Israel and Ephraim; the other, that of the two tribes, which for the most part was called Judah, though at times also Benjamin. And they continued so until they were carried captive into Babylon. But after their return thence, the twelve tribes, having taken perception of God and having sought him out, were united, and had one ruler, Zerubbabel, whom they also named David, because he was of the tribe of David, under whom they received the enjoyment of the God-given goods. And since after the fullness of the nations all Israel too shall be saved, the sons of Israel shall seek out, by believing, the king David, that is, Christ, the one mighty in hand (for this is what David is interpreted), who, having broken the gates of bronze, bound strong death, and snatched us as his spoils. Take these things, I pray you, as referring to the inner man. For perception is a harlot and an adulteress, looking toward strangers—that is, toward all things not proper to our nature, nor following after us. A stranger is wealth; for, it says, in his dying he shall not take all things with him. A stranger is glory; for his glory shall not go down with him. A stranger is luxury; for the other forms of it are temporary, and the things eaten and drunk, passing into the belly and into the privy, flow away. This perception the prophetic word, taking up its dwelling within, makes for a while to abstain from its wonted ways and to turn aside from evil, both by the fifteen pieces of silver—the oracles of the Law, I mean (for five are the books of the Law, given also to the imperfect and to those who live according to perception), and the dominical oracles, the perfect and perfecting (for the number ten is a perfect number)—and by the wine of a more austere conversion and of the remembrance of the eternal punishments, and by the gomor of barley, that is, of the finer and humbler discipline. Yet it teaches that such idleness is not praiseworthy; for one must, among those worthy to be called sons of Israel—that is, of the contemplative mind—be a king and a ruler, ordering what ought to be done; and a priest, slaughtering the passions of unreason and offering these to God: the temper, by being zealous on his behalf, like Phinehas and Elijah; and the desire, by desiring the things divine, such as was Daniel, the man of desires. For thus there will follow upon such a discipline both the manifestation from above and the illumination of the Spirit, so as to say with Paul: But to us God has revealed it through his Spirit. Only, the soul that for a while rests idle from evils shall afterward receive the king David, the one mighty in hand—that is, in the practical power—and shall be amazed at the Lord and at his good things. For in truth the soul stands outside its nature, whenever, made simple by God beyond all nature, it enjoys his good things alone, and is filled.

Chapter 4

Hos. 4:1–2. Hear the word of the Lord, you sons of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with those who dwell in the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God upon the land; cursing, and falsehood, and theft, and adultery is poured out upon the land, and they mingle bloods upon bloods. Having said that in the last of the days they shall enjoy good things, and having given them good hopes, that they might not despair utterly, he now again reminds them of the evils done by them, that they may make haste to be bettered, as having a good Master, who bears with them even while they live thus; and at the same time that they may know that he will justly give them over to the Babylonians, being so wicked. Wherefore he says: The Lord has a controversy. For there is a tribunal against us, in which I show that not unjustly have I decreed that you should perish. He said, then, that There is no truth, nor mercy, teaching us whence this comes to be—from there being no knowledge of God; for the fool said in his heart, There is no God, and from this they were corrupted and became abominable in their pursuits. And perhaps one might say also the contrary—that from there being no truth nor mercy, there is no knowledge of God either. For God is far off from sinners, as Solomon says; and with reason. For he who has cast clay upon the eyes of the soul, and blinded them, how shall he see the light? By “cursing” he means reviling and slander. Because, then, there is no truth, there is the cursing, that is, the reviling and slander and the falsehood; and because there is no mercy, there is murder, and the mingling of bloods upon bloods; and because there is no knowledge of God, both these, and theft, and adultery. These things might be said also concerning those who slew the Lord. For mercy and truth is Christ himself, and the knowledge of God as well. For he who has seen me, he says, has seen the Father. But these men did not receive him, neither was he in them. But what was in them? Cursing, that is, reviling; for they called him a Samaritan, and a drunkard, and one born of fornication. And they spoke falsely against him, saying that he had a demon, and that he was against God, and that he cast out the demons by Beelzebul. And there was theft in them; for they secretly hired Judas, through whom they accomplished the murder of the Savior, and mingled his blood with the bloods of the prophets, and after these things, with the blood of the apostles. And adultery was altogether dared by their high priests, who hired the high priesthood year by year and used it insolently. And if the soul of the man given over to earthly things is named “earth,” see that truth and mercy are not upon such an earth; for he who loves the false wealth, and the false pleasures, and the lying glory, has no truth. Therefore neither has he mercy from God, nor will he know him in the day of revelation as God—that is, as gracious—but as Lord, which is to say Master and chastiser; which one of the patriarchs, deprecating, said: Let the Lord be to me for a God. And those from the heresies mingle bloods upon bloods, who, having slain themselves through the heresy, will yet slay others also, those whom they make their disciples. And whenever a man, himself corrupted in soul, taking a young soul, corrupts its character through evil converse, he too mingles bloods upon bloods.

Hos. 4:3. Therefore the land shall mourn, and shall be diminished with all who dwell in it, with the beasts of the field, and with the creeping things, and with the birds of heaven; and the fishes of the sea shall fail, so that none may go to law, nor any reprove. Such a multitude of enemies, he says, will I bring upon you for such works of yours, that there be diminished not only the rich, who like beasts and creeping things and birds lay upon the poorer, and, as if upon certain wings, lifted up by their wealth and power, were borne down heavily from on high against the lowlier; but also all the rest, who, like certain fishes, are plunged into the deep of this life. And since the Israelites were without a king, with reason does he liken them to the animals that have no king. And this coming to pass, he says, the land shall become desolate and without those who go to law and those who are judged; that is, the false accusations and false witnessings shall fail, and the unjust verdicts, and the unjust reproofs. The land of Jerusalem too mourned, taken by the Romans, with her great ones, who were wild beasts, according to that, He lies in wait in secret, like a lion, to seize the poor; and creeping things, according to that, Serpents, offspring of vipers; and birds of heaven, by reason of their lifted-up mind, such as those who say, Touch me not, for I am clean; to whom God, not being pleased with them, says this: It is the smoke of my wrath. But they were also fishes, as devouring one another. Or else the herd-like multitude are called fishes, as most irrational, and most voiceless, and plunged in the cares of this life. And judgments too shall fail, and reproofs. For since, he says, having accused the Lord with false charges, you established false witness against him and condemned him, with reason you shall not have authority to go to law or to reprove, as having used both judgments and reproofs unlawfully. But to the soul that minds earthly things, it is a cause of blessedness to mourn out of repentance; and the diminishing of the proud mind is no small good. For by so much as the outward man is corrupted, by so much is the inward renewed. Together with the beasts in us, and the creeping things, and the birds—which have been said what they are—let the fishes in us also be diminished, concerning whom we understand some such thing: One man does the evil, but is stung, perceiving that he is doing wickedly. Another, sinning, does not even think that he is doing any evil, but, even when accused, sets himself to the defense of such a deed as a good one. Such a man is a fish, having for life-giving the water that is truly salt, and seeming to the rest death-bearing. And when such things have failed from the soul, there shall be neither judgment (for he who believes, he says, comes not into judgment, but has passed from death into life), nor reproof; for to the sinner God said: I will reprove you, and set your sins before your face.

Hos. 4:4–5. But my people are as a priest spoken against, and he shall be weak by day; and the prophet too shall be weak with him. Just as, he says, if a man should be descended of a priestly tribe, but have some bodily blemish, being one-eyed, or lame, or maimed in some other part of the body, he is not brought into the priesthood, but, as one spoken against—that is, slandered on account of this defect—fails of the priesthood; and as a man already established a priest, should he fall into some charge, and disputes arise against him concerning his honor, ceases from priestly service and is dishonored: so, he says, my people too are descended of holy forefathers, but on account of the hurt of soul shall be without honor before me, and shall be weak for many days. But also the prophet—that is, the false prophet—shall not have boldness; for in truth the false prophets, in time of peace, used boldness, saying that The evils shall not come; but in the dread times they shrank back, being shown weak and liars. The God-slaying people too became as a priest spoken against. For as the slandered man either does not exercise the priesthood at all, or, having exercised it, ceases from ministering: so also these shall no longer have priesthood or sacrifice in their strength, nor even prophets. Yet he shall not be weak forever, but for certain days; for there has been reserved for him a season of faith in Christ. Whoever, then, exercises the priesthood and slaughters the irrational passions, offering them to God, as was said above, is in truth a divine and true priest. But if a man rather slaughters the word of reason, this one is a priest spoken against; for he is spoken of contrariwise to the things he does. But while it is yet night, and ignorance of what is fitting, he shall do these things, and be strong, and mighty in wickedness; but when the day comes, and divine knowledge shines forth, he shall be weak; and the false prophet too shall be weak with him, which is the hope that promises him good things to be in the time to come, and strengthens him to do such things.

Hos. 4:5–6. I have likened your mother to night; my people are made like, as having no knowledge. The mother of the people is the Synagogue, which, because she is held fast by the gloom of ignorance, and has not received even a brief gleam of the knowledge of God, is likened to night; wherefore also the people born of her, being like the mother, was made like to her as well, as having no knowledge. And the Hebrews of the present day too, sitting beside the shadow of the Law, are with reason likened to night, especially since they have also slain the true Light. And since our mother is disobedience, according to the conception in sins, God, doing us good, likened her to night, and gave us to behold her formless, and without beauty, and unshapely; but we, as being made like those who have no knowledge, do not see her as night, but run to her as to one shining and most fair.

Hos. 4:6. Because you have thrust away knowledge, I also will thrust you away, that you minister not as priest to me; and you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. First you, he says, thrust away the knowledge of my statutes and commandments; and so thereafter I will thrust you away, that you minister not as priest to me—that is, that henceforth no priest be put forward from the nation, neither be there priesthood among you; for not all the people exercise the priesthood. And more cuttingly he said, I will forget your children, that he might the more grieve them. For we do not so much care for ourselves as for our own children. Of the things dearest to you, then, he says, I will be forgetful. Where now is priesthood among the Hebrews, who thrust away Christ, who is knowledge, as was said above? Since they forgot also the law of God, which says, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up for you; and that, You shall see your life hanging before your eyes, and you shall not believe; therefore, he says, I will forget your children, forsaking them, so that they are circumcised in the flesh, and not sealed with the true seal of baptism. And everywhere knowledge is sought, even in the practical life, that we may not fall, as upon a good, into the worse, fasting like the abstainers, or fleeing marriage. For thus, even if we should seem to bring forth many good deeds, the Lord will forget them, as not done according to his law. For no one is crowned, unless he contend lawfully.

Hos. 4:7. According to their multitude, so did they sin against me. I cannot, he says, find a measure or a number of the things sinned by them; whence, having no other measure, I say that, just as they themselves are without number, like the stars of heaven and like the sand of the sea, so also the things wherein they sinned against me are without number; and at the same time he sets forth their thanklessness, that, having been so benefited by me and become so many, they did not remember the benefit, but multiplied their sins against me equal in measure to their own multitude; so that I find neither woman, nor child, nor old man well-pleasing to me. So also those who seized the Lord came upon him according to their multitude. And in the soul too, whenever the passions, having thrust away the oversight of the one ruler, become a multitude, then we sin against God.

Hos. 4:7. Their glory I will set for dishonor. They themselves, he says, have for glory their multiplying; but I, having consumed them through the war, will make them few, and herein they shall be brought round to dishonor. Or, that Now, doing the evils, they boast in them; there shall be, then, a time when they shall recognize the works of dishonor, and shall be ashamed of them. Their glory was dishonored, in that, being sons of the kingdom, they were cast forth outside; and the circumcision once glorious among them is now without honor and inglorious. But also, whenever a man, having received some gift from God—such as wealth or eloquence—uses it ill, God forsakes him, and these things turn to dishonor for them. So he gave over the wise Greeks to a reprobate mind, forsaking them; so the rich man is more dreadfully fried in Gehenna because of his wealth; and the kings of the Hebrews who were carried captive had their glory and their wealth turned to the greater dishonor. For it is not the same thing that one born in poverty should be led away captive, and one born and bred in palaces, and who has reigned.

Hos. 4:8. They shall eat the sins of my people, and in their iniquities shall they receive their souls; and it shall be, as the people, so also the priest. Having accused the people, he passes to the priestly race, saying that they eat the things offered for the sins of the people; for these he calls sins; and reaping so much from the people, they did not in their iniquities reprove them as doing wickedly, but themselves took upon them their souls, saying, Upon us be the judgment; like those who said to Pilate, His blood be upon us. What, then, will come of this? That the priest shall be as the people, as consenting to the things done by them. Behold, then, their glory—that is, the glorious race of the priests—has become dishonor. But some understood the words, They shall receive their souls, thus: The priests, eating the things offered for the sin of the people, took their own souls in the stead of the sinners, so as to offer these to God as sacrifices. For the priest, being a mediator of God and men, offers his own soul to God, having taken it; just as the Lord too laid down his own soul for us. But nevertheless, he says, though appointed to this very thing, to become a sacrifice to God, they did not show this forth, but became as the people. All these things are spoken with reference to every priest and ruler, together with the threat that follows, which hear.

Hos. 4:9. And I will avenge upon them their ways, and will recompense to him his counsels. Naming the deeds “ways,” he says that I will bring upon them all the penalty and the punishment for their deeds. And not only will I avenge the deeds, but also his counsels—that is, the people’s; for we render penalties not only for deeds, but also for unseemly reasonings. He avenged also the ways of the God-slaying people—that is, the assaults which they made against Christ, and the counsels which they framed against him. One travels upon a sin, but not from deliberation, rather by being carried away; he is simply chastised. But whenever the way has counsel also—that is, when the evil receives establishment from deliberation—then the vengeance is double.

Hos. 4:10. And they shall eat, and shall by no means be filled. That is, Continuous and successive evils will I bring upon them. For just as the insatiable, eating, are not satisfied, so also they shall eat the fruits of their deeds—that is, the punishments—and, as though they had not eaten nor been punished, so shall they summon yet others. The teachers of the Hebrews of the present day too seem to nourish their souls by reading the Law; but it is not so; for they hunger, and are not filled, because they took away from themselves the bread that came down from heaven, Christ. And he who commits sin is not filled, because the pleasure is passing and temporary.

Hos. 4:10–11. They played the harlot, and shall by no means prosper, because they forsook the Lord, so as to keep harlotry; and the heart of my people received wine and strong drink. Two things he charges against the people: one, that they played the harlot, having rolled away from him into idolatry, and that to such a degree as to keep this harlotry, and to abide in it unchangeably; the other, that they gave themselves over to drunkenness—that is, they poured themselves out into every luxury. And these things are said also concerning the Jews, whether those of that time, or those after Christ, that they themselves, being teachers, kept the harlotry of the people. For though they ought to uproot it and to make it vanish, they preserved it, confirming it by their teachings; wherefore, And the heart of the people received wine and strong drink—that is, their teaching, which makes them frenzied and out of their minds. And observe, that as soon as a man plays the harlot from God, he does not prosper. For virtue, being a mean, is a kind of straight thing; but vice has crookednesses, being seen in excesses and deficiencies; since God too is straight, but the dragon is crooked. For he will bring, it says, the sword upon the dragon, the crooked serpent. And every passion, being a thing that drives out reasoning, is said to produce drunkenness. Drunkenness is temper; drunkenness is grief; drunkenness is love of wealth, which makes one heavy-headed and bowed down; for such a man fears all men. And the lover of glory is of this kind too, and shudders at the reproach of even the most worthless person. Let not our heart, then, receive such strong drink, admitting it gladly to itself; for such a thing seems to be the word, “received.”

They inquired by tokens. The priests, he says, who ought to make the people apt for piety toward God, these, professing divinations, whenever a man came to them to inquire concerning his own affairs, questioned the demons by tokens—that is, by certain signs. For either they used the flights of birds as tokens of the future, or the rising of the smoke of the things sacrificed—how it ascended, whether sideways or straight up. And they examined also the entrails of the victims, and by their colors, or by their shapes and dispositions, thought to conjecture and to understand whatever they wished.

Hos. 4:12. And by his rods they reported to him. To whom? To the people. For setting up two rods, they muttered certain incantations underneath; then, the rods falling by demonic operations, they examined how, or where, each fell—whether forward or backward, to the right or to the left; and thus they answered the foolish, using the fallings of the rods as tokens. So also Nebuchadnezzar divined, as Ezekiel says.

Hos. 4:12–13. For by a spirit of harlotry they were led astray, and went a-whoring from their God; upon the tops of the mountains they sacrificed, and upon the hills they offered, under oak and white poplar and shady tree, because the shelter was good. These things, he says, which I have told, they did, because they had a great impulse toward harlotry, or idolatry, or even toward the passion itself. By “spirit” here he means eagerness; or else, since over each of the sins a certain demon exults, they were set ablaze toward this harlotry—understood in both senses—by a spirit of a demon; and, taking delight, through softness and effeminacy, in the thick-foliaged trees that afforded a fair shelter, they sacrificed to them from the shade. For the Greeks too laid it down as a doctrine that certain trees were proper to certain gods—as the oaks to the nymphs, the laurel to Apollo, to Aphrodite the rose and the myrtle, and others to others. And they went up to the tops of the mountains, as there being the greatest and most shady trees; and perhaps too because there the diviners more readily met with the demons. And see how those men, through love of pleasure and luxury, departed from God. With reason, then, did Paul say that the lovers of pleasure are not lovers of God; so that it is ever good to be sober and to live without excess. And if our base deeds too are called “wood” by the Apostle, he who comes under each base deed and is enslaved to it, is himself also led astray by a spirit of harlotry, going a-whoring away from the deed that befits him and is naturally fitted to him, to the deed that befits not and is against nature; for every sin is against nature. And we are enslaved to such things, as having a shadow of the good; for this is what leads us astray. And if mountains and hills are the opposing powers, both the greater and the lesser, by reason of the swollen mind, consider that, whenever the wicked reasonings are brought to a peak in us, then we set our hands to the deeds.

Hos. 4:13–14. Therefore your daughters shall play the harlot, and your brides shall commit adultery; and I will by no means visit your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides when they commit adultery. Your daughters, he says, being made captives, and the wives of your children—namely, your brides—shall be exposed to outrages by those who take them captive, and I will not visit them—that is, I will forsake them, and permit them to suffer these things. But God visits sinners in another way also, whenever he has mercy on them, hindering their impulse toward evil, and chastening them with chastisement, according to that, I will visit their iniquities with a rod, but my mercy I will not scatter away from them. For whom the Lord loves he chastens, as a son; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? Because they themselves mingled with harlots. By “harlots” he here means properly the priestesses of Baal-Peor. This was an idol, the one called among the Greeks Priapus, who himself too presided over licentiousness, which he showed also by his figure. And the women who served so shameful an abomination were altogether harlots. And with the initiated they sacrificed. “Initiated” he calls the hierophants of such an idol, those initiated into the secret rites among them, as being already more perfect; who, seeming to be men, were womanish, and, using cymbals and womanish wailings, went about the circuits, performing the mysteries of Baal-Peor. They sacrificed, then, he says, to this shameful idol, using as teachers the aforesaid initiated. So long, then, as a man only reasons upon the sin, he does not yet sacrifice with the initiated; but when he completes it through the deed, then he is said to sacrifice with those initiated by him. They sacrificed the Lord in themselves, with the initiated—that is, with the more perfect of the priests and high priests. And the people that understood was entangled with a harlot. The things already said he spoke concerning the ten tribes, which were also named Israel; but this he now says concerning the two—I mean the kingdom of Judah—that these too, seeming to have the knowledge of God, as reigning in Jerusalem, the city of God, yet sacrificed to the idol of Astarte, that is, of Aphrodite. For this one he called a harlot. For her image too stood naked, and from the very sight of it was harlot-like and abominable. And Solomon set up an idol to Astarte, gratifying his wife. A harlot, as given to idolatry, was the band which the people that understood—that is, those about Annas and Caiaphas—took to themselves as accomplices, in order to seize the Lord. And he that understands in us—that is, the mind—whenever, having dissolved his own kingdom, he sets up the mob-rule of the passions, becomes a “people”; then indeed it is entangled with the harlot, perception, not taking her to itself, but being taken by her.

Hos. 4:15. But you, Israel, be not ignorant; and Judah, enter not into Gilgal. Here he discourses to the twelve tribes in common; and since Israel—that is, the ten tribes—was sick with senselessness, being utterly given over to idols, he says to him: Be not ignorant; instead of, Take knowledge, lay aside your folly. But to Judah he said no such thing. For these too seemed to have the knowledge of God, yet they secretly sacrificed to those that are no gods. He says, then, to this one: Enter not into Gilgal. Now this was a city given over to idolatry in a special degree, in which Joshua circumcised the uncircumcised with knives of stone, and laid up there the twelve stones taken from the Jordan, that they might be a memorial of that wonderful benefit. Exceedingly unseemly, then, it was that that city, in which so many tokens of the divine benefit were laid up, should be made the metropolis of impiety, by going up into it and sacrificing to idols. These things are enjoined also upon the God-slayers: Be not ignorant of the Savior who came in the flesh for the benefit of human nature, you who are called Israel; for you are named “God-beholding”; think worthily of the name. And you too, O Judah, named from confession, go not into the ancestral wallowing-place, and to the precipice down which your fathers were borne, slaying the prophets and stoning those that were sent; but even if you have sinned somewhat, plotting against the Savior, by repentance and confession heal this; for Gilgal is interpreted “a wallowing.” And he that has been enlightened, and has seen the divine mysteries, is admonished not to be ignorant of the grace which he has obtained, but to make haste, through a good life, to preserve it; and he that through confession has received remission of his former sins, not to enter again into the downward and precipitous sin, running of his own will into its inmost and most perilous parts.

Hos. 4:15. And go not up to the house of iniquity, and swear not by the living Lord. By “house of iniquity” he means Bethel, in which Jeroboam set up the one heifer, having set the other in Dan. These were idols of Apis, the Egyptian ox; and the manifold idolatry Jeroboam learned from Egypt. Now Bethel is interpreted “house of God.” Unjust, then, and thankless toward their benefactor were they who dedicated his house to the idol. As for the words, Swear not by the living Lord, some understood them thus: that We ought not, making the true God our oath, to go up into the house of the idol; which Paul too says: You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. But others swore by the idol itself as the living Lord. The Israelite tribe too was a house of God, according to that, I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God; but it became a house of self-iniquity—of the devil, I mean—since it thrust away Christ, who was made for us righteousness from God; and it wronged both itself and the truth, which it slew, not confessing its glory. For these men swear by the living Lord, thinking to honor the Father. They are deceived; for the Lord they themselves showed to be dead, even if he lives by the power of God. And whenever a man keeps the commandments of the Son, the Son himself and the Father come to him, and make their abode with him. The soul, then—such a house—must not become a house of iniquity, through love of wealth oppressing the lowlier. And let the saying, Swear not by the living Lord, edify us when taken also simply thus, leading us away from the oath, and all but saying that other word: But I say to you, Let the Yea be yea, and the Nay nay.

Hos. 4:16. For as a heifer stung to frenzy Israel was driven mad; now the Lord shall feed them like a lamb in a wide place. The gadfly is a certain small fly, which, whenever it stings a heifer, so maddens her that she runs up and down, and is sometimes carried over a precipice. He says, then, that the ten tribes are like a heifer goaded to frenzy, and carried over a precipice, because they received the gadfly of idolatry; but the Lord, having given them over into captivity, shall feed them—that is, shall shepherd them—no longer as an unsubdued thing, but as a most gentle lamb; for the captivity shall humble him. And by “wide place” he names the land of the Persians and Medes, in which, wandering as captives, exchanging now one master, now another, they suffered. This the Hebrews too suffer in the present dispersion, removing from place to place, because they raged against Christ like a heifer; for they did not receive the yoke of the Gospel, being carried by the gadfly of envy toward the precipice of God-slaying. And if a soul, ever borne disorderly by some passion, as by a gadfly, slips down into the precipice of sin, let it pray that the Lord may shepherd it, as a lamb that does not strive, nor cry out, nor have a will of its own, according to that, I became like a beast before you, and I am continually with you; but living according to his commandments. For thus it shall be also in a wide place, according to him who says, Your commandment is exceeding broad. For in truth he has rest who lives according to the commandments. Learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.

Hos. 4:17–18. Ephraim, a partner of idols, has set for himself stumbling-blocks; he has chosen Canaanites; playing the harlot they went a-whoring, they loved dishonor from their insolence. He seems still to be speaking to Judah, that Ephraim became a partner of the idols, having worshiped the heifers, which became to him stumbling-blocks and snares of the soul. And not only this, but he also emulated the Canaanites, serving their idol, Baal-Peor, and preferred to me this dishonor; for it is in truth a dishonor that reasonable men should serve such things. And this dishonor he got from despising me, and from being insolent against my honor. Were not such, then, also those who used the gentile and idolatrous commanders as accomplices and partners in the impiety of slaying Christ?—who also set stumbling-blocks for him, namely for Christ, and loved his dishonor, crucifying him as a transgressor. And these things they did out of insolence, as David too says: Why did the nations rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? So also among all men those who are insolent gain dishonor. For it is said, Everyone that is high-hearted is unclean before the Lord; and, Everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled. And he that loves to dishonor and to abominate his neighbors, and suffers this out of insolence, let him see with whom he is ranked—with the partners of the idols, and the rest of the things here testified.

Hos. 4:19. A whirlwind of spirit shall whistle in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. Just as, he says, the birds by the motion of their wings cleave the air with a certain rushing and sound, so also she—namely, the Synagogue of the ten tribes under the kingdom of Ephraim—as though winged, shall be carried captive into the foreign land, my wrath thrusting her there, and dragging her as by a whirlwind of spirit. And she shall endure this shame of the captivity because of her sacrificing to the idols. But if the Scripture stands thus, “A whirlwind of spirit, you are in her wings,” it is to be understood that God speaks to Judah, that You, O Judah, became the cause of idolatry to the kingdom of the ten tribes. For seeing you given to idolatry—you so learned in the Law, you who waited upon the temple—she too ran the more keenly to idolatry. For she had wings moving toward the idols; but you also, like a whirlwind of spirit, breathed upon her wings and made them more nimble. So also the teachers of the Jews made the proselytes who looked to them sons of Gehenna; which must be guarded against, since, according to the word of the Lord, Whoever shall offend one of these little ones, it is profitable that a millstone be hanged about his neck. The whole Synagogue too has wings, the Law and the prophets, by which she was lifted up to the heavenly height of knowledge and of upright life. In these wings, then, the Spirit shall whistle—that is, shall sound and speak audibly—gathering up the letter into a whirlwind and persuading that it be understood spiritually. Whence they themselves, not receiving this Spirit, shall be ashamed, having fallen away even from their sacrifices. The soul too has two wings, the natural law and the taught law, by which, being moved toward the good, it is led up toward heaven. But the wing of the Spirit also must ever be present; for if at any time it is wanting to her, she becomes the more nimble in bowing down to the passions, and shall now be ashamed because of them.

Chapter 5

Hos. 5:1. Hear these things, you priests; and attend, O house of Israel; and give ear, O house of the king. Since, having gone before, he accused both the people and those false priests, and the royal tribe through Ephraim, now again he wakes them all up, as it were sleeping, and rouses them to hear. And since the priests are required to be more understanding than the rest, for these it is enough merely to say, Hear; but for the house of Israel—that is, the people—it is needful to attend. For if the common man does not greatly set his mind upon the things said, he will understand nothing of what is said. And to the house of the king—I mean the kings and those about them—he enjoins to give ear, which signifies something more than to hear.

Hos. 5:1. Because the judgment is against you, for you became a snare to the watch-post, and as a net stretched out upon Itabyrion, which those who hunt the prey have fixed. Against you all, he says, is the judgment—that is, This trial and reproof, which I now make. And what is the judgment? That to my prophets you all became a snare, and plot against them. For by “watch-post” he called the guard and order of the prophets. For they were as it were certain watchmen, announcing beforehand to the people the things coming upon them, as also to Ezekiel. And just as hunters set their nets upon Itabyrion (and this is a mountain of Galilee, high and thickly wooded, and therefore affording game of every kind to the hunters), so also you, setting your plots against the prophets, slaughter them. And it may be understood thus also, that You, the priests and kings and the leaders of the people, having been set by me upon a watch-post, and stationed in a high degree, so as to announce to the people what they ought to do, became rather a snare, accomplishing their destruction. For the priests were servants of idols, and the kings and the rulers magnificently and richly sacrificed to the abominations, by which the people were corrupted. These things will fit also the high priests, Pharisees, and Scribes who slew Christ, and king Herod; who became a snare to the watch-post—that is, to the lofty Christ, upon whom he that stands sees both more and better than the rest. Or did they not even attempt to ensnare him in words, and at last fix for him the snare of the cross, and spread out their manifold slanders and false witnessings like nets? And a teacher too, appointed to be such, and being in a high degree, if he have a blameworthy life or crooked doctrines, becomes a snare to those who look to him, standing upon the watch-post; and a net—not such as the disciples of Christ and the fishermen had, woven of wonders, but such as the demons, who ever hunt the soul’s prey, have fixed. Let us hear, we who destroy souls, whose net we are, and that it is not God’s, even though we stand upon the watch-post.

Hos. 5:2–3. But I am your instructor; I knew Ephraim, and Israel I have not put away from me. Because now Ephraim has played the harlot, Israel is defiled. Since, he says, you have become such, I will bring upon you instruction, namely that of the captivity, and upon all the people, whom he signified by “Israel.” For I knew their works, in that I did not even put them away from me, so as to be far from them and not to behold them, but I am a God that draws near. But perhaps, since all instruction of the Lord comes from love, according to Solomon, the word “I knew” stands here for “I loved,” so that God says: I instruct them, because I loved Ephraim, and Israel I have not put away from me. For even if he play the harlot into idolatry, yet not even so have I thrust him away, but I am with him. And these things accord with what was said at the beginning to the prophet, when he was commanded to take the harlot. Who will not love such an overseer, instructing not in temper, but in love? These things are a lesson too for every ruler, not to chastise toward anger, but toward instruction and profit.

Hos. 5:4. They gave not their counsels to turn back to their God; because a spirit of harlotry is in them. But the Lord they knew not. By these things their wickedness is shown to be voluntary and of their own will. For they gave not, he says, their reasonings at all to the true knowledge of God, because they received in themselves the spirit of harlotry, both the idolatrous and the bodily, and on this account they knew not the Lord. For what fellowship has light with darkness? How can one serve two masters? So also in souls it is not possible that almsgiving and love of wealth dwell together, or luxury and chastity, or temper and lowliness of mind, or truth and the pleasing of men.

Hos. 5:5. And the pride of Israel shall be humbled before his face. By “pride” he means the contempt of God, and the apostasy from him, which became more moderate when they were carried captive, than the arrogance which they had while they flourished in good things. Plainly, then, he says, they shall see what manner of thing is the fruit of impiety and of arrogance. For this is what “before his face” signifies. And the pride of Israel is in another sense idolatry; for to that very man, being reasonable, it is the greatest insult and disgrace to serve pieces of wood. Humbled too was the pride of the God-slayers against Christ. And since the face above all becomes the stamp and the token, the humbling looked to what was most recognizable to them—to the Law, I mean, and the circumcision. For the Law was their most peculiar stamp. For he made known, it says, his ordinances and his judgments to Israel; he did not so to every nation. And the circumcision was a seal to them and a mark. And to a soul that uses the divine goods insolently, humbling is profitable, especially if it come before its face—that is, if it discern the cause of the humbling, and, taking perception, recognize it.

Hos. 5:5. And Israel and Ephraim shall be weak in their iniquities, and Judah too shall be weak with them. Both in the war, growing weak, they shall be defeated, and in the time of the captivity, they shall be as weak slaves. But the kingdom of Judah too shall be weak together with them. For the kings of Syria and the Babylonians took down many of their cities also, after the ten tribes in Samaria had been enslaved; wherefore afterward he made mention of Judah. And why shall both suffer these things? For their iniquities, both those by which they wronged one another, and those by which they wronged God, ascribing to others the honor that belongs to him by nature. He, then, who has not the Lord is weak; for David says, My strength and my song is the Lord; and Paul, I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. For Christ is the power of God, and without him we can do nothing.

Hos. 5:6. With sheep and calves they shall go to seek the Lord, and shall by no means find him; he has turned aside from them, because they forsook the Lord. When they are in dire straits, he says, they shall attempt by sacrifices to propitiate me, but they shall not find me; for I have turned aside from them; and the cause is that they themselves first forsook me. And why, when they sacrificed, did the Lord not appear to them? Either because they did not do it from the whole soul, but coldly and for the occasion; whereas the Law commands to love God from the whole heart, and from the whole soul, and from the whole mind; or because they went forth to the false gods as to the Lord, but the one who is truly Lord was not found by them—even as they called the idol too the living Lord. And mark the indication of two persons. For he has turned aside from them, he says—the Lord—because they forsook the Lord. And if the Spirit speaks these things in the prophet, behold the third person also. And observe that he has already brought to an end the legal sacrifices; for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. For by faith alone and by baptism is the Lord found, who forgives sins. But also to the soul that seeks the Lord with foolishness, which the sheep set forth, he is not found. For be, he says, wise as the serpents; and, Walk in wisdom. But neither is he found with bodily strength, which the race of oxen indicates. For the power of God is perfected in weakness; and, By so much as the outward man is corrupted, by so much is the inward renewed.

Hos. 5:7. Because strange children were born to them, and now the blight shall devour them, and their portions. The Law forbade the taking of a foreign wife: Lest, it says, she turn away your son from me, and he go and serve other gods; which Solomon also suffered. But they took foreign wives, and fathered children of them. Or by “strange children” he means those born of the Israelite women themselves. For these, he says, are not mine, nor were they dedicated to me, but to the idols. Strangers, therefore, they are. And by “blight” he means the harm that befalls from the dew of the air; or perhaps the Assyrian multitude, which, after the manner of a blight, both destroyed the men and laid waste and devoured their portions—that is, their inheritances. And with reason, having made mention of children, he made mention also of portions, all but saying this: since the children are strangers, with reason are they not worthy even of portions. And he said “now,” to signify that these things would be at no long distance. And the slayers of Christ too were strange children. For if you were children, he says, of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham; therefore the army of the Romans too was let loose upon them from above and from heaven, like the blight, and destroyed both them and their portions—that is, all the lands which Joshua the son of Nun apportioned to them; or even their priestly and high-priestly dignities. And whenever in the soul too there are born children estranged from God, and strangers to the covenants, to whom God might say, Strange children lied to me; and these are either godless doctrines or lawless deeds, then the blight devours the soul that is mother of such things—the disposition that comes to be in her from the ruler of the power of the air, who works in the sons of disobedience; and not her alone, but also her portions. For she is deprived of the mansions in the heavens, which she was to inherit, through each virtue toward each.

Hos. 5:8. Sound the trumpet upon the hills, sacrifice upon the high places, proclaim in the house of On. Having said above that Now the blight shall devour, and having shown by the word “now” that the dread things would speedily be set upon them, he now mocks the weakness of the idols, saying: Since you sacrificed upon the hills and upon the high places in Bethel (which he named the house of On, that is, of the unprofitable; for what the Seventy called “On,” the other translators rendered “unprofitable.” And there was an idol of a heifer in Bethel)—call upon the help of the gods served in these places, and use the warlike trumpets and the war-cries from the high places, making your strongholds against the enemies the very places in which you sacrificed, and having with you the help of the gods that receive the sacrifices.

Hos. 5:8–9. Benjamin was amazed, Ephraim became a desolation. By “Benjamin” he means the kingdom of the two tribes, which in many places he calls Judah; for at one time from Judah, at another from Benjamin, he names the whole by synecdoche. He says, then, that those in Jerusalem too were “beside themselves”—that is, were taken out of the midst, perished, as having themselves also acted impiously. For they too sacrificed to Astarte in the high places, and worshiped the sun, as Ezekiel says; whence some thought it was called the house of On—that is, of the sun.

Hos. 5:9. In the day of reproof, among your tribes, O Israel, I have shown faithful things. The things, he says, which I told them through the prophets, by the deeds I will show faithful to all the tribes, in the days in which I reprove their transgressions, chastening them; for “I have shown” stands for “I will show,” as “They pierced my hands and my feet” stands for “They will pierce.” And the Scripture uses the verbs thus, to show that to God nothing is future, but he anticipates all things by his foreknowledge and his predestination; and at the same time, to assure us that the things spoken will certainly come to pass. And just as it is impossible that the things already come to pass should not have come to pass, so it is impossible that these things too should not happen, which are spoken of as already come to pass. I showed faithful things also in the days of the cross and of the resurrection, having shaken the creation, and thereby reproving those men, but giving assurance of my own Godhead. Benjamin is interpreted “son of pain”; for Rachel, in bearing him, having travailed hard and being at the point of death, called him “Son of my pain”; but the father named him Benjamin. And every sinner is a son of pain: if he look toward repentance, being here in pain and mourning; but if he depart impenitent, being liable to the everlasting pains. And such a man, even when he sins, is said to be amazed, or beside himself; for sin is a being-out of what is according to nature, and otherwise comes from folly. Whence David too at one time says, from the person of folly, that his wounds stank against him, and at another, I said in my amazement: I am cast away from before your eyes. And when he repents, he stands utterly outside his wonted way. And if Ephraim is interpreted “increase,” let him that increases in wickedness see lest he become a desolation. When? When, in the days of reproof—that is, of the last judgment—he shall sit with his twelve disciples, who judge the twelve tribes of Israel, showing his Godhead faithful. For then they shall see whom they pierced, and shall know that he was no mere man.

Hos. 5:10. The rulers of Judah became as those who remove the boundaries; upon them I will pour out my onset like water. That is, They so transferred my laws, as those who remove the landmarks in the fields, by which the lot of each is recognized, and thus they carried over the honor owed to me to the idols; or else he slanders them as covetous. Wherefore he says: So will I rush upon them, like a rushing water, and like some torrent roughened by many rains and snows, and borne along with an irresistible onset. The boundaries are removed also by those of the Hebrews who misinterpret the Law, and yet contend to hold it fast. For until John the keeping of it was bounded. Wherefore the wrath of God, poured out upon them like water, scattered them. And whenever a man, being a ruler of Judah, and having confessed and promised and determined to attend no more to the same things, removes such boundaries, and turns back, as a dog to his own vomit, the wrath of God is poured upon such a man all at once, even as the water of the Red Sea upon Pharaoh, who often lied, and was preserved according to his impenitent heart for the showing of the power of God; for God is not mocked.

Hos. 5:11. Ephraim overpowered his adversary, and trampled judgment, because he began to walk after vanities. Having spoken concerning the rulers of Judah, that they removed boundaries, and having slandered them both as impious and as covetous, he brings the same charges against Ephraim too. For he slanders him as unjust, and as trampling judgment—that is, the right—out of mere power, and neither himself judging what is fitting, nor following others who judge. And the cause of this is his relation to the idols and his following after them. For vain are the idols, he says; whereas, if he reverenced me, he would keep my laws, in which the right is enacted. And these things might be understood otherwise: Judah, he says, did not once for all turn aside from the Law. For there were among them those who blamed the idolaters, and groaned over the lawless deeds, as Ezekiel testifies; but Ephraim, he says, won the most complete and evil victory; for he overpowered, as it were a kind of enemy, my Law, which he hated. And expounding it more plainly, he said this: He trampled judgment—that is, He took no thought of lawful righteousness, because he loved the idols. These things will fit also those who raged against Christ, who, having him for an adversary, as one who both spoke and did things contrary to them, overpowered him, trampling the judgment upon him—Pilate having judged to release him; for they followed their vain teachers. And if all things are vanity of vanities, as the Preacher said, the beginning of covetousness and injustice is to walk after the goods of the world, and to have them for a party-wall, not suffering one to see the things before and the things to come.

Hos. 5:12. And I am as a tumult to Ephraim, and as a goad to the house of Judah. Since the kingdom of Ephraim perished first, both by the Syrians and the Babylonians, and that of Judah later: To Ephraim, he says, I will be a tumult, troubling him plainly, as when the war is already upon him; but to Judah I will be a goad. For seeing those perishing, he too was in no small anguish, and was smitten with the goads of cares, expecting that he himself would suffer the same things. And Christ too is neither a tumult nor a goad, but as a tumult and as a goad. For peace, he says, I proclaim, and I heal diseases. But they are goaded and troubled by envy, saying, Behold, the world is gone after him. And whenever, sinning, we run smoothly on and say, Peace and safety, or by our reasonings plead for the evil that is done, God, in his love for mankind caring for us, either troubles our smooth running in our wicked ways, or shakes our reasonings, casting in the goad of the remembrance of death and of the punishments after death.

Hos. 5:13. And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his pain. From the very experience, he says, Ephraim learned his own weakness, and how his strength sickened, and Judah the multitude of his pains.

Hos. 5:13. And Ephraim went to the Assyrians. For when Pul, king of the Assyrians, came up against the ten tribes, they came to him, and both by money and by embassy made him their ally.

Hos. 5:13. And he sent ambassadors to king Jarim. When the Assyrians came up again (for they kept transgressing the treaties), they sent to the king of the Egyptians, whom he calls Jarim, not as being so named, but since Jarim signifies “avenger”; for they called upon him, as one who would avenge them. And that he speaks concerning the king of the Egyptians, he will show in what follows.[1]

Hos. 5:13. And he could not deliver you, and the pain shall by no means cease from you. You called upon Egypt as an avenger; but he himself was proved weak, and from that time more pains came upon you, as upon men who had utterly despaired of salvation. And everyone who has offended God has one ally—to be reconciled to him; since all else is unprofitable to him, even though he spend himself in giving gifts to human helpers, even though he run beneath them; and the pain shall not cease from him: the one, in that he is in anguish over the things he suffers; and this too over the expenses which he poured out in vain. And you will aptly say that this was spoken also concerning the God-slayers, who called upon Julian as an avenger; and he was the same as the great mind of the Assyrians, that he might raise up their city again; but neither was he able to profit them, and the pain ceased not from them.

Hos. 5:14. I am as a panther to Ephraim, and as a lion to Judah. By the panther he shows that the dread things will be set upon them swiftly and sharply; for swift and light is the panther. And by the lion, that they will be great and fearful; for such is the lion. So also the Romans were set upon the Jews swiftly (for it was a little while after the crucifixion) and fearfully; for they made all things vanish. And to the soul that increases in wickedness, the word becomes a panther, swiftly making spoil of her, according to that which is said, Call his name, Spoil-quickly. And this comes to pass whenever it pulls down the reasonings in us that advocate sin, and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God; but to Judah—that is, to him that makes confession—it becomes a lion by reason of his kingliness, now laying down laws for him, according to what is said by David, He shall lay down for him a law in the way that he has chosen; and, Lay down for me, O Lord, the way of your ordinances, and I will seek it out continually; or else as strengthening him, so that, having turned aside from evil, he may yet do good.

Hos. 5:14. And I will seize, and will go away as a panther. For being light, it seizes and flees.

Hos. 5:14. And I will take, and there is none that delivers. But this is the lion, by reason of the strength of his claws, and his unwearied power.

Hos. 5:15. And I will go and return to my place, until they be brought to nothing. Just as, he says, the wild beasts, after hunting something, return to their own dens, resting from the toil of the chase, so also I, he says, will go away by myself, keeping still, and not at the first making manifest my providence concerning you, as if I were at leisure, until you be brought to nothing. For God is present to the worthy, as he says also to Joshua the son of Nun, As I was with Moses, so will I be also with you; and, Behold, I am with you all the days; and, God is with us. But he is absent from the unworthy; as that, Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off? and, Come to help us; and the like. And, He that bound the strong one snatched us who were held under him. And no one was able to take us out of his holy and mighty hand; as he says also in the Gospel, that My sheep no one seizes out of my hand. And he took the first-fruits of our nature, and went up on high into his own place, where he was before, into the bosom of the Father; and immediately all the things of the legal polity vanished away. Have you not seen also in us oftentimes God snatching away the materials of our sins? A man having wealth, and being lifted up by it against the poorer, lost it; using strength and beauty ill, he sickened and withered; lifted up by honor to senselessness, he fell into dishonor. Having done thus, then, God goes and moves well, having before had no entrance into such a soul, and returns to his own place. And the place of God is the mind of the reasonable man, which, by being cleansed from the things that distract, becomes worthy of the divine reception, until the complete bringing-to-nothing of the human reasonings.

[1] Translator’s note: The name Ἰαρείμ is rendered “king Jarim” here; LXX ms. variants read Ἰαριμ or Ἰαρεὶμ. Theophylact identifies this king with Egypt, differing from some modern LXX/MT readings which refer to “king Jareb” (MT). The LXX↔MT divergence for Hos 5:13 is uncertain; bibleref follows MT versification per spec.

Chapter 6

Hos. 5:15–6:1. And they will seek my face in their affliction, and will rise early to me, saying: Let us go, and let us return to the Lord our God. As in the case of bodily ailments those who are not healed by the milder remedies have need of the harsher ones, so also among men, as many as are not led to repentance by the kindness of God, being disciplined by the harsher means, come to recognize what is needful; just as these too, who in the enjoyment of good things did not seek out the face of God—that is, his oversight, and his visiting and watching over them—in the deprivation of good things and in their afflictions seek him out as guardian and overseer, and rise early to him, which stands for, they will make haste; or else, that as though awakened from a kind of night, from the darkness of their former ignorance, they turn to me.

Hos. 6:1. Because he himself has smitten, and will heal us. Some of the books have “He has seized,” and perhaps not amiss; for he said above, “I seize away.” He himself, he says, has seized, or he himself has smitten; he himself will also heal; for when God seizes or smites, there is no other physician. Thus in affliction they remembered God. And understand these things also concerning those of the Hebrews who were afterward to believe in Christ. For these, in the affliction and the long captivity, will seek out, he says, the face—that is, the Son. For he is the express image of the Father’s substance; and as they turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away which lies upon their heart. And in the case of each individual you will find this also—that men turn rather in afflictions to the Lord, who smites our sensible and bodily parts, and heals our souls.

Hos. 6:2. He will smite and bind us up; he will sanctify us after two days; on the third day we shall rise, and shall live before him, and shall know.[1] According to the obvious sense he says this: that God needs no period of time for healing, but will furnish health all at once. Yet he hints also at the mystery concerning our nature. For he smote our nature with death; for, as we sinned, he delivered us over to death; but into our smitten nature he inserted his own Son, like a kind of lint-dressing, who, having come to be in the wound of death, healed us, and raised us on the third day. For the nature he assumed, which he took from us, by raising it he bestowed the resurrection upon us all as well, which we shall have in their own due seasons, and we shall live. For since one died for all, the same one also rose for all, and we shall live, not being far from him, but beholding his face, and then we shall have the more perfect knowledge. For now, he says, I see through a mirror, and in an enigma; but then I shall know fully, even as also I was fully known. The blameworthy temper too is smitten in the soul, and blameworthy desire, that they may not rage to no purpose, but may have reason, like a kind of lint, filling up their emptiness. We are sanctified, then, in the practical life, when these two passions belong not to the works of darkness, but to those of the light and of the day; so that it may be said of us also: So then we are not of night, but of day. And we rise on the third day, when, that is, the third part of the soul is illumined—the rational part, through contemplation; for then we shall also live before God himself, that is, beholding him face to face. And we shall know.

Hos. 6:3. We shall pursue the knowledge of the Lord; we shall find him ready as the dawn. Diligently, he says, and more eagerly we shall seek after him. For just as the dawn dissolves the gloom of night, so also he will readily and swiftly furnish the rays of his own providence, and will deliver us from the night of afflictions.

Hos. 6:3. And he will come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth. The earth needs the early rain, so that, having put forth what was sown, it may also have richness, so as to nourish it; and the latter rain especially, lest the plants, once grown, be dried up, when they need more moisture for nourishment, inasmuch as they are then putting forth their fruits also. So to us also, he says, God will come both as an early rain, when he begins to free us from captivity, and as a latter rain, when, having restored us in our homeland, he tends us and cares for us. And Christ too, after the resurrection, manifested himself in the morning to the women, and in the evening, when the doors were shut, to the disciples. And to each soul there comes an early rain, when he reveals the knowledge of the Old Covenant, which rose at the beginning of the knowledge of God; and a latter rain, when he gives the understanding of the Gospel, which shone forth late and in the last of times. And then he makes the soul a desirable land, concerning which the prophet says: You visited the earth, and made it drunk.

Hos. 6:4. What shall I do to you, Ephraim? What shall I do to you, Judah? For my mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passes away. Since he had promised them that he would come to their aid, but they were destined, even after this aid, to fall into many evils because of their own depravities, lest they should think that he had lied to them and had not given a lasting grace, he foretells that they themselves will be the cause; and as a tenderly loving father he makes his discourse to them, all but saying such things as these: I for my part count you worthy of all sparing, and wish to count you worthy of an everlasting mercy; but your mind, being transient, and like a cloud that appears in the morning and is scattered by the sun, or like a little dew consumed by the rays and made to vanish (for this is the meaning of “that passes away”), makes my mercy also, with which I show you mercy, to be likewise transient. Let us hear that we ourselves are the measure of the divine mercy, either prolonging it through persevering repentance, or curtailing it by turning back again too quickly; and let us be eager to have mercy shown us for a longer time. For in truth the kingdom of heaven is within us, and God follows our own free choice. It is also found in another text, “But my mercy”; and you will understand it thus, that God, complaining here, says: In every way I displayed my care for your correction; for I sent forth my mercy upon you, like early dew that goes forth—that is, poured out by the wind upon the earth—and like a morning cloud cooling the fruits; but you did not receive it. But neither did the Hebrews receive the Son, who, being the mercy of the Father (for through him we obtained mercy), was sent as a cloud, by reason of the density of the body; and “in the morning,” because the shadow of the Law had come to its end, and because he was not overtaken by the darkness of the devil and of sin, but rather became to others the beginning of light, as the morning is the beginning of the day. And the same was also dew, descending from above; and “that goes forth,” because the knowledge of him was not confined to one place, but went out to all. For formerly he was known in Judea; but now, the sound of the apostles having gone out into all the earth, the earth was filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water that covers the seas. And his lightnings shall be to the whole world, and all the ends of the earth saw the salvation of God.

Hos. 6:5. Therefore I have mowed down your prophets, I have slain them by the word of my mouth, and my judgment shall go forth as light. You, he says, are in such a state as to show a cold and short-lived repentance, and for this reason to render my mercy also of the same sort; yet I did not fail to count you worthy of the care that was due—so much so that you became the cause of death even to the holy prophets, whom I sent to you as counselors (for this is what “I have slain” signifies); and because I gave them my mouth for speaking, I seem to be the one who slew them. But even if you slay them, you cannot make false the things prophesied concerning you; rather my judgment—that is, the verdict which I have decreed against you—shall shine as light, and you shall suffer all that those men foretold. But some have understood “your prophets” to mean the false prophets. “For I slew them by the word of my mouth”—that is, by my command; and my judgment upon them, like a bright light, shall not be hidden, but shall shine, and shall be made known to all by the deeds themselves. For Elijah too slew the prophets of Baal, and the priests of the groves; and Jehu, who also utterly destroyed the house of Ahab, on the pretext of celebrating a feast to Baal, gathered them into the house of Baal and slaughtered them all.

Hos. 6:6–7. Because I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than whole burnt offerings. But they are as a man transgressing a covenant. Above he charged them with two things: the injustice toward their neighbors, and the service of idols; and now he says: I accept mercy toward one’s neighbor rather than sacrifices, and the knowledge of God rather than whole burnt offerings. For in giving the Law he enjoined these two things: You shall love the Lord your God; and, You shall love your neighbor. But you transgressed this covenant of mine and the Law. For you are both unjust and merciless toward your neighbors, and you have thrust away the knowledge of me. And one might say that, since the Jews, while performing sacrifices but having no mercy, were transgressing the covenant, it is plain that whatever the Law seemed to say about sacrifices was really some other things, more mystical and more spiritual. By mercy, then, the practical life is signified; and by knowledge, contemplation. And the judgment of God in the age to come will also go forth, as light, through the Only-begotten; for the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son; who, having come into the world, saved us not through sacrifices, but according to his own mercy; and not by whole burnt offerings, but through knowledge and faith he justified us, and taught mercy (both in the words he spoke: Blessed are the merciful; and, Whatever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them; and in those places where he brought forward this very saying as a testimony, and in countless others); and the knowledge of God, in those places where he ever ascribed his words and works to the Father, and where he said to Philip: He who has seen me has seen the Father. Whence also he said: I have manifested your name to men; not to Jews only, but to all. Those, then, who did not receive him, altogether transgressed the covenant of the Father, which also made the Son heir of the vineyard. And the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth, they were—the house of Israel, and the man of Judah, a beloved new plant; but when the Son came to his own, his own received him not, but said: This is the heir; come, let us kill him. But this same covenant of the Father made them heirs of adoption, of glory, of the kingdom of heaven; yet they would not follow the covenant even in this respect, but transgressed it in both ways—both in not willing that the Son should reign over them, and in making themselves unworthy of the heavenly glory.

Hos. 6:8. There she despised me, working vanities, troubling the water.[2] Not without judgment, he says, did I slay the false prophets. And “there”—that is, at that time, when Israel turned aside—Gilead despised me, in that it had been allotted to the priests and Levites for an inheritance; and those who ought to teach the people to the knowledge of God, themselves wrought the vanities—that is, the idols, themselves fashioning them. And they troubled also the water of teaching, not offering it pure to the people.

Hos. 6:9. Your strength is as that of a robber-pirate; the priests hid the way, they murdered Shechem, because there they wrought lawlessness in the house of Israel. I saw there a horrible fornication of Ephraim. Shechem is a city near Gilead. Some of the Shechemites, then, having taken thought of the God of their fathers, resolved to go up to Jerusalem, to worship God; but the Levites and priests in Gilead, learning this, hid certain robbers in the way, and slew the Shechemites. For this reason he says: Your strength, O Gilead, is that of a pirate-man—that is, of a robber. For properly a “pirate” is a robber by sea; but it is taken in the divine Scripture for the robber by land as well. Wherefore he names this a more horrible fornication, because not only did they themselves not do the good in the house of Israel—that is, among the Israelites—but they even murdered those who purposed to do it. Or else thus: that as pirates set upon seafarers by stealth, so also you idolaters in Gilead, by certain secret trickeries, make the idols to move, that you may show them as partaking of divine power; and the priests, who ought to reprove these things and make plain the way of God, instead hide it. And yet they ought to have considered that their forefather Levi slew all the Shechemites, when Hamor, the son of Shechem, violated his sister Dinah. And he was zealous for the virginity of his sister; but these are not zealous for me. The priests, then, he says, hid the divine way—they who of old murdered the Shechemites in their zeal; for what their forefather Levi did is ascribed to the priestly line. These things are also accusations of the God-slaying Synagogue. For these wrought vanities—the false accusations and the cross; for their devices were vain indeed, since the Crucified one shone forth and reigned all the more. And they troubled the water, confounding the knowledge of the Scriptures, and slandering the teaching of the Savior, which was spirit and life. And their strength was as that of a pirate-man; for they took up stones against Jesus, and went out against him with swords and clubs, and that by night, which is the way of those eager to escape notice. And their priests hid the way—that is, they put to death the Lord, who said: I am the way. And they murdered Shechem also—that is, Jesus, the fruit of chastity and virginity; since Shechem was the special portion of the chaste Joseph. And in the Church too you will see some working vanities, who are of an evil life. These, then, also trouble the water of spiritual teaching, slandering the things concerning resurrection and judgment, and deceiving themselves so as to sin without fear; whose strength is not that of a man who gives life, but of a pirate; concerning whom the Lord said: The thief does not come, except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. And the priests too hide the way of the Lord—perhaps both when they do not reprove sinners, disregarding him who says: Rebuke the one who sins in the presence of all; and perhaps also when they themselves do not walk in it, but practice another way of life; wherefore they will also murder the Church, which was set apart for Joseph, whose name is interpreted “purpose.” And such was the Lord too, who added to the Law what was lacking; wherefore he also said: I came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. For of “You shall not commit adultery,” the purpose and fulfillment is, “Neither look upon a woman to lust”; and of “You shall not kill,” the “Do not be angry”; and the rest likewise.

Hos. 6:10–11. Israel was defiled, and Judah forsook his harvest. The most grievous thing of all is this: that when Judah ought to have been reaping the fruits of the divine promises, he then emulated Israel, who had been defiled by idolatry, and forsook such a harvest.

Hos. 6:11. Begin to gather the vintage for yourself, when I turn back the captivity of my people, when I heal Israel.[3] These things he says to Judah: Since before the experience of evils you would not know what was needful, nor gather the fruits of righteousness, yet at least after the return from captivity live according to the Law, and begin to pluck the fruits that grow from such a manner of life. And pluck this for yourself; for we bring no gain to God by living lawfully, but to ourselves. The phrase “when I heal Israel” signifies this: that when I comfort him over all the pains he had while in captivity, and bring him up from Babylon, do you understand what is needful, and become of a good life.

[1] Translator’s note: The received text reads ἁγιάσει (“he will sanctify”); a common variant has ὑγιάσει (“he will heal”), which Theophylact follows in the exposition below.

[2] Translator’s note: The text of this lemma is corrupt in the source (the apparatus offers ἄλλη ἐργαζομένη for the opening words); the rendering follows the reading Theophylact expounds.

[3] Translator’s note: The opening of this lemma (Ἄρξου τρυγᾷν σεαυτῷ) differs from the standard LXX text of Hos 6:11; verse attribution tentative.

Chapter 7

Hos. 7:1. And the iniquity of Ephraim shall be revealed, and the wickedness of Samaria; for he wrought falsehood, and a thief shall come in to them, a robber stripping men in his way. Again he teaches that he justly punishes those around Ephraim, and says: Their lawlessness shall be made plain to all, because they wrought falsehoods—that is, the idols. And thereupon the enemies, coming upon them after the manner of thieves and robbers, will strip them and lay them bare of all the good things they have. Christ too all but says to the Israelite people: Begin now at last to gather the things that make for salvation, when I came to turn back the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and to heal the broken-hearted. [1] For they that are strong have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. Then all the wickedness of the people was revealed, when, Pilate having asked, “Whom shall I release?” they said: “Release to us Barabbas, but crucify Jesus.” And while the very elements were being made new, they themselves persisted in their wickedness—at the time when even the thief and robber, who was crucified with him, came in to him, that is, was made his own through faith, and was with him in paradise. These things are also an exhortation to the soul, as it returns from the captivity in which it was taken captive while enslaved to the passions, and as it is healed from the wounds of sin and the gashes which are otherwise not cured, unless they present to it a stench and a loathing. For then it seeks out a physician, when it is sickened and distressed at the stench, as David also: My wounds stank and festered; and having said this, he says: Forsake me not, O Lord my God; depart not from me. Then therefore, O soul, when you are freed from sin, gather the fruits of virtue; but gather them for yourself, doing nothing for display, but working the good within yourself. And then the falsehood of wickedness is also revealed to it. For then it sees how the works of wickedness are false and deceitful; and through them the devil, a thief and a robber, entering in, strips the man, and renders him naked of all divine grace, in his way—that is, in his life, whether in the priestly or in the lay estate. As a thief, then, the devil comes upon us, when he persuades us to attend to the worse—for instance, slandering marriage, wine, the whole creation, as occasions of sins; and as a robber, when he comes upon us openly and shamelessly persuading us to pursue even the things manifestly condemned.

Hos. 7:2. So that they sing in harmony, as having it in their heart. The enemies, he says, will come upon them as thieves and robbers; but they will pass their time wailing and lamenting, not daring even to bewail and sing their own calamities aloud, but making their laments in their hearts and in their mind. These things may also be said concerning the robber on the cross; for his heart was in harmony with that of Christ; for the one confessed, and Christ granted him grace.

Hos. 7:2. I have remembered all their wickednesses; now their devisings have encircled them; they came to be before my face. Having been long-suffering for a long time, he says, and seeming as it were not even to see the things they dared, now I plainly behold them, and they came to be before my face. For all were gathered together, and stood round about him—not the deeds only, but also the devisings, that is, the reasonings, showing them to me as worthy of punishment. And may it not be that, since God punishes more severely those sins which come of premeditations and devisings, for this reason he here said that “their devisings encircled them.” For these, he says, did not do their evils simply, nor on a sudden impulse, but with counsel and deliberation. So also on the last day of judgment, not only the deeds, but also the reasonings according to which they were done, are judged; and in these especially lies the decisive force, either of acquittal or of condemnation. The Hebrews also slew the prophets, while God bore with them; but since they became slayers of the Lord, and filled up the measure of their fathers, he remembered all their iniquities, that all righteous blood might come upon them, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah.

Hos. 7:3. In their wickednesses they gladdened kings, and in their falsehoods princes. Because of their wickednesses, he says, having run on to destruction, they became authors of gladness to the kings and princes who conquered them in war. Or because they ran together with their kings in idolatry, and courted them by doing the same things, and in their falsehoods—that is, the idols, or the flatteries and false praises—gladdened those men, concerning whom Isaiah also said: Those who pronounce you blessed lead you astray; and, Woe to those who call the bitter sweet, and the sweet bitter. And the Jews too made their kings—the demons, the rulers of darkness—to rejoice by their false accusations against Christ and by their falsehoods; moreover they reconciled Herod and Pilate to one another in the condemnation of Christ.

Hos. 7:4. All of them adulterers, like an oven burning for baking, from the burning of the flame. By “adultery” you may understand the bodily kind, since God says that all in Israel are adulterers; and thus they burn with the fire of licentiousness, like an oven, when a burning comes from the flame, which is heated for baking—that is, for the roasting of loaves. And the fire of licentiousness will bring upon them the flame of captivity, by which, being burned up, they will become serviceable for the digesting of the rawness they now have. And by “adultery” you may also understand idolatry, toward which they were inflamed, following after the first idolater among them, Jeroboam.

Hos. 7:4. From the kneading of the dough until the whole is leavened—these are the days of your kings. By “fat,” that is, dough, which is flour, he calls all the people, and says: Just as leaven transforms the flour mixed with it into itself, so also from the time the people began to be kneaded into the leaven of Jeroboam’s impiety, until the whole was leavened and made like to it, all this time is “the days of your kings.” And by this he shows that under all the kings from Jeroboam onward and downward idolatry prevailed. Understand by “adulterers” also the adulterous and sinful generation of the God-slayers, who, inflamed with envy, and having plotted the cross for the baking—that is, the consuming—of the heavenly bread, Christ, did not cease until they accomplished the deed. These, however, are “the days” of the rulers and chief men among them—that is, of ancient calamities. For Scripture, as we said above also, calls calamity too a “day.” And as he who does not believe is already judged even before the judgment, so also the adulterer is already burning even before that burning, in which he shall then be burned, to the digesting and the ceasing of wickedness.[2] For wickedness will no longer be put into operation after the last judgment, nor will anyone be friendly disposed toward it; but there will be eternal hatred in those who now love it, because for its sake they are eternally punished. For now it fawns upon the foolish with its apparent sweetness; but then, when its unseemliness is revealed, repentance will not come upon those who in this life were deceived by it, and they will repent inconsolably, because they preferred a thing so ugly and unseemly to the divine beauty. The adulterer, then, is already burning, according to the saying: Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which you have kindled. And since, as the lump comes from leaven and flour, so action comes from reasonings and operation, he says that the reasonings that reign in the adulterer do not seem to be in darkness, but to have a kind of daylit and cheerful condition, “from the kneading of the dough until the whole is leavened”—that is, from the time they begin to plot the evil until they accomplish it.

Hos. 7:5. The princes began to be enraged from wine. Having accused all in common as adulterers, he now accuses all the princes as drunkards, and for this reason given to rage.

Hos. 7:6. He stretched out his hand with pestilent men, because their hearts were kindled like an oven in their dashing men down. Each of the princes, he says, stretches out his hand to take bribes, and consorts with pestilent and corrupting men, loving them, because in the dashing down—that is, in plotting against and harming his own kinsmen—he is hot. Out of the drunkenness of envy the rulers of Israel raged also against Christ; and the disciple Judas stretched out his hand, when he took the silver of the betrayal, agreeing with the pestilent Pharisees and Scribes, who were hot to lie in wait, to dash down and to destroy the Lord; and the hearts of the soldiers too were kindled as they kept watch, when they guarded the tomb.

Hos. 7:6–7. The whole night Ephraim was filled with sleep. Morning came, he was kindled like the light of fire; all were heated like an oven burning with fire, and it devoured their judges. All their kings fell, and there was none among them that called upon me. According to the obvious sense, it follows for the drunkards mentioned above to sleep the whole night, which is the greatest shame, and especially for the rulers of a people; for this shows them to take no thought at all for their subjects. And when morning came, he says, they were kindled like fire, both toward drinking, and toward raging, and toward taking bribes, and toward all the other evils; and not the princes only, but all are like an oven, burning toward sinning, each as he is able. And especially this fire of wickedness devoured their judges—that is, the kings and princes—inasmuch as they had their power for fuel; and all their kings fell, committing idolatry and sinning in other ways. For no one who sins is said to stand. And there was none among them who, inclining toward me, called upon me; or else, that there was no teacher who called them and drew them to me. And the Jews slept without care, while the soldiers guarded the tomb; but when morning came, the Lord having risen, their envy was kindled, and they became like an oven burning with rage. And the jealousy over the resurrection devoured their judges; and all fell a great fall, being cheated of their hopes. And the sinner too sleeps the whole night of this life, without perception. Wherefore Paul exhorts his genuine child, and son of the day, Timothy: Be sober in all things. But when morning comes—that is, the state to come—then there is kindled in him and there blazes up the perception of the things he has done, but only as the light of fire; for it burns him, and then fire will devour his former judging reasonings, which judged that it was right to act thus. For all these, reigning and holding sway before, were the cause of the fall of sin, and in no way called him toward God.

Hos. 7:8. Ephraim was mingled together with his peoples. Though he ought, he says, to guide the others toward the good, he instead mingled himself with the multitudes to wickedness; and the king transgressed equally with the rest. For the tribe of Ephraim reigned, as we have often said.

Hos. 7:8. Ephraim became a cake baked under the ashes, not turned. For just as the cake baked under the ashes, touching the fire on one side only, is burned up and becomes useless—for it must be turned, that it may be baked on the other side as well—so also he persisted in wickedness, and was burned up by it.

Hos. 7:9. Strangers devoured his strength, but he himself knew it not. Since he had named him bread, he continued in the figure, and says: The foreigners warred against him, and devoured all his strength, both that in men and that in wealth. But not even so did he recognize the God who chastens.

Hos. 7:9. And gray hairs blossomed upon him, and he himself knew it not. For a long, he says, and lengthy time he is chastened, and as it were grew old under chastening; yet not even by time was he taught what was needful. And the leaders and teachers of Israel, agreeing in mind with the vulgar crowd, would not turn from the letter to the spirit. Wherefore the nations, which were strangers to the covenants of God, devoured his strength (and the strength of Israel was the Law); but they, being hardened, did not know it, but grew old in the manner of life according to the letter. And everything that wears out and grows old is near to vanishing; and when anyone, giving himself wholly to the flame with which he is inflamed, and pursuing the things done in secret, which it is shameful even to speak of, will not turn from such a state, the demons devour his strength, which he received naturally from God for good works—the demons, who became strangers and enemies to us, envying the glory of man. Wherefore, growing old in sin, he has a complete ignorance of the good.[3]

Hos. 7:10. And the pride of Israel shall be humbled before his face. That is, before his own eyes he shall see the dreadful things; just as those also who insulted the Lord were humbled, when the temple and the city were destroyed upon them.

Hos. 7:11. And they did not return to the Lord their God, nor did they seek him out in all these things. And Ephraim was like a senseless dove, having no heart. He called upon Egypt, and went to the Assyrians. I for my part, he says, brought afflictions upon them, that, coming to understanding, they might turn to me and call upon my help; but they looked to human alliances. For they sought the help of the Egyptians when warred upon by the Assyrians; and when subdued by the Syrians, they called upon the Assyrians, displaying the senselessness of the dove. For just as the dove, when its young are taken away, does not fly off, but remains in the same places, so also these ran to their enemies; for the Assyrians were confessedly their enemies, and the Egyptians too. And the dove is lustful and unchaste. When, then, a soul, being incontinent toward the pleasures of darkness, is senseless in this, and supposes that nothing is evil for it, it also makes friends with the Assyrians: with the one, through the works of darkness; with the others, through conceit; whence it shall also hear: Go into the outer darkness, prepared for the devil and his angels—who are the spiritual Assyrians. These things fit the God-slaying Synagogue also; for they did not know, nor understand, but out of conceit they walk in darkness.

Hos. 7:12. As they go, I will cast my net over them; like the birds of heaven I will bring them down; I will chasten them in the report of their affliction. As they go, he says, to call upon allies and helpers, I will cast the enemies upon them, like a kind of net, and will bring them down—that is, I will drag down and humble their arrogance. Yet first I will attempt to chasten them by foretelling, and by making audible to them the afflictions that await them; if they are not chastened, then I will bring on the afflictions too. Or else, that the enemies will be so fearful that, even without having yet arrived, but merely being rumored and heard of, they will suffice for their chastening. The net of God is his manifold wisdom, according to which, often providing for us, when we go and are moved to do some evil, he casts hindrances in our way; and when we are high-minded, after the manner of the demons in the air, he brings down and humbles us; and foretelling Gehenna, and the worm that does not die, and the fire that is not quenched, he chastens through the hearing, as a lover of mankind. And upon the God-slayers, as they walked in error, he cast the net—the teaching of the fishermen—that he might bring them down to the humility that is in Christ, and persuade them to learn that he is meek and lowly in heart, and not to boast in the works of the Law, but to be confirmed as men justified freely by his grace; and he himself chastened them in the hearing of their affliction, telling beforehand of Jerusalem trodden down by the nations;[4] and concerning the temple, that there should not remain stone upon stone; and, Blessed are the barren that did not bear; and all that concerns the capture.

Hos. 7:13. Woe to them, because they leaped away from me; wretched are they, because they were impious against me. In the case of the sick, so long as there is hope of recovery, those who care for them say and do everything; but when they despair of them, they thereafter lament. This God too does over the people, having despaired of their healing, and he laments them as having leaped away through their wicked deeds, and having been impious through their godless worship.

Hos. 7:13. I redeemed them. Those of former times, from the slavery in Egypt; and those of later times Christ redeemed from the demons, and the diseases, and the maimings; and last of all, through his own blood, in which we found redemption.

Hos. 7:13. But they spoke falsehoods against me. Both when, standing around the calf, they said: These are your gods, O Israel; and when they said: Though he smote the rock, and waters gushed out, can he also give bread?

Hos. 7:14. And their hearts were not given to me. With their lips only they honored me, but their heart was far from me; or, when they did not ascribe their benefits to me as benefactor, but to the idols.

Hos. 7:14. But rather they howled upon their beds; over grain and wine they cut themselves. Enjoying the land promised to their fathers, and having received their allotments by lot (he named these “beds,” because in them they rested from their toils in the wilderness), they did not give thanks to me, but, performing the idolatrous rites, they howled, as men raving among them; and having the grain and the wine, my gifts, and luxuriating in them, they made incisions in honor of the demons, gashing their breasts and arms. Or he means that which they did in serving Rhea. For, being cut by them, they gashed themselves, and removing their generative parts, were called galli and bacchae.[5] And the Israelites did these things over grain and wine—that is, asking these things from the idols. The God-slayers also spoke against Christ, saying: By Beelzebul he casts out the demons. Again they said: Good Teacher; and, We know that you proclaim the way of God, and do not regard the face of man. But they said these things not from the heart, but in private (for this is what “upon their beds” signifies) murmuring against him they groaned, that, doing such things, he was still alive; and when he said: My flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink; they cut themselves off from him and departed, and became many divisions, saying: This saying is hard; who can hear it? The Lord redeemed us also from all uncleanness. But many of those who sin speak falsehoods against him, saying: Who knows whether there will be a judgment, whether he will come to examine our affairs? Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die; and they call Mammon their lord. And they cut themselves over grain and wine—perhaps both those who get drunk and live in luxury, then proceed to quarrels and wounds and murders; and perhaps also those who stir up wars for the sake of grain, and wine, and other good things of the earth. Wherefore they also turn to nothing. For all zeal about such things ends in no well-pleasing end.

Hos. 7:15. They were instructed in me, and I strengthened their arms, yet against me they devised evil things. I, he says, instructed them, and taught them the way of righteousness, and all good order, so that they too said, rejoicing over themselves: Blessed are we, O Israel, because the things pleasing to the Lord are known to us. And not this only, but I also made them noble warriors, and strengthened their arms; but they reasoned concerning me that I am not God.

Hos. 7:16. They turned away to nothing. That is, to the things that in no way whatever exist. For this is the more grievous, that instead of me they reverenced such things, which he says also elsewhere: Two evils my people committed: they forsook me, a fountain of living water, and dug for themselves broken cisterns, which will not be able to hold water. The Savior also instructed the Israelites, ever teaching in the synagogues that they should turn to himself and believe; but they turned to nothing—that is, for a little while. For many, it says, of those who had believed went back.

Hos. 7:16. They became like a bent bow. That is, they became unbending, and in no way slackening or yielding of their tension toward wickedness. But some of the copies have “like a bow turned back”; and it signifies: I for my part stretched them like a bow of my own, that through them I might shoot down and put an end to the idolatry among the others; but they were turned back, and did the very contrary. For shooting at and pulling down my honor, they made war against me on behalf of the idols.

Hos. 7:16. Their princes shall fall by the sword, because of the unruliness of their tongue. The “princes” are both the priests and the kings; for these taught the people lawless things. And the greatest unruliness is to say to the wood: You are my god; and to the stone: You begot me.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek of this sentence is corrupt; the rendering follows the evident sense.

[2] Translator’s note: Reading the conjectural ἀργίαν (“ceasing”) for the printed ἀρχηγίαν.

[3] Translator’s note: The reading is uncertain at this point (παντελῆ τοῦ καλοῦ [ƒ. κακοῦ]).

[4] Translator’s note: The reading is uncertain before this clause.

[5] Translator’s note: The edition prints ὑπ’ αὐτῶν … ἐκτεμνόμενοι (“being cut by them”); a conjecture reads ὑπ’ αὐλῶν … ἐκμαινόμενοι (“driven to frenzy by the flutes”).

Chapter 8

Hos. 8:1. This is their contempt in the land of Egypt; into their bosom it shall return as a waterless land, as an eagle upon the house of the Lord, because they transgressed my covenant, and acted impiously against my law. Just as, he says, their fathers in Egypt despised the words of Moses and Aaron, who had been sent by me to set them free, so also these men despised my laws. But this contempt shall be repaid into their own bosom, and they shall become as a waterless land. For this war-trumpet, and this king of the Babylonians, shall come against the house of the Lord with a rushing and swift onset, like an eagle.[1] For Nebuchadnezzar, having sent his army, burned the temple; concerning whom Ezekiel also says: The great eagle, the great-winged. And the contempt also with which the Jews scorned the Savior was like that in the land of Egypt; for the Hebrew said to Moses: Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? and those men said concerning Christ: We have no king but Caesar. This contempt, then, shall be heavy upon them, like a waterless land and dust which, cast into the bosom, weighs it down; and it shall make them trodden underfoot before all, like a trumpet proclaiming their lawlessness and the sufferings that come because of it; and like an eagle it shall snatch away the glory of the ancient temple, transferring it to the calling of the nations. And everyone who exalts himself and is high-minded above every man is as an eagle upon the house of the Lord—the contempt, that is; for he shall be punished in his inmost and most intimate parts, and shall become as a waterless land. For such a soul shall not be ground that God can tread. For that which is lofty among men is an abomination to the Lord. And why shall these things be his? Because, like a trumpet, he was proclaiming himself, or magnifying himself—such as were the Pharisees, who sounded the trumpet over their almsgiving before men; such as was the one praying in the temple, recounting his own achievements, and despising the publican. And the house of the Lord is every man who is capable of receiving His great wealth, the Word. He, then, who exalts himself and is high-minded above every man is as an eagle upon the house of the Lord.

Hos. 8:2–3. To me shall they cry: O God, we have known you; because Israel turned away from good things, they pursued an enemy. Having done such works of impiety, as has been said, performing rites to the idols, these men in their calamities shall cry out to me, and shall confess that they knew me. But whence did they know me? Because Israel was deprived of good things, and fell into evils—although formerly they pressed hard upon and pursued their enemies, when they were counted worthy of my alliance. Or: They shall cry out, he says, and confessing shall say: Because Israel turned away from your good ordinances, they all but pursued their enemies—that is, they themselves ran to their enemies and drew these upon themselves; just as if someone, seeing a sick man living wretchedly, should say: This man is pursuing death. And those of the circumcision who believe shall cry to Christ: O God, we have known you. But as many as turned away went over to the spiritual enemy; and this also applies to —

Hos. 8:4. They made themselves kings, and not through me; they set up rulers, and they did not make it known to me. Here he reproaches the ten tribes, that they appointed Jeroboam and the kings after him contrary to his judgment. And they set up rulers, instead of saying, they elected rulers by show of hands. For they did not ask God whether this ought to be done. But someone will be perplexed: how is it that in the Books of Kingdoms it is recorded that Ahijah the Shilonite, an old man, tore his garment into twelve pieces, and gave the ten to Jeroboam, and foretold to him that he would reign over the twelve tribes; and again it is written, From me has this word come, that Jeroboam should reign; while here he says, They reigned, and not through me. One may answer, then, that God sent the prophet Ahijah not to the people themselves, but to Jeroboam; and Jeroboam knew that God willed him to become king, but the people, not as fulfilling God’s counsel, elected him. For they did not draw near to God, nor ask him—which here too he reproaches in them. And then they understood this also, that of the things spoken by God, some come to pass by his leading, namely according to good pleasure, and others by permission. When, therefore, you hear God saying, From me came this word, that Jeroboam should reign, understand this as having come about by concession. But when here he says, Not through me did they reign, he means that this was not God’s antecedent will. These things will also fit the God-slayers. For they inscribed Caesar as king over themselves; and they had those around Annas and Caiaphas, who held their offices as bought. And when sin reigns in our mortal body, such a kingship is not through God. But also when the flesh, with its passions and lusts, rules in us, such a rule is not acknowledged by God. For the Lord knew those who are his. But the passions are not his, as being not at all in being.

Hos. 8:4. Their silver and their gold they made into idols for themselves, that they might be utterly destroyed. Being enriched by me, he says, and having enjoyed my good things, they used this for the honor of the idols, fashioning most costly idols. And these things, by their outcome, became their utter destruction. And mark the word That; for it will help you with the verse, That you might be justified in your words. For neither did those men make the idols with such an aim, that they might be utterly destroyed, but it turned out so by the result; nor did David sin for this purpose, that God might be justified, but this comes about from the outcome. And the philosopher too, having received power from God to know the nature of beings with a gold-like and pure mind, and to interpret what he has conceived with a bright and silver-like speech, then setting up for himself idols—whether the Platonic forms, or the spiritual idols so called according to the Chaldean philosophy; and, to put it simply, fashioning a phantasm of human wisdom and vain deceit—shall be utterly destroyed from the people that is according to the Gospel, as one who uses God’s gifts badly. Such also are the Hebrews of the present day, who, with the conceptions of the law (likened to gold) and with words (likened to silver), misuse them for idols and vain phantasms, making idols within themselves—both the temple and the rest of the things in which they hope to be restored.

Hos. 8:5. Turn away your calf, O Samaria. Your anger was provoked against them. How long will you be unable to be cleansed in Israel? And a craftsman made it, and it is not God; for your calf, O Samaria, was a deceiver. After the reproaches he brings an exhortation, admonishing them to scrub off the calf—that is, to cast away the golden heifer. And he well said scrub off, as of a stain and filth. For how long, having become unclean through idolatry, will you remain unchanged? Or do you not understand that a man, a craftsman, made the idols? And by craftsman he here means the artisan generally, not the carpenter; for surely it was not a carpenter who wrought the golden heifer. Or, passing from the calf to the discourse about the wooden idols, he made mention also of the carpenter, for the greater shaming of the idolaters. For the golden calf, he says, has some honor on account of its material, deceiving those who behold it; but that which is made by the carpenter makes you the more unclean, being worshiped by you.

Hos. 8:7. Because they have made wind-blasted things, and their overthrow shall await them. You reap no fruit, he says, from the service of the idols, but their things are like wind-blasted ears of grain, which show their husks full from outside, but within have no wheat. For so also the idols: from outside they have some form—of a woman, or a man, or some other living creature—but they stand bereft of all strength and activity. Therefore their overthrow shall await them too—that is, the overthrow of those who worship them; for together both they and the idols shall be destroyed.

Hos. 8:7. The sheaf has no strength to make meal. And if it should make it, strangers shall devour it. Either he speaks concerning the idols, that they have no substance; and if they seem to have any, the enemies, coming upon them, shall take them, since they are of gold and silver. And for helping in any other way they have no strength; but for supplying their own material they will show that they have strength. Or he speaks also concerning Israel, that it shall have such weakness as to resemble a feeble sheaf, unable to nourish anyone. And if it has any strength in wealth and in other such good things, the foreigners shall devour them. The teachers of the Jews sowed wind-blasted and light things. Therefore, as having no weight, they were scattered into all the inhabited world, and all their ancient polity was overthrown together with them and their doctrines. And they are a sheaf having no strength. For they do not have Christ, the power of God, who gave their meal to the nations that were formerly strangers, having graced them to work the things in the law by an iron mind, like a kind of millstone, finely and spiritually, and not to receive these things grossly and according to the letter. If you intend to make meal out of the law, set also a stone beneath, the same Christ; for another foundation no one can lay besides this, because in him all things were created. And set a stone above, the same Christ, who is the head of the Church. And he who sows to the flesh, and from the flesh reaps corruption, sows wind-blasted things, having received this harm from the spirit of wickedness, and having no strength to do a work nourishing to the soul. For he cannot say with Paul: I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. And if ever he does any good thing, doing it not according to a divine aim, but for human glory, or pursuing some manner that is not praiseworthy, he gives this to the demons.

Hos. 8:8. Israel was swallowed up; now it has become among the nations as a useless vessel, because they themselves went up to the Assyrians. As though shipwrecked by some sea of his own sins, he was swallowed up. For having asked the help of the Assyrians, they shall be handed over to them for slavery, and shall be useless in the midst of the nations that took them captive, fulfilling no service to God, nor performing the festivals according to the law. The Christ-slaying people too was swallowed up through pride, having become intimate, through the spiritual Assyrians, with the demons, and having gone up, through their self-exaltation, into the high-mindedness of those spirits; therefore they also became a useless vessel to God. For he no longer needs anything of theirs, the bodily worship having ceased. And every proud man, or one who reaches after the things above himself, even if he seems to go up, yet is swallowed up by a chasm of the earth, as were those around Dathan and Abiram. For well did someone define pride as an ascent toward the things below.

Hos. 8:9. Ephraim flourished by himself; he loved gifts. He still reproaches them for their want of subjection. For they wished, he says, by themselves—that without me they would flourish, and, like some tree in danger of withering through wars, would sprout up again, if by gifts they should gain the Assyrians as allies;

Hos. 8:9. for he loved gifts—not so as to receive them, but so as to give them. But there is no profit to them from these things; for what shall they suffer?

Hos. 8:10. They shall be handed over among the nations. He did not say, They shall be handed over to the nations, but, Among the nations. For this shall not be the end of their punishment, to be handed over to the nations and taken captive; but, being among the nations and taken captive, they shall yet be handed over to other punishments and other afflictions, so that They shall be handed over stands for, They shall be forsaken by God. And whenever someone, increased by God and made to flourish, does not recognize his benefactor, but lives by himself—that is, establishing his own will—and thrusts aside the divine laws, and, not content with what he has from God, still loves gifts, he shall be handed over by God, and forsaken, and shall come to be among the nations—wholly indeed among the spiritual ones (for he made himself of their portion), and perhaps he shall be subject to perceptible enemies as well. The Jews too thought, by themselves, that they would flourish again if they crucified Jesus; therefore they also loved to give gifts—this to the betrayer, and that to the soldiers guarding the tomb, to conceal the resurrection. They were scattered, therefore, among all the nations, handed over to suffer every evil.

Hos. 8:10. Now I will receive them. Formerly, he says, I let them pass their life unexamined and unjudged, plainly through love for mankind and in awaiting repentance; but now I will receive them—clearly, to bring them to trial, and I will call them to judgment, and exact penalties. Now—that is, quickly, or in the land of the enemies—I will receive them. For just as among their fathers I went before them, and received them into their inheritances and the lands allotted to them, so for these, preparing beforehand the places of captivity, as for men worthy of it, I will receive them in Babylonia.

Hos. 8:10. And they shall cease a little from anointing a king and rulers. For since, he says, they did not wish to be ruled as king by me, but chose kings for themselves by their own will, I will deprive them of these; and, being ruled by their enemies, they shall cease—that is, they shall stop electing for themselves kings and rulers. For those whom they elected were not set up to my honor, but together with them practiced idolatry. And observe, in the threat, kindness also: For a little while, he says, they shall cease from anointing. And through this he gives hopes of the return from Babylon. And one must know that after the captivity Ephraim—the ten tribes—no longer had its own king in Samaria, but in Jerusalem Zerubbabel led all the people, and to him the twelve tribes submitted. I will receive, says the Father, those of Israel who have turned to Christ; but when? When they shall cease from dreaming—or until the kingship and the priesthood shall be restored to them. For it is in fantasy that they anoint for themselves kings and priests, those who await the restoration of the legal polity. And, anointing the son of lawlessness, they make him their Christ. And each of us too, when he is received by God and becomes his own, having been before of another fold, ceases from having other kings and rulers—I mean the world-rulers of the darkness, who are not kings and rulers, but we anoint these for ourselves and set them up as kings. But he alone has God as king who is subject to him, and is led by his commandments, and is not displeased with the daily dispensations of his life, even if they be unpleasant.

Hos. 8:11. Because Ephraim multiplied altars; the beloved altars became to him for sins. Justly, he says, will I bring to rest their lawless kingdom; for since Jeroboam, having reigned over them, led them astray into the multiplying of idolatrous altars, which became to them an occasion of many sins. For they both sinned against my honor, and practiced every other kind of sin; and they loved such altars, and were warmly disposed toward them, when they ought to have mourned over them all their life long, and lamented.

Hos. 8:12. I will write down for him a multitude, and their ordinances. To sin, he says, and as an accusation against them, I will write down and reckon the multitude of such altars, and their ordinances—that is, the laws and the manners according to which they performed the idolatrous rites. Or: I will make the memory of them recorded, for the reproof of their great impiety. The legal altars became a sin also to the people that slew him; and as many ordinances as they received from God were written as an accusation against them, since they transgressed these. For, he says, the uncircumcision which is by nature, fulfilling the law, shall judge you who through circumcision are a transgressor of the law; and, To whom they entrusted much, much also do they require of him; and, He who knows the will of his lord, and does it not, shall be beaten with many stripes.

Hos. 8:13. The altars were reckoned as another’s.[2] Of the idolatrous altars, he says, they took much thought; but my altars were reckoned by him as another’s, and were left untended. Now there were two altars to God according to the law: that of the burnt offerings, outside in the court, and that of the incense, within in the second tabernacle. Each of us too has two altars: the one outside, on which he sacrifices to God his bodily works; the other inward and according to the mind, on which he sends up the incense of prayer and the upward-borne and spiritual offering of divine contemplations. These indeed are the truly beloved ones. But if anyone, thrusting these aside, multiplies altars for himself, being carried away into the manifold forms of vice, through deeds and reasonings, and being borne about by various and strange teachings, such altars become a sin to him. And those who commune with heretics have them likewise becoming a sin to them.

Hos. 8:13. Because if they sacrifice a sacrifice, and eat flesh, the Lord will not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquities, and will avenge their sins.[3] For since the things they sacrifice upon those many altars they sacrifice to idols, the Lord will not accept them; but rather through these he is reminded also of their other iniquities, and is provoked to vengeance. For just as, propitiated and made merciful through the holy sacrifices, he forgets the lawlessnesses and the iniquities, so, seeing them sacrificing to the idols, he comes to the remembrance of their other evils as well. And what is the meaning of, If they eat flesh? It was their custom, of the victims not wholly burnt, to offer to God the kidneys and the fat upon them and the lobe of the liver; to set apart for the priests the right shoulder and the breast; and the rest of the flesh those who brought the sacrifice ate themselves, as they wished. But some understood it thus: that he speaks not concerning the idolatrous sacrifices, but judges their disposition from these. For since he said, My beloved altars they reckoned as another’s, lest anyone should suppose that God has need of sacrifices, he now says, I have no need of the sacrifices, but I judge their disposition from these. And observe the abolition of the legal things foretold, and the spiritual and rational worship being brought in, according to the saying, Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High. And he praises God who makes the light of his own works to shine before men, so that God is glorified by those who behold these things; just as he who does the contrary makes his name to be blasphemed among the nations.

Hos. 8:13. But they themselves turned back to Egypt. For they both asked an alliance from there, and, when the calamities came upon them, fled there for refuge. Or, worshiping the heifers, they reverenced the calf Apis, like the Egyptians.

Hos. 8:14. And Israel forgot him who made him, and they built shrines, and Judah made walled cities; and I will send forth fire upon his cities, and it shall devour his foundations. He rebukes both kingdoms: that of the ten tribes, that, when the war was coming upon them—which I threatened on account of their lawlessnesses—they were not eager to serve me, but the idols; therefore they raised up more shrines for them, propitiating them forsooth, that they might avert the war. And Judah, he says, made strong cities, that through them it might be saved, and not through my help and shelter. The fire of the enemies, then, shall devour their foundations. He builds shrines to the demons who destroys the temple of God—that is, himself—through bodily uncleannesses. Those demons take up their dwelling in what was formerly the temple of God. And so does he who, through the falsely-named knowledge of sophistry, secures the heretical doctrines, building walled cities; but the foundations and the bases and beginnings of such cities the fire of the evangelical and apostolic word devours, which the Lord came to cast upon the earth, and the fire of the Spirit, which the Lord sent forth in the form of a dove. And the fire of the Romans devoured the cities of Israel according to the flesh, because they built their plots against the Lord, as though forsooth presenting certain shrines to God.

[1] Translator’s note: Reading uncertain before ἥξει; word(s) may be missing in the source.

[2] Translator’s note: Verse attribution tentative; this lemma may be the second half of Hos 8:13 LXX or a continuation of 8:12.

[3] Translator’s note: The source marks a variant at μνησθήσεται ([ƒ. ὡς·], omitted in the common text); the main reading is translated.

Chapter 9

Hos. 9:1. Rejoice not, O Israel, and be not glad like the peoples, because you played the harlot, departing from the Lord your God. I sentence sorrows upon you, he says, and I ordain that there be in you no occasion of gladness and joy, but that you, beyond all the peoples, should grieve. Why? Because those peoples were never mine; for neither did they receive a law, nor were they taught through prophets; but you, being mine, played the harlot. You ought not, therefore, to be among good things, but among evils, whence it comes about that you neither rejoice nor are glad, according to the saying, There is no rejoicing for the impious; for to every sinner mourning is fitting. Thus also Paul blames the Corinthians, that they did not mourn over the one who had committed fornication.

Hos. 9:1. You loved gifts upon every threshing-floor of wheat. Reaping my good things, you gave gifts to the idols, dedicating to them the firstfruits of the threshing-floor.

Hos. 9:2. The threshing-floor and the winepress did not know them, and the wine deceived them. Since, he says, you dedicate the fruits to the idols, you shall no longer cultivate anything, neither wheat nor wine; but you shall indeed see the vines flourishing, yet at the time of the vintage you shall be deceived of your hopes.

Hos. 9:3. They who dwelt in the land of the Lord—Ephraim dwelt in Egypt. For they did not live lawfully, as in a land consecrated to God, but they performed every lawlessness, like those dwelling in the lands of the nations. Therefore, having emulated the Egyptian impiety, they are said to dwell in Egypt. But indeed they dwelt in Egypt also in this way, as was said above, having gone over to the Egyptians as friends.

Hos. 9:3. And among the Assyrians they shall eat unclean things. Either because, having fled to the Assyrians as helpers, they shall eat unclean things with them, sharing a table with them as friends with friends; or because, taken captive by them, they share in the uncleanness of their foods, as slaves with masters. And from the foods understand also the rest of the kinds of uncleanness. For since in the land of promise they lived uncleanly, let them be in an unclean land, let them live in uncleanness. And he who does not dedicate to God even the firstfruits of the fruits, by sharing them with the needy and making alms from them, gives these to the demons, by holding them back and storing them up. Therefore either the threshing-floor and the winepress in heaven shall not know them; for they shall not bring fruit there. But also the gladness—the wine, that is, which they seem to have here—shall deceive them, nor shall they dwell in it, the land of the meek; but the outer darkness, which he prepared for the demons, and their unclean works—that is, the fruits of their works—they shall eat then, having been settled in the portion of the demons, whom we have often understood as the Assyrians. We must therefore believe that the bread which strengthens our heart, Christ, is from God, even as he said: I came forth from God and am here; and we must receive him, and dwell in the land of the Lord, the catholic Church, and not in the conventicles of the heretics, which are indeed a land of Assyrians and an Egypt, in which whoever enters shall eat their unclean doctrines and mysteries.

Hos. 9:4. They poured out no wine to the Lord, and they were not sweet to him. That is, They offered no sweet things by way of incense, but offered them to the idols.

Hos. 9:4. Their sacrifices are as the bread of mourning. It was a law that he who touched a corpse should be reckoned unclean. Therefore whatever the mourners for the dead ate, or drank, or simply whatever they touched, seemed unclean, on account of the defilement reckoned to come from the dead. Their sacrifices, then, shall be unclean, like the loaves of mourning. He adds, therefore:

Hos. 9:4. All who eat them shall be defiled, because their loaves, for their souls, shall not enter into the house of the Lord. That is, they shall be useful and edible to themselves alone; for God will not accept these, just as neither did he accept the sacrifices of those who crucified the Lord at that Passover, nor their loaves of the shewbread. Nor were their drink-offerings of wine brought to the Lord, nor the sweet things of incense, because they were not offered as he willed. And if the things offered to God out of injustice may most aptly be called bread of mourning—inasmuch as those defrauded mourn over the wrongs done them—the Lord lays down a law for us, not to bring such things into his house; for they are unclean. And if those who eat them are defiled, how are the defiling things to be brought to God? But to defiled souls the polluted things are proper.

Hos. 9:5. What will you do in the day of assembly, and in the day of the feast of the Lord? For, being compelled to be slaves and to live under other laws, you will not be able to perform the divine assemblies according to the Mosaic legislation. But some understood the time of the war, and of the vengeance taken in it, as a day of assembly and feast of the Lord, as though the Lord rejoiced and kept festival at their destruction. And it might be said also to those who were about to crucify the Lord, the prophet as it were complaining indignantly: O what a deed you are about to do in the day of the Passover! And that time was indeed an assembly, as the whole people was gathered together, and truly a feast of the Lord. For he himself constituted these things, being sacrificed for us; for our Passover also, Christ, was sacrificed for us. And it might be said also to those who here neglect the works of virtue: What will you do in the day of that future assembly, when we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ? Surely nothing; for now you can do something, but then nothing. And such a day and feast is of the Lord, when God becomes himself all things to all.

Hos. 9:6. Therefore, behold, they shall go forth from the misery of Egypt, and Memphis shall receive them, and Machmas shall bury them. And when Samaria was taken, those who were left fled away into Egypt; and later, when Jerusalem was burned by Nabuzaradan, those who had slain Gedaliah fled into Egypt, and that though Jeremiah forbade them. The Babylonians, then, being provoked because they took courage in the Egyptians, turned against them, and, coming upon them and the Egyptians, conquered them without toil. Then, therefore, those who escaped this misery and defeat in Egypt ran up to Memphis, as being more strongly fortified, because the royal palaces were in it; but they also fled for refuge to Machmas, which was neighbor to Memphis, and there they died, having returned toward Judea.

Hos. 9:6. Destruction shall inherit their silver. Because, having received it from God, they spent it on the making of idols. Or because, whatever gifts they gave to the Egyptians to have them as helpers, shall prove profitless to them.

Hos. 9:6. Thorns shall be in their tents.[1] That is, Their land shall be waterless and turned to waste, so as to put forth thorns. Or because they shall seem indeed, having encamped in Egypt, to enjoy rest; but it shall not be so, but, like thorns pricking them, the calamities shall be; and all who flee for refuge to Egypt—the gloomy and persecuting sin—even if they have a speech bright as silver, destruction shall inherit them. For to greater condemnation, and to a more bitter destruction, shall the speech be to them, and they shall have the thorns of conscience in their tents—that is, in their bodies. For conscience pricks us, like a thorn dwelling with us. And these things will fit also the rich, who have silver and tents—that is, splendid houses. And the Lord altogether hinted that the thorns are cares, which—how many they are in the tents of the rich—no one is ignorant.

Hos. 9:7. The days of vengeance have come, the days of your recompense have come. Since the false prophets slandered the divine prophets, teaching the people that the things the prophets say would come to pass after long times, and from this made the many careless and impenitent, God says: Even now the days of your affliction have come, and your calamities shall not be put off into the far distance. Therefore Paul says, Now is the acceptable time; and the Lord, Watch, for you know not in what hour the thief comes; and, Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning; and be you like men awaiting their lord.

Hos. 9:7. And Israel shall be afflicted like the prophet, the man that stands by, the spirit-bearer. So great a derangement of mind, he says, shall seize Israel, fallen into calamities and afflictions, that he shall resemble a false prophet driven out of his wits by the evil demon dwelling in him, beside himself, and borne here and there. For so also Israel, being utterly at a loss, shall flee here and there; so that not only shall Israel suffer the afflictions, but the false prophets also shall fall into the like tribulations.

Hos. 9:7. By the multitude of your iniquities your madness was multiplied.[2] By madness he means the ecstasy and perplexity which they had in their calamities. This madness, then, vehement and great, came upon you because of your many iniquities, with which you wronged even me, sacrificing to the idols, and wronged your neighbors, oppressing them. Or by madness he means the false prophecy; for those who were the underlings of the evil spirits resembled madmen. And he says: Just as you had many gods, wronging my honor (for you had the golden heifers, and Beelphegor, and Chamos the abomination of the Sidonians, and Bel, and Astarte), so also you multiplied raving false prophets. And one prophesied through birds, another through sacrifices, another through the dead, and another in some other manner.

Hos. 9:8. Ephraim a watchman, a prophet with God; a crooked snare upon all his ways.[3] I indeed, he says, having given you a law, and instructed you how one ought to live, set you forth as a kind of watchman and prophet prophesying with God to all the nations, that through your knowledge of God and your virtuous life you might guide the others also into the knowledge of me and the earnest life. But I found a crooked snare upon all the ways of your life; for from every side the souls of those who looked to you were harmed and ensnared, both by your idolatry and by the conduct of the rest of your life. But some understood it thus: For Ephraim, who had many gods, a watchman and prophet was appointed with each god; for some were of Astarte, and others of Chamos, and others of another idol. Therefore the snare is crooked upon all his ways—that is, for this cause he was led astray, and lost the straight path both of the knowledge of God and of virtue. And the Pharisees, appointed watchmen to Israel, had indeed the outward forms of prophets of God, but ensnared the people, being crooked, and becoming now one thing, now another; who also attempted to ensnare the Lord with a crooked word, and did not come to him in straightforwardness. And if all authority is ordained by God, let every ruler consider how he too shall be a watchman and a prophet of God. And he shall be such, if, while he announces what is just to the others in his judgments, he himself also keeps this in his actions; but if not, he shall be a snare, and that a crooked one, because of the form of his underhandedness.

Hos. 9:8. They fixed madness in the house of the Lord. Not only in the other cities, he says, did they set up idols, but also in the temple of God they fixed abominations; for these he called madness, as being done out of derangement and madness and ecstasy. Or by madness, as was said above, he means the false prophecy, which they fixed in the house of the Lord—that is, in the people—and set up firm and abiding; for they did not cease from having false prophets. And the house of the Lord is also the God-bearing flesh, in which those who crucified him, when he suffered for us in the flesh, fixed their madness. And the house of the Lord is also our mind, in which we fix madness, when we look toward vanities and false ravings, raging about this vain life. Madness is erotic love, madness is wrath, madness is the impulse toward each several pleasure.

Hos. 9:9. They were corrupted according to the days of the hill; he will remember their iniquities, he will avenge their sins. From the time, indeed, that they gave heed to the hills, and loved the sacrifices made there, they were corrupted in their souls. And for a while God was long-suffering; but now he will take vengeance, exacting the penalties of all those days. Or he also reminds us of an older history. For Gibeah was a city of Benjamin, which is interpreted “hill.” In it, when a certain Levite, a traveler, had lodged, the lawless men of that city gathered together, and, taking his wife, abused her through the whole night. At last she died there, in that night; and her husband, dividing her corpse into limbs, sent them to the tribes, showing them the outrage. And they, being moved to zeal, went up against the tribe of Benjamin in Gibeah, that is, the hill; and meeting them once and twice, they were defeated, and were afraid—God helping Benjamin, as having done well? Far from it; but rather showing to the people of the other tribes that they themselves were worthy of chastisement, and for this cause were given over to death, because, being lawless, they made a pretense of avenging lawlessness. At last, however, when they had wept before God, they prevailed and overcame those in Benjamin. He says, then, that just as on the hill of Gibeah both these and those were corrupted, so shall both the two tribes of Judah and the ten of Ephraim be corrupted, joined in conflict with one another. And these things came to pass when Joash, king of the ten tribes, came against Amaziah king of Judah, and tore down part of the wall of Jerusalem.

Hos. 9:10. As a grape-cluster in a wilderness I found Israel, and as an early fig on a fig tree I beheld their fathers. They themselves went in to Beelphegor, and were estranged to shame, and the beloved became as the abominated.[4] He shows that he justly gives them over to corruption. For I, he says, just as if someone in a desert land, utterly bereft of plants, should find a grape-cluster, or an early fig on a fig tree, and plucks them with much delight, so I too, when the rest of men were living in impiety, finding the virtues of Abraham and of the patriarchs sprung from him, chose them out. But these men, sprung from those, in no way emulated them, but, forgetting my benefits, served Beelphegor, and were estranged—that is, flew away—from me, to their shame. For such a god, Beelphegor, was in truth their shame and reproach. Therefore those who were of old beloved by me on account of their fathers became, on account of their own impiety, like the abominated Moabites; for they served the idol of these. And he names the early fig a “watchman,” which all look out for, as appearing first. And the God-slayers too, who were before beloved of God on account of the fathers, became abominable, because they were estranged both from the fathers, not emulating their virtue, and from God, and they framed the cross to the shame of Christ; because they went in to the ruler of abomination, becoming wholly his, and gaining intimacy with him; for such is the meaning of “to go in.” And in every case the Lord, who wills not the death of the sinner, in a soul desolate of every good fruit finds some Israelite and noble reasoning, worthy to behold divine things, as a grape-cluster, the offspring of the true vine, which, pressed out through the narrow way, shall beget the wine of compunction. And in the fig tree—I mean this pleasure-loving life—there is found for God someone who becomes an early watchman before that last day, looking out for the things to come, and preparing himself for them, and becoming a father to others and a leader of a more divine life. But he must take heed to himself, lest he be ever consecrated to Beelphegor and to the demon of uncleanness, and, pursuing the works of shame, be estranged from God, and the one before beloved become as the abominated—those, namely, who played the harlot at that time, when Phinehas pierced through the Israelite together with the Midianite woman. For those too, as the Scripture says, were consecrated to Beelphegor.

Hos. 9:11. Ephraim flew away like a bird. Swiftly, he says, he flew away from me, not emulating those fathers. Or because he shall quickly be led away into captivity.

Hos. 9:11–12. Their glories are from births and pangs and conceptions; because even if they rear their children, they shall be made childless among men; because, moreover, woe is to them.[5] They shall be made childless, he says, quickly, because they did not wish to be glorified in me and in my help; but they considered their many children a glory, supposing that they prevail by multitude. But in vain did they hope such things; for even when they rear their children, and have already brought them up to maturity, the war, coming upon them, shall make them childless, and to no purpose shall they undergo the toils of child-rearing. And why shall these things be to them? Because I cast upon them the woe. And this came to pass because I forsook them, and, being forsaken, they wrought things worthy of the woe. But when I consider how we men conceive all things, and undergo all toils and the pangs of cares, for the sake of the perishing glory of the world, I think these things are said about us too. Therefore whatever works we rear up as children, looking to human glory, we do not enjoy them, but destroy them, receiving our reward here. And perhaps we have the woe also, as despisers of the commandment which bids us do nothing for human glory.

Hos. 9:12. My flesh is from them.[6] These things seem to be said as from the Only-begotten. For since he said, They shall be made childless, he says, I will not utterly destroy them, because my flesh, which I shall assume, shall be from them. Whence Paul also said, Of whom is Christ according to the flesh. Or understand it thus also: The prophet, having heard the threats of God against Israel, prays that neither he himself, nor his kinsmen according to the flesh, may share in the wrath with them. Therefore he says, My flesh is from them—that is, May I too be outside them, and far from them, both I and my flesh, that is, my kinsmen. For the Apostle too knows kinsmen as “flesh,” when he says, If by any means I may provoke to jealousy my flesh—that is, my kinsmen according to the flesh, the Hebrews—and save some of them. And David says something similar: Destroy not my soul together with the impious, nor my life with men of blood.

Hos. 9:13. Ephraim—in the manner I saw—set their children for a prey; and Ephraim, to lead forth his children to slaughter.[7] These things too are said as in the person of the prophet. For as I see, he says, O Lord, from the wrongs and impieties which Ephraim committed, he all but himself set forth his children for a prey—that is, captivity—and for slaughter, that is, for butchery. For some were taken captive, and others were slaughtered by the enemies; so that let him blame no other for his childlessness, but himself. For having provoked God by his impieties, he himself brought the enemies upon himself, just as did those who slew the Lord. Or also because he sacrificed his children to the idols, and set them forth for a prey and for slaughter; therefore with reason shall he be made childless, being justly deprived of these whom he himself unjustly sent forth to the idols for butchery, as a kind of prey and catch, even as I myself also saw; and this is by no means false. To these things David also bears witness, saying, They poured out the blood of their sons and daughters, which they sacrificed to the graven images of Canaan. And the teacher of evil doctrines, begetting many through his word, sets forth the souls of such children for slaughter; first, however, for a prey; for the teachers of the Church, attempting to take these in the hunt, if they fail, then pierce them through, dividing them from the Church with the spear of anathema.

Hos. 9:14. Give to them, O Lord. What will you give them? A childless womb, and dry breasts. Since, he says, they trust in their many children, as those who shall prevail over their enemies by multitude, and on this account despise your succor, let the women among them not bear at all. And if they do bear, let them not give suck, but let the children be consumed before their time; for thus, having fallen from their hopes in their children, they shall call upon you as helper. And the prophet prays these things, both caring for them, as a lover of his brethren, that they may not bear and rear impious children, and being zealous for the divine glory, as a lover of God. There is also for every sinner a womb, in which he is conceived in iniquities, according to the saying, The sinners are estranged from the womb. And what is this? The first occasion of each sin: of fornication, the gazing; of murder, the being angered. And the breasts that rear up the evil offspring are the reasonings and words that plead for the sin, through which it is brought to maturity. A prayer, then, worthy of a prophetic soul is this: that such wombs should not bear, nor such breasts gush forth. And for the God-slayers too the womb is childless—the legislation of the letter—and the prophetic words are dry.

Hos. 9:15. All their wickednesses are in Galgal, because there I hated them on account of the wickednesses of their practices. Out of my house I will cast them. Since in Galgala they were especially impious, he makes mention of these things, and says: On account of the things done there, I hated them. Therefore I will cast them out of my house—either out of Palestine, which they had as a house given to them by me, or out of my temple; for I will remove them to another dwelling.

Hos. 9:15. And I will by no means continue to love them. It was not these whom I brought up, but their descendants; just as he promised to give the land of promise to those in Egypt, but since, having come out, they murmured, they themselves perished in the wilderness, and their children received it. Yet even if he loved these same men, it would be no wonder. For if you examine, you will find the prophecy full of threats, and again of good promises. For, as has been said in the prologue, God threatens for this cause, that those who hear may be made better, and, when they are made better, the threatened things are not brought upon them; but if they are not made better, they are certainly brought. These things plainly fit the God-slayers also; for they too have been cast out of the house: in part, because the Lord cast out of the temple those who made the house of his Father a place of merchandise; and wholly, all of them afterward, when he destroyed the temple, and God no longer continued to love them. For the wrath came upon them to the uttermost, and bowed down their back forever, having given them over to slavery, because all their wickednesses were measured out against Christ, whom they said, in insult, to have been born of Galilee. For search, he says, and see, that a prophet has not arisen out of Galilee. And since Galgal is interpreted “a rolling-down,” observe that when we are rolled down to the things below, not minding the things above, where Christ is, then we are hated, and cast out of heaven, which is the house of God, justly suffering this, because we did not even look toward heaven.

Hos. 9:15. All their rulers are disobedient. If only those under authority, he says, were impious, perhaps I would have spared them, on account of the virtue of the rulers, just as for Moses’ sake I again spared the Israelites. But now the rulers too are disobedient, and not one or two, but all. How then shall I spare them? Who shall stand as mediator on behalf of the people?

Hos. 9:16. Ephraim has been afflicted in his roots, and was dried up. He shall no longer bear fruit at all. By “roots” he means the kingdom; for, having first accused the rulers, he now says that the root itself, the kingdom, was afflicted—that is, became rotten and dry, having fallen away from my fatness and help, and shall no longer bear fruit at all. For after the ten tribes were enslaved by the Babylonian Salmanasar, no longer was a king set up for Ephraim. Or by “root” he simply means the strength of the ten tribes, which, being dried up, because God was angered against them, no longer brought forth vigorous children.

Hos. 9:16. Because, even if they bear, I will slay the desired things of their womb. Most of all, he says, their whole root and strength was dried up, and they shall no longer bring forth children able to fight on their behalf. And whomever they do bear, I will slay, giving them over to the enemies in war, although they are desired by them and beloved. For in themselves they are not worthy to be desired and loved; but as being the offspring of those very men, they are desired by them.

Hos. 9:17. God will reject them, because they did not hearken to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations. God, having rejected them from Palestine, will make them wanderers, taken captive, because, when he foretold to them what they would suffer, and sought their amendment, they did not hearken. And who does not see the synagogue of the Jews also, now together with its teachers withering away, and not standing upon the root of the fathers, but broken off, and dried up, bearing no fruit—neither prophet nor teacher—but, whatever they beget and conceive, being desires of the belly? For they sound forth the things from the belly, and not the things from the mouth of the Lord God Almighty. And these things are slain, as conceived according to the letter, which is dead and not living. And he makes them themselves wanderers among the nations, not only as changing place for place, but also as wandering the wandering according to the soul, which is shown especially among the nations. For, the nations having been received, while they themselves do not enter in, they are found most evidently to be wanderers. But let us, having been appointed rulers by him (For you shall appoint them, he says, rulers over all the earth), and, as Paul says, having delivered an unshaken foundation, not be disobedient to him. They are told: Take my yoke upon you; and let not our roots be dried up, which we received through baptism, having received the Holy Spirit, which gives us the fatness for the bearing of fruit; for everyone baptized has a holy gift, by which he is strengthened to accomplish the commandments. It is best of all, then, not to have the desires of the belly, whether being agitated about foods, or any other offspring of human reasonings. But if we should have them, God benefits us, slaying this through his word coming to be in us, which is living, and effectual beyond every two-edged sword. And he too wanders among the nations who gives heed to the customs of the nations, and to divinations, and bird-augury, and follows their other usages.

[1] Translator’s note: The manuscript reads ἀκάνθας with a variant indicator [ƒ. ἀκάνθας]—the form appears twice, likely a scribal dittography; retained as is.

[2] Translator’s note: LXX Hos 9:13 spans both this and the previous lemma; the Greek verse is unusually long and Theophylact divides the commentary between two sections.

[3] Translator’s note: Verse reference uncertain: the lemma on Σκοπὸς Ἐφραΐμ is cited in the Proem of the Jonah commentary as Hos 9:8; but in the sequential commentary on ch. 9 it appears here, after lemmata for vv. 13–14, pending collation with the LXX critical text.

[4] Translator’s note: Source has [ƒ. σκοπὸν] on σῦκον, indicating a variant reading σκοπὸν in some manuscripts; the main-text reading σῦκον is retained here.

[5] Translator’s note: This lemma continues the exegesis of Hos 9:17 (LXX). The lemma count here and the verse numbering may differ slightly from some LXX editions.

[6] Translator’s note: Verse numbering uncertain: some LXX editions number this as part of 9:17 or place it at 9:18.

[7] Translator’s note: Verse numbering uncertain for this and following lemmata in Hos 9: LXX editions vary between 16 and 17 verses. References are assigned sequentially from v. 19.

Chapter 10

Hos. 10:1. Israel is a luxuriant vine, her fruit abundant; according to the multitude of his fruits he multiplied altars. Having said that he has labored at his own roots, and that he shall be childless, he now says that in former times also he was a vine flourishing with branches, and stretched out into a great multitude through his fruitfulness—as David too says: From the northern sea to the southern sea it held sway. Yet for all that he did not use his abundance for the honor of God; but as many as they were, so many altars also did they establish—which elsewhere too he says: According to the number of your cities, O Israel, were your gods; and justly shall their multitude be diminished.

Hos. 10:1. And according to the good things of his land he built pillars. Made expansive, he says, by the good things of God, they ran riot against him, and to the idols they built pillars not unadorned, but costly; and that according to the good things which God gave them, I mean the gold, and the silver, and the rest of the substance.

Hos. 10:2. They divided their heart. They severed their hearts from me, he says, so as to have no part with me. Or else, because one raised an altar to one god and another to another, dividing up the idols among themselves, and each giving his heart to a different idol.

Hos. 10:2. Now shall they be destroyed. Not after a long time, but Now. For so long as they had not yet given their hearts to the idols, but were impious in a more superficial way, destruction was far from them. But now, since this has come to pass thus, and each is impious from the heart, their destruction has come upon them.

Hos. 10:2. He himself shall dig down their altars; their pillars shall be brought to misery. God himself, from whom they severed their hearts, or the Babylonian king; for he too burned down the altars together with the cities, and plundered the pillars, costly as they were. A flourishing vine is also the man who lacks none of the good things in life, being blessed with children and abounding in the rest; yet, enslaved perhaps to the passions, he sets up an altar to each of these, presenting his members as slaves to lawlessness to lawlessness, according to the good things of his land—that is, in so far as his land, namely his flesh, is gratified by these things and reckons them good. And he builds pillars also—that is, every unrepentant habit settled in him. And such a man also divides his heart, serving two masters. But he is benefited when God digs down his altars, whether by delivering him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved, or otherwise, curbing his jaws with bit and bridle, and working contrition and misery in his ways, that he may be shaken from the habit fixed in evil—through the loss of his children, it may be, and the deprivation of his other good things. All these things you will find in the case of the slayers of God, who would not even understand.

Hos. 10:3–4. Therefore now shall they say: We have no king, because we feared not the Lord. And the king, what shall he do for us? Speaking words, false pretexts, he shall make a covenant. He teaches them what manner of words they must use when they repent. For when they see their kingdom overthrown, they will say: This has befallen us because we did not fear God, in whom we ought to have trusted, and not in the king. For the king was not able to help us at all, but only deceived us by lying, and making now one pretext, now another—making covenants and agreements of alliance, now with the Assyrian, now with the Egyptian. The very same things the Jews also said concerning Christ to Pilate: Write not, that he is King of the Jews; and the teaching of Christ they called false words, tearing it to pieces. But he himself will make a covenant with those who believe in him—the truly new one, which made peace through his blood between the things in heaven and the things upon the earth. And truly, for everyone who does not fear God there is no king; rather unreason tyrannizes within him, and the mob-rule of the passions holds civic sway, by which the King, the Word, is slandered, as one who speaks mere words, and refers us off to the hopes of things to come, and reminds us of the covenant of John, which says: If you love me, keep my commandments; and, No longer do I call you servants, but friends; and, I go to prepare a place for you; and again, Whoever does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple; and, He who has lost his own soul shall find it to life eternal.

Hos. 10:4. Judgment shall spring up like dog’s-grass upon the fallow of the field. Just as, he says, the dog’s-grass spreads out the more and multiplies in the fallow places of the field, where neither plough troubles it nor mattock, because it is no tilled ground; so also my judgment, and the just sentence against you, shall spring up unhindered.

Hos. 10:5. For the calf of the house of On shall the inhabitants of Samaria dwell as sojourners. They will sit in attendance, he says, upon the idol of the golden heifer, the one honored in Bethel; for this he calls the house of On—that is, of the Useless, which is an idol. And they attend upon it whenever dread things come upon them, seeking help from it. This he says, tearing to pieces their folly, in that they supplicate the idol of an irrational beast to help them. The judgment of God sprang up also upon the fallow people of the Jews, whom thereafter neither prophet nor priest tilled any more; but there came up upon it, as a thorn upon fallow ground, the smiting disposition, out of which they also crowned the Lord with thorns; for by a just judgment they were delivered to the Romans. And upon the nations too, which were fallow indeed, the judgment of God—that is, the law—sprang up. For where sin abounded, grace superabounded. For we have the law, we who possess its end; for Christ is the end of the law. And the word Sprang up is well chosen; for from the shadow the Spirit appeared. And the inhabitants of Samaria—that is, those now called Israelites, who resemble the Samaritans. For just as those seemed indeed to keep the law, yet departed in nothing from their ancestral ways; so these too seem indeed to guard the law, yet cling to their ancestral impiety against Christ. These, then, sojourn at the house of the Useless; for useless is the letter.

Hos. 10:5. For his people mourned over it, and as they provoked it, they shall rejoice over its glory. Not only, he says, did they receive no benefit from the golden idol, but rather they even mourned over it. For there is a Hebrew tradition that, when Ader king of Syria came down against the cities of Samaria, then Manaem king of Samaria called as ally Phua the Babylonian; and to him, when he had given aid and overthrown Ader, having nothing with which to pay the wage, which was large, he gave the golden heifer. So the people mourned, he says, their god, thus dishonored. Yet they supposed, in their folly, that even though they themselves had provoked it, dishonoring it so, the Babylonians at least would glorify it, honoring it as a god. And these hopes will make them rejoice.

Hos. 10:5. For it was carried away from him. From Ephraim the calf was carried away, being given to the Babylonian Phua, and so forth.

Hos. 10:6. And having bound it, they carried it away into Assyria as gifts to king Jarim. That is, to their avenger the king, to Phua. Jarim, as was said before, is interpreted “avenger” or “vindicator.” And most wittily did he say, Having bound it, as though, in the case of a calf, mocking their folly.

Hos. 10:6. By a gift of Ephraim shall he receive it, and Israel shall be put to shame in their counsel. Phua, he says, will receive the golden calf, as given by way of a gift of Ephraim—that is, of the king; yet the people shall be put to shame for their counsels concerning such an idol. For the Chaldeans did not honor it, but cut it up and melted it down. Some have taken these things also as referring to Christ: over whom his own people mourned—that is, the disciples and the women, to whom he said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me; and others too were beating their breasts, when he was upon the cross. But the Jews, blaspheming, provoked him, and rejoiced, when his glory was carried away from him, when, being crucified, he was dishonored, and had no form nor comeliness. And Pilate, having bound him, sent him up to Herod, who was an Assyrian king by reason of his pride. And the Christ within us also, whom through baptism we have dwelling in our inner man, the sin that reigns in our mortal body carries away from us; and having bound him, so that he can work none of the things belonging to active virtue, it bears him off as a gift to the enemy and avenger—that is, to the devil; who, being an enemy of the salvation of the man who had committed fornication in Corinth, became also an avenger, taking him for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved. And those of Phygellus and Hermogenes, delivered to him by Paul, he disciplined not to blaspheme. A great gift, then, to such an avenger is this: that we Christians should be bound, working none of the commandments of Christ, who said: If you love me, keep my commandments.

Hos. 10:7. Samaria has cast away her king, like a twig upon the face of the water. That is, the kingdom shall be removed from Samaria as lightly as a frail twig swept off by the water. Or else by “king” he means the calf, which she lightly sent away into Assyria, as has been said.

Hos. 10:8. And the altars of On shall be removed, the sins of Israel. For those filthy altars shall be made to vanish, which were the sins of the people. For through them the people kept provoking God to anger.

Hos. 10:8. Thorns and thistles shall come up upon their altars. For, the land and their altars being desolate, the places will be full of thorns. And they cast away Christ the King too, accounting him as nothing—those Samaritan Jews, as it is handed down. Then he prophesies the pulling down of the idolatrous altars, which came to pass after the coming of Christ, having signified by the one idol of On all the rest as well. And the unbeliever too casts the unbelief that reigned in him upon the face of the water of baptism, and the altars of unbelief in him are made to vanish. And then the religion that once seemed fair appears full of thorns and thistles. And the believer likewise casts the sin prevailing in him upon the water of tears, washing with such water his face—that is, the part that holds the senses, out of which and about which the war is waged; and his members, the altars of sin (which is a useless idol; for sin is without substance and without profit), become then full of thorns and thistles; for he afflicts and smites them through repentance.

Hos. 10:8. And they shall say to the mountains: Cover us; and to the hills: Fall upon us. Such, he says, will be the vehemence and bitterness of the calamities that shall seize them, that each of them will choose to be covered by the mountains and hills falling upon him, rather than to fall in with the evils that come from the Babylonians. And he made mention of mountains and hills not without reason; but since in Bethel they sacrificed to the heifer (and he spoke of this when he made mention of those altars), while on the mountains they served the other idols—Astarte, I mean, and Chamos, and Baal—he now makes mention of these also, as being to them the causes of the calamity, and elsewhere of no use to them, but serving only to slay them before the calamities, if that were possible. And these things the Lord also said in the Gospel concerning the evils that should seize the Jews on his account.

Hos. 10:9. From the time of the hills, Israel sinned. Not only, he says, from the time when the heifers began to be worshipped did Israel sin, but even before this, from the time when the hills received their acts of worship. For Jeroboam set up the heifers; but Solomon, persuaded by his women, made an altar on the hills.

Hos. 10:9–10. There they stood; war shall by no means overtake them on the hill. He came against the children of iniquity, to chasten them according to my desire. And peoples shall be gathered together against them, to chasten them in their two iniquities. Steadfast, he says, and immovable, they stood in the idolatry of the hills, saying that war should by no means overtake them, nor should they fall into any calamity, if they served at the altar. But war did in truth come upon them, who were children of iniquity, because of chastening them according to my desire and will. And this you may understand in two ways: either, To chasten them sternly and bitterly—for this I desire, since they are incorrigible; or, To chasten them lightly, and this very thing in a disciplinary way. For chastening, properly so called, is that which is moderate and to correction; the other is punishment and utter destruction. And thereafter many peoples shall be gathered together against them, for the chastening of them, since they committed two iniquities: they both forsook me their benefactor, and ran to the deaf and useless idols. They sinned, and slew the Lord; for it was not the passion of avarice that they fell sick with—which is called a “hill” by reason of its loftiness—for they could not endure that the Lord be glorified. Standing therefore in this passion, they supposed that, if they should kill him, war would not overtake them, nor would the Romans come upon them and take them away. But the war came, because they committed two iniquities, crucifying the Lord, and falsely accusing the resurrection. And upon every lover of dominion who will not deign to reckon himself earth and ashes, and to look downward, but serves the demons upon the hills and the heights, there shall come humiliation, which is war against pride. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled; and he who exalts his own doors seeks ruin; for the Lord sets himself against the proud. And the proud man commits two iniquities, exalting himself not over men only, but also over God.

Hos. 10:11. Ephraim is a heifer taught to love victory.[1] Untamed, he says, is Ephraim, unwilling to be under my yoke, but ever loving to conquer, and to do his own will. Or else: I taught him to conquer, and to prevail over his enemies, but he did not keep it.

Hos. 10:11. But I will come upon the fairest part of his neck. That is, I will humble him by means of his enemies, and will persuade him to receive the yoke of the knowledge of me, and especially will I humble his kings. For the kingdom he called the fairest part of his neck. And these were the more impious, and led the peoples also to the same things. And well did he say, Of the neck, to show them stiff-necked. The Pharisees too, and the priests, were higher than the rest; but these the One crucified by them humbled.

Hos. 10:11. I will mount upon Ephraim, and I will pass over Judah in silence. Since, as was said above, the ten tribes together with their kings ran aground upon every kind of idolatry, while Judah—that is, the two tribes—were sober (for indeed Amasias their king was godly, and Hezekiah and Josiah); he says: Now indeed I will mount upon Ephraim and weigh him down, bringing the Babylonians against him; but Judah for the present I will spare. For when Sennacherim came and besieged Jerusalem, an angel of the Lord destroyed a hundred and eighty-five thousand in a single night. Whence that king fled in great fear. Ephraim, then—that is, the one who grows in wickedness—the Lord humbles, lying heavy upon him and fixing his hand firmly upon him. But Judah, who makes confession, he does not weigh down; rather, to him who is afflicted willingly through repentance he shows that the momentary lightness of the affliction works an eternal weight of glory.

Hos. 10:11. Jacob shall grow strong in him. He sets down the cause for which he spares Judah for the present, and says that the virtue of Jacob, emulated by him, will place strength in him. And he hints at the righteousness of Hezekiah; for it was out of regard for that man’s tears and virtue that God put Sennacherim to flight from Jerusalem with nothing accomplished. Jacob is also a name for the Lord, who is without guile by reason of his innocence; for no deceit was found in his mouth. And he dwells in a house, which is the house of the living God; or the house of the tabernacle not made with hands, which he took to himself from us; for he dwells in this still. This One, then, grew strong among the Jews; for even though he was crucified out of weakness, yet living by the power of God, he requited those who outraged him, and rising, repaid them. And every Jacob—that is, supplanter and overthrower of the passions—grows strong in Judah, which is confession. For he who has learned to supplant the passions, this man truly makes confession, not returning to his own vomit.

Hos. 10:12. Sow for yourselves to righteousness. The manner of exhortation is twofold. For one urges toward the good either by pointing out the punishments of the disobedient, or the crowns of those who do well. And here, accordingly, God both pointed out what evils shall seize the disobedient, and pointed out the virtue of Judah, for which he was deemed worthy of sparing. So then he exhorts the rest as well, saying: Sow for yourselves; for you will not benefit God, but yourselves. And by “righteousness” he means the true worship of God. For it is righteous to render reverence to the Maker and Creator, and not to the idols; and he means too the whole of virtue, which is called righteousness, because he who works the virtues will judge justly, subjecting the passions of unreason to reason, and not raising up the worse against the better—which is the mark of an evil and unjust judge.

Hos. 10:12. Reap to the fruit of life. Those who sowed to unrighteousness, and wronged both God—by ascribing his reverence to the idols—and natural right—by preferring wickedness to virtue: those reaped to death, being slain by their enemies. But for you who sow the things that bear toward righteousness (and the seed is altogether the good thought, which bears toward action)—for you, then, the harvest shall come out to the fruit of life. For you shall escape the sword of the enemy, and shall live; and this life first of all, and consequently the life to come. But the perceptible life he promises them as to men of flesh.

Hos. 10:12. Enlighten for yourselves the light of knowledge. That is, Come to know God, having departed from the idols.

Hos. 10:12. Seek the Lord until the fruits of righteousness come to you. He shows them the manner by which they shall sow and be enlightened. And what is this? To seek after the Lord—and to seek ever, until you have set righteousness aright, and the fruits of it, that is, the remaining virtues and the light of knowledge. Or, Seek, in the sense of, Make supplication to the Lord, until, being bent toward you, he render to you. For even if you work righteousness, yet do not trust in this; for without help it has not strength to deliver. Seek him, therefore, beseeching him to loose you from the dread things expected. The like David says: Our eyes are toward the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us. If Christ is righteousness, according to the Apostle, the word seems to exhort the teachers of the law: Sow in the hearts of your hearers the things that bear toward the true righteousness, Christ. And this is to sow for themselves; for the benefit of the disciples redounds to the teacher. And reap the letter, not that you should stand still in it, but that you may gather as fruit the One who said: I am the life. He adds, then: Enlighten for yourselves the light of knowledge, you who sit at the law, which has a shadow of the good things to come; enlighten for yourselves the light of the knowledge of Christ. And each one enlightens the light for himself; for if to draw near depends upon us—and David says: Draw near to him and be enlightened; — then with good reason are we commanded to enlighten ourselves. Seek the Lord in the law; for he himself will give you the fruits of righteousness. For out of the works of the law you shall not have righteousness, that is, justification; but you shall be justified out of the faith that is in Christ Jesus. And if he who sows to the flesh shall reap corruption of the flesh, while he who sows to the spirit shall reap of the spirit life everlasting; let us be diligent neither to sow to the flesh, nor, in spiritual matters, let us hasten to sow these things in order to be seen of men. For thus we sow not for ourselves, but for the birds of heaven. For the seeds that are not hidden lie exposed to these. But when we sow through the active life, then the light of knowledge and of contemplation will shine forth upon us.

Hos. 10:13. Why did you keep silent about impiety, and reap the fruits of your iniquities? It behooved you, he says, before you were taken, to use the medicines of repentance, and not to keep silent, but to make confession. But now, not having done this, you reaped the iniquities of impiety, paying for them the worthy penalties. And what the iniquities of impiety are has been said in various ways; for there is the iniquity toward God and that toward one’s neighbor. And these things fit also every priest and teacher and ruler. For one must not keep silent when brethren are impious. For both the law said: You shall reprove your brother, and you shall not incur sin on his account; and Paul commands that the one who sins be reproved before all, that the rest also may have fear. So that if he who ought to speak is silent, he too reaps the fruits of the iniquity—not only that which the sinner commits, but also that which he himself commits against the sinner, in not cutting off his impulse toward evil.

Hos. 10:13–14. You ate false fruit, because you hoped in your chariots, in the multitude of your power. And destruction shall rise up among your people, and all your fortified places shall be brought to nothing. By “false fruit” he means the vain hope. You, he says, hoped in the multitude of the people and in chariots; but things will turn out to the contrary. For the warrior people, together with the chariots, shall perish; and the cities themselves shall be made to vanish, and the safety from the walls shall avail nothing. These things are said also to every ruler who supposes that he secures safety for himself through human devices and contrivances. And the Hebrews too, having given sufficient silver to the soldiers who guarded the tomb, reaped as fruit the lie, that the Lord had not risen; wherefore, when the Romans came upon them, having hoped in the multitude of the people and the strength of the cities, they perished. And the destruction was in their midst; for they fell into faction. And not only by their enemies, but also by their own selves were they consumed. And the famine too wrought destruction in their midst; for mothers did not spare their children because of it.

Hos. 10:14–15. As the prince Salama from the house of Jeroboaal, in the days of war, dashed the mother to the ground upon the children; so will I do to you, O house of Israel, because of the face of your wickedness. When the Israelites had once committed idolatry, God let loose upon them the chieftains of the Midianites: Oreb and Zeb and Zebee and Salmana. This Salmana, then, whom God here calls Salama, was so savage that he dashed and struck the mothers together with the children against the ground, and so delivered them to a most piteous death; and this he did to the women of the house of Jeroboaal—that is, of Gideon—namely, to the Hebrew women. For by “the house of Gideon” he means the whole Hebrew kindred. So then, even now will I do to you, O house of Israel, and will deliver you to enemies for your sins, who will piteously destroy even the infants together with the mothers. And Gideon is called Jeroboaal because he did a sacred work, both casting down the pillar of Baal, and cutting down in a single night the grove that was dedicated to the idol.

[1] Translator’s note: Source has [vulg. νεῖκος] indicating the Vulgate/Latin reads νεῖκος (strife); LXX Greek here reads νῖκος (victory). The main text reading νῖκος is retained.

Chapter 11

Hos. 10:15. At dawn they were cast away. When they expected, he says, the help of the Assyrians to appear to them like a dawn, while they were in the night of the perplexity and straitness of the war, then they were cast away into Babylon as captives. Or else, because swiftly and in short order they shall undergo utter destruction; for the dawn too holds but a brief season; then the rising sun makes the day. But God also, so long as he forbears, is said to slumber; and when he begins to execute vengeances, then he seems to rise up. He says, then: For the rest of the time I slumbered, as it were overlooking them in the night; but now, as though dawn had appeared, I awake, and henceforth I will cast them away.

Hos. 10:15. The king of Israel was cast away. He was cast away, inasmuch as the king of Israel was carried off into Babylon; and he was cast away also, inasmuch as the kingdom in Samaria was thereafter brought to an end, as has often been said. And the Hebrews too, who chose the darkness, were cast away, when the light of the gospel word shone. And if the Forerunner is a “dawn,” as heralding the sun, they were cast away then also, when he said to them: Offspring of vipers, begin not to say within yourselves: We have Abraham for a father; and, Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. And why did they suffer this? Because Christ, the king of Israel, was cast away by them. And the things within us that provoke God to anger are cherished by us so long as we have night and insensibility. But when, having heard the one who says: Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon you; we have come out of that night and insensibility, and have come to a perception of the things done, and seem to have a “dawn”—that is, the beginning of a daylit and luminous condition; then there are cast away from us the things formerly loved, and the very prince of darkness who before reigned in us.

Hos. 11:1. Because Israel was a child, and I loved him, and out of Egypt I called back his children; as I called them back, so they departed from before my face. Out of folly, he says, and a childish mind they will undergo this punishment. For I called them back out of Egypt, and freed them from that bitter slavery; but they departed from before my face, unwilling to present themselves to me and to minister to me, but to the idols. Or you may understand it thus also. As though someone were perplexed for what reason he called at the first men so abominable, he says, On account of your fathers. For Jacob, he says—he who was renamed Israel—was a “child,” that is, without guile, and was beloved while yet in his mother’s womb. For Jacob, he says, I loved, but Esau I hated. For this cause I delivered his children also from the slavery of the Egyptians. But they, who were honored for their fathers’ sake, fled from me, not one and two at a time, but by multitudes and by tribes, even as I also called them out of Egypt in a body. And Christ himself, who is called Israel (for he has seen God; for no one has seen the Father, except him who is from God)—this One, then, became a “child,” and out of Egypt the Father called him, the truly beloved. But the children of the Jews, who are called also children of Christ by reason of the kinship of the flesh—according to the saying, Behold, I and the children whom God has given me; — as often as they were called by him, they fled away. Wherefore he said: How often would I have gathered your children, and you would not. And observe: when one is a child in respect of wickedness, then God loves him, and makes him Israel, seeing and knowing God (for into a malicious soul wisdom will not enter), and takes him out of the Egypt of the much-wandering knowledge of this age, which has withered away. Yet one must be vigilant, lest, after being called by God to the knowledge of his Son, our children—that is, the human reasonings which we beget—fall away from God. For the reasonings of mortals are timid, and their devices uncertain. Wherefore Paul also says: If anyone thinks he knows something, he deceives himself and is puffed up, knowing nothing; for knowledge puffs up.

Hos. 11:2. They sacrificed to the Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. By “Baalim,” as has often been said, he names the idols of Baal; and by “graven images,” those of the other gods. And he shows their thanklessness, in that, having forsaken him who redeemed them out of Egypt, they served such things. And his own kindness he displays through what follows.

Hos. 11:3. And I bound the feet of Ephraim, I took him up upon my arm. So great goodness did I show toward them, that I became to them as a nurse; and just as she, when about to take up a little babe into her hands, gathers together its feet, and so takes it up; so also did I, and as it were binding their feet together—that is, gathering their feet—I took them up upon my right hand. And by these things he hints at this: that I did not leave them to move in disorder and lawlessly; but I gathered their motions, giving them a law, and furnishing them my arm—that is, my strength—as an ally in wars, bearing up their weakness.

Hos. 11:3. And they knew not that I healed them in the destruction of men. They knew not, he says, that by destroying and utterly rooting out other nations I was healing and tending them. For I utterly destroyed the Egyptians and those who dwelt in Palestine. The Lord too bound the feet of those who, feigning, tempted him with words, and tried to take them up upon his arm, and to show them the power of the works of his Godhead—when he raised up the paralytic, when he gave eyes to the blind, when he simply wrought the other signs and wonders. But they knew not that a physician had been sent to them, healing the corrupted. For they that are strong have no need of physicians. And some who are robust in wickedness he binds at the feet, teaching them to run back to his arm—that is, his works—and to imitate his manner of life, as far as is possible. For the arm is a symbol of strength in the active life. But the many do not recognize that in the destruction of human reasonings and purposes he heals them—that is, their souls; which elsewhere too he says: I will smite the worse, and will heal the better.

Hos. 11:4. I stretched them out in the bonds of my love. He who is about to bind someone’s hands stretches them out in order to bind them. This too he says here: that I stretched them out, in the sense of, I made them ready, and fitted them to be bound by my love. Or else: I spread them out, and made them many and glorious, because I was bound by my love toward them. And this he said as of a vine, as the psalm too says: She stretched out her branches as far as the sea, and her shoots as far as the rivers.[1] The Lord stretched out the withered of hand also, and the paralytics, and the woman bowed together, and the lame, by reason of his love, both taking away their infirmities and bearing their diseases. But also in the bonds with which he was bound, when he was led away to Caiaphas, on account of our love, he stretched them out—them that were held fast and bound by the enemy—having freed them from such constraint. And so whenever one is bound either by disease or by poverty, he is loved by the Lord, according to the writer of Proverbs, and this becomes to him a stretching-out toward the things before. Such was Paul too, taking good pleasure in weaknesses, in afflictions, and in the bonds which he had, not being separated, but stretching forward to the things before.

Hos. 11:4. And I will be to them as a man who strikes upon his cheeks, and I will look upon him, and I will prevail against him. Since he had said that he took him up as a little child, and that he loved him, he says: For this cause, even when I smite him, I will not lay on bitter blows, but will chasten moderately, as striking him upon his cheeks, that I may shame him—as one might strike a child that has sinned. For even if I only look sharply upon him, it suffices to prevail against him, and to make the wickedness in him vanish. Of this sort is the saying: In a little affliction is your chastening to us; and, Chasten us, but in judgment, and not in wrath. If the cheeks help us toward being nourished, see how the Lord struck upon them those in Judea, sending famine upon them while they were besieged by the Romans, so that their cheeks were left idle. For he who out of the weakness of the flesh was willingly crucified, this One, when he but looked upon them, showed them his power. He too is struck upon the cheeks who falls into dishonor, that the pride may be cast down which he had while honored before; and then God looks upon him. For upon whom will I look, but upon the meek and quiet one, who trembles at my words? And then also God prevails in him. For in our humiliation the Lord remembered us, and redeemed us from our enemies.

Hos. 11:5. Ephraim went down into Egypt, and Assur was his king, because he would not return. This you may understand in two ways: either that, having come to Egypt, he sought the alliance from there, yet nevertheless the Assyrians reigned over him, having prevailed and routed it, even though he was using the Egyptians as allies; or, that he shall be led away captive into Egypt, and the Assyrians shall rule over him, because he would not return to me from the idols.

Hos. 11:6. And the sword grew weak in his cities, and rested in his hands, and they shall eat of the fruits of their own counsels. That is, no man was found in the cities mighty and able to wield a sword; but the hands of all were slackened, and ceased from working anything warlike, and of necessity they shall eat the fruits of their impious counsels, which are afflictions and tribulations. And the Hebrews too, who emulated the hardheartedness of the Egyptians, in going down and falling away from the divine height, and having for their king the great mind of the Assyrians, these grew weak. And there is not in them the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. For how should the word of God be in them, who simply put to death the Word of God? Wherefore their hands also ceased from working any work pleasing to God. For they would not repent and return, and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. These things befall also everyone who goes down into the land of Egypt, in which the principalities and powers of darkness bear rule. For such a man has neither the sword of discrimination, by which he might judge the worse from the better, nor is he able to work anything at all against those who war against his soul; but he is led away captive, bound hand and foot, and stripped of all active power.

Hos. 11:7. And his people hangs in suspense out of his sojourning. That is, the people of Ephraim was hung far from its own land, having become captive. And the slayer of Christ too is carried about here and there. And some have understood this thus also. For so greatly, he says, does the people of Ephraim commit impiety, and thereby becomes itself the cause to itself of being carried away, that it all but seems to hang and to be suspended toward captivity.

Hos. 11:7. And God shall be angered against his precious things, and will by no means exalt him. That is, against the kings and rulers; and he will no more raise up a king in Samaria, nor rulers, and will by no means exalt him—Ephraim, that is—because there shall no longer be a king among them. The precious things of the Hebrew people are the temple and the things in it, against which the Lord was angered who said: Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and the people shall by no means be exalted in anything. And he who is carried from on high against the lowlier, and ever hangs over them and is lifted up out of the goods of this life, which belong to the sojourning here, and are dissolved together with it—such a man too finds God angered against his precious things, his wealth, I mean, and his glory, or even wife and children; and having brought him low in respect of these, God will no more exalt him. For his anger, he says, will deal with him as with a stranger; for against the proud man, as against one alien to him, God goes forth in array.

Hos. 11:8. How shall I deal with you, O Ephraim? Shall I shield you, O Israel?[2] He resembles one who, out of much love for mankind, is at a loss, and says: I know not how to deal with you. Shall I shield you? But your works do not justify this coming to pass. What then shall I do?

Hos. 11:8. I will make you as Adama, and as Seboim. I will destroy you, he says, like those Sodomitic cities; for this is just.

Hos. 11:8. My heart was turned within me. Imitating a mother and a child-loving father, he says: Within me—that is, in the very moment when I speak against you, my heart was turned, as with certain gripings, and endured in its pain; wherefore it reversed the sentence.

Hos. 11:8–9. My repenting was confounded; I will by no means act according to the wrath of my anger; I will by no means abandon Ephraim to be utterly forsaken. That is, being troubled out of my great tender love toward you, I have repented, and I will by no means act according to my wrath. And these things he says, not as now fearing this, now wishing that, but fashioning his speech into anger and mercy, into punishment and love for mankind; and by the former terrifying, by the latter urging on and calling forth to persuasion. As David says: He has not dealt with us according to our sins; but as a father pities his sons, so the Lord pitied them that fear him; and in Isaiah: Will a woman forget her child, so as not to have mercy on the offspring of her womb? But even if a woman should forget these, yet I will not forget. And not only that he might benefit them does he say these things; but that we too might fashion our own souls after such an archetype of love for mankind (for whatever things were written, were written for our admonition), and that we might not be wicked and remembering of wrongs (for the ways of those who remember wrongs lead to death), but that at the same time we might display the words of anger to correction, and bring on the words of love for mankind, so as rather, through kindness, to turn and to shame them. For then we show ourselves presiding rationally, when we turn them by kindness rather than by wrath; for by reason, not by force, they are to be led. Wherefore Peter also said: Shepherd the flock that is among you willingly, and not by constraint.

Hos. 11:9. Because I am God, and not man; holy in you. As though someone objected and was perplexed: Why, O Lord, having threatened so much, have you repented, and do not punish Ephraim? he says: Because I am not man, but a good God, plainly not giving the victory to anger; for this is a human passion. Why then do you punish at all? Because, he says, I am also holy, hating iniquity, and willing to be holy in you—that is, that my holiness be made known through your works, and not be blasphemed among the nations through your abominable deeds. Of this sort is the saying: Hallowed be your name; in the sense of, Let it be shown holy through us and be glorified.

Hos. 11:9. And I will not enter into a city. That is, I shall not be enclosed in a place, nor, like men, be compelled to inhabit a city; for everywhere I am present to all. But neither did he enter into the city of Jerusalem, to visit it and to make provision for it; for because of its wicked inhabitants he forsook it.

Hos. 11:10. I will go after the Lord. As though he teaches the people what they must say and do, and says: Since such is your love for mankind, O Lord, I will go after the Lord—I, the people that offended you; and though worthy to suffer the uttermost evils, yet not suffering them because of your mercy, I will henceforth do the things pleasing to you. Such, then, is the meaning of the saying. And reasonably did some, joining to this also the foregoing—I mean the words, I will not enter into a city—say that that too is spoken in the person of the people, who declares: Truly I fortified cities, that in time of war I might have them for a refuge; but since the Lord shows such love for mankind toward me, I will not enter into a city, but will follow the Lord, and in his back parts he will overshadow me, fighting before me and shielding me.

Hos. 11:10. He will roar like a lion, for he himself will roar aloud, and the children of the waters shall be amazed; they shall fly out like a bird from Egypt, and like a dove from the land of the Assyrians, and I will restore them to their houses. He foretells the return that should come to pass afterward in the time of Cyrus. For this man, he says, will march against the Babylonians, like a lion roaring and bellowing. And he hints, by the lion, at his power; and by the He will roar and bellow, at the war-cries in the battle. He will make the Babylonians cowardly, and they shall be amazed, like children of the waters—that is, like fishes; for a fish is a cowardly thing, enduring neither a noise nor a human shadow. When this man, therefore, has taken the Babylonians, the Jews shall return both from the land of the Assyrians and from Egypt. For Cyrus, moved by God, released those who were in Babylon. And when these had returned, and were building Jerusalem according to the command of Cyrus, the Jews in Egypt, hearing of it, took courage and themselves went up too. But some have taken the He will roar of God, that he himself will cast cowardice upon the Babylonians. For indeed what strength Cyrus had, he had from God, as Isaiah prophesied many years before, making mention of his very name. For he says: Thus says the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, that nations might hear before him; and I will break in pieces the strength of kings. I will open before him doors, and cities shall not be shut. And our Lord Jesus Christ too says the words: I will go after the Lord; for I am not a rival of God, but he himself told me what I should say and what I should speak. And: The Father loves the Son, and shows him the works; and, Your will be done. And he roared and bellowed like a lion, when, having cried with a loud voice, he gave forth his soul into the hands of the Father, falling asleep like a lion. Then also the children of the dragon that rules the waters—the powers that apostatized along with him—were afraid, beholding death despoiled. For many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised, which the children of the dragon flew forth from both Egypt and Babylon. For, the knowledge of God taking up its citizenship there, they were driven out thence, and flew away into the abysses of darkness, which were their houses. The children of the waters are the deeds akin to the moist and dissolute life, which, when the lion of the tribe of Judah, Christ, roars forth from the good heart the good word of the Gospel, he makes to fly away from us; and thereafter we escape out of the land of Egypt, like a bird flying upward out of a snare; and we fly away like a meek and guileless dove out of the pride of the Assyrians—which, even if it is exalted, yet in truth is earth; and then we are restored by Jesus to the mansions on high.

Hos. 12:1. Ephraim has encircled me with falsehood, and the house of Israel and of Judah with impieties.[3] I, he says, deem them worthy of so great forethought; but they have encircled me on every side with falsehood—that is, with idolatry. For wherever I turn, I see no place left to me, but they have dedicated all things to the demons. And now too many encircle the Lord with falsehoods, framing false testimonies.

Hos. 12:1. Now God has known them, and a holy people shall be called God’s.[4] Nevertheless, he says, though they are such, I have known—that is, I have loved—them, and I name them my people. And some take it thus: I have known, he says, the manner by which they shall be well-pleasing to me. And they shall be called God’s, and that this shall come to pass through a certain chastening. For when they live in luxury they depart from me. And those of the Hebrews who turn to Christ are called the people of God, concerning whom he seems now to prophesy.

[1] Translator’s note: LXX Ps 79:12 (= MT Ps 80:11).

[2] Translator’s note: Verse numbering uncertain from here to end of chapter: LXX Hos 11 ends at v.11 in some editions, with vv.12–14 corresponding to MT 11:12–12:1-2. The lemmata from here onward may correspond to LXX ch.12.

[3] Translator’s note: This lemma may correspond to LXX Hos 12:1 or MT 11:12; the LXX/MT chapter-boundary shift places it in different chapter numbering. Collation with the LXX critical edition is recommended.

[4] Translator’s note: This lemma may correspond to LXX Hos 12:1 (second part) or the opening of LXX ch.12; see the preceding note on the LXX/MT boundary.

Chapter 12

Hos. 12:2. But Ephraim, an evil spirit, pursued the burning heat all the day long; he multiplied empty and vain things. By “an evil spirit” he means the evil impulse and inclination which Ephraim had, by which he pursued and sought after the burning heat of afflictions and tribulations, forsaking my shadow and my shelter, and all but willingly running into calamities. How? By multiplying the vain altars of the idols. And the very worship of the idols is a burning heat, which destroyed all the fruits of Israel.[1]

Hos. 12:2. And he made a covenant with the Assyrians, and trafficked oil into Egypt. Not only, he says, did he multiply the vain idols, but, forsaking my help, he had recourse to men; and at one time he made friends with the Assyrians, at another he offered oil as a gift to the Egyptians, as though they had none. And Samaria is especially oil-bearing. Or else he is not speaking of such oil, nor that they themselves gave the Egyptians oil, but that, offering them gold, they were contriving to obtain mercy from them. “An evil spirit” are those of the Hebrews who still disbelieve, who also pursue the burning heat all their life long, being inflamed beyond the Law, unwilling to say: A spirit before our face is Christ the Lord, of whom we said: Under his shadow we shall live; and not even running to the water of baptism; for they have empty and vain hopes, that they will recover their homeland. For they made a covenant with the spiritual Assyrians, and gave up the mercy of God to the nations that are in error, who indeed have inherited such mercy. And the oil of the Holy Spirit, with which we were anointed when we were baptized, we obtained, it having passed over from the Hebrews to us. For theirs was the oil of anointing, being a type of the spiritual chrism. He too circles God about with falsehood who loves vanity and seeks a lie—that is, the false goods of the present life. And the same man, receiving the fiery darts of the devil, and walking in the flame which he kindled, pursues the burning heat, and ever runs to it by the things he does, being borne ever toward the burning heat of Gehenna. This man also makes friends with the high-minded powers of the demons, and carries over into the Egypt of this life the oil—that is, the joyful graces of the Holy Spirit, which he received when he was baptized—and betrays them to the Egyptians, so that thereafter he is no longer able to say, My old age shall be exalted in rich oil.

Hos. 12:3. And the Lord has a controversy with Judah, to take vengeance for Jacob. Just as he reproached Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes, as having multiplied vain things, so now he says that he enters into judgment with Judah, that is, the two tribes in Jerusalem. These were indeed descendants of Jacob; yet they did not imitate his virtue, but became a shame and an insult to him. He says, then: I will now avenge Jacob; for, having delivered them to their enemies, I will avenge the insult with which they insulted him.

Hos. 12:3. According to his ways, and his practices. He tells how the vengeance will be: that it will be worthy of his ways—that is, of his works and practices, or of his habits. For often a man does something evil, yet not from an evil habit; but these both journeyed toward evil things, and made these their study and practice.

Hos. 12:4. In the womb he supplanted his brother, and by his labors he prevailed against God; and he prevailed with an angel, and was strong. He sets forth in the midst the things concerning the patriarch Jacob, wishing to convict the lawlessness of his descendants, and he says that the former was chosen for God from the very womb, on account of the virtue that was surely to come. And he supplanted his brother, and through the whole night wrestled with God, that is, with the angel; and he was so strong as to wrestle with God, even though he numbed his thigh. And God wrestled with him, consoling his timidity. For since, being about to meet his brother, he feared him, God shows him that: Since you have prevailed with God, you shall be able to prevail with man also. And the prophet here calls the same one both God and angel, as Moses also does, that they might prefigure Christ, who is both the Angel of Great Counsel—that of the Father—and a mighty God. For he announced to us the counsel of the Father, which was, that through the blood of his Son the things in heaven and the things upon earth should be made at peace. And these things were types of things to come. For they showed that those of Jacob would set themselves against this angel and God; and some would numb the thigh, that is, would go lame in the faith, and would not make their approach to him; while others would confess, even as that very Jacob did, that I have seen God face to face, embodied, that is. And Esau was also called Edom, which is “red”; and the body is a brother of the soul. If any soul in the womb supplants the brother Esau—that is, is not subjected to the gluttony of the inflaming of the blood, but overcomes it—it will be entwined with God, and its thigh will be slackened, and the movement toward the passions of the lower belly will be stilled; and, purified through chastity, it will see God, and from being called Jacob, that is, “supplanter,” which is the practical man, it will be called Israel, that is, the contemplative, according to the saying, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Hos. 12:5. They wept and made supplication to me; in the house of On they found me; there it was spoken to them. This the other translators—Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion—have rendered as set down concerning Jacob: He wept and made supplication to him, and in Bethel he found him. For Jacob, fleeing the plot of Esau and running away to Laban his uncle, obtained at Bethel the divine revelation: Fear not, Jacob, for I am with you; and beseeching God, perhaps with weeping: If you will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on, and bring me back in peace, the Lord shall be my God; and this stone, which I have set up, shall be a house of God; and of all that you give me I will surely render you a tenth. These things, then, the other translators making plain, say that in Bethel, which now holds the idol of On, Jacob wept, and found the one who had appeared and spoken to him: Fear not. But the Seventy, having said in the plural, They wept and made supplication, give us to understand that he says this concerning the people. For they, he says, both at all other times served the idol, and when they seemed to make use of repentance, they did not come into the temple set apart and weep there, but, standing before the idol, called upon my help. Yet I nevertheless, though thus insulted in that place, sent my prophet Amos, speaking to them my words. For in Bethel Amos prophesied, when the false priest of Bethel, Amaziah, said to him: Go into the land of Judah, and prophesy not in Bethel, for it is a king’s sanctuary; that is, this place is set apart to the idol, which he reckoned a king. But some say that God here makes mention of another history, this being traced back to Jacob. For when Simeon and Levi, his sons, slew the Shechemites, because their sister Dinah had been defiled by Hamor the Shechemite, then Jacob grieved, and was in great fear, lest he should be destroyed by the neighboring peoples on account of the Shechemites. Falling down, then, before God, he found him hearkening to him, and saying to him: Go up to Bethel, and dwell there; when Jacob also said to all his house: Put away the strange gods from your midst, and change your garments, and let us arise and go up to Bethel; and they did so. Therefore he said here in the plural, They wept and made supplication to me, that he might show all those about Jacob, who went up with him to Bethel, and made sacrifice to the Lord.

Hos. 12:6. But the Lord God the Almighty shall be his memorial. If indeed the saying is admitted as said concerning Jacob, you will understand that the Lord set him in everlasting remembrances, and bestowed on him immortal renown. For as I live, says the Lord, those who glorify me I will glorify. But if as said concerning the people of the Hebrews, you will understand it thus: that he makes the discourse by way of exhortation, admonishing them that, since they have such a God, who holds all things and is able to do all things, who also strengthened their forefather Jacob, they ought always to remember him, and never to forget him. The “house of On”—that is, of the Unprofitable, or of sin—is this world; for in this world it is worked, but in the world to come it ceases. And nothing is so unprofitable as sin, but rather it is the author of countless harm. In this house, then, whoever weeps and makes supplication will find God, and it will be spoken to him, Your sins are forgiven you. But when this world is dissolved, there is no longer a time for such weeping, which is blessed and has consolation. Of the one who thus weeps, as has been said, God shall be the memorial. For having everlasting gladness, he has it from remembering God and delighting in him: For I remembered God, he says, and was glad. The “house of On”—that is, of the Unprofitable, as has been said—is also wealth, and the glory that is according to the world, at least among the many. He, then, who has used both wealth and glory according to God, having mercy on the poor and standing up for the helpless, this man finds God in the house of On, such as was Zacchaeus. Therefore it will also be spoken to this man what was spoken to that one: Today salvation has come to this house; and such a righteous man shall be for an everlasting memorial. Because he scattered, he gave to the poor; his righteousness abides to the ages of ages.

Hos. 12:7. And you shall turn back in God; keep mercy and judgment, and draw near to your God continually. Even if you are disobedient, he says, and disorderly, and fall very far short of the patriarch Jacob, to whom I bore witness of such great virtue—yet, being chastened by me, and delivered to captivity, you shall turn back to good obedience and good order. Then thereafter, as to one already being scourged and struck, God cries out: Keep mercy and judgment. For just as some master, scourging a disobedient servant, calls out to him as he scourges, Hearken to my commands; so here too God, scourging the people as not keeping mercy and judgment, cries out to them, Keep mercy and judgment—that is, Be compassionate to those who fall into calamities undeservedly (for such is mercy), and judge what is just. Then, leading them on toward the true knowledge of God, he says: Draw near to your God continually—that is, Wander not off into idolatry, but, together with doing what is needful, serve God also. For there is no profit in the supposed working of the virtues, if the knowledge of God is not present. And observe that, just as the Law said, You shall love the Lord your God, and your neighbor; so here too these two are brought in. And the prophet seems to speak also to those who for a time disbelieve in Christ, but afterward are to believe, saying: You too, the Israelite who now disbelieves, shall turn back in Christ, who is your God, not a mere man, as you supposed. But do not think that, if you turn back, you will thereafter be at ease, as one justified by faith; rather, work the virtues also, having mercy indeed, yet with judgment, so as to give to each according as he has need. Then, summing up for the hearer all virtue, he says: Draw near to your God continually. For sins set a division between us and God; but the virtues make us draw near, through likeness. And observe also the word “continually”; for one must not for even a brief moment nod off from the good. And let him who turns back from sin not suppose that he turns back by his own power, but in God; for it is God who works in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure. And it will especially befit judges to keep judgment along with showing mercy. For many, supposedly pitying the poor, condemn the rich outright, even when they have justice standing with them. For this reason we are given the law not to pity a poor man in judgment. But since it is possible to show mercy and to judge justly, yet not according to God, but for the pleasing of men, he adds: Draw near to your God; turn not back toward men, but look to God, who will render the rewards.

Hos. 12:8. Canaan—in his hand is a balance of injustice; he has loved to oppress. I indeed, he says, teach Ephraim these things, to keep mercy and judgment, and what follows; but he has become a Canaan, having emulated the greed and injustice of the Canaanites. So Ezekiel too says to Jerusalem: Your seed and your birth are of the land of Canaan; for of those whose ways he emulated, of these also he received the name. For David too said such a thing concerning the men of that time: False are the sons of men, with balances to do injustice.

Hos. 12:9. Ephraim said: I have grown rich, I have found refreshment for myself. All his labors shall not be found for him, because of the injustices wherein he sinned. Having grown rich out of injustice, he says, and out of oppressing others, Ephraim hoped that he would have rest, and would find refreshment from the burning heat of every trial; but this shall not be. For all that he toiled at shall be vain. This David too says: Hope not in injustice, and long not after plunder. If riches flow in, set not your heart upon them. And those to whom the Lord said, If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham, were Canaan, holding a balance of injustice—they who asked for the robber Barabbas, but crucified Christ the benefactor; who, burning with envy toward him while he lived, supposed they would find refreshment by putting him to death. But they shall gain nothing, he says; for not only were they unable to stop him from being glorified, but also all their distinctions, in which they toiled, were obliterated by the Romans. So too one who grows rich out of injustice will say, I have grown rich, I have found refreshment for myself; but let such men hear, among the rest, this also: that they are children of Canaan, whom Noah cursed.

Hos. 12:10. But I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt; for I will settle you, and will make you to dwell in tents, as in the days of a feast. You, he says, hoped in your wealth that came from injustice; but I, just as I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and made you, as you journeyed through the wilderness, to dwell in tents, so now too I will remove you and make you to dwell in tents, just as in the days of the Feast of Tabernacles you were accustomed to dwell in tents. For God commanded the Feast of Tabernacles for this very reason, that, dwelling in tents, they might not be unmindful of their sojourn in the wilderness. So too those who became God-slayers are removed from country to country, and resemble those who dwell in tents. And whomever the Lord leads out as from the Egypt of sin, he teaches to regard this life as a tent and a sojourning. For then indeed it is possible to keep festival to the Lord, the feast that is according to the spirit.

Hos. 12:11. And I will speak to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by the hands of the prophets I was likened. Justly, he says, do I remove you, because what I spoke through my prophets for your admonition you did not hear (for “I will speak” stands for “I spoke”); and I spoke not words only, but also multiplied visions—that is, prophecies shown forth through deeds; just as I commanded this very prophet at one time to take a harlot, and at another an adulteress, instructing them through the deeds which they saw. And he teaches also that he used various revelations, not displaying his own nature (for it is invisible), but, according to the need of each occasion, showing certain types and likenesses of the divine nature and energy. For in one way to Daniel, and in another to Ezekiel, and to Isaiah in another, and to Micah in yet another. But some take it thus: I indeed multiplied the prophetic visions; but your false prophets, imitating the deeds of my prophets, and likening themselves to them, spoke the things from their own heart. For Jeremiah, putting wooden collars about his neck, signified that the king would be enslaved; but the false prophet Hananiah, taking them, broke them, saying that Thus says the Lord:

Hos. 12:12. Thus will I break the yoke of the king of Babylon. He accuses the people, then, that when he spoke to the prophets they did not hear, but obeyed the false prophets, who spoke likenesses of divine prophecy, not the truth. But since “I will speak to the prophets” is said as of something future, perhaps he speaks concerning the apostles and the prophets of their time, on whose account the Lord also says, I will send prophets and scribes and wise men. I will speak, then, he says, to such prophets—I who prefigured certain likenesses of my presence in the flesh, having shown them forth in manifold and many ways among the prophets under the Law. And since we also now behold through a mirror and in a riddle, fittingly all knowledge that comes to be here is a likeness, and every vision is not single and simple, but multiplied, figured forth through certain perceptible images. So too we name God a sun, and fire, and life, and the rest of such things.[2]

Hos. 12:12. If Gilead is not, then false were the rulers sacrificing in Gilgal. I, he says, thus admonished you through the prophets; but you, going up to Gilead and Gilgal, together with your rulers, performed the false and vain things, sacrificing to the idols. And he makes mention of these two cities, as being given over to idols beyond the others, as he said above. Since, then, the king of the Assyrians, Phona, coming up, took first the city of Gilead, which is beyond the Jordan, he says: If indeed Gilead is not (for it was utterly destroyed), then it is plain that your rulers, going up to Gilgal and sacrificing, were false—that is, laboring in vain; for it is vanity to sacrifice to the idols, asking good things from them.

Hos. 12:12. Their altars are as tortoises upon the dry ground of a field. Either because they made such altars, high and conspicuous, like tortoises—that is, the moundings which farmers make on account of the waters; for they call such things “tortoises.” Or because, just as the tortoise, being an amphibious animal, while it lives in the water often escapes its hunters, but on dry land is easily caught; so too the altars of the idols, built by you, will be easily taken by the enemies, and will be razed by them. Or, just as the mind of the righteous man is an altar beloved by God, so too that of the impious and sinful man resembles a tortoise, being covered by the thick shell of the body, and moving heavily under it; when indeed, having become wholly fleshly, and bearing no comeliness from the “according to the image,” but displaying the deformity that comes of vice, and wandering in the dry and barren course of the field of this world; and whenever you see a man becoming now one thing and now another, doubling between the two ways of life, they likened him both to the other amphibious animals and to the tortoise.

Hos. 12:13. And Jacob withdrew into the plain of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and kept guard. Again he made mention of the wife of the patriarch Jacob, and he says that the former, persuaded by his mother, who urged him not to take a wife from the land of Canaan, withdrew into Syria to Laban; and he served him for a wife—that is, on account of a wife—and guarded himself from taking a Canaanite woman. Or because, for the sake of Rachel, he kept all that Laban enjoined upon him.

Hos. 12:14. And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel up out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved. On account of his virtue, he says, his descendants the Israelites also were loved by God, and he brought them up out of Egypt by a prophet, Moses, and preserved them through the same prophet in the wilderness; and this though many nations warred against them. Or they were preserved also through Joshua the son of Nun; for him too he calls a prophet. These things are a type of Christ. For, having set foot upon the earth, he betrothed the Church, and on her behalf served in flesh and in sufferings, and in the commandments of the Law, which he kept. And in him we were brought up out of the Egypt of sin, and are preserved; for he is the prophet of whom Moses said: The Lord will raise up for you a prophet. And everyone who has become worthy to be called Israel, and to see God, both serves for a wife, when he makes provision for the flesh, but not to lust; and keeps guard in a wife, when he buffets the flesh and brings it into bondage; and he is brought up out of Egypt, this dark life, through a prophet—that is, through the word, which gives us assurance concerning things to come. For if one will not believe him who says that there will be another, more divine state after death, how shall he be brought up out of this world, whose pleasures are in hand?

Hos. 12:15. Ephraim was filled with wrath, and provoked to anger. Jacob, he says, was so eager not to transgress his mother’s exhortation, and chose to serve in a way that brought reproach, that he might take a wife of a good lineage; but the people of Ephraim, born of him, did all that moved me to wrath and anger, setting up the golden heifers, and worshiping them.

Hos. 12:15. And his blood shall be poured out upon him. He provoked me, he says; but he himself will be the cause of his own destruction; he will wipe upon himself all the deadly afflictions.

Hos. 12:15. And the Lord will repay him his reproach according to the word of Ephraim. By “reproach” God means the insult against himself, with which Jeroboam insulted him, saying to the people: Go not up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. This reproach, then, and this insult, done against God according to the word of Ephraim—that is, of Jeroboam—the Lord will repay him. Or because Ephraim shall be reproached and insulted according to his word—that is, in proportion and correspondingly to his impieties. To the Christ-slayers too was repaid the reproach with which they reproached Christ: Others he saved, and himself he cannot save. How was it repaid? According to the word which they spoke: His blood be upon us, and upon our children.

[1] Translator’s note: LXX verse numbering for Hos.12 may be offset by one from MT (LXX 12:1 = MT 11:12 in some traditions); OSIS refs here follow MT/standard versification.

[2] The citation Οὕτως συντρίψω τὸν ζυγὸν βασιλέως Βαβυλῶνος (“Thus will I break the yoke of the king of Babylon”) is attributed to the false prophet Hananiah (Jer.28.11; LXX Jer.35.11); Theophylact uses it as an example of pseudo-prophetic speech.

Chapter 13

Hos. 13:1. He received ordinances in Israel, and gave them to Baal. Having received my laws, according to which he ought to have lived and to have served me, he gave them to Baal—that is, he added himself to the idols, and as it were made covenants with them, so as to serve them.

Hos. 13:1. And he died. Both in soul, inasmuch as he became a slave of idols, and in body, inasmuch as he was delivered to the enemies. And perhaps he also makes mention of that ancient history, when, the Israelites having committed fornication—those initiated to Baal-Peor—many thousands fell, when the Israelite too, embracing the Midianite woman, was put to death by Phinehas.

Hos. 13:2. And now they have added to sin yet more, and have made for themselves a molten image out of their silver, after the likeness of idols, the works of craftsmen finished for them. They increase, he says, their impiety; for they did not halt at the former things, nor were they brought to their senses by the death; but they made idols still—some molten, out of silver; others the works of craftsmen, that is, wooden, which they themselves finished and wrought. Which is also a shame to them, that they worshiped these things which they themselves finished.

Hos. 13:2. They say: Sacrifice men; for the calves have failed. Not only, he says, did they make these their gods, but they even exhorted men to sacrifice men. For they sacrificed, he says, their sons and their daughters to the demons. Then, tearing apart and mocking their impiety as in its gravity, he says: For the calves have failed; as if he said: Have the calves so failed, O most impious ones, that you sacrifice men? But some take it thus: So many were their gods, and so many the sacrifices and the altars, that even the calves failed, and thereafter they sacrificed men; and the Hebrews after Christ sacrificed the martyrs by slaying them, because the calves sacrificed in the legal sacrifices had failed, the Law being abolished through the faith which the martyrs proclaimed. And everyone who honors pleasure as a good—being, as it were, an idol of the good and of pleasure—instead of slaughtering calves, that is, irrationality, slaughters men, killing the characteristic marks of the man, of the one who is being renewed after the image of him who created him.

Hos. 13:3. Therefore they shall be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that passes away, as chaff blown from a threshing-floor, and as vapor from a chimney. On account, he says, of this excessive impiety, for which they even become child-slayers, I will make them vanish by the assault of the enemies. For just as the sun easily consumes and disperses the early dew and the morning cloud; and just as the wind makes the chaff of the threshing-floor vanish, and the vapor of the chimney—that is, the smoke—is dissolved into the air: so too they shall be consumed by the enemies.

Hos. 13:4. I am the Lord your God, who makes firm the heaven, and creates the earth.[1] You indeed sacrificed to the idols as to lords and gods; but I am the Lord your God, who makes firm the heaven—that is, who grants it its endurance. Such also is the saying, “who creates the earth”—that is, granting to the earth so to stand as it was created from the beginning, and to be harmed in nothing by time. So too the saying, “who makes his angels spirits”—that is, preserving them and guarding them according to the principles by which they were made from the beginning.

Hos. 13:4. Whose hands fashioned the host of heaven. Whether the powers above and invisible, or the multitude of the stars, and the sun, and the moon, which you worshiped.

Hos. 13:4. And I did not display them to you that you should go after them. Not for this, he says, did I set you as a beholder of the beauty of my creatures, that you should worship them, but that through them you should marvel at me, their Maker. For the Scripture did not say that he set them for worship, but for light. He, then, who is still earth has need to be created and to be remolded toward the better, and to become in Christ a new creation. But he who already minds the things above, and has risen above the body of lowliness, and has become a throne of God, because God rests upon him, and on this account is named a heaven (For heaven, he says, is my throne)—such a one, then, has need to be made firm, that he may not fall away from the good. And he is made firm by the word, namely when he works the virtues, together with knowing the principles of the virtues. For by the Word of the Lord the heavens were made firm; whereas he who does not pursue virtue according to reason is prone to fall.

Hos. 13:4–5. And I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but me, and there is no savior besides me. I shepherded you in the wilderness, in an uninhabited land according to their pastures.[2] After I brought you up out of Egypt, laying down the Law for you, I charged you to know no other God but me; for I said: You shall not make a likeness of anything, of all that is in heaven above, and all that is upon the earth below. And not only did I free you from the slavery of the Egyptians, but also in the wilderness and uninhabited land I shepherded the people, according to their pastures—that is, supplying them their desires according to the needs that fell out at each time: manna, when they needed bread; quails, when they desired meat; water, when they thirsted. Or “according to their pastures” stands for “according to the stations and the places” in which they encamped. For wherever the people encamped, he says, the supply followed them, fulfilling every need.

Hos. 13:6. And they were filled to fullness. With the manna, and the quails, and the other good things of God. And the phrase “they were filled to fullness” signifies an excess, that it might both teach the rich-giving bounty of God toward them, and convict their insatiability and ingratitude.

Hos. 13:6. And their hearts were lifted up; on account of this they forgot me. This Moses too says in the song: And Jacob ate, and was filled, and the beloved kicked; which also later befell the Hebrews. For, luxuriating in the wonders of Christ—among the rest, those in the multiplying of the loaves—they were lifted up against him. So too in the Church. Often one, having received to fullness a gift of the word, and having been enriched in it in all knowledge and wisdom, uses it for the establishment of a heretical doctrine, and his heart is lifted up, exalting itself against the knowledge of God. For the Son of Man, who is Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, is not lifted up in him; but his heart is, that is, the reasonings of human and falsely-named knowledge. And such a heart of his gathered lawlessness to itself, gathering from certain sophistic premises the conclusions that result, full of all lawlessness, of which he himself will reap the fruit. And observe that, as soon as one’s heart is lifted up, by the very lifting up it forgets God; for if it remembered God, it would remember also the divine greatness, and would not think itself lofty; just as when one looks at the sun, then he does not marvel at the lamp.

Hos. 13:7. And I will be to them as a panther and a leopard. Since, he says, they were lifted up out of self-conceit, as making light of their enemies and reveling in my help, now I will bring upon them the Babylonians, after the manner of a panther and a leopard, setting upon them swiftly. For since God himself brings the enemies upon those who deserve affliction, he says that he himself will be a leopard and a panther.

Hos. 13:8. By the way of the Assyrians I will meet them, as a bear at a loss. That is, I will bring the Assyrians upon them by the road that leads from the Assyrians into Palestine, after the manner of a bear at a loss—that is, hemmed in, and unable to flee. For then, being utterly at a loss, with unrestrained madness it sets upon those who war against it. Or “at a loss”—that is, bereft of its young, taken by the hunters, or hungering and at a loss for food. And the phrase “by the way of the Assyrians” can also be understood otherwise. For since they themselves went off to the Assyrians, seeking an alliance against the Egyptians, which he said also in the foregoing, he says: While they are going off to the Assyrians, I will set the Egyptians upon them, and they will treat them cruelly and harshly.

Hos. 13:8. And I will break apart the enclosure of their heart. These things, he says, I will accomplish, so that I may break apart their closed and hardened heart, and open it, and enter into it, and become known to them. Or by “enclosure” he means the security, and the boldness of the heart, and the courage; so that what is said is of this kind: I will break apart all their security, and make their heart cowardly.

Hos. 13:8. And there the cubs of the thicket shall devour them, and the beasts of the field shall tear them apart. Not only, he says, while in their own homeland will they reap the evils, but also there—that is, having come into the land of the enemies—they will have no respite from the evils; rather, those who took them captive will treat them cruelly. For he calls the enemies cubs and beasts. Or because, being cast out unburied, they will be devoured by beasts. The “enclosure of the heart” is the Law; under it they were guarded, shut up to faith—that is, pressed together by it toward believing in Christ. He, then, broke apart this enclosure who abolished the law of the commandments in ordinances. And the letter of the Law is also a fence, not allowing one to come within and to see the things graciously given to us by God. The Lord, then, broke this apart, and gave passage to the spirit. Nevertheless, there the spiritual beasts devour those of the circumcision; that is, Although I broke apart the letter, they themselves remain there, and, as not removing, the demons devour them. The “enclosure of the heart” is also the Hellenic doctrines of philosophy and empty deceit, which set upon it the bars of their demonstrations, so that it does not receive the faith; which he breaks apart who was well-pleased, through the foolishness of the proclamation, to save those who believe. But the abundance of worldly goods too is an enclosure of the heart, shutting it up in a dark and gloomy prison, so that it does not see the true light. And the Lord breaks this apart, when he says: Go, sell your possessions; and, Unless one renounces all that he has, he cannot be my disciple; and all such things. But those who do not obey are devoured there—that is, in that day, by the punishments.

Hos. 13:9–10. Who will help your dispersion, O Israel? Where is the king? Let him save you in all your cities. He laments and at the same time reproaches Israel, and reminds him of his former folly, on account of which he asked to be ruled by a man, thrusting aside the kingship of God. He says, then: Who will help your dispersion, in which you were scattered, taken captive by the Assyrians and Egyptians? You asked for a king, and Saul was then given you. This one, then (not Saul at all, but he who now holds this kingship which you once asked for)—let him save you, fighting for you in all the cities in which you dwell. But some of the copies have “your corruption”; and here too the sense is the same; for the utter desolation which they had when taken captive he names “corruption.”

Hos. 13:10–11. Let him judge you, whom you spoke of: Give me a king and a ruler; and I gave you a king in my anger. You asked, he says, for a king; let this one judge you—that is, avenge you. Then, as if someone said: I indeed asked, but you also gave; Yes, he says, I gave indeed, yet in anger; for I yielded to your foolish will, that through the very deeds you might be instructed that my kingship, not the human, is able to help you.

Hos. 13:11. And I bore with, in your wrath, a conspiracy of injustice. “I bore with” stands for “I yielded, I gave in.” I bore with your unjust conspiracy—that is, your gathering, your conspiring together. For you all, having banded and conspired together, sought a king, wronging yourselves, because you set yourselves over my kingship; and I gave in, not as being pleased with this conspiracy, but as abandoning you; for it was with wrath. Does not this plainly apply also to those who said: We have no king but Caesar. For, having thrust aside the Son of God, and having inscribed for themselves the man as king, whom indeed God also gave them, subjecting them to Caesar, they were scattered; and no one helps their dispersion. And every man-pleaser suffers corruption. For he who wishes to please all, who both say and think contrary things, is divided among as many as he is eager to please. Therefore such a man is ruled by men, and those base ones, having forsaken the pleasing of God and the fulfilling of his will. Hear David too: God scattered the bones of man-pleasers. And you surely know that “bones” are often spoken of in the Scripture for the reasonings.

Hos. 13:12–13. Ephraim—the sin is hidden; pangs as of a woman in travail shall come upon him. That is, the sin is not on the surface, but was rooted in the depth, and is hard to pluck out. Therefore he will have pains, like a woman giving birth. And you will understand it thus as well: Jeroboam, as we have often said, began the idolatry. He says, then, that the sin of this man was cast down like a kind of seed, and was hidden in the heart of the people, and from then on they served idols. And such a seed being there, the time of the pangs will come—that of war and of captivity. For such seeds have such pangs.

Hos. 13:13. Is this your prudent son? Read it as a question; for having said above, “Who will help your dispersion, O Israel?” he now asks: Is this your prudent son?—that is, A king from the tribe of Ephraim, will this one save you, whom you made king as prudent? For there were two sons of Joseph, Manasseh the elder and Ephraim the younger; and the king ought to have come from the tribe of the elder; but you, the people, elbowed aside the elder Manasseh, and chose Ephraim, and set up a king from his tribe, as being supposedly more capable and more fit. But this will profit you nothing. He hints also at Hoshea, reigning in Samaria, who, warred upon by the Babylonian Shalmaneser, called upon the Egyptian, as supposedly prudent. But he gained nothing from his device; for he himself too was enslaved together with the people by Shalmaneser. And it can also be read without the question, and referred to “Let him save you” and “Let him judge you”: This your prudent son. But he surely calls him prudent in irony.

Hos. 13:13. Because now he shall not stand firm in the crushing of children. For how could this king Hoshea profit you, who, when your children are crushed, will in no way withstand the enemies; for he himself too will be taken captive. Hidden also was the injustice of those who killed the Lord, and full of guile and hypocrisy; for they said that, according to the Law, he ought to die, because he called himself the Son of God. But pangs of calamities came upon the people, who, as knowing the ordinances of God, ought to have been prudent. And indeed such they seemed, though not being so truly; for this people is foolish, and not wise. He did not, then, withstand the siege of the Romans, when the children were crushed, devoured by their mothers because of the famine. And if David too, speaking in the Spirit, said: I will confess my lawlessness against myself to the Lord; and you forgave the impiety of my heart; he said it truly: it is good not to keep injustice hidden, nor to shade it over with excuses, but to make it manifest and to parade it forth. Otherwise, pangs will come—that is, the evil will be more complete, and the seed of injustice, which one has hidden within himself, will be brought to its term, and it will be said of him: Behold, he travailed with injustice, he conceived toil, and brought forth lawlessness. But when our evil children—that is, our thoughts and deeds—are crushed by our man-loving Father, like clay and earthen vessels of a potter, that they may become vessels worthy of the great house of the Church, prepared for honor and useful to the Master; then indeed the injustice appears, having no substance nor reasonable cause; and though ten thousand times we hasten to hide it away, yet the word convicts it as unreasonable and without substance.

Hos. 13:14. Out of the hand of Hades I will deliver them, and from death I will redeem them. Since he has sufficiently foretold the grievous things, he now runs back to his accustomed kindness, and says: Out of the captivity I will bring them. For he calls the captivity Hades and death. And these things came to pass typically then, at the return from Babylon; but they received their more complete and more true fulfillment after the resurrection of the Savior. For our first-fruits having risen, we all received the grace and the hope of the resurrection; just as the reviving of the bones in Ezekiel also signified both the return of Israel and the common resurrection of all. For the things that came to pass among the Jews then were types of God’s dispensation concerning all. He redeemed, then, the souls out of the hand of Hades; for these are in Hades, not in death—for they are immortal; but the bodies are in death—for these are the things that are mortal. And everyone who sins is in Hades, inasmuch as his soul, becoming formless, loses its proper form and the “according to the image”; and in death, inasmuch as the works of sin are toilsome and death-bearing. And out of the Jews too he delivered those who believed in Christ from both the Hades of the soul and the death from the Romans. For on account of the elect, he says, those days shall be shortened.

Hos. 13:14. Where is your penalty, O death? Where is your sting, O Hades? As certain victory-paeans and hymns he strikes up these words: Where is your penalty, O death—that is, the right which you had against those who were until now under you. Where is the sting, by which you slew those whom you swallowed? Death had indeed a right against the captive Israelites—namely sin, which was also its sting; and it had this same right against all humanity. For indeed, In the hour you eat, he says, you shall die the death. Justly, then, death held the transgressors. But he both redeemed the Israelites, passing over their lawlessnesses; and afterward he delivered all humanity, himself appearing sinless, and abolishing the right and the sting which death had against us; and this was sin. And some copies have, “Where is your victory, O death?” That is, You shall no longer conquer; for the cause of the victory is taken away; the disobedience is loosed, and sin is blunted.

Hos. 13:15. Comfort is hidden from my eyes, because this one shall rise up in the midst of brothers. This comfort and consolation of the kindlier hope at the quenching of the captivity, and the expectation of the resurrection, seems to be hidden, both from the captive Jews and from all, by their tenets. For this one—that is, death—separates the brothers of the captivity, and divides them from one another. And on this account men are without hope that there will be a release from the hardships. And in all human nature, death separating both brothers, and all men simply, from one another, the resurrection was hidden. And now too among the godless it is hidden; therefore Paul calls it a mystery. “But my mystery,” says God, “is for me and for mine.” But some read this interrogatively: Is comfort hidden from my eyes? As if, when someone was at a loss and said, How shall this come to pass? how shall death cease? God says: Is comfort hidden from my eyes?—that is, Am I not able to find comfort? I am certainly able; and it is my only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, whom I set forth as a propitiation and a Comforter. He abolishes death, and shall divide in the midst of brothers. For indeed he came to cast a sword; and on account of him brother shall deliver up brother to death, and a father his children. And from the eyes of the one who mourns and weeps on account of sin, comfort is hidden now; for in the world to come he shall be comforted. And his life is hidden in Christ, as he dies daily in the present life. And this one shall divide in the midst of brothers; for he does not allow the soul to conspire with the body. But the mind of the flesh, knowing enmity toward God, makes the outer man to be corrupted, but renews the inner day by day. He divides, then, and makes a separation in the midst of the two brothers—I mean the soul and the body; to the one giving its own, and preserving its dignity; to the other apportioning the second place, and not allowing it to live disorderly and dissolutely.

Hos. 13:15. The Lord will bring upon him a burning wind from the wilderness. Upon death, he says—that is, upon the Babylonians (for these are the ones who put Israel to death)—he will bring a burning wind, Cyrus the king of the Persians. And he made mention of the wilderness, that he might show the vehemence and violence of the wind. For from treeless places the winds are more violent.

Hos. 13:15. And he will dry up his veins, and will make desolate his springs. That is, he will destroy all the royal kindred, and will take away the resources of the tyranny—I mean wealth, and the other royal goods; for these he named, figuratively, veins and springs.

Hos. 13:15. He himself will dry up his land, and all his desirable vessels. And simply you will understand it thus, that he dried up the land, cutting the fruits and leaving it untilled, and plundered his precious vessels of silver and of gold; but you will understand also by “land” the humbler of the people, and by “his desirable vessels” those who busy themselves about the palace, the satraps akin to the Babylonian. The Father brought upon death our Savior Jesus Christ, from the wilderness of the Virgin, whom no man traversed—who is Christ, and is a wind, and a burning heat according to his divinity; for God is spirit and fire—and he dried up the springs of death, our lawlessnesses (for these are the springs of death); and all their desirable vessels—namely us—he plundered. He dried up also his land, this mortal flesh, making it no longer bear fruit to death. For it is sown in corruption, but is raised in incorruption. He brought also John from the wilderness as a wind and a burning heat, as one going in the spirit and power of the warmth of the zeal of Elijah, and burning up through his rebukes those who heard. He dried up the veins and the springs of the death of the soul, cutting off the resources of each vice—of the tax-collectors, and the soldiers, and the rest of the people. Or are not the tax-collectors desirable vessels of such a death, prepared for destruction? Whom that one, enjoining to do nothing beyond what was appointed—that is, to exact nothing more—made into useful vessels. He dried up also the land of Herod, restraining the lecheries of the flesh, and his desirable vessel, Herodias, saying that he ought not to have her. These things the word also does in each of those who sin.

[1] Translator’s note: LXX 13:4 here contains material on God establishing heaven and earth, substantially different from MT 13:4 (“I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me”). The LXX expansion may reflect a distinct textual tradition.

[2] Translator’s note: This combined lemma = MT 13:4–5; LXX verse numbering is offset here due to the extra creation-verse above.

Chapter 14

Hos. 14:1. Samaria shall be destroyed, because she set herself against her God; they shall fall by the sword, and their nurslings shall be dashed to the ground, and their women with child shall be ripped open.[1] Marvelously does he weave the word of the prophecy, neither bringing forth the consoling things uniform and alone, nor leaving the grievous things without consolation. For to the grievous things he joins those of consolation, that they may not come to utter despair, but may learn that God is ready at hand for them, and is present to those who are willing to turn, that they may enjoy his goodness; seeing that even to those who sin he promises the kindlier things. And to the consoling words he likewise interweaves the grievous, that he may not make them altogether slack, but may cast them into fear. For he knows that some are disciplined by fear, others by kindlier promises; and for this reason he sets down both. And now too, since he had spoken the joyful things and those of freedom, again he reminds them of the apostasy by which they fell away from God, and brings on the things they shall suffer because of it. He says, then, that since Samaria set herself against the divine will, her men shall fall by the sword of war; and the nurslings—that is, the babes at the breast (for τιτθοί are the breasts)—being dashed against the ground shall be destroyed; and the women with child shall have their bellies ripped open, that is, cut asunder, that they may perish together with the embryos. The boast of the people of the Law also fell by the sword, by the evangelical word; and those who were nourished by the milk of the Law, conceiving nothing lofty, remained upon the ground of the letter. Or it fell because, striking against Christ who was humbled even to the earth, they were dissolved. And their teachers, who sound from the belly and the womb, who order their whole life toward the belly, whose God is the belly, were torn apart by envy. And it is good that the wicked offspring of our mind be dashed to the ground while they are yet infants and weak, and be cast down, that they may not lift up their head over us, that is, the ruling faculty. The reasonings of pride too are dashed to the ground, when we consider that we are earth and ashes. Now envy has murder in its womb; luxury, licentiousness; wealth, the oppression of the lowlier; and one vice has another. These mothers, then, must be ripped open and split apart through the sword of the word, uncovering their loathsomeness, that the evils to be born of them may perish together with them.

Hos. 14:2. Turn back, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have grown weak in your iniquities.[2] I have set before you, he says, the things you have heard. That you may not, then, suffer these things, turn back to the Lord; because this weakness with which you grew weak, being delivered over to your enemies, you grew weak on account of your iniquities. So that, if you would become strong, draw near to God. Or, “You grew weak” stands for “You grew old in wickedness,” you remained a long time in it.

Hos. 14:3. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord. Not gold, nor silver, nor any other ransom do I counsel you to take, but words of supplication, and such as confess the majesty of the Lord. For since you confessed the idols to be gods, denying him, now again take words that deny those and confess him. Then he teaches what manner of words one must take.

Hos. 14:3. Say to him: That you may not receive iniquity, but may receive good things. Beseech him, he says, and ask, that you may not receive the fruits of iniquity—which were the captivity and the evils that come of it—but that you may receive good things.

Hos. 14:3. And let us render the fruit of our lips.[3] Say this too: that We promise to confess to your name, and not to that of the idols; for this is the fruit of our lips, and it is a debt we owe. For he did not say, “We shall give,” but, “We shall render.” For having you as Maker and Benefactor, we necessarily owe you this confession.

Hos. 14:4. Asshur shall not save us, and we will not ride upon a horse; we will no more say, Our gods, to the works of our hands. No longer, he says, will we put our trust in any man, neither in the help of the Assyrians, nor in our own cavalry, nor will we name the idols gods. And observe that he ranked together with idolatry the trusting in men and horses; for both the idols are vain, and man is vanity, and all that pertains to him. These things seem to admonish also those who boast that they are justified by works of the Law; and he says: Turn to the Lord, letting go of the letter, and taking away the veil which lies upon your heart when it is read. Turn to the Lord; and the Lord is the Spirit. And: If you believe with your heart, and confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, you shall be saved. This is the fruit of the lips, an acceptable offering. And confess that neither Asshur—and the conceit of having Abraham for father—nor a horse and the arrogance of boasting in circumcision will save you, but faith working through love. Now the one who sins has no words with him; for he does all things without reason; but the one who turns and repents, doing all things with good reason, is said to take words to himself. And in another sense: that he reckons with himself and demands an accounting, examining himself before the judgment to come, and searching out what he has set right and what is yet lacking; he does not speak of glory and of that by which he is exalted (for these are characteristic of the Assyrians), nor does he mount upon a horse, as one carried along and delighting in womanish frenzy; nor does he glory in the other works of their active power, which formerly he worshiped, nor does he call the idols his gods and lords, and the memorials of those deeds.

Hos. 14:4. In you he will have mercy on the orphan. That is, I, God, dwelling in you, will have mercy on you the orphan, O Israel, who slipped away from me your true Father, and were made desolate of my guardianship and providence. And the Father who is in the Son will have mercy, he says, on the gentile people, orphaned of the heavenly Father. And it is said to God: He who is in you, and is not removed far from you, will have mercy on the orphan; for you indeed are the Father of orphans; so that he who does not have mercy on the orphan is not in you.

Hos. 14:5. I will heal their dwellings. That is, their cities and their villages, and all the land in which they dwell; for they received a great weakness, deprived of every good, as of some health or beauty. Or it means: I will make them have dwellings again. For being in captivity, they had sojournings, not dwellings. Returning, then, again, they shall take up their cities and their villages, in which they shall dwell securely. Christ also healed, working signs, the bodies of the Hebrews of that time, which were the dwellings of their souls; but their souls themselves he did not heal, since they were not willing. For how often, he says, would I have gathered your children together, and you would not. And if the dwellings of the nations, full of idols and shameful deeds, were sick with a sickness to death, which he healed, having come that he might take away our diseases and bear our infirmities.

Hos. 14:5. I will love them avowedly. That is, indisputably, all of them together, and not this one and not that one. Or: When, together with the gentiles, I shall receive them, confessing my name; for when the fullness of the nations shall have entered in, then all Israel shall be saved.

Hos. 14:5. Because my anger has turned away from them. For when they gave me their backs and not their face, my anger remained, lying upon them; but now, when they have turned to me, my anger has turned away from them.

Hos. 14:6. And I will be as dew to Israel, and he shall blossom as a lily. My benefits I will supply to them as dew, and they shall blossom as a lily. And in many places the divine Scripture makes mention of this flower. Isaiah says: Let the desert rejoice, and blossom as a lily. And Solomon in the Song of Songs: As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters. And the Lord: Behold, he says, the lilies of the field. We learn, then, from these, that besides its fragrance the whiteness also of this flower is admired. And every soul resembles it, when it is set free from the foul stench of sin and from its filth, and is clothed with the shining robe of baptism, concerning which Isaiah also says, that: My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for he has clothed me with a garment of salvation. Like this lily, then, Israel also shall blossom, having come to know God, and having received all the dew from above—him who came down as rain upon a fleece—and having become a sweet savor to God, such as Paul was, being a sweet savor of Christ and an odor of life.

Hos. 14:6. And he shall cast forth his roots as Lebanon. Since the lily has a most brilliant fragrance, but has no notable size or stability, he made mention of Lebanon the mountain, which is both great and densely wooded with trees that have deep roots and are able to endure for a very long time, that he might show that the glory of the Israelites who turn to God shall also be great and enduring. And since the idolaters too spent much of their time on Lebanon, honoring the bushier and taller of the trees, the word hints that both Israel and the gentiles who were formerly idolaters shall be rooted in the Church. And in the Church too, whenever you see someone living well, so that his light shines before men, call this man a lily; and if you see him also uttering lofty things concerning God, and casting down roots, so that his words are the more permanent, and producing disciples of the word of truth, call him Lebanon.

Hos. 14:7. His branches shall go forth. That is, he shall be numerous, and the children whom the war consumed he shall acquire again, and they shall be extended far. The branches go forth also of him who ever sets ascents in his heart; for he does not stand still in one form of virtue, but passes over to every kind. The branches of the Israel that is well-pleasing to God are also the apostles, who, having gone forth, made disciples of all the nations.

Hos. 14:7. And he shall be as a fruitful olive tree. Ever-flourishing, clearly, and not withering even in the time of trials; just as the olive does not shed its leaves in winter. But since many have only the appearance of virtue, like leaves, There must be, he says, fruit. A fruitful olive is he who shows mercy not for display; for his fruits do not fall away, nor is the reward lost.

Hos. 14:7. And his fragrance as that of Lebanon. Now “Lebanon” (λίβανος) is also frankincense, an easily-crumbled, sweet-smelling[4] incense. He, then, who offers himself to God by praying in the Spirit, and asking for nothing, as the gentiles do, this man has his fragrance as frankincense.

Hos. 14:8. They shall turn back and sit beneath his shelter. Turning back from the captivity, he says, they shall have God as a shelter. Or it means that, having turned and repented from their sins, they shall be sheltered by God, kept by him from every burning heat of affliction. Observe also the word “They shall sit”; for this signifies the secure and abiding enjoyment of good things.

Hos. 14:8. They shall live and be strengthened with grain—or, as some of the copies have, they shall be made drunk. They shall have, he says, an abundance of all good things. They shall live, then, having been begotten through the regeneration, and having come under the law of the Spirit of life; and they shall be strengthened with the mystical grain, and shall be made drunk from the Master’s blood. And hear also what follows:

Hos. 14:8. And he shall flourish as a vine; his memorial shall be as the wine of Lebanon of Ephraim. David and other prophets call them a vine; but when its hedge was taken away—that is, the divine guard—it became a plunder and a trampling for the Babylonians. It shall blossom again, then, he says, as it was of old a vine. And his memorial shall be—that is, those who were left of it, and were saved out of the captivity—as wine, having the fragrance of the incense of Lebanon; or as wine cultivated on Lebanon the mountain; or because he shall be in good repute, and those who remember him shall remember him with pleasure. And since the Lord too is mentioned as a vine in the Gospel, and the blood of the grape becomes his blood, when he said: Do this in remembrance of me; behold, his memorial is wine. He strengthens also with grain, as you learned above; so that you have the mysteries proclaimed beforehand.

Hos. 14:9. What then has he still to do with idols? Having enjoyed, then, he says, so great care and kindness from me, he ought to flee the idols. For what fellowship has he still with those? For did he not clearly come to know that those are weak, but I am strong?

Hos. 14:9. I humbled him, and I will strengthen him. Those, as I said, are weak, and could neither harm him nor profit him; but I was the one[5] who both brought on the hardships, and am able to supply the things of gladness. The like is: I will kill and I will make alive; I will strike, and I will heal. The flesh is humbled, that the spirit may be strong; for these are opposed to one another. Paul said: When I am weak, then am I strong.

Hos. 14:9. I am as a thickly-shading juniper. The juniper is a bushy and spreading plant, having dense and evergreen branches, and bearing thorny foliage. He says, then: So will I shade and shelter you with the dense branches of my help, so that, dwelling in my help, you shall lodge in the shelter of the God of heaven, and shall fear neither any burning heat of afflictions, nor rain—that is, slackening, and a moist and dissolute life. For the branches of my help, being dense and continuous, will not allow to pass through either the burning heat just spoken of, to pain you into blasphemy, nor the rain just spoken of, dissolving you into luxury and insolence; but even if someone should come, intending to ravage your branches as with certain weapons[6] or arrows, being pricked by the thorns that grow upon them, he shall withdraw. And the thorn, in everyone who lives according to God, is altogether the rough life, which pricks us with the care of the judgment there.

Hos. 14:9. From me is your fruit found. That is, I will supply to you the produce of every good thing, and the fruit owed to you shall be from me. And what the Lord said, that Without me you can do nothing, this he says here too. For the fruit of the virtues is from Christ, since he himself is the Word. And without the Word there is neither the perceptible creation nor the intelligible. But the Gospel also is the fruit of the Law; for that holds the place of seed; and the Gospel, and the grace and the truth, came through Jesus Christ. Understand what is said; and consider also the word “Is found”; for the Gospel, being hidden in the Law, is found by those who seek. Therefore the Lord also said: Search the Scriptures. But it is found also by the gentiles who do not seek, as some marvelous discovery, even as he says also in Isaiah: I was found by those who did not seek me; I became manifest to those who did not ask after me.

Hos. 14:10. Who is wise, and shall understand these things? or prudent, and shall know them? For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the righteous shall walk in them; but the ungodly shall be weak in them. Having told how many good things God of old displayed to the ungrateful, and how many things he means to bring upon them for their instruction; and having moreover foretold their recall thereafter—both that from Babylon, and that which through Christ was to come about for them and for all men—and having shown forth great mysteries throughout the whole prophecy, since he looked toward the senselessness of his hearers at that time, he seeks henceforth the one who hears these things intelligently and clearly. For in truth all prophecy needs wisdom and understanding, so that, through the spirit of revelation, the things spoken in shadow may be made clear to the hearers, and they made to understand them. Now the prudent man is he who is able to comprehend and to know the things said by another. Therefore Isaiah says: The Lord shall take away from Judea the prudent hearer; and the wise man is he who is able also to interpret clearly to others the things he himself has understood. Having sought, then, here the wise man, and since he found him not, the prophet all but says this: Why do I seek a wise man? Even if a prudent one be found somewhere, able to recognize these things, though he be not sufficient also to interpret them to others. Finding, then, neither a wise man, nor the prudent one inferior to him, he tells also the cause for which they are not found. And it is this: that The ways of the Lord are straight. Those, then, who do not walk in these, but travel the crooked and sinful ways, do not have the upright spirit in themselves. And that being absent, neither wisdom nor understanding is found; for it is called a spirit of wisdom and understanding. Or thus also: Since I find no prudent and wise hearer, he says, who will recognize all the things spoken, clearly and intelligently, gathering the whole into a brief compass, I say it clearly and without veil, so that anyone whatever might know it, even if he be not wise and prudent according to what is sought. And what is this? That the ways of God are straight, and have no obstacle, nor any affliction and hardship; and the righteous, walking in them, run their course well; but the ungodly are weak in them, that is, they cannot walk in them. For the ungodly and apostate from God, how can he walk in his ways, having once said to him: I do not wish to know your ways?[7] Of necessity, then, he is weak in them, not having the power to live according to the commandments of God. But may the wisdom of God and the Father grant to us both to understand the things spoken by the prophet, and to recognize them, to spiritual profit, being empowered to proclaim them wisely to the brethren who are ignorant; and to travel the straight ways of the Lord, not turning aside, neither to the things that seem to be on the right—which the one who becomes overmuch righteous suffers—nor to the left, the things manifestly condemned. For thus we should be truly righteous, keeping the middle and royal road, which is in truth Christ, who said: I am the way; through whom also, having journeyed to the Father, may we enjoy the good things of his kingdom, in the Holy Spirit, to whom be the glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: This verse is numbered LXX 14:1; it corresponds to MT 13:16. Theophylact’s Cap. XIV begins here, spanning LXX ch.14 (= MT 13:16 + 14:1–9).

[2] Translator’s note: LXX 14:2 = MT 14:1; the OSIS reference follows MT.

[3] Translator’s note: A variant reading has the future ἀνταποδώσομεν (“we shall render”) for the subjunctive ἀνταποδώσωμεν (“let us render”).

[4] Translator’s note: Reading uncertain at this point; the folio variant τι marks an unclear word.

[5] Translator’s note: Reading uncertain after ἤμην; the reconstruction of the following clause is insecure.

[6] Translator’s note: ὅπλοις (“weapons”): the source is disputed at this spot.

[7] Translator’s note: The printed Greek reads θεούς (“gods”); the citation (Job 21:14 LXX) and the sense require ὁδούς (“ways”).

Life of the Prophet Hosea

Hosea is interpreted “one who is saved.” He was from Beelaim, of the tribe of Issachar; and he gave a portent that the Lord would come upon the earth, dwelling among men:[1] And the oak that is in Shiloh shall be divided into twelve parts, and there shall be twelve oaks, to hearken and to follow the God who appeared upon the earth; and through him all the earth shall be saved. And thus, having died, he was buried in his own land.

[1] Translator’s note: This Life of the prophet, printed in Migne after the doxology, derives from the apocryphal Lives of the Prophets (pseudo-Epiphanius); the closing portent of the divided oak belongs to that legendary material. The place-name “Beelaim” follows Migne’s text and is textually uncertain.

Commentary on the Prophet Jonah

Introduction

A Prophet Who Ran

Jonah is unlike any other prophetic book Theophylact expounds. It contains almost no oracle: a single sentence of doom, five words in the Greek, delivered almost as an afterthought halfway through the narrative. What it contains instead is a story, and a strange one—a prophet who is told to preach to a great pagan city and instead boards a ship going the other way, is thrown into the sea by frightened sailors, is swallowed by a sea-monster and lives three days and three nights in its belly, is vomited onto dry land, and finally goes to Nineveh and preaches after all, only to sit outside the city sulking because his preaching worked. Theophylact opens by asking the question this oddity forces on every reader: why would God send a book like this down to us at all, and what is it actually about? His answer sets the frame for the whole commentary—that Jonah’s flight, and his rescue, and his anger, are none of them there for their own sake, but because in and through them something else, something considerably larger than the prophet himself, is being shown.

Theophylact traces Jonah’s disobedience to a specific, sympathetic motive rather than to simple stubbornness. Jonah knew, he argues, that God is merciful, and he feared exactly what in fact happened: that if he preached judgment to Nineveh and the city repented, God would relent, the sentence would go unfulfilled, and Jonah himself—a prophet of Israel sent to warn a Gentile enemy—would be branded a false prophet by his own countrymen, all so that pagans might be spared. Rather than risk that outcome, or risk that Nineveh’s salvation would make Israel’s later unbelief look worse by comparison, Jonah flees toward Tarshish. Theophylact does not excuse the flight—obedience to a divine command admits no such calculation—but he treats it as intelligible, even as a kind of misplaced zeal for his own people, and this reading shapes everything that follows: a prophet run from duty not out of cowardice or indifference but out of a very particular, very human anxiety about what God’s mercy to outsiders might cost the insider.

Three Days in the Deep

The heart of Theophylact’s commentary, and its single most sustained interpretive achievement, is his reading of Jonah’s three days and three nights inside the sea-monster. He does not arrive at this reading independently—Christ himself supplied it, telling the scribes and Pharisees who demanded a sign that none would be given them “but the sign of the prophet Jonah”, since “as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster three days and three nights, so also shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights” (cf. Matt. 12:39–40; Luke 11:29–30). Theophylact takes this dominical warrant and works it out at length and in careful, deliberate detail: the ship stands for the Synagogue, the storm for the sufferings owed to fallen humanity, the casting of lots for the Father’s own counsel, the sea-monster’s belly for death itself. Jonah cast willingly into the waves, three days swallowed and then given back to life, corresponds point by point to Christ, who went to his death willingly, was truly swallowed by it, and rose alive on the third day. Even Jonah’s prayer from within the fish—where he calls the creature’s belly “the belly of Hades”—becomes material for Theophylact’s Christology: Jonah, who did not truly die, still speaks of Hades, because for him life remained outside his own control; the Lord, who truly died, speaks only of the heart of the earth, because for him, as God, both death and resurrection lay within his own power.

Theophylact is careful, here as elsewhere, to hold the type at arm’s length from the thing it prefigures. A type of Christ, he insists, is never a point-for-point correspondence—Moses is a type as lawgiver and mediator, not in every particular of his life, and Jonah is a type in his casting into the sea and his three-day deliverance, not in his fear, his flight, or his anger. The history, he insists, actually happened—Jonah’s three days are not a parable dressed up as an event—and it is precisely because they happened that they could also, without ceasing to be literal history, disclose a mystery still to come. Theophylact even carries the typology further than the Gospel comparison strictly requires, reading the sea-monster’s later disgorging of Jonah onto land as a figure of the Church receiving back, through baptism, those who had been swallowed by unbelief—the same three-day pattern of death and restoration working itself out, on Theophylact’s reading, wherever the Gospel touches a human life.

The Repentance of Nineveh and the Prophet’s Anger

The commentary’s second half turns to Nineveh’s repentance and to Jonah’s unhappy reaction to it, and here Theophylact keeps close to the plain sense of the narrative even as he continues to draw out its implications. He lingers on the completeness of the city’s response—king, nobles, and common people alike turning from violence at the word of a single foreign preacher—and treats it as a rebuke aimed less at Nineveh than at Israel, which had prophets of its own for generations and repented at none of them, so that the Lord could later say the Ninevites would rise up in judgment against the very generation that crucified him. Jonah’s grief, when his preaching succeeds and the threatened overthrow does not come, becomes for Theophylact a figure of the Jewish remnant’s sorrow over the calling of the Gentiles—not because Jonah resents anyone’s salvation as such, but because he grieves for his own kinsmen, exactly as Paul later writes of his own “great heaviness and continual sorrow” for Israel according to the flesh. The book’s dispute over whether Nineveh was warned of an overthrow “in three days” or “in forty”—the Septuagint text before Theophylact reads three, other Greek translators forty—gets a full and honest airing rather than a forced harmony, with Theophylact laying out both readings and their difficulties before stating, without insisting, which he finds more probable.

A Note on the Septuagint Text

Theophylact comments on Jonah as it stood in the Greek Bible of his own church, the Septuagint, rather than the Hebrew text underlying most modern English translations, and readers coming to this commentary from a Hebrew-based Bible will notice small differences in wording and one shift in versification—the verse recounting the great fish swallowing Jonah, numbered 1:17 in the Hebrew and in most English Bibles, opens chapter two in the Greek text Theophylact is reading, so that the rest of his second chapter runs one verse ahead of what a reader following a standard English Old Testament would expect. None of this affects the substance of his reading; it is worth knowing before the reader reaches it, so that a numbering that looks like an error is recognized instead for what it is—a different, equally ancient way of dividing the same inspired text.

Argument

God, the Maker of all things, having created all men, continues to provide for them all alike, even if at one time he was seen to care more for the Israelites; and this too he did for the common benefit of all. For just as, in showing the care that was due to Israel itself, he did not point out what should be done by conversing with each man one by one, but rather by choosing out from them all the one best man—now Moses the great, now Joshua the son of Nun, at another time Samuel, and in yet another season Elijah—and through each of these, whether by laying down laws, or by displaying wonders, or by bringing exhortations, he guided them toward salvation: so also, having marked off the Israelite people from the other nations, by his care for them and by his frequent appearances and unutterable wonder-workings, he was displaying to the other nations as well the road that leads to the knowledge of God. For this is what he taught us through the inspired Hosea: A watchman, he says, is Ephraim with God, a prophet.[1] For he set forth the people as a kind of watchman and prophet, for the benefit and salvation of the other nations.

So Egypt too came to know the unutterable power of God through these very things; and the report, carrying the news of their destruction to all men, made all marvel at the justice of the divine providence. From this Rahab the harlot, having received the radiance of the knowledge of God, said to the spies: The fear of you and the trembling of you has fallen upon us. For we have heard how the Lord God dried up the Red Sea before you, and led you across; because the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath. And many years later the foreigners, when they beheld the ark, cried out with dread and shuddering: This is the God who smote Egypt. And when he had struck down those many thousands of the Assyrians before the walls of Jerusalem, and had forced their king Sennacherib to flee, he made his own power plain to all men; and in Babylon too, having kept Daniel unharmed among the lions, and having delivered those three children from the furnace, he confounded the boastful king Nebuchadnezzar, and through him taught all who were under him that he alone is God, the God of the Israelites. And under Cyrus the Persian, having granted the people their much-celebrated return, and having brought Jerusalem back to its former prosperity, so that the temple too was built more splendidly than before, he made it clear to all, both to those near and to those far off, that he alone is able to provide for and to defend his own people. And in the time of the Macedonians too he repeatedly showed his own power through the Maccabees. Moreover, through the prophets, who worked wonders and foretold things to come, he guided many of the nations to the truth. Thus the Syrians feared the great Elisha, at one time stricken with blindness by him, at another beholding the cleansing of Naaman; for they held the prophet in such reverence that their king, having fallen ill, sent to him Hazael, whom this same prophet anointed king over the Syrians. And the king of the Babylonians counted the inspired Jeremiah worthy of such honor as to grant him his choice of dwelling; and the rest he led away captive, but to him alone he gave liberty to live where he would.

So also did the God of all appoint the blessed Jonah a prophet to the Ninevites; and Nineveh was a very great city, and had received the palace of the king of the Assyrians. For since the only-begotten Word of God was about to appear to men through human nature, and to flood all the nations with the light of the knowledge of God, even before his own Incarnation he shows his divine care for the nations, that he might confirm the things to come to those who came before, and might teach all that God is not of the Jews only, but of the nations also, and might show the kinship of the Old and the New Covenant. For if he had made no provision for the nations before the Incarnation, the Jews would have supposed him to be some other God, as one acting contrary to the Giver of the Law—for that one, they would say, cared only for Jews, but this one made provision for all men. This is what the abominable Marcion suffered, when he declared the God of the New Covenant other than the God of the Old; and that too although in the Old Covenant, as has been said, he beheld God’s providence over all men. For these reasons, then—or rather for certain higher and more hidden reasons—God ordained that Jonah should prophesy to the Ninevites. But to Israel also he foretold many things that were to come, being a contemporary of Hosea, Amos, and Micah. For even if no other writing of his is extant, yet from the Fourth Book of Kingdoms it is plain that he uttered other prophecies as well. For the Scripture speaks concerning Jeroboam—not the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin so as to worship the golden heifers, but another, who, being the third from Jehu, reigned over the ten tribes, the son of Joash: That he restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the sea toward the west, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spoke by the hand of Jonah the son of Amathi, the prophet, who was of Gethchopher.

This prophecy alone has been written down, perhaps by a divine dispensation: partly for our instruction and admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come, that we may neither despair, even if we fall into the very pit of wickedness, but may know that we have a Lord who loves mankind; and that, when we have turned toward repentance, we may pursue it genuinely, and not feign it loosely and slackly, having these gentiles as our example. And it was written for the reproof of Israel. For what shame will not be theirs, if these men—barbarians, possessed of great power, living in luxury, and never having heard a prophet—so obeyed the proclamation; while they themselves, schooled by the Law and being God’s chosen people, murdered those who proclaimed salvation to them, so that they even killed the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer, when he came to them? And the mystery of his burial and resurrection is foreshadowed in this very prophecy, even as he himself, conversing with the Jews, said: This generation seeks a sign, and a sign shall not be given it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster three days and three nights, so also shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.[2] But that this Scripture has also been given for the reproof and condemnation of the Jews, the Lord himself bears witness, saying in the Gospels: The men of Nineveh shall rise up and shall condemn this generation, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

But how is there something greater in Christ than in Jonah? Because the one merely threatened the Ninevites with destruction, whereas our Lord did not preach only, but also performed countless wonders, by which it was likely they would be drawn to faith; yet they disbelieved. So then the mystery of Christ is signified, as in a type, by Jonah; only we must not seek the likeness in every particular, nor are we to be compelled to turn the whole history toward spiritual contemplation. For, to put it generally, whenever we say that one of the saints of old became a type of Christ, we ought not to seek the likeness in every respect. For instance, we say that Moses became a type of Christ, as lawgiver and as mediator. Speak you to us, it says, and let not God speak to us, lest we die. And Christ is both of these—both having given us the Law, and having become the mediator of God and men, and having reported to us the things concerning the Father, and having reconciled us to him. Yet Christ was not slow of tongue, nor weak of voice, as Moses was; nor did he falter upon his lips, and for that fail of the land of promise. Again, Aaron is a type of Christ, as high priest, entering into the Holy of Holies and loosing the sins of the people; since Christ also did all these things, having become a great high priest, and having offered himself, and having run up into heaven, and having himself borne our sins, and having torn asunder the handwriting against us. But Aaron was not without blemish, in that he murmured against Moses together with Miriam, and did not restrain those who made the calf in the wilderness; whereas in Christ there is nothing of the kind. For he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. So then it is here also: Jonah was sent to preach to the Ninevites, but he was not willing, and set himself to flight; whereas Christ, sent by the Father, became obedient. And the prophet’s being cast willingly into the sea, and his being swallowed by the sea-monster, and his being given up after three days, and his going to Nineveh, are common to Christ; for he too died willingly, and was truly swallowed up by death, and was given up on the third day, and, going to Galilee, commanded that the beginning of the preaching to the nations be made there. But Jonah was grieved at the saving of the Ninevites, whereas to Christ the salvation of the nations is exceedingly dear. Having gathered, then, whatever is useful for the mystery of Christ out of this prophecy here before us, let us yield the rest to the letter, that there may indeed be a type; for an identity in every respect belongs neither to a type nor to a sketch, in the judgment of those who judge rightly.

[1] Translator’s note: Hosea 9:8 in the Septuagint. The Greek is obscure; Theophylact reads it as setting the prophet (and the people) as a “watchman” appointed for the benefit of the nations.

[2] Matthew 12:39–40; cf. Luke 11:29–30.

Chapter 1

Jon. 1:1. And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amathi. Why did he begin in this way? For the phrase And it came to pass carries a certain emphasis. It seems, then, that since there was much talk about Nineveh, and a report prevailing over all that, weighed down by its wealth and power, it was full of sin, it was fitting to say, And the word of the Lord came. Or else, since the Israelites were disobedient, he plainly began in this way, as if he were saying: The Israelites were in a bad and disobedient state. And so thereafter the word of the Lord came to Jonah, that he should be sent to the nation of the Ninevites. The name of the prophet’s father is added on account of the likeness of names. For it is likely that others too were so called, but surely they would not also be of the same father.

Jon. 1:2. Saying: Arise and go to Nineveh the great city. A very great proof of the future reception of the nations is the sending of Jonah to Nineveh; for this was the chief city of the Assyrians, as was said in the prologue. For Asshur built, it says, Nineveh; and the Assyrians were altogether gentiles. This city God wished to save, as a place that was then given over to idolatry and to every sorcery and trickery; and indeed for this reason, having sent the prophet to them as a herald of repentance, he showed what we said above: that God is not of the Jews only, but also of the nations, and that there is no respect of persons with him, but in every nation he that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him — even as Peter also, in the case of Cornelius, declared this when he had grasped it truly and by the facts themselves. And the words Arise and go are words of urging. For he who does not desire the death of the sinner, but rather that he should turn and live, hastens the prophet on to the proclamation of repentance. Therefore he adds, the great, that he might the more shame him into hastening his journey. For it is not, he says, some paltry little place, but a city—not one of the many, but a great one; so that one must by no means despise it. For if not even the lowly are to be despised, much less the great.

Jon. 1:2. And proclaim in it, that the cry of its wickedness has come up to me. Since, he says, they have no perception of their own transgressions and impieties, do you become a herald to them, and teach them that they have so displayed such great wickedness that its magnitude has reached up to heaven, and all but sends forth a voice, crying out against those who pursue it. For he who knows all things before their coming-to-be is ignorant of nothing that exists, however small it be; yet, since he is a lover of mankind, he does not bring punishment for small matters, but when the evils have become great and considerable, and such as to move his kindness to anger, then he rises up to take vengeance. For this reason he says that a cry of the wickedness came up to him, as having been multiplied and as summoning him to cut it off. So too the blood of Abel is said to cry out against the murder committed by Cain; so too the foul deed of the Sodomites cried out against them. For in truth the Ninevites, living in wealth, pursued every lawlessness; among their other licentious doings, they busied themselves with sorceries and magic arts—that practice especially prized among the Chaldeans—even as Nahum also says: A fair harlot and full of charm, a mistress of sorceries. Therefore the Lord sent the prophet to this city, though it was settled very far from Judea; that he might show to all men that even those most of all entangled in the snares of error, and the ringleaders of every lawlessness, even these would receive the knowledge of God and would take virtue to their bosom. For the word of God is not feeble, but mighty and effectual, as was said also to Jeremiah: Behold, I have given my words in your mouth as fire, and this people as wood; and again, Are not my words like fire that burns, says the Lord, and like an axe that cuts the rock? And note also the term “cry,” set down here just as in the case of the Sodomites.

Jon. 1:3. And Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Here many are perplexed: why ever does a prophet flee, as though he would escape God’s notice? For not even any of the more ordinary men would say this—that he would run away from God, who fills all things and is contained nowhere. Or had he not heard David, even if he himself did not know it: Where shall I go from your spirit, and from your presence where shall I flee? and what follows. It seems, then, either that what is said is absurd, or that he himself is some absurd and strange man. Now it is possible to say that he knew plainly, more than the others, as a prophet, that the Lord of all is present everywhere, and that no place is bereft of his providence; yet he supposed that God made his more manifest appearances in Judea only, and that, if he should get far away from it, God would no longer appear to him so as to send him on this ministry. For this is what from the presence of the Lord signifies—that is, he was fleeing the more manifest appearance of God, and the sending forth from him. That the saints of old thought God appeared in certain set-apart places, Jacob too bears witness, when he saw the ladder and the angels ascending, saying: The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. And David: The Lord chose Zion, he preferred it for a habitation for himself. And even now we ourselves, who are taught to think more perfectly, all the more resort to whatever place we believe the divine grace overshadows, expecting to be sanctified and to reap some divine gift. He declines the ministry, not as disobedient or slothful (for both are unworthy of a prophet), but partly as knowing that the Ninevites would obtain the divine love for mankind, if they should make use of repentance, and that hence it would come about that the prophecy be reckoned false—a thing altogether unseemly and unworthy. And perhaps too the Ninevites might treat him ill, as one who had falsely cast them into the hardships of repentance. This suspicion was put into him by the matter of the Ninevites suffering none of the dreadful things, and this was the underlying purpose of the proclamation. For he reasoned that God would not have proclaimed beforehand, if he had wished to destroy; but plainly the threat of punishment is a turning toward repentance. Besides this, he supposed that the good obedience of the Ninevites would become an accusation of the Jews—since the one party had believed an unknown and foreign man, while the others disobeyed their own kinsmen the prophets, who made their prophecies with wonder-workings. For these reasons he did not at once do what was commanded, but set himself to flee to Tarshish. As for this region, some say it is Tarsus, which is the metropolis of Cilicia, and lies at the foot of Mount Taurus; others say that a region of India is so called, Tarshish—for it was from Tarshish, they say, that Solomon imported costly stones and elephants’ tusks together with apes; and these come from nowhere else than from India, over a two years’ voyage, and over so long a passage Solomon’s ship is said in the Book of Kingdoms to put in. But those who say this are mistaken. For if he were fleeing to India, he ought not to have gone down to Joppa. For this is a seaboard town of Palestine, and lies upon the sea that inclines toward the west. Through this open sea one would by no means, in using navigation, come to India; for between our sea and the Indian sea there is much mainland, both inhabited and uninhabited, and many great mountains, and the Red Sea gulf, to which the Indian sea then joins. But the divine Scripture also testifies that Tarshish is not of India, nor is it Tarsus, but it belongs to Africa; for in Isaiah the Seventy rendered Wail, O ships of Carthage, for your stronghold has perished, while Aquila and Symmachus put “Tarshish” instead of “Carthage”; and when Ezekiel makes mention of Carthage, both in the Hebrew and in the Syriac, “Tarshish” is found. From which it is plain that Jonah was not fleeing to India, but was fleeing to Carthage.

Jon. 1:3. And he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish, and paid its fare, and went up into it, to sail with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He makes his flight by sea, supposing that he would most quickly be rid of the ministry of prophesying to the Ninevites. He even paid the fare of the voyage, when not even the loss thereof could hold him back. For all things seemed light to him—the loss of his homeland, the danger of the sea, the paying out of his fare—if only it might seem to him that he had thrown off this burdensome service.

Jon. 1:4–5. And the Lord raised up a great wind upon the sea, and there was a great surge upon the sea, and the ship was in danger of being broken up. And the sailors were afraid, and cried out each to his own god, and made a casting-out of the gear that was in the ship into the sea, to be lightened of it. Jonah, then, thought thus to flee the divine service; but the Lord of land and sea raises up a surge against the fugitive, and casts about the ship bonds of the waves, that we may learn not to flee the divine ministry, nor, when called to a work pleasing to God, to put it off and to draw back. And we are taught from this that nothing is unforeseen, but that even the surges come from his counsel, and do not happen by chance or by nature. For the Lord, it says, raised up a great wind. Unless one were to say that, for the most part, the surges come about naturally, by the conjunctions and recedings of the stars—God having altogether implanted this order in the nature of the world; yet they come about often, even such as nature does not require, when God wills it, who both made nature and is able to alter it at any time toward what is willed by him. And in both ways those are saved or destroyed whom he has judged worthy to be saved or to perish. The sailors’ being afraid is a sign of the greatness of the danger, when even those most experienced in the sea were in dread, plainly as men in despair, and were casting out the gear, so that the ship might of course be lightened. And each one besought his own gods as well, the Scripture relating these things not in vain, but that it might teach that both are needful—both to do our own part, and to call upon the divine alliance—and never to commit the whole to God while we ourselves sit idle (for that belongs to lifeless and motionless things), nor again to trust altogether to our own devices and contrivings; for this again belongs to the godless and the desperate. And some say that the surge arose about this ship alone. For they would not, if the surge had been common to all, have undertaken to learn by lot the cause of the surge. But since they saw the others sailing without danger and borne along by fair winds, while their own vessel was in danger of sinking, they sought who among them was the cause of the surge. And the argument seems to have probability, if indeed other ships sailing in company were borne along unharmed.

Jon. 1:5. But Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship, and was sleeping, and snoring. The prophet was not so careless, or so given over to sloth, as to be sleeping himself while so great a danger hung over them—and that not simply, but so deeply as even to snore, which is a mark of the greatest unconcern; rather, the sleep was before the danger and the storm, and this too perhaps from the despondency that came of his fleeing. And his going down into the hold of the ship—that is, into the lowest space—is worthy of the prophetic character; for what is solitary and retired is prophetic. So David too: I am alone, he says; and Jeremiah: It is good for a man when he takes up the yoke from his youth; he shall sit alone; and again, I sat not in the assembly of them that make merry; I sat alone, because I was filled with bitterness.

Jon. 1:6. And the look-out came to him and said to him: Why are you snoring? Arise, call upon your God, that God may save us, and that we perish not. The crowd of sailors is at other times heedless of what is needful and senseless; but here they are so brought to their senses by fear that the look-out not only prays himself, but even comes to Jonah and rouses him too to prayers; so does necessity teach what is needful. And observe how, even though they called upon various gods, they nevertheless had a notion that the one God is greater than all. For he did not say, “that the gods may save us,” but, that God — because they reckoned him one; and while Jonah was praying with them all to his own God, they supposed that some one of the many called upon for help might hearken and be able to save them—this one being perhaps Poseidon, or Nereus, or Thetis, or some other such sea-spirit, according to the Hellenic error.

Jon. 1:7. And each said to his neighbor: Come, let us cast lots. And the lot fell upon Jonah. Jonah, indeed, would have hearkened to the look-out and have prayed. For even if the Scripture did not say this, yet it is to be understood; just as, though it did not say that he even rose from sleep, no one nevertheless doubts that he rose. But when he had prayed, he was not heard; for it was not likely that the disobedient one should be heard. Rather, the flight took away his boldness toward God. Since, then, the help from their prayers was refused in common, they have recourse to the lot, which is customary among the gentiles. For they knew by nature that there is a penalty laid upon sinners, and that we pay due penalties for the things in which we sin, and that the things here are not unprovided for. Therefore they also believed that Providence, through the lot, would make known to them the cause. For they did not suppose this—that the lot would by chance show them the sinner. Yet let not the hearer, because the lot succeeded among them, now receive the practice of the lot as permitted. But let him consider that God draws each one by the things that are his own, and familiar, and known to him; as he drew the Magi by a star, and the men of Azotus in the Old Covenant by the sign of the oxen that conveyed the ark, since that token showed beforehand the things that would be concerning it. So too, having found fishermen, he said, Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men, holding out to them the name familiar to them. So here too, then, since casting lots was customary to the sailors as gentiles, God, condescending to them through the token known to them, made known the cause of the danger. And that the lot is not spiritual the apostles show, who, when the Spirit was not yet present with them, then used the lot; but after the descent of the Spirit, they nowhere again admitted the lot. And yet some maintain that the apostles did not use even such a lot, but by certain more divine signs were shown the one chosen by God.

Jon. 1:8. And they said to him: Tell us, we pray, for what cause this evil is upon us; what is your occupation, and whence do you come, and where are you going, and from what country, and of what people are you? See how reasonable these barbarian men are. For not at once, upon recognizing Jonah as the cause of the storm, do they grow savage against him, but they ask gently and mildly: For what cause is this evil? — that is, From what sin committed by you has this affliction come upon us? And they ask in order that, having learned, they may try to set the sin right, as far as is possible. And they inquire also what occupation he follows—that is, what manner of livelihood he has, and of what nation he is, and his road, whence and where he is going; so that from his occupation, and from the common practices of his nation, and from the road he travels, they may infer his manner of life, and so propitiate the God against whom he had offended. For they thought that, by appeasing the spirit grieved on his account—perhaps some sea-spirit—they would escape the harm that came from the storm. Let us then imitate the moderate and reasonable character of these men, who were the better when the better things were required of them.

Jon. 1:9. And he said to them: I am a servant of the Lord, and I worship the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. This, he says, is my occupation, and this is my work—to serve the true God by my deeds, even if now I have disobeyed him, and to worship him through faith in him. For many indeed worship the true God, but are not his servants, in that they do not do the works pleasing to him. And perhaps by this too he showed of what country he is—namely, of Judea. For no other nation worshiped this God. And the prophet is worthy of wonder, in that even when near to death he proclaims the power of God, and to the sailors, who were worshipers of created things and idolaters, reveals his majesty, calling him the Maker of all, both of heaven and of the things below. Yet by saying who made the sea he gives them to reason that, since he worships the Maker of the sea, plainly, having offended him, he it was who raised up this surge.

Jon. 1:10. And the men feared a great fear, and said to him: Why have you done this? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. From this, he says, they knew that he was fleeing because he had offended God—from his telling them that he is a servant of the Lord. For since he had said that he worships the true God, they understood that he is a Jew. And it was not lawful for Jews to mingle with foreigners, or to consort with idolatrous cities; so that it was plain that he had offended his own God. And perhaps they supposed that he was also forsaking the life under the Law, and, giving himself over to the customs of the Greeks, was fleeing from the presence of the God of the Jews. Therefore they were afraid, lest, this God being mighty and inescapable, they too should perish together with his runaway. And that to mingle with Greeks seemed to Jews to be outside the Law is plain both from the Old Covenant and from the Gospel. For when the Lord said to the Jews, Where I go, you cannot come, they said foolishly, Where is this man about to go, that we shall not find him? Is he about to go to the dispersion of the Greeks, and to teach the Greeks?

Jon. 1:11. And they said to him: What shall we do that the sea may cease from us? And here too the character of these sailor-men is worthy of wonder, being so gentle and mild. For they did not set upon him, nor say, “O foul and utterly foul wretch, because of you we shall perish”; but they make him the judge of what is to be done about himself. Whether, then, they were so reasonable even before, they are to be emulated; or whether by fear they were remolded toward greater gentleness, even so they are to be imitated; whereas often we ourselves, falling into misfortunes, grow savage, not only against the authors of our troubles, but already even against our nearest, and against those who comfort us in our misfortunes. Not such were those men; rather they divide their judgments, and neither dare to pronounce death against him—especially having heard that he is a servant of the God of the Jews (and that God had been reported fearful to them)—nor again are they able to despise the danger. Therefore, as a servant of God, they beseech him to say what must be done about him; for plainly, they thought, he was not ignorant of the remedy for the evil either.

Jon. 1:11. Because the sea was going and raising up a surge the more. After the lot, he says, the surge became more violent. For the sea was going—that is, was moved and swollen more. But some copies have was roaring, in the sense that it sounded fearfully, as the waves dashed against one another and against the ship. And these things became more violent after the lot, God plainly showing on whose account the affliction was.

Jon. 1:12. And Jonah said to them: Take me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea will cease from you. For I know that for my sake this great surge is upon you. Such a thing is a thankful soul. For when the prophet recognized his own sin, he was ashamed of the things in which he had offended by disobeying God; but knowing that the sea would make peace, serving the divine command, if it should take the one who had disobeyed God, he pronounces death against himself. But we are by no means such; rather, even when we plainly know that our sins often deserve punishment, whenever we undergo some long affliction, we murmur against Providence as though we were sinless—so far are we from pronouncing upon ourselves the worthy penalty.

Jon. 1:13–14. And the men strove to return to the land, and could not, because the sea was going and rising up the more against them; and they cried to the Lord, and said: By no means, Lord, let us perish for the sake of this man’s life, and lay not upon us righteous blood; for you, Lord, have done as you would. Most loving of mankind and of good character, as we said, were these men. For though Jonah had given himself up to death, these still strove toward the land, plying their oars to make for shore; but their toil was in vain. For the sea was raised the more, and not even so do they do anything against the prophet, though they had justice on their side, since he had condemned himself. But they judge it murderous so much as to render such service to his will. Therefore they pray first of all to be delivered from the surge, and not to perish for sparing the prophet’s life, but that both he and they be permitted to live. But if it is necessary, they say, that this man die, by no means lay upon us righteous blood—that is, his blood; do not make it come to our condemnation, for it was righteous, as that of your servant. For not as murderers do we put this man to death, but in service to your will; for you, as you would, have done these things. And see the barbarians, how they do not dispute: How do these things come about? Is this God then a man-slayer? Is he a lover of blood? Rather they cherish the will of God, and worship it, not busying themselves about the causes of what happens.

Jon. 1:15–16. And they took Jonah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea stood still from its surging; and the men feared the Lord with a great fear, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows. Hardly at last do they bring themselves to the deed, and at once the sea grows calm; and they recognize the Lord more perfectly than before, and fear him not a little, as being plainly inescapable, and as knowing well how to come upon those who sin against him. And the things that tend to divine honor they did. For they offered, it says, sacrifices—perhaps having gone ashore as well, for the sea allowed it. And they made vows—that is, they promised to do certain things, perhaps, if they should reach their homeland. Thus they were made better. And those who before reckoned many gods, each in the time of the surge, now recognizing the one who rules the dominion of the sea and calms the tossing of its waves, both sacrifice to him and make their vows. Do you see the divine dispensations? Jonah fled, that the Ninevites might not be saved, and behold, the sailors are saved, and then he too, and the good becomes the greater. Thus Providence turns even our sins to good account.

Chapter 2

Jon. 2:1. And the Lord commanded a great sea-monster to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster three days and three nights.[1] The word commanded stands for: he willed that the prophet be swallowed by the sea-monster; and this came to pass. For God does not enjoin upon the sea-monster as he does upon men or angels, sounding into their mind what is to be done; rather, for God to will a thing is a law and a command, of necessity fulfilled. And the manner of the obedience is unutterable to us, though to him at least not unknown. The prophet, then, is swallowed by the sea-monster, in no way harmed in the swallowing; and he passes three days and three nights in the belly of the creature—a thing which seems beyond all belief to those who hear it, and especially to those set in motion by Hellenic misconceptions; who, I marvel, do not perceive that they are caught by their own feathers. For there is among them too something of the kind told of Heracles, that, when he had been swallowed by a sea-monster and then given up, he was unharmed in all else, but lost only his hair, and that by the innate heat of the creature. Either, then, they will accept our things as well, or they will reject their own along with them. But since we must establish the firmness of our truth not from the rottenness of the myths among them, it is to be considered that, first, what could not come to pass, God willing it? And next, let the wonders wrought concerning the embryo be considered, which swims indeed in the natural moisture, and is buried as it were in the womb of her that carries it, yet lives nonetheless and is preserved, nursed in marvelous fashion by the promptings of God. And no human reason reaches to these things; yet they are believed, as things seen daily and confirmed by the effect. Neither, then, are the things concerning Jonah to be disbelieved, but they are both to be believed to have happened, and to be received as a type of a greater and more divine mystery. For human nature was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, on account of disobedience, and was hidden from him, so as to hear, Adam, where are you? And it cast itself upon the sea of this life, using the body for a ship, to which it gave the fare also—the service it rendered to it, making provision for its every desire. When, then, the spirits of wickedness troubled the sea, the waves of the pleasures rose up, and were sinking the body together with the soul. It was necessary, then, that one of those in the ship should die—I mean the body. The Lord, therefore, having put on our nature, and having become one of us, and having entered into our ship—that is, having worn the body of our lowliness, and having tabernacled among us in the likeness of sinful flesh—dies according to a lot, that is, according to the predestination which the Father predetermined, having allotted and purposed before all ages that his own Son should die for us, as Peter says and Paul. And observe: Jonah is interpreted “of the Most High, suffering,” or “a dove.”[2] The Most High, then, suffered pains for us, and is in anguish for us—willingly indeed, yet he does not slay himself, but is fastened to the cross by lawless hands; even as Jonah too, though he had condemned himself to death, does not cast himself, but is cast—the account teaching us also not to be reckless, nor to fall into deaths too rashly. When Christ, then, had died, and had been given over to the all-devouring sea-monster, the spirits of wickedness were thrust down, and the waves of the pleasures were stilled, and full calm and peace took up its citizenship in life, both in souls and in bodies, even as he himself said: Peace I leave with you; and rising again, Peace be to you, he greeted the disciples. And some say otherwise as well: that the prophet is a type of Christ; the ship, of the synagogue of the Jews; the look-out, of Moses; the sailors, of the prophets; the sea, of the sufferings which were owed by us; the lot, of the counsel of the Father, according to which Christ is cast into the sea of the sufferings, and enters into the belly of the great sea-monster of death; where, having spent three days, he rose, and preached to the nations, and those nations that repented were saved.

Jon. 2:2–3. And Jonah prayed to the Lord his God out of the belly of the sea-monster, and said: I cried in my affliction to the Lord my God, and he heard me; out of the belly of Hades, the cry of mine, you heard my voice. The prophet, in no way harmed by the sea-monster, but using the monster as a house, and injured neither in body nor in mind, perceives the help of God. And not being ignorant that he had offended him by shrinking from the ministry, he turns to prayers; and he who once thought that God appeared manifestly in Jerusalem alone, now finds him present in the belly of the sea-monster, and gives thanks to the one who saved him, and says that his prayer was received—either understanding this by the prophetic Spirit, or saying it according to what was likely. For I would not have continued living, he says, until now, had you not heard my prayer. And he named the belly of the sea-monster a “belly of Hades,” both because the creature is death-bearing, and because by the nature of what had befallen him he was as good as dead; but he lived by the grace of God alone. And besides, as a type of Christ, who passed three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, it was fitting that he should say he had passed them in the belly of Hades. And observe the paradox: the one who truly tasted death said he would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights, making no mention of Hades or of death; while Jonah, who was in the shadow of death and did not truly die, makes mention of Hades—that you may learn that to the Lord, as God, both death is self-chosen and the resurrection in his own power; therefore he named it the heart of the earth, not death, nor Hades. But for Jonah life was not in his own power; therefore, as being in Hades, so far at least as concerned the nature of what was befalling him, he made mention of the belly of Hades. And the Lord too cried out, in the affliction at the cross, to the Father: Father, forgive them the sin; and he was wholly heard. For it was forgiven to those who did not persist in unbelief. And one might call the cross also a “belly of Hades”; for it gave birth to the death of the Lord on our behalf.

Jon. 2:4. You cast me into the depths of the heart of the sea, and rivers encompassed me. Hearing “the heart of the sea,” remember the Lord, who said that he would be in the heart of the earth, and observe the type agreeing with the truth. And the prophet expounds what befell him in many ways, magnifying the grace of God shown toward him, and at the same time displaying his power, as able to save out of every evil, however fearful it be; for he did not say simply, “into the depths,” but he added also, “of the heart.” For since the heart seems to be the innermost and chief part of the living creature, showing here a hyperbole, he said Into the depths of the heart, that is, into the innermost parts; as if he were saying: You cast me into the innermost parts of the sea (for the sea-monster lives in the depths); and the innermost parts of the sea-monster itself encompassed me. And by “rivers” he means the assaults of the waves. Or else, since rivers too empty into the sea, he who is encircled by the sea is plainly encircled by the rivers as well.

Jon. 2:4. All your surgings and your waves passed over me. When I was, he says, in the ship, I had tossings, since the vessel was tossed aloft by the waves. But to you these tossings and waves belonged, as composed according to your command.

Jon. 2:5. And I said: I am cast out from before your eyes; shall I yet again look upon your holy temple? At that time, he says, being in the midst of dread things, I supposed that I was cast away from your eyes and from your oversight and watching, and I was in doubt: shall I from now on live, and shall I “add”—that is, shall I be eager and zealous, shall I be counted worthy—to look upon your holy temple that is in Jerusalem? But some take it thus: I know indeed, being in the belly of the sea-monster, that you have saved me marvelously; yet I am in doubt whether I shall even be given up, and come forth into the light outside, so as to reach the divine temple itself, and in it to glorify you. And upon the Lord too there came surgings—the shadows of the lofty and haughty and unstable synagogue; and waves—the various forms of the passion, which, as coming upon him according to the Father’s will, are said to be his. Then indeed he also said: Why have you forsaken me? — like the saying here, I am cast out from before your eyes. And he said this after the human manner. For men say that those who fall into such things are forsaken. What, then, it was likely that others would say of him, this he himself says of himself. Therefore, as toward such a thought, he says: Shall I then yet look again upon the body, which is your holy temple, as fashioned for me by you? Or, as containing you within me, shall I take it up again out of resurrection? And let no one carp at the saying, as though it introduced the Lord as ignorant whether he would rise; but let him attend to what we said, that these things are spoken according to human reasonings.

Jon. 2:6–7. Water was poured around me to the soul; the lowest abyss encompassed me; my head sank into the clefts of the mountains. I went down into the earth, whose bars are everlasting fastenings. The prophet, hymning in many ways the grace of God toward him, says both that he was encompassed by water, which had the nature to take away the soul, and that he was encircled by the lowest abyss, and that he came to be in the clefts of mountains. And by this he hints also at the size of the sea-monster, and certain mountains and caves into which the monster was likely to plunge. For there are many such things in the sea, against which the vessels dash and are destroyed. Fearing these, the most experienced of sailors are eager to avoid the sunken rocks. And he says he went down into the “earth” of Hades—not that he went down there (for he did not truly die), but that the greatness of the danger required this, namely, to seem to die, and to come to Hades itself, into which, having descended, he is held as it were by certain bars. And these are “everlasting fastenings,” that is, holding fast forever those who fall in. Or, instead of: firmly and unutterably rooted, and by none from of old loosed, and fallen from their own seat and stability. The lowest abyss for the Lord was death, the last thing he underwent for us, after the countless plots. And his head sank into the cave of the tomb.

Jon. 2:7. And let my life come up out of corruption to you, O Lord my God. From his having been saved in the sea-monster he begins to believe that he will obtain even to live again; therefore he prays for this too, which he would not have prayed for, had he not from that come to believe this also to be possible for God. For, both being equally impossible, to him to whom the one is possible the other also is altogether possible. My life, then—the life in the sea-monster—let it come up to you, away from this corruption by which I think to be corrupted; that is, to your holy temple, in which you appear and are glorified, so that I too may enjoy your grace therein. And the life of the Lord too—not out of corruption (for he saw none of it), but out of the corruption of death—went up to the heavenly temple and to the Father, even as he said: I am ascending to my Father.

Jon. 2:8. When my soul was failing from me, I remembered the Lord; and let my prayer come to you, to your holy temple. Afflictions are not unprofitable to the saints. So David too says: In affliction I called upon the Lord, and he heard me, into a wide place. And Isaiah: In affliction I remembered you. And Paul: Affliction works patience; and patience, proof. And Jonah too, then, when his soul was failing him from the fear of the danger, did not fall into blasphemy, he says, but, I remembered the Lord — that is, I called upon him as helper. Or, that I remembered that he is a lover of mankind, and will overlook the sin which I committed in disobeying him; therefore I also entreated him, and so might become worthy that my prayer should go up to you, which I will make toward your holy temple, when I shall certainly come to life again. For if I live again, I will both come to the temple in Jerusalem, and will pray to you. Or also: This present prayer, which I prayed to you, that my life might come up out of corruption—let it come to you, whether to your holy temple, or to the heavenly one, or to the one below. For in this alone, as was said in the prologue, they believed that God made his manifest appearances, and received in it the prayers of all. But the Lord too, when he was about to die, remembered the Father, saying: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And having gone up into heaven with his body, he intercedes for us with the Father, his body being for an embassy, and being displayed to the Father in place of a great supplication, that we might be shown mercy; through which this was taken up by the Son. The ascent, then, with the body to the divine and heavenly temple will be understood as a prayer on our behalf, as was said, the one interceding through the body.

Jon. 2:9–10. Those who keep vanities and lies have forsaken their own mercy; but I, with a voice of praise and thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you; whatever I have vowed I will pay to you for my salvation, to the Lord. Others, he says, pursuing vain and false idols, and serving gods that are not, do not ask of you the mercy. Or, that, having been shown mercy by you and delivered from misfortunes, they do not hymn and magnify the mercy which you wrought with them. Or also: They forsook you, their mercy; for by your mercy they live; as, if you should mark transgressions, who shall stand? But I, having been saved, will offer you sacrifices, with thankful voices; and whatever I vowed—that is, promised for the sake of this my salvation—I will pay to you. For there were sacrifices “of salvation” under the Law; therefore some copies have, “for salvation.” But some take it thus: Those things, he says, I will pay you, which procure salvation, and profit my soul; and these are, to obey you, and to fulfill the work of the prophetic purpose. And those who kept the Lord were keeping vanities and lies—they who forsook their mercy, that is, the mystery of the resurrection, accomplished for the whole of human nature, and altogether for them too, since they too are men—not being willing to believe that he had risen, whom they kept guard over. And the Lord himself too was their mercy, but they would not have him. But I, he says, your Son, will sacrifice to you—that is, I will become the cause that the mystic sacrifice be offered to you in the world, and I will pay you the salvation of men, which my incarnation promised. And he prayed also before the passion: Father, keep them in your name, that they too may be one.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact follows the Septuagint, in which this verse—the great fish swallowing Jonah—is numbered 2:1; in the Hebrew and most English versions it is 1:17, and the rest of the Greek chapter 2 therefore runs one verse ahead of the Hebrew. “Sea-monster” renders the Septuagint’s κῆτος, the great fish of the narrative.

[2] Translator’s note: “Jonah” (Ἰωνᾶς) is etymologized as “of the Most High, suffering” (or “a dove”); Theophylact takes both senses Christologically.

Chapter 3

Jon. 2:11–3:3. And it was commanded by the Lord to the sea-monster, and it cast Jonah out upon the dry land. And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying: Arise and go to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim in it according to the proclamation that was before, which I have spoken to you. And Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, as the Lord had spoken. Again the sea-monster is commanded—that is, by a divine and unutterable power it is moved according to what seems good to God, and gives up the prophet unharmed from its flanks, having gained, through suffering, the learning of obedience. For when he was commanded a second time to go to Nineveh, and to proclaim according to the former proclamation (and this was, that its wickedness had come up to God), he does not draw back, but at once rises up—not in body only, but also in eagerness, and with a resurrection of soul—and does what is commanded. So then, to those who give heed, afflictions are a great schooling toward doing the things that seem good to God. And consider for me also the things of the Lord set beside the things of Jonah. The one, before suffering what he suffered, runs away from Nineveh; and the Lord, before the passion, shrank from preaching to the nations, who even forbade his disciples to go into the way of the nations, but rather commanded them to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; since not even he himself was sent elsewhere than to these. But when, having suffered, he had been in the heart of the earth three days and three nights, and had accepted all else that Jonah prefigured, and his life had come up to him out of corruption, then he preaches also to the nations through the apostles, according to the former proclamation. For he did not deliver one thing to those of Israel before the passion, and another to the nations after the passion; but one Gospel is upon all, and one faith, and one baptism.

Jon. 3:3. And Nineveh was a great city to God, of about three days’ journey. Nineveh was great in size, and for this reason great in the sight of God also, and he made much of its salvation, inasmuch as he had fashioned many men in it, and willed that all these be saved. As for the phrase, “of about three days’ journey,” some have taken it concerning the extent of the city, as being able to be traversed throughout in three days.

Jon. 3:4. And Jonah began to go into the city about a day’s journey. And he proclaimed, and said: Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. He did not proclaim going straight through the city, but going about the markets and streets and lanes. And it was a marvel: a Hebrew man, come from a foreign land, and known to no one, going through the town and crying out: Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. But one might ask, how it is that God commanded him to proclaim “according to the former proclamation.” It is possible, then, to say that the prophets relate to us only this in summary, namely, when they were sent; but they do not report at full length and in detail all the words which both God spoke to them, and they to God. Indeed, at the beginning of the prophecy this prophet is not recorded to have spoken anything to God; yet we shall find him saying: O Lord, were not these my words, while I was yet in my own land? Therefore I made haste to flee to Tarshish, because I knew that you are merciful and compassionate. It is no wonder, then, that the words, Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown, were spoken indeed at the beginning by God to the prophet, but were not written down by him. And it is to be known that the rest of the translators said forty days instead of three. [1] And some accepted this number as having the probability. For in three days, they say, it was not possible that at one time the prophet should have gone about the whole city, at another the Ninevites should have offered to God that laborious repentance, and at another Jonah, sitting before the gates, should have awaited the outcome of the prophecy. Therefore they say that the reading of the forty days is the truer; and it is likely that the Seventy too set down forty days, but that those who first wrote it erred, and then the error was spread through all the copies. Yet observe that nothing absurd will meet those who accept the three days. For it was not necessary that the prophet go round the whole city, but, as soon as he had gone a single day’s journey preaching, the proclamation was spread to all, so as to reach even the king; and for the laborious repentance of the Ninevites to be displayed, and to be accepted by God, the days after the proclamation were enough, whether we set them at three or at two; since even a single day would suffice for men who genuinely repent. And Jonah sat before the gates, whether after he saw them so setting themselves to repent—that is, either right after the first day of the proclamation, or after the completion of the three days—knowing that God was still gently disposed toward them, and would not overthrow, that is, utterly destroy; yet awaiting perhaps that some lighter punishment would be brought upon them. We have said what seems good to us, that the ancient reading of the three days may not be set aside; but let the reader choose what he judges the better.

Jon. 3:5. And the men of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. It is said with emphasis, the men of Nineveh—that is, those who formerly did every absurd thing, the sorcerers, the dealers in drugs, the demon-ridden, believed in the true God; those full of all luxury and licentiousness, fasted; the soft, and the delicate in their attire, put on sackcloth. And such a course did not begin from the small and poorer sort, but, beginning from the great and richer, thus it went down also to the small. Yet consider also what is simply present: that from the great—that is, the men—down even to the small, that is the infants, they displayed the tokens of repentance. But these men, who had never heard a single soul-profiting word, became disciples of a poor and unknown man; whereas the Jews, mocking both Moses and the prophets, and at last disbelieving the Savior God himself, became God-slayers.

Jon. 3:6–7. And the word came to the king of Nineveh, and he rose up from his throne, and put off his robe from himself, and put on sackcloth, and sat upon ashes. And it was proclaimed and said in Nineveh by the king and his great men, saying: Let the men, and the cattle, and the oxen, and the sheep, taste nothing, neither feed, nor drink water. Since the great men were the first to begin the repentance, fittingly the word of the proclamation was carried quickly to the king also. And see a man of good understanding, and one who acknowledged his own evils: he did not disbelieve, nor mock the word, nor grow savage at the harshness of the threat; but, knowing that he had lived ill in the time gone by (for naturally the conscience displays the sin), he leaps down from the throne, sitting on which before he had judged and ordained many things ill, and sits upon ashes and dust; and the robe shot with gold, and set with gems, and luxurious, he puts off, and puts on a rough sackcloth, and one of an intolerable stench. Thus on a sudden he becomes a philosopher, and shows to all that in vain men put forward custom, as having power to bind; and he proclaims that the irrational beasts too should fast with them—not as though God required this of the cattle, but as displaying the excess of their own eagerness for the fast, by compelling even the irrational creatures to fast. And besides, they knew that the suffering of the cattle would help them toward a more laborious repentance, reasoning that, if the sinless cattle fast, much more ought they themselves to do so, who are liable to sins; and at the same time they reckoned this also, that, the irrational living things being pressed by hunger, and each using its natural voice, they themselves would be borne toward warmer tears by their fellow-feeling; and God, having compassion, would the more readily bestow his own kindness. But some have invented marvels, that “cattle” here means the more irrational sort of men.

Jon. 3:8. And the men and the cattle were clothed in sackcloth. By “sackcloth,” understand the affliction; for surely the cattle did not wear sackcloth.

Jon. 3:8. And they cried out to God earnestly. If you take they cried out in common, both of the men and of the cattle (for the cries too of the famished beasts were a kind of supplication to the kindness of God), you will understand earnestly as meaning intensely, exceedingly; but if of the men only, understand that, stretching out their hands too, they cried—which is somehow natural to us, to stretch out the hands when we entreat, as if longing to lay hold of the one entreated, and to receive the more quickly from him what we ask.

Jon. 3:8. And each turned back from his evil way, and from the wickedness that was in their hands. Not only by fasting and by sackcloth, that is by affliction, did they entreat God, but they also set their ways right; for this is the definition of true repentance, as it says in Isaiah: Not this fast have I chosen, even a day for a man to humble his soul; but: Loose every bond of unrighteousness. And again: Learn to do good. The poorer sort, then, turned back from the evil way—from drunkenness, lying, licentiousness, insolence, and the like; but the more powerful, also from the unrighteousness that was in their hands, that which is accomplished in violence and oppression; for the hands signify violence. So too in common speech we say: So-and-so did such a thing “by hand.” But the unjust judge too, who judges for bribes, has the unrighteousness in his hands, casting an unjust vote; and he who grows rich by plunder has the unrighteousness in his hands. But when the one votes lawfully, and the other acquires honestly, they turn back from the unrighteousness that is in their hands.

Jon. 3:9. Saying: Who knows whether God will repent and be entreated, and turn from the fierceness of his anger, that we perish not? See men of understanding: they did not cast themselves into despair, perceiving the greatness of their sins, but reckoned also the gentleness of the Judge, and that he will repent—that is, change his counsel, and alter the threat—and will be entreated, that is, be made gentle. But the Israelites were not such; rather, what did they say? Hear: Our iniquities are upon us, and in them we waste away, and how shall we live? And they said these things, not wishing to turn back from their wickednesses, but taking pleasure in them, and on purpose putting forward the incurableness that comes of despair. But God said to them: With turning, turn back from your evil way; and why do you die, O house of Israel? So ought we also to repent, as the Ninevites; the greater our evils, the more reckoning also the love of the Master for mankind, by what measure it exceeds the multitude of our sins—a thing which cannot even be told.

Jon. 3:9. And turn from the fierceness of his anger, that we perish not. Now “wrath” is the decision that certain grievous things should be brought upon him who deserves them; but “anger” is the pain and the punishment itself, brought on by the righteous Judge. For instance, the physician, having marked the inflamed and festering part, judges the cutting to be necessary: this the Scripture calls “wrath.” And after this decision there follows also the cutting, working pain in the part cut: this is named the “anger” of God. God will turn, then, he says, from bringing upon us the pain and the punishment, which punishment is the effect of his wrath. Such a thing David too said: For anger is in his wrath.

Jon. 3:10. God saw their works, that they turned back from their evil ways. He did not see their fasting, but their works—that is plainly, the good things they did, in that they turned back from their wickednesses. For depart, he says, from evil, and do good. So that the fasting was not of itself sufficient to propitiate God, unless their characters too were set right and they displayed good works.

Jon. 3:10. And God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them. To the repentance of the Ninevites God too grants a repentance—not as repenting in like manner with us (for he does not will now this, now that), but the word names the changing of the threat, as was said above, a “repentance”; for on this account he would not have threatened, but would have punished at once. But since he rejoices in salvation, he threatens the fearful things, that he may not bring them on. And hearing “evil,” do not think of wickedness. For he who takes away wickedness is not a worker of evils; but the word here means by “evil” the affliction, which God, having threatened them with before, was no longer about to bring upon them, since they repented—as it is said in another prophet: There is no evil in a city, which the Lord has not done; and elsewhere, Add evils to them, Lord — that is, the things that afflict and grieve. And in this very Jonah too, a little below: To shade him, it says, from his evils.

[1] Translator’s note: A real textual divergence: the Septuagint here reads “three days” (Jonah 3:4), but “the rest of the translators”—and, Theophylact suspects, the original Seventy—read “forty days” (so the Hebrew). He defends “three days” as both transmitted and typologically apt of the three-day burial.

Chapter 4

Jon. 4:1–2. And Jonah was grieved with a great grief, and was confounded, and prayed to the Lord, and said: O Lord, were not these my words, while I was yet in my own land? Therefore I made haste to flee to Tarshish, because I knew that you are merciful and compassionate, and long-suffering, and full of mercy, and one who repents of evils. The three days were fulfilled, after which the overthrow had been threatened to Nineveh; but when God brought no such thing upon those who had bitterly repented, and had chastised themselves by the most strenuous affliction, Jonah is grieved—not as envying those who were saved, nor as taking pleasure in the destruction of men (for these things are far from the good and gentle Spirit, whose lodging he was), but because he was in danger of being reckoned a liar, and for this very thing a vagabond, having troubled them in vain, and as speaking not from the mouth of the Lord but speaking from the belly. Hence he also pleads his cause with the lover of mankind, and says: Were not these the things I said, while I was yet in the land of Israel, that you are merciful? For I saw you showing great long-suffering toward Israel also, and by experience I came to know your tender mercies; and on this account I shrank from the prophetic dignity, because I knew that you repent over evils—that is, over afflictions—so as not to bring these upon those who for a while seemed to deserve them.

Jon. 4:3. Now therefore, Master and Lord, take my soul from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. Before, he says, when I was swallowed by the sea-monster, I prayed that my life might come up out of corruption. But now, on the contrary, I long to die; for this is better than that, while living, I should be reckoned a liar, and that the gift of prophecy should be blasphemed. Now perhaps to someone the prophet might seem faint-hearted, and not yielding to God the things of his own judgments. And perhaps it is no wonder; for he was a man, and that under the Old Covenant, where even those who seem perfect are still imperfect. But perhaps he is despondent not as faint-hearted; for it was not for his own glory, but for God’s, since the prophecy was of his grace, and, this failing, the God of Israel would have been blasphemed among the nations.

Jon. 4:4. And the Lord said: Are you greatly grieved? The Lord recovers the grieved prophet by asking whether he is grieved; for in asking he seems to rebuke him, as one not rightly grieved. And this Symmachus rendered more clearly. For he said: Are you justly grieved? And: Are you rightly grieved?—that is, Consider with yourself whether you have just grounds for your grief. But here indeed he sets him up as a physician to himself, rousing him to reckon that he is unjustly grieved, and to cease from his despondency. But since the prophet did not understand, toward the end the Lord himself sets before him most plainly the cause why he ought not to be grieved, having arranged with good method and all wisdom the matter of the gourd.

Jon. 4:5. And Jonah went out of the city, and sat over against the city, and made himself there a booth, and sat under it, until he should see what would become of the city. This, which happened first, the prophet, as some say, set down last; for, having related the repentance of the Ninevites, he wished to join to it the divine love for mankind, and the despondency that befell him because of it, and the words he spoke to God. Therefore he appears to speak later of things that happened earlier. For when Jonah had preached, he went out of the town, and, having pitched a booth, awaited the outcome of the prediction. And this plainly happened before the despondency. For after the end of the appointed days, having seen the city undergo nothing of the things threatened, he is despondent, and makes that prayer with pain, pleading his cause with God. But some say not so, but that this, his sitting over against the city, came about after the despondency, even as it is ordered according to the Scripture; for, having seen that Nineveh was not overthrown, the prophet was despondent, and said what he said to God; then, going out of the city, he sat before it, no longer expecting an overthrow, but awaiting some other, milder punishment, as we said above; for he did not believe that in three days they had been able to wipe out the records of so many transgressions.

Jon. 4:6. And the Lord God commanded a gourd, and it came up over the head of Jonah, to be a shade above his head, to shade him from his evils. And Jonah rejoiced over the gourd with a great joy.[1] God contrives a comfort for the prophet, and commands a gourd, as he had the sea-monster—that is, he wills that a gourd spring up, and at once it comes to be, all at once sprouting, and spreading out, and displaying a thick foliage of broad leaves, so as to shade the head of Jonah from his evils—that is, from the afflictions of the sun’s burning. And that the prophet, who had been grieved at the salvation of the Ninevites, should rejoice at the springing up of the herb, shows the character of the man to be simple, and near to the guilelessness of infants. For these too are easily carried, by any chance cause whatever, both to rejoicing and to grieving.

Jon. 4:7–8. And God commanded an early worm at dawn the next day, and it smote the gourd, and it withered; and it came to pass, when the sun rose, that God also commanded a burning scorching wind, and the sun smote upon the head of Jonah, and he fainted, and renounced his life, and said: It is better for me to die than to live. By “an early worm” he names the caterpillar, because it has the beginnings of its coming-to-be from the dew that falls toward dawn. And this too is commanded, as was said—the will of God being named a command—to eat the root of the gourd. And so it came to pass, and the herb withered. And God commands, and there comes a burning wind (for not only was the sun fiery, but a burning wind came on besides, increasing the blaze), and the head of Jonah is smitten both by the sun and by that scorching wind; and he, falling into despondency, renounces his life. And these things are arranged with all wisdom, that we may learn the weakness of man, and may not busy ourselves about the reasons of the things done by God at any time.

Jon. 4:9–11. And the Lord said to Jonah: Are you greatly grieved over the gourd? And he said: I am greatly grieved, even to death. And the Lord said: You spared the gourd, for which you did not toil, neither did you rear it, which came into being under a night, and under a night perished; and shall not I spare Nineveh, the great city, in which dwell more than twelve myriads of men, who do not know their right hand or their left, and much cattle? The Lord, who cares for sinners and provides for the righteous, asks the grieved prophet whether he is greatly grieved—not as ignorant, but as about to teach him that he ought not to be grieved. For when he had confessed that he was so grieved as even to desire death, “Well,” says God, “I take you for my judge. Consider, then, whether it is just that you should grieve over the gourd, of which you were not the husbandman—for you neither planted nor watered it, but, having come into being toward dawn, again on the morrow toward dawn it became the prey of a worm—while you wished me to deal unsparingly with so great a city, which had its being from me? Wonder, then, at my love for mankind, as having good reason, and do not be despondent, as though the prophecy were failing.” As for the phrase who do not know their right hand or their left, some supposed it was said of the simplicity of the Ninevite men; but it seems rather to be said of the infants in the city, from which the multitude of the city may be reckoned. For if the infants alone were more than twelve myriads, how great was the remaining multitude! And the aim of the things spoken by God leads us to this thought. For if it was not right, he says, to receive the repentance of sinners, yet at least one ought to take pity on so many myriads of infants, which, by reason of the youth of their age, do not know which is the right hand and which the left, and for this reason, not being liable to sin, ought by no means to pay penalties or to be destroyed. Likewise also one ought to spare the cattle; for neither did they owe a penalty for sins. If, then, the righteous man pities the lives of cattle, how much more shall the Maker of these spare his own possession? As, then, he added “the cattle” also, that he might show the city to have been justly saved, so he added the tender age also, since the penalties for sins are justly exacted neither of these nor of those.

This, then, is the end of the prophecy; but let us hymn our good Master, who, not willing the death of the sinner, but rather that he should turn and live, even bears at times with grieving the holy men who are well-pleasing to him, and, when they are unwilling, holds out the mercy. So, when the great Elijah had held back the rain, he himself comes as an ambassador to his servant, and says: Go, he says, to Ahab, and I will give rain upon the face of the earth. But as Nineveh, with its cattle, was saved, so also Christ, having given himself a ransom, saved all, wise and unwise, rich and poor; to whom we believe it is said by David: Men and cattle you will save, O Lord; how have you multiplied your mercy, O God! And the sons of men shall hope in the shelter of your wings. And the other things of this prophecy are worthy of wonder; but not least is the character of the prophet, which shines forth in it, being so candid and truthful that he speaks all things without concealment, and lays bare his own faults—his disobedience, his flight, his faint-heartedness—and is not ashamed of these, but sets them up as a monument for our profit. Such were all the saints, not seeking their own things, but the things of the many, that they might be saved. So David too set up a monument of his own sin, that he might procure profit for those born after, and inscribed the fiftieth psalm, full of all compunction, and laying down good hopes for those in despair, that there is no sin so great and so manifold but that it is wiped out by tears. For in this very psalm, in which he laments his sin, he prophesies of great and heavenly mysteries, of the Zion above and of the altar there, and of more hidden sacrifices worthy of it—showing out of his abundance that repentance procures not only the forgiveness of sins, but also the increase of gifts.

And it is not to be unknown that some did not at all accept that the disobedience of Jonah, and his flight, and the rest, came to pass according to the history. But since, they say, he saw the falling-away of Israel, and perceived the prophetic grace passing over to the nations, for this reason he withdraws from the proclamation, and puts off the command; and, leaving the “look-out of joy” (for this is what “Joppa” can mean among the Hebrews), I mean his ancient height and dignity, he cast himself into the sea of grief, and is storm-tossed in his thoughts, and is shipwrecked—that is, he is tossed by the waves, pondering how the Spirit refuses the firstborn son, the royal priesthood, the chosen people, and goes over to the unclean dogs, the nations. Then Jonah falls asleep—that is, he is utterly at a loss, and swallows up his own senses, no longer able to understand how this comes to be. For Paul too, perplexed at this very thing, cries out: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! But the look-out wakes him—the all-foreseeing Word, who foretold to him that his own kinsmen would be God-slayers, and that justly the grace would depart from them. And so he falls under the lot—the allotment from above, I mean, and the righteous judgment of God, by which he does not see fit to bestow the pure and holy Spirit upon the unclean crucifiers of God. Then too he is swallowed by the sea-monster, yet not consumed; for he ponders the falling-away of unbelieving Israel, but ponders besides the salvation of the remnant according to election; for God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew. And the wonder is shared out three days with Christ; for he believes that, through the washing of regeneration, those baptized into the three-days’ resurrection shall live again, in no way harmed by the sea-monster of the second unbelief. Then the sea-monster more clearly foresees the nations coming, and repenting, and receiving forgiveness of sins from God; and he is grieved, not that these are saved, but that his own tribesmen and kinsmen are cast away.[2] And do not wonder, since to Paul too there was grief and ceaseless pain in his heart—the falling-away of Israel. And Jonah, hinting also at those who in the times of the apostles still clung to the Law, such as Peter was before he saw the sheet, thinking it unlawful for a Jewish man to join himself to gentiles, goes out of the city—the Church of the nations, I mean—judging these not to be admitted to the faith unless they should also Judaize, and sits under the booth, cherishing the transitory covenant, and saying that they must be circumcised and keep the customs of Moses, and rests under the shade of the gourd, which we learn to be the Law, born under a night—when, that is, night held the rule of sin (for the Law was added for the sake of transgressions)—and perishing under a night; for it was abolished, when it could not get outside the said night. For besides that no one is justified by the works of the Law, transgression even abounded the more through it; for apart from law, sin is dead. And how was it destroyed? Through the working of the early worm, of the great power of God, of the grace of the luminous and light-giving Jesus, who shone upon us, and made the dawn both of the knowledge of God and of the upright life, who says: But I am a worm, and not a man; for this it is that brought down and abolished the Law. And then indeed Jonah learns the mystery more perfectly, that the nations are justly received and saved. Or is it not so that in the Acts the others, and Peter himself, at first dispute with the gentiles? Then Peter learns through the sheet the cleanness of the nations, and teaches the others that the Law too is called a “yoke,” which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear. All these things Jonah hints at, and so arranged his prophecy.

But indeed let us be profited by it in other respects as well, and especially by learning that bitter is the recompense for disobeying the commands of God. For because of offending God, we are given over to the seas of temptations, and wrestle with surges. And the all-devouring sea-monster seems—he who takes us as we are given over to temptations—to swallow us up and destroy us, by leading us perhaps even to blaspheme and to murmur against Providence; but let us preserve ourselves unharmed. And this will be, if we pray to him who is able to bring our life up out of corruption, and promise him spiritual sacrifices, to do the deeds that tend to our salvation. For so disposed, we shall not keep vanities and lies, which is the lot of those who forsake the divine mercy and go off into blasphemies. For these are in truth vain, neither letting go their afflictions because of their blaspheming, but still provoking God, and calling down upon themselves heavier scourges, when they ought to call upon the mercy of God. Or is it not so that even worldly servants, when, chastised by their masters, they blaspheme, the more inflame their master’s anger; whereas those who say, Have mercy, soften it, and escape being further punished? So minded, then, and looking to the one who suffered for us and rose on the third day, we too shall rise on the third day, having these three things—faith, hope, love—to enlighten us in the night of afflictions; saying, Faithful is God, who will not allow us to be tempted, and therefore enduring, and receiving the proof out of the endurance, and out of this the hope. And hope does not at all put to shame. And so, coming to the love of the Father of mercies, in the thought that What son is there whom the father does not chasten? and, Whom he loves he chastens; so that we too ought to love him, with him who says: Who shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus?

If we set these things aright, we shall also become heralds to others who sin, and shall save them through our own example. So too we shall come to be outside the city—that is, outside this world—as Paul exhorts, bidding us go forth bearing the reproach of Christ, that is, every dishonor and every affliction; so too we shall rest in a booth, reckoning our sojourn here not as abiding, but as passing, like Abraham and the rest of the patriarchs, the joint-heirs of the promise, who dwelt in tents, as awaiting the city that has the foundations. And the shade of the gourd—the glory of this world (for all the glory of man is as the flower of grass)—seems to refresh us in the burning heat of afflictions, and for this reason is desired by us. But let the early worm smite it—our conscience, to which nothing of ours is dark and hidden. Therefore it is also a worm, ever giving us a perception of our sins. For a sensible heart is a moth to the bones. This, setting our evils before our eyes, and teaching that we are worthy even of heavier afflictions for our sins, will smite the desire of glory, and will persuade us to say with the prophet: I will bear the anger of the Lord, because I have sinned against him; and again, “for a few of the things wherein I sinned, I have been scourged.” Thanks, then, to the Spirit, who profits us through all things, and both reveals mysteries through the stripping away of the letter, and not least, through the letter, sets right the souls of those who give heed. To take but one example, then, that from one thing we may set forth the whole: the phrase, Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown, signifies, more mystically, the overthrow, through the Lord’s three-days’ burial, of the wicked adverse kingdom that of old held sway and lorded it, as Nineveh among the nations—against which the Law indeed warred, but was weak; therefore it is said, Yet three days, and this complete overthrow, namely that he will strip off the principalities and the powers, having triumphed over them in the cross—he who through death was about to bring to nought him that had the power of death. And while Jesus was making his sojourn on earth, the rule of the demons was in this way being dissolved; and he despoiled the strong man, plundering his goods, and healing the demon-possessed; yet the complete overthrow of the demonic tyranny was accomplished through the three-days’ resurrection. And through the threefold immersion in baptism also—the truly daylit and illuminating immersion—sin is overthrown. These things, then, are signified mystically through the words, Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. Yet neither is the letter useless to us, who learn not to despair, but to take courage in the love of the Lord for mankind, who, for a three days’ repentance, overlooked the wickedness of many years.

To him be the glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: “Gourd” renders the Septuagint’s κολοκύνθη (Jonah 4:6); the Latin tradition’s rendering (hedera, “ivy”) provoked the celebrated dispute between Jerome and Augustine. Theophylact reads the plant allegorically as the Law.

[2] Translator’s note: The Greek of this clause is grammatically difficult (one expects something like “having come forth from the sea-monster, he foresees…”); the one grieved over his “kinsmen” is the prophet—the type of the Judaizing remnant—not the sea-monster, which here figures the “second unbelief.”

Life of the Prophet Jonah

Jonah is interpreted “of the Most High, suffering,” or “a dove.”[1] Jonah was of the land of Karathiareim, as some say, near the city of Azotus, by the sea. And having been cast forth from the sea-monster, and having gone to Nineveh, and preached, and returned, he did not remain in his own land; but, taking his mother, he sojourned in the land of Asshur, a country of foreign nations. For he said: Thus shall I take away my reproach, in that I lied, when I prophesied against Nineveh, the great city. And there was at that time Elijah the prophet, rebuking Ahab; and having called a famine upon the land, he fled. And coming to Sarephtha, he found the widow with her son, and abode with them; for he could not abide among the uncircumcised, and he blessed her on account of her hospitality; for he knew her beforehand from the first. And when her son died in the midst of the uncircumcised, God again raised the dead one there through Elijah; for he wished to show him that no one can run away from God. And Jonah, having risen up after the famine, came into Judea, and his mother died on the way, and they buried her beside the oak of Deborah; and he settled in the land of Saraam. And he died there, and was buried in the cave of Kenez, who became judge in the days of the anarchy. And he gave a great portent in Israel, and over the whole land. When, he says, they shall see a stone crying out piteously, and a beetle speaking from the wood to God, then the salvation draws near; then they shall see Jerusalem laid waste to its foundations, all of it; and to it all the nations shall come, worshiping the Lord; and they shall remove the stones toward the setting of the sun, and there shall be the worship of the Anointed One, because Jerusalem was made an abomination, in a desolation of wild beasts and of all uncleanness; and then shall come the end of all breath.

[1] Translator’s note: This Life of the prophet, printed in Migne after the doxology, derives from the apocryphal Lives of the Prophets (pseudo-Epiphanius); the closing portent of the crying stone and the beetle belongs to that legendary material. The place-names (here “Saraam,” and Jonah’s birthplace “Karathiareim”) follow Migne’s text and are textually uncertain.

Commentary on the Prophet Micah

Introduction

One Voice Among Many

A physician facing a stubborn illness multiplies remedies; a household with a hardened child multiplies tutors. That analogy, for Theophylact, is the reason God raised up so many prophets at once, several of them speaking to the same generation and repeating, in different words, much the same warnings—the puzzle behind his longest Old Testament commentary, and his answer is medical before it is theological. Micah, he explains, prophesied to both halves of the divided kingdom—Jerusalem in the south and Samaria in the north—during the same span of years as Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea, bringing the same charges they brought, so that a people unmoved by one voice might yet be reached by the chorus. Theophylact even pauses over a genuinely difficult identity question—whether this Micah is the same prophet who once struck fear into King Ahab a century earlier and was struck on the cheek for it by a rival prophet—and lays out, without forcing a conclusion, both the difficulty the chronology poses and Epiphanius of Cyprus’s proposed solution. It is a small moment, but a telling one: Theophylact will not paper over a genuine puzzle in the record merely to keep the account of a book’s origin tidy.

Judgment on Two Capitals

The commentary follows Micah’s seven chapters through their alternating rhythm of accusation and hope. Theophylact reads the opening oracles against Samaria and Jerusalem as a single indictment of both kingdoms’ ruling classes—princes who “hate the good and love the evil”, judges who take bribes, and a religious establishment more interested in comfortable prophecy than true warning. He is attentive throughout to the social dimension of Micah’s charge: the prophet’s targets are landowners who annex their neighbors’ fields, rulers who “devour the flesh” of the people they were set to shepherd, and false prophets who promise peace to whoever pays them and declare war on whoever does not. Theophylact does not let this reading stay confined to the eighth century before Christ; he draws the same charge forward against any who use position, whether civil or ecclesiastical, to profit from those they are meant to serve, and he is equally alert to Micah’s own summation of what is actually required in place of empty sacrifice—to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God—reading it as the standing definition of true religion against which every external observance is to be measured.

Against this record of accusation, Theophylact traces a counter-movement of promise that surfaces repeatedly across the book and reaches its height in the fourth chapter’s vision of the nations streaming to the mountain of the Lord, beating their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks, so that nation no longer lifts up sword against nation. He reads this as fulfilled, in its first instance, in the long peace that followed Christ’s coming and the consolidation of the nations under a single imperial order—instruments of war refashioned, quite literally, into instruments of the harvest—while allowing that the vision reaches further still, toward the deeper peace the Gospel establishes between hearts that were formerly at war with God and with one another.

Bethlehem

The commentary’s best known passage, and the one Theophylact treats with the most sustained doctrinal care, is the prophecy of chapter five: “And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, are you too little to be among the thousands of Judah? For out of you shall come forth for me one to be a ruler in Israel” (Mic. 5:2). Theophylact draws out the paradox at the center of the verse—a village too small to be counted among Judah’s principal towns is named as the birthplace of a ruler whose “goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity”—and reads that second clause as a direct affirmation of the eternal generation of the Son from the Father, guarding it against any suggestion that Bethlehem was where the ruler in question began to exist rather than merely where he was born in the flesh. He reports, and firmly sets aside, a Jewish reading that referred the prophecy to Zerubbabel, on the plain ground that Zerubbabel was born in Babylon during the captivity and cannot answer to a ruler whose origin is “from Bethlehem” and “from the days of eternity” alike; Theophylact notes that even the scribes questioned by Herod, asked where the Christ was to be born, pointed to this very verse rather than to any other candidate. He closes the passage with a characteristic move into etymology and application: Bethlehem means “house of bread”, and Christ is the bread that came down from heaven, so that everyone who keeps his commandments becomes, in a sense open to every reader, the house from which that ruler comes forth anew.

How to Read This Commentary

Micah moves quickly between registers—a courtroom indictment in one breath, a lament sung in the voice of the prophet himself in the next, a vision of restored Zion immediately after—and a reader coming to it for the first time may find the transitions abrupt without Theophylact’s running commentary to mark where one mode ends and another begins. It helps to keep two threads in view throughout: the historical thread, in which the fates of Samaria and Jerusalem under the Assyrian threat give the prophecy its immediate occasion, and the messianic thread, in which Bethlehem’s ruler and the peace of the nations gathered to God’s mountain give it a horizon reaching well past the eighth century. Theophylact moves easily and often between the two without announcing the shift, trusting the reader to follow him from the specific crisis of Micah’s own day to the deliverance he insists that crisis was always pointing toward—a method that repays a reader willing to hold both horizons in mind at once rather than choosing between them.

Argument

There is one aim for all the divine prophets: the betterment of their hearers, who are guided both toward the knowledge of God and toward a zealous life. Many prophets arose, and some were even contemporaries of one another, not superfluously nor in vain; but since God testified to the people through many mouths that, if they would not depart from the idols and choose to live rightly, they would draw down evils upon themselves, while he himself would be without blame. Therefore, in order that they might be put to shame before so many heralds who announced beforehand things grievous and fearful, and through these struck them with fear, and that those hitherto unfeeling and hardened might abstain from their wicked habit—for this reason he sends many prophets. Physicians do the same, aiding those who are more severely ill with more remedies; and so too we set over children many instructors and admonishers. And so this holy prophet Micah, now in our hands, was sent to the two tribes that inhabit Jerusalem, and to the ten in Samaria, bringing the same charges as Joel and Amos and Hosea; for he was very nearly their contemporary, even if those slightly preceded him, having begun their prophecy in the reign of Uzziah. Now Uzziah was the father of Jotham, in whose reign this Micah prophesies. He gives signs beforehand of the coming of the Savior, in one place in shadowed form, in another more plainly; and he also builds up toward a moral way of life. You will inquire whether this was the Micaiah who prophesied to Ahab the evils that would befall him, and was struck on the cheek by the prophet Zedekiah. For if this man was that one, how is it written that he prophesied in the days of Jotham? For Jotham is many years later than Ahab. Either, then, he is not the same; or he is indeed the same—since this is also the opinion of Epiphanius of Cyprus, who studied most diligently the writings of the Hebrews, from whom he himself sprang—but, having prophesied earlier, without writing, in the time of Ahab, he later began to make a written prophecy in the days of Jotham; so that, with respect to prophesying in writing, this man comes after the prophets mentioned, though not simply with respect to the time of his life.

Chapter 1

Mic. 1:1. The word of the Lord, which came to Micah. He turns the hearer to attention, all but saying this: Do not suppose the word to be mine, but the word of the Lord of all. So that you must be sober, and listen more attentively. He is Lord, having authority, able to punish the despiser. And if the Lord is the Spirit, observe that he rouses us to hear spiritually the things about to be said. Do not remain, he says, in the letter, but receive what is to be said as a word of the Spirit, all things summed up into one Word, concerning whom Isaiah also said that The Lord will make a shortened word upon the earth. For if you believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. And since ‘Micah’ is interpreted ‘humbling’ or ‘one humbled,’ understand the Word of God to be indicated here—the one born of a woman, whose soul magnifies the Lord, because he looked upon the humiliation of his handmaid—both of her who says these very things, and simply of human nature; and because he put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the humble; and since[1]a broken and humbled heart God does not despise, and the Word of God comes to be in everyone who is humbled, giving him grace, and making him wise, and giving him understanding, and revealing to him the things which he hid from the wise and prudent. And if, through the active discipline, I have also humbled your body, buffeting it and bringing it into bondage, receive also the word of the contemplative discipline. For toward the man who is well-fed and lives in luxury, who though living is dead even while he lives, such a word could not come.

Mic. 1:1. The son of Morathi. The other translators of the Hebrew edition, by saying ‘the Morathite,’ give us to understand that Morathi, the father of the prophet, was not a man, but the place from which he set out.

Mic. 1:1. In the days of Jotham, and Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Not in vain were the kings enumerated in whose reigns Micah prophesies, but because great wars occurred in their times. For indeed, in the reign of Jotham, Pekah son of Romelias, and Rezin king of Syria, marched against Jerusalem; then, when Jotham had died, Ahaz reigned, who, while the war still continued, having made the Assyrian his ally by means of money, brought down Rezin. And after this, when impious kings reigned in Samaria, the Assyrians came upon them and inflicted not a few evils on the ten tribes. He mentions Hezekiah also, on account of the miracle in the time of Sennacherib. Fittingly, then, did he make mention of these kings. For the things that would come to pass in their times, upon the ten tribes and upon the two, he foretells; and hear also what follows:

Mic. 1:1. Concerning the things which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. For he beheld them, as in a vision; the things that were to be and to come to pass he not only knew, but even saw as though already present. Therefore, that they might not come to pass, for this reason the word of the Lord came to the prophet, and the prophet announces it to those who were going to suffer these things, if they did not amend. Know, however, that the greater part of what is said looks toward Jerusalem.

Mic. 1:2. Hear, all you peoples. Since he prophesies concerning Jerusalem and Samaria, fittingly he calls not one people to the hearing, but peoples—those, I mean, of the two kingdoms. And since ‘to hear’ signifies two things in Scripture—both simply to give ear, and to obey—here he requires the peoples not simply to hear, but to obey and to attend to the things spoken. He adds, then:

Mic. 1:2. And let the earth give heed, and all that are in it. The earth, that is, of Jerusalem and of Samaria. And making his discourse clearer, he said: All that are in it; for surely the element earth was not going to give heed. And perhaps someone will say that the discourse is brought by the prophet toward what is more fearful. For since the earth too will be destroyed, set ablaze by the enemies and its fruits laid waste, he calls it also to give heed. And it is a prophetic idiom to call the elements as witnesses: Hear, O heaven; and give ear, O earth, as Isaiah says; and this same prophet, in what follows, calls the mountains to judgment. The prophets do this, putting to shame those who are ensouled and rational. And so now too he exhorts the earth to give heed first, then those in it, showing that it was for their sake that he made mention of the earth at all, that, standing in awe of him, they might attend to the things to be said.

Mic. 1:2. And let the Lord God be among you for a testimony, the Lord from his holy house. Let each of you reckon, he says, that it is not I, Micah, a man like yourselves, who testify these words to you; but the Lord himself bears witness to you from the holy house—that is, from the temple—making this attestation. So that you ought to give heed; for it is the Lord who speaks. He speaks from the house which you raised up, in which you were commanded to honor him, from which house he ever speaks to the prophets. And if you should understand the house to be heaven, this makes the discourse far more worthy of credence. For the one who speaks does not utter his voice from earth, but from on high, as the true God. And since the prophecy also contains certain great mysteries concerning Christ, for this reason he calls together not only those under the law, whom he names ‘peoples’ (because the proselytes too were ranked with the noble Jews), but also the whole earth, into which went out the sound of the apostolic preaching, that the whole earth might be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. And the only-begotten Lord and God became a testimony, inasmuch as he testified through the Gospel how one must be saved, and inasmuch as he witnessed before Pontius Pilate the good confession in his own times. And both these things are from the flesh, which is his holy house. For if he had not been made flesh, he would neither have preached the Gospel nor have suffered for us. But also, as many of the faithful in the Church as are chosen peoples—that is, who are under the kingdom of Christ—let them hear the things said; and as many as have become earth outright, let them attend to this attestation, which the Lord makes from his holy house—that is, the prophet. For the saints are houses of God.

Mic. 1:3. Because, behold, the Lord goes forth from his place. The word ‘because’ take either as narrative, equivalent to ‘that,’ as though the prophet were saying: Hear, that the Lord goes forth; or take this very word as causal, as though he were saying this: Give heed, because it is no small thing that happens, nor such as to be despised, but the Lord goes forth from his place. Now properly, in the case of God, there is neither standing still nor motion; but by metaphor and figure these things are said of him; just as now too he calls ‘going forth’ the movement that comes out of long-suffering and stillness. For that toward which he was of old long-suffering, he says, now he has been moved against those who have offended him.

Mic. 1:3–4. And he will mount upon the heights of the earth, and the mountains will be shaken beneath him. He will trample down, he says, those who are eminent, or even those who reign in Samaria and Jerusalem, and those who are lifted up in dignities and exalted like mountains; he will shake them away and remove them from the glory now belonging to them.

Mic. 1:4. And the valleys will melt, like wax before the face of fire. By ‘valleys’ he names the lowly of the people, those who are subject to the lofty and to the rulers, as the valleys are to the mountains. And these too, he says, even if for the present they are hard and unyielding toward submitting to God, nevertheless will melt like wax under the wrath of the Lord, which burns them up after the manner of fire.

Mic. 1:4. And like water carried down in a descent. That is, they will go down to the depths in such a way as water borne down a slope; for by ‘descent’ he names a place that slopes downward. Or, because they will swiftly be resettled into the land of the Persians and Medes, after the manner of water carried down. The only-begotten Son also went forth from his place, the Father’s bosom, being seen upon the earth and dwelling among men; and he mounted upon the heights of the earth—of the legal polity, I mean—teaching us to pursue it in a lofty manner, and not lowly and earthly, attending to senseless sacrifices and circumcisions and the other things of that kind. The saying, You shall not swear falsely, is like a kind of earth lying below; but the saying, Do not swear at all, is a height of earth, and so are all other such sayings. He also shook the mountains on the day of the cross, on which he also removed the adverse powers from their authority against us. And those who are subject to these wicked mountains, like valleys, and who receive all the depravity flowing upon them from these—the Pharisees and Scribes—melted before the face of the fire of his divinity. For when he had risen as God, their counsels were brought to nothing, and flowed away like water. David too seems to say the same things concerning these: They shall be brought to nothing like water passing through; like wax that is melted, they shall be taken away. And understand that the Lord also goes forth from his place—that is, from his own height—and the earth and lowliness of human nature is exalted, and then he mounts upon its heights; for unless he too should condescend, and we be lifted up, his goodness remains unmingled, and his love for mankind incommunicable; and not finding heights of earth, he no longer mounts; for it is the lofty things that receive his mounting. Then indeed our mountains too are shaken—wealth and glory, which appear to us unstable and inconstant—when the divine glory is revealed, which is the truly stable and abiding. And they come then to be beneath the Lord, when we use them well, and according to the commandment of the Lord: wealth, for supplying the needy with what they need; and glory, for siding with the more lowly against the more powerful. And our valleys too—the dispositions that receive the confluence of the passions—melt, as though that fire of Gehenna were lying before our eyes.

Mic. 1:5. For the ungodliness of Jacob is all this, and for the sin of the house of Israel. He gives us hence to understand that the things he said concerning mountains and valleys were not about these inanimate things, but about men who were going to suffer certain dreadful things. For what was going to befall the ungodly in Samaria, or those sinning in Jerusalem, if the mountains were shaken and the valleys melted? By ‘Jacob,’ then, he calls the ten tribes in Samaria, which he also says were ungodly, as having departed from God to the idols; and by ‘Israel’ the two in Jerusalem, which he blames as having sinned, which is lighter. For the one who has departed entirely from God is ungodly; but the one who stumbles in the working of the divine commandments sins. For this reason, to those who were ungodly he assigns the natural and lower name, ‘Jacob’; but to those in Jerusalem the more spiritual and more honorable one; for having the divine temple, they had many godly men.

Mic. 1:5. What is the ungodliness of the house of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? That is, the things done in Samaria, these were ungodliness, for they served idols; and the things practiced in Jerusalem, these were sin. For indeed they wronged and overreached the poorer sort, and did many such things—unless perhaps someone will say that he most emphatically declared the cities themselves to be, the one ungodliness, the other sin; so as to show that these had become ungodliness itself and sin itself.

Mic. 1:6. And I will make Samaria like a watchman’s hut in a field. Those who guard the fruit-harvest, setting up some cheap huts and remaining in them, keep watch as long as the fruits are there; but after the season of the fruit, they leave these huts deserted. He threatens, then, that the divine angels who guard the people in Samaria will withdraw and leave it deserted, so that it will be broken down like a hut.

Mic. 1:6. And for a planting of a vineyard, and I will pull down her stones into a chasm, and I will uncover the foundations of the earth. That is, just as those who are about to plant a vineyard cut up the suitable place with plows, turning it up and down, so too will Samaria suffer. For it will be dug down, and will have neither walls nor houses; nor even the altars of the idols and the precincts. But also her stones will be pulled down—that is, demolished into a chasm, namely a sufficient depth—so that the foundations too are uncovered, and it seems thereafter to be suitable for the planting of vines.

Mic. 1:7. And all her carved images they will cut to pieces. Those whom they expected, he says, to be saviors for them, as gods, these the Babylonians will cut to pieces: some, as being of wood, for burning; others, as being of gold and silver, for an abundance of wealth.

Mic. 1:7. And all her hires they will burn with fire; and all her idols I will make into an annihilation. Because she gathered from the hires of fornication, and from the hires of fornication she heaped them together. The temples, he says, and the altars, and the votive offerings which she dedicated to the idols as a kind of wage, as to benefactors and suppliers of all manner of goods—these the Babylonians will burn. For indeed she gathered and heaped together much wealth, beheld in votive offerings and treasures; that is, she collected and piled it up for the honor of idols, from such-like hires of their fornication—that is, of their idolatry. For giving costly hires to the demons, as to benefactors, as has been said, she gathered together many votive offerings. And it is likely that the harlots too, receiving wages for their licentiousness, offered firstfruits from these to the idol of the licentious demon, of Astarte, that is, of Aphrodite. Or you will understand ‘the hires’ in another way also: for their gold, he says, and their silver, and their wine, the enemies will burn—the things which the Israelites supposed were given to them as hires by the idols, on account of their idolatry. Then, as though deriding Israel, God says ironically that the wealth which she gathered she had from the idols, as it seemed, who gave it to her as the wage of fornication—that is, of idolatry—and from such wages she ‘heaped together’; that is, she became something firm and compacted and steadfast. The worship according to the law became like a watchman’s hut, accounted of some worth as long as the law had its season; but when that passed away, like the fruit-harvest (for this too is short-lived, and provides no solid nourishment), then it too was forsaken, when also her stones were pulled down—that is, the weightier matters of the law, which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear. And her foundations were uncovered—the Spirit, which until then lay in hiding; and it became truly a planting of a new vineyard, of the people from the nations, when the Pharisaic teaching was burned by the fire of the Spirit, which sat upon the apostles; for which teaching they were receiving hires from the people, out of which they gathered wealth and ‘heaped it together,’ perverting the ways of the Lord, the straight and simple ones, and advancing into disputations and convolutions of words. As a watchman’s hut is forsaken by the Lord, so too is a soul that does not keep the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, and the rest which are enumerated by Paul, but cherishes the short-lived and transient fruit of this age, which resembles the fruit-harvest, producing swelling and inflation in those who take it to themselves. But perhaps this forsaking is profitable to her. For her stones are pulled down—which is the hardening of her heart—and her foundations are uncovered, when she confesses her reasonings, which are the foundations of deeds; and then she becomes a planting of a vineyard, receiving Christ, who said to his disciples: I am the vine, you are the branches. Such a soul, when it served the enemy, received hires from him—wealth, perhaps, and glory—as he fawned upon her through these, as though saying to her: All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me; all of which such a soul gives over to the fire of the Gospel, which the Lord came to cast upon the earth; for wherever the evangelical word enters, there wealth and glory are consumed.

Mic. 1:8. For this cause she will lament, and mourn, and go barefoot and naked. Because, he says, she committed fornication away from me, and gave wages to the idols, the votive offerings; or because she supposed she had from them, as wages for her worship, both wealth and the other goods; for this cause she will fall into calamities, and lament, and mourn, and go barefoot and naked—which means, she will be led away into captivity. For such is the appearance of captives. So too Isaiah, intimating the captivity that was to come upon the people, said: He walked about Jerusalem naked and barefoot.

Mic. 1:8. She will make a wailing, like that of dragons. He shows the magnitude of their affliction by these words. For they say that dragons, when they are struck, make painful hissings, and beat the ground with their tails.

Mic. 1:8. And mourning, like that of the daughters of the Sirens. The Greeks say that the Sirens are certain winged creatures of human form, knowing how to sing sweetly and bewitchingly; but the divinely inspired Scripture calls ‘sirens’ the more talkative of the little birds, those wont to be tuneful; or sometimes the halcyons themselves, which sing mournful songs. Since, then, those who mourn are wont to lament with some melody, for this reason he made mention of these melodious creatures.

Mic. 1:9. Because her plague has prevailed, because it came as far as Judah, and reached as far as the gate of my people, as far as Jerusalem. Here he signifies, on the one hand, the captivity brought upon Samaria by Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser, the kings of the Assyrians; for he names that a ‘plague’ which prevailed over her, because they were given over to utter destruction by Shalmaneser. And he signifies also the assault of Sennacherib, when he came upon Judea and seized some of the outlying cities, and reached even to the gates of Jerusalem; for he besieged it through Rabshakeh, who served as his lieutenant. And you can understand the ‘plague’ also as idolatry, which, beginning from Samaria, in the end devoured Jerusalem too. The Jews mourn and lament even now, but their mourning is full of the venom of the dragon. For not bearing to submit to Christians, they seek their ancient glory, and go barefoot. For they did not bind their feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, but destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known; and they are naked, as not having put on Christ. And these things have come upon them because their plague has prevailed—the plague with which they were stricken in the matter of Christ, who worked miracles—which passed as far as Judas the traitor, and reached the gate of the people, the broad way, I mean, of life, walking which they bore a grudge against Christ, who said: Enter through the narrow gate; and this, though they inhabited Jerusalem, the city of the great King, in which righteousness was begotten. In her too there laments the wailing of dragons even the man who grieves with the grief of the world, mourning either over loss of money, or over desire of glory, or over some other such thing. This wailing belongs to demons, the intelligible dragons. This mourning is also that of the daughters of the Sirens—of souls most akin to the pleasures of life, which are the Sirens. Observe, however, that the Sirens have daughters, not sons; for nothing male is an offspring of pleasure. Such a man will go the last road of life, barefoot indeed, as not having willed to place beneath his feet the leathern life, and thereby to procure safety for his own steps (for one then guards the feet of the soul, when he will set the things of the flesh beneath them, so that, trodden under by them, they are made subject to them); and naked, as having no covering for the unseemliness of his works. I say something of this sort: Often a man who sins in one thing succeeds in another; and at the judgment, when the better deeds are weighed against the wicked, some help comes to him. But whenever someone departs there without help, having received in his lifetime whatever good he had, he goes, with respect to that wealth, naked, having only the works of shame uncovered.

Mic. 1:10. You from Gath, do not magnify yourselves; and you Enakim, do not build up out of a house a derision. Since he had bidden all the tribes of Israel to grieve, and foresaw that the foreigners would rejoice over their calamities, he turns his discourse toward them, and says: Do not be high-minded, you who inhabit Gath (this was the mother-city of the foreigners); nor lift up lofty laughter against the Israelites out of your house; that is, supposing that you dwell in safety and abide in your habitations, do not laugh at those being led captive and rising up from their homes. And ‘Enakim’ is not, as some supposed, some other city beside Gath; but he names the inhabitants of Gath ‘Enakim,’ as being descendants of Enak the giant.

Mic. 1:10. Scrape the earth for your derision. That is, Instead of derision, scrape the earth—at once as mourning together with those being led captive, and at the same time considering the calamities that will befall you yourselves as well. For you will not be left unstricken, but Sennacherib will lay hold of you also—which indeed came to pass. Some take it thus: Now you build up laughter out of a house—that is, out of seeing the house of Israel led captive; but do not so; rather, as you yourselves also are going to suffer the worse, scrape down, as a kind of earth, the laughter that will be against you, and bewail your own calamities.

Mic. 1:11. She who inhabits her cities well did not come out; she who inhabits Sennan, to lament a house adjoining her, will receive from you a plague of pain. Since, he says, Sennan supposed that she dwelt well and securely in her cities, which were fortified, and for this reason did not lament the house of Israel—you who adjoin her—she too will share in your calamities, and will herself also have a plague of pain from you; that is, such as are your plagues and pains. These things are also admonitions for you, against laughing at the falls of enemies, even as a certain wise man also said: If your enemy fall, do not rejoice over him, lest the Lord see, and it not suffice him.[2] And observe the sequence of the admonition: first he forbade laughing, then he showed that not grieving together is also liable to account. For he who himself dwells well and is in prosperity is condemned if he does not grieve together with those in calamities; but when he himself even brings on the calamities, or intensifies them, of what is he worthy? And he who fattens the body, which is the house of the soul, out of this house builds for himself derision and shame in the age to come. And perhaps he likens to the Enakim also the soldiers who crucified the Lord, as being themselves God-opposing giants; whom he bids not to be high-minded that they crucified him, nor to build up and increase derision out of the flesh of the Lord, which was the house of the Godhead. For they mocked him, putting a robe about him and placing a crown upon his head; but Sennan too, he says, which interpreted means ‘rock,’ might be understood as the hard and stony Synagogue of the Jews, which did not lament the house when it was being crucified, although it adjoined her—that is, was neighbor to her and kindred (for from her is Christ according to the flesh)—or held fast to her, and did all things on her behalf. For this reason she will receive a plague of pain from you, the Roman soldiers, when she will be destroyed by your armies.

Mic. 1:12–13. Who began pains for her who dwells in good things? Because evils came down from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem—a clatter of chariots and of horsemen. Some understood it thus: that, making his discourse toward Jerusalem, he says: Who began pains for her who dwelt in good things? That is, Who brought the pains upon Jerusalem, formerly flourishing and dwelling in peace and in many good things, save surely the Lord? Wherefore he also adds, that Evils came down from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem—that is, the things that work affliction, which are a clatter of warlike chariots and of soldiers, who are carried on them and ride. But some say that God speaks to those in Gath and the rest, as follows: You suppose that you yourselves remain unharmed through the strength of your own gods, but that those of Israel were handed over to their enemies through my weakness; but you suppose wrongly. For who began good things for Jerusalem, which dwelt in pains? Who freed her from Sennacherib? No other at all than I. And she dwelt in pains because I, the Lord, permitted the evils of the siege to come down upon her, so that I, having handed her over to pains, again began good things for her; but you, when you come to be in evils, will not have one to do good to you. Evils came down upon the gates of Jerusalem also from the Lord of glory, whom they crucified; and for this reason the Christ-slaying multitude dwelt in pains; but the Church began good things for her, and the Christ proclaimed in her. For as many as, having turned, confessed Christ, came to be in the good things of the Jerusalem above. The repentant soul too dwells in pains, which, when it is at the gates of Jerusalem—that is, at the beginning of the life according to God—has evils, that is, affliction and tribulation, coming down upon it from the Lord, who commands: Enter through the narrow gate and through many tribulations, which make you enter into the kingdom. But none other begins good things for her than he who said, the Lord: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; and, Come, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And how does he begin good things? As having inaugurated for us the way into the heavens, and having said to the thief: Today you will be with me in paradise. And where he himself is, there too will his servant be.

Mic. 1:13. She who inhabits Lachish, she is the beginning of sin for the daughter of Zion, because in you were found the ungodlinesses of Israel. Since Sennacherib sacked Lachish, while prevailing nothing against Jerusalem, and Lachish perished first, he says: Justly did you undergo this utter destruction, you who inhabit Lachish, because the ungodlinesses of the ten tribes too were found in you, and you yourself also served idols—nay rather, you became for Jerusalem teacher and originator of this ungodliness.

Mic. 1:14. For this cause you will give those sent away as far as the inheritance of Gath, vain houses. Since, he says, O Lachish, you were ungodly, you too will give those sent away—that is, led captive and resettled out of all your borders as far as Gath—on account of the vain houses of the idols.

Mic. 1:14–15. In vain did they prove to the kings of Israel, until I bring the heirs to you. There is also another reading: ‘until they bring the heirs.’ He explains why he named the houses of the idols ‘vain,’ and says that: In vain did they prove to the kings in Samaria; for they were nothing profited by the idolatrous houses; just as neither will you yourself be profited by these houses which you honored, as did the Samaritans. Nevertheless these things will befall you, O Lachish, until I, having freed the captives, lead them back to you, and restore them to their ancestral inheritances. Or he calls the enemies ‘heirs,’ those who were going to inherit their land. He says, then, that the kings of Samaria had the idolatrous houses, until, by the things they did, they brought the enemies upon themselves. But some take it thus: Since those in Gath said that God, being weak, was not able to deliver the Israelites, the Lord shows them that it was not through his weakness, but through their own ungodliness, that they were handed over; and he makes Lachish an example, which, having been ungodly, was handed over to Sennacherib. The prophet, then, as though exulting over these, says to God, that: You will give those sent away, O Lord—that is, as captives—the vain houses, namely the inhabitants of Lachish and of Gath; for the captivity will lay hold of the inheritance too. For Scripture knows how to name the inhabitants and the families ‘houses,’ as is plain from elsewhere, as in the phrase: The house of Levi, and the house of Aaron; and from this very prophet, who says at the beginning: What is the ungodliness of the house of Jacob, and the sin of the house of Judah? Then the prophet, lamenting, says that for the kings of Israel in Samaria the things they served as idols proved in vain, and, as it seems, they were zealous to do all the things they did, until they brought the heirs—that is, the enemies, who inherited their land.

Mic. 1:15. She who inhabits Lachish: the inheritance will come as far as Odollam. This inheritance, he says, which the enemies are about to inherit among your possessions, will not halt as far as you, O inhabitant of Lachish, but will come even as far as Odollam, which lies at the farthest bounds of Judea; so that what is said is of this sort: From one end of Judea to the other end the captivity will come. Houses ‘sent away’ are the Jewish synagogues; for he sent them away, even as he also forsook them, who said: Behold, your house is left to you desolate; which houses proved, even if in vain, to the rulers of the Israelites, until the Lord brought the true heirs, the nations. And since Aquila put ‘the heir’ in the singular, he gives us to understand that the houses will be vain—both those of the idols and the synagogues; for these too are vain. For there is one house for the Lord, which they made a hyena’s den. They will be so, then, until the heir Christ comes, whom the wicked husbandmen, seeing, said: This is the heir; come, let us kill him. This one, then, having come, will dissolve both the houses of the idols and the Jewish synagogues; and if any, having become pure of God, and having had the Spirit of God dwelling in them, then outraged the Spirit of grace, and looked to vanities and false madnesses, raging after the false pleasures of the world, both became vain houses and will be ‘sent away,’ hearing: Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness; and, Go into the outer fire; when the Judge, who is also their co-heir, will bring the heirs nearer, saying to them: Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.

Mic. 1:15–16. The glory of the daughter of Zion: shave yourself and shear over your delicate children.[3] Not Lachish alone, he says, nor Odollam will suffer the dreadful things; but you too, O Zion, will have experience of them. Therefore shave yourself and be shorn, taking up a mournful appearance, for the sake of the children, which formerly lived in luxury, then were to be led away into captivity and affliction.

Mic. 1:16. They were taken captive away from you. Just as the eagle, he says, at a certain season is stripped of all its feathers, and is not even able to hunt in this season, until its feathers are renewed for it again; so too you, stripped of my providence, will not be strong against the enemies, but will rather be easy prey for them. Or: Precisely you too, shave yourself, and shear off all your hair, just as the eagle casts off all its feathers, because your children were taken captive, whom you reared in all luxury, never having experienced anything grievous. And they say that the eagle grieves exceedingly also at the loss of its young.

[1] Translator’s note: Some copies: ἐπειδὴ.

[2] Translator’s note: Some copies: ἀρέσῃ (please).

[3] Translator’s note: Some copies: κεῖραι.

Chapter 2

Mic. 2:1. They became men who devise toils, and who work evils upon their beds, and at daybreak they accomplished them. Having told what they will suffer, he shows that they will suffer these things justly. For, he says, since the life of men is divided into these two—into night and day—by night they were planning their lawless deeds, and how they might bring toils and affliction upon someone; but by day they accomplished what they had planned, at early dawn, exhibiting no delay. And observe the phrase, “working evils upon their beds”; for instead of devising, he said working, at once to show that the thought is a work of the mind, wherefore we are also judged for it; and at the same time to make plain their effectiveness toward mischief; for their counsel, he says, was already a deed.

Mic. 2:1–2. Because they did not lift up their hands to God, and they coveted fields, and plundered orphans. They did not rise early toward God, so as to lift up their hands to him, as is the custom of the devout, but at daybreak they accomplished their evils. Or, that they did not seek good things from God, entreating him to become for them the provider of life’s necessities, but, being slaves to their own desires, they plundered the goods of orphans. Or they even plundered the orphans themselves—that is, they led them into slavery.

Mic. 2:2. And they oppressed households. Not only did they harm orphans, as has been said, but they also oppressed households—that is, those of more honorable and more powerful fortune. Or because they took away the goods in the houses of the orphans, and the very houses as well.

Mic. 2:2. And they seized the man and his house. They did both, he says, both plundering the man and leading him into slavery, like foreign foes, and his house as well—that is, all that was in his dwelling, and the house itself, and all who were in his house, enslaving them.

Mic. 2:2. A man and his inheritance. The substance that lies in fields and possessions. The glory of the Synagogue of the Hebrews was the Law, which now, shaved off by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, is no longer glorified because of the surpassing radiance of the glory of Christ; whose children—those living in luxury and dissipation, the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose God is their belly — were led captive by the Romans, because the things they had devised by night against the Lord, having seized him with swords and clubs, these they accomplished at daybreak, leading him away at dawn to Pilate. And they did these things because they devoured the houses of widows, and were corrupted in the rest of their life, and they hated the light; for their works were evil. And if hairs are a dead and lifeless thing, and “Zion” is interpreted “watchtower,” observe that he charges the watchtower of our mind to have nothing hairy in itself. For an eye could not keep watch, nor see clearly, while it has a hair in it. But whenever it is shaved, then it becomes most keen-sighted, like an eagle, which they say is the only one of living creatures that looks straight into the rays of the sun; and so too it judges its own young, whether they are spurious or genuine. For setting them face to face with the sun, whenever it sees one not looking straight into the rays, but blinking, it strikes it and casts it from the nest as spurious. And he urges us on to the shaving on account of the “delicate,” he says, “children.” But he has delicate children who is unable to say with David: Because of the words of your lips I have kept hard ways; but who is ranked among those who wear soft garments, and pursues the smooth and pleasant life. And he accomplishes his evils at daybreak who does not even think he is doing anything base, but parades his wickedness shamelessly and with bold license, who does not lift up his hands to God. For he works nothing divine and laid up on high; but coveting the good things of the world, which is a “field,” he corrupts others too, becoming a teacher of wickedness to those who are anyhow orphans, having fallen from the kinship of the heavenly Father. And he plunders the man—the soul—and his house—the body—destroying both, and depriving him of the indissoluble inheritance on high.

Mic. 2:3. Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I devise evils against this tribe, from which you shall by no means lift up your necks, nor shall you walk upright, for the time is evil. They themselves, he says, devised evils against their neighbors; behold, I too devise evils against this tribe of Judah, just as also against the other ten; and these evils will be so heavy and burdensome as to bend down your hard and arrogant necks; and you shall by no means walk upright, but stooping, because the time is evil—that is, yours—that is, hard, bringing toils. So too in Solomon the saying, An evil distraction he has given to men, some read with the acute accent, even if others read it with the penultimate accent. Something similar David also foretold concerning the slayers of God: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back continually. For their iniquities were made heavy upon them, and they did not hear the Lord, who said: Come, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And affliction is good for the proud and stiff-necked man, who thinks he walks in uprightness. Concerning whom Solomon said: There are ways that seem right to a man, but their ends lead to the depth of Hades. For being bent down and humbled, such a one will say with David: It is good for me that you humbled me.

Mic. 2:4. In that day a parable shall be taken up against you. That is, you shall be on everyone’s lips, and your evils shall be broadcast to all, one recounting them to another. Or, that you shall be an example to all, so that each says: May I not suffer as so-and-so suffered.

Mic. 2:4. And a lamentation shall be lamented with melody. Strangers, he says, will hold you for a parable; but your own kinsmen will compose a lamentation with melody, and you yourselves over yourselves. And lamentations with melody are mournful and more pitiable.

Mic. 2:4. Saying: With misery we have been made miserable. The word, making plain the excess of their weakness, doubled the name of misery. For not simply, he says, but with real misery have we been made miserable.

Mic. 2:4. The portion of my people has been measured out with a line. Either he speaks in the person of those lamenting with melody and saying, “We have been made miserable,” and as it were adducing the cause of their misery; and this is, “That the inheritances of my people should be measured out”; or this is said in the person of God, that I indeed apportioned the land to them, but now it is measured out by neighbors and those dwelling round about. For finding the land deserted, they distributed it among themselves for farming. But also by those who took them captive it was measured out, as they laid tributes and taxes upon those who were left, and for this reason measured the land held by each of them.

Mic. 2:4. And there was none to hinder him from turning back. Neither Chemosh, he says, nor Bel, nor any other such god of yours, was able to hinder him—that is, the one measuring—from turning back from measuring. And this he says, mocking their gods. Or, that there was none to hinder my people, so that they should not go the road to captivity, but turn back from it.

Mic. 2:4–5. Your fields were divided up; therefore there shall be none to cast a measuring-line by lot. By strangers, he says, your fields were measured out and divided up; but for you, the people, there shall be no one to cast a measuring-line, so that a lot may be apportioned to you as well. This the boastful Jews also suffered. For they were firstborn, and the measured portion of God’s inheritance, and theirs were the promises and the fathers; but having outraged Christ as drunkards, they lost the inheritance among the sanctified. And henceforth the gentiles have become fellow citizens of the saints, and heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. And David knows how to call plots and trials “lines” too, as in: The lines of sinners have entangled me; and, With lines they stretched out a snare for my feet. When, therefore, someone is plotted against by the tempter, and loses his divine portion, which, while he had it, he was able to say, You are my portion, O Lord; then the singleness of the divine portion in him is measured out and divided up into the manifold[1] and broad way of wickedness, and there is none to hinder him from turning back from such a way. But he casts a measuring-line by lot who makes the temptation brought upon him by the enemy an occasion for obtaining the inheritance in the heavens—such as was he who said: Being reviled, we bless; and, We take pleasure in weaknesses, in afflictions, and in all these things we are more than conquerors, through God who took pleasure in us. Which does not come to pass in us when our fields are divided up—that is, when our worldly deeds become portions for foxes, for the wicked demons.

Mic. 2:5–6. In the assembly of the Lord weep not with tears. Having announced the grievous things, he brings in an exhortation that has much profit, and says that we ought not, when we assemble—that is, gathering into the temple of the Lord—to weep thus barely and superficially, and to acquit ourselves of mourning with tears alone, but to add also works of contrition and compunction.

Mic. 2:6. Let them not weep over these things. That is, you ought not to weep over being led captive and having your land measured out, but because you provoked God; for that is worthy of tears. But the punishment for sins is worthy not of tears but of joy, because it is a relief from eternal punishment. So too Paul said: But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. For he will not put away reproaches who says: Thus has Jacob provoked the Spirit of the Lord, if these are his practices. The one who weeps barely, he says, and superficially, and circumscribes his confession with words alone, and says that “The house of Jacob”—that is, we—“have provoked the Lord,” will not put away the reproaches that are about to be brought upon him as he is led captive and otherwise afflicted, if indeed these are his practices, which were mentioned above, that “they plundered orphans,” and the rest. For then he will put away the reproaches, when he wipes out the practices. These things fit us too, who seem to confess but do not produce fruits worthy of repentance; or also those who weep, but over the failure of some perishable good, or over some unwished-for circumstance. These things are now proper to the Jews too, who weep, not on account of the abomination of slaying God, but on account of being driven and persecuted, and having no boldness against us, as also against the apostles. The prophet, then, forbids them this. For the Father, he says, who speaks and judges and declares that they provoked the Spirit of the Lord, when they said that Christ worked wonders not by him, but by Beelzebul, will not put away their reproaches, nor overlook both the things concerning the wonders and the other things which they reproached Christ with—if indeed up to now they hold such practices, and such a disposition against Christ, blaspheming him as a deceiver, and not heeding him as God.

Mic. 2:7. Are not his words good and upright, and do they not walk with him? And formerly my people stood up in enmity against his peace. It must be read as a question down to “do they walk”; and what follows, in the manner of a character. For he says: My people speaks words of confession, and these words are upright, having nothing in their utterances that is crooked or blameworthy or in need of correction; but behold, through their works it appears that, like an enemy, he stands face to face against me. For this he makes plain by saying “formerly,” and he has deprived himself of peace, and handed himself over to wars and to the evils that come from wars.

Mic. 2:8–9. They flayed off his skin, to take away hope, the crushing of war; therefore the leaders of my people shall be cast out from the houses of their luxury. Having accused the people as having opposed the divine laws through their works, even if they displayed a feigned intention, he now accuses the leaders, saying that the leaders became for them the cause of such a disposition; who, by persuading the people to commit idolatry, flayed off his skin—that is, my shelter, which sheltered him round about, as the skin shelters the flesh, against suffering easily—and took away from the people their hope in me, which was the crushing of war. For indeed he who hopes in idols deprives himself of hope in God, who crushes wars. For this reason, then, the leaders themselves too, the kings and priests, together with the rest of the people shall be cast out into captivity from their houses, which they built not simply thus, plainly and without elaboration, and for the need of dwelling, but lavishly, and for luxury and insolence.

Mic. 2:9. Because of their evil practices they were thrust out. Let them not blame me, he says, that they were thrust out into Babylon—instead of “they shall be thrust out”—but their practices were such, when they themselves both practiced evils and persuaded the people to pursue the same. The words of the Christ-slaying people too were good and upright, when it said, For a good work we do not stone you, but because, being a man, you make yourself the Son of God; and again, According to our law he ought to die, because he said he was the Son of God. But these things they said to men; whereas before me, the God and Father, they appeared not as my avengers, but as enemies. Why? Because they stood up against their peace, who is Christ; and he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father. For this reason the leaders of my people, the many high priests, were cast out from my people, whom, being one house to me, they themselves made many, because of hiring out the office year by year. And in this, trafficking in the Law, they reveled at the people’s expense. And often someone, even feigning kind speech toward the brethren, has words good and upright, but is an enemy through his works, thinking nothing peaceable, but by the things he does standing over against his own peace, which he speaks with his neighbors, and flaying off the skin of the poor man, both by the other means, and by crushing him in his labors, and so squeezing him as to take away from him even the more cheering hope, which becomes the crushing of the war of despair and of blasphemy against Providence. For he who is afflicted and warred upon so as to blaspheme against Providence, when he is helped by the hope of good things, crushes this war. And what follows seems to contain punishment, and let this too edify the many, since God threatens that they shall fall out from the houses of luxury. But you will also understand by “leaders” and “rulers,” in a manner worthy of the Spirit, the souls which, appointed to rule, since they did not use their rule well, falling into temptations and afflictions, shall be cast out from the houses of luxury—that is, the bodies—with which they reveled. For the soul, while the body is doing well and reveling, is glued fast to it; but when it is afflicted, considering its corruption, it is ashamed to be together with such corruption. Wherefore it will say the words of the prophet too: Woe is me, that my sojourning has been prolonged; and the words of Paul, Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? And whenever Satan, transforming himself into an angel of light, seems to counsel us good things, as also to Eve, he displays good and upright words; but if we look at the things ahead, and do not remain in the things present, we shall see him an enemy, in the very while he seems to be at peace with us. For he flays off the skin and the mortification which we received when buried together with Christ through baptism, and takes away from us our hope, who is Christ, the hope of glory, who crushed the war, abolishing the enmity in his flesh, and making peace for all things, things in heaven and things on earth. For this reason, then, our present leaders, the principalities and powers of darkness, shall be cast out from the upper mansions of the paradise of luxury, in which they reveled before their apostasy, into the outer darkness. And the saying, “Are not his words upright and good, and have they not walked,” and what follows, fits Judas too, who said: For this ointment could have been sold for much, and given to the poor; and, Is it I, Rabbi? — and who then stood over against the peace whose lord he, a man, was.

Mic. 2:9–10. Draw near to the everlasting mountains; arise and go, for there is no rest for you. He says to the rulers: Since you were not willing to cherish my laws and to rest in your houses, go now to the land of the Babylonians, and draw near to their mountains, those of Ararat—which he calls everlasting, either because they were about to spend long times there, or because they were renowned from of old, on account of the ark coming to rest there. For in your ancestral land there is no longer any rest for you.

Mic. 2:10. Because of uncleanness you were corrupted with corruption; you were hunted down, with none pursuing. He adduces the cause for which they will suffer these things, and says: Because of uncleanness—of idolatry, or simply of every sin, which makes unclean the one who pursues it—you were given over to this corruption of captivity and death, and of your own choice you brought the persecution upon yourselves, by doing the things that provoke me. Mountains too were those who taught the things of the Law, inasmuch as they were set on high, and upon the seat of Moses, but temporary mountains. To those, then, who seek such mountains the Spirit now says: Draw near to the teachers of the Gospel, who are everlasting mountains; for he who sent them to make disciples of all the nations promised to be with them until the consummation of the age; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Arise from sitting beside the shadow, and go, so as to understand something beyond the letter. For in the Law, he says, there is no rest for you. For it was a yoke which not even the fathers were able to bear, because by works of the Law no flesh is justified, but in Christ, who justifies by faith, and gives rest to the heavy laden. Where? By the water of rest, in which, being baptized, we lay aside the burden of sins. And since the fool is then corrupted in his practices, when he says, There is no God; fittingly the Jews too, having said that Christ is not God, and on this account having become unclean from his blood, were corrupted with corruption both of soul and, consequently, of body, when they hunted themselves down by rising in faction, as Josephus relates. Everlasting mountains are the angels too, to whom we are bidden to draw near, becoming, while they are fleshless, scant of flesh ourselves. Arise from sin, and go on toward doing something good as well; for sin is no rest for you. And perhaps, since the disciple of Christ has affliction in the world, and through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of the heavens, the word exhorts such a one to go, and ever to strain forward, advancing in the good; for he who walks the narrow way cannot rest. Everyone, then, who sins is corrupted; for he passes into non-being—into wickedness—away from God who is, and from virtue. But he is then corrupted with utter corruption, when he also has uncleanness, which is haughtiness. For unclean before the Lord is everyone who is high-hearted, whenever, doing the evil of sin, he still also boasts in it; whereas, if while doing the evil he comes to a sense of it, perhaps he is not corrupted with utter corruption, but more moderately. The word, then, teaches those who have fallen into the depth of evils, and despise them, that “Out of uncleanness and haughtiness you have undergone total corruption.” So that, if you wish to return from corruption and to live justified, tell your sins first, that you may be justified.

Mic. 2:11. A spirit has set up falsehood; it has dripped for you into wine and strong drink. The evil spirit, he says, which works in the false prophets, set up falsehood for you, the Israelite people, like a snare. Or, that it made falsehood firm and solid in you, and dripped into you the false prophecies into wine—that is, into the rank of wine; rejoicing in which, and receiving and accepting them gladly, you became drunk, and were carried away from what is fitting. And if no one speaking in the Spirit of God says, “Anathema to Jesus”; it is plain that for the Pharisees and Scribes, who say the Lord is a deceiver and demon-possessed and an adversary of God, an evil spirit set up the falsehood against him, and dripped this into them, so that they were drunk from it, and both said and did the things of madmen, both slandering him and crucifying him. And in us too the spirit of wickedness sets up the false fantasies of this life, which are otherwise without substance, and gives them a base and fixity, and drips into us the pleasure of them, like wine and strong drink, by which we are made unsteady and reel, falling now into one form of wickedness, now into another.

Mic. 2:12. And it shall be that from the drop of this people Jacob shall be surely gathered together, with all. Awaiting, I will await the remnant of Israel; I will set their turning back upon the same place. Either this drop of falsehood, he says, which this my people received, will be the cause and occasion for all of being gathered into one captivity. For even those who seemed to be left behind and to escape, these too I will await to the same rank of captivity, and I will set together their turning back—that is, their abandonment; for all who stumbled in like measure I will likewise turn away. And from the drop of Christ’s blood too, of which the people is the cause, who handed him over to the soldiers who pierced him, there shall be gathered together everyone of Israel who has believed, with all the nations, and I will await the remnant according to the election of grace; who are those at each several time turning back from among the Hebrews, and their turning back, from the shadow to the truth, shall come to be upon the same place with the gentiles, and there shall be one flock, one shepherd. Israel, then, was like milk—or rather, all men were; but the drops of the divine blood, becoming as it were rennet to this milk, gathered together the whole world. He who considers this drop, and reckons that God poured out his blood for our salvation, shall be gathered from his diffusion and dispersion about the world, and shall be Jacob, supplanting the passions through the practical life. Then, as he advances, God will await him, and rank him among those worthy to be named Israel, and to attain to the contemplative life, and will set their turning back, by which they turned away from the things here, upon the same place, where is the dwelling of all who rejoice.

Mic. 2:12. Like sheep in affliction, like flocks in the midst of their fold, they shall leap out from among men. He all but sets before the eyes the things to come, and says that, just as sheep quietly lying in their fold, when affliction comes upon them from some quarter—as when a wolf runs in—leap up and flee, and so secure safety for themselves; so too the Israelites shall leap out from among men—that is, the Babylonians. For they will leap out to escape them.

Mic. 2:13. Go up through the breach before their face; they broke through and passed through the gate, and went out through it, and the king went out before their face. And the Lord shall lead them. He all but calls out to the Babylonian: Go up through the breach of the wall, which your soldiers broke through, away from their face—that is, the Israelites’; and having broken through, they passed on and went out, fearing no one; and their king—that is, of the Babylonians—went out before the face of the Jews, when they pleaded their case before Zedekiah. And these had God as their leader, handing the Jews over to them—that is, giving the Jews into their power. Or thus also: Since Zedekiah, seeing the city being taken, broke through the gate by the palace and fled, and many others did likewise; the prophet all but addresses Zedekiah: Go up through the breach, and flee. Then he says concerning the others too, that the rest also broke through before the face of the Babylonians—that is, the city being already taken, and the enemies having them in their hands. And here he also mocks them for their folly, who hoped to escape then; so foolish were they and truly drunk from the drop which he mentioned above. And their king Zedekiah too, he says, did the same thing out of the same folly, fleeing before the face of the Babylonians, whence indeed he was captured. And whence did they do these things? From divine wrath. For the Lord led them to do these things, betraying them to the enemies. So too he went before the slayers of the Lord, to do those things by which they handed themselves over to the Romans. And he hints that in the affliction under the Romans too, many of the Jews shall leap out indeed, and leap away from the men who deceive them, the teachers of the Law; and they shall rise up from their fold and from the rest in the Law. Then he calls out to every such one: Go up through the breach—that is, of the grace of the Gospel, which broke through the fence of the Law; think higher things, do not stand below. For the apostles passed through the narrow gate before the face of the Jews, being flayed by them, and imprisoned, and stoned, like Stephen; and slain by the sword, like James; and they passed through the door also, and entered where it conveys them, concerning which Christ said: I am the door; through me if anyone enters, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. And he, being their King and Lord, led them before their face, going before his own sheep as a shepherd. And all who live according to Christ, being persecuted, receive afflictions like sheep, not striving nor crying out, but they even flee from among men. For those whose citizenship is in the heavens, having become heavenly and gods, have nothing in common with these, to whom it is said: But you die like men. Such men, having broken through every fleshly tie, by the sword which the Lord came to cast upon the earth, thus go up the divine ascent, and pass through the narrow gate, and go out through it from this world, because their King too went out before their face, giving himself as an example; that as he suffered outside the gate of Jerusalem, so we too may do, and go out outside the gate of the world, bearing his reproach, which is the cross, our boast.

[1] Translator’s note: Some copies: πολυσχιδῆ (much-cleft).

Chapter 3

Mic. 3:1–4. And he shall say: Hear now these things, you rulers of the house of Jacob, and you remnant of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment?—you who hate good things and seek evil things, who tear off their skin from them, and their flesh from their bones. As they devoured the flesh of my people, and flayed off their skin from them, and broke their bones in pieces and chopped them small, like flesh for cauldrons, and like meat for pots; so they shall cry out to the Lord, and he will not hearken to them, and he will turn away his face from them in that day, because they did wickedly in their practices. He said that the Lord shall lead them—that is, the Babylonians—as they enter the city, or as the Israelites flee. This one, then, shall say to the rulers of Jacob, the remnant of Israel hearing too—that is, the poorer of the whole Israelite race, of the twelve tribes. Or, understanding by “rulers of Jacob” those in Jerusalem, we must hear by “remnant of Israel” those left from the ten tribes that were led captive. And do not wonder if at the beginning he names the ten tribes “Jacob,” and the two “Israel,” but now we, on the contrary, take “Jacob” for those in Jerusalem, and “Israel” for the ten tribes. For chiefly he now used the names indifferently; and then, he now names the two tribes “Jacob,” the natural and lowlier name, I mean, seeing them advanced in wickedness; but the remnant of those led captive from Samaria he calls “Israel,” shaming them rather by such a name, since, having had a forefather so beloved of God as to be deemed worthy of such a title, they fell so far short of him. To the rulers, then, he speaks, as guilty of the things he will say; but to the poorer, either as those who will be witnesses, or as themselves perverted by the rulers, and needing the correction which they were about to obtain in the reproving of those. He will ask the rulers, then, he says: Were you not appointed to know judgment—that is, the distribution of what is just—so as to judge all justly? How then did you, who ought to show this to others as well, yourselves hate good things and seek evil things, being hotly disposed toward them, and use such greed against the poor as to strip them of all their possessions, and to cut off all their power? For he indicated the taking away of outward possessions by the seizing of skins; and the stripping off of power by mentioning flesh and bones being chopped small and broken in pieces. Having dared these things, then, even if you ask my alliance ten thousand times, you shall enjoy no help. These things have their occasion to be said against every ruler too, both merciless and unjust. He seizes the skins, then, who takes away the outward goods of those under his hand; and the flesh from the bones, he who also contrives famine for them by depriving them even of necessities; and he breaks the bones, who also takes away every resource and means of life, so that they cannot ever acquire anything sufficient for living; and he chops the flesh small for the cauldron, who also gathers the petty and paltry gains to himself, like some cauldron, kindled by the fire of greed. And the teachers of the Law in Christ’s time too flayed off the skin of the people, perhaps both in the manner described, and perhaps also as stripping off from them their outward decorum, and not teaching, after the manner of Paul, to do all things decently and in order, and to walk as children of light. And they devoured their flesh, perhaps both as using them harshly about their own works, and humbling them in their labors; and perhaps also as teaching them to receive the Law carnally and not spiritually, and having such teaching for their food. For as it is food to the Lord to do the will of the Father in the heavens, so those might be understood to eat the flesh of the people, the carnal mind, I mean, that tends toward the literal acceptance of the Law. And they broke the bones too—the firm powers of the soul, that is—and into their traditions and the commandments of men they tore and chopped them small, which the heretics also do, tearing apart the members of the body of the Church.

Mic. 3:5. Thus says the Lord against the prophets who lead my people astray, who bite with their teeth. Having threatened the rulers, he transfers the discourse to the prophets, and says that the prophets of deceit, uttering false oracles, and seeming as it were to kiss the people through flattery, were truly biting through prophesying harmful things. And how? Listen:

Mic. 3:5. And who proclaim peace upon him, and it was not given into their mouth. They sanctified war against him. My prophets, he says, foretold to the people calamities and wars about to be brought upon them, as upon sinners; but the false diviners, uttering the opposite to those, emboldened the people that it would live out its life in peace, as though sinning in nothing. But such words I did not give into their unclean mouth; wherefore they sanctified—that is, set apart—war against the people. For by proclaiming peace, not allowing him to repent of his sins and turn away the divine wrath, they became to him the procurers of the evils that come from wars. And every teacher sanctifies war who shows works warring against words, such as the Pharisees, binding heavy and unbearable burdens, and not moving them with their finger; against whom Paul too says: You who teach not to steal, do you steal? Such a teacher brings the intelligible enemies against those taught by him, as being perverted by his works.

Mic. 3:6. Therefore night shall be to you from vision, and darkness shall be to you from divination. By “darkness” and “night” he indicates the coming of grievous things, which came upon them, because they said, falsely, that they saw divine visions, and divined things which God did not give them. Because of the vision, then, and the divination, these things came upon them.

Mic. 3:6. And the sun shall set upon the prophets, and the day shall grow dark upon them. You, he says, who say you behold peaceful visions, and divine all good things, shall be encompassed by so many evils that the very sun shall seem to set upon you, and the day to grow dark. And this they suffer who fall into excessive evils, and are confounded and darkened by grief and despondency. Or also, that fleeing the enemies, you shall pass your time in darkness; but also hiding from other men, that you may not be reproached as deceivers. He adds, then:

Mic. 3:7. And those who see dreams shall be ashamed, and the diviners shall be derided, and all of them shall speak against them, because there is none who hearkens to them. So conspicuous and manifest, he says, shall your deceit be, that they shall deride you, as plainly lying; and not only shall all deride, even those who formerly attended to you as to certain divine men (for the word “they themselves” is emphatic), but they shall also speak against you, carrying your affairs up and down, and shall accuse your malice. And all shall do this; for none was left who hearkens to you; and for this reason you shall be in darkness, and the sun shall set upon you, as upon those who veil themselves, and cannot bear to be seen, or to see. And otherwise too, everyone who both sees and speaks false things has not the sun, Christ, shining upon him, who is the truth, but passes through in darkness. For he who does base things hates the light, and does not come to the light. Caiaphas too prophesied, but darkness was upon him, and the sun set—whether the intelligible, as was rendered before, or the sensible, when at the cross the signs came to pass; and the day grew dark to the condemnation of him and of those with him.

Mic. 3:8. Unless I fill up strength in the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of power, to declare to Jacob his impieties, and to Israel his sins. The things of the false prophets, he says, are such; but I, Micah, am not so; nor will I flatter the people and lead it astray, but I will fill up strength—that is, I will take on the fullest power in the Spirit of the Lord, not in a demonic and deceiving spirit. And such a Spirit is one of judgment, because I will utter things judged and just, pleading my case against the impious and the mighty, since I will not cower, but will speak with boldness, so as to declare to Jacob his impieties—either to the ten tribes, as at the beginning he named these too, or to the two, as we said a little before; and to Israel his sins, or to those left from Samaria; and concerning this it has been said above. Such must everyone be who reproves, that he may neither utter things unjudged, nor things impossible and without boldness, so as to bow down beneath threats or afflictions.

Mic. 3:9. Hear these things, you leaders of the house of Jacob, and you remnant of the house of Israel. The prophet seems to be repeating himself, and seems superfluous; know, however, that even if in the compilations of the books the discourse of the prophets appears continuous, yet the prophecies came about at various and different times; and it happened that some, ailing with the same maladies, needed the same remedies. Wherefore the things were said to these which were also discoursed to certain others. Then all were joined together, and for this reason many of the things said seem to be superfluous.

Mic. 3:9. You who abhor judgment, and pervert all that is upright. Having been entrusted with judging, he says, you not only abhorred judgment—that is, just judgment—but also perverted all that is upright, which belongs to surpassing wickedness. For just as it is best not only to abhor evil, but also to make the upright crooked, which those do who not only do not themselves bring forth upright judgments, but also pervert those brought forth by another.

Mic. 3:10. You who build Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquities. You were appointed, he says, as certain builders of Zion and Jerusalem; for every ruler is a builder, raising up what has fallen, and renewing affairs toward the comeliness and permanence of the commonwealth; but you, conducting yourselves in blood and unjust murders, established such a building—that is, commonwealth—full of bloodshed and iniquities. They built Zion with blood who added to the murders of the prophets the murder of the Lord too, whom, being a precious stone, these evil builders rejected. But he was made the head of the corner, joining the two peoples, the gentile and the Israelite, and human nature to the divine, and in short the things above to the things below. The same men built Jerusalem with iniquities too, who dishonored with a cross the one who did good, and was just, and healed every disease, and they supposed this to be the building and constitution of Jerusalem. For if he lives, they said, the Romans will come and take away our city. But if each of us has Zion in himself—the watchtower of the mind—and Jerusalem—the vision of peace—let him see, lest, heaping up flesh and blood upon the mind, and wronging the better by raising up the worse against it, he be called an evil builder, building a prison and a place of confinement. But the heretics too, pouring out the blood of souls, and wronging the truth, seem to build our Zion.

Mic. 3:11. Her leaders judged for gifts, and her priests answered for hire, and her prophets divined for silver, and they rested upon the Lord, saying: Is not the Lord among us? and no evils shall come upon us. Everywhere in Scripture bribery is condemned, not only in the case of those who transgress the law for gifts, but also when someone takes gifts even for judging justly itself. So too David praises a certain man, as not having taken gifts against the innocent. And hearing “priests” and “prophets,” understand the false and demonic ones. And the more dreadful thing, he says, is that, doing such things, they maintained that God was pleased with them, saying: Is not the Lord among us? For what evil, they say, do we do? Wherefore evils—that is, afflictions and tribulations—shall by no means come upon us. Something similar David too says: You supposed iniquity, that I would be like you. Let judges and priests too hear these things, and see with whom they are ranked, if they pursue the same. And what is “they rested upon the Lord”? They hoped, they were confident, they did not expect any wrath from him.

Mic. 3:12. Therefore on account of you Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be as a storehouse of fruits, and the mountain of the house as a grove of a thicket. So great a desolation, he says, on account of such deeds of yours, shall seize this much-talked-of city, that, there being none dwelling in it, the spaces within the walls, which formerly were straitened by the multitude of the inhabitants, shall be plowed and sown much like the fields in the country, and Jerusalem shall differ in nothing from a storehouse of fruits, which after the gathering of the crops is left deserted, the watchman returning home; but also the mountain of the house—that is, the high place on which the temple stood—shall be filled with plants, and likened to a thicket. And these things reached their fulfillment under Nebuchadnezzar too, when, taking the city, he led away the inhabitants captive together with the king. But it is possible to see the end of the prophecy more exactly after the Jews’ madness against the Savior; for all the things of old that were splendid were destroyed by the Romans, even the divine temple itself.

Chapter 4

Mic. 4:1. And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, established upon the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills. Having spoken of the things that would befall the Jerusalem of old, and the temple in it, he now prophesies concerning the Church of Christ, which he calls a mountain, as one that minds lofty things, and is lifted above all the matter of this life, and leads up to the heavens, and makes godlike. For its doctrine is true, rendering honor not to idols, not to creatures, but to the true God; and its life is immaterial, achieving possessionlessness and dispassion. This mountain, then, has become manifest to all men. For the Gospel was proclaimed in the whole world, and the sound of the apostles went out into all the earth. But also “established”—that is, firm and unshaken; for the Church being founded upon the confession of Peter, namely, You are the Son of God, the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. But some have understood “established” as meaning “not hindered from being seen.” For nothing shall be set before it, but it shall lie ready, to appear to all. And its being exalted above hills and mountains signifies, even according to the simpler sense, that, the Church of Christ being spread out everywhere, the divine houses raised up both in cities and in villages, conspicuous in beauty and greatness, shall be more notable and more illustrious than the very highest mountains. But if you should understand by mountains and hills the places set apart of old to the demons for altars and sacred precincts, this too is true; for the former are not deemed worthy even of a bare word, or of remembrance, while the houses of the true Church imitate both the multitude and the beauty of the stars of heaven. Mountains and hills seemed to be also the doctrines of the philosophers among the Greeks—hills, the ethical and the physical; mountains, the mathematical and the theological; but above all of these was lifted up the doctrine of the Church.

Mic. 4:1–2. And peoples shall hasten to it, and many nations shall go and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob. By “peoples” are meant those of the Jews who from time to time believed; by “nations,” those of the Gentiles. And all are seen to have recognized the groveling lowness of their former religion and polity; and for this reason they say: Let us go up, running back from certain low places to the heights. But first one goes up to the mountain, and then to the house of God. For if one does not receive the lofty doctrine of the Church, how shall he attain to becoming a house of God? And he fittingly makes mention of Jacob too, who, having left his father’s house, and removed to another land, and become full of toil, and served as a hireling, especially obtained the help of God, and from being obscure became most notable; just as the Church also, having left behind the doctrines of her fathers, and living as a citizen of the things above, and on this account persecuted, and becoming full of toil, attains to the glory that is with God.

Mic. 4:2. And they shall show us his way. Who shall show it? The apostles, to whom it was said, Make disciples of all the nations. What way, but Christ, who said, I am the way?

Mic. 4:2. And we will walk in his paths. That is, in the deeds worn smooth by him, moving according to the footstep of the citizenship of Christ. For on this account he did not die for us immediately upon being born, but after so long a time, that, among other things, he might also show us the ways of the best citizenship, which the prophet now seems to call “paths.” Many, then, seem to know the way, and to believe in Christ, yet they do not walk in his paths. But the word demands both—both knowledge of the divine way, and movement in the life according to it; and that, so that those who have achieved so much should not stand still, but ever walk on, advancing, and not in one path, but in all the paths of Christ, who said, He who serves me, let him follow me. And in another way: the way of the life according to God is one, in that it looks to one aim, to please God; but the paths are many, in that there are many choices of life, and various branchings.

Mic. 4:2. For out of Zion shall go forth a law, and a word of the Lord out of Jerusalem. Those who exhort one another to go up tell also the cause of the going up, the going up to the Church of Christ. For no longer, he says, the old law, but another goes forth out of Zion. And there went forth out of Zion the law of the Spirit of life, and out of Jerusalem the word of the grace of the Gospel; inasmuch as the Lord too taught in Zion in the temple, and the apostles, sitting in the city of Jerusalem, received the grace of the Spirit. “Law,” then, as teaching what must be done; and “word,” as introducing right doctrine. And first “law,” then “word”; since action too comes first, then the word of theology. Many laws have what is irrational in them; but here the law has the word contemplated within it; for nothing of the Gospel is irrational. There went forth also out of the Zion and Jerusalem above the Only-Begotten, who is also “law,” as apportioning to each according to his worth—for he does not demand the same things from everyone—and “word,” as defining all things.

Mic. 4:3. And he shall judge among many peoples. These things were fulfilled in Christ at many and various seasons and places: when he taught as one having authority, and when he pronounced woes upon the lawyers, and scribes, and Pharisees; and when he said, If the truth does not set you free, you shall die in your sins. He judged among many peoples also when, making the distinction concerning the eunuchs, he said, Not all receive the word; he who is able to receive it, let him receive it. For he made a distinction between those capable of virginity and those of marriage. He judged also the ruler of this world, and gave sentence for those held fast by him, and condemned him, because by him he was put to death, though he was without sin. And in the final judgment too, the word, he says, which I have spoken shall judge them; and from time to time the word of the Gospel judges the peoples in the Churches, prescribing to some what they must do, and chastising others who sin.

Mic. 4:3. And he shall rebuke strong nations. For in setting forth his own laws, full of all purity and uprightness, he rebuked the nations, which used unclean laws, and persuaded them to despise these, showing that they had been deceived in vain; and yet the nations were strong—that is, not light and easily deceived, so as readily to be removed from their own religion, but noble and steadfast: such as was in the Acts the proconsul, a man of learning, such as Dionysius the Areopagite, such as the many in Corinth, such as Clement the Roman. And in another way, the savage and beast-like nations, strong also in wars, were subjected to the Gospel even to a far land; for not as the Mosaic law was confined within Palestine, so too was the evangelical law shut up in one place, but, beginning from Jerusalem and Samaria, it passed even to the uttermost part of the earth, and laid hold of the islands beyond our sea—for such are the British isles. Hear, everyone who seeks to give laws and to teach others, that out of Zion goes forth the law, and the word out of Jerusalem. If, then, you have not yet scouted out yourself, nor attended to yourself; but neither have you yet seen peace in your soul, but have wars and confusions and disorders—neither lawgiving befits you, nor the ministry of the word; for you shall judge others and rebuke them then, when Paul cannot say against you, In that wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself.

Mic. 4:3. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; and nation shall no more lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Before the coming of Christ, frequent risings of the nations against one another took place, inasmuch as the kingdom was divided among each nation; but after the coming of the Lord, the whole sovereignty having been transferred to the Romans, a deep peace held the inhabited world; so that the instruments of war too were refashioned into the implements of farming. And in another way: since Christ commands not to demand back our own from him who takes it, and to offer to the one who strikes the right cheek the left also, and the like—what war is not done away with? And what peace is not implanted in those who cherish these divine ordinances? Therefore he also said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you, and, by this all shall know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. But where there is love, how is there war there? The Greek disputations, then, having contradictions and strifes, fittingly gave birth also to wars; but the faith, doing away with all inquiry, ends in a peaceful and uncurious assent. Therefore the tongues too, formerly sharp as swords for word-battling to no useful end, to the destruction of the hearers, are then refashioned into teaching plowshares, working fallow ground in the souls of the hearers, which were formerly hard and packed together, and they are cut open to receive the seed, which the sower went forth to sow; and the spears, by which souls were put to death, are refashioned into pruning-hooks, by which they are cut off from the earth, so that those who have already borne fruit worthy of the storehouses above should not be rooted in it. Such a plowshare was the tongue of Paul, working fallow ground, when he said, Having put off the old man, and having put on the new; and again, Put on the new man. Such a pruning-hook was it, cutting off from the earth, when he said, Put to death your members that are upon the earth; and, Our citizenship is in the heavens; and let us mind the things above, where Christ is.

Mic. 4:4. And each shall rest under his own vine, and each under his own fig tree; and there shall be none to terrify them. A vine is the Lord, as having brought in a more austere and laborious law; for the ordinances of the Gospel are more toilsome than those of the law. But the same is also a fig tree, as a king, giving in return adoption as sons as well, in hope of which we are sweetened. Resting, then, under him, there shall be none to terrify us, neither demon nor man; for he has given us authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and he taught us not to fear those who kill the body.

Mic. 4:4. For the mouth of the Lord Almighty has spoken these things. The prophet adds the trustworthiness of the speaker, that you may learn that nothing of the things said is false. Each of us has also a vine, the irascible faculty, as astringent; and a fig tree, the desiring faculty, as sweet. When, then, we have the peace of Christ, then, if we come to be under the irascible faculty—that is, are angry—such anger is a rest. For it is not from passion, but from divine zeal, such as was that of Moses, who said to the Levites, You have filled your hands today to the Lord, when they slew those who had committed idolatry; such as was that of Elijah, when he slew the prophets of Baal. And if we desire as David did, longing and fainting for the courts of the Lord, and toward the God, the strong, the living, and as Daniel, the man of desires, and Christ himself, with desire desiring the Passover — we shall rest under our fig tree. And since among teachers the gifts are diverse, likewise also among disciples the dispositions are diverse: one rests under a teacher more severe in judgment, and another under a gracious teacher. So too among the apostles: Peter was abrupt and fervent; Paul more gracious and more pleasant; and, even more than Paul himself, Barnabas, who is also called a son of consolation. For this reason John, who is also Mark, rested under the fig tree of Barnabas, when, leaving Paul, he journeyed abroad with him; but Titus and Timothy under the vine of Paul.

Mic. 4:5. For all the peoples shall walk every one in his own way; but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever, and beyond. Those who go up headlong to the mountain of the Lord promise to be subject to God to the end. For the other peoples, he says, as many as have not come to the faith, following the self-rule of error, shall walk every one in the way which he himself devised and chose, having gone astray of his own accord; but we will walk, and will move with the movement toward the good, having named upon us our Lord and God Jesus Christ, and being called Christians, and that not to the present age, but yet much more; and “beyond,” that is, to the age to come. For then, when Christ, who is our life, is made manifest, we shall always be with him, and shall enter in with him into his joy, having his name; for we too shall be sons, and gods. But some have understood this thus: that, there being a deep peace, as was said before, some shall look to farming, and certain others shall walk another way of life; but we, who are devoted to God, such as the monks and the priests, shall choose the way that is in the name of the Lord God. In the name of the Lord God walks he who carries out every deed and every movement worthily of the calling with which he was called, and who has not mammon as lord, and the belly as god, but who also gains his living from the work of his hands, and whether he eats or drinks, does all things to the glory of God.

Mic. 4:6–7. In that day, says the Lord, I will gather her that is crushed, and I will receive her that is cast out, and those whom I rejected. And I will make her that is crushed a remnant, and her that is cast off a strong nation; and the Lord shall reign in Zion from now and forever. The Jews say that the things from “The mountain of the Lord shall be manifest in the last days” up to these words are spoken concerning their condition and polity after the return from Babylon; but they are plainly convicted of deceiving themselves. For what nations, whether near or far, ran together to the temple in Jerusalem after the return from Babylon, receiving the law and word that went forth thence? And among what peoples or nations did this word judge, rebuking the things done ill by them? And how did they have a deep peace, seeing that, when they returned, the Idumeans warred against them, and the Ammonites, and the Moabites, and the Samaritans, and Gog and Magog the Scythians, and the Macedonian and the Antiochene evils came upon them? And how does each rest under his fig tree and his vine, seeing that they became sojourners and wanderers? And how do they walk forever in the name of the Lord, who have a temporary polity and kingdom? Not here, therefore, does he signify their crushed and rejected generation, but that of the nations, which, being crushed by ungodliness, and on this account rejected, was received by him who came to call not the righteous, but sinners. But also among the Hebrews themselves he healed those thus crushed and sick in their souls, and received those rejected—tax collectors, and harlots, and a robber—and he reigns over all those thus received eternally in the Zion above; for where now is the Zion below? So that you should take the “rejected” to be the Church from the nations; but “those whom I rejected,” understand of those of Israel. And what is the “remnant”? That is, to existence and subsistence; for they shall not be brought to nothing, he says, but shall be left behind, a relic of salvation. And in another way the “remnant” signifies the election. For God rejects some and hands them over to vanishing and non-existence, but chooses others and leaves them remaining to himself, even as he says, I have left for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal. And Paul calls those worthy to believe a remnant according to the election of grace. And the Church from the nations became a strong nation, able to do all things in Christ. Let these things build up the souls of the hearers also toward despairing of no one.

Mic. 4:8. And you, O squalid tower of the flock, daughter of Zion: upon you it shall come, and there shall enter the first dominion, a kingdom out of Babylon for the daughter of Jerusalem. That he spoke the foregoing things concerning the Church from the nations is plain from these: for here he foretells gloomy things to Zion, and the construction of the discourse shows this. For observe: “And you, O tower of the flock.” For he says all but this: These things I spoke concerning another person; but you, O daughter of Zion, upon you the dominion shall come, and shall come upon the daughter of Jerusalem. Then, that you might not suppose that he means some satrapy that leads in wars, he says that This is the first kingdom, which holds the first place over all the other dominions and kingdoms—that is, Nebuchadnezzar. But some have said that the prophet spoke of a “dominion” and “first kingdom” on this account, because immediately in the beginning of his reign Nebuchadnezzar marched against Jerusalem. The Lord, then, said in Isaiah, I planted a vineyard, and dug a wine-vat, and built a tower, signifying thus the temple, by which he seemed to guard the vineyard. And he makes mention now too of this tower, which he calls the tower “of the flock”—that is, the dwelling-place of the sheep set apart to him—now become squalid, because those who were in it would not drink the living water, but acted impiously toward the Lord. Or he calls “squalid” the lightless and dark; for those who dwelt in it would not have the law, as a lamp shining in a squalid place. Every ruler and teacher, then, is set as a tower, as appointed for the security of the flock. But when the water fails it, which the Lord gives to those who believe, springing up to life eternal (and this is the grace of the Spirit), and it becomes squalid, there comes upon it the dominion out of Babylon—the ruler of the confusion of this world, the first kingdom, which it reigned through sin before the coming of Christ, in our mortal body. But some have taken “the dominion and first kingdom” to be Christ; for he is the beginning of all things and the first king; he, out of Babylon—the confusion of this world—having put on the man, came to Zion, that he might win her for himself. For I came not, he says, except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mic. 4:9. And now, why have you known evils? Was there no king in you? Or has your counsel perished, that pangs as of a woman in travail have seized you? “Knowing” signifies also knowledge simply, as in, They did not know, neither did they understand; and it signifies also the marriage-union, as in, Adam knew his wife; and it signifies also the loving relation, as in, The Lord knows the way of the righteous; like to which is, “He loves and looks graciously upon her”; and, I know you above all, and the like. And in a special manner it signifies also the disposition that comes from experience, as in, Reveal yourself to me, that I may see you knowingly; and, a tree known of good and evil; for the word makes plain the disposition that came to Adam from the experience of the tree, and Moses too sought the active experience of the contemplation of God. Thus, then, here also the Lord says to Zion: Why have you known evils?—that is, Why have you experienced afflictions? Whence came upon you this experience and partaking of tribulations? Was it that you did not have a king who ought to fight on your behalf? Was it that you did not have counselors, and on this account were handed over to toils of such bitterness, that you seem to have pangs, like a woman in travail? And indeed you did have a king; for I gave you one, just as you also asked, that he might go before your face, and war against your enemies. But also your counsel did not perish—that is, you had counselors. And these things he says by way of irony. And since they trusted in these—in the power of the king, and in the prudence of the counselors—Know, then, that neither king nor counselors are of profit, apart from my help.

Mic. 4:10. Be in pain and be strong, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail. With the same character he says these things too. For since, he says, you were thus helped by your counselors and by the king, henceforth prepare yourself to have pangs, and be strong, so as to endure them; for do not expect release from them. And he hints that the evils are also near; for she who is in travail draws near to giving birth. Therefore he adds:

Mic. 4:10. For now you shall go forth out of the city, and shall encamp in the plain, and shall come even to Babylon. You, he says, dwelt in the city of Jerusalem for security; but now—that is, after no long time—this city Jerusalem shall be taken, and you shall be led captive, shall be brought out of it, and shall encamp in the plain, being led away to Babylon.

Mic. 4:10. From there shall the Lord your God deliver you, and from there shall he redeem you out of the hand of your enemies. He had not yet ceased speaking the harsh things, and immediately he adds the things of consolation. For from there, he says—that is, out of Babylon—the Lord your God shall redeem you, when you have already come under the hands of your enemies, and are securely held fast by them. These things it is likely should be understood as spoken also with respect to human nature, which, from eating the tree that is known of good and evil, knew evils—that is, came into the experience of wickedness, and was disposed toward it—though it had the mind as king, and was able to take counsel that one must not disobey God and obey the serpent. For this reason it heard, In sorrows you shall bear children; and from then it had pangs; and, cast out from the city above, in this plain, the place of corruption, it pitched its tent—its passing and unstable polity. And it came even to Babylon, and to the utter confusion of the divine properties. For it lost that which is according to the image, being compared to the senseless beasts, and to serpents, and to leopards, and becoming more senseless than the ants and the sparrows of the field, as the prophetic word sets forth; but he delivered it from there—that is, out of such incurable corruption; and he redeemed it, who laid down his own blood as a ransom for it, the Lord our God. And we are instructed also in character through these things, that we should trust neither in royal powers nor in wise counsels, but in God, who is able to deliver one who is in the very midst of dreadful things. And a deliverance and ransom laid down for us shall be our hope in him; for as he handed those who sin against him over to dreadful things, so, receiving in turn their conversion toward him, he will release them from fearful things. And to whom shall he pay the ransom, but to his own righteousness, by which we were also chastised?

Mic. 4:11. And now many nations are gathered together against you, who say: We will rejoice, and our eyes shall look upon Zion. He makes his discourse concerning the Scythian nations, which after the return from Babylon marched against Israel, as about to destroy them utterly, and to look upon them—that is, to be gladdened in seeing what they wished.

Mic. 4:12. But they have not known the reasoning of the Lord, nor have they understood his counsel, that he has gathered them as sheaves of the threshing-floor. They, he says, shall thus come upon you, the daughter of Zion, to do harm, and for this reason were gathered, one from one place and another from another. But they did not understand that my providence concerning you permitted this to happen, that they themselves might rather perish together. And for this reason he gathered them, that they might both pay the penalty for their other vices, and be crushed as sheaves on a threshing-floor. And God gathers, not compelling, nor forcing, but permitting by their self-chosen impulses, and yielding to free will, and thus bringing on the penalty.

Mic. 4:13. Arise and thresh them, O daughter of Zion; for I will make your horns iron, and your hooves bronze. Since he said sheaves, he fittingly adds these things in keeping with the figure: Arise, you who seem to be dead, and tread them down and crush them. For enjoying my help, you shall have an unconquerable power, like some bull having horns of iron, so as by them to ward off those who come against you, and hooves of bronze, so as to trample down and crush them.

Mic. 4:13. And you shall melt down nations in them. “In them”—that is, in the horns and the hooves—that is, you shall melt down nations, which now seem to have such power.

Mic. 4:13. And you shall grind many peoples small. As chaff, evidently; for he still abides in the figure of threshing.

Mic. 4:13. And you shall dedicate their multitude to the Lord, and their strength to the Lord of all the earth. Not to your own power, he says, ought you to ascribe the achievement, but to me, the Lord of all the earth, ought you to dedicate the trophy, which has come to pass over their multitude and their strength. For not only were those warred down by you many, but they were warred down not by human power, but plainly by divine. The word “you shall dedicate,” then, is hortatory, according to the idiom of Scripture, standing for “dedicate,” as in, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve, standing for “Worship and serve.” And Scripture does this, using the indicative instead of the imperative, in order to show that the matter is acknowledged, and must necessarily come to pass. And some have taken these things to refer to what happened in the case of Sennacherib, when a hundred and eighty-five thousand were slain in one night, and the wonder plainly appeared to be divine.

Many nations were gathered together also against the Lord, raging against him — both the Roman soldiers and the Jews, who rejoiced at his crucifixion. But they did not know that, having risen, he would thresh them. For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Arise, then, O God-bearing flesh, which came forth from the ensouled Zion, Mary, whom the Lord chose, and preferred for a dwelling-place for himself, and thresh them: some to wheat, as many as shall receive the faith; but others to chaff, to be winnowed into every place, and to be burned up with unquenchable fire. For you have horns of iron, the power of the cross, and hooves of bronze, the feet of the apostles, who like horses went upon the much-billowed sea of the nations, troubling many waters, by which horns and hooves of bronze the fleshly grossnesses of the nations were melted down, and were ground fine, so that they became lighter and more spiritual, and were then dedicated to the Lord. For no one gross, and unmelted, and unground, is dedicated to the Lord; for God is Spirit. And when we are anxious for our soul, what we shall eat, and for our body, what we shall put on — which things are sought by the nations—many nations are gathered against us, gentile thoughts, I mean, which distract the watchtower of our mind, so that we trust not in God, who feeds and clothes, but in our own devices and cares. But when the word of the Gospel shows us that all these things the nations seek after, and we recognize such thoughts to be gentile, God is said to gather them as sheaves of the threshing-floor, that they may be trodden down by us, who have risen from the groveling mind that asks for such things, and have looked away to the lilies of the field and the birds, to which God grants shelter and food. And horns of iron are set upon him who minds the good; for the horn is of the head, in which is the governing faculty; and hooves of bronze upon him who moves firmly and powerfully, so as also to work what has been conceived. And how are the multitude of such thoughts, and their strength, dedicated to God? For when, leaving the many things aside, we seek one thing only, the kingdom of the heavens, then all these things are added to us, which those thoughts seemed to have power over.

Chapter 5

Mic. 4:14. Now the daughter of Ephraim shall be hedged in with a hedge. Having foretold concerning Jerusalem what he said, he now speaks also concerning Samaria. For he names Samaria daughter of Ephraim, as being ruled by the tribe of Ephraim, because every king seems to hold the rank of a father toward his subjects. Or he so names the tribe itself, according to the idiom of Scripture, which by periphrasis calls Zion itself and Jerusalem itself “daughter of Zion” and “daughter of Jerusalem”—unless someone shall say that he names the multitude in Zion, and that in Jerusalem, their “daughters,” as being their fatherlands. Having foretold, then, concerning Jerusalem the things, both grievous and good, that were to befall her, he now speaks also concerning Samaria, that “She shall be hedged in with a hedge”—that is, she shall be besieged.

Mic. 4:14. He has appointed a constraint upon you. If it is written “upon you,” then “upon you,” he says, means the people of Samaria; he has appointed a constraint, that is, a siege. Who? Either God, or the Babylonian. But if it should be written “upon us,” the prophet ranks himself with those of Samaria, out of brotherly love.

Mic. 4:14. With a rod they shall strike the tribes of Israel upon the cheek. A blow upon the cheek seems a sign of insolence; but if it is done with a rod, it brings pain as well. He hints, then, that the Babylonians will deal with the ten tribes both insolently and as a punishment. And since the law is a hedge, “The daughter,” he says, “of Ephraim”—that is, the generation that apostatized from the kingdom of the spiritual David, that is, Christ, who is “mighty in hand” (for this is what “David” means)—shall be shut in by the law, not going out from it toward the grace of the Gospel. And yet God appointed the constraint, that is, the polity of the law, upon us—that is, until the time when we the prophets prophesy. But when the one prophesied of comes, John having become his forerunner, then the constraint shall be loosed; for the law and the prophets were until John. And by “constraint” he means the law, on account of the petty rules by which it confined those under it: Touch not, neither taste, nor handle, stir not from your place. With a rod of iron, then—the Roman power—they shall strike the cheeks of the Israelite mouths, of those who said, Away, away, crucify him, whose cheeks they themselves also struck. The sins too are a hedge, by which the soul is fenced in, so that there does not shine upon it the illumination of the glory of the Gospel of Christ. And he does not simply say “a soul,” but “the daughter of Ephraim”—that is, of growth and habituation in evils; and this constraint the Babylonian appointed upon us, our enemy from the beginning; for he is the cause of our being constrained by the chains of our own sins.

Mic. 5:1. And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, are you too little to be among the thousands of Judah? For out of you shall come forth for me one to be a ruler in Israel. Samaria, he says, shall be besieged and captured; but you, O Bethlehem, shall enjoy great glory. For do not look to the present smallness of your inhabitants, nor to the fact that you are a house little and small among the thousands of the kingdom of Judah—that is, among the tribal chiefs (and in saying this he also included Jerusalem)—for you have an occasion for distinction such as no city on earth has. For out of you shall come forth Christ, who shall rule Israel, the whole faithful people. For not all those of Israel, these are Israel. And how shall he come forth? Not by the law of human seed, but “for me”—that is, by my power, and by my Spirit, which shall compact the flesh for him, as the angel also said to the Virgin: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And in another way: the other rulers came forth for themselves, managing their own advantage in their rule; but this one shall come forth for me, bringing all things to me. And the phrase “shall come forth for me” indicates intimacy as well. Now the region was called Ephrathah, and the village Bethlehem, from which were Jesse and David, and in which the Virgin also gave birth.

Mic. 5:1. His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity. He shall come forth, he says, in the last times out of you, O Bethlehem, this ruler of Israel; nevertheless his goings forth are from the beginning—that is, they were foreordained before all the ages. Or thus: That you may not, like the weak, suppose that he then received his existence when he came forth from Bethlehem—which is what Paul of Samosata and Photinus the bishop of Sirmium suffered—he says that “his goings forth,” that is, his begetting from the Father, are “from the beginning.” Like the saying, That which was from the beginning; and when you hear “from the days of eternity,” do not suppose that he sets some temporal beginning to the begetting of the Only-begotten; but this is like what is said elsewhere to the Father, For from eternity you are. But the Jews take these things as referring to Zerubbabel, plainly fighting against the truth. For how were the goings forth of Zerubbabel “from the beginning, from the days of eternity,” seeing he was born in the times of the captivity? And how is this man “from Bethlehem,” who was born in Babylon? For so too his name is interpreted, “Babylonian seed.” But the more careful Jews did not understand the prophecy of Zerubbabel; for when they were asked by Herod, Where is the Christ born? they brought forward to him this very prophecy.[1]

Mic. 5:2. Therefore he shall give them up until the time of her who is in travail. Since he said that the ruler of Israel shall come forth from Bethlehem, it was then likely that one would raise a difficulty: How then will the evils you spoke of befall the Jews, if that one is to be a redeemer? The prophet therefore says to God: “You shall give them up”—that is, hand them over to their enemies—“until the time” of the Virgin who bears Emmanuel. Or thus: Since he had spoken of a ruler about to be given, he says that in the meanwhile, until the Virgin gives birth, “You shall give them up,” namely the rulers of the Jews. For a ruler shall not fail from Judah, until he comes for whom it is laid up. But you shall give up the teachers of the law as well, until she who travails—that is, the Church of the nations, which bears according to Christ—gives birth; and from then on their statutes and decrees shall be abolished.

Mic. 5:2. She shall give birth, and the rest of their brethren shall return to the sons of Israel. The Virgin, then, he says, shall give birth, and the sons of Israel shall believe—that is, the twelve apostles, and the seventy, and the five hundred to whom the Lord appeared after he rose; then the rest of their brethren shall return to these, and shall themselves also believe—which indeed came to pass, when the three thousand believed, and the five thousand, whom Peter the fisherman caught in his net, and the many myriads, concerning whom the all-glorious James says to the most divine Paul: Do you see, brother, how many myriads there are of the Jews who have believed? And those who in each generation are about to believe he calls “the rest,” as left over—that is, chosen—by God. But some take it thus: “She shall give birth,” he says—the Church of the nations—these very ones, the gentiles who believed from the beginning; and as she goes on bearing, the gentiles born from time to time (who might also be called brethren of the gentiles who believed before them—such as, for instance, those around Cornelius) shall be joined to those of Israel who believed, such as were, as has been said, the apostles and those like them. And since “Bethlehem” is interpreted “house of bread,” and the bread that came down from heaven is Christ, whose house is everyone who keeps his commandments — For I, he says, and the Father will come, and will make our abode with him — the ruler of Israel shall come forth out of this one too. For Christ is declared ruler of the contemplative part to the one who has received him through the practical life, when his pre-eternal existence is also made clear. And let the rulers of the Church be instructed—and indeed those of the world too—not to become rulers before they have shown their mind to be a house of the bread that has been given.

Mic. 5:3. And he shall stand, and see, and shepherd his flock in strength, the Lord. “He shall stand” stands for, he himself shall preside over his own sheep, and he himself shall see them, not as of old through Moses, but he himself by himself. For no angel, he says, no ambassador, but the Lord himself saved them. “And he shall shepherd”—but he shall not slaughter, and sacrifice, and sell the wool, and drink the milk. “But in strength” too; for he is the power of the Father, and a strong God. But also, according to his humanity, he was not clothed with the weakness of sins, as are the other shepherds, the high priests. And he was, it says, teaching with authority, and not as the scribes. But “he shall also stand,” he says, on Golgotha, and shall shepherd in the strength of the cross his flock, us who have believed. Or he shall shepherd the Hebrews, who were formerly his flock, in the Roman strength, the rod of iron. And everyone appointed to shepherd ought to stand—that is, to be firm and not easily led astray; but also to see with the eyes of wisdom, and not to be blind through ignorance; and to shepherd, but not to sell and slaughter; and to shepherd “in strength,” that is, in Christ. For I am, he says, the door; if anyone enters through me, he shall be saved. And he shepherds in strength who does not cower before the wrath of rulers, but reproves them when they sin.

Mic. 5:3. And in the glory of the name of the Lord their God they shall exist. Who? Those who are shepherded. In being called Christians, he says, in this they shall have their authority and existence. Or rather, since they walk worthily of the calling, he says that in this they shall exist as his flock, in the glorifying through their works of the name of our Lord and God Jesus Christ.

Mic. 5:3. Because now they shall be magnified to the ends of the earth. And this too one may now see; for as far as the Ocean both the name of Christ is magnified, and those called by it are multiplied and magnified, even though they are persecuted by the ungodly.

Mic. 5:4. And this shall be the peace, when the Assyrian comes upon your land, and when he treads upon your country. Since the things he prophesied concerning Christ were to come to pass long ages afterward, he confirms the prediction about them from the things to come to pass in that time. For that you may learn, he says, that the things I have foretold shall be, take the present things as a pledge. For there shall be a deep peace, when I have destroyed the Assyrian beyond all hope, when he comes upon you—that is, makes war upon you—and treads upon your country, that is, takes possession of it.

Mic. 5:4–5. And there shall be raised up seven shepherds, and eight bitings of men; and they shall shepherd Asshur with the sword. Seven kings, he says, I will raise up against the Assyrian (for he names the kings “shepherds”); who, having warred against him eight times, and through these eight warlike assaults, like so many bitings, having bitten through his army, shall consume him. And they shall shepherd him with the sword, following close behind him and pursuing him, who is unable to defend himself, like the sheep. And “they shall shepherd” is most apt morally.

Mic. 5:5. And the land of Nimrod within its trench. By “Nimrod” he means Babylon. For Nimrod, employing tyranny, had Babylon first under his hand. For the beginning of his kingdom was, he says, Babylon, and Orech, and Chalanne. Since, then, the Assyrian had Babylon under himself, God now says that those seven kings shall humble both the Assyrian and the kings, even though Babylon has a very great trench girding its strong walls. Or thus: They shall compel the Babylonians to be confined within the trench, and not to advance further.

Mic. 5:5. And he shall deliver you from Asshur, when he comes upon your land, and when he treads upon your borders. That one, he says, shall suffer these things; but you shall be freed from the evils that come from him not only then, when I raise up the kings against the Assyrian, but even now, when he has come upon you, I will deliver you, slaying a hundred and eighty-five thousand of his men. For here he speaks of the things concerning Sennacherib, and the destruction of his army in a single night. The spiritual Assyrian too came upon our land—I mean the flesh—making our members that are upon the earth his own. And he trod also upon our borders, the mind and the reason; for these are the borders of man, marking him off from the irrational beasts. When, therefore, he seemed to have mastered us, and the land was filled with all wickedness and godlessness, then Christ stood by us, who is our peace, and against such an Assyrian there were raised up both the seven energies of the Spirit, good shepherds, shepherding those worthy of the Spirit, and the eight bitings of men—of those who keep human dignity—that is, the five senses, ranged together with faith, hope, and love, or with the confession of the Holy Trinity; and by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, such an enemy was struck, and the land of Nimrod, that is, sin. For this is the land of the spiritual Nimrod, concerning whom it is said: He began to be a giant hunter before the Lord. For tossing his neck against God, he hunts the souls of men. And the trench of sin is the flesh, lusting against the spirit, and for this reason fortifying sin. But the Lord, having come in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in that which he assumed. Thus, then, was the land of Nimrod struck within its trench. By the seven shepherds you will understand the prophets as well; for the number seven is in keeping with the Old Testament, both for other reasons, and because it promised the good things of the present age; and the eight bitings, the words of the apostles. For the teeth are instruments, fellow-workers toward speech; and the apostles bit the Assyrian, through the things by which they proclaimed both the resurrection—which took place in the eighth, the Lord’s day after the seventh of the Sabbath, in the case of Christ, and shall take place for us all too, in the eighth after this seventh age—and along with the resurrection they preached the heavenly kingdom in that eighth. And if you reckon the things concerning Ananias and Sapphira, and the things concerning Elymas the magician, and those handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved, and that they might be taught not to blaspheme — then you will understand how the apostles also shepherded with the sword, using severity upon those who needed it.

Mic. 5:6. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, as dew falling from the Lord, and as lambs upon the grass, that no one may be gathered together, nor stand among the sons of men.

Mic. 5:7. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the cattle of the forest, and as a lion’s cub among flocks of sheep; just as, when it passes through and, having singled out, seizes its prey, there is none to rescue. These things can be taken according to the letter, God promising to the Hebrews who were left and kept for salvation after the overthrow of the Babylonian, such a prosperity of good things that they could even refresh others like dew and do them good, and a power over their enemies, so as to consume them, just as the lambs consume the grass of the field, that no assembly might any longer be gathered against them, nor any man stand before them; but, like a lion singling out the sheep—that is, entering into their midst, as they are separated through fear and scattered one here and another there—it seizes them, and there is none to rescue; so they too plunder the goods of their enemies. Nevertheless, in truth, these things are said concerning the apostles. For having spoken of the things to come to pass concerning the perceptible Babylonian, he runs back up to the things concerning Christ, and announces beforehand how the remnant from Jacob, the one according to the election of grace — both the apostles, I mean, and those after them from the Hebrews who shone in the Church; and indeed, simply, all the teachers of the Church. For as has been said above also, Those who are of Israel are not altogether Israel.[2] These, then, shall be dew to the nations that have the scorching heat of idolatry and of the other passions of the soul, offering to them the teaching of the Gospel, which fell upon them from the Lord; and they consumed the ungodliness, as lambs the grass, that no gathering of the ungodly might any longer be assembled or stand, but that all might be set right. And I say this, he says, not concerning demons (for those are incorrigible), but among the sons of men, who receive correction. Or: Since the benefit of the one taught is food for the one who teaches, just as the lambs, he says, rejoice—which fell upon them from the Lord, who said: Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them — they rejoice, having found grass to be food for themselves; so they too shall leap upon the disciples, that no one may any longer be gathered and numbered among the sons of men who are hard of heart, who love a lie, but that all may become sons of God, joint-heirs of Christ. Then, since in likening such teachers to dew and lambs he had not sufficiently shown the power given them by God, he adds another image, that of the lion. For the preludes of the apostles’ teaching were like dew; and they were as lambs in the midst of wolves, consuming and uprooting the grass of ungodliness by teachings and wonders. But after this, when the inhabited world had received the proclamation, and generals and kings had been enrolled among the faithful, the dread passed over to the adversaries of the truth; and some, resembling cattle, are afraid and shudder; but others, having the courage of the lion of the Church, and especially through the abundance of righteousness (for the righteous is confident as a lion), single out the lie, discerning it, and pointing it out to those formerly led astray, and plunder them, taking them captive into the obedience of Christ; and there is none who tears these away from him, as they say with Paul: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Which Christ also said: No one seizes my sheep out of my hand. But the apostles themselves were both lambs and lions: lambs toward those who wished to scourge, flay, and kill them, not resisting; but lions, as being strong against error and ungodliness, in the power of the word and of wonders.

Mic. 5:8. And your hand shall be lifted up against those who afflict you, and all your enemies shall be utterly destroyed. These things have come to pass perceptibly as well, the kingdom having passed over, as has been said, to Christian rulers. For indeed the Greeks who formerly afflicted the people of Christ, and pulled down the temples of God, are gone and vanished; and we pull down their temples, if indeed any remnant is left. But still more they have been fulfilled spiritually. For the hand of the faithful—that is, the power that works the virtues—has been lifted up against the demons, who, persuading us to pursue evil as something sweet, afterward bring upon us the affliction that comes from conscience, leading us thereby to despair as well.

Mic. 5:9–10. And I will utterly destroy your horses out of your midst, and will destroy your chariots, and I will utterly destroy the cities of your land, and will tear down all your strongholds. Those of Israel who have believed shall obtain the power foretold; but those who have continued in unbelief, such as are the present Hebrews, shall be deprived of their own kingdom; and they shall have neither cavalry, nor well-walled cities, nor such other strongholds as nature, making them of itself in the mountains or caves, gave to men to flee to in times of need. And if anyone reads the works of Josephus, he will find the truth of what is said. For even if we should not understand it thus—that the things foretold were said to some, but the things now said to others, and that those were to the faithful, but these to the unbelievers—they will seem incongruous. Yet they are spoken to one person, that of the Hebrew race. And observe also from the wording the truth of what I say; for it was to the remnant of Jacob that he promised the good things, but not simply to Jacob.

Mic. 5:11. And I will take away your sorceries out of your hands. By “sorceries” he means the enchantments which they used, calling upon demons in all things.

Mic. 5:11. And those who utter oracles shall be no more for you. That is, diviners; and he calls these “utterers of oracles” because they seemed to be suddenly thrown into ecstasy, and, inspired, uttered forth the things which the inbreathing of the demons supplied to them. “And your diviners, then,” he says, “I will utterly destroy.”

Mic. 5:12–13. And I will utterly destroy your carved images and your pillars out of your midst; and you shall no longer worship the works of your hands, and I will cut down the groves out of your midst. Here he plainly foreshows the abolition of idolatry; for after the incarnation of Christ, the Jews, seeing the piety of the nations, even against their will were themselves freed from the service of idols. For they are ashamed, seeing those outside the laws living soberly, to be themselves manifestly ungodly. And there are among them neither carved images, nor pillars, nor groves. For as you learned in Hosea, choosing out the tall and shady trees, these they honored. But now they have been cut down like common wood for burning, or serving for the works of carpentry.

Mic. 5:13–14. And I will make your cities desolate, and I will execute vengeance in wrath and in fury among the nations, because they did not hearken. I will drive them out, he says, from their own cities, and scatter them among the nations, executing vengeance for the blood of my Son, because they did not hearken to the prophets, who spoke concerning him, and to himself crying out: I am the light of the world; and, Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you? Observe, however, how God benefits even while he punishes; for see from what things he frees them—from idolatry, sorceries, divinations. And these things might be said also with regard to human nature, whose equestrian pride and frenzy for women the Lord who was born in Bethlehem removed from its midst, and the cities which its land—that is, the flesh—had, and the strongholds of earthly and human reasonings he pulled down through those who say: Casting down reasonings, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God; and every sorcery of the beguiling pleasure that formerly enslaved humanity he removed, who says: Narrow and afflicted is the way; and, In the world you shall have tribulation; and he cut down the groves in us and the thickets of the imaginations, in which the spiritual beasts lurked.

[1] Translator’s note: The verb here (προήνεγκαν, “they brought forward”) is a conjectural restoration, supplied in brackets in Migne.

[2] Translator’s note: The text here reads οὐ πάντως (“not altogether”); some copies: οὐ πάντες (“not all”).

Chapter 6

Mic. 6:1–2. Hear now what the Lord has said: Arise and plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O hills, the judgment of the Lord, and you ravines, the foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with his people, and he will dispute with Israel. Intending to show the Israelites’ ingratitude, he introduces a tribunal and entrusts the judgment to the mountains—not that they possess a soul or reason, but because the mountains and the ravines at one time received the corpses of Sennacherib’s army, struck down by an angel, and at another the countless slain of the Scythian host. These mountains and these valleys he makes witnesses both of his beneficence and of their ingratitude toward it. And in another sense: since they, though endowed with reason, fell sick with unreason, he brings the irrational things forward to their judgment. He says, then, Arise, and plead your case before the mountains—that is, before the mountains, so that the meaning is, “Plead your case with me before the mountains as judges.” Or: “The mountains themselves will accuse you in my stead; and if it is possible for you, make your defense, and undo the accusation.” And in yet another sense: since it was on hills and mountains that the Israelites performed their rites to the demons, “These very things,” he says, “accuse you; and if you have any defense, speak it.”

Mic. 6:3. My people, what have I done to you? Or in what have I grieved you? Or in what have I troubled you? Answer me. Tell me, he says, the cause of your enmity; show whether you have experienced anything grievous from me. Then, since he must be silent, having nothing to say, he presses on, saying:

Mic. 6:4. Because I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, and I sent before your face Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam? Did I wrong you in this, he says, that I brought you up out of the land of Egypt? Then, lest they could say, “We were harmed, being led up out of such a fertile land, which furnished us onions, and garlic, and meat, which their fathers also longed for in the wilderness?”—he added, “Out of the house of bondage I redeemed you.” For even if the land was good and fertile, yet you were not among good things; for as regards you it was a house of bondage. And not this only, but I also gave you leaders, wondrous men who conducted you safely through every danger. Nor did I deprive even the women of my providence, but I deemed these also worthy of fitting care, setting Miriam over them, who shared in the prophetic Spirit.

Mic. 6:5. My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab plotted against you, and what Balaam son of Beor answered him, from the Reeds as far as Galgal, that the righteousness of the Lord might be known. He still calls them his own people, so as both to show his own kindness and their ingratitude—that they rebel against one so kind—and at the same time to shame them, that they might at some point come to their senses and turn back to him; and further, to teach us also to be thus kind toward those who are ungrateful to us, and to claim them as our own even after they have been convicted of ingratitude. What, then, does he say to this ungrateful people? “If you have forgotten the deliverance out of Egypt, remember the affair of Balaam, and how Balak king of the Moabites summoned this diviner to curse Israel by certain sorceries, and by the incantations familiar to him to wither away its strength (for such was the cursing); but I turned the curses into blessings, not for the sake of your righteous deeds (for you were ungrateful even then), but that my righteousness and truth might be made manifest. For I had promised your forefather to give you the land of Palestine; and for this reason I preserved you, fulfilling the covenants made with him.” Or thus: “Remember my benefits, so that from this, when you are condemned, my righteousness may appear—that you so forsook him who had conferred such benefits upon you.” Similar to: That you may be justified in your words. And what is “From the Reeds as far as Galgal”? They are the boundaries of those places in which Balaam supposed himself to be working his curses, removing now to one hill, now to another; for he thought that the places were harming and hindering him, and on this account, being persuaded by the demons, he kept moving from one to another. So from the place that has the Reeds up to Galgal, he went around all the hills that lay between. The mountains are also the apostles, before whom the Synagogue is judged, because it did not receive them though they were of her own number; the hills are the prophets, as inferior to the apostles; the ravines are the churches capable of holding the multitude of the faithful, which are also foundations of the earth and securities, before whom the Lord Jesus is judged against the people—he who, having done nothing grievous to it, but being himself the one who of old set it free from the Egypt of the senses, and later from the Egypt understood spiritually (for it was for this very purpose that he was made flesh), and who of old annulled Balaam’s curses wrought by sorcery, and later showed all his malicious craft to be useless, was crucified by such a people. But if certain men appointed to rule are mountains in respect of the height of their office, and foundations of the earth, as supports of the people, yet imitate ravines, as being torn apart[1] through not having the bond of love, and as readily receiving the confluence of evil—he charges them through the prophetic word to arise and be judged against these, convicting them that they displayed nothing befitting the promise, and that too though they are a people of God and called Israel.

Mic. 6:6. Wherewith shall I overtake the Lord? Shall I lay hold of God my Most High? The prophet, having framed the foregoing words as from the person of God to the Israelites, now brings on the person of one repenting, and as it were perceiving that he has sinned. The prophet does this skillfully, so as to show them how one ought to repent. He says, then: Wherewith shall I overtake the Lord? “He has flown away,” he says, “from me who have sinned. How, then, shall I pursue and overtake him? And having overtaken him, shall I lay hold of him?”—that is, shall I hold him firmly, so that he may not again fly away from me.

Mic. 6:6–7. Shall I overtake him with whole burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Will the Lord accept with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of fat he-goats? Shall I give my firstborn for impiety, the fruit of my womb for the sin of my soul? Are they sufficient, he says, to dissolve the weight of sins—a multitude of calves, or thousands of rams, or ten thousands of he-goats, that is, yearling kids? Or firstborn sons brought to God and consecrated, or even sacrificed? He says this, not because God admits these things (for he showed through Abraham that he does not accept them), but he sets it down hypothetically, by way of hyperbole, since the Son is more precious than all possessions.

Mic. 6:8. It has been declared to you, O man, what is good. Or what does the Lord seek from you, but to do judgment and to love mercy, and to be ready to walk with the Lord your God? The prophet answers the one in perplexity as to how he shall propitiate the Lord, that “You know, O man, what the good is; for this has been declared to you from God. Or what else, tell me, does the Lord seek from you, but to do judgment”—that is, what is just—“and to show mercy to your neighbor? And in addition to these, or even before these, not to go after other gods, but to acknowledge the true God?” For this the law says: You shall love the Lord your God, and your neighbor. And observe how the sacrifices of the law are taken away, while the spiritual sacrifice is brought in, as also in David, after casting away everything, both the calves and the he-goats, he says: Offer to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High; and again, A heart broken and humbled God will not despise. He too does judgment who judges soul and flesh justly, giving to the one the mastery, while buffeting and enslaving the flesh. And the same man also does mercy, having mercy on himself here, that he may not be handed over there to the fire; for how shall God there spare the man who here did not spare himself? Such a one is also ready to walk with the Lord his God. Where walk? Upward, where Christ is. For to depart and to be with Christ is better for him, and he is ever ready to journey forth, there where he shall always be with the Lord; for he is not held fast by the things here. And just as the thief, or the murderer, or anyone else doing evil, is not ready to go with the judge (how could he be, who contrives everything in order not to stand before him?), so too everyone who sins is not ready to walk with the Lord; for he hates the light, and dreads the Judge.

Mic. 6:9. The voice of the Lord shall be proclaimed to the city, and he will save those who fear his name. And through these things he teaches us that the bringing of sacrifices will in no way profit the city that has stumbled; but if the name of the Lord, surely spoken aloud, shall be proclaimed and pronounced over it—as people also say that such-and-such a city belongs to John—then that city will be profited. For it seems that, because it does deeds worthy of the Lord, on this account it is called a city of the Lord. For he adds: And he will save those who fear his name—not those who are indifferent and despise deeds pleasing to God. Therefore the bare invocation of Christ will not profit even a Christian, as some suppose, so as to keep him from punishment, unless deeds be present.

Mic. 6:10. … a house of the lawless one, storing up treasures of lawlessness, and with the insolence of injustice? God addresses every tribe of Israel and says: “Listen, every tribe: surely the fire of enemies setting it ablaze will not adorn a city, but will it not rather utterly destroy all its ornament, devouring it? And yet fire is bright and shines from afar; will it then adorn a city? No. But neither will a house of the lawless one, even if it be bright and conspicuous, be anything but a procurer of ruin both to itself and to the city in which it stands, if it stores up injustices”—that is, the gains amassed from unjust means—“with insolence,” which is, with arrogance and pride, and with the twisting and punishing of others. How, then, do you suppose that injustice adorns each city? The fire of envy, with which they were kindled against Christ, did not adorn the city of Jerusalem; nor did the house of the lawless Judas, who, storing up treasures of lawlessness (for having the money-box, he carried what was put into it, and pilfered), later acted insolently against his benefactor, unjustly selling his teacher for thirty pieces of silver. But neither does the fire of wrath or of desire adorn the city of each of us. For a wrathful man is unseemly, and he who desires wickedly is compared to the senseless beasts, and loses his own honor. But neither will a man who has become a house of the lawless one, of the author of lawlessness, adorn the city above, in which those who are disciples of Paul hold their citizenship, to whom it is said: You are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Mic. 6:11–12. Shall the lawless man be justified in the balance, and deceitful weights in the bag, from which they have filled their wealth with impiety? “Shall he be justified”—instead of, “he shall not be justified.” For it is an idiom of Scripture to use such a connective for things confessedly forbidden, as of one weighed down in disposition. He says, then, that the lawless weigher-out shall not be justified by such a balance (for how, from that by which he is rather condemned?); but neither shall the deceitful weights be justified in the bag, that is, in the acquiring of wealth. For on this very account they shall rather be condemned, because from deceitful weights they acquired wealth full of impiety. And by “impiety” he perhaps here calls injustice by way of reproof, reproaching the unjust as being impious against God through the very things by which they wrong their brethren—God who takes upon himself all that we show toward our brethren; and perhaps also because the Israelites, growing rich and going whoring after luxury, fell away into idolatry, themselves too worshiping the passion-ridden gods of the Greeks, so that their sinning might be unaccountable—on this account he said that “they filled their wealth with impiety.” And the lawless Judas spoken of above shall not be justified, when God weighs out what is his, nor shall his deceitful weights—he who was deceitful, both as stealing from the money-box, and as eating together with the one being sold by him, and afterward even kissing the one he was betraying; from which, amassing wealth, he dishonored him, crucifying God. And each of us too has a balance and weights, by which he is appointed to assign to virtue and to vice each its own. If, then, one acts lawlessly and does not render to each its own, he shall not be justified. The Greeks too, having such deceitful weights, filled the wealth of their wisdom with impiety, serving the creature rather than the Creator, and exchanging the glory of God for the likeness of corruptible man, and of four-footed beasts, and of creeping things. Do you see unjust exchangers and weighers-out?

Mic. 6:12. And those dwelling in her have spoken unjust things. The construction is thus: The house of the lawless one will not adorn the city, in which are the aforesaid evils, and those dwelling in her practice every slander and every falsehood.

Mic. 6:12. And their tongue was exalted in their mouth. That is, their tongue took great license, so as to say whatever they wished, and to make the small great, and to clothe with bulk the things falsely spoken. Those dwelling in the city of Jerusalem spoke falsehoods against the Lord: If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have handed him over to you; and their tongue was exalted, when they cried out: Away with him, away with him, crucify him.

Mic. 6:13. And I will begin to smite you, and I will utterly destroy you for your sins. Since, he says, she is unable of herself to discern what is needful, I will make a beginning of punishing you, and to such a degree as to hand you over to destruction—not in anger, but laying this bitter penalty upon you because of your many sins; for to sins so great there belongs no moderate blow, but utter destruction. But perhaps this signifies that God effects the destruction upon the sins, destroying these, not those who are being punished. For how could a man properly be said to be destroyed, whose soul is immortal, and whose body is kept in the hand of God, who will render it back again?

Mic. 6:14. You shall eat, and you shall not be satisfied. I will bring upon you frequent and successive evils, so that you may be seen to be punished, because you were not chastened; just as one who is not satiated, and on this account keeps eating, appears as though he had not yet eaten. But some say that God is threatening her with famine through these words, so that, though eating, she is not satisfied, because of the scarcity of necessities. The Hebrews even now eat the things of the law, but are not filled; for they cannot perform anything as the law enjoins. But also the prodigal, who devoured the ancestral wealth of reason and gave himself over to unreason, eating the sweet and harsh fruits of sin, such as are the husks, is not filled.

Mic. 6:14. And there shall be darkness within you, and you shall turn aside, and you shall not be saved. Darkness and a night of calamities shall overtake you; and you shall indeed strive to turn aside, that is, to flee them, yet you shall not be strong enough to be saved. There was darkness also among those who crucified the Sun of righteousness. For they closed their eyes so as not to see, and they knew not, neither did they understand; they walk in darkness; and on this account they turned aside from the true way of Christ, and they shall not be saved, neither in this life nor, much less, in the age to come. Moreover, darkness came over all the earth while the Lord was being crucified, in case they might understand; but they turned aside. And every sinner too, when the light of reason grows dark within him, then turns aside from the good.

Mic. 6:14. And I will thrust you out within yourself. That is, I will stir up civil wars, so that you thrust yourself out within yourself; for the men of Israel, marching against Judah, and these again against them, kept thrusting one another out of the cities. And God is said to do these things by permission. And the slayers of the Lord, in their factions, thrust one another out of the towers and the porticoes and the temple, as Josephus relates. And the sinner is thrust out of the city above, within himself—that is, he himself supplying the occasions.

Mic. 6:14. And you shall lay hold, and you shall not be saved; and as many as are saved shall be handed over to the sword. Warring against one another, he says, you, O Israel, shall perhaps lay hold of the cities of Judah, but again Judah shall lay hold of your cities, and shall destroy you. And even if some seem to escape the afflictions of the civil war, they shall be handed over to the sword to other enemies—Syrians perhaps, or Egyptians, or Babylonians.

Mic. 6:15. You shall sow, and you shall not reap; you shall press the olive, and you shall not anoint yourself with oil; and you shall make wine, and you shall not drink wine. And when one, having harvested, gathers no fruit worth mentioning, it is the wrath of God; but when he does not even put a sickle to the fields, it is an excess of divine indignation; and when he presses the olive, and does not receive even so much oil from the pressing as to anoint himself at least[2]—but even if he makes wine, he makes it sour wine and useless for drinking; or perhaps he cultivates it serviceable, but it is suddenly snatched away either by natural death or by the enemy’s sword, so that he has no time even to enjoy it. The scribes of the Jews sowed the slander against the resurrection of Christ, but they did not reap faith; for, on the contrary, in the whole world his resurrection is believed. The law was an olive tree, begetting the spirit; but they, pressing the law wickedly and according to the letter, and not passing over to the spiritual sense, are not anointed with the oil of gladness, so that they too, having the chrism from the Holy Spirit, might become anointed ones. They made wine (for salvation came from the Jews, from whom is Christ according to the flesh—the spiritual wine that gladdens the heart of the man who is according to truth), but they do not receive this wine. And in another way they made wine, slaying the Lord, whose blood is wine, but they do not drink this mystical wine. And he who sows to the flesh, and from the flesh reaps corruption, reaps nothing; since he reaps the things that perish. And he grieves the Holy Spirit who, through shameful deeds contrary to the laws, presses it, the Apostle saying: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit; wherefore he will not attain the gladness of the Spirit either. He makes wine and does not drink wine who teaches others but does not teach himself.

Mic. 6:15. And the lawful customs of the people shall be done away. The unlawful customs that you had, he says, both in other matters and in offering to the idols the fruits given by me, shall be done away. For how will you offer firstfruits to your gods, when so great a barrenness has gripped you? And he well said lawful customs of the people, that you may learn that he is not speaking about those things which he himself legislated, but about those which they laid upon themselves, each inventing something different.

Mic. 6:16. And you kept the ordinances of Zambri, and all the works of the house of Ahab. Behold, from this too it is made clear about what sort of customs he spoke above. “For you kept,” he says, “the ordinances of Zambri.” This man was the father of Ahab, who emulated Jeroboam son of Nabat in impiety. And by saying “house of Ahab,” he indicates Jezebel, whose works were: the setting aside of the divine law, and the slaughters of prophets, and injustices, and acts of greed. God says these things in order to show that they themselves became the causes of this their own ruin, having emulated the impiety of those mentioned. He adds, then:

Mic. 6:16. And you walked in their counsels, that I might hand you over to destruction, and those who inhabit her to hissing; and you shall bear the reproaches of peoples. It was not for this that they kept the customs of Zambri—that I might hand them over to destruction; but the words “that” and “in order that” Scripture is accustomed to set down, as we have often said in many places, whenever something results from the sequence of what precedes. So, just as here, from their walking in the counsels of Zambri and of Jezebel, there resulted their being handed over by God to destruction. Or thus: “You emulated the impious before you, as though desiring and zealous that I should destroy you”—so do you rush headlong to your own ruin. By “hissing” he means either derision (for he adds: And you shall bear the reproaches of peoples, that is, you shall be reproached not by one or two, but by many peoples), or the astonishment that is wont to arise when one sees a house or a city fallen from great splendor. The works of the house of Ahab were kept by the teachers of the law in Christ’s day, who, just as Jezebel killed the righteous Naboth, so they killed the righteous Jesus, in order to gain the vineyard. For in order that they themselves might be named teachers of the people, who were a vineyard, being called by men, “Rabbi, Rabbi,” on this account they killed the heir; wherefore they were set in destruction, and are reproached by all peoples among whom they were scattered, being more dishonored than all.

[1] Translator’s note: Some copies add τὸ.

[2] Translator’s note: Some copies read ἀλείψασθαι.

Chapter 7

Mic. 7:1. Woe is me! for I have become like one gathering stubble at the harvest, and like a gleaning at the vintage, when there is no cluster. My soul has longed to eat the firstfruits. The prophet, having foretold the dreadful things they shall suffer, now laments that, though he employed many words, he labored to no profit. For I am like, he says, those who gather the ears of grain left behind by the reapers, escaping the sickle perhaps by their smallness; or like those who pick up the gleanings. And these are clusters having few berries, and small and ill-nourished. And they are called “gleanings,” either because they are covered by the leaves on account of their smallness—for which reason they are not even seen by the vintagers, and therefore the word is by many written with the double λλ; or also, what is truer, because it is not the firstborn of the vine (for that is a “cluster”), but grows on afterward, and on this account is both weak and few-berried. And small-berried; wherefore the word ought also to be written with a single λ. I am like, then, he says, those who gather such fruits. For I found no true fruit of obedience in those who heard—that is, a cluster. For we said that the firstborn produce of the vine are clusters. Therefore my soul longs to find firstborn fruit, and to eat it—that is, to meet with an obedient man, and to take enjoyment of him. But some have said that the prophet in these words bewails the corruption that should come upon the people thereafter, so great that few would be left, like stubble and gleanings. And you may understand that, seeing also the scarcity of the holy ones which was then, the holy one laments. For if there had been many righteous, the people would not have wrestled with so many evils. For God remits the charges when some five holy ones are found. The letter of the Law is stubble and a gleaning, just as the spirit is grain and a cluster, which the children of the Jews were unwilling to cultivate. The Lord, then, mourns these, and longs to eat the firstborn produce, such as he ate in Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the rest of the patriarchs. He also gathers stubble who gathers the deficiencies and faults of those before him, and emulates these, and not their virtues; he shall lament at the harvest, when each reaps in his own time the things done through the body. And since the leaves of the human tree are the outward display—when one has works encompassed by show before men, and for this reason becoming ill-nourished—he gathers a gleaning at that last vintage, when he shall desire to eat the firstborn produce, that is, to enjoy that purity and remission of sins which he had when he was first born in the font of baptism. But virtue too is firstborn: for God made man upright, and created him for good works; while vice is the gleaning, brought in afterward through the disobedience of men. Then, therefore, when all the forms of vice are gathered before the eyes of the man, he perceives that he has done things worthy of lamentation. But do not you wait for the awareness that shall come to be there; rather, perceiving already from here what you are then about to gather, lament, as though that time were present, and say: Woe is me! for I have become one gathering stubble, and the rest.

Mic. 7:2. Woe, my soul! for the devout man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. Having said figuratively that he has no one who obeys, and having hinted at the scarcity of those who fear God through both the stubble and the gleaning, he now more plainly declares that for this reason he was lamenting: that he saw no devout man in the land of the Jews, which of old had many holy ones, nor anyone upright among the men of that time; which Isaiah also bewails: How has the faithful city Zion become a harlot? And observe: insofar as one is upon the earth minding earthly things, he is not devout, nor upright; insofar as he is among men, who became gods, and sons of the Most High, yet die, because they mind not the things divine, nor the things of the Most High, but the things of the flesh and of the body of humiliation. Having lamented, then, the prophet next also recounts the sins of those of that time.

Mic. 7:2. All go to law for bloodshed. That is, they go to law for this, and each of them suborns the judges, so that he may bring the death-dealing vote against his adversary; for their dispute is not over small things, but over life itself.

Mic. 7:2. Each oppresses his neighbor with oppression. Each, he says, appropriates his neighbor’s goods, and forces him into straits. Or also the more powerful wear down the weaker with labors.

Mic. 7:3. They prepare their hands for evil. Not only, he says, do they not do good, but they even make it a necessary endeavor to keep their hands ready only for harming and oppressing men.

Mic. 7:3. The ruler demands, and the judge has spoken peaceable words. Not the low and common sort alone, he says, sin in the things spoken of, but also the rulers, who ought to correct the faults of others—these too are diseased. For the ruler does not even wait for those who would bring offerings; rather, he himself demands gifts, and the judge has spoken peaceable words. The judge does not convict the wrongdoer, he says, but, taking gifts from him, he persuades the man’s opponent to make peace with him, and frames conciliatory and peaceable—that is, peace-making—words.

Mic. 7:3. It is the desire of his soul. That is, the destruction of the righteous man will suffice for him. Or, that what was done by the wrongdoer pleases him, inasmuch as he too is unjust. But some understand it thus: The judge, taking gifts, speaks peaceable words—that is, pleasant and gratifying ones—to the one who gave the gifts, granting him the victory, which is the desire of his soul, that is, of the opponent.

Mic. 7:4. And I will take away his good things, like a moth gnawing through and walking upon the beam in the days of watching. Since, he says, my people sin in such ways, both the subjects and the rulers, I will take away the good things of such a people—that is, I will consume them, like a moth within wood, walking upon the beam, that is, the length of the wood, and consuming it utterly. And this shall be in the days when I shall visit you. For by “watching” he means God’s oversight and manifestation, according to what is said in David: The face of the Lord is against those who do evils. But some understand it thus: I will destroy your good things, after the manner of a moth, consuming them and walking upon the beam, that is, upon the rule of right, turning neither to the right nor to the left, as in the days of the watching, that is, of the hill, or of Gibeah, in which there came to pass the hateful deed of the Levite’s concubine, on account of which, when civil war had arisen, many myriads were destroyed[1].

Mic. 7:4. Woe! your retributions have come; now shall be their weepings. Like an affectionate father he weeps aloud, showing that he does not punish willingly, but under compulsion. You have sinned so greatly, he says, as to force from me the retributions, and to bring punishments upon you already. For now, he says—not after a long time—shall be their weepings, as they famish, consumed simply by one another, suffering from the enemies all the things that have been said above.

Mic. 7:5–6. Do not put your trust in friends, nor hope in leaders. Guard yourself from the wife of your bosom, so as not to commit anything to her, because a son dishonors a father; a daughter shall rise up against her mother, a bride against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are all those in his house. Since the Israelites, sinning against God, and then hearing the prophets threaten them with certain fearful things, set their hopes on the powers of their own kings and on other human aids, making friends—now of the neighboring kings, now of the Egyptians, and even of the Assyrians themselves, as is said in Hosea—he exhorts them not to be deceived by such hopes. For in the time of dreadful things neither will friend stand up for friend, nor ruler for subject, nor blood-kin for one another; rather, each will work out what is to his own advantage, even if it should harm his own kinsman. But he will even rise up, and display toward him the ways of enemies. For when the Fashioner of nature is angry with someone, then his wrath alters the laws of nature, if this should seem good to him. Yet the children who rise up against fathers being punished by God shall not themselves escape the divine wrath; for if those who have no natural kinship with us are punished by God because they punish us, even though we were handed over to them, much more those joined to us by nature. For they do this not as serving God, but as fulfilling their own malice, which for a time was hidden, but, God permitting, was made manifest. And Absalom bears witness, who rose up against his father when his father had provoked God, but paid the fitting penalty before long. The Master of nature, then, must be propitiated, and one must not be over-confident in natural affections. Yet it must be known that, when this division of nature comes about for the sake of piety, it is praiseworthy, and a friend to Christ, who said that he came for this very thing, that he might work such a division among men. For a son dishonored a father when John and James, leaving their father, followed Jesus; a daughter rose up against her mother, the New against the Old, bringing in the Spirit and abolishing the letter; a bride—the Church wedded to the Son—against the mother-in-law, the Synagogue of the Hebrews who still kept the Law, which had earlier been wedded to the Father, acknowledging him alone as God; but now she has come to loathe even him. For he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father. Enemies of the Lord Jesus—who became a man (that is, a human being), and played the man against the strong one within us—were all those in his house, the temple: priests and chief priests. For he came to his own, and his own received him not; but neither did his brothers believe in him. The world too is his house, as belonging to a Master, which has hated him. And he who was formerly a son of the evil father, the devil, dishonors him, whenever he takes the sword of the Gospel, which divides such kinships. And the flesh, the daughter of the pleasure that comes from sins (for in iniquities were we conceived, and in sins were we brought to birth), rises up against such a mother of hers, when we make no provision for it to lust, but crucify it with its passions and desires. And if the world is a son of matter, to it perception was formerly yoked; and this too rises up against its mother-in-law, matter, whenever it undergoes the praiseworthy division.

Mic. 7:7. But I will look out to the Lord, I will wait upon my Savior; my God will hear me. The prophet says these things concerning himself: Aposkopeusō[2], giving them a pattern of how one must believe in God. The friends, then, he says, and kinsmen, will be thus faithless, and for this reason vain are those who hope in them; but I will look toward the Lord, and will await the help that comes from him, not taking courage in leaders, not trusting in friends, not hoping in any of my kinsmen according to the flesh. And to one who thus hopes in him without wavering, he will surely hearken to me.

Mic. 7:8. Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, because I have fallen and shall rise again. Having taught the end of hope in God—the being heard, I mean, by him—he takes up the person of Zion, and addresses his words to Idumea, which was ever an enemy and foe. For do not rejoice, he says; for though I have fallen, having met with calamities, yet I shall rise again. But some say these things are spoken to Babylon: Do not exult as having conquered me; for it is not through your power that you have conquered me, but because I have fallen from my standing in God, not acknowledging God; nevertheless I shall rise from this fall. Yet it seems to me that these things are spoken rather to Idumea, as is clear from what follows. And the Church from the nations might also say to the Synagogue: Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, who abominate the nations; for I have fallen by sin and impiety, but, having turned to Christ, who is resurrection, I shall rise.

Mic. 7:8. For if I walk in the darkness, the Lord is my light. Either: if I come to be in the darkness of calamities and afflictions, the Lord shall be my light, and will make me not perceive such darkness; or: Though I was darkened in mind, saying to the wood: You are my God; and to the stone: You begot me[3]; yet I shall be enlightened by the knowledge of the true God and Father. And the Church will say: Even though, held fast by the darkness of sin, I walk in it and go forward; yet the Lord, who said: I am the light of the world, he shall be light to me.

Mic. 7:9. I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him. Looking, he says, upon the magnitude of my sins, I know the justice of the punishment, and I will endure the wrath of him who punishes me for my sins—that is, the discipline that comes from wrath. Yet the wrath does not abide to the end; therefore do not rejoice.

Mic. 7:9. Until he shall vindicate my cause, and execute my judgment, and lead me out into the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. I will await, he says, and endure, being punished for my sins, until he shall vindicate the cause which I have against those who afflict me. For though I have offended him, yet I also have many just claims against those, since, having suffered nothing dreadful at my hands, they treated me so inhumanly. And he will lead me out into the light of freedom from the darkness of slavery; And I shall behold his righteousness, in that he avenged me on those who so unjustly assailed me. And the Church too will say: Even though the Lord was angry with me, and, having thrust me away as one who served idols and the creation, delivered me up to a reprobate mind; yet I will endure, until he shall vindicate me by repentance and baptism, and execute my judgment, condemning the ruler of this world who deceived me, and lead me out into the intelligible light— the Father of lights. And I shall behold his righteousness, namely Christ, who was made righteousness for us from God.

Mic. 7:10. And my enemy shall see it, and shall be clothed with shame, she who says to me: Where is the Lord your God? Idumea, he says, shall see my prosperity, and shall be put to shame, beholding God’s kindness toward me—she who now reproaches him as weak and unable to deliver me from my enemies.

Mic. 7:10. My eyes shall look upon her. Not only, he says, shall she see my prosperity, but I too shall see her misfortune; for she shall not go unpunished.

Mic. 7:10. Now she shall be as a thing trampled, as mire in the streets, in the day of the daubing of bricks; that day shall be your blotting-out. Just as, he says, the mire in the streets—and especially that prepared for the daubing of bricks—is trampled, that it may become more easily crumbled and serve for the work; so you too shall be trampled by all, and that day shall be your blotting-out. And the Church too will say that: My enemy shall be put to shame, beholding the glory with which I have been clothed from baptism; and my eyes shall look upon her, even as in the age to come she is sent away into the fire. For the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out, while I am brought in instead, and ranked with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. And now she shall be despised by all, as a thing trampled, as mire in the streets, which is trodden the more continually, and the more if it is prepared for the daubing of bricks. The Lord too said: Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations; or also that day, in which you shall be trodden down—the last day—shall be your blotting-out. Christ too is a Day, who became their blotting-out, being crucified by them. And all these things the common nature of mankind also has occasion to say to the multitude of demons hostile to it, and so does each soul that has begun to repent.

Mic. 7:11. And that day shall thrust away your statutes. That is, your lawless laws shall be abolished. For where will you worship, or how will you perform for the idols the statutes pertaining to their worship, when you have been so handed over to ruin? But Christ also, having abolished the law of the commandments in ordinances, thrust away the statutes of the Scribes.

Mic. 7:11. And your cities shall come to enclosure. That is, they shall arrive at a siege, which came to pass in the case of the Jews.

Mic. 7:11. And your strong cities shall be for the dividing of the Assyrians. From this it is made clear that all the things said concerning the enemy fit not Babylon, but Idumea. For surely the cities of Babylon were not given for the dividing of the Assyrians, but those of Idumea were divided—that is, plundered by the Babylonians, or inherited one piece by one and another by another—unless one shall call the Medes and Persians “Assyrians.” The Hebrews had strong cities, the legal commandments and observances, but they were handed over for division to the Assyrians, that is, to the nations; for we now divide and cut asunder the letter from the spirit. Human nature too had strong cities, the philosophical and the magical doctrines; but when Paul came to be in Athens and in Corinth, and proclaimed to them the unknown God, Jesus Christ, and him crucified: Dionysius the Areopagite, and the wise men in Corinth, who formerly were high-minded about these things, divided them—receiving the inquiring and contemplative part of them, but thrusting away all that tends toward demons, and error, and the abyss of perdition. And in Ephesus too those who had practiced the curious arts burned their magical books. Each soul too has a proud and lofty mind, which is likened to the Assyrians; and it has cities also, the systems of the various forms of vice within it. When, therefore, it leads over that lofty and Assyrian mind to the recognition of its own worth, and minds the things above, and things worthy of the image; then to such a mind the cities of vice are handed over for division. For the mind that minds the things above, dividing vice into excesses and deficiencies, finds the mean of the virtues.

Mic. 7:12. From Tyre, to the river of Syria. Since other neighboring cities also rejoiced over the calamities of the Jews, he makes mention of Tyre too, and of Syria, and of the others sacked by the Babylonians. And he says which these are, making them known by their boundaries. By “the river of Syria” he means the Euphrates.

Mic. 7:12. And from sea to sea. From the sea lying toward the east, as far as that toward the west.

Mic. 7:12. And from mountain to the mountain. From the mountain of the Jews, Carmel, as far as Lebanon. All the cities, then, that lie between shall be captured by the Babylonians—those that formerly rejoiced over the evils of the Jews.

Mic. 7:13. A day of water and tumult. That is, just as water borne along with a rushing sound and making tumult; so the army of the enemies shall come on, throwing all into confusion, and sacking the cities spoken of.

Mic. 7:13. And the land shall be to desolation with those who dwell in it. The land of these cities shall itself also be destroyed, with the trees ravaged, and the fruits corrupted and set ablaze; but also those who dwell in it shall be handed over to slaughter.

Mic. 7:13. From the fruits of their practices. He shows the cause from which these things shall befall them. For such afflictions, he says, are the fruits of their works. Human nature became earth, on account of the disobedience, having heard: You are earth, and to earth you shall return, and having minded the things of the earth; and the principalities and powers of darkness dwelt in this earth. But when there came a day of water and tumult—of the Spirit, I mean, and of the sound that filled the house in which the apostles were—the corruption of nature too was done away, and the earthly mind, with those that formerly dwelt in it; for we no longer mind as mortals, we at least who have received and keep the grace of the Spirit. The day of water—and of baptism, and of tears—and of the tumult which the word works in it, shaking it and troubling it as it repents over its former deeds, also does away with each soul that has become earth. Yet it does away, not with its substance, but with the fruits of its practices; for these are done away, but not the nature of the soul.

Mic. 7:14. Shepherd your people with the rod of your tribe, the sheep of your inheritance. Having prophesied beforehand the things that should befall the bordering nations, he henceforth announces the peace that should be the people’s after the return, all but saying these things to the whole Israelite[4] generation: that—Those shall suffer these things; but you, shepherd your people, and the sheep of your inheritance, with the rod of your tribe, that is, with the scepter of one tribe of yours, that of Judah. For Zerubbabel, being of it, shepherded the people after the return.

Mic. 7:14. Dwelling alone. That is, being in peace and quiet, and having none to war against them; or that they do not mingle with the nations, and learn their works, but are unmixed with the practices of the Gentiles. And the Father might also say to the Son: Shepherd your people, those of the circumcision who have believed, and the rest of the sheep of your inheritance—the nations, that is, which I gave you for an inheritance—with your rod, not the punitive one, with which, as a potter’s vessels, he shatters the disobedient, but the disciplinary, which is a rod of visitation. For I will visit, he says, their iniquities with a rod; but my mercy I will not scatter away from them. Shepherded with the rod of the cross are those too who can say with Paul: But God forbid that I should boast, save in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. And such men also dwell alone, released from all attachment to the multitude of men and to the confusion of the multitude of affairs, and conversing with God the Lord alone—the One, and beyond the one—and themselves too becoming uniform. So David too said: I am alone; and Jeremiah: I did not sit, he says, in the assembly of those who make sport; I sat alone.

Mic. 7:14. A forest in the midst of Carmel; they shall feed on Bashan and Gilead. Since he figuratively called men sheep, continuing in the figure, he names a forest and a pasture; and by what he says he signifies that they shall be in all good seasons. For both the region encompassed by Carmel, and Bashan, and Gilead, were the fat parts of Palestine. In order, then, to show that they shall live amid abundant good things, he made mention of the forest. For they say that sheep feeding in the forest, and nourished by the acorns, grow fat; since they also run to the acorns, delighting in the fruit. And since Carmel is interpreted “knowledge of circumcision,” Bashan “shame,” and Gilead “removal of the covenant”; these things shall they feed on who are shepherded by Christ: Carmel, as having recognized what the true circumcision is, and that it is not that of the flesh, but the putting away of hardness of heart that is the spiritual circumcision which God seeks, according as it is said: Be circumcised to God; and: Circumcise the hardness of your heart; and thus, after recognizing, being themselves also circumcised of the fleshly mind of the heart, and of the veil from birth; and Bashan shall they feed on, being ashamed at their former sins, and having the grief that is according to God, which works an eternal joy; and Gilead, as inheriting the removal of the covenant; and instead of living according to the letter, and offering irrational sacrifices, living according to the spirit, and offering themselves to God a living, holy sacrifice.

Mic. 7:15. According to the days of the age, and according to the days of your going out from the land of Egypt, I will show them marvels. Calling the ancient days “days of the age,” he says: According to those ancient days, in which I took your part, I will show marvels to those who have returned from the captivity. And just as, when you went out from Egypt, I allotted to you the land in Palestine; so now too you shall be masters of it, and shall gain possession of so great a land. Christ too presides over those shepherded under him, both in the present life and in the age to come. For when they mind the things above, and their commonwealth is such as of those who are in heaven, and they are dead to the world, and the world to them, and, being in the flesh, do not war according to the flesh—is not such a course of life an image of the condition of the age to come? But also, just as the Hebrews of old were freed from the slavery of Pharaoh, when he was drowned, having themselves passed through the Red Sea, and after passing through ate the manna from heaven, and drank the water from the rock; so we too, being under the intelligible Pharaoh, the ruler of dark sin, were delivered from him when he was drowned in baptism; and after baptism we eat the bread that came down from heaven—the flesh, I mean, of the heavenly Word and God—and drink the draught from the rock, the blood of Christ. For the rock, he says, was Christ. Thus, then, the marvels that befell them as types he shows truly in our case. He showed marvels also through the hands of the apostles, just as in the ancient days through Moses and Aaron.

Mic. 7:16. Nations shall see, and shall be ashamed of all their strength. That is, they shall fall from their former strength, which is the greatest shame to them; and either they shall not even at the outset assail you, beholding my providence over you; or, having assailed and been defeated, they shall war no more, as having become powerless. This the demons too suffered, the nations implacable toward us. For all the forms of their error, in which they formerly were strong, have been abolished by the sojourning of Christ.

Mic. 7:16. They shall lay hands upon their mouth. Not daring to say anything against you, or to mock, or to laugh, as before. But neither do the demons speak any longer through ventriloquists, or an oak, or other things of the like sort.

Mic. 7:16. Their ears shall be deafened. Neither will they endure others speaking against you, but shall be as deaf men. The demons too were deafened, no longer having, as before, those who call upon them.

Mic. 7:17. They shall lick the dust like serpents dragging the earth. Instead of, “being dragged along the ground.” For they shall fall down, he says, after the manner of serpents dragged along the ground, unable even to lift the head, because they cower. Or he means this: that the serpents, finding no other food, lick up the dust, and drag the earth—that is, take it up into their mouth by the tongue. But the demons too formerly found food in all men (for all sinned, and came short of the glory of God; and death reigned from Adam to Moses, over those who sinned); but now they find no food in all. For we are justified by the grace of Christ, into whose death we are baptized; and death too has been abolished. The dust, however, they lick, and the earth they drag—namely, the unbelievers, and those who lie below.

Mic. 7:17. They shall be troubled in their enclosure. By “their enclosure” he means the constraint, as in a siege, from every side. They shall be brought, then, he says, into helplessness, being enclosed and constrained on every side. The demons too were troubled at Christ, saying: What have we to do with you? and they besought that he would not send them into the abyss, which was an enclosure for them.

Mic. 7:17. At the Lord our God shall they be amazed. That is, they shall be astounded at your unspeakable kindness toward us, how you had mercy on those who so provoked you.

Mic. 7:17. And they shall fear because of you. The fear shall come upon them not from your power, but from you. Or: They shall fear you, and shall recognize you to be a fearful God—those who formerly feared the idols, and worshipped them, and supposed them to be strong gods. The opposing powers too were amazed at the Lord God, the Only-begotten, who took flesh and was called God-man, the most novel of things, and they feared because of you the Father; and this is also to have feared because of him: for the Son is in the Father, and the Father in the Son. And they show it even until now, fleeing from the name of Christ.

Mic. 7:18. Who is a God like you, taking away iniquities, and passing over injustices for the remnant of his inheritance? Having looked upon the unspeakable abundance of the kindness of God, and having seen how he counted worthy of so great a mercy those who had committed unpardonable faults: thereupon he cries aloud in amazement, as from the person of the people: Who is a God like you? For you do not exact the reckonings of transgressions, but take away iniquities—that is, you wipe them out, you make them vanish; and you pass over injustices—that is, you overlook them, you reckon them as nothing. And these things you work for us who have been left from the people, whom, as remnants of your inheritance, you were pleased to bring back from Babylon. But also through baptism he takes away the iniquities of the remnant of the Hebrews, kept for salvation; concerning which it is written: The remnant shall be saved. And through repentance he passes over the injustices of all those who were not taken captive by despair, but had within themselves some remnants of a better hope.

Mic. 7:18. He did not keep his wrath for a testimony, because he is one who wills mercy. These things resemble what was spoken by the blessed David: He will not be angry to the end, nor will he keep his wrath forever; he has not dealt with us according to our iniquities, nor recompensed us according to our sins. And now the prophet cries that he did not retain and keep his wrath for very long, to the reproof and testimony of the people’s lawlessness, because he wills to have mercy rather than to reprove and punish.

Mic. 7:19. He will turn back from his wrath, and will pity us; he will sink our sins, and they shall be cast into the depths of the sea. That which God cries in Isaiah, saying: I am he who blots out your iniquities, and I will not remember your injustices; this Micah too now says concerning him, that he will not only forgive us our sins, but will also cast them out of memory altogether, and will, as it were, consign them to oblivion in the deep. For this he intimates by saying: He will sink them into the depths of the sea. For just as that which is let go into the deep of the sea is utterly invisible; so too he will consign our sins to complete oblivion.

Mic. 7:20. All our sins he will give for truth to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, according as you swore to our fathers in the days of old. All, he says, our sins he will give into the depths of the sea; for it is possible to take this in common. And these things he will do that the things he promised to Jacob may appear true, and that he may show that he has mercy on Abraham and his seed. As you swore, he says, O Lord, to such fathers of ours in the times of old. So David too says: He remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, which he covenanted with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac. But there is also another reading: He will sink our sins, and they shall be cast into the depths of the sea, all our sins; and it stops at this point; so that it is understood that the prophet says that God will sink our sins; and, resuming for greater clarity, he says: Not these or those, but all. And from another beginning again: You will give your truth to Jacob, and so forth; that is, When you do this, you will give beyond dispute your truth to Jacob. And if the law works wrath when transgressed (for where there is no law, neither is there transgression); and the same is called a testimony, as testifying to the people what they ought to do, and what not, and that, if they do not serve God, they shall suffer such and such things; observe what he says: that, being compassionate and merciful, he did not retain his wrath, which the law wrought when transgressed by us, but will turn back to us whom he had turned away from, and, taking flesh, will be seen upon the earth, and will sink our sins in the font of baptism, and they shall be cast into the depths of the sea, where is the author of sin. For against him our sins were thrown up to battle, and he it is who is liable to render account for them, in return for which he defiled the creature of God with them. But thanks be to him who both had mercy on those of old, and has mercy on us, and casts our sins into the depths of the sea of his own compassions and makes them vanish; who may he also grant to us, imitating the virtue of Jacob, to trip up the passions by the practical life, and becoming emulators of Abraham, not to be drawn away together with these corruptible things, nor to deify them through our relation to them; but rather, from their unevenness, to run up to him, and to his unshaken kingdom, so that we may even be called fathers of many nations born to us, both through the good being taught by us, and through their emulating us in the good life—in which may we also be established through the grace of Christ himself, with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: Some copies: μύσος, “the defilement.”

[2] Translator’s note: The comment repeats the lemma’s verb in the form ἀποσκοπεύσω (the reading of Codex Venetus), retained here as a variant of the lemma’s ἀποσκοπήσω, “I will look out.”

[3] Translator’s note: Theophylact’s text reads Θεός μου εἶ σύ (“You are my God”); the Septuagint of Jeremiah has Πατήρ μου εἶ σύ (“You are my father”).

[4] Translator’s note: Some copies: -λῖτιν.

Life of the Prophet

Micah is interpreted “humility,” or “one being humbled.” This man was from Morathi, of the tribe of Ephraim; and having done much against Ahab, he was put to death by Joram his son, hurled from a cliff, because he reproved him for the impieties of his fathers; and he was buried in his own land alone, near the burial-ground of Enakim.[1]

End of the treatise on the prophet Micah, from the voice of the most blessed archbishop of Bulgaria, the lord Theophylact.[2]

[1] Translator’s note: This appended Life belongs to the pseudepigraphal Lives of the Prophets tradition (the heading is supplied editorially). It conflates Micah of Moresheth, the eighth-century prophet of this book, with the earlier Micaiah son of Imlah, who confronted Ahab and his house (1 Kings 22).

[2] Translator’s note: A closing colophon, not a stichometric line-count. “From the voice of” (ἀπὸ φωνῆς) indicates that the work was taken down from the living teaching of Theophylact—delivered orally and recorded by another hand—rather than penned by him directly.

Commentary on the Prophet Nahum

Introduction

A Reprieve Runs Out

Nineveh had heard mercy once already. Jonah, as Theophylact reminds his readers in a single compressed paragraph at the head of this commentary—a history they already know from another book he had expounded—had preached destruction to the Ninevites unless they repented; they repented, and the city was spared. But the reprieve did not last. Nineveh grew slack, returned to its old violence, and turned its renewed strength against Israel itself—first through Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser, who carried off the ten northern tribes, and then through Sennacherib, whose army fell besieging Jerusalem and who was afterward struck down by his own sons in his own palace. Nahum, Theophylact explains, is the sequel: the same city that once heard mercy through a reluctant prophet now hears, from a very different prophet, that its time has finally run out. Reading Nahum immediately after Jonah, as Theophylact intends, changes what the later book means. This is not a first warning to a city that has never heard one; it is a last word to a city that already had its chance, used it, and threw it away.

Theophylact draws a careful theological lesson from the pairing rather than a simple one. God’s justice, he insists, is not fickle for sparing Nineveh once and destroying it later; the same God who honored Nineveh’s repentance under Jonah honors, in turn, its later refusal to remain repentant. He extends the same logic to Assyria’s earlier role as the instrument of Israel’s own punishment: God permitted the Assyrians to chastise a disobedient Israel, but their cruelty in doing so—savagery undertaken not out of obedience to God but out of naked greed and the wish to dominate—brought its own reckoning in turn. Nations raised up as scourges of others’ sin are not thereby excused from their own; Theophylact even pauses to defend this principle against a possible objection drawn from King Saul’s dealings with the Amalekites, working through the distinction with a lawyer’s patience before returning to Nahum’s own argument. The prophecy, on this reading, teaches a single consistent doctrine of divine providence across two very different books: mercy genuinely offered, justice genuinely deferred, and neither one canceling the other when the time appointed for each arrives.

The Oracle and the Book of Vision

Nahum’s opening words—“the oracle of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum”—draw from Theophylact an extended reflection on how prophecy itself works, distinguishing the several ways the Spirit moved the prophets: showing some the future outright, speaking within others as an inward voice they seemed to overhear, seizing still others suddenly and using them as an instrument for a single utterance. He then turns, in his customary manner, from the letter of the opening verse to a further meaning within it. The prophet’s own name, he notes, means “consolation”, and Nineveh stands here for the whole dominion of sin and death; read this way, the very structure of the opening line becomes a compact statement of the Gospel—an “oracle” pronounced against the ruling power of death is, at the same time, a “book of vision” disclosing the flesh that the Word took up in order to condemn sin within it and bring light to those seated in darkness. Theophylact does not treat this second sense as displacing the first; Nineveh’s literal doom under the historical Nahum and the deeper victory it figures stand side by side throughout the commentary, the plain history never dissolved into allegory but always allowed to carry a further meaning alongside its own.

A City’s Fall, Told at Close Range

Once the opening chapter’s meditation on prophecy and providence is complete, Nahum’s remaining two chapters move with unusual speed and violence, and Theophylact’s commentary moves with them. Where Micah alternates indictment with hope across seven long chapters, Nahum simply watches a great city fall—chariots racing through its streets, gates thrown open, its wealth plundered and its people scattered—and Theophylact reads the vividness of the description as itself part of the prophecy’s argument: this is not vague menace but an eyewitness’s certainty, granted in advance, of exactly how the thing will happen. He is attentive to the specific charges leveled against Nineveh in these closing chapters—a city built on bloodshed, on plunder, and on the deceit of a harlot who ensnares nations for her own profit—and reads the coming devastation as the precise and fitting undoing of the very cruelty by which the city had prospered. Amid this rapid movement Theophylact still finds room for his characteristic close reading of a single striking phrase—a jealous God, watchmen posted on the road, the counsel that Judah keep her feasts and pay her vows now that her oppressor is no more—never letting the pace of the narrative outrun the discipline of reading it verse by verse.

How to Read This Commentary

Nahum is short, and a reader who comes to it without the earlier book in mind will still find a coherent prophecy of judgment on a violent empire. But the commentary rewards a reader who keeps Jonah close at hand, since Theophylact composed his exposition with that earlier reprieve constantly in view and returns to it, directly or by implication, at several points. Read together, the two commentaries tell a single continuous story about the same city—mercy first, judgment after—and about a God whose patience is real without being unlimited. It is worth noting, too, that Theophylact is working from the Septuagint throughout, so that place-names, the numbering of verses, and even the meaning he draws from Nahum’s own name follow the Greek Bible’s wording rather than the Hebrew that underlies most modern English translations; where a phrase looks unfamiliar against a standard English Old Testament, the difference usually traces back to this earlier, equally ancient text tradition rather than to any error.

Argument

Jonah the wonderful preached to the Ninevites that, unless they repented, they would perish; and Nineveh was the foremost city of the Assyrians. And these men, having been persuaded, and having turned away the divine wrath through repentance, at that time experienced none of the dreadful things that had been threatened; but, such are the affairs of human weakness, afterward they grew slack, and returned to their former wickedness, and did countless other lawless deeds, and dared to make campaigns against Israel. And the ten tribes, both Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser enslaved and led away captive. And Sennacherib, having made war upon the tribe of Judah, and having taken many cities, and having besieged Jerusalem itself, and having moved his tongue against God himself, lost in a single night those many thousands; and he himself, having escaped this blow and having come home—in order that he might proclaim the divine power (for it was for this that he was preserved)—within his very palace received the blow at the hands of his own sons. Then a little later, when the kingdom was transferred to the Persians and Medes, Nineveh was given over to utter destruction, at which time Cyrus also set the Israelites free.

The prophet Nahum, then, who is here in hand, proclaims beforehand this destruction of Nineveh: at once teaching all men that God, being just, leaves nothing without his providence, but lays upon each the penalties that befit him. Therefore Israel, having become impious, he handed over to the Assyrians; and these same men in turn to the Persians, because, when they had received Israel, they treated them savagely. For they did not campaign against Israel as ministering to the divine wrath, but as glutting their own greed, and wishing to lord it over all. Therefore God at that time used them as chastisers and executioners against Israel; but, that they might not suppose that they had accomplished what they did by their own power, he struck down the many thousands of Sennacherib, and at last brought down Nineveh itself together with the kingdom of the Assyrians. For God, when his own people has sinned, hands them over indeed to their enemies; yet he wills that these treat them not without mercy in the things against the divine people. Therefore, if he should see these executioners chastising too bitterly, he lets loose his own wrath upon them as well, that they may learn by experience how great an evil is cruelty. But if someone shall say: How then was Saul cast off, because he dealt more humanely with the Amalekites?—let him hear, first, that the Amalekites were not the people of God, but apostates and enemies; whereas we are speaking about the divine people, whom God wishes to discipline as a father a son, but not to destroy; and next, that God also expressly commanded Saul to destroy the Amalekites, and it was not right to transgress the plain command of God. And besides, it was not out of love for mankind that Saul spared Amalek, but out of love of money. The prophet, then, teaches all men, as has been said, the divine providence; and in a particular way he also instills good hopes into the Israelites, that they might not, despairing utterly, fall away from their hope in God; but, looking to him, and armored by their faith in him as the only one able to redeem, might have consolation, since the Assyrians were destined to pay penalties to Cyrus, by whom they too would be released from their captivity. For despair was making them go over to the nations and pursue the customs of those nations. This, then, is the manifest theme of the present prophecy. And the mystery concerning Christ, which lies deep, is here perceived. May he himself grant us to behold it, who enlightens every man that comes into the world, at the same time setting right our character as well, through the good and upright Spirit, of whom the prophecy is an operation.

Chapter 1

Nah. 1:1. The oracle of Nineveh.[1] The grace of the Holy Spirit worked in the prophets in various ways. For some it caused to see the things to come, as Isaiah, and Micah, and Daniel, and Zechariah; and into others it sounded certain things, as it willed, and they seemed to hear someone conversing with them. For what shall he speak in me, and, What shall I answer to my reproof? says Habakkuk; just as David also says: I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me.[2] But this too may be seen even in the aforementioned prophets. And of some the Spirit took hold suddenly, and, possessing them and separating them from human things, spoke through them the things to come. This sudden seizure of the understanding, then, Nahum called an “oracle,” as though saying this: My understanding, being taken by the Spirit, foresaw the things that would befall Nineveh. It must be known, however, that every prophecy may be called an “oracle” by a common name; for the prophets received it from God. But “vision” too seems to be something common; for in all the modes of prophecy the mind was illumined by the light of the Spirit. Hear, then, what he adds here as well.

Nah. 1:1. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkeshite. This oracle, he says—that is, the prophecy against Nineveh, which I make, having been taken by the Spirit, or, Which I received from God—is a book, containing the vision of me, Nahum, who set out from the village of Elkesai. For indeed I foresaw the things to come, and as one who foresaw them, I speak. But some take “oracle”—that is, The subject taken up by me here in hand—to be about Nineveh, and concerning it I am about to make my discourse; and this book is of the vision of Nahum. But perhaps from the prophecy of Jeremiah one might more fittingly understand what “oracle” signifies here. For he seems to call the “oracle” the wrath that comes with zeal, drawn from the stronger man’s seizing the weaker and dashing him down. And whoever has leisure, let him read that part of the prophecy of Jeremiah. So here too, then, since God is angered at Nineveh, and is about to seize her, and to dash her down from the height of her dominion, he named Nineveh an “oracle of God.” And since Nahum is interpreted “consolation,” and Nineveh too may be taken for the familiar abode of wickedness, which the world-ruler held as his palace—he that has the dominion of death—the consolation is our Lord Jesus Christ, according to John, who says: If we sin, we have an Advocate, Jesus Christ.[3] And the “oracle against Nineveh” is the flesh which he took up, that he might condemn sin in the flesh—which flesh is a “book,” as having received the Word, who tabernacled in it. And since the same Word is also the true light, which enlightens every man that comes into the world, and he who follows him shall by no means walk in the darkness; and for this he came, that those who do not see might see: fittingly his flesh is a “book of vision.” But also, he says, many kings and prophets, those, that is, before this Incarnation, desired to see the things which you see, and saw them not; but blessed are your eyes. And if anyone, after the manner of Barnabas, being a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, is able to exhort all to remain with the Lord in the purpose of their heart, he too will be called a son of consolation; and he will have the “oracle of Nineveh,” as taking and leading captive every thought into the obedience of Christ, and giving a “book of vision” to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, when he enlightens with the light of knowledge those who are in ignorance. And observe that first comes “The oracle of Nineveh,” then “The book of the vision.” For unless one despoils wickedness and brings it under hand, he could not attain to the “book of the vision,” which is contemplation. And both of these belong to the consolation, that is, to the working of the Paraclete; for the word of wisdom is given in the Spirit, and the workings of powers, in the same Spirit.

Nah. 1:2. A jealous Lord. These things he says to the Ninevites. For since, raging against the Israelites, they had treated them harshly, and were blaspheming against God as well, supposing that they had prevailed not by his permission but by their own power, he now says to them: See where you are being carried; God is jealous—that is, against transgressors and the arrogant. For by “jealousy” he means righteous wrath, the wrath that comes with heat. Therefore he adds:

Nah. 1:2. The Lord takes vengeance with wrath, the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries. And these are they who, besides their idolatry, sin also in other ways; but his adversaries are especially the proud. For the Lord resists the proud.

Nah. 1:2. And he himself removes his enemies. That is, putting them out of the way, making them vanish. And the word “himself” is emphatic. For he himself, he says, the great, and mighty, and strong—just as when one, about to show that a certain city was utterly destroyed, would say that the king campaigned against it and plundered it, coming with his whole army. It is like this: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But the prophet says these things also to the Israelites of that time, who were grieved, and perhaps even blaming God, showing that they were justly handed over to the Babylonians. For, having committed idolatry, instead of being the people of God, and his own, and rather his sons, they became his enemies. Therefore also, having been jealous because they forsook him, he handed them over to their enemies. This he said also in the Song of Moses: They provoked me to jealousy with that which is no god, they angered me with their idols; and I will provoke them to jealousy with that which is no nation, with a nation void of understanding I will anger them. And the nation void of understanding is the Babylonians, both as boastful and as serving gods that are not. For nothing is more void of understanding than a boaster and an idolater.

Nah. 1:3. The Lord is long-suffering, and great is his power, and he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.[4] The Lord, he says, does not at once bring on the penalty, but uses the greatest long-suffering toward sinners; for he wishes them to turn back. And of this you are witnesses, O Ninevites, who made use of repentance; then again, falling sick with much wickedness, you yet paid no penalties for it. Nevertheless, being long-suffering, and bearing for a long time the transgressions of men, he does not do this out of weakness. For great is his power, and when he is about to chastise those who do not repent, he brings on a severe punishment. For “leaving the guilty unpunished he will not leave them unpunished” means, he brings on utter destruction. For even if he seems to leave unpunished, yet he does not leave unpunished in the end. Or, according to an idiom of Scripture, the phrase “leaving the guilty unpunished he will not leave them unpunished” is said, like the phrase, Seeing I have seen the affliction of Israel. So here too, being about to say that he does not leave unpunished, he doubled the expression. And those who killed his Son he avenged with wrath—that is, he exacted penalties from those who did not repent, and removed them out of Jerusalem, being jealous on behalf of the righteous one, whose murderers they had become. And everyone who lives according to the flesh is an enemy of God; for the mind of the flesh is enmity toward God. The Lord, then, avenges himself on such an enemy, perhaps even here handing him over to temptations, so that the hostile mind in him may be removed out of such a man. But if here he is long-suffering, as he is often wont to do, that through his kindness he may draw the man to himself — yet at all events in the final judgment he will not leave unpunished, though here he leaves unpunished. And these things he does as a bridegroom, jealous on behalf of the souls which he created that they might be joined to him as pure virgins, but sees them clinging to the enemy and apostate, and shaming the nobility which by nature they had from the Word.

Nah. 1:3. The Lord is in consummation, and in tumult is his way. By “way” he means the motion which God makes against those worthy of punishment. This motion, then, does not simply bring on punishment, but works a consummation, which is utter destruction, and it makes a tumult—that is, it throws into confusion, removing and overturning affairs. In this manner, then, he will deal with the Ninevites as well. And for the rest, do not be despondent, you Israelites who have suffered cruelly at their hands. For the consummation will come upon them too.

Nah. 1:3. And a cloud is the dust of his feet. More fittingly has he added the dust to the way. A man, then, he says, walking on the road, raises dust; but God moves with such magnificence as to raise clouds. So, having moved against the Ninevites, he will set clouds upon clouds from every side. And the way of the Only-begotten toward our last estate, having come about at the consummation of the ages, shook together both principalities and powers. And the very removal from the Law to the Gospel may be understood as an earthquake. And the spiritual clouds—that is, the prophets—made known his coming; just as the dust that rises makes known those who run. And he calls them “clouds,” as having used a more obscure, and not very plain, speech, but conceiving within themselves the spiritual water, and rendering it in due season to those worthy to understand spiritual things. And the Lord journeys also in us, in those who pursue the earnest life that is lived according to virtue. When, then, wickedness is brought to consummation and is utterly destroyed out of the soul—that is, is shaken—and no longer has any firmness or permanence in it, then the way of the Lord finds room. And from this way and this motion, what is gross and earthy in us becomes something fine, and as it were airy and spiritual. So that, being borne aloft, it is gathered into clouds, able to rain down a spiritual shower upon others also.

Nah. 1:4. Threatening the sea, and drying it up, and laying waste all the rivers. Teaching us the all-powerfulness of God, and that he easily does whatever he wills, namely, that if he should will, he will dry up the whole sea, and make all the rivers vanish. And this is plain from the fact that he dried up the Red Sea in the time of Moses, and the river Jordan in the time of Joshua the son of Nun. He will therefore dry up Nineveh as well, which was like some broad sea, deep in its glory and wealth, surging with all its wars, and the nations under her, like so many rivers emptying into her and joining with her to swell her bulk and multitude—he will lay it waste. The “sea” is the bitterness of the present life, which we, in our folly, welcome as if they were rivers. This the Lord dried up, and made vanish what seemed sweet to drink in it, teaching that in the world we have affliction; but if we take up his yoke, we shall find rest for our souls. But even if one is in temptations, he is in a sea, and in rivers. To that one, then, must he flee for refuge, who threatens the sea, and dries up the rivers.

Nah. 1:4. Bashan was brought low, and Carmel. This too is indicative of the power of God. For Bashan, he says, a most fertile region of Palestine, and Carmel, which is a mountain of Judea—places that they inhabited unconquered and hard to subdue—yet God brought these down, and settled in them men from Israel. There is nothing unbelievable, then, if he should bring Nineveh down too.

Nah. 1:4. And the flowering things of Lebanon failed. Lebanon is a mountain of Phoenicia. And by its “flowering things” he means the rulers and kings of the region subject to Lebanon, whom God also overcame and made subject to the Israelites. But you may also take these things as referring to the future, as though the prophet were saying that God is so powerful that, if he should will, Bashan shall be brought low, although it is most populous because of its fruitfulness; and Carmel and Lebanon, although they are mountains most rich in trees, and thickly wooded, shall fail, if only he should give the nod. In the same way you will understand all that follows as being said also of the future.

Nah. 1:5. And the mountains were shaken at him, and the hills were moved, and the whole earth recoiled from before his face. For since some supposed that he was able only in Judea, even as they said: A God of mountains is the God of Israel, and not a God of valleys — [5] he says that all the mountains shall be shaken at him—that is, by his nod alone; and the earth too, not this part or that, but the whole, recoiled from before his face—that is, it shuddered, or was removed, and stood out from its own seat, when he looks upon it more sternly.

Nah. 1:5. And all that dwell in it. If the element itself, much more those who dwell in it, both men and the other living creatures. Bashan and Carmel were brought low when the Jews, on account of the Lord of glory who was crucified by them, were handed over to the Romans. But also, by Bashan is signified the ethical and practical life of conduct; and by Carmel, the loftier things of the doctrines, which, being many, were brought low, being summed up into the concise and finished word of the Gospel. And since Lebanon was a workshop of idolatry, there failed also the kinds of idolatry that formerly flowered in it, or even the wisdom of the Greeks, which God made foolish. And in the cross the mountains were shaken, and our nature, which formerly was earth, recoiled, journeying upward and making its way toward the heavens; and all the earthy thoughts that dwell in it became divine and heavenly. But also, even if one bears fruit in wickedness and flourishes, he is brought low, and fails in it, when God looks upon him, instilling repentance into him; and the mountainous, hard heart of him, which is minded of the things of earth, is shaken and removed from its standing in evil.

Nah. 1:6. Before the face of his wrath who shall stand? Even if in many places in Scripture the “face” of God is set down for a certain chastising power, yet it is also sometimes found in a more gracious sense, as in: Make your face to shine, and we shall be saved; and, Why do you turn away your face? For this reason, having here said before the face, he added of wrath. Who, then, shall stand, he says, when he shall display to us the face full of wrath? It seems, then, that the only-begotten Son is called the “face” of the Father, as the express image of his subsistence, and the one who makes him known, the same who both chastises and saves. For this one, he says, is set for the fall and rising of many.

Nah. 1:6. And who shall withstand in the anger of his wrath? He indicates a certain intensification here by saying “in the anger of his wrath.” But perhaps, since according to some “wrath” is the beginning of the passion, which arises from the steaming up of the boiling blood about the heart, while “anger” is wrath swelling to work some deed, for this reason he has said here “in the anger of his wrath”—that is, When his wrath also does deeds for requital and for paying back grief, who shall withstand, so as to turn back his hand and hold off the punishment?

Nah. 1:6. His wrath melts principalities, and the rocks were broken to pieces at him. Those, he says, who have been entrusted with the greatest principalities, and are supposed to have the strength of rocks, his wrath crushes and dissolves, and melts, as fire melts wax. Fittingly, then, no one shall withstand him. But his wrath dissolved also the principalities of darkness, and the powers, when he sent them into the abyss; and the Jewish principalities, on account of the pollution of their crucifying him; and the rocks were broken to pieces, perhaps the perceptible ones at the cross, and perhaps also the hard-hearted nations, which received the word of the Gospel. When, then, the mind rules in us, there is one principality; therefore it is not melted; but when wrath rules, and desire, behold, there are many principalities, which the wrath of the Lord melts, when it is taken into our mind—he who says, at one time, Those who would not have me reign over them, bring here and slay; and at another, He shall cut him asunder, and shall appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. And the rocks are broken to pieces by such wrath—those dispositions until then heavy and unyielding in evil.

Nah. 1:7. The Lord is good to those who wait for him in the day of affliction. Since he had spoken the fearful things, and had made mention of wrath and anger and much severity, in order that some might not reckon God to be hard and wicked—which is what those of Simon and Marcion suffered—he adds also the things of his goodness, and says: Even if I have spoken of the wrath of the Lord as great and irresistible, yet the wrath is set apart for his enemies, that is, for those who not only do evil, but also, when chastised for these things, do not receive the discipline gratefully, but blaspheme and grow impatient. For to those who wait for him in the day of affliction—that is, who bear gratefully the discipline brought on by him, and wait for him as for a father who disciplines—to such he is good. Or “wait for” stands for, Those who look for his consolation, and gaze toward him, and not toward other helps, whether of demons or of men. Such is the saying, Waiting I waited for the Lord; therefore he adds: And he attended to me, and brought me up out of a pit of misery. For whoever waits for him as helper shall be heard, and enjoys his goodness.

Nah. 1:7. And knowing those who reverence him. That is, loving and taking to himself those who reverence him, and for this reason do not sin; or those who reverently receive whatever he brings upon them.

Nah. 1:8. And in an overwhelming flood of his going he will make a consummation of those who rise up. Having shown how God deals with the reverent, now again he sets forth his coming-out against the unholy, and says that God makes a consummation of those who rise up against him—that is, the stiff-necked, who, like wicked servants, set themselves against his divine laws—that is, he will utterly destroy them, he makes them self-destruction, in the overwhelming flood of his going; that is, going forth and moving against them, like violent water borne down a slope and making a flood of what lies beneath.

Nah. 1:8. And darkness shall pursue his enemies. The darkness of calamities; for those who are in afflictions and ill-treatments are darkened in their understanding, and pass even the day as if in night. The Only-begotten also made a consummation of the demons who ever rise up and apostatize against him, in the overwhelming flood of his going—that is, in the baptism with which he was baptized, having journeyed from the bosom of the Father to us; the outer darkness, which has been prepared for them, shall pursue them. But the Pharisees and Scribes who rose up against him, and the rest of the disobedient, he put to death together, when in their spiritual sense they did not hear the one who says: I am the light of the world; and, While you have the light, walk in the light, lest darkness overtake you. And in us too the flood of tears, which has also a “going,” that is, a motion in the virtues, makes a consummation of the demonic thoughts that rise up against us. And darkness pursues the enemies of God—sin itself, ever darkening the conscience, and by its own unseemliness all but thrusting them toward the seemly works of virtue.

Nah. 1:9. What do you devise against the Lord? He asks concerning God, and says: What manner of power do you suppose him to have?

Nah. 1:9. He himself will make a consummation; he will not take vengeance twice over for the same thing in affliction. Having asked, he himself answers again, namely: God is such in power that, whenever he wishes to punish someone worthily, he makes a consummation of him all at once by a single blow, and has no need of a second vengeance; for how, when he makes a consummation of him at one stroke? But some have read it thus: What do you devise against the Lord? Will he himself make a consummation? — up to this point interrogatively; then he answers: He will not take vengeance twice over for the same thing in affliction. They say, then, that these things are spoken to the Israelites. For since, when Shalmaneser had taken the ten tribes captive, and had seized certain cities of the kingdom of Judah, those who were left feared that the Babylonians might come back upon them again, and for this reason were fleeing to the neighboring peoples and were being defiled together with the nations, here the prophet consoles them, saying: Why do you devise that the Lord is not a lover of mankind, and that he will make a consummation and utter destruction of you? This shall not be. For he will not take vengeance twice over for the same thing, bringing upon us [some copies: upon you] a second affliction; once, he says, he has punished you; he will not bring on a second blow. Do not, then, go over to the nations, but wait for the Lord, who is good to those who wait for him.

Nah. 1:10. For it shall be laid waste to its foundations. Either the one being punished by God, or Nineveh. For from this point on he makes his discourse most plainly concerning her, and to her. He says, then, that, when its foundations and those firm walls and splendid houses have been torn down, the great city shall be laid waste—that is, shall be desolate, useful neither for habitation, on account of the demolition, nor for husbandry, on account of the rubble-heaps of the buildings.

Nah. 1:10. And as an entwining bindweed it shall be devoured.[6] The bindweed, being an ivy-like plant, ever creeps upward, and sends out slender shoots, and lays hold of the plants standing near, especially the thorn-bushes, so as to choke them, yet itself also perishing in time. Such a thing too was Babylon, ever wishing to run up to the higher, and everywhere stretching out the tendrils of its dominion, so as to press down and choke those caught by it, and so that many kingdoms were dissolved by it. This one, then, shall be devoured by the Persians and Medes, with Cyrus as their general—that is, it shall be made to vanish, its kingdom laid desolate.

Nah. 1:10. And as stubble full of dryness. Therefore it shall be handed over to the fire of the enemy to be consumed.

Nah. 1:11. Out of you shall come forth a thought devising evil and adverse things against the Lord. Making his discourse to Nineveh herself, he shows her the causes of her desolation. For, he says, when God had handed over the Israelites to you, you did not ascribe the trophy to him, but to your power; and you reckoned God to be weak, unable to save those who trusted in him. For indeed Sennacherib said: Say to Hezekiah: Thus says the great king: Let not your God deceive you, in whom you trust, that he will deliver Israel out of my hand. And his lieutenant Rabshakeh blasphemed in like fashion. Pointing out this arrogance of his, God says through the prophet: I will visit upon the proud mind, the king of the Assyrians. And again, teaching him that he had not accomplished what he accomplished by his own power, but by God’s permission: Shall the axe, he says, glorify itself without him that cuts with it? or shall the saw be exalted without him that draws it? The Lord-slaying Synagogue too was laid waste to its foundations—that is, the sacrifices, and all the worship of the Law; for it seemed to stand upon these. And those who compass sea and dry land to make one proselyte, and then make him a son of Gehenna, were an entwining bindweed, choking those caught by it; and like dry stubble, it received neither the rain that came down, nor the water leaping up to eternal life. And they devised against the Lord of glory things evil and adverse to the benefits they had received from him—to put him to death. Therefore they shall be devoured both by the fire of the Romans, and by the last and everlasting fire. And those too who feign love resemble the bindweed, entwining their neighbors through their kindness, but devising their ruin. Out of these comes forth a thought evil and adverse against the Lord. For the Lord is upright, but they are crooked; and the Lord is love, but they are enemies of love. But greed too is a bindweed, laying hold of all things, and devising against the Lord things that are evil, namely, that he does not provide for the things here below; for no greedy man truly believes that there is a providence, even if he feigns this; and adverse things, because the righteous man both is righteous and loved acts of righteousness, while the greedy man is unjust, and loves unrighteousness. Such a bindweed, then, shall be devoured by itself; for this greedy man is consumed by that one who is greedier.

Nah. 1:12. Thus says the Lord, who rules over many waters; and thus they shall be parted. By “many waters” he means the Persians and Medes, who campaigned against Nineveh, over whom the Lord ruled, leading them against her; and these shall also be parted by the Lord—that is, marshaled and divided, as by some general—so that this one should besiege this part, and that one that part.

Nah. 1:12. And the report of you shall no more be heard. For, having been formerly renowned for your dominion, you shall no longer have such a report and fame. Or, that those who formerly obeyed you and served you shall not obey you, nor serve you. And the Lord rules over “many waters,” those of baptism, which he so parts and marshals that they are accomplished everywhere. Make disciples, he says, of all the nations, baptizing them; so that there come to be many baptisms—that is, baptisms of the faithful in every place. For “one baptism” is spoken of, just as also “one faith,” on account, that is, of the doctrine attending the rite, which is one in every Church that has received to baptize in the invocation of the Trinity, and to typify the death of the Lord and the resurrection by the threefold immersion and emersion. And because it is given once for all to each of the faithful, one might say that it is called “one.” The baptizings, however, are many, because the baptized are many too. And in another way the waters of the baptizings are so parted by the Lord that, since we are twofold, of soul and body, the cleansing of the body is accomplished through the water, and the things of the soul through the Spirit. Then to the devil: The report of you shall no more be heard. For the demonic rites are no longer heard. “Many waters”—Scripture knows the temptations as well, as in: Yet in a flood of many waters they shall not come near to him. For the flood of temptations, even if they are many and one upon another, shall not come even near the holy man. He says, then, that the Lord rules over the temptations. For he, dispensing our salvation, or our testing, permits these to be brought on. And “they shall be parted” stands for, they shall be cut off; and their continuity shall have a parting. So it is “by the Lord,” and not by human devices or even diligences. For he himself strikes, and again heals.

Nah. 1:13. And now I will break his rod from off you. He turned his discourse toward Israel, saying: The dominion of Nineveh and her authority (for this he named a “rod”) I will break from off you; or, The rod of Israel itself, by which it is chastised, I will break from off you, Nineveh, so that you, holding it no longer, may no longer chastise Israel by it. But he might say it also to human nature: The rod of the devil, namely sin, by which he put you to death, I will break; for the sting of death is sin. And I will break it from off you—that is, having put you on, and through you having wrestled against the principalities and powers, and having stripped them off and triumphed over them in the cross. The “rod of the devil” is the temptations, by which he strikes a man that he may blaspheme, as he did Job; which rod the Lord breaks, teaching: Do not fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; and, In your patience possess your souls; and, Being reviled, and not reviling again; suffering, and not threatening.

Nah. 1:13. And I will burst your bonds asunder. To Israel he says: You had the dominion and tyranny of Nineveh, like certain bonds holding you fast, so that you served her and accomplished no work of freedom; but this dominion I will burst asunder, handing her over to the Persian. But if the discourse is to Nineveh, you will understand “bonds” not as those by which she was held, but rather as those by which she held—both the other nations, and Israel. Great bonds, too, for human nature, is disobedience, holding it down in the earth; for on its account it heard: Earth you are. But since the heavenly one, having taken the form of a servant, became obedient to death, he burst asunder the bonds of disobedience, and, exalted to heaven, draws all to himself.

Nah. 1:14. And the Lord will give command concerning you. He will give command to Cyrus concerning you, O Israel, that he release you from the captivity. And how will he give command? Not by sending prophets, but by invisibly touching his soul, by the judgments which he knows, even though he was an idolater and unworthy. So too he commanded the sea-monster to swallow Jonah, and the gourd to shade him, and the worm to smite the gourd. But he also says to Nineveh: Concerning you the Lord will give command to Cyrus, that he campaign against you. The Lord will give command concerning human nature as well to his angels, that they guard it in all its ways. For to each of the little ones in the Church an angel has been set apart, as we have learned. And perhaps the prophecy has reference also to the teachings of the Savior. For since, having taken up our nature, he strengthened it, and made it more powerful, he all but says this: The commandments of the Law belonged to the old nature, that which in Adam was condemned and weak; but concerning you, the new nature that has come to be through the new Adam, the Lord Jesus gives other commands: It was said to them of old, You shall not forswear yourself; but I say to you, Do not swear at all, and so forth. And he might say also to the one who is in temptations: He will give command concerning you to his angels, that no scourge come near your dwelling.[7]

Nah. 1:14. There shall no more be sown of your name. If the discourse is to Nineveh, he might say: No longer shall the seed of any man be called by your name. For it is the custom for subjects to be named after their rulers. So from Babylon, Babylonians; and from Cyrus the Persian, Persians; from Alexander the Macedonian, Macedonians; and from Rome, Romans. According indeed to this principle Paul too was a Roman. You shall not, then, rule from now on, so that those who are ruled should be named after you. But if these things are said to Israel, you will understand that, after you have been set free by Cyrus, no longer shall any Israelite of your name be scattered into captivity. For even if they were warred upon both by Antiochus and by many other neighboring nations, yet a general dispersion did not come upon them. And one might confidently declare that no true Israelite is ever scattered. For not all those of Israel, these are Israel. Therefore the Lord also said: Behold, truly an Israelite, as though there were certain false Israelites. And those now scattered into all the world are spurious, and not Israelites; for otherwise they too would have said, with Nathanael: You are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. Before Christ, then, human nature was scattered into one and another opinion of polytheism; but in Christ, having been united to the divine nature, it learned also true piety. Therefore it is said: There shall no more be sown of your name—that is, man (for this is the name of our nature) shall not be scattered into many opinions and fantasies. And to the one being tempted, and as it were doubting what is the gain from temptations, he says: This you will gain, that no longer shall a human thought be sown in you; so Job too, after the temptation, says: I count myself as earth and ashes, and I have despised myself and wasted away. For as much as the outer man decays, so much is the inner renewed.

Nah. 1:14. Out of the house of your god I will destroy the carved images, and the molten things I will make your grave. Many of the Jews, even after the captivity, committed idolatry, not at all chastened by it. Hence Josiah the wonderful both took down all the idols, and burned their vessels, and scattered their dust upon the face of the tombs of those who sacrificed to them. This, then, is the meaning of “I will make your grave,” namely, to mix the dust of the gods with the dust of the idolaters. And it might be said to Nineveh: I will hand over your gods also to destruction; whence you, fearing lest they become spoils of the enemy, will hide them away, burying them as it were in tombs. But perhaps, since as idolaters they were handed over by God to their enemies to death, he says: These idols I will make your grave—that is, they shall be to you procurers of death, and a grave. And the devil too was the god of human nature; and the house of such a god is the whole world, out of which all idolatry was destroyed by Christ. And good is the promise which he who destroys the idols promises to our nature, namely, “I will make your grave”—that is, I will kill the old man, and bury you, that I may make you new and raise you up: for we died and were buried together with Christ through baptism. But also out of our mind, which was fashioned as a house of God, shall be destroyed the carved images, namely rhetorical fine speaking, and the molten things, namely the opinions of the philosophers, carried up through what they call demonstrative methods, as if through certain firings. And then our mind, that is, our understanding, is buried, when we are minded of nothing of our own and human, even as Solomon also says: The understanding of a man is not in me. For the word “Believe” is a burial of the understanding, when it is not permitted to be set in motion, and to reason, and to busy itself about things.

Nah. 2:1. For swift—behold, upon the mountains are the feet of one bringing good news and announcing peace.[8] He all but shows the good things to be at the doors. For behold, he says, behold, there shall come a messenger bringing good news of my Lord’s campaign against the Ninevites, and the capture of Nineveh—which was peace for the Israelites, setting them free from the captivity. “Upon the mountains,” see, he says, either because this road, from Nineveh to Jerusalem, is mountainous, or because those who announce some news from the mountains, as from places in full view, make signals, by which they make the announcement plain to those below. The “feet of the Lord” are the apostles, who were sent to the mountains, the nations, the dwelling-places of the spiritual beasts, making disciples of them—he who was bringing good news of peace; and through all that he taught and did, making peace for us with the Father: That they too in us, he says, may be one. And most plainly he brought good news of peace with one another, by saying: From him that takes your goods, do not ask them again; and, to him that would go to law with you, and take your tunic, leave him your cloak also. And he announced these things as saying nothing of himself, but announcing the things of the Father. And the feet of John too were swift upon the mountains, the high-minded Pharisees, as he announced the true peace, Christ, to whom he also said: Offspring of vipers, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every ravine shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. And no one is able to announce peace while he is below and attached to the things of earth; for it is on account of the good things of earth that wars arise. If, then, you are going to bring good news of peace, both to yourself and to your neighbors, become higher than the earth and its good things, wealth and glory. Ascend to the heavenly mountains, where David too, lifting up his eyes, hoped that help would come to him from thence. To this let the teachers also give heed, that, standing upon the mountains of the lofty life of conduct, they may thus announce peace to the peoples—which is signified to them also through the elevated platform.

Nah. 2:1. Keep your feasts, O Judah. For since, being in the captivity, you were hindered from keeping feasts (for the Law commanded that the feasts be kept in Jerusalem; therefore upon the rivers of Babylon those of old hung their instruments upon the willows, since it was not permitted to sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land); now, having been released from the captivity, keep your feasts without hindrance. And these things either the prophet says, or the messenger who brings the good news. And every spiritual Judah, that is, the one who confesses, so long as he is in Babylon, in the confusion, in the land that is foreign to God, is not able to keep the feast—neither the Passover, the festival of passing-over and of going-out (for he has not passed over, nor gone out from sin), nor that of Weeks, which is Pentecost; for he is outside the spiritual sabbath-rest, not having taken up the yoke of Christ, from which the rest is found; nor yet that of Tabernacles; for he does not dwell in the world as in a tent, but abides in it as in a fixed habitation. Nor does he make remembrance of the resurrection and of the life that goes with it, when the tabernacle of each shall be fixed, new and incorruptible. But when he is delivered from the slavery under confusing sin, then he is commanded to keep his feasts, which we have named. And these three were altogether the greatest feasts in the Law as well.

Nah. 2:1. Render your vows. That is, Fulfill the promises which you promised, sacrificing, and performing the other things prescribed by the Law. For they promised, when they were in the captivity, to render to God many thank-offerings, if only they should return, as we shall find in the sixty-fifth and sixty-eighth Psalm. [9]

Nah. 2:1. Because they shall no more pass through to grow old. That is, No longer shall your enemies endure for a long time, nor shall their prosperity grow old; but quickly they too shall perish, and their abundance shall perish with them. Or also, that the feasts of the one who confesses do not come to growing old; for they are ever renewed day by day, according to the image of him that created him.

[1] Translator’s note: The Septuagint’s Λῆμμα Νινευῖ (Nahum 1:1), literally “a taking-up” or “burden”; Theophylact plays throughout on its sense of the prophet’s mind being “taken” or seized by the Spirit, and renders it “oracle.”

[2] Translator’s note: Psalm 84:9 in the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and most English versions: Psalm 85:8).

[3] 1 John 2:1; the term rendered “Advocate” is Παράκλητος, cognate with the “consolation” (παράκλησις) by which Theophylact etymologizes “Nahum.”

[4] Translator’s note: The Greek ἀθῳῶν οὐκ ἀθῳώσει (Nahum 1:3) is a Hebraism doubling the verb for emphasis (“acquitting he will not acquit”); rendered here “he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” Theophylact below treats the doubled construction expressly.

[5] 3 Kingdoms 20:28 in the Septuagint (Masoretic and English: 1 Kings 20:28); the boast of the Syrians under Ben-hadad.

[6] Translator’s note: The Septuagint’s σμῖλαξ (Nahum 1:10) is an ivy-like climbing plant; rendered “bindweed” for its smothering, entwining habit, which Theophylact develops below as an image of Babylon’s grasping dominion.

[7] Translator’s note: Theophylact conflates Psalm 90:11 and 90:10 (Septuagint; Masoretic and English: Psalm 91), reading the angelic charge of v. 11 together with the “no scourge shall come near your dwelling” of v. 10.

[8] Translator’s note: A Septuagint divergence: the words ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη οἱ πόδες εὐαγγελιζομένου are Nahum 2:1 in the Septuagint, but Nahum 1:15 in the Hebrew and most English versions; the Greek chapter 2 thus opens one verse earlier than the Hebrew. The opening ὅτι ταχεῖς (“for swift”) closes Septuagint 1:14, but Theophylact lemmatizes it with what follows. This verse and the next three (lemmata 34–37) all belong to Septuagint Nahum 2:1.

[9] Psalms 65 and 68 in the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and English: Psalms 66 and 69).

Chapter 2

Nah. 2:1. It is finished, it is taken away.[1] Nineveh, that is, and her ruler; so that there is no longer any fear for you from them—or else it is sin and impiety that is finished and taken away.

Nah. 2:2. There has come up one who breathes upon your face, delivering you out of affliction. Cyrus, he says, came up against Nineveh, who, having breathed upon you, delivered you out of affliction. And he spoke of “breathing” from a certain Jewish custom; for just as it was their custom to rend their garments, so also to breathe upon the faces of those who had grown faint—and this the exorcists especially did. Some have said that God is here spoken of, who by his own nod, using it as a kind of breath, brought the people back to life as though they were dead, even as Ezekiel says, giving him over to dry bones; just as, when he breathed the breath of life into Adam also, he made him a living soul. And the Lord too came up from the dead, having brought to nothing the one who held the power of death, the spiritual Assyrian; and he breathed upon the disciples, saying: Peace be to you. For the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. For since Adam had lost the image which he received through the divine breathing, fittingly did Christ renew it and give it back to the holy apostles, and through them to all who believe.

Nah. 2:2. Watch the road. He says this to Judah, urging him to look about the roads, and to expect the messengers, and to receive the good tidings that come from them. Or else he speaks to the one who is about to be brought back from captivity, telling him: Look well about you, which road is easier and shorter for you.

Nah. 2:2. Take hold of your loins, be a man with all your might. That is: Put off your former cowardice, and play the man, having girded your loins tight. So also the Lord says to Job: Gird your loins like a man; and Paul: Gird your loins about with truth. Here, then, he exhorts him to be manful and to take courage, putting off his former cowardice. Or else: Make ready for the road of the return; for to take hold of the loins by means of the girdle belongs to travelers. For the tunic, flowing loose, wearies the traveler with toil; but be a man against this. And he charges each one of us as well: Watch the road, which is Christ, that you may walk in it. Or again, urging us toward the contemplation of the mystery of Christ, he says: Learn well the road. And since it is through the practical life that we ascend to the watching of things divine, and without sanctification no one shall see the Lord, he says: Take hold of the loins, in which is the desiring power. Then, since when we are admonished to be chaste we are wont to say, “We cannot, the passion is natural,” he shows also how we shall master it. For be a man, he says, with all your might—that is, do not resist slackly, but mightily; and this, in the strength—that is, in Christ, who strung our nature with sinews by taking it up and uniting it to the Godhead. For without this, even if you play the man, you shall avail nothing. For this reason none of the unbelievers is a virgin; for they are not manful in the strength.

Nah. 2:3. Because the Lord has turned away the insolence done to Jacob, even as the insolence done to Israel. By “Jacob” he names the ten tribes; by “Israel,” the two that were in Jerusalem. Now the ten were carried captive earlier by the Babylonians; the two later, when Nebuchadnezzar made war upon Jerusalem. Since, then, Cyrus granted the return to the twelve tribes together, he says that the Lord turned away the insolence of Jacob—that is, he took away the captivity and the slavery of the ten tribes, even as also of Israel, that is, the two, and brought them back to their own homes. For the slavery was an insolence to men who were free and descended from the race of Abraham. Or else in this way: Since the name “Jacob” was set upon the patriarch by his fathers, but “Israel” by God—and so this name too was the more honorable—he here names the whole people by the human name; but he says that the insolence, that is, the slavery, of Jacob, that is, of the whole people, the Lord turned away, as being an insolence to that patriarch who for his virtue was surnamed Israel. So then, that he might not be dishonored, who is worthy of all honor, for this cause he spared his descendants. The insolence of Jacob—that is, of the practical man, who is appointed to trip up the passions—is to be enslaved to some passionate deed; just as the insolence of Israel, that is, of the contemplative man, is to be bowed down beneath a false doctrine. And these insolences the Lord turns away: to the practical man giving the commandments, so that by working them he may be set free; and the contemplative man enlightening in mind, toward the orthodoxy of the Church.

Nah. 2:3–4. Because, shaking them out, they shook them out, and destroyed their branches; the weapons of his dominion are from men. Just as, he says, those who shake out the branches of the vine destroy the fruit, so also the Persians, having shaken and beaten down the Babylonians, destroyed their kingdom, which was the fruit of their branches. And what the branches were, he interprets: that they are the weapons of the dominion—not the dominion that is from God, but that which is from men. For they prevailed by human powers; for by “weapons of his dominion”—namely, of the Babylonian people—he means surely the mighty men-at-arms. He adds accordingly:

Nah. 2:4. Mighty men mocking in fire. Lest anyone suppose that the Babylonians were subdued to the Persians as being weak, he made mention above of “weapons of dominion”; and now he says more plainly that they shook out men who were mighty, and so bold and daring that they dared even the fire itself, and reckoned as a plaything things perilous and dreadful. So that it was not because of any weakness of theirs that the Persians prevailed against them, but because of the divine decree, which delivered them over to these men for destruction.

The Romans too shook out from Jerusalem the slayers of God, who had once been—that is, had been planted—a true and fruit-bearing vine, but had turned into bitterness. For their wine was the rage of dragons, and the rage of asps. For indeed they gave the Lord gall to drink, and their branches, which were outside the city, stretched as far as the sea, they destroyed; for they slew almost all who were caught in the regions outside. For the weapons of their dominion were not from God (how could they be, whose Son they slew?), but they trusted in the helps that are from men, in the zealots who stirred them to revolt. These slayers of God, then, were also mighty, as schooled in the Law (and the mighty shall be mightily put to the test), and they mocked the Lord, who was fire by reason of his Godhead—partly by tempting him at every turn, partly by handing him over to the Roman soldiers to be mocked. They shook out also the spiritual Babylonians, the demons, who are generaled by Christ, putting these far from themselves, and thrusting away their error, and destroyed their branches—I mean the divinations and the sorceries, from which they begot the wine of error and gave it to men to drink, as he says also in Hosea: Wine and strong drink the heart of my people received. Then he speaks concerning the devil, that the weapons of his dominion are from men; for from our own slothfulness he has gotten his dominion. And the demons are mighty men, in that, being fleshless, they war against us who are of the flesh; and they mock in the fire of wrath and of desire. Just as, the Lord being a vine, his branches are the apostles, and those who at every time become his body and members; so also of the adversary, who is a Sodomite vine, the tendril accordingly is of Gomorrah—those who come forth from him, and receive from him the bitterness of every wickedness.

Nah. 2:4–5. The reins of their chariots in the day of his preparation; and the horsemen shall be thrown into tumult in the roads, and the chariots shall be confounded, and shall be entangled with one another in the broad ways. The Babylonians, he says, shall be made ready, so as to set themselves in array against the Persians from horseback. And the reins of his chariots—of the Babylonian army—shall be ready, but they shall profit nothing. For the horsemen shall be thrown into tumult in the roads, by reason of the multitude of the enemy coming on; and there shall be a confounding of the chariots—that is, a colliding—as they are entangled with one another and trampled by one another, and that not in any narrow places, that one might lay the blame on the strait room, but in the broad ways, so that it is plain that they are warred upon by God, both the horsemen and the charioteers. Our own souls were created a chariot of the Lord, that, bearing him as Word, and moved according to him, they might ride in the contemplation of the things that are, pursuing the inner principles of these. But they become chariots of the Babylonian whenever they are moved toward irrational deeds. And our reins are both the natural notions and the commandments of the Lord. When, then, these that are as reins are made ready for us, then the demons that ride upon us are thrown into tumult in the various and many-wandering roads of wickedness, in which they persuaded us to move; and they collide their chariots one with another, and are entangled in the broad ways. And what I mean is this: Wickedness, so long as we pursue it, seems something level, and even with itself, and peaceable; but when we take up the reins, both naturally considering the good and being led by the hand toward it by the commandments, then we see it uneven with itself, clashing and entangled. Do you not see those who travel in the broad ways of this god, and do not tread the narrow road of the life according to God—how at one time, made slack by good fortune, they exalt themselves over all; and at another, when some small reverse has come upon them, they become baser than all, bowing down beneath the small misfortune, and counting life unlivable? And these things are beheld by us when, as I said, we take up the reins given to us, and have them ready, having come to be in the day and in the light of our own self-awareness.

Nah. 2:5. Their appearances are as torches of fire, and as lightnings darting to and fro. Since he had said that the chariots of the Ninevites, or rather of the Babylonians, shall suffer such and such things, he says: And yet they were not weak, but courageous and high-spirited, such as even to send forth fire from their eyes, and who by certain torches and lightnings, as it were, struck terror into their subjects; yet nevertheless, at the onset of the enemy, cowardice shall hold them fast. But some understood these things also concerning the Persians, the prophet all but seeing them with his bodily eyes, coming like fire against Nineveh.

Nah. 2:6. And their great men shall remember, and shall flee by day, and shall grow weak in their march, and shall hasten to the walls, and shall make ready their outposts. The great men of the Ninevites, he says, who think highly of themselves on account of their power, shall stir up every reasoning, and shall call to mind every device; and they shall try indeed to flee by day, as men hemmed in by terrors, and not even able to await the night; but they shall not prosper in the march of their flight, but again shall hasten to mount up to the walls, as men to be saved by these, and shall take thought for the guard of the city. Or else you will understand the word “remember” thus: that they shall call to mind the evils which they brought upon the Israelites, and the blasphemies against God; and shall know thereafter that they have God for an enemy, and for this cause shall flee not secretly, but by day; for so great a cowardice shall lay hold of them. There is also the appearance of the demons, as torches by reason of their nature (For I beheld, he says, Satan fallen as lightning from heaven), and perhaps too because they are transfigured into an angel of light; and as “darting to and fro,” in that they walk about under heaven. Or because they are not lightnings that abide, but darting to and fro—that is, more swiftly quenched. For their light, which they counterfeit, is quickly quenched, according to what is said: The light of the wicked shall be quenched. And their great men—that is, the legions—shall remember the power of the Lord, so as to say: Ah! what have we to do with you, Son of God? And they shall grow weak in their march, when together with the swine they are cast down headlong into the sea, or because they shall no longer have strength to march against men. And they shall hasten, so as to bring about the cross and the death of the Lord. For they supposed these to be as walls for them, as though the Lord would be without a name, or even of ill name, as one crucified like a robber. And they made ready their outposts as well—either all the things before the cross, the mockings and the reproaches (for these were as certain outposts of the cross and the death), or the watches of the soldiers at the tomb. But in the soul also there are great men, the mind and the reason. They shall remember, then, their own dignity, and shall flee the slavery of the passions, day being round about it; for they no longer pass through, as before, in darkness. And in their former perilous march they shall grow weak, no longer running well in wickedness; and they shall hasten to the walls—the commandments, which wall us about—and shall make ready the outposts—the natural notions; for these keep guard before the commandments. But holy baptism too, and the chrism, are great and firm walls, to which every initiate hastens, when he has come to know Jesus who is able to save. Yet not so simply, but he is also guarded beforehand, being commanded to fast and to keep chaste before baptism, that he may come to be in the habit of the good.

Nah. 2:7–8. The gates of the cities have been opened, the royal palaces have fallen, and the foundation has been uncovered. The Ninevites, he says—that is, all their subjects—shall mount up to the walls, as men to be guarded by these, but it is no profit to them. For the gates both of Nineveh itself and of all the other cities shall be opened, and the royal palaces shall be under the enemy, their glory having fallen and been taken away; and all their foundation—that is, the treasures, shut up and made secure—shall be uncovered, and shall be plain to all, laid open for plunder. The gates of cities are the senses of souls, which are opened when they apply themselves to matters without deception. Then too the royal palaces of the sin that reigns in our mortal body fall down, appearing rotten, and the foundation of virtue is uncovered. For then it is made plain that sin is without foundation, but virtue truly has substance. For this, I think, is what David too says to God: My foundation is with you. For when a man is in God, then he has substance. For in him, he says, we live and move and are. For he who has his being in being rational is then also in God, when he lives according to reason, and fittingly has his substance in God—not to say that, being also in our own reason, we are in God the Word; for our reason is a portion of the divine.

Nah. 2:8. And she went up, and her handmaids were led away, moaning as doves in their hearts. As it were, the prophet beholds Nineveh led away into captivity, and says that she went up as one led toward Persia, and with her the cities subject to her, groaning in their hearts—that is, secretly—and imitating the murmur of doves. When the foundation of virtue is uncovered, the soul ascends the divine ascents; and her handmaid powers, wrath and desire, no longer led, but were led by the mind and the reason; and so they have fittingly become doves of the Spirit. For then neither does desire long after any human day, nor does wrath grow angry with its brother without cause; but the one stands before the Lord, and the Lord is Spirit, even as Daniel too was a man of the desires that are of the Spirit. And the other is angry, and does not sin, emptying out all its gall against wickedness—even as Moses also, the most meek, armed the Levites against those who had committed idolatry; and Phinehas, and Elijah, were named zealots. And the Spirit itself, being of meekness, is said even to be provoked. And the doves thus understood speak unutterably, and bear witness to the power of Christ, by which these things were set right; for by the strength of Christ they crucified the flesh, with its sufferings and its desires. There were opened also the gates of the cities and of the strongholds of death, when the Lord underwent for us the death on our behalf; and the royal palaces of Hades fell down, and of him who has the power of death. And the divine foundation of the Word was uncovered, together with the holy soul united to it, breaking the brazen gates and shattering the iron bars for those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, and making plain his own power. And he was present with the soul in Hades, working wonders, and with the body in the tomb, keeping it incorrupt. And the soul of the Lord shone forth from Hades, and her handmaids, the souls of the saints, followed her as doves, guileless and unfeigned, and full of uprightness and innocence, singing: Where, O death, is your sting? Where, O Hades, is your victory?

Nah. 2:9. And Nineveh, her waters are as a pool of water. And they, fleeing, stood not, and there was none who looked back. The conjunction “And” carries an emphasis, standing for “And yet,” he says: the waters of Nineveh—that is, those who inhabited and filled her—were so great a multitude that she might be likened to a pool full of water and overflowing the surplus (for indeed, the people being multiplied, she sent out colonies); yet nevertheless such as these, having looked to flight, stood not; nor was there among them one who looked back; but all looked forward, scanning ahead where they might flee. But the Church too, the one of the nations (for Nineveh is gentile), has the waters of baptism; and the dwellers in her, fleeing wickedness, do not stand still, lest they suffer what Lot’s wife suffered; and there is not among them one who looks back. For they do not put their hand to the plow and turn back; but forgetting the things behind, and stretching forward to the things before, so they run, as not in uncertainty.

Nah. 2:10. They plundered the silver, they plundered the gold, and there was no end of her adornment. He goes through the former injustice and covetousness of the Ninevites, and that they gathered from plunderings. And one cannot say, he says, that they plundered from need; for the evil would have been more moderate. Rather they plundered out of insolence, and out of the wish to have adornments of many kinds and very costly; for there was no end, he says, of her adornment. For in womanish fashion men too, through softness and effeminacy, adorn themselves.

Nah. 2:10. They are weighed down beyond all their desirable vessels. That is: the adornment with which they adorned their bodies had much weight—that is, mass, and a token of abundant wealth; so much and so costly was it beyond all their other vessels. And though those too were “desirable”—that is, superfluous and fashioned for luxury—yet nevertheless the adornment surpassed them. Or else in this way: The things which they had treasured up, he says, the enemy themselves shall take, when they have prevailed over them, and shall carry these off into their own land, weighing down those who convey them. And he speaks of the things to come as already done, according to the idiom of Scripture; for “they are weighed down” stands for “they shall be weighed down.” But the gentiles too, who were once idolaters, but now are of the Church, plunder both the silver—the oracles of the Law—and the gold—the pure and shadowless grace of the Gospel—being sick with the good insatiableness. And so the Church too is filled full, so that there is no end of her adornment. For her adornment is the kingdom of the Word, who tabernacled among us, of whose kingdom there shall be no end. And such an adornment is also weighty; for it is not carried about by every wind of teaching, but has weight and steadfastness beyond all the philosophic doctrines, which were the vessels desirable to those of the nations. But the demons too once plundered the silver and the gold, taking captive both the reason of the practical and that of the contemplative life, and using the wisdom of the Greeks not as they ought; but now they are weighed down beyond all men, who once were their vessels fashioned for destruction. For those who were cleansed have become vessels of good use to the honor of the Master, who, entering into the house of the strong man, bound him, and plundered these his vessels; but those who were delivered over to chains of darkness were thrown into confusion.

Nah. 2:11. A shaking and an upheaval, and a tossing up, and a breaking of the heart, and a loosing of the knees, and pangs upon every loin. The things that are wont to happen in earthquakes, when the earth is shaken, these he has set down also for the coming of the enemy. For they, he says, shall shake all things and raise them up; and the hearts of the Ninevites shall be broken and crushed together, so that, as they are stricken with dread, the joints of their knees too shall be loosed, and like women in travail they shall have pangs—that is, unbearable pains, bringing forth great evils. “Every loin”—that is, every manly power; for Scripture sets the loin also for power, as was said above. The earth, then, shakes—that is, shakes off—when it shakes off the things that stand upon it; and it upheaves, when it brings the foundations up from the deep, hurling them aloft; and it tosses up, when, as in a sieve moving things this way and that, it gives up the things below, often even breaking open springs of cold and of hot waters; since they say there are three kinds of earthquakes. So Cyrus and his men shall move both the upper and visible things and the lower and unseen, and, confounding and troubling all things, shall let nothing remain in its established state.

Nah. 2:11. The face of all is as the scorching of a pot. From fear, he says, the blood shall be congealed; and the face of all shall grow livid—which happens in the greatest colds—so that it resembles that part of the pot which, being close to the fire and scorched, is blackened. These things befell also those who crucified the Lord, who were both shaken out of their ancient homeland and scattered into every place. There was shaken out also the error of the demons, and the man who lay below was upheaved on high, and every wickedness was tossed up, cast outward and broken open through confession. And with confession is beheld also the breaking of the heart; for he who has condemned his former life will plainly be crushed, repenting of the things he did; whose face too—that is, the boldness he had, while he did evils shamelessly—is now blackened, as he is downcast over his deeds of that time, of which he is now ashamed. And his knees too are loosed beneath him, on which he leaned as he stood in wickedness; and the loin, in which is the desiring power, has the pangs of the divine fear, which, conceiving, brings forth a divine Spirit, the Spirit of sanctification, without which no one shall see the Lord.

Nah. 2:12. Where is the dwelling place of the lions, and the pasture that belonged to the cubs? By “lions” he calls the kings; the dwelling place of lions, Nineveh; and by “cubs,” either the sons of the kings, or the satraps and lieutenants of the kings; and their pasture, the subject cities, which, being required to pay tribute and bringing in their moneys, were their pasture, feeding them; for the pastures of the rich, according to what is written, are the poor. Since, then, Nineveh too, together with the kings and the kings’ sons and the satraps, and the cities under her, were destroyed, so as to appear nowhere, Where is, he says, so great and so mighty a city, and her subject towns?

Nah. 2:12. Where did the lion go to enter in? Continuing in the figure, he says, as though in irony: Can it be that the lion—that is, the king of Nineveh—went abroad on a journey, so as to enter into another country, and that for this reason the enemy, finding the place deserted, made themselves masters of the city?

Nah. 2:12–13. There was the lion’s cub, and there was none to make him afraid. The lion seized enough for his cubs, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his nest with prey, and his dwelling place with plunder. Since he asked, Where did the lion go? he answers, as it were, and says: He did not go, nor did he travel abroad; rather he too was there, and the lion’s cub—that is, his sons, or the satraps and the generals, whom there was none to make afraid before (for they were undaunted in former times, fearing no one), but rather, like a lion, they seized the moneys of the other kingdoms, and gathered tribute, and provided food for their offspring. For this he shows by saying, He strangled for his lionesses. For since wild beasts are wont to strangle the animals hunted by them, and so to bring food to their young, in the same way, he says, the Assyrian kings too, overthrowing the other kingdoms, gathered for their own lions—that is, for their children and kings—the wealth of those peoples, and the tribute that was at every time collected. Even as Shalmaneser plundered Samaria, and Nebuchadnezzar Jerusalem, and they filled Nineveh, which was their nest and dwelling place, with prey and plunder. He called her a “nest,” as of birds, both because of the lightness and high-mindedness of the kings, and because, when she was easily taken by the Persians, they flew away, led off into Persia; and a “dwelling place,” as of lions, because of her former power. There is also another reading: “Where did he go to enter in there?” and then, from another beginning: “The lion’s cub,” and so forth; and it has this sense: Where is Nineveh, where kings entered in and abode securely, the city being unassailable? And the cubs of the kings too entered in, and there was none to make them afraid. For dwelling in Nineveh they were without fear. And Jerusalem too was a dwelling place of lions—of the kings from David, and of the rest of the rulers, who plundered and strangled the poorer of the people. But now, after the slaying of Christ, where is it? But in the souls of those who now make confession the spiritual lions also dwelt, whose offspring being the wicked thoughts, they fed on and consumed the divine portion within them. The devil, then, who goes about as a lion, seeking whom he may devour, where is he now? Where has he gone? For there, where he himself was before, now is the Lord Jesus, the cub of the lion that is with Jacob; and there is no longer one to make afraid those who have received this cub. For long enough, in the time that is past, did that savage lion seize what he seized, and strangle those whom he deprived of the Holy Spirit, and fill Hades with prey, with those who were put to death through sin; which Hades is his dwelling place now; for no longer has he his dominion in the air, but has been delivered over to Hades.

Nah. 2:14. Behold, I am against you, says the Lord Almighty. Thus, then, O Nineveh, you plundered all the kingdoms. In requital for these things, behold, I quickly rise up against you, even if until now I was long-suffering. And the word “Almighty” is added emphatically. For if I rule over all, I shall prevail over you also.

Nah. 2:14. And I will burn up your multitude in smoke, and the sword shall devour your lions. Since above he made mention figuratively of lions, and cubs, and prey, and pasture, fittingly he also foretells figuratively their destruction. For since hunters compel the beasts hidden in certain caves, and unwilling to come forth, to come out, by bringing smoke to the mouths of the caves, and receive them with spears and swords as they come out, and kill them—he says: The multitude of your people I will burn up in smoke; that is, I will set fire to this populous city, and the kings and rulers I will deliver to slaughter; even as he delivered Jerusalem too to burning, and the rebels in her, who were lions, devouring the lowlier, the sword of the Romans devoured.

Nah. 2:14. And I will utterly destroy your prey from the earth, and your works shall no more be heard. That is: No longer shall you hunt and plunder nations and kingdoms; nor shall your works of war, and the evils that come of them, which you did to those who were under you, be heard; for you shall cease from doing these things. The Pharisees too hunted the souls of the proselytes and Jews who were persuaded by them, by teaching them the letter—which prey he utterly destroyed from the earth of human nature, who gave to it the law of the Spirit of life. And no longer are the works of the legal polity heard, since by them no flesh shall be justified. But also against the power of the devil the Lord might say: Behold, I am against you, taking my stand with the flesh; and the multitude of the demons under you I will burn up in the vapor of the working of the Spirit, or even in the first beginnings of the fire to come. For the things which tormented the demons were a smoke of the fire prepared for them. And the sword—the evangelical word—devoured his lions, either these very demons, or the wise, and those mighty in word. And the error, by which he hunted men, was utterly destroyed from the earth; and the works which were performed in the temples of the idols are no longer heard.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact follows the Septuagint, in which this clause closes Nahum 2:1; the Septuagint verse numbered 2:1 corresponds to Hebrew 1:15, so that through this whole chapter the Greek runs one verse ahead of the Hebrew (LXX 2:N = MT 2:N−1).

Chapter 3

Nah. 3:1. O city of blood, wholly false, full of unrighteousness. He bewails, in tones of indignation, the character of Nineveh, and calls it a city of blood; for the Ninevites were lovers of war, and rejoiced in bloodshed. And wholly false, both inasmuch as they were idolaters—all alike, poor and rich, worshiping the falsely named gods—and inasmuch as they were lovers of falsehood in their words, pursuing wiles and cunning, upon which follows wrongdoing also. For everyone who is deceitful and crafty is also unrighteous, if in nothing else, yet in this very thing—the wronging and deceiving of his neighbor. And the prophet seems to teach whence Nineveh came to be a city of blood: namely, out of lying and out of wrongdoing; for where there is falsehood and unrighteousness, do not there despair of bloodshed either. But Jerusalem too is a city of blood, in that she killed the prophets and stoned those who were sent to her; and wholly false, in that she hated the truth, which was Christ, and spoke false things concerning him—that he is a Samaritan and has a demon, and a deceiver—and full of unrighteousness, in that she crucified the Benefactor, and denied the holy and just one, and filled up the measure of her prophet-slaying fathers, by herself becoming a slayer of God.

Nah. 3:1. The prey shall not be handled. What he said above—I will utterly destroy your prey—this he says now also: that no longer shall prey be handled by you; that is, no city or kingdom shall be mastered by you, nor shall you hunt down wealth and tribute; for these were your prey. And the prey of Jerusalem of old was all the prophets. No longer, then, he says, shall there be a prophet in you, neither shall you hunt and ensnare him.

Nah. 3:2. A sound of whips, a sound of a quaking. The prophet seems both to hear and to see the evils of war, and so he recounts them as though already present; for he is, as it were, made to ring with a sound of whips, by which the horses are roused to run the more swiftly, and he says that the clatter of the wheels resembles an earthquake.

Nah. 3:2. And of a horse pursuing. The word “sound” is to be supplied in common. For he seems to hear the neighings of a horse pursuing, and as it were perceiving the victory, and for this reason neighing a song of triumph; for the horse is a high-spirited thing. And having said, “A sound of whips,” he showed also who it was that was being whipped—namely, the horse, that it might pursue the more vigorously.

Nah. 3:2. And of a chariot bounding. Having said, “A sound of the quaking of wheels,” he shows more plainly that this sound is the sound of a chariot, tossed up by the rush of its course.

Nah. 3:3. And of a horseman mounting up. A sound, he says, of a horseman mounting up—that is, a tumult and a war-cry; for the horsemen, when they are about to mount either horses or chariots, make a tumult and raise a war-cry, urging one another on.

Nah. 3:3. And of a flashing sword, and of glittering arms, and of a multitude of slain, and of a grievous fall. No longer ought you to hear a sound, but rather to behold a sight. For he seems to see the swords flashing, and the breastplates and the other arms glittering, and a multitude of men, some being wounded, and others falling under the weight of their arms. And such things have their fitting application also to those who besieged and sacked Jerusalem; for indeed many such things befell the accursed Jews at that time as well.

Nah. 3:3. And there was no end to her nations, and they shall be weak in their bodies from the multitude of fornication. Many nations, and beyond number, subject to Nineveh, shall come to fight as her allies; yet in their bodies, in which they have put their trust as being, presumably, of fine physique, they shall be weak. Why? Because they practiced fornication—both that which is in their ways and habits, having played the harlot away from all virtue and from chastity itself, and that which is away from God to idols. But to the nations of Jerusalem too—that is, to her inhabitants, who emulated the ways of the nations—there was no end; for they came together into her beyond all number, as Josephus relates. And they grew weak in their bodies, wasted by famine. Why? Because they committed fornication, and fell away from Christ, saying: Write not, The King of the Jews. But according to the plain sense, weakness comes upon the body from the multitude of fornication; for no one who is licentious has a strong body. So that if anyone, being a soldier, especially wishes to be strong, let him be chaste.

Nah. 3:4. A fair harlot and full of charm. Nineveh was a harlot also according to bodily fornication, living licentiously through her great luxury, and according to idolatry. And fair and full of charm, in that she gloried in renown, in wealth, and in her other good things, and was a splendid thing, and rich in many graceful and elegant adornments, as being indeed a queen over the other cities.

Nah. 3:4. A mistress of sorceries. That is, full of witchcraft, and ruling over the others in the practice of drugs; for by magic arts and sorceries the Assyrians had the mastery over the others.

Nah. 3:4. Selling nations in her fornication, and tribes in her sorceries. You were not content, he says, with your own impiety, but you even compelled the nations subject to you to do the same things as yourself, and you sold them, and made them slaves, both by fornication and by sorcery. Or thus also: The sorcerers, using their own arts of trickery, promised all who went out to war that they would make their enemies subject to them, and they took a fee for these things. They sold, then, the nations and the tribes to those who gave them a fee for their sorceries, undertaking to make those nations subject. So too Balaam promised Balak to make the Israelite people subject to him. And if you understand these things concerning Jerusalem, Nahum will appear to be saying all but the very same things as Isaiah, who cries out in indignation: How has she become a harlot, the faithful city Zion? For here too Jerusalem is understood to be called fair and full of charm, because she received the Law, which was itself a grace also (for, it says, grace for grace); but she became a harlot, both when those fell away from the Lord who said: This saying is hard; who can hear it? and again when they said: You are that man’s disciple; but we are disciples of Moses; and last of all when they all said together: We have no king but Caesar. And she is a mistress of sorceries, inasmuch as her leaders and rulers and teachers bewitch the people with their hypocrisies and false teachings, and sell them to the demons. And the soul also was created fair by God, and full of charm, having received the grace of the in-breathing; but it becomes a harlot whenever, bewitched and beguiled by pleasure, it falls away from that which is truly fair—and to such a degree that it even becomes for others a leader in the sorcery of pleasures.

Nah. 3:5. Behold, I am against you, says the Lord Almighty. Do not suppose, he says, that a man will make war upon you. The Lord—but rather, I rise up against you, the Almighty Lord; so that you must look for a great assault.

Nah. 3:5. And I will uncover your hinder parts upon your face. The word is as concerning a woman who plays the harlot: so far as regards her face and her outward adornment, she seems desirable to those who behold her; but if someone should strip her, and lay bare and display the unseemly parts of her body, she will be utterly disgraced. So then, he says, O Nineveh, I will uncover your hinder parts; that is, Whatever is unseemly in you, hidden before, I will now bring out into the open, so that it appears in place of your face; and dishonor instead of glory shall encompass you, and I will make all your lawlessness manifest, through the punishment that shall be brought upon you.

Nah. 3:5. And I will show the nations your shame, and the kingdoms your dishonor. For you seemed to all nations and kings to be a fair thing, fortified by your magic arts, and supposing that by these you towered above your enemies, while I was long-suffering; but now, having risen up against you, I will show to the nations over which you had the mastery that not even then were you strong, when you had the mastery over them, but it was my will that did these things; and the kingdoms that formerly honored you as mighty shall now recognize the dishonor of your weakness. These things may be referred also to the judgment to come, when there are uncovered, upon the face of each of the sinners, the things done behind them—that is, the unseemliness of their former sins. And the shame of each is shown, and his dishonor, both to nations—that is, to the rest of the sinners—and to kingdoms—that is, to the righteous, who shall reign together with Christ, if indeed they also suffered together with him here. And then too the divine word lays hold of a soul that has been sinning until now, and brings it to a perception of its former life in evil; it makes such an uncovering, and through confession it parades the things formerly hidden, and the word shows the shame of the works to the nations—that is, to the demons—so that, having come to know that it is ashamed of their works, they may no longer approach it as their own. And these same are also called many kingdoms, as reigning in manifold ways within man through sin, whereas the kingdom of the Lord, at least, is one.

Nah. 3:6. And I will cast abomination upon you according to your uncleannesses. That is, I will make you such that all who see you abhor you. Then, lest anyone should say that God makes some abominable and others glorious, and that thereafter all things come about by mere allotment, he added: According to your uncleannesses; showing that Justly will I bring abomination upon you, because you have uncleannesses. And to the unclean what else is fitting than to be abhorred? So that let no one blame God, if men abhor him, but rather his own uncleanness. So also upon the Hebrews he cast abomination because of their uncleannesses—both the others, and those that came of the slaying of God; for their hands were unclean, as being full of blood. And according to the measure of each one’s uncleanness is the abomination also brought on, neither more nor less, the Master and Judge here mingling his kindness. But in the judgment to come too one shall be more abominable than another, according to the measure of the uncleanness of his works.

Nah. 3:6. And I will make you an example. That is, I will make your sufferings so notorious that, whenever at any time a city or a region perishes, some will say: So-and-so the city has perished, even as Nineveh.

Nah. 3:7. And it shall be that everyone who sees you shall go down away from you. For when you have been razed to the ground, whoever stands over your ruins and wreckage—even if he was formerly an enemy, and chafed at your dominion—and beholds the very great desolation, he shall go down away from such wreckage; that is, he shall leap away, not bearing to look upon so great a desolation; or else fearing lest he too should suffer some harm because of so great a desolation.

Nah. 3:7. And he shall say: Wretched Nineveh; who shall groan for her? Miserable and wretched is Nineveh; who shall be found a mourner such as to lament her worthily? Or, that there was not left to her any of her own household to lament her; and so he adds also:

Nah. 3:7. Whence shall I seek comfort for her? For in the case of the other cities or regions, some perish and some are saved, and those who are saved are a comfort; but in the case of Nineveh, comfort is not to be found; for she has been given over to utter destruction.

Nah. 3:8. Tune a string, make ready, a portion of strength—Ammon.[1] Or, that he gives these commands to Alexandria, even if it was not yet called Alexandria at that time; for the place called On, that is Ammon, is so called as being dedicated to Ammon, who is a demon so renowned among the Greeks that many came there from Greece for the sake of oracles. And Alexander too, the king of the Macedonians, is said to have run to him as to his own father, and to have received oracles from him. Since, then, all Egypt, and On—which was later called Alexandria, after Alexander—depended upon this demon, he names her a portion of Ammon. Many evils, then, did she too suffer at the hands of the Ninevites, that is the Assyrians; for these made war upon all Egypt, where also, having found those of the Israelites who had fled there, they treated them in like manner. He commands On, then, to tune a string, and make ready the lyre, and as one rejoicing over the evils of the Ninevites, and as keeping festival in another fashion—even as above he commanded Judah also to keep festival.

Nah. 3:8. Dwelling among rivers. By “rivers” he means the canals of the Nile.

Nah. 3:8. Whose beginning is the sea, and water her walls. On every side, he says, Ammon has her safety: on the northern side, having the sea; on the southern, the Maeotian lake; and being rich also in the water of the Nile, which makes, as it were, marshes hard to pass through.

Nah. 3:9. Ethiopia is her strength, and Egypt, and there is no end of your flight. Phud and the Libyans became her helpers. He enumerates her auxiliaries and allies, showing that she was fortified not only by the situation of her place, but also by the power of her allies. And by “Phud” he names the western Libyans, who are now called Africans. But nevertheless, he says, though you, the portion of Ammon, are thus fortified—by the canals and the marshes of the Nile’s water, and by the sea, and by the lake, and by the allies just named—you too shall be turned to flight, and there shall be no end to your flight. A portion of Ammon is also the Church gathered out of the nations, which dwells among rivers—the sweet waters of the Gospel of grace—and water is round about her—the spiritual baptism—to guard her on every side; and she rules over the sea—the tempting waves of this life, and the salt heresies—being overcome by none of these; for the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her. And after baptism she has walls also—the water of the tears of repentance. And Ethiopia and Egypt are her strength. For the Ethiopian eunuch is the first of the nations to be baptized; and the Lord visited Egypt first, when, having been born, he immediately fled there. And it is no small strength to the preaching of the Church that such nations should run to her. But the Libyans too, who were present at Pentecost at the coming of the Spirit, she has as helpers, who bore witness, out of the gift of tongues, that the preaching is divine. For this reason it ever befits her also to flee—both from impiety, and from him who ever pursues us through all things, both words and works—lest, ceasing from her flight, she be overtaken.

Nah. 3:10. And she too goes into exile, a captive. Namely, Alexandria, and all Egypt; for when Nebuchadnezzar sacked her, and afterward when Cambyses—who was the son of Cyrus—dissolved her kingdom, she was compelled to be subject to the dominion of the Persians. But Alexander also brought the Egyptians under the Macedonian kingdom.

Nah. 3:10. And her infants they shall dash to the ground at the head of all her streets. That is, the enemies shall display such cruelty as even to kill the infants, dashing their heads against the ground; for this is what “to dash them to the ground” means, and to do it “at the head of the streets”—that is, at the crossroads, for the greater terror of those passing by, who see that they do not spare even infants worthy of sparing.

Nah. 3:10. And upon all her glorious things they shall cast lots. So that these may be distributed without strife—not only possessions and goods, but also glorious persons, such as women and children, so that they become slaves to those who obtain them by lot.

Nah. 3:10. And all her great men shall be bound in handcuffs. So cowardly shall they be, he says, that they shall not even be slain in war—which belongs to noble men—but shall be bound, after the manner of women and of base little men, as slaves. And though they were great men, they went into exile. And the Synagogue of those who slew the Lord, and her infants and nurslings, who are nourished with the elementary and imperfect milk of the Law, are dashed to the ground, remaining upon the earth, as being able to conceive nothing lofty. And this they have suffered from self-conceit; for this is the head of all the precipitous streets of the God-slaying Synagogue. And upon all her glorious things—the anointing of the high priesthood, and the robe of the high priest, and the sacrifices—were cast the divine lots in the Church, from which the clergy too are named. For the office of those who are ordained is held to be no human grace, but a divine lot, that is, a gift of grace. Their glorious things, then, God allotted to us spiritually. And their great men, the Pharisees and Scribes, were bound in handcuffs, being able to perform nothing of the things of the Law, in requital for their having bound the Lord.

Nah. 3:11. And you also shall be made drunk, and shall be overlooked. Having foretold the things spoken concerning the portion of Ammon, he again transfers the discourse to Nineveh, and says that, These things she shall suffer; and you also, as though by a kind of drunkenness, shall be given over to calamity, and shall be overlooked by me the Master, who no longer keep you, as before, above every evil, but give you over to your sins.

Nah. 3:11. And you shall seek for yourself a standing-ground from your enemies. Since he made mention of drunkenness, he continues with the figure, and says that, Carried this way and that, and unsteady, like those who are drunk, you shall seek a standing-ground, that is, freedom from your enemies; but you shall not have it, but shall flee forever. The slayers of the Lord too were made drunk with wrath (for the wrath of dragons is their wine), and for this reason, being overlooked by the Lord, who ever watches over both them and their house—even as Solomon prayed—they heard: Behold, your house is left to you desolate. And they seek to stand again in Jerusalem, and to cease from the dispersion and the persecution; but they find not what they seek.

Nah. 3:12. All your strongholds are like fig trees with watchers; if they be shaken, they shall fall into the mouth of the eater. Your fortified cities, he says, shall be given over to the foe. For just as fig trees with watchers—that is, with early figs and very ripe ones—if they be shaken by the wind, or rather by a man who wishes to eat figs, easily cast these down, and thereupon a man takes them up and eats them: so also your cities shall easily cast off their inhabitants, who fall into the mouth of the enemies. The strongholds of the Synagogue are the Pharisaic observances according to the letter, and their traditions, having fruits that display a temporary and slack sweetness; which, being shaken at the coming of Christ, fell into the mouth of the devil, who ever devours human souls; so that thenceforth they are devilish words, and worthy of that mouth. But the strongholds of a sinning soul too are the pleasures; for it is through pleasure that we are held fast by sin. And these, having the early figs that appeared in our forefather Adam (for the fruit that put him to death was fair to behold and good for food), are shaken by the reason within us, which shows their instability, and that they have more of grief; and those that before seemed to be strongholds fall, for they cannot withstand the shaking of reason; so that even the one who formerly ate them opens his mouth against them, and accuses them as deceitful, and parades them. So too the sin against Bathsheba, and the sin against Uriah, were fig trees, delighting David with their temporary fruit; but, shaken by the reproof of Nathan, they fell into the mouth of him who formerly ate them with pleasure, who held them up as a public reproach in the fiftieth psalm.

Nah. 3:13. Behold, your people are like women among you. That is, your most noble soldiers, held fast by cowardice, shall in no way differ from women. And this they shall suffer “among you,” that is, because of you, and your sins, and your pride. For of themselves they are manly; but you made them cowards, by provoking God to anger. And the people of you also, O cast-off Jerusalem, are like women, having nothing manly to display against the error in which they wander, but submitting themselves to those who teach them evil things and promise them a restoration. And this they suffer “among you”—that is, because they look to you, and hope to receive you back, not considering that there is another Jerusalem, indissoluble, the free one, the mother of all who believe in Christ.

Nah. 3:13. To your enemies the gates of your land shall be opened wide. Fire shall devour your bars. The gates, he says, of the cities of your land shall be opened to the Persians: some without effort, since those who guard them go over willingly; others taken by siege, and their bars consumed by fire. Or else he speaks not of the gates of cities, but wishes to show that, All your land shall be laid open to invasion and ruin, which formerly was so impassable to enemies, as though secured by gates of some kind. And your bars—that is, all your power and security—fire, that is, the irresistible and flaming power of the foe, shall consume. The land of the Jews is the polity according to the letter, which lies below. Yet this had gates leading toward the Spirit, which were opened to the gentiles, whom those of the circumcision held as enemies and abominable. And their bars, and the strongholds of the Pharisaic teaching, the fire of the evangelical and spiritual word devoured.

Nah. 3:14. Draw for yourself water of a circuit; take strong hold of your strongholds. The Ninevites, when Cyrus was about to besiege them, fearing capture, dug trenches outside, and drew much water—some of it into the cities themselves, and some of it they let loose over the rest of the plain, so that marshes too were formed—and they supposed thus to bar the enemies’ passage into the city. This, then, God says here ironically: Make yourself secure, both by drawing water round about to encircle the walls, and by taking strong hold of your strongholds—your towers and the rest. The water of a circuit was the teaching of the Pharisees, which encircled and shut up under the Law those who allowed themselves to be so dealt with; and the strongholds, as has often been said, are the traditions which they hold fast. And he might say also to the sinning soul, burning with the fire of the pleasures: Draw for yourself the water of the circuit—that is, of God, who encircles all things; or of the Gospel, which encircles the inhabited world—and take strong hold of the strongholds. For God has given you, he says, by nature, strongholds—the mind and reason; and if you take hold of these, you shall no longer be easy to capture for your enemies.

Nah. 3:14. Enter into the clay, and tread it down among the straw, and take hold beyond brick. Still he continues in the irony, and seems to counsel them that, taking care of their strongholds, they should both make clay, and tread it down among the straw, so as to make bricks (for the brick, when baked, is most necessary for strong buildings). And why do I say bricks? he says; rather fortify with something beyond brick, and take strong hold through those things.

Nah. 3:15. There the fire shall devour you, the sword shall utterly destroy you, it shall devour you like a locust, and you shall be weighed down like the wingless locust. Take “there” in the sense of “then.” For you shall gain nothing, he says, from such devices, but when you have fortified her with baked bricks and with the other things beyond bricks, then the fire of the foe shall devour you the city, set ablaze together with your houses, and the sword shall consume your inhabitants, even as the locust consumes the fruits; and you shall be too heavy to flee, like the wingless locust, when its wings have been wetted. Or, that You shall become heavy, and great in multitude, summoning allies from every side, so that your multitude may be likened to a countless swarm of wingless locusts; yet you shall gain nothing. And of such a kind is what follows:

Nah. 3:15. Be multiplied like the wingless locust. That is, Summon auxiliaries and allies, and become a multitude. And he says these things in mockery, as also above. The clay is the sacrifices of the Law, as bodily; the straw, the letter, which has no fruit. The Spirit, then, mocks those who busy themselves with these things, showing them that, even though they are slaves to the bodily sacrifices, and receive the rest according to the letter, the fire of the Spirit shall be the stronger, and the sword of the word shall utterly destroy them—which is also likened to a locust, on account of its swift leaping, having gone forth into all the earth in a little time, as he says also elsewhere: His word shall run swiftly. But you also, he says, the Scribe, shall be heavy, like the wingless locust, so as to be unable to rise to the height of spiritual contemplation, your noetic wings being weighed down by your moist living. For everywhere the Hebrews are reproached for luxury, as also in Paul: Whose god is the belly. But he says also to everyone who is a lover of the body, to enter into the clay—that is, to look down upon and examine his own body, that it is clay. Why then do you honor the clay above the pearl? Lifted up out of such clay of the mire, David gave thanks to God. But also tread down, he says, the straw, the fruitless works, which the Word of God, who has the fire of discernment, shall burn up with unquenchable fire. Then the fire shall also devour you, as he is jealous on behalf of the precious treasure of your soul, which the enemies made dishonored. And since the locust too is itself a great power of God, and Christ is the power of God, and the same is also wisdom, the locust may be taken, if you understand it in a manner befitting God, as Christ, who devours everyone who is a lover of the body, saying: Whoever wishes to follow after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me; and again, The flesh profits nothing. And do not wonder if we liken the Lord to a locust, since he himself names himself a worm. But you shall also be weighed down, he says, like the wingless locust. For when the hail, like the drop that drips upon the earth, falls upon the wings of one who is borne lightly toward evils, then this one becomes heavy and hard to move toward the pleasures of the body.

Nah. 3:16. The wingless locust rushed forth, and flew away, and your mixed multitude leaped away like the grasshopper. You, he says, multiplied your allies, who were a mixed multitude. From many regions, he says, you multiplied them, supposing that in a time of distress you would be helped by them. Yet this mixed crowd, your ally, plainly showed itself a wingless locust. For all at once it rushed forth, and flew away, and leaped off like a grasshopper; and the grasshopper is a kind of locust. And the people of the nations, resembling the wingless locust, quickly let go their ancestral impiety; and the proselyte too, who had mingled with the Jews, leaped away from the error of the Law.

Nah. 3:17. Like a locust mounted upon a fence on a day of frost; the sun rose, and it leaped away, and knew not its place. Just as, he says, the locust and other such creatures, when dew and hoarfrost lie upon their wings, settle on the fences and the bushes, unable to fly up; but when the sun has risen, and has at once consumed the dew and warmed them, they spread out their wings and pass to another place: so also your allied crowd, so long as the enemies are not yet present, will abide with you; but when those attack, it will care for its own safety, and will leave you without help. And the power of God mounted also upon the fence of the Law, performing certain bodily purifications, and working wonders, so long as it was the day of frost—that is, so long as the winter of the sin from Adam held sway. But when the second Adam, the sinless one, who is the Sun of righteousness, had risen, the divine power leaped away from the fence of the Law, having shown it to be without strength, and unable to cleanse according to conscience, and passed over to faith, as able to justify, and no longer knew its former place, the Law. Yet it is possible to take all these things in another way also, as though God were saying to the slave of the body: Be it so; revel in your own desires; wallow in the clay; work the chaffy deeds. Then what? At the last the fire shall devour you, and the sword shall utterly destroy you—the Word that judges the imaginings and intents of the heart, who, having then examined the reasonings, shall cleave all things in two, and shall set some on the right and some on the left; when you shall also be weighed down by the burden of your sins, after the manner of the wingless locust held fast by hoarfrost, unable to fly over into a defense. And since the one who sins here is not to be despaired of, he says that, Your reasoning, now a mixed multitude out of passions of every kind, shall spread its wings again, if only you will, like the wingless locust, when the error is loosed. And the locust within you—that is, the power of the word, which now mounts and rests upon the fence, that is, upon your sins (for these are a fence, as we have often said, separating us from God)—shall leap away from this fence, when it is warmed by the Sun, who is Christ.

Nah. 3:18. Woe to them! As though suffering with them, he laments the allies of Nineveh, and says: Woe to them, what things they shall suffer! And as one indignant that, having been called as allies, they betrayed those who called them, taking thought safely for their own affairs, and for this reason escaping.

Nah. 3:18. Your shepherds slumbered. That is, your kings and your satraps fell into sleep—that is, into the relaxing of their former power; or even into death itself, being slain in the war.

Nah. 3:18. The king of the Assyrians has put your mighty ones to sleep. He calls Cyrus an Assyrian, as being himself descended from the Assyrians. For indeed they say that the Persians are an offshoot of the Assyrians. This one, then, he says, has put to sleep the mighty ones of Nineveh, bringing them down into the sleep spoken of above. The shepherds of the Synagogue are the priests and the other rulers, whom—slumbering from being made drunk with their madness against the Lord—the noetic Assyrian put to sleep, slumbering a sleep to the death of the soul. And in the case of every man too, whenever our shepherds slumber—both the natural law and the teaching word—then the Assyrian puts us to sleep, whom our own kingdom makes negligent, though he is a slave and an apostate.

Nah. 3:18. Your people departed to the mountains, and there was none to receive them. Your rulers, he says, and satraps having perished, the rest of the people, turned to flight, ran up to the mountains, and there was none to check them and stay them from flight; but ever farther off they fled; or none to gather them from their flight. For so the rest of the translators rendered it. And the people of the Hebrews too, having run up to the mountains that hold the noetic beasts, has none to receive it, and stay its error. For how shall he receive it, who said: I will reject you from acting as priest to me? But the sinner also, whenever he goes up to the mountains of haughtiness, so as not to think that he sins, has none to receive him as one who has repented. For how shall he repent who does not think that he sins, inflamed with conceit and with the swelling tumor of the heart?—as what follows also makes plain.

Nah. 3:19. There is no healing for your fracture; your wound has festered. These things are spoken by a metaphor from those who fall from a great height, and break either their feet, or their hands, or their head, and fester incurably. For you too, he says, have fallen from a great height—from your former power and glory—and your most vital parts have been broken, the kings and the satraps; and your wound has festered, having taken on a great swelling and inflammation from much matter. For the more rich you were, the more violent the inflammation of the pain. Therefore there is no healing, neither shall you be restored and take up again your former renown and good estate. But the Synagogue too, having been broken, and bereft of both the temple and the city, is incurable, and shall not be recalled, even though in her wandering she hopes for recall. For the wound with which she was struck had inflammation. And the matter of this inflammation is the slaying of God, which is much and great.

Nah. 3:19. All who hear the report of you shall clap their hands over you; because upon whom has your malice not come continually? Those who hear the report concerning you, he says—how you were broken, and what you suffered—remembering the things done by you against them, shall clap their hands over you, rejoicing at your affliction. For indeed your malice came upon all, and you grieved all—not at this time or that, but continually. For the more you prospered and fared well, the more violently and bitterly you pressed upon those under your hand. Hearing these things, let all of us who are rulers consider that God stands over us as judge of our disposition toward those we rule, and wills us to be gentle toward our subjects, laying upon them nothing bitter, and nothing that exceeds their power; and the more, when our affairs are borne along according to our wish, let us fear the long-suffering of the Judge. For he is silent, not as one well pleased, but as letting us display the whole of our purpose—which is most of all to be feared—lest, struck with an incurable wound, like Nineveh, we both learn of ourselves, from our own case, how great an evil is bitterness, and afterward have many who rejoice over our afflictions; whom we, in the seasons of our good fortune, continually oppressing, were deceived as though we had escaped the divine judgment, or as though it, ever watchful, slumbers because of its kindness. But may the good Lord make good the hearts of all rulers, and grant them to conduct in kindness those entrusted to them, so that, having here too enjoyed his kindness, and having tasted nothing of the things that embitter, they may yet revel also in the sweetness that is in heaven, which is sweetness and altogether desire; to whom be the glory, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: The Septuagint of Nahum 3:8 is corrupt and obscure here; Theophylact comments on a glossed Greek text (“a portion of strength,” with the marginal gloss “Ammon,” i.e. No-Amon, Egyptian Thebes), which he identifies allegorically with Egyptian Thebes/Alexandria. The rendering follows his lemma as printed in Migne.

The Life of the Prophet Nahum

Nahum is interpreted consolation.[1] This man was from Elkesai, beyond the Jordan, at Bigabri, of the tribe of Simeon. After Jonah, this man gave a portent: that Nineveh would be destroyed by sweet waters and by fire—which indeed came to pass. For the lake that surrounds it deluged it in an earthquake, and a fire coming upon it from the wilderness burned up its higher part. And he died in peace, and was buried in his own land.

[1] Translator’s note: This Life of the prophet, appended in Migne after the commentary, derives from the apocryphal Lives of the Prophets (pseudo-Epiphanius); its account of Nineveh’s destruction by flood and fire belongs to that legendary material. The place-names (here Elkesai and Bigabri) follow Migne’s text and are textually uncertain.

Commentary on the Prophet Habakkuk

Introduction

A Question Put on Stage

Why do the wicked prosper while justice seems to sleep? It is a question every honest believer eventually asks, and Theophylact takes Habakkuk’s opening complaint as putting that very question on stage rather than as a lapse of faith on the prophet’s own part: he reads it as a deliberate rhetorical device—the prophet “brings on stage” the perplexity that troubled men actually felt, gives it full and honest voice, and only then supplies the answer the Spirit furnished him. Theophylact finds the same device at work in one of the Psalms, where David likewise voices, in the first person, the doubts of those scandalized by the peace enjoyed by sinners, before resolving them from within the sanctuary of God. Read this way, Habakkuk is not a record of one prophet’s private crisis of faith but a structured argument staged for the benefit of an entire people—Israel under the shadow of Babylon—who needed to hear their own unspoken questions asked aloud before they could hear them answered.

The dialogue that follows, spanning the book’s first two chapters, moves in a clear pattern that Theophylact tracks step by step: the prophet’s complaint that violence and injustice go unpunished; God’s first answer, that punishment is indeed coming, in the form of the Chaldeans, whose swift and terrible armies God himself is raising up; the prophet’s second, sharper objection, that this only trades one injustice for a worse one, since the instrument of judgment is more wicked than those it judges; and God’s second answer, delivered from a watchtower where the prophet stations himself to wait for it, that the proud will fall in their own time while “the just shall live by faith”. Theophylact treats this last saying, echoed later by Paul in his letters to the Romans and the Galatians, as the hinge of the whole book: the resolution to Habakkuk’s perplexity is not an explanation of why the wicked presently prosper but a summons to trust, patiently and without demanding the reasons in advance, in a Judge whose timing is not our own.

In the Midst of Two

The prophecy’s third and final chapter turns from dialogue to hymn, a prayer of astonished praise at what the prophet has been shown of God’s power and God’s coming deliverance, and Theophylact reads it as reaching, in places, well past its immediate occasion into a prophecy of Christ. The verse he treats with the most care, and the one for which this commentary is most often remembered, is the prophet’s declaration—in the Greek text before him—that God will be known “in the midst of two” (Hab. 3:2). The phrase is compressed almost to the point of obscurity, and Theophylact does what he does nowhere else in this book quite so openly: he sets out several readings rather than choosing one. It may mean, he says, the two ages, this present life and the life to come, between which the righteous Judge stands manifest. It may mean the two living creatures—the cherubim of glory that overshadowed the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies, between which the voice of God once spoke to the high priest—read now as a figure of Christ himself, who “became our mercy seat” by laying down his life, God still, though attended, as it were, by the cherubim on either side. And it may mean, more plainly, the Babylonians and the Jews, in the midst of whom God’s justice was made known through the very events the prophecy foretells. Theophylact commends the reading from the mercy seat without insisting that the others are wrong, and moves on rather than forcing the text to yield a single answer it may not have been written to give.

This reading has no footing in the Hebrew text of Habakkuk, which speaks not of “two” but of “years”, and asks that God’s work be made known “in the midst of the years”. The Septuagint translators before Theophylact evidently read the underlying Hebrew consonants differently, and it is their Greek text, not the Hebrew original, that Theophylact is expounding. He inherited this reading rather than inventing it, and it is worth noting that Habakkuk’s third chapter as a whole, hymn-like in its Greek form, has long stood among the small set of Old Testament songs that found a place in Eastern Christian worship in its own right. A reader coming from a Hebrew-based English Bible will not find this verse as Theophylact read it; that does not make his comment worthless, but it does mean the comment belongs to the Greek tradition’s own reception of the prophecy rather than to Habakkuk’s original wording, and is best read with that distinction in mind.

How to Read This Commentary

Habakkuk is short and tightly built, and Theophylact’s commentary follows its structure closely: a dialogue of complaint and answer in the first two chapters, then a hymn in the third that changes register entirely, moving from argument to praise. A reader will get the most from the dialogue by tracking each exchange as a distinct move—complaint, answer, sharper complaint, deeper answer—rather than reading straight through as a single continuous speech, since Theophylact’s comments are keyed closely to exactly where in that exchange each verse falls. The third chapter rewards a slower pace still, both because its poetry is denser than the prose dialogue that precedes it and because Theophylact is doing some of his most careful theological work there, weighing more than one legitimate reading rather than settling quickly on the first that presents itself—a discipline the reader does well to imitate when the prophet’s own words prove genuinely difficult to pin down.

Argument

There are some who are exceedingly troubled when they behold those who do wrong prospering; and some of them doubt whether God provides for all things, while others believe indeed that there is a Providence, yet are perplexed as to why the affairs of men are governed in this fashion. The person of these latter the prophet Habakkuk takes up, and he raises a perplexity, as though desiring to learn the cause of the things that happen so; but he supplies the resolution which the grace of the Spirit furnished. For it was not, as some have supposed, that he himself underwent this experience; rather he brings forward the things that are surmised or said by others, and adds the teaching concerning the matters in question. This very same thing the divine David also did; for he too brings on stage a person troubled at the prosperity of wicked men, and says: But as for me, my feet were almost moved; my goings had well-near slipped, because I was jealous at the lawless, beholding the peace of sinners.[1] And having set forth many such things, he showed the resolution of the matters in question. For this, he says, is a labor before me, until I go into the sanctuary of God, and understand their latter end. And having learned this from the grace of the Spirit, he added: But because of their craftiness you have appointed evils for them, and what follows; then, teaching us not to busy ourselves over the divine dispensations, but to follow them simply, I became, he says, as a beast before you; yet I am continually with you. For just as the beast, he says, follows the one who leads it, not busying itself over where it walks, so must we follow the words; for doing this, I shall always be with you. And that he has set down such inquiries not as one himself doubting concerning Providence, but as bringing in the reasonings of others, the preamble of the psalm makes plain: How good, he says, is God to Israel, to the upright in heart! And he who has confessed God to be good plainly confesses together with this that he is also a giver of good things. Such things we find both in other psalms and in other prophets. To these the prophecy of the divine Habakkuk is like. For he seems to be perplexed why the bold and self-willed prosper above the more moderate, and why punishment does not follow hard upon the heels of the lawless; in order that, having raised the perplexity, and then having brought on the resolution, he might heal those who are sick with such thoughts and who murmur against Providence. But some have understood the prophet to have shaped these words according to a different method. For since, when the prophets foretold dreadful things, the Israelites were troubled, as ever hearing of afflictions and tribulations, the prophet skillfully shows them that they are worthy to suffer such things as the prophets foretell, because they sin in this and that. Therefore he brings himself on stage as troubled toward God at so great an outpouring of wickedness, and seeking vengeance; that he might show that their works are so wicked, even if they themselves do not perceive it, that God too is blasphemed by them because he does not bring on punishment swiftly for these things. And indeed, after he has been sufficiently troubled, he prophesies that the despisers shall not escape the divine judgment. And in order to console these Israelites, he foretells also the overthrow of the Babylonians, and the freedom and return of the Israelites through Cyrus. And he hints as well at the universal redemption of human nature, which we have enjoyed through our Lord Jesus Christ; which this blessed prophet, laying it bare toward the end of the prophecy, makes into an ode, in which a Selah too is found, as, God willing, we shall show when we come to the place.

[1] Translator’s note: Psalm 72 throughout this paragraph is the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and most English versions: Psalm 73).

Chapter 1

Hab. 1:1. The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.

The prophecy is called an “oracle,” either because it is taken as something given from God, or on account of the seizing of the prophetic understanding, and its migration from the things of men to the divine revelations. If, then, he speaks not after the manner of men, but prophesies as one taken hold of by the Spirit, it is plain that he himself does not waver concerning Providence, but he does so either wishing to heal those who waver, or to persuade the Israelites that they will justly suffer the things which the prophets announce beforehand. Inasmuch as he himself is rather troubled that God does not bring the judgment upon them more swiftly, sinning as they do. And if “Habakkuk” is interpreted “father of resurrection,” who else could this be than the Author of our life, the Firstborn from the dead, and the Firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, and Father of the age to come, who is allotted to the raising-up and the resurrection? This one, according to his humanity, having received from God the Father the glory and honor of the Holy Spirit, in the person of human nature laments the wrong which it suffers, being tyrannized over by the demons. And observe also the phrase, “the prophet”—that is, that one foretold by Moses, who said: The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet; him you shall hear [some copies: shall hearken to]; just as the Pharisees asked John: Are you the prophet? And anyone whatever who is not only himself raised up from [some copies: away from] the fall of sin, but is also able to lead others to such a resurrection, the things which he sees, he sees not by human reasonings, but receiving them from God, so as to say with Paul: Yet not I, but the grace of God which is with me; and again, Through whom we received both grace and apostleship; and, Our sufficiency is from God.

Hab. 1:2. How long shall I cry out, and you will not hear? He fashions the person of one who is being oppressed, and says: Many times I have cried out to you, begging that you cut off the wickedness, and I was not heard; how long, then, will you be long-suffering? And this is said in order to show the Israelites, who blame God because punishments are ever threatened against them, that he is so much the more long-suffering as to move the haters of evil among men to indignation, because he does not bring on punishments more swiftly.

Hab. 1:3. Why have you shown me toils and labors, to look upon misery and ungodliness? The saints, being compassionate, mourn for both—both those who are harmed and made miserable, and those who do the harm and lead others into misery; and perhaps for these latter even more, inasmuch as the injury falls upon their soul, the most precious of possessions. He says, then: Why have you shown me the toils and labors of the men who are harmed, so as to look upon their misery, and the ungodliness of those who wrong them? But how did he say that God showed him these things? Either as one who, through his long-suffering, permitted such things to come to pass, and did not cut them off; or as one who prolonged his life, so that he beheld such things. For the saints, when they are embittered in their souls, long for their release; as Jonah did: And now, he says, take my life from me. And one might say that the very injustice is the toil and labor of those who do injustice, and the ungodliness is the misery of the ungodly; for nothing is more toilsome than wickedness, or weaker than ungodliness. And observe how he calls injustice “ungodliness,” either putting the unjust to shame and frightening them by the bitterness of the word, or perhaps the saying has also a fitting reason. For if he who feeds the least brother does not fail to feed God (For inasmuch as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me); consequently—that I may say nothing further—he who wrongs the poor man wrongs God; and wrong done to God is, I think, ungodliness. And human nature too, condemned to live in the sweat of its brow on account of the disobedience, and to bear children in sorrows, laments these things, seeking the deliverance which the Son of God was about to grant it. But also he who has received grace to raise up those who sin calls upon God no longer to show him those who toil at the works of lawlessness, and who are made miserable in this very thing, in being ungodly toward God. For such a one is he who has trodden underfoot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant a common thing, by which he was sanctified, and has done despite to the Spirit of grace.

Hab. 1:3. Judgment has gone forth perversely, and the judge takes bribes. The prophet shows that he grieves not for himself, but on behalf of the divine commandment which is despised, and on behalf of brethren who suffer ill. For while I looked on, he says, the judge took bribes, and transgressed the law that says: You shall not respect persons in judgment, for the judgment is God’s.

Hab. 1:4. Therefore the law is scattered, and judgment is not carried through to the end, because the ungodly oppresses the righteous; for this cause the sentence shall go forth perverted. Because the judges take bribes, he says, and because the unjust man is more powerful than the one who has right on his side, the law is scattered—that is, it is cast away, thrown into confusion, it does not keep its own nature, nor is the fitting judgment brought to bear upon affairs. But often, even if the judge begins to render the judgment straight, he does not carry it through to the end, being drawn aside by bribes. Indeed, perhaps for this very reason he begins to judge justly, in order that, having frightened the powerful man as one about to condemn him, he may get the more bribes from him. For this cause, then—that the unjust man is powerful, and has more than the just man—the judgment goes forth crooked. The judgment of those who crucified him came upon the Lord perversely too; for, being itself in truth unjust toward righteousness itself, it was perverse. And Pilate the judge took the glory of men, which he loved more than the glory of God; therefore the ungodly people oppressed the righteous one, and the sentence went forth against him perverted. For instead of praising him as a benefactor, as they ought, they condemned him to a shameful death. And the Lord found fault with the Jews in another way too, as not judging rightly, when they rebuked him for healing the paralytic on the Sabbath. For he said: If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, why are you angry with me, because I made a whole man sound on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance. The judgment becomes perverted also in the human tribunal, when the mind, taking as a bribe the passionate pleasure of the senses, gives the prevailing vote to the things of sense; then our enemy too, who is truly ungodly as an apostate from God, oppresses the reason, which has right on its side. And it is right that the things seen and sensible should be overcome by the things unseen and intelligible; for the things seen are temporary, but the things unseen are eternal.

Hab. 1:5. Behold, you despisers, and look, and wonder at wonders, and vanish away. Having gone through what he went through concerning those who transgressed in Jerusalem (for those in Samaria were already dwelling in Babylon, having been led captive), and having set forth the words of the troubled person, he makes the reply as from God, healing by it both those who murmur against Providence as slow; and showing also, in another way, to the Israelites that the evils he will bring upon them he will bring justly, as upon despisers; for they transgressed without fear, not only disobeying the law, but not even turning back at the prophets, who threatened them more often. He bids these “behold”—that is, to attend to the things spoken—and to “look,” that is, to examine with attention and sobriety, and to be astounded, and to dread the threat. For I am about to do certain wonderful things upon you, he says. For indeed the holy nation, you my firstborn son, I am about to hand over to your enemies, so that you shall suffer all dreadful things at their hands. And what is “vanish away”? It stands for, Cover yourselves, hide yourselves from fear and shame. Or, “vanish away” in respect of that wherein you are now evil, that you may become good. For he who vanishes in respect of that wherein he is evil comes to be good; just as, in the measure that the outward man is corrupted, in that measure the inward is renewed. And since everyone who despises God does not see (for he would not despise so good a thing); therefore the despising thoughts in the one who sins are bidden to “behold” that God is the truly beautiful, and to “look” upon him, and not to be deceived by the false beauty of things seen, nor to wonder at the unwonderful things of this life, but at the truly wonderful things which are in the heavens. And vanish away, he says, from the human soul, you despising thoughts, that there may enter in those which cower at all things through reverence, and which fear him who is able to deliver both body and soul to Gehenna, and for this reason turn aside from evil.

Hab. 1:5. For I work a work in your days, which you will by no means believe, though one declare it to you. Not at some far-off time, he says, but in your days I will hand you over, the lawless, to your enemies. For this is the work which I work. And I know indeed that, being despisers, you will by no means believe, though one declare it to you. For before the actual experience of things, you reckon the threats as nothing, as being false; nevertheless, doing my own part as one good and just, I cannot bear to judge from foreknowledge alone. But I offer the predictions even to those about to disbelieve, and then bring on the punishments upon those who do not receive healing. And perhaps the Only-begotten too might be understood, saying to the demons who tyrannized over human nature and despised God, that he is about to work a great work, namely, to take flesh then, in their days—that is, in the time of their prosperity. For Scripture knows how to name prosperity also a “day,” as in: From the height of the day I shall not be afraid; and, I have not desired the day of man. When, therefore, your wickedness shall have mastered the inhabited world, so that all are corrupted and made abominable, and there is none righteous, not even one, then I will take flesh and work wonders—both the others, and those which I plainly displayed among you, casting you out from among men. Behold, then, these things, and vanish away, no longer giving yourselves haughty airs of authority over the air, but sinking down beneath the earth.

Hab. 1:6. For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, which marches over the breadths of the earth, to inherit dwellings not its own. Having said, “In your days,” since this too has breadth, he says, “Behold”; for I do not delay, but “Behold, I raise up,” I who am mighty in all things, who fear no one. Fearful is the saying; for who shall withstand him who is raised up by God? But they are also bitter by nature; this too is an intensification. But they are also hasty, for they are horsemen; so as to grant you no time to make counter-preparation, or to flee. But they are also habituated to wars and bred up in them; for they march over the breadths of the earth—that is, over all the earth, not only that which is near; and this they have for their work. For he did not say, “Which marched,” but, “Which marches.” And they do not merely plunder others’ lands and then return, so that you should have hopes of holding your homelands again; but their aim is to inherit the lands, and to make their own the dwellings that were not formerly theirs. And the Lord, in becoming flesh, raised up the Chaldean Magi, who, being formerly bitter and cruel, and hasty to shed blood, and treading the broad way as lovers of pleasure and lovers of gold, came to him, so as to worship him, and to inherit the dwellings in the heavens, which were not formerly theirs. But also the whole gentile people, who is signified by the Chaldeans, the incarnate Lord raised up to faith, having worked this great work. Confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh. These, then, being bitter, as having the venom of the serpent, on account of their impieties and other sins, were swift to repentance; and they marched over the breadths of the divine Scripture, or of the Church, not confining godliness to one person, but broadening it into three of one substance; and understanding the Scriptures not according to the letter alone, but also according to the spirit, so as to inscribe them threefold, according to the precept of the proverb, so as to inherit the law and the prophets, in which the grace of the Spirit tabernacled, that were not formerly theirs; for they were given to the Jews alone. For he declared, it says, his ordinances and his judgments to Israel; he has not done so to any other nation, and his law he has not made known to them. And in another way, a cruel and bitter nation is Satan, and the demons under him, whom God raises up through him, if one is, after the manner of Paul, against those who sin, handing them over to these, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved. These, where they find a narrow way and a strait gate, neither march there, nor enter in; but where there is the breadth of an earthly mind, and of a slack and dissolute life, there they march, and inherit the dwellings, and the bodies of men, which, being formations of God, were not their own.

Hab. 1:7. He is fearful and notable. Who? Surely the king of the Chaldeans, Nebuchadnezzar perhaps, who both took and burned Israel. This man was fearful in his deeds, but also notable—that is, glorious and renowned, able from his mere fame to terrify all who heard.

Hab. 1:7. From himself is his judgment.[1] That is, he does not follow laws, so as to judge according to them, this thing acceptable and that unacceptable; but he judges according to what seems good to him; and whatever he conceives, that is law for him.

Hab. 1:7. And his oracle shall come forth from himself. Since it was the custom of the Chaldeans to practice divination before their wars, and by the magic art to attempt to learn beforehand the outcome of the battle, he says that “his oracle”—that is, the prediction and divination concerning the war—shall not be from foreign diviners summoned to him from afar, but “from himself,” that is, from the native and local magicians, who boast that they foreshow things to come beyond the other nations as well. So too Balaam was summoned from Mesopotamia by Balak. Or also thus: by “judgment” he means the vengeance which God decreed against the Israelite people, and he says that “his judgment”—that is, the Israelite people’s, the penalty which it was condemned to pay as having provoked God—and “his oracle,” that is, the sentence prophesied against it, “shall come forth from himself,” namely from the king of the Babylonians, which means, it shall reach its end and be carried into effect. But also the people from the nations is from now on fearful to the demons and notable, as marked with the light of the face of God, and having its brightness from above through the grace of God that has appeared to all men. And having heard neither law nor prophets, of themselves they judged the good, and ran to the faith. And the oracle by which they were taken by Christ, being received into his Church, was a matter of their own choice. And Satan too, in taking those who sin for their chastening, is fearful, and displays his own wickedness manifestly, thus abusing the divine formation, and through these things showing forth his enmity toward the Maker. From this very one, then, comes also his condemnation, and the man whom he takes for chastening shall come forth from him—that is, shall no longer be in his power; for he is chastened altogether that he may depart from his works, and that the spirit may be saved. Thus the enemy of virtue becomes also its avenger.

Hab. 1:8. And their horses shall leap beyond leopards, and they are swifter than the wolves of Arabia. Having said that the nation of the Chaldeans is hasty, he now teaches how they are swift, and that it is through the swiftness of their horses, which he says leap beyond even leopards. And since the leopard’s leap does not reach very far, he adds another comparison, and says that the horses of the Babylonians are swift beyond the wolves of Arabia; for the Arabian wolves are said to be most swift both in snatching up what falls in their way, and, when pursued, in being uncatchable, which is not so with leopards.

Hab. 1:8. And his horsemen shall ride out, and shall rush from afar, and shall fly like an eagle eager to eat. By these things he shows both their strength together and their swiftness, and that they shall be brought down upon them from the higher places. For just as the eagle is both robust among birds, and most swift, and especially when, being hungry, it is eager to eat, and, swooping from the higher places, is irresistible; so too the horsemen of the Chaldeans are not only mighty, but also hasty because of their horses, and eager to go forth and to devour, and to consume the cities, swooping from on high. For I, he says, rouse them up. And the former equestrian and haughty arrogance of the people from the nations shall leap forth out of error, beyond the rulers of the Jews, who were called leopards and wolves of Arabia, as being beastlike and bloodthirsty. But also the horsemen of such a people, the apostles, who sat upon their irrational arrogance and subdued it, shall run intently and shall rush from afar (for they passed from Israel to the nations), and shall fly, like an eagle, namely Christ, whose food is the salvation of men. But also, of those who sin and are chastened, the horses—that is, the lustful thoughts—shall leap away from such passion; so that the demons come to be beyond the spiritual leopards, and are no longer attainable by them. And the horsemen of these horses, the mind and the reason, which mounted the appetitive part, shall come to be far from the former passions, and, lightened by the wings of self-control and chastity, shall fly into the heavens, where Christ is, so as to set their minds on the things above, and to be with him, and to be eager to eat the tree of life.

Hab. 1:9. Consummation shall come upon the ungodly, who set themselves against their faces from the opposite side. The Chaldeans being such, he says, as the discourse has described, a consummation shall come upon the ungodly in Jerusalem, who set themselves against God to his face and shamelessly oppose him. Or, that the Chaldeans shall make a consummation of those who set themselves against them and war against them to their face. For those who come over and desert to them, and willingly submit to slavery under them, they will let live undisturbed; which we learn also from Jeremiah. And upon the Jews too a consummation came, who were ungodly toward the only-begotten Son of God, and set themselves against him, not secretly, but openly and with all boldness, so as even to say: Away with him, away with him, crucify him. But also, of those who daily sin and transgress, God spares them for a time, until they pursue their wickedness more moderately; but when they burst it forth, so as to be ungodly with all boldness, then he brings on them the consummation.

Hab. 1:9. And he shall gather captivity as the sand. Since the Israelites, having forsaken God and his help, trusted in their own multitude, he says: Even if you become many, so as to be likened to the sand, the Babylonian king shall make you captives. But also the people from the nations, having been perfected in Christ, and having become teachers one of another, shall take many captive into the obedience of Christ.

Hab. 1:10. And he himself shall make merry among kings, and tyrants are his playthings, and he himself shall mock at every stronghold, and shall cast up a mound, and take possession of it. Since the Israelites trusted in their own kings, and ran also to their neighbors—whether they were kings, that is, ruling lawfully, or tyrants, ruling lawlessly and by force—and trusted in their power and alliance, and not in God’s, he says that Nebuchadnezzar shall easily prevail over these kings, and shall count it a luxury; and without bloodshed he shall master all. So indeed he led Jeconiah away in bonds, and blinded Zedekiah, and lay heavy upon Egypt too. But even if the cities be fortified, and the fortresses hard to take, these too he shall master, as if playing rather than striving. For he shall only cast up a mound, he says, so as to raise it against the wall, which needs not even fighting men, but baggage-carriers and those who have learned to serve as hirelings. So indeed the Babylonian took Tyre. These things are understood also of the devil, who took captive the Israelites, who are sand, and at home in the salt sea of life, as loving the glory of men rather than the glory of God; and he mocked at the high priests, and at the rest of their rulers, who, being likened to kings, because they supposedly held a lawful rule, were tyrants in their ways; and he mocked at their strongholds, having persuaded them to understand the Scriptures wrongly. For the knowledge of the Scriptures is a stronghold for them; but they themselves took away the key of knowledge, and neither entered in, and hindered those who wished to enter. And he mastered these strongholds, casting up a mound, the lowly and earthy and groveling misinterpretation, having nothing lofty and heavenly; for they conceive of the enjoyment of earthly goods, and of bodily punishments, and all other such things. But there are kings who are also tyrants, those who reign over the passions, by tyrannizing over and doing violence to nature. For since the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent seize it, all who pursue virtue might be called both kings and tyrants—the one, as having reigned here, and reigning from there, more perfectly, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear; the other, as having tyrannized over and done violence to nature. When, therefore, he who ever wars against good things has strength to bring down one of such men, he holds him as a delight and mocks at him (for his foods are choice), and especially he casts such men into despair, as the wretched Judas; and he masters every stronghold by casting up a mound. For by casting up and raising the dust of earthly cares, he besieges the human mind, and takes it, which has been built by God as a stronghold.

Hab. 1:11. Then he shall change his spirit, and shall pass through, and make atonement. When, he says, the Babylonian shall have displayed all these things, and shall seem to have mastered all, then God shall “change his spirit”—that is, the wrathful anger which he had against the ungodly—and “shall pass through,” that is, shall come to be far from those chastised, no longer standing over them and watching their works and exacting penalty, and shall be merciful to them. And he said this, not that God is fickle, easily changed, but that, having exacted the fitting penalty, and having laid upon the sick the suitable and sufficient remedies, he then ceased the medical treatment. But also, when God sees those of Israel taken captive by the devil, he will not cast off his people whom he foreknew; but he will be merciful to those of the Jews who repent and are baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus; and these things you will learn especially from the Acts. For you will see the three thousand and the five thousand and the many myriads which James shows to Paul. And this happens on every occasion. And let everyone who is mastered by the devil not despair. For when he is brought down to the uttermost of wickedness, then he shall change the spirit, the evil in him, into the good, and shall pass through the way that saves, and leads away from wickedness to virtue, and from earth to heaven, and shall make atonement to God through repentance for the things done before. For he is not unappeasable, but compassionate, and he will be merciful to their sins, and will not destroy.

Hab. 1:11. This is the strength of my God. The prophet, marveling at the kindness of God, cries aloud: Such strength—to chastise thus, and again thus to have compassion, and to change punishment into mercy—belongs to none other than to you, my God. For you are he who kills and makes alive. These things you will say also on account of the oracle of election, marveling how those whom he cast off he again received; and on account of those who turn back from the uttermost wickedness, when you see them having run up to the height of virtue; for human strength cannot do such things, but these belong in truth to divine power and grace, which has also taken to itself the human choice. For while you speak, he will say, Behold, I am here — not while you are silent; and, Open your mouth, and I will fill it.[2] You open first, then I will fill it.

Hab. 1:12. Are you not from the beginning, O Lord my God, my Holy One? And we shall not die. For even if we too have transgressed, yet you were from above and from the beginning the Lord of our fathers, the holy God, who receives nothing unclean, and for this reason cast us off as unclean. Since, then, we have you as our ancient Master, we shall not die—that is, we shall not be utterly destroyed, nor undergo total ruin. And observe that he reminds God of an ancient kinship, the very thing which Paul too says concerning the Israelites, that they are enemies on account of the Gospel, but beloved on account of the fathers. And these things might be said also to the Word who was in the beginning and from the beginning, and who is God, who also became “my Holy One”—that is, On my behalf he offered himself as a hallowing and an offering, giving up his body to death, as he also said: And for their sakes I sanctify myself. Therefore we died the death that is in Adam; for he, one, died for all, that he might redeem us from death. And he who has fallen from virtue, then returning to it, will say: Were you not from the beginning my Lord? Therefore, having run back to the ancient and holy Master, having fled the unclean tyrant, I shall not die, as one who despairs.

Hab. 1:12. O Lord, you have appointed him for judgment. Whom, “him”? Either the Babylonian, so as to judge and chastise Israel, or the people in Jerusalem, you have appointed for condemnation. But also the Lord Jesus he appointed for judgment, as he himself says: For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see might see, and those who see might become blind. And man too God appointed to discern the good from the evil, and not to eat the mingled tree, which is pleasure, appearing good, but being in truth evil.

Hab. 1:12. And he formed me to reprove instruction. The punishment mentioned above, he says, he ordained against Israel; but me, the prophet, he formed—that is, set and set apart—to reprove, that is, to show forth this instruction set apart against them. And the Lord Jesus might say: The Father formed me in the womb of the Virgin, to reprove the law, and to show it imperfect. Therefore he also said: It was said to them of old, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her, and what follows. For the law of God was an instruction, given to the imperfect, suited to their condition, which was imperfect. Hence indeed the Lord said that Moses, in view of your hardness of heart, wrote the law concerning divorce. He reproved it, then, just as the sun, when it appears, reproves the lamp. For that which was glorified, he says, has not been glorified, by reason of the glory that surpasses. And the great Peter says concerning the prophetic word: To which you do well to take heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Daystar arise in your hearts. But also the Scribes and the Pharisees were an instruction to the people, whom, reproving them, he said: Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you do this and that.

Hab. 1:13. Your eye is pure, too pure to look upon evil things, and you will not be able to look upon toils; why do you look upon those who despise? The one thing he was perplexed about, that perplexity has been resolved; but now he is perplexed on account of the Chaldeans; and not this either as one himself needing a resolution (for how should he, who was formed to reprove and to teach others?), but knowing that for many an inquiry concerning these things too will arise, he raises a perplexity: For what reason did he hand over the Israelites, who were less ungodly, to the Chaldeans, who were more ungodly? For this cause, then, he raises the perplexity, and says to God: I know that your eye is pure, and that you do not wish to look upon evil works, nor do you bear to behold the toils which the wicked and evil and malignant bring upon the more guileless and weaker. Why, then, do you look upon the despisers—that is, the boasters and the Chaldeans, who scorn your laws?—that is, You are more graciously disposed toward them, and let them prosper?

Hab. 1:13. Will you be silent when the ungodly swallows up the righteous? The ungodly Babylonian swallows up the righteous Israelite, he says, and you are silent. Why, then, does this happen? And he calls the Israelite “righteous” in relation to the Babylonian, as if he said the more righteous. For the Israelites also sinned, he says; but yet, in relation to the Chaldeans, they are righteous.

Hab. 1:14. And you will make men as the fish of the sea, and as the creeping things that have no ruler. Out of this long-suffering, he says, and out of the fact that the most wicked are not chastised by you, but rather the less wicked are handed over to them, you will make men to differ in nothing from the fish, which have neither laws nor judges, but the weaker lie ready as food for the stronger; and also to be likened to the creeping things, which, through the wickedness of their nature, do not even have leaders, as being unsociable and hateful of one another. For those animals that are ranged under a leader are tamer, showing by this too a friendly and gregarious nature. And the demons were called “despisers” above as well, over whom God, keeping silence in the times before the dispensation, made men in effect to live after the manner of fish, being most irrational and most voiceless. For there was not in them the word of godliness, nor a voice of doxology to God; but they were rather slayers of one another, and quickened to life in the salt sea of this life. And so bitter was their manner that it is said: The venom of an asp is under their lips, and their wrath is according to the likeness of the serpent.

Hab. 1:15. He drew up consummation with a hook, and dragged it in his casting-net, and gathered it in his drag-nets. Having said that the ungodly swallows up the righteous, and that men shall become as the fish of the sea, he now shows concerning whom he says these things, and that it is concerning the Babylonian. For this man, he says, has such power as to draw up whole nations (for this is what “consummation” signifies) with his own strength as with a hook, and to drag it—that is, the consummation itself—in his casting-net, by his dreadful methods (for the Hebrew custom uses masculines instead of feminines), and “gathered it in his drag-nets,” in his warlike forces. And the devil too hunted down the whole man, and dragged him with the hook of disobedience, and with the bait of the tasting, setting before him equality with God; and he gathered him, and made him most his own in the drag-nets of his manifold and varied pleasures. So too he does now: first he draws up the mind, dragging it away as it clings to the Lord, with the hook of the pleasurable thought; then he drags it in the casting-net of consent, holding it on both sides, both from the conceiving of the evil and from the consenting. Then he gathers it, and as it were embosoms it in the drag-nets of deeds. For from the moment he has once persuaded a man to work the evil, from then on he makes him his own, persuading him to abuse his own desires, and thrusting him into despair, as one already cast off by God.

Hab. 1:15. For this cause his heart shall be glad and rejoice. And the heart of the Babylonian, he says, shall revel in the utter destructions of the nations, and shall count their destruction a gladness and a delight. And the heart of the devil rejoices in the perdition of men, as having many partners in his fall from God.

Hab. 1:16. For this cause he shall sacrifice to his drag-net, and burn incense to his casting-net, because by them he has made his portion fat, and his foods are choice. For he made great and gold-laden kingdoms subject to himself. And Daniel too declares his arrogance, saying: He set up a golden image, and commanded all his subjects to worship it, rulers and ruled. And the divine Isaiah says concerning him: You said: I will ascend above the clouds; above the stars I will set my throne; I will seize the inhabited world as a nest, and as eggs left behind I will take it up. Then he brings on also the punishment which he shall suffer: Beneath you they shall spread corruption, and your covering shall be the worm. But also the devil does not have so much pleasure in the hook—in the thought, I mean, with pleasure cast in as bait—as in the casting-net, which is consent, and in the drag-net, which is the deed. Now, of the casting-net he spoke of “burning incense,” as of the finer thing in the finer; but of the drag-net, of “sacrificing.” For the working of evil is more bodily, and such is the sacrifice. And since this dreadful and resourceful fisherman of this salt sea ensnares in his net many even of the holy and elect of God, fittingly it is said: “His foods are choice”; for these he is the more eager to hunt. So too the Lord chose Judas; but he, having made himself his own by the drag-net of love of money that gathered much together, set him as his own food. For as to God the salvation of men is food, so to him is their perdition. But also the Israelites, who are a portion of God (for the Lord’s portion is his people Jacob, the measuring-line of his inheritance is Israel), he made his fat portion, and, elect though they were, he prepared them to become slayers of God.

Hab. 1:17. Therefore he shall cast his casting-net, and shall not spare to slay the nations continually. Since, he says, he gathers fat portions and choice foods, and prospers in his own wishes, having met with no opposition, he will set his hand also against the other nations, and will not cease using his own power as a casting-net; just as neither did the devil spare to slay all the nations through sin, since he once recognized that sin is the sting of death to souls and bodies.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne here prints ἐστι (“is”) where the Septuagint of Habakkuk 1:7 has ἔσται (“shall be”); Migne’s present tense is kept in the Greek and rendered accordingly.

[2] Translator’s note: Psalm 80:11 in the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and most English versions: Psalm 81:10).

Chapter 2

Hab. 2:1. I will stand upon my watch, and mount upon a rock, and look out to see what he will speak in me, and what I shall answer to my reproof. It is the custom of the saints, whenever they wish to learn something from God, to keep their own heart with all watchfulness from worldly cares, and to be stretched out toward God alone, and to ascend, as it were upon a certain rock, by lifting up their understanding from the things of earth. For God seeks lofty hearts, even as David also says: The mighty of the earth are greatly lifted up to God;[1] and again, The young of the vulture fly aloft. The prophet Habakkuk, then, being at a loss over the things said before, as in the person of those who inquire about such things, and being about to bring on the resolution of them, says that he will bring it on not out of human reasonings, but as from God. Therefore he says: I will stand upon my prophetic rank, and upon spiritual contemplation, keeping my mind unmixed with worldly cares and unstained; and I will stand upon a rock—the firm and immovable and lofty ascent toward God, upon which God set Moses also. For just as those who are about to keep watch see in this manner, going up to some lofty place, so, he says, in the same manner I too will look out to see what God will speak in me, concerning the things over which I was at a loss because of the Babylonians—how it is that they pay no penalties for their wickedness—so that I may know what I shall answer to those who wish to ask me such things, and to learn concerning the divine dispensations. For he called the question a “reproof.” And observe how he did not say, What he will speak outside of me, but, What he will speak in me, that he might show that God was not speaking to him from without, nor indeed to any other prophet, but from within, touching the understanding itself. So is God said to speak in the prophets. For human speech, first striking the ears from without, then passes also to the understanding; but the divine speech comes about within, and touches the ears of the mind. And by the “rock” you will understand faith. For he who believes that nothing which God does, he does without reason, that one alone stands unshaken, not being thrown into confusion by the unevenness of the things that come to pass.

Hab. 2:2–3. And the Lord answered me, and said: Write the vision, and that plainly, upon a tablet, that he who reads it may run; for the vision is yet for an appointed time, and it shall spring up at the end, and not in vain. The Lord commands the prophet to write the vision—that is, the revelation which he revealed to him, over which he appeared to be in great perplexity. And who this is—having veiled it a little—he will tell. For the time being, then, he bids him write this revelation, and not obscurely, after the prophetic and shadowed manner of speech, but plainly, so that it should be evident; and to write it not on paper, but upon a tablet—that is, upon a little panel of boxwood, that the writing might remain, and that not only those now living might come to know it, but also he who reads it afterward might “run”—that is, might seek out the end of the revelation, and when these things shall be fulfilled. For this vision is not accomplished now, but needs a season. And do not doubt over it, if you do not now see it coming to pass. For it shall by all means come to pass at the end, and shall not be in vain. For since God revealed it, who is Truth itself and is full, how shall it be false and empty?

Hab. 2:3. If he should tarry, wait for him; for he that is coming will come, and will not delay. This is the revelation which God revealed mystically to the prophet; therefore he did not even point out by name who this is whom one must wait for, even if he should tarry and be slow. One might say, then, that he says this concerning God; for since Habakkuk had blamed God, as not bringing on the penalties close upon the sins, nor laying a swift sentence upon the Babylonians, he now brings on the resolution of the perplexity, and says: He whom you blame as being slow—God—will assuredly come, only in due season. If, then, he should tarry and be slow, wait. But some say that he says these things concerning Cyrus. For he will come against Babylon, and will humble her, and will set free those who are wronged—only not now. But how, having said “If he should tarry,” did he add “He will not delay”? The “He will tarry” is said in respect of faintheartedness; the “He will not delay,” in respect of patient endurance, as though saying this: If, out of smallness of soul, he should seem to you to be slow, wait, and patient endurance will persuade you not to reckon that he has delayed. For in truth faintheartedness, just as it makes bearable things unbearable, so it makes swift things seem slow; but greatness of soul, on the contrary, makes hard-to-bear things bearable, and slow things swift.

Hab. 2:4. If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But my just one shall live by faith.[2] He said above: Write the vision, that he who reads it may run—that is, may seek out the things of the vision, as one hoping that they will come to pass. Now, then, he says: If he should draw back—that one who reads, that is, should be in doubt and waver—he is not well-pleasing to me, nor does my soul take pleasure and find rest in him. And just as God is said to sleep and to awake, and to have hands and feet after the manner of men, so also is the phrase, “My soul.” For the soul of the Word of God, who for our sakes came upon earth and became man, takes no pleasure in the one who is faithless and draws back from naming him Son of God and true God; but he who confesses him without drawing back and without wavering, having become just by faith, shall have life, whether the life to come, or righteousness itself. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. For the law, being transgressed, works wrath, and put to death those who transgressed it; but faith, loosing sins by grace, justifies. Therefore it is also said, as some of the copies have it, “But my just one”—that is, He who has become just by my grace. And a “tablet” is every soul that is strong and smooth—that is, gentle—having nothing rough or reckless in it, receiving within itself the prophetic revelations concerning Christ, and guarding unfailingly the things concerning both his former coming and his second. Therefore, even when it sees righteousness ailing and unrighteousness prevailing, it is not vexed, but waits for the season—that is, the opportune time of the exact judgment and of the requital of what each has lived. And being just, it does not depart from righteousness, but accomplishes the present life out of its faith concerning the things to come, remaining unturned, and living in Christ, and rejoices in the hopes of the just judgment of God. Such, then, is the one who says: I saw the ungodly highly exalted and lifting himself up; and I passed by, and behold, he was not.[3] For in the present life perhaps he runs prosperously to the end. And yet this same one does not even allow this; for he says: Those who do evil shall soon be withered like grass. But at all events, in the age to come he shall by all means pay the penalty that is fitting. And he shall not be such, having fallen away from him who truly is; for according to Paul, we are God’s. So too elsewhere he says concerning God: Who calls the things that are not as though they were — that is, those outside of himself, and for this reason not being, he made them come to be within himself, and for this reason also to be.

Hab. 2:5. But the arrogant and scornful man, the boaster, shall accomplish nothing at all. Having said before that he would come who was to loose the sorrowful things, and to rid the broken of all misery, he next makes mention of the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar, and says that, being full of all conceit and despising God, he shall accomplish nothing at all—that is, he shall not hold his good fortune unshaken to the end, even though he be puffed up in soul. And this we shall learn from Daniel: that even before Cyrus campaigned against him, he was cast out of the kingdom, falling into melancholy, and like one possessed went about the deserts, lodging out of doors, and exposed without help to the inclemencies of the air; so that even the appearance of his body was changed to something more beastly and savage. You have, then, the resolution of the things in perplexity, you who are at a loss over the accounts of Providence; for behold, you have seen the end of the ungodly man, who did such and such things.

Hab. 2:5. Who enlarged his soul like Hades; and he is as death, never satisfied; and he will gather to himself all the nations, and will receive to himself all the peoples. The things the prophet said above, that he drew up the consummation with a hook, and that he will not spare to slay nations continually, God now seals, leading the wickedness of both the perceptible Babylonian and the spiritual one to something greater and more excessive. For the prophet likened this one’s manner and power to a dragnet and a casting-net and a hook; but God says that he is not satisfied, like Hades which takes the souls and is not filled, and death which receives the bodies and is not sated, and that, bringing all men under himself, he does not cease from his desire. But, properly speaking, the arrogant and scornful one is the father of pride, who, even if he put human nature to death through the sin in Adam, and enlarged his soul, having room not only against sinners but also against the righteous and against the very infants (for death reigned even over those who had sinned), yet shall accomplish nothing. For Christ, appearing on our behalf without sin, dissolved the sin in Adam. Therefore, having died unjustly and risen from the dead, inasmuch as it was not possible that the Author of life be held by death — through both idolatry and other wicked works he had brought all under himself; but Christ cleansed us from dead works, to serve the living and true God.

Hab. 2:6. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a proverb for a tale concerning him? The thoughtful, he says, shall make a “parable”—meaning a song and a “proverb,” that is, a popular saying, set forth in the mouths of all; so that, before every other tale, they tell concerning him. Or by “parable” he signifies this: that whenever certain people are about to make mention of someone as having fallen into misfortune, they will hold him up as a parable, saying, So-and-so came to misfortune, like the Babylonian.

Hab. 2:6. And they shall say: Woe to him who multiplies to himself the things that are not his own (how long?) and heavily loads his collar. These things, he says, they shall sing, lamenting the Babylonian: Woe to him who lays his hands upon those who pay no heed to him, and makes his collar—that is, the weight of his rule—heavier for his subjects, by laying upon them heavy tributes and taxes. And in the midst he cried out: How long?—showing his insatiable and unsatisfied greed, and that he saw no end, and that these things shall not be for long, but shall cease before long. And he made his collar heavier also in that he was making the punishment from God heavier for himself, in the things wherein he ever advanced in wickedness. And the devil too gathers to himself the things that are not his own; for men, who are God’s and in no way belong to him, he makes subject to himself; but these were taken from him by the power of the Gospel of Christ. Whence he also fashions for himself a heavier collar of punishment, in that not even at the coming of Christ did he cease from his wickedness, although he was cut off from the most vital parts of his power.

Hab. 2:7. For suddenly shall they rise up that bite him, and they that plot against you shall awake, and you shall be a spoil to them. He said above, How long?—as one complaining and bitterly aggrieved, meaning, How long will you do these things? Then, as though someone asked, How do you say this? he says: Because even against his will he shall cease from his unrighteousness. For as out of sleep there shall rise up suddenly and unexpectedly those who bite him, as with teeth, with the assaults of war, and devour and consume his military forces—the Persians and Medes and Elamites under Cyrus, namely; and as though coming to themselves out of drunkenness and stupor, and taking up a prudent and free reckoning, they shall no longer endure your great heaviness, but in every manner shall plot against you and plunder your kingdom. And against the devil too the apostles and martyrs rose up, who, teaching and confessing Christ with the mouth, bit his body—that is, those who think his thoughts. For as the faithful are the body of Christ, so the faithless are the body of the devil. And those who were formerly idolaters shall be plotters against him, tearing down his works. For they came to themselves, and saw the wood as wood, and the rest of the matter, what it was, which formerly they had served as men drunken. And he who turns away from sin also rises up; for one lying prone could not turn; and confessing, he bites the devil with the mouth by which he confesses. And having come to himself out of the stupor by which he was held fast under pleasure, he plots against him through fasting, sleeping on the ground, and prayer, and plunders him, and guides others toward salvation, both by the word and by the example of the holy man’s own self.

Hab. 2:8. Because you have spoiled many nations, all the peoples that are left shall spoil you; because of the blood of men, and the impiety of the land, and the cities, and all that dwell therein. Many, he says, you have spoiled; nevertheless you shall be brought down by a few—by those left outside your tyranny, who you did not even expect would set upon you. So God-sent is the blow against you, that these men despised by you assuredly prevailed over you, since God was strengthening them. And you shall suffer these things because of the slaughters of men, and because of the impieties which you did, making all the land and every city desolate of their inhabitants. By Cyrus, then, the Babylonian—that is, his rule—suffered these things; but by the saints, Satan, who, having spoiled men through deceiving pleasure, was himself despoiled of them by Christ, who entered into his house—that is, the world, in which he had his strength—and plundered his vessels, which he used for all his working. And he was despoiled also through the apostles, who, being of the chosen remnant of the Israelites, set free all who were under the authority of Satan.

Hab. 2:9. Woe to him who covets an evil covetousness for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be sheltered from the hand of evils. He complains over the Babylonian as a covetous man. And you might say that he laments him too; for he is truly wretched, and worthy to be lamented, who reaches after more. As, then, this one too coveted an evil covetousness for his house—that is, for his rule and kingdom, so as to make it lofty and powerful, that he might experience no evil—or even made the royal house splendid and gilded, and built it high, securing it on every side, that it might be free from plots. And he said nest by a metaphor from the birds that make their own nests high, so that the young might not be easily taken by those who wish to plot against them. And it indicates also the lightness and loftiness of his mind. But there is also a good covetousness, when one wishes to have more in virtue, and when, having given little here, he is eager to receive more there.

Hab. 2:10. You have devised shame to your house. This loftiness, he says, which you procured for your house and your kingdom out of covetousness, shall turn out to your greater shame; for by however much you are more splendid, by so much the greater is your shame in falling from so great and so lofty a splendor. These things are said also to all the covetous. And let them hear them, and be profited. And it is said also concerning the apostate who coveted against God, and seized human nature under himself; who set on high his house and his nest—that is, sin; for in it he finds rest. And he is said to have a “nest” like a bird, on account of his rule and authority in the air, and his boastfulness and high-mindedness. But he devised shame for such a house of his. For when he had brought sin to its peak, and persuaded men to come to the very summit of wickedness, having driven the rest of mankind into every kind of sin, and the Israelites into filling up the measure of their fathers and slaying God, then he was put to shame.

Hab. 2:10. You have brought many peoples to an utter end, and your soul has sinned. That is, You made an end, you destroyed with utter ruin (which he said above, He drew up the consummation with a hook), and you did not even cease from sinning, but still your soul sinned, going forward into greater covetousness. Or, that after making an end of many peoples, you fell sick with pride, raging against God himself, which is a sin of the soul. But the false teachers too covet an evil covetousness, drawing away the disciples from sound teaching after themselves, that they may make their own houses—and not God’s—that is, the so-called Churches, loftier and more glorious, by speaking swelling words; but they devise shame for them, since the Church, which is in truth the house of God, is shown to be the stronger, whenever such men also bring many peoples to an end, making them liable to the anathema, which is the bound and end of every heretic—separation, I mean, from God.

Hab. 2:11. For a stone shall cry out of the wall, and a beetle out of the wood shall utter these things. It is the custom of Scripture to invest the inanimate and senseless and the irrational with voices, not as being able to speak, but as though through the things themselves they all but cry aloud. So, accordingly, Isaiah also says: Be ashamed, O Sidon, said the sea; and, The heavens declare the glory of God.[4] And what is more fitting to the matter at hand, the Lord said to the Jews when the greater part were praising him: Truly I say to you, if these should keep silent, the stones will cry out. He says, then, to the Babylonian: Not only those who partake of reason, but even the inanimate things, both the stones and the irrational creatures, the beetles, shall cry out against your madness and folly; and how, we shall tell. Nebuchadnezzar was tearing down and burning the houses and cities of Judea. Of necessity, then, the stones too fell down, and the timbers, which had little beetles—that is, wood-worms—in them from age, by which age was attested in both the cities and the houses. These things, then, demolished and burned with fire, the prophet says shall cry out against his cruelty. And it must be known that, in place of “beetle,” Symmachus set down “a binding of timbers.” Perhaps, then, the ancients called the interlacing of the timbers that hold up the roofs “beetles,” because, as it were, they bear up by many the roof that lies upon them. But also every stone torn down from the Jewish temple shall cry out the power of the Lord. And he who till then wallowed in the dung of sin, when he receives the wood of the cross, shall utter: But God forbid that I should boast, save in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world; and, that Christ, if he was crucified through weakness of the flesh, yet lives by the power of God.

Hab. 2:12. Woe to him who builds a city with blood, and prepares a city with unrighteousness; are not these things from the Lord Almighty? Truly worthy of lamentations and wailings is he who increases his own kingdom out of unjust slaughters—such as the Babylonian also was, building a city, namely Babylon, out of bloodshed and wars, or even every city under him—that is, making it loftier and richer; and “preparing” it, meaning, supposing to make it firm and unshaken, by heaping together unjust wealth and power. But these things are not from the Lord—that is, the Lord did not command these things, nor did he ordain them by law, nor are they pleasing to him. The devil built a city with blood, when he established the polity of idolatrous sacrifices; and he prepared a city with unrighteousness, when he persuaded men to live in covetousness, and simply in pleasure and luxury, which is unrighteousness, the better part in us being wronged by the worse.

Hab. 2:13. And many sufficient peoples failed in the fire, and many nations grew faint of soul. He shows how the Babylonian built with blood and unrighteousness. For, he says, you burned many peoples, setting aflame their cities and their lands, and you made many nations grow faint of soul—that is, give up amid evils, and cast away their strength. Many nations failed in the fire, in which they burned and offered up whole burnt offerings of the sacrificial victims to the idols. But also in the fire of his wrath those held in the power of the most terrible Babylonian fail.

Hab. 2:14. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covering the seas. Some of the copies have “was filled,” and you will understand this in place of “shall be filled.” Since he said above, “Woe,” he now brings on the cause, and says: For this reason I said Woe, because the power of God shall be made known upon you. And the whole earth shall know the Lord, as judging justly. And just as much water covering the seas—that is, overflowing and overbrimming—is poured into every place, so the knowledge of the Lord shall be abundant, and shall be poured out upon all. So too David says: The Lord is known by executing judgments; in the works of his own hands the sinner is caught. For whenever the sinner is caught in these very things by which he does evil, then the Lord, executing judgments, becomes known to all. And he foretells also the knowledge of God that should come about through Christ over all the earth, even as the Lord himself said to the Father: I have manifested your name to men. For formerly he was known to the Hebrews alone, and not even to these as Father of a Son, or as one who brings forth the Spirit, but simply as God and Maker of all; but through Christ he was made known to all men as well, to the end of the earth, and in perfect glory, as the principle of a Son and of a Spirit. The seas of the nations, then—those that were bitter through unbelief—the potable water of the knowledge of God flooded over and covered, so that they were changed into it. And the Lord himself is also called a river of peace and a torrent, as in the saying: Behold, I incline toward them as a river of peace, and as a torrent flooding over with the glory of the nations.

Hab. 2:15–16. Woe to him who gives his neighbor a turbid and troubled draught to drink, and makes him drunk, that he may look upon their caverns. Drink you also your fill of dishonor instead of glory. And again, bewailing the Babylonian: Since, he says, you gave the punishments to your neighbors to drink—that is, to all men fashioned of the same clay, or even to your own kinsmen and relatives—like some turbid draught from a spring that has suffered a disturbance, that is, that has been troubled together, and you made them drunk through chastisements, that they might point out to you the “caverns”—that is, the hidden places in which they had their treasures buried—and that you might look upon them; for this reason, drink you also yourself the draught of dishonor to your fill. For you shall not be dishonored thus lightly, but exceedingly; and the cause is that you are about to slip down from much glory into dishonor. And there is also a Hebrew tradition, that Nebuchadnezzar, leading away the rulers of the nations into his own land, and holding public drinking-feasts, brought these men in, and, making them drunk, made them dance. And as they reeled and fell, and, as was likely, the hidden members of the body were laid bare, he reveled over them, mocking. These the prophet called “caverns.” And the other interpreters have given, in place of “the caverns,” “the nakedness”: That, he says, he may look upon their nakedness. And the devil too gave men, who are his “neighbors”—inasmuch as they too are of a rational nature—a turbid and troubled draught to drink, muddling their mind, and overturning and confounding the knowledge of the good which by nature, as God, he had put in them, and making them drunk with pleasures, that their hearts, having become his caverns as of a robber, might have him for their overseer, looking upon and watching them, lest perhaps a good thought enter. But since Christ, the water of the knowledge of God, the torrent of delight, flooded over the earth, this robber was dishonored to the full; for he fell from all his power. No longer is idolatry anywhere, no longer are the passions made gods, as he says also in Isaiah: The Lord shall send dishonor upon your honor. And the heresiarchs too give those who draw near to them and become their disciples a turbid and troubled draught to drink, overturning the sound sense of the Scriptures, that they may look upon their “caverns”—that is, their synagogues. But their hearts too might be called “caverns,” not receiving the illumination of the knowledge of the Gospel of Christ, the Sun of righteousness; but also full of creeping things and beasts—of wicked and venomous thoughts.

Hab. 2:16. And you, O heart, be shaken and quake. To the heart of the Babylonian he says: Many were shaken by you before. Now, then, you too, who never hoped to be shaken and to fall from your prosperity, but to stand unshaken forever, and for this reason are hardened—be shaken; that is, understand that your prosperity has changed, and, becoming aware of the things that have come upon you, be shaken and quake from your standing in boastfulness, suffering a certain trembling, and taking up grief, and a beginning of repentance. And that many who are in plenty suppose they will never be shaken, David bears witness, saying: But I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved; not considering that you, O Lord, had strengthened my comeliness and splendor, and had made it for the while to stand firm.[5] Not that I was worthy, but that you willed it. For, he says, O Lord, by your will you gave power to my beauty. But you turned away your face, and I became troubled. This trouble, then, he counsels the Babylonian to suffer. And blessed is he who, while being scourged by God, is troubled and shaken away from wickedness, and does not say, I shall play the man.

Hab. 2:16. The cup of the Lord’s right hand has come round upon you. For this reason, he says, I counsel you to quake and to be shaken, because the just punishment of God has come upon you. For this he names the cup of the divine right hand; and in many other places too punishment is called a “cup.” And he who drinks and is made drunk is shaken. And what is the “has come round”? It has encompassed you, so that you cannot escape it. Or, that just as in a banquet the cup goes round about the fellow-drinkers, so also the punishment from God first went round the other kingdoms, taking vengeance on them through you and making them drunk with calamities; but, passing round in a circle, it has now reached you; so that you are bound to drink this. For the right hand of the Lord offers this to you, and it is impossible to escape. For who shall turn back his uplifted hand?

Hab. 2:16. And dishonor was gathered upon your glory. Just as, when you prospered, glory came together to you from every side—from wealth, and from manliness and understanding, and the multitude of your subjects and the like—so now dishonor shall be gathered to you, from cowardice, from senselessness, from having no subject, and simply from all such things; for the man of glory is dishonored by the very things by which he is glorified, when he falls from them. And since the Lord spent three days in the heart of the earth, abiding in Hades, to this “heart” he says: Quake and be shaken; perhaps even from the earthquake that took place when he breathed his last, when the tombs were also opened; and perhaps also as all the dominion of Hades was shaken, and the bronze gates were shattered; for he came to proclaim release to the captives. He adds, then: The cup of death has come round upon you, which the right hand of the Lord, Christ, drank; and for this reason, those also whom you had prevailed to swallow down, you vomited up. And in the glory you had in Christ over having mastered human nature, you have now become dishonored. For the last enemy was brought to nothing — wickedness, the glory of evil and its boast; according to the saying, Why do you boast in wickedness?[6] But whenever he is grieved at wickedness, and gathers himself together, then he reckons his former glory to be dishonor.

Hab. 2:17. For the impiety of Lebanon shall cover you. Lebanon was a mountain of Phoenicia, rich in timber and fragrant; and Scripture likens to it Jerusalem, as the greatest and most lofty, and full of much fragrance from her holy men, as David also says: The cedars of Lebanon which you planted; there the sparrows will make their nests.[7] For each of the saints is like a cedar, in that he is raised on high; and he receives those who wish to be made disciples under him, and becomes a shelter to them. Since, then, the Babylonian burned Jerusalem together with the divine temple, the impiety, he says, committed against Lebanon—against Jerusalem, I mean—shall cover you.

Hab. 2:17. And the misery of wild beasts shall dismay you. By “wild beasts” he means those about Cyrus, as having much that is savage. The misery, then, which these shall bring upon you, shall dismay you—that is, shall make you lowly and cowardly and devoid of courage. But also there was much impiety in Lebanon of old, on account of the idolatry there; for the demon-possessed used to frequent the higher mountains, as there more easily consorting with the demons—on account of which the devil was covered, being given over to the abyss, and the beasts of the demons under him were brought into misery, scourged by the name of Christ.

Hab. 2:17. Because of the blood of men, and the impieties of the land and the city, and of all that dwell in it. Again he shows the justice of the punishment, and that he suffers these things not without reason or unjustly, but on account of the blood and the impieties which he did, making every land and city desolate of inhabitants. But these things will fit also the God-slayers, who were dishonored, and drank the cup of the Lord’s wrath, and were brought down into misery by wild beasts—the Roman armies, that is—on account of the blood of the prophets and of the disciples of the Lord. For they too committed impiety against Lebanon, the fragrant Church, which is also the land of God and a city.

Hab. 2:18. What profit is a graven image, that they have graven it? They have fashioned it a molten work, a false phantasm, that the maker has trusted in his own handiwork, to make dumb idols. The Babylonians, when Cyrus campaigned against them, turned to the idols and to sorceries. Therefore the prophet derides their senselessness, who burned the temple of the true God, but put their confidence in the idols, which were unable to deliver them from their enemies. And of the idols, those fashioned of metallic material—some were graven, and some molded and beaten; yet all were cast, even if the graven ones had a certain peculiarity. For these were full in themselves and solid, having within no hollows at all; but the molded ones were composite, and full within of foreign material—pitch, or wax, or clay. There were also stone graven images, and wooden ones both graven and composite. And there were some that the hands of painters shaped by means of colors. Having made mention, then, more particularly of the graven and molded ones, he next brought on a more general phrase: To make the idols dumb. For by the word “to make” he comprehended together all those produced in any way whatever and out of any material whatever. And perhaps the “fashioned” and the “handiwork” signify this; just as when we say, God made the earth, and again, His hands fashioned the dry land. And the sense is this: The maker has trusted in his handiwork, and for this reason they make the idols; the more they make, the more they suppose they will attain greater profit. And having said phantasm, he added false, because there is also a true phantasm—namely, when one calls back to himself again the things that appeared to him, such as they appeared. Or Scripture also knows “phantasm” as splendor. Since, then, there are many splendors that subsist, inasmuch as they belong to things that are real, but the splendor of the idols is unreal, of unreal things, for this reason he called it a false phantasm.

Hab. 2:19. Woe to him who says to the wood, Awake, arise; and to the stone, Be exalted; and it is a phantasm. He laments those who, in the calamities that beset them, do not flee for refuge to him who is able to save, but run to the wooden and stone idols, and beseech them, that as though slumbering they may be roused and exalted against the enemies, showing their own power to be lofty and unconquered. And observe how he did not say “a wooden idol” or “a stone one,” but “wood” or “stone,” for greater reproach. For even if it has the form, he says, of a man, yet it remains wood and stone; and the form which it bears is altogether a false phantasm, as he said before; for there was no need to say it twice over.

Hab. 2:19. And this is a plating of gold or silver. The saying appears unintelligible. For having said stone and wood, he added: And this is a plating of gold and silver. Are, then, the wood and the stone a plating of gold and silver? No, but understand it thus: the one set are wooden and stones; but this is a plating—meaning, but another is a plating of gold or silver.

Hab. 2:19. And there is no spirit in it. Meaning, there is no spirit in it at all—neither the natural, nor the sensitive, nor the rational.

Hab. 2:20. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth stand in awe before his face. The idols, he says, are dumb and weak, and able to profit no one; but the Lord has as it were a temple, namely heaven, and dwells in it, as Holy of holies. And he dwells in the temple in Jerusalem, which he that trusted in the idols burned, for which also he shall pay the penalty. And if he dwells in the heavens, let all the earth stand in awe before his face—that is, before his oversight and his inspection of our works; and let no one despise, nor be boastful, looking to the things that befell the Babylonian. A temple of the Lord is also the body which he framed for himself from the holy Virgin, which temple he dwells in even now. Let all, then, who are minded of the things of earth stand in awe before his face—of the second coming, I mean—when he shall come to inspect our affairs more fearfully, not to set them right.

[1] Translator’s note: Psalm 74:6 in the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and English: Psalm 47:9).

[2] Translator’s note: The Septuagint reads ὁ δὲ δίκαιός μου ἐκ πίστεώς μου ζήσεται (Habakkuk 2:4), with the possessive “my”—“my just one shall live by faith,” or, by another reading of the pronoun, “shall live by my faith.” Elsewhere in this corpus (from Galatians) the line is rendered “The just shall live by faith”; here the Septuagint’s μου is kept, and Theophylact below turns expressly on the reading “my just one,” that is, “the one made just by my grace.”

[3] Translator’s note: Psalm 36:35–36 in the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and English: Psalm 37:35–36).

[4] Translator’s note: Psalm 18:2 in the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and English: Psalm 19:1).

[5] Translator’s note: Psalm 29:7–8 in the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and English: Psalm 30:6–7).

[6] Translator’s note: Psalm 51:3 in the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and English: Psalm 52:1).

[7] Translator’s note: Psalm 103:16–17 in the Septuagint numbering (Masoretic and English: Psalm 104:16–17).

Chapter 3

Hab. 3:2. O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and was afraid; I considered your works, and was amazed.[1] The wonderful prophet, having shaped the structure of his discourse into question and answer, and having inquired why God does not chastise the despisers, and having learned that this would not be forever, but that he would punish the Jews through the Babylonians, and the Babylonians through the Persians, now changes his discourse into a hymn-singing, at once praying, and praising, and standing astonished at the justice of God and at his unutterable dispensations. In the form of a prayer and supplication he foretells the things to come. He says, then: Having heard the things which you said—both concerning those who transgress in Jerusalem, that they shall be handed over to the Babylonian, and concerning this same impious one, that he shall be given over to the Persians—I was afraid at how you hand over those who sin to utter destruction. Nothing that is done by you is done without reason; I am amazed at the justice of the verdict. He might say these things also concerning the mystery according to Christ; for since he had made mention of the overthrow of the Babylonians, which Cyrus wrought when he set the Israelites free, he now passes on to that more universal and more mystical freedom, which our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished, having freed us from the authority of Satan; and he says to the Father: O Lord and Father, I heard you mystically revealing to me the incarnation of your only-begotten Son, and I was afraid how the earth would receive him who is nowhere contained. And having considered more finely and more exactly your works, which you are about to do—having framed for him a body out of the Virgin by the Holy Spirit, and the other signs, which he himself will do in your name—I was amazed. But it may be said also to the Son: I have heard the report concerning you. For he said above: What shall he speak in me, namely the Spirit. And I considered the works, by which you will work out salvation for human nature—among the rest, both the cross, and the death, and the resurrection, and the ascension—and I was amazed how the contraries should come together: a body to the bodiless, death to life, resurrection to death, how a body should be in the heavens. For these things are truly full of amazement.

Hab. 3:2. In the midst of two you shall be known. Two lives there are, the present and the one to come, in the midst of which the righteous Judge is made manifest—chastising or glorifying some even here, and storing up for others the unmixed punishments or rests from beyond. But some have understood not “lives,” but “living creatures,” to be spoken of here: the Cherubim of glory, which overshadowed the mercy-seat, the one on the right, the other on the left; and from the midst of them a divine voice, going forth, made known to the high priest the counsel of God, when he entered into the holy of holies. Since, then, the Lord Jesus also, having borne flesh, became our mercy-seat, as the Apostle testifies, inasmuch as he laid down his soul for us, and reconciled us to God and the Father—yet he remains God all the same, attended as by a bodyguard by the Cherubim—he says: You shall be known, O Master, that you are truly our mercy-seat. For the legal mercy-seat, standing in the midst of the two Cherubim, prefigured you. But others have understood the two living creatures to be the Babylonians and the Jews, in the midst of whom he was known, doing acts of righteousness. And we know of other interpretations too, from which we shall refrain for the sake of brevity.

Hab. 3:2. When the years draw near, you shall be recognized; when the time is at hand, you shall be made manifest. And you shall be made manifest to all, that you are just and true. But he speaks also concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, namely: The years of the consummation draw near, and the time foreordained for your incarnation is at hand. And this was when wickedness had come to its crest, and nothing was left undared by the devil, but all had sinned, and came short of the glory of God, and there was none righteous, no, not one—then you shall be recognized and made manifest, who are now proclaimed beforehand in shadows and types.

Hab. 3:2. When my soul is troubled in wrath, you shall remember mercy. The prophet, putting on the person of humanity, says: When the soul of a man is troubled by your wrath, as he is being chastised by you, then again you remember mercy; just as you also again had mercy upon the Israelites who had been handed over to the Babylonians. But human nature too suffered trouble, when God was angered against it on account of the disobedience, and it became mortal, as David also says: But when you turn away your face, they shall be troubled, and shall return to their dust. Yet again you had mercy upon it, and showed it incorruptible and immortal in you, as the same one again says: You shall send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Hab. 3:3. God shall come from Teman, and the Holy One from a shady, thickly-wooded mountain. The word “Teman” some have interpreted as “south,” others as “southwest.” And the prophet foretells that Christ shall come from Bethlehem, which lies toward the southern and southwesterly quarter of Jerusalem. And by “shady mountain” he calls Jerusalem herself—“thickly-wooded,” as luxuriant with all manner of divine graces and with the virtues of the holy ones within her; and “shady,” because the cloud and the divine grace overshadow within her, and because she lodges as it were under the covering of heaven. And the Theotokos too is a “thickly-wooded mountain,” inasmuch as no iron went up upon her—no reasoning bearing the filthy rust—nor any hand of human deed, that it might cut her virginity; and “shady,” because the Holy Spirit came upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her.

Hab. 3:3. Selah.[2]

Hab. 3:3. His excellence covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise. Even if the Only-begotten became man, he says, and in this respect seems to have been made lower than the angels—yet nonetheless his excellence, that is, his glory and his majesty, is beyond the heavens, that is, beyond the angels in the heavens. For to which of these did he say: You are my Son, sit at my right hand, or that he is more radiant even than the heavenly light? But also, all the earth then the more recognized him as Lord and Master, when he was made flesh, and praises him as the only-begotten and consubstantial Son of the Father. But also, when with the flesh he was ascending upon a cloud, he covered the heavens; and from that time the more did the earth recognize him as God.

Hab. 3:4. And his brightness shall be as the light. The brightness, he says, which Christ will show to us, bringing in both the knowledge of God and a life pleasing to God, shall be as the light—that is, not dim nor weak, such as the Mosaic light was (for that had a shadow), but unmixed and unalloyed light; and so the prophet also said: Be enlightened, O Jerusalem; for your light has come; and, The people that sat in darkness saw a great light. But also the brightness of his flesh shall be as the light of the Godhead on Mount Tabor. For in the flesh the Godhead shone forth.

Hab. 3:4. Horns are in his hands, and he set a mighty love of his strength. Not only, he says, did he, using the light of teaching, point out the truth that is in life and in doctrines; but he also displayed very many powers in working wonders. And “horn” is everywhere put for power, since horns are weapons to the living creatures that have them. And last of all he died also on our behalf, which is a sign of his greatest power, that through death he abolished death; and both these he did, making evident his mighty and great love toward us. For greater love than this no one has, than that he lay down his soul for his friends. And since “horns” is taken also with reference to a king, as in: He shall exalt the horn of his Anointed; and with reference to haughtiness, as in: Lift not up your horn on high; some say that the prophet means that the kingdoms of the demons, and the acts of haughtiness, came to be in his hands—that is, under his authority—just as also: In your hands are my lots; that is, in your authority. And since he routed these at that very time, when he said: Now is the judgment of the world; now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; laying down his soul on our behalf, he showed his mighty love toward us. And this love was not of weakness, but of strength. For he suffered not as one weak, but willingly; he who, even while being crucified, displayed his own power, darkening the sun, shaking the earth, opening the tombs.

Hab. 3:5. Before his face a word shall go. He is not without witness, he says, but has as a sure witness the prophetic word; for before his fleshly dispensation the prophetic word proclaimed him. But also the word of John, who says: There comes one mightier than I after me. But also, as soon as he was born the Magi came, and there was much talk about him; and afterward his fame went out into all Syria. But also in all the things done by the Lord a word goes before, and nothing is without reason. And since the fearful visitation of the Lord is also called the “face” of the Lord, as in: The face of the Lord is against those who do evil; you will understand that he bears witness against us and points out beforehand the things to be done, then comes upon us, rendering to each his due. For if I had not come and spoken to them, he says, they would not have sin.

Hab. 3:5. And he shall go forth to instruction at his feet. Having first sent forth the word to the instruction of men, he says, then he himself also came at the feet of the prophetic word. Or, as I said, having first borne witness, he then disciplines us when we have not heard. But some have read it thus: His feet shall go forth into plains. Writing “plains” with the bare epsilon and the iota, and understanding that all things are passable for the incarnate God, like flat plains fit for riding, and nothing is impossible to him. [3] And the lowly in heart too might be understood as “plains,” who, receiving the seed from heaven, bear fruit a hundredfold, and sixtyfold, and thirtyfold; concerning whom David also says: And your plains shall be filled with fatness, and the valleys shall abound in corn. Then, showing that he speaks of rational plains and valleys, he says: They shall cry aloud; yea, they shall sing hymns.

Hab. 3:6. He stood, and the earth was shaken. He looked, and the nations melted; the mountains were violently shattered, the everlasting hills melted away; they saw his everlasting goings instead of toils. He shows the all-powerfulness of God, and that he is irresistible. For at once he stands and the earth is shaken; and at once he looks, and whole nations melt like wax; and the mountains are shattered by his violence and power; and the hills are “everlasting,” that is, renowned of old, on account of their height and greatness; and his “goings” and ways, which from of old he makes, moving each time against his enemies—those who saw them saw them not bearable, but burdensome; so fearful were they. And you will understand also that he stood on the cross, and the earth was shaken; and the mountains, that is, the rocks, were shattered. And the nations of the demons melted, and the hills receptive of idolatry were dissolved. And these his “goings” and motions and operations, which before the ages he foreordained, those who crucified him saw as toils instead of the toils that came about on the cross. For he truly labored and toiled on our behalf in being crucified, and was made weak for our sins. But also the earth—that is, the nature of men that dwells on the earth—stood in him and was shaken. For being formerly shaken by the drunkenness of the passions, it stood firm, so as to be shaken no more for the rest. And it was “shaken” as being moved away from its standing in evil. And the opposing powers, the hard and high-minded, were shattered; and the hills melted too—the dignities of the chief priests and Scribes and Pharisees, renowned from of old; who saw the “goings” of the Lord, which he made in Judea, being everlasting—that is, to be remembered until the consummation of the age—or the commandments which he gave, being everlasting and indissoluble (for “goings” are commandments, according to: I ran the way of your commandments)—they saw as toils; that is, they reckoned them burdensome; and that though he said, Take my yoke upon you; for my yoke is good, and my burden is light; and, Come, and I will give you rest, you who are weary and burdened with the petty niceties of the Law; whose yoke not even their fathers were able to bear.

Hab. 3:7. The tents of the Ethiopians shall be dismayed; the tabernacles of the land of Midian. After the saving Passion the tents of the spiritual Ethiopians, those who have a gloomy purpose—the souls of men, I mean, in which they encamped—were dismayed, and were bowed down before the word of the Gospel; and the tabernacles of the land of Midian, the toil-loving and pleasure-loving dispositions. For Israel committed fornication among the Midianite women, when Phinehas stood up and made atonement, and the slaughter was stayed. And “Midianite” is interpreted “condemned.” And fittingly has he said tents and tabernacles. For both the souls of men were temporary dwellings for the demons, and the workings of pleasure are easily dissolved and passing, like tents. But also, in a perceptible sense, the apostles both saw Ethiopia and visited the Midianite country, proclaiming the divine word.

Hab. 3:8. Were you angered against the rivers, or was your wrath against the rivers, or your onset against the sea? For you shall mount upon your horses, and your horsemanship is salvation; bending you shall bend your bow against scepters. Since he said above that, standing on the cross, he crushes the mountains and melts the nations, now he says: You do these things, O Lord, not as being angered at men, nor as bringing utter destruction upon them (for by “rivers” and “seas” he called the assemblies of men and the various nations); but rather, providing for the common salvation, you accepted these sufferings. Therefore, riding as it were upon the apostles as horses, you shall ride through all the earth, not that you may chastise, but that you may save; for you did not come that you might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through you. But to those who believe your horsemanship shall be salvation; while your bow you shall bend, bending it, against the unbelieving tribes of Israel. For these he called “scepters.” And that the apostles are horses bearing Christ is plain from what Ananias heard concerning Paul, that This man is a vessel of election to me, to bear my name before nations and kings and the sons of Israel; and the phrase “bending you shall bend your bow” resembles those of David: Bend, and prosper; and, The arrows, sharpened in the heart of the king’s enemies. But some have understood “Were you angered against the rivers” thus: The prophet’s aim, he says, is to show that the things done in the New Covenant are far more befitting to God than those in the Old; and so he also says: Not as in the Old, when you turned rivers into blood and dried up seas, that you might free your people from perceptible enemies, will you do so now also; but you shall mount upon the horses, the apostles, that you may pull down the scepters of the demons.

Hab. 3:9. The earth shall be cleft with rivers. Just as the husbandmen divide the rivers into ditches and channels, contriving irrigation for the land, so also you, he says, O Lord, will prepare the earth for the reception of the spiritual rivers, the apostles; so that the saying is: For the sake of the rivers the earth shall be cleft. Some, however, have understood the “land of rivers,” in the perceptible sense, to be Mesopotamia, which lies in the midst of the two great rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris; and in the spiritual sense, sin, which is in the midst of the moist and dissolute life. Mesopotamia, then, shall be “cleft”—that is, cast down, or shall fall—being as it were a wall of the power of the Babylonians; and sin too shall be cleft by the sword, which the Lord came to cast upon the earth. Jerusalem too shall be cleft, inasmuch as she had for a time many holy ones, whom he named “rivers.” For as the Lord, being the true light, made the apostles by participation the light of the world, so too the holy ones are and are called “rivers.” He says, then, that the land which formerly had rivers watering it shall now be cleft like the thirsting earth, inasmuch as it received not the prophetic word, nor believed. For if you believed Moses, he says, you would believe me.

Hab. 3:10. The peoples shall see you and be in travail. This has a twofold meaning. For either you will understand this, that the peoples who have believed shall see your light and be in travail—that is, they shall have a vehement longing and desire to behold your kingdom, and shall travail with your word, that they may bring forth a spirit of salvation; or, that the unbelieving peoples shall see the glory of your preaching, and shall have pangs and pains from envy, such as were those who said: Behold, the world is gone after him.

Hab. 3:10. Scattering the waters of his going. The “waters of his going” are the graces of the spiritual and evangelical word. For the water of the going of the Only-begotten toward us is the Spirit, which he gave to those who would believe in him. Since, then, the modes of spiritual teaching are various, the one water becomes many, and is scattered and divided to each according to his capacity, since we also learn that there is a division of gifts, but the same Spirit. But also the Lord, journeying into villages and cities, scattered the water of teaching, to those to whom he said: If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. Many have waters of the word, but they are not “of going,” but stagnant, reeking with the stench of envy. For these have the good in themselves, not pouring it out upon others; and they resemble the one who buried his talent. But he who pours out the good upon others also, this one has “waters of going,” and resembles the one who put his talent with the bankers, and made his master richer.

Hab. 3:10. The abyss uttered its voice, the height of its imagination. He continued in the figure, and kept the sequence of his ideas. For having called the sacred apostles “rivers,” he names the nations a “sea,” held fast by the bitterness of impiety. As, then, when rivers empty into the open sea, much noise and din is produced, the sea-waves holding them back and checking their inrush; so, when the divine apostles went round about among the nations and ferried across the saving proclamation, tumults and seditions were stirred up against them, the unbelievers gainsaying and attempting to quench the proclamation, as in Ephesus the silversmith Demetrius did, and in Corinth others, and in Jerusalem the Jews, when they also handed Paul over to the Romans. The abyss of the nations, then, gave a voice of confusion, and the height of imagination and exaltation of its proclamations; but some understood the multitude of those who had believed to be the “abyss,” as composed of the rivers and waters spoken of above. This “abyss,” then, and “the height of its imagination”—that is, the lofty ones in it, who have an imagination of wealth and glory—gave a voice, confessing the Lord Jesus Christ with their mouth.

Hab. 3:11. The sun was lifted up, and the moon stood in its order, for light. The Sun of righteousness was lifted up on the cross, and it became night, when the moon has its order to shine. Or, that when the Lord was crucified, the Church from among the nations shone forth, and stood in its order, for light—that is, it became full-shining, keeping the order of its own orbit. For the centurion too, being a Gentile, confessed the crucified one to be the Son of God, and those who were with him. And the Lord himself said: When I am lifted up, I will draw all to myself. And if the Gospel is a “sun,” and its rays were spread abroad, then the moon too—that is, the Law—stood for light. For then the Law appeared spiritual, when the Spirit interpreted it. Thus Hagar and Sarah appeared as allegorized; thus the saying, You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain, appeared to have been laid down concerning the teachers; thus circumcision was shown to be of the heart, not of a bodily member. And this order the Law had even before; but it was hidden, inasmuch as there was a shadow about it. But when the light came, then it too stood in its order.

Hab. 3:11. Your darts shall go forth, to the brightness of the lightning of your weapons. He calls the sacred apostles “darts,” who went forth as though sent from some strong and mighty hand, so as to be fixed in the heart of the king’s enemies, the demons, just as David also says: As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the sons of those who have been shaken out. For the Jews were shaken out and cast away from before the face of God; but the sons of these became arrows of the mighty Christ, the power of God. And these went forth to the brightness of the lightning of the weapons of Christ. For the weapons of Christ are those which Paul clothes us with, saying: Put on the whole armor of God, which is the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. And these weapons are splendid and flashing; for virtue makes radiant the one who has put it on, even if he be hidden. For let your light shine, he says, before men. The apostles, then, went forth making disciples of all the nations, to show to all the brightness of the lightning of the weapons.

Hab. 3:12. In threatening you shall diminish the earth, and in wrath you shall bring down nations. The Jewish land, he says, you shall cause to be made desolate by the Romans, since those in it acted impiously against you; and you shall “bring down”—that is, you shall humble the Israelites, who imitated the savagery of the nations toward you. Or, that you shall diminish the deeds of the earthly mind through your darts, the apostles; and the heathen minds you shall humble and subject.

Hab. 3:13. You went forth for the salvation of your people, to save your anointed ones. Having said, You shall diminish the Jewish land, he as it were makes a defense: And yet you went forth for the salvation of this your people. For you came not save to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Therefore you were also called Jesus, and came here, that you might save those anointed by your blood and by your Holy Spirit. But they would not; therefore them you diminished, but you gained for yourself another people, who also became “anointed ones” through baptism, being baptized into your death, and anointed with the oil of gladness, the Spirit. Or he adds the cause of the diminishing of the earthly mind. For on this account, he says, you shall diminish the earth, because for this you went forth, that you might save. And otherwise it was not possible to be saved, unless the earthly deeds were diminished.

Hab. 3:13. You cast death upon the heads of the lawless. Those who believed, he says, and became anointed ones and partakers, you saved; but upon the heads of the lawless Jews—that is, the rulers and chief men—you cast death, destroying them utterly through the Romans.

Hab. 3:13. You raised up bonds as far as the neck to the end. That is, You bound them with the chains of their own sins, not partly constricted, but as it were throughout the whole body, even as far as the neck. For their sins, being raised up against them when God so willed, bound them, and made them subject to the Romans, so that their lifted-up neck was humbled and brought to an end. For this is what “to the end” signifies. There are also bonds of love, which the Lord, casting upon those who believe, brings their neck under his own yoke. Christ raised up other bonds too against Judas, which this man, having placed about his own neck, found his end by strangling.

Hab. 3:14. You cut through in ecstasy the heads of the mighty; they shall be shaken at it. They shall open their bridles, as a poor man eating in secret. An ecstasy, he says, the mighty ones of Israel suffered, standing out of their right mind, and raging and going mad against you. For this cause, then, you cut them off from your familiarity, though formerly they were your portion. Or, that you scattered one here, another there. This David also says: Scatter them in their life. And fittingly were their heads, the part that has room for the mind, cut off from their familiarity with the Word, because they did not think according to reason, but rather rose up against reason. Or, that when you have done signs, they shall be in ecstasy, and shall suffer a shaking, being troubled, and shall be cut through—some saying, He deceives the multitude; and others, Never did a man speak as this man speaks. Yet in secret the “heads,” the rulers, shall murmur against you, opening their lips and their teeth, which are a “bridle” of the mouth, like a poor man not daring openly to partake of food, but, with his mouth closed, mincing it small within himself. For they feared the multitude that was disposed toward Jesus on account of the miracles. And the apostles too, who formerly did not dare to speak, but were shut up in an upper room, and in secret ate the salvation of those who believed them, like horses opening the bridles of their mouth—that is, casting off human fears—shall preach with boldness. And perhaps the prophet says also to God, that: Being come into a certain ecstasy and an angry disposition, O Lord, you cut them through; for in truth, even if God chastises, yet we chastise ourselves; and he bears witness who said: God did not make death; and again another: God tempts no one; but each is tempted by his own desire.

Hab. 3:15. And you mounted your horses upon the sea, troubling many waters. Again the discourse has kept its own figure in the trope. For having made mention of bridles, he now names the apostles “horses,” whom the Lord mounted upon the sea of life—the nations, which are “waters” on account of their moist and dissolute life—“troubling” them, in teaching them that there shall be a judgment, and a requital of the works done in the present life. Thus, then, Paul also troubled the Athenians, saying: The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all everywhere to repent, because he has set a day in which he is about to judge the world. And the apostles troubled also in another way, in that they set the races at variance one with another on account of the word, which the Lord also said: I came not to cast peace, but a sword. And “many waters,” the nations, since with respect to Israel they are one nation. In the beginning, then, the Lord said: Go not into the way of the nations; but when he was lifted up on the cross and rose again, Make disciples, he says, of all the nations.

Hab. 3:16. I watched, and my heart was dismayed at the voice of the prayer of my lips. And trembling entered into my bones, and beneath me my frame was troubled. I shall rest in the day of my affliction, that I may go up to the people of my sojourning. The prophets call a “watch” the keeping and attention according to the mind which they practice, whenever the Spirit sounds into them the knowledge of things to come; just as this very one also said above: I will stand upon my watch. He says, then: As I watched my mind from earthly cares, praying to you, you revealed to me what those of Israel who disbelieved shall suffer, and on this account my heart has fallen; for being compassionate, he grieves over his kinsmen. For what you revealed to me as I prayed, I “watched”—that is, I marked off and kept by myself, the things which I also uttered afterward as I prayed. And on this account my heart was dismayed, and trembling seized my bones, and from beneath and from the depth all the frame and condition of my soul was troubled. Then, at once, being sounded into by the Spirit, he says: I shall not see these things which shall befall the Israelites. For then, when the day of the bringing-on of evils shall come—which is to me a day of affliction—I shall rest; that is, I shall end my life (for death is a rest to a man), and I shall go up into the city above, where is the people of the holy ones, who reckoned the life here as a sojourning, which I too have so reckoned. So David also: I am a sojourner, he says, and a stranger, as all my fathers were, hinting surely at the patriarchs, and the holy ones after them. But some of the copies have: To the temple of my sojourning; and you will understand that I shall go up to the heavenly temple from this my sojourning, and, longing for the dissolution, he says, I shall rest. For since, foreknowing what should befall his race, he grieved, he says: Then I shall rest from the affliction, if I depart from my sojourning; so let this be.

Hab. 3:17. For the fig tree shall not bear fruit, and there shall be no produce on the vines. The labor of the olive shall fail, and the plains shall yield no food. He sets forth the cause of the affliction, on account of which he was also troubled, and says: For this I grieve, that the fig tree shall no longer bear fruit—that is, Jerusalem. For indeed Christ, having come to her, found no fruit in her, but leaves only—that is, the outward show and hypocrisy of piety; as again he said in parables: A certain man had a fig tree, which on account of its barrenness he wished to cut down. But the husbandman besought that a little time be granted, so that it might either bear fruit, or be cut down by the roots. But neither shall the vineyard bear fruit. And the “vineyard” is the people, as also Isaiah: And the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is a beloved new plant. And by “olive” he names the Pharisees and Sadducees, who, priding themselves on the name of righteousness, were destitute of its fruits. And that the olive is taken as an image of the righteous man, David also testifies, saying: I am like a fruitful olive tree. And the whole Synagogue too is an “olive,” as Jeremiah says: The Lord called your name a fair, shady olive tree. This olive, then, belied its labor; for being trained as by a tutor toward Christ through both the Law and the prophets, they did not receive him. For this cause also their branches were broken off; and the Gentiles, of the wild olive, were grafted in. But also the plains shall yield no food—the lowlier of the people, to whom it is said: Break up for yourselves fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. These, then, became so blighted by the wind, having cultivated no divine fruit, that they did not cultivate even what would suffice for food.

Hab. 3:17. The sheep failed for lack of food. The simpler and more guileless, that is, the more innocent, and worthy to be shepherded by the more prudent, failed for lack of having food; for there was no one to set food before them, as the prophet also said: I will bring a famine upon the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord.

Hab. 3:17. And there shall be no oxen at the mangers. The “oxen” are the teachers of the Law, the Levites, priests, and chief priests. For the Apostle also took the saying, You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain, as referring to the teachers. For these were stirred to strip bare the corn of knowledge, hidden by the wrappings of the obscurity of the letter, and to set it before others plain and easy to understand. They have, however, themselves too the offerings that come from the people—the firstfruits, I mean, and the tithes, and those from the sacrifices, as things brought to mangers and altars—yet neither mangers nor altars shall there be, nor such oxen. And since certain of the copies have written in addition the phrase “from their healing,” you will understand that their healing was Christ; but since they did not receive him, it befell them from Christ to fail. For he himself handed them over to utter destruction. But some have understood that, since the prophet had made mention of departing, he is now relating concerning the condition there, that the condition in the life to come has nothing of the things here.

Hab. 3:18. But I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in God my Savior. I have grieved, he says, on account of my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are about to experience such and so great evils. Yet, considering the glory of God which shall be recognized by all men, I rejoice and exult—that is, I leap for joy. For “to exult” is “to leap,” which is an intensifying of joy. And understand that the discourse is as from the person of those justified in faith. For he says all but this: Those of Israel, expecting to be justified by works, were thus thrust away; but I the Gentile, saved not by the works in righteousness which I did, but according to his mercy and in his grace, will exult in him. It is like the saying of the Apostle, that The nations found righteousness by faith. But Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain it; because it was not by faith, but as by works of the law; and again, And that the nations should glorify God for his mercy.

Hab. 3:19. The Lord my God is my strength. Weak indeed is human nature, he says; but having united it to himself, the Lord and my God renders it strong. So Paul also: I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me; and David: For you are the boast of their strength.

Hab. 3:19. And he will set my feet to completion. That is, He will set my feet in security, so that I stand firm in the faith, able to tread upon serpents and scorpions. For “completion” the others have interpreted as “security.” And it seems that he says this also as of some runner. I run a race, he says; God, then, will set my feet to complete the race, so that I may say with Paul: I have finished the course. Many run, but disorderly; such as are those who contend, yet not lawfully. God, then, sets the feet, when we run not contrary to his laws, neither teaching contrary to the Scriptures, nor pursuing virtue contrary to his commandments; such as those who abhor marriage and the creatures.

Hab. 3:19. He sets me up upon the high places, to move me in his ode. He makes me higher than the earth, he says, and teaches me to be minded of the high things, that from the higher places I may overcome the enemies. For standing below, and cleaving to the earth, how shall I conquer the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places? And having conquered, then shall I be worthy to sing to him. For praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner. He, then, who has conquered the principalities and the powers, he shall sing to God a more spiritual ode, and one more like the flute, without the joint utterance of the instrument, conversing with God by the mind alone, and speaking mouth to mouth. And whether this comes to pass in this life, those who are counted worthy of it would know how it comes to pass; but in the age to come it shall surely be, when there shall be no flesh nor fleshly things, when God shall be all in all. So also Moses, when the Egyptians were drowned, himself sings with the men; but Miriam strikes the timbrel. For still more bodily are the hymns of those who do not play the man in all things, and which need the instrument that accompanies it. Or he does not say this—that After conquering I will make the ode—but, In this very thing, in singing, and glorifying him, and calling upon his name, I shall conquer. For in the name, he says, of the Lord our God shall we be magnified; just as, then, the apostles, working the powers in the name of the Lord, were magnified by the people, and conquered their enemies. It must be known, however, that some, understanding the prayer of Habakkuk historically, said that the prophet spoke these things concerning the return from Babylon; and we shall not differ with them, since Paul said that these things happened to those men as types, but were written for us in very truth. For unless the shadow-sketch goes before, the image would not be brought to completion. Nevertheless many of the things said in the prayer are incompatible with the things that came to pass historically. But concerning these let whoever wishes judge as he will; this, however, is plain to all, that the Spirit of God which spoke the Scriptures wills that all be profited through all things—both through the things said historically, and through the things understood spiritually. For our things are not once-for-all like those of the Greeks, that the allegory should have the dignity, while the literal sense should be undignified and full of unseemliness; but here the literal sense too is holy and profitable to the soul, at least to those who hear it well. Among whom may we ourselves also be, in the Holy Spirit, who both spoke the things that appear, and uncovers the hidden things of the meanings, and through both sanctifies; to whom be glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: The third chapter is the prayer and ode of the prophet Habakkuk (Septuagint Ambakoum 3:1–19), which Theophylact expounds as a prophetic hymn. The lemmata preserve the Septuagint reading with its distinctive forms—as at 3:2, which Migne prints absolutely, in the midst of two you shall be known, the very ambiguity (two lives or two living creatures) on which the comment turns.

[2] Translator’s note: The word Diapsalma (Selah) is a rhythmic marking of the ode, here following the third verse (3:3); it has therefore been assigned to the verse it follows. Theophylact does not expound it.

[3] Translator’s note: The wordplay is on πεδία (“plains,” written with epsilon + iota) and παιδεία (“instruction,” with the diphthong αι): the same consonants yield either “his feet go forth into plains” or “to instruction.”

Life of the Prophet

Habakkuk the prophet was from the field of Betherouchar, of the tribe of Simeon. And before the captivity he saw a vision concerning the capture of Jerusalem, and he mourned exceedingly. And when Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem, he fled to Ostragene, and was a sojourner in the land of Ishmael. But when the Chaldeans returned, and the remnant who were in Jerusalem went down into Egypt, this man remained sojourning in his own land and ministering to the reapers of his people. And when he took food to carry to the workers, he prophesied to the Jews, saying: I am going to a far country, and I will come again quickly; but if I tarry, carry to the reapers their meal. And having come to be in Babylon, and having given the meal to Daniel, he stood over the reapers as they were eating, and told no one what had happened. And from this he understood that the people would return more quickly from Babylon. And two years before the return he died, and was buried there in the field. And he gave a sign to those in Judea, that they would see a light in the temple, and so behold the glory of the temple. And concerning the consummation of the temple he foretold that it would come about by a western nation; and that then the veil of the inner sanctuary would be torn into small pieces, and the capitals of the two pillars would be taken away, and no one would know where they were; and that these would be carried off into the wilderness by an angel, where at the beginning the tabernacle of testimony was set up, and at the end the Lord would be made known by them. [1]

[1] Translator’s note: This appended Life belongs to the pseudepigraphal Lives of the Prophets tradition (Migne prints it after the commentary without a separate rubric; the heading here is supplied editorially). The episode of Habakkuk carrying food to the reapers and being borne by an angel to feed Daniel in Babylon retells the deuterocanonical narrative of Bel and the Dragon (vv. 33–39).

Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew

Introduction

The Book of the Generation

Theophylact’s commentary opens by asking why Matthew begins as he does. The prophets, he notes, never open a book this way: Isaiah announces a “vision”, Jeremiah records a “word” that “came” to him—language chosen, Theophylact argues, precisely because the prophets addressed a hard and disbelieving people who needed to be told, up front, that what followed was a divine oracle and not a merely human report. Matthew has no such need. He writes for those who have already believed, and he did not receive Christ in a vision or a trance but walked beside him, ate with him, and heard him with his own ears. So he opens instead with “the book of the generation”—a genealogy, plain and historical, of a man his readers already know to be God. Theophylact pauses over the two names that follow, Jesus and Christ, and glosses each: “Jesus”, from the Hebrew, meaning Savior; “Christ”, the Anointed One, a title that in Israel belonged to kings and priests both, and that Christ alone holds in the fullest sense, anointed not with the oil poured on the heads of Israel’s kings but with the Holy Spirit itself, since he is himself both the true King who reigns over sin and the true Priest who offers himself as the sacrifice.

From there the commentary works patiently through the list of names, and Theophylact treats it as anything but a formality to be passed over. He asks why the genealogy runs through Joseph, who took no part in the virgin birth, and answers that Jewish custom traced descent through the male line and that Joseph’s lineage was, in any case, publicly known and uncontested in a way a private claim about Mary’s own ancestry could never have been. He works out why the evangelist counts fourteen generations in three groups when a plain count of the names yields differently, and he lingers, with evident relish, over the women Matthew troubles to name in a royal genealogy—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah—each of them touched by scandal or foreign birth, included, Theophylact argues, precisely so that no one born of a compromised or Gentile line might feel excluded from the lineage of the Savior. A genealogy that could have been a dry formality becomes, in his hands, an argument about who the Gospel is for.

Why Four Gospels

Before he reaches the first verse, Theophylact sets out, in a substantial proem, why there should be four Gospels at all rather than one. His answer moves through several complementary explanations rather than settling on a single cause. Four Gospels, he suggests, answer to the four cardinal virtues—courage, prudence, justice, and temperance—each traceable to a saying of the Lord. Four Gospels stand as four pillars supporting the four quarters of the inhabited world. And four Gospels, agreeing in substance while differing here and there in what each includes, supply a stronger warrant for the truth of the Gospel than one alone could: writers who never sat down together yet speak, on the things that matter, as if from a single mouth. Theophylact meets directly the objection that the Gospels do not always agree in every detail. Show me, he says in effect, where they differ on whether Christ was born, or whether he rose—on the things that are actually necessary, they never vary; and it is exactly because they were not composed in collusion that their small variations in lesser matters are the more convincing, not the less.

Theophylact also sets Matthew in relation to the other three evangelists rather than treating him in isolation. He notes that Matthew and John belonged to the Twelve, while Mark and Luke belonged to the wider circle of the Seventy, drawing on Peter and Paul respectively; that Matthew wrote first, in Hebrew, for Jewish believers, some eight years after the Ascension; and that Matthew, writing to an audience already assured of the law and the prophets, is content to establish Christ’s human descent from Abraham and David and says comparatively little about his eternal origin, a gap John’s Gospel exists in part to fill. Reading Matthew, on Theophylact’s account, means reading a Gospel shaped for a particular hearer—a Jewish believer who needs the messianic credentials laid out in careful, traceable order before anything else is asked of him.

A Prophecy from Hosea, and a Word from the Wilderness

One of the small textual observations in Theophylact’s preface repays particular attention here, since it reaches back into the very prophet that opens this composite edition. Discussing how the Hebrew original of Matthew’s Gospel related to its Greek translation, Theophylact notes two places where Matthew, drawing on the Hebrew rather than the Greek Septuagint text, quotes the Old Testament in wording that differs slightly from the Greek version most churches read—among them the line “Out of Egypt have I called my Son”, spoken first of the nation of Israel in the book of the prophet Hosea and read again by Matthew as a word fulfilled in the infant Christ’s flight into, and return from, Egypt. The observation is a small piece of textual scholarship, but it opens onto something larger: for Theophylact, the Gospel does not begin with Matthew. It gathers up words spoken centuries earlier—to a wayward prophet, to an unfaithful people—and shows what they were pointing toward all along.

This same instinct—to let the Old Testament’s own words announce the New—governs Theophylact’s reading of John the Baptist, who opens Matthew’s third chapter preaching repentance in the wilderness. Theophylact reads John’s appearance as itself the fulfillment of Isaiah’s voice crying in the wilderness, and treats John’s stern warnings to the Pharisees and Sadducees—“offspring of vipers”, trees that will be “cut down” for want of good fruit—not as isolated rebukes but as a hinge on which the old dispensation turns toward the new: the axe already at the root, the harvest already beginning to be gathered.

Teaching on the Mountain

When the narrative reaches the Sermon on the Mount, Theophylact’s attention shifts from historical and textual questions to the discipline of the reader’s own life, and this shift marks his method throughout the commentary’s long middle chapters. Even the setting draws comment: Christ goes up onto the mountain, Theophylact observes, teaching by that very action that a teacher should withdraw from the crowd’s tumult before he attempts to teach—and that he first heals the bodies of those who come for miracles before he heals, with his words, the souls of those who have become his disciples, so that his hearers may learn that the same Lord made both. Working through the Beatitudes and the sayings that follow on anger, adultery, oaths, and love of enemies, Theophylact keeps circling back from precept to practice, treating each saying less as a rule to be parsed than as a description of the kind of person the Gospel means to make.

One Name, Three Persons

The commentary closes where the Gospel does, on the mountain in Galilee where the risen Christ commissions the apostles to baptize “all the nations… into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”, and Theophylact makes the moment carry real doctrinal weight. He turns the single word “name”—not “names”—into a rebuke of two opposed errors at once: against Arius, who made the Son a creature, Theophylact notes that all three are given one name because all three share one Godhead; against Sabellius, who collapsed Father, Son, and Spirit into a single person wearing three masks, he notes that the Lord names three distinct Persons, not one person under three labels. The commentary’s closing paragraphs then turn, in the same breath, to plain pastoral counsel—that hearing the commandments is worth nothing without keeping them, and that Christ’s promise to be present “even to the end of the age” was never meant only for the Twelve, who would not live to see it, but for every believer who comes after. A Gospel that opened with a genealogy establishing who Christ is closes with a commission establishing what his presence still means for everyone who reads it.

Chapter 1

The Life of the Holy Evangelist Matthew. According to Sophronius. Matthew, who is also Levi, an apostle [taken] from among the publicans, was the first to compose, in Judea, for the sake of those of the circumcision who had believed, the Gospel of Christ, in Hebrew letters and words; and it is unknown who afterward translated it into Greek. And the Hebrew [text] is until this day in the Library at Caesarea, which Pamphilus the martyr most diligently furnished. And by the Nazoraeans in Beroea of Syria, who use this [text], leave was granted me to copy it; from which it is possible to be exactly persuaded that, wherever the evangelist—whether from his own person or from the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—has employed the testimonies of the Old Scriptures, he does not follow the authority of the Seventy Translators, but the Hebrew, from which are those two [sayings]: Out of Egypt have I called my Son; and: He shall be called a Nazarene.

The Chapters of the Gospel according to Matthew. 1. On the genealogy of Christ. 2. On the Magi and the children who were slain. 3. John first preached the kingdom of the heavens. 4. On the temptation of Christ. On the calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee. 5. On the Beatitudes. On not being angry with one’s neighbor. On not committing adultery. On not putting away one’s wife. On not swearing at all. On bearing insults, and not resisting the evil one. On loving one’s enemies. 7. On almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. On despising the things of the world. 8. On judging no one. On asking and seeking. On being wary of the false prophets. 9. On the leper. On the centurion. On Peter’s mother-in-law. On those healed of various diseases. On him who was not permitted to follow. On the rebuking of the waters. On the demoniacs whose demons were cast out into the herd of swine. 10. On the commissioning of the apostles. 11. On those sent from John. 12. On the disciples plucking the ears of grain on the Sabbath. On him who had the withered hand. On the blind and dumb demoniac. On those who sought a sign. On [his] mother and brethren. 13. On the parables of the sower and of the kingdom of the heavens. 14. On John and Herod. On the five loaves and the two fishes. On the walking of Jesus upon the sea. 15. On the transgression of the commandment of God for the tradition of men. On the Canaanite woman. On the multitudes that were healed. On the seven loaves. 16. On the leaven of the Pharisees. On the questioning at Caesarea. On the rebuking of Peter, that Christ should not suffer. 17. On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the lunatic. On those who asked for the didrachmas. 18. On those who said, Who is greater. On not giving offense. On the hundred sheep. On the reproving of one’s neighbor. On the power of binding and loosing. On him who owed ten thousand talents. 19. On those who asked whether it is lawful to put away one’s wife. On the rich man who questioned Jesus. 20. On the hired laborers. On the sons of Zebedee. On the two blind men. 21. On the donkey and the colt. On the lame and the blind. On the withered fig tree. On the chief priests and elders who questioned the Lord. The parable of the two sons. On the vineyard. 22. On those bidden to the wedding. On those who questioned concerning the tribute. On the Sadducees. On the lawyer who questioned [him]. On the Lord’s questions. 23. On the woes pronounced upon the Pharisees. 24. On the consummation, the day and the hour. 25. On the ten virgins. On those who received the talents. On the coming of Christ. 26. On her who anointed the Lord with ointment. On the Passover. On the mystical supper. On the betrayal of Christ. On the denial of Peter. 27. On Pilate the governor. On the repentance of Judas. On the scourging and torments of Christ, and the crucifixion. On the asking for the body of the Lord, and the guards of the tomb. 28. On the Resurrection of the Lord. On the guards of the tomb, witnesses of the Resurrection. On the appearing of Christ to the apostles and to the women in Galilee.

Prologue. Those divine men of old, before the law, were taught not through letters and books; but having a pure mind, they were illumined by the radiance of the all-holy Spirit, and thus knew the will of God, He Himself conversing with them mouth to mouth. Such was Noah, Abraham, Job, Moses. But when men grew weak, and were unworthy to be illumined and taught by the Holy Spirit, the loving God gave the Scriptures, that through these at least they might be put in mind of the will of God. So also Christ in His own person conversed with the apostles, and sent them the grace of the Spirit as a teacher. But since afterward heresies were destined to spring up, and our morals to be corrupted, He was well pleased that the Gospels be written, that, being taught the truth from these, we might not be swept away by the falsehood of the heresies, nor our morals be utterly corrupted. And He gave us four Gospels, perhaps because from these we learn the four cardinal virtues: courage, prudence, justice, and temperance. Courage, when the Lord says: Fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Prudence, when He exhorts: Be wise as serpents. Justice, when He teaches: As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise. Temperance, when He declares: He who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And in another way too there are four Gospels, because these are the pillars of the world. And since the world has four parts—East, West, North, and South—it was fitting that the pillars also be four. And in yet another way: there are four Gospels, because these also contain four things: namely doctrines, commandments, threats, and promises; and to those who have believed the doctrines and kept the commandments, the good things to come are promised; but to those who have not believed the doctrines, or have not kept the commandments, the punishments to come are threatened. And it is called Gospel, because it announces to us things that are well and good—that is, good things: remission of sins, justification, the ascent into the heavens, the adoption of God. And it announces also that we receive these things easily. For we did not toil for the acquiring of these good things, nor receive them from our own achievements, but by the grace and love of God were we deemed worthy of such great good things. According to Matthew. There are four evangelists; and of these two, Matthew and John, were of the choir of the twelve; while the [other] two, Mark, I mean, and Luke, were of the seventy. And Mark was a follower and disciple of Peter, but Luke of Paul. Matthew, then, first of all wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, for those of the Hebrews who had believed, eight years after the Ascension of Christ; and John translated this also from the Hebrew tongue into the Greek, as they say. Mark wrote ten years after the Ascension, having been taught by Peter; and Luke after fifteen. But John the most theological, after thirty-two; for they say that, since he survived after the death of those others, the three Gospels were brought to him, that he might see them and judge whether they had been truly composed; and John, seeing them, and warmly approving them for the sake of the truth, himself filled up whatever those had left out. And whatever those had said briefly, he himself expanded in his own Gospel. And he began from theology. For since the others made no mention of the existence of the Word of God before the ages, he himself spoke as a theologian concerning it, lest the Word of God be thought to be a mere man—that is, apart from divinity. For Matthew discourses concerning the existence of Christ according to the flesh alone; for he was writing to the Hebrews, for whom it was sufficient to learn that Christ was born of Abraham and David. For he who has believed from among the Hebrews is set at rest, when he is assured that Christ is from David. But you will say to me, Did not one evangelist suffice? I say, then, that one did suffice; but that the truth might rather be shown forth, for this reason four were permitted to write. For whenever you see these four, who did not come together, nor sit down with one another, but were each in a different place, and then wrote concerning the same things as if from one mouth, would you not marvel at the truth of the Gospel, and say that they spoke from the Holy Spirit? And do not tell me that they do not agree in all things; for in what do they not agree? Did the one say that Christ was born, and the other that He was not? Or the one that He rose, and the other that He did not? God forbid. For in the more necessary and more principal things they agree. If, then, in the more principal things they did not differ, why do you marvel if in the least things they seem to vary? For by this very thing they are the more truthful, that they did not agree in all things. For they would have been thought to have written having sat down together and taken counsel with one another; but now what the one left out, the other wrote, and for this reason they seem in some things to vary. And so much for this. But let us now begin from the height.

Chapter 1. On the genealogy of Christ.

Matt. 1:1. The book of the generation. For what reason did he not say “vision” or “word,” as the prophets did? For they used to write thus: “The vision which Isaiah saw,” and “The word that came to Isaiah.” For what reason, do you seek to learn? Because the prophets discoursed with men hard of heart and disobedient, and for this reason said that it was a divine vision, and that it was a word from God, so that the people might fear, and not despise the things spoken. But Matthew had to do with men who had believed, and who were of good will and obedient. And for this reason he prefaced nothing of the sort, such as the prophets did. And I have yet another thing to say: that the prophets saw with the mind, these things being presented to them by the Holy Spirit; wherefore they also called them visions. But Matthew did not see Christ with the mind, nor was He presented to him in imagination, but he was with Him perceptibly, and heard Him perceptibly, beholding Him in the flesh. For this reason, then, he did not say, “A vision which I saw,” that is, an appearance, but, “The book of the generation” of Jesus. The name Jesus is not Greek, but Hebrew; and it is interpreted “Savior.” For “Iao” among the Hebrews means salvation. “Of Christ:” kings and priests were called christs [anointed]. For they were anointed with the holy oil that gushed from the horn placed upon the head. The Lord, then, is called Christ both as king—for He reigned over sin—and as priest—for He offered Himself as a sacrifice for us. And He Himself was anointed properly with the true anointing of the Holy Spirit. For who else had the Spirit as the Lord had? For in the saints the grace of the Holy Spirit was working; but in Christ it was not the grace of the Spirit that was working, but Christ together with the Spirit, being of one essence with it, was working the wonders. “Son of David:” since he had said “Jesus,” lest you should suppose that he speaks of some other Jesus, he added, “son of David.” For there was also another renowned Jesus, who commanded the army after Moses; but that one was called [the son] of Nun, and not of David; for he was many generations before David, and was not even of the tribe of Judah, from which David was descended, but of another. “Son of Abraham.” For what reason did he set David before Abraham? Because among the Hebrews David was the more renowned, both as being younger than Abraham, and as having come from the kingship; for among the kings he was the first to please God well; and he received a promise from God, that from his seed Christ should arise; whence also all called Christ the son of David. For indeed David in very truth preserved a type of Christ. For just as he reigned after Saul, who was cast off by God and hated, so also Christ reigned over us after Satan, who was cast out from the kingship and the rule which he held over all.

Matt. 1:2. Abraham fathered Isaac. He begins the genealogy from Abraham, because he was the father of the Hebrews, and because he was the first to receive the promises, that in his seed all the nations should be blessed. Fittingly, then, he traces the genealogy of Christ from him; for Christ is the seed of Abraham, in whom we have all been blessed who are of the nations, formerly accursed. And Abraham is interpreted “father of nations”; and Isaac, “joy,” “laughter.” But the evangelist makes no mention of the spurious children of Abraham, such as Ishmael and the rest, because the Jews were not descended from these, but from Isaac.

Matt. 1:2–3. And Isaac fathered Jacob; and Jacob fathered Judah and his brethren. You see that he made mention of Judah and his brethren for this reason, because from them were the twelve tribes.

Matt. 1:3. And Judah fathered Phares and Zara, of Thamar. Judah had Thamar to wife for Er, one of his sons. And when he had died childless, he joined her to Aunan, who was also his son; and when this one too was cut off from life because of his wickedness, Judah no longer joined her to anyone. But she, desiring to bear children from the seed of Abraham, laid aside the garments of her widowhood; and disguising herself as a harlot, lay with her father-in-law, and conceived from him two twin children. And as she was bearing them, the first of the children put forth his hand from the womb, as though he were to be born first; and then it was drawn back again into the womb, and the other was born first, and afterward in this manner the one who had put forth his hand. The one born first, then, was called Phares, which is “a breach”; for he broke through the order of nature; but the one who had drawn back his hand, Zara. And this history signifies a certain mystery: for just as Zara showed his hand first, but was drawn back again, so also Israel played the harlot, and then returned to them. And in another way too: he makes mention of Thamar, who seemed not praiseworthy, because of her lying with her father-in-law, that he might show that Christ took upon Himself all things for our sake. Rather, that by this very thing it might be shown that He came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

Matt. 1:3–5. And Phares fathered Esrom; and Esrom fathered Aram; and Aram fathered Aminadab; and Aminadab fathered Naasson; and Naasson fathered Salmon; and Salmon fathered Booz, of Rachab. Some suppose that Rachab is that Rahab the harlot who received the spies of Joshua the son of Nun. And she saved them, and was herself also saved; and he made mention of her, that he might show that just as she was a harlot, so also was the synagogue of the nations; for they played the harlot in their idolatries. But having received the words of God, they were saved.

This Ruth was of another race, but nevertheless was joined to Booz; so also the Church of the nations, being of another race, and outside the covenants, forgot her people, and the idolatrous objects of worship, and her father the devil. And she was taken in marriage to the Son of God.

Matt. 1:5–6. And Jobed fathered Jessai; and Jessai fathered David the king; and David the king fathered Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias. He makes mention of the wife of Urias also, to show that one ought not to be ashamed of one’s forefathers; but rather to glorify [God], and through one’s own virtue to make one’s parents illustrious; and that all are acceptable to God, even if they be born of base parentage, only if they have virtue.

Matt. 1:7–11. And Solomon fathered Roboam; and Roboam fathered Abia; and Abia fathered Asa; and Asa fathered Josaphat; and Josaphat fathered Joram; and Joram fathered Ozias. And Ozias fathered Joatham; and Joatham fathered Achaz; and Achaz fathered Ezekias; and Ezekias fathered Manasses; and Manasses fathered Amon; and Amon fathered Josias; and Josias fathered Jechonias and his brethren, about the time of the removal to Babylon. By the removal to Babylon he means the captivity which they afterward underwent, being all carried off together to Babylon. For at another time too the Babylonians had made war upon them, but afflicted them more moderately; but then they removed them utterly from their homeland.

Matt. 1:12–16. And after the removal to Babylon, Jechonias fathered Salathiel; and Salathiel fathered Zorobabel; and Zorobabel fathered Abiud; and Abiud fathered Eliakim; and Eliakim fathered Azor; and Azor fathered Sadoc; and Sadoc fathered Achim; and Achim fathered Eliud; and Eliud fathered Eleazar; and Eleazar fathered Matthan; and Matthan fathered Jacob; and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. For what reason does he trace the genealogy of Joseph, and not of the Theotokos? For what part had Joseph in that seedless birth? Was Joseph then truly the father of Christ, that the genealogy of Christ should be traced from Joseph? Hear, then, that in truth Joseph has no part in the birth of Christ; and on this account the Theotokos ought to have been traced in the genealogy. But since there was a law that women should not be traced in genealogies, on this account he did not trace the genealogy of the Virgin; yet, in tracing the genealogy of Joseph, he traced hers also. For there was a law not to take wives from another tribe, nor from another lineage; so that, since such was the law, it is plain that Joseph, being traced in the genealogy, brings in with him also the genealogy of the Theotokos. For altogether the Theotokos was of the same tribe and the same lineage. For if she were not, how would she have been betrothed to him? So that the evangelist both kept the law that bade women not be traced in genealogies, and nonetheless traced the genealogy of the Theotokos, by tracing that of Joseph. And he named him the husband of Mary, according to common usage; for indeed it is our custom to call the betrothed man the husband of her who is betrothed to him, even though there be as yet no marriage.

Matt. 1:17. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the removal to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the removal to Babylon to Christ, fourteen generations. He divided the generations into three states, to show the Jews that, whether ruled by judges, as those up to David, or by kings, as those up to the removal, or by priests, as those up to Christ, they nonetheless profited nothing toward virtue; and that they had need of the true judge and king and priest, who is Christ. For when the rulers failed, Christ came, according to the prophecy of Jacob. But how are there from the removal to Babylon to Christ fourteen generations, when thirteen are found? For if a woman were traced in genealogy, we might reckon Mary also, and so fill up the number; but now a woman is not traced in genealogy. How, then, is this resolved? Some say that he set down the removal itself as having the rank of a person.

Matt. 1:18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph. For what reason did God permit her to be betrothed, and at all to give occasion of suspicion to men, that Joseph had been with her? That she might have a guardian in her afflictions; for he both took care of her in the flight into Egypt, and saved her. But also that it might be hidden from the devil; for this reason she was betrothed. For the devil, having heard that a Virgin should conceive, was watching the Virgin; that the deceiver, then, might be deceived, Joseph betroths the Ever-Virgin; and there comes to be only the appearance of wedlock, but not the reality.

Matt. 1:18. Before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. Here “to come together” signifies their union; for before they were joined, she conceived. Whence also the evangelist is amazed, and cries out, “She was found,” as speaking of something marvelous.

Matt. 1:19. Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, resolved to divorce her quietly. How was Joseph just, who, when the law commanded that the adulteress be made a public example—that is, exposed and punished—was himself about to conceal the sin, and to transgress the law? But this is resolved: first, that for this very thing he was just. For he did not wish to be harsh, but out of great kindness dealt mercifully, showing himself above the law, and already living above the legal injunctions. Then also, because he himself knew that she had conceived of the Holy Spirit, and for this reason did not wish to make a public example of, and to maltreat, her who had conceived of the Holy Spirit, and not of an adulterer. For see what he says: “She was found with child.” By whom was she found? By Joseph; that is, it was discerned that she had conceived of the Holy Spirit. Whence he was minded to put her away privately, as not daring any longer to have as his wife her who had been deemed worthy of so great a grace.

Matt. 1:20. But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying. When the just man was at a loss, then the angel came to him, teaching him what he should do. And he appears to him in a dream, because he was exceedingly faithful. For to the shepherds the angel appeared openly, as to country folk; but to this man, as to a just and faithful one, in sleep. And how should he not have believed, when the angel taught him concerning the things which he himself held in his mind, and concerning which he had told no one? For while he was pondering, but had not spoken out, the angel stands by him; reasonably, then, he believed that it was from God; for it belongs to God to know the secret things.

Matt. 1:20. Joseph, son of David. He called him “son of David,” reminding him that Christ was prophesied to be of the seed of David; and saying, as it were, “Do not disbelieve, calling to mind David, who received a promise concerning Christ.”

Matt. 1:20. Fear not to take. He shows from this that he feared to keep her, lest somehow he should offend God, as one keeping an adulteress. Or also in another way: “Fear not”—that is, “You indeed fear to touch her, as having conceived of the Holy Spirit; but fear not to take her”—that is, to keep her within; for in his mind and intention he had already put her away.

Matt. 1:20. Mary your wife. This he says: “You perhaps suppose that she is an adulteress; but I say to you that she is your wife.” That is, she has not been corrupted by anyone, but is your betrothed.

Matt. 1:20. For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. For not only is she free from unlawful union, but she has also conceived in a certain more divine manner, so that on this account rather rejoice.

Matt. 1:21. And she will bear a son. Lest anyone should say, “And how shall I believe you, that it is of the Spirit?”, he speaks of the future, that she shall bring forth a son. “For if I speak truly concerning this, it is plain that the other also—that it is of the Holy Spirit—is true.” And he did not say, “She shall bring forth a son to you,” but simply, “She shall bring forth”; for she bore Him not for that man, but for the whole world; nor did the grace abide for him alone, but was poured out upon all.

Matt. 1:21. And you shall call His name Jesus. “You shall call Him,” as being, as it were, His father, and as guardian of the Virgin. For do not suppose, Joseph, that, because the conception is of the Spirit, you shall leave the Virgin without help. Rather, you shall minister to her in all things.

Matt. 1:21. for he will save his people from their sins. Here he interprets what “Jesus” signifies, namely “Savior.” “For He,” he says, “shall save His people”—not only the Jewish people, but also the Gentile, that which is eager to believe and to become His people. And from what shall He save them? From wars, perhaps? No, but from their sins. Whence it is plain that He who is to be born is God; for it belongs to God alone to forgive sins.

Matt. 1:22. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying. Do not suppose that these things seemed good to God only recently, but from of old and from the beginning. For you know the prophets, O Joseph, as one learned in the law. And call to mind that which was spoken by the Lord. He did not say “that which was spoken by Isaiah,” but “by the Lord.” For it was not a man that spoke, but God through the mouth of the man; so that the oracle is worthy of belief.

Matt. 1:23. Behold, the Virgin shall be with child. The Hebrews say that it does not stand in the prophet “virgin,” but “young woman.” To whom it must be said that “young woman” and “virgin” are the same in Scripture; for it names the undefiled one “young woman.” Then also, if a virgin had not given birth, how should it have been a sign and a marvel? For when Isaiah says, Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; and immediately adds, “Behold, the Virgin,” and what follows; so that, unless a virgin were to give birth, it would not be a sign. The Hebrews, then, willfully corrupt the Scripture, and instead of “virgin” put “young woman.” But whether “young woman” stands [there], or “virgin,” she who was to give birth must by all means be understood as a virgin, that this might also be the more evident.

Matt. 1:23. and she will bear a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel, which, translated, means, God with us. The Hebrews say: How then was He called Emmanuel, and not Jesus Christ? It must be said, then, that he did not say “You shall call,” but “They shall call”—that is, the very deeds shall show Him to be God, and dwelling among us; for the divine Scripture assigns names from the deeds, as in: Call his name, Quickly-spoil; and yet no one was ever called by such a name; but since, at the very birth of the Lord, error was spoiled and led captive, He is therefore said to have been named from the deed, finding His title therein.

Matt. 1:24. And Joseph, waking from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had directed him. Behold an obedient soul, how quickly he was persuaded.

Matt. 1:24. And he took to him his wife. He continually names her the wife of Joseph, casting out the wicked suspicion, and teaching that she became the wife of no other, but was his.

Matt. 1:25. And he knew her not till she had brought forth. That is, he was never at any time joined to her; for the “till” here does not show this, that until the birth he knew her not, but afterward knew her; rather, that he never at all knew her. And Scripture has such an idiom; as in: The raven returned not into the ark, till the earth was dried up; for neither did it return afterward. And again: I am with you till the consummation of the age; but after the consummation, shall He then not be? How so? For then rather. So also here you will understand the “till she had brought forth” as meaning that neither before the birth nor after the birth did he know her. For how should he have touched that holy one, after that he had especially come to know that all-holy birth?

Matt. 1:25. Her firstborn son. He says “firstborn” not as though a second had been born, but simply as the first-born and only-begotten. For Christ is both firstborn, as having been born first; and only-begotten, as having no other brother.

Matt. 1:25. And he called his name Jesus. Here too he shows the obedience of Joseph, that whatever the angel had told him, he did.

Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain

Matt. 2:1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. Bethlehem is interpreted “house of bread”; and Judea, “confession.” May it come to pass, then, that we too may now, through confession, become a house of the spiritual bread.

Matt. 2:1. In the days of Herod. He makes mention of Herod, that you may learn that the rulers and kings of the tribe of Judah had failed, and of necessity Christ came. For Herod was not a Jew, but an Idumaean, the son of Antipater, of an Arabian woman. And when the rulers had failed, the expectation of the nations came, as Jacob had prophesied.

Matt. 2:1. The king. For there was also another Herod, the tetrarch; for this reason he sets down the dignity of “the king.”

Matt. 2:1. Behold, there came Magi from the east to Jerusalem. For what reason do the Magi come? For the condemnation of the Jews. For if the Magi, men who were idolaters, believed, what defense remains thereafter to the Jews? And at the same time, that the glory of Christ might shine forth the more, the Magi bearing witness—they who were especially subject to the demons, and enemies of God.

Matt. 2:1. From the east. This too is for the condemnation of the Hebrews. For these came from so great a distance, while the Hebrews, having Christ in their very midst, persecuted Him.

Matt. 2:2. asking, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? They say that these Magi were descendants of Balaam the seer; and that, finding his oracle, “There shall arise a star out of Jacob,” they understood the mystery concerning Christ, and on this account came, desiring to see the One who had been born.

Matt. 2:2. For we saw his star at its rising, When you hear “star,” do not suppose that it was such a one as those which we see, but a divine and angelic power, appearing in the form of a star. For since the Magi were astrologers, the Lord drew them by what was familiar to them, just as He also astounded Peter, who was a fisherman, by the multitude of fishes which he netted in the name of Christ. And that the star was an angelic power is plain from this: that it shone exceedingly even in the day; and from this, that it moved when the Magi moved, but stood still when they rested; and moreover, that it moved from the northern region, which is that of Persia, to the southern, which is that of Jerusalem. But never does a star move from the north to the south.

Matt. 2:2. and have come to worship him. These Magi appear to have been of great virtue. For if they wished to worship Him in a foreign land, how would they not have spoken boldly and proclaimed Him in Persia?

Matt. 2:3. Now when Herod the king heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. Herod indeed was troubled, as one of another race, fearing for the kingdom; for he knew that he was unworthy of it. But the Jews—for what reason are they troubled? For they ought rather to have rejoiced, that there should be a king for them, worshipped by barbarian kings; but nonetheless wickedness is a senseless thing.

Matt. 2:4. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. The scribes were the teachers of the people, like those whom we call grammarians. And God orders it that these be questioned, that they might confess the truth, and from this be condemned, themselves having crucified Him whom they had first confessed.

Matt. 2:5. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by the prophet. By what prophet? By Micah. For he says:

Matt. 2:6. And you, Bethlehem, land of Juda, are by no means the least among the princes of Juda. Because it was small, they despised it; but now, on account of Christ who came forth from it, it is renowned. For all come from the ends of the earth, worshipping this holy Bethlehem.

Matt. 2:6. For out of you shall come a Governor. Well did he say “shall come forth,” and not “shall abide in you.” For Christ did not abide in Bethlehem, but came forth from it after His birth, and spent most of His time in Nazareth. The Jews say that this was prophesied concerning Zorobabel. But they manifestly lie. For Zorobabel was not born in Bethlehem, but in Babylon, as his very name shows: “Zoro” signifies the sowing and the begetting; “Babel,” Babylon; that is, “he who was sown or begotten in Babylon.” But also this: His goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity; and of whom else are the goings forth both from of old, and from the days of eternity, than of Christ? Who had two goings forth, that is, generations; but the first generation was from of old, from the Father, and the second, from the days of eternity, from the Theotokos, having a beginning, and being under time. Let the Jews say, then, whether Zorobabel was from of old; but they cannot say it.

Matt. 2:6. Who shall shepherd My people Israel. He said “shall shepherd,” and not “shall tyrannize” or “shall devour.” For the other rulers were not shepherds, but wolves; but Christ is a shepherd, as He Himself also says: I myself am the good shepherd. And by “people Israel” he means both those who were of the Hebrews, and those of the nations. For Israel is interpreted “one who sees God”; so that all who see God are Israelites, even if they be of the nations.

Matt. 2:7. Then Herod, having privily called the Magi. He called them privily, because of the Jews. For he suspected that the Jews would perhaps make much of the child, and take thought to save Him, as one who should set them free. For this reason, then, he took counsel privily.

Matt. 2:7. He inquired of them diligently the time of the star that appeared. That is, he ascertained it exactly. For the star appeared to the Magi before the Lord was born; for since they were to spend much time on the journey, on this account the star appeared long beforehand, that they might worship Him while He was yet in His swaddling clothes. But some say that the star appeared at the very birth of Christ, and that the Magi came after two years, and found the Lord not in swaddling clothes, nor in the manger, but in a house with His mother, being two years old. But you—hold the former [account] as the better.

Matt. 2:8. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out diligently concerning the young child. He did not say “concerning the king,” but “concerning the young child”; for he could not even bear the name. Whence he shows that the greeting of him who was chilled [with envy] was false.

Matt. 2:8–9. And when you have found Him, bring me word again, that I also may come and worship Him. And they, when they had heard the king, departed. For being themselves guileless, they supposed that he too spoke without guile.

Matt. 2:9. And behold, the star they had seen at its rising went ahead of them, The star was hidden for a little while, by [divine] dispensation, that they themselves might question the Jews, and Herod might be troubled, and so the truth might become more manifest. But when they had gone forth from Jerusalem, it appeared again, guiding them. Whence it is plain that the star was a divine power.

Matt. 2:9. until it came and stood over the place where the child was. This too is strange. For the star came down from on high, and becoming nearer to the earth, showed them the place. For if it had appeared to them from on high, how could they have known particularly the place where Christ was? For the stars take in a great expanse of space. Whence you too see the moon, perhaps, over your own house; and I think it to be over my house only. And all men simply, each one, suppose the moon or some other star to stand over him alone. That star, then, would not have shown forth Christ, had it not come down, and all but stood over the head of the young child.

Matt. 2:10. And when they saw the star, they were overjoyed. As having not been led astray, but having found that which they sought, they rejoiced.

Matt. 2:11. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother. At the very birth, indeed, the Virgin laid the child in the manger, for they found no house then; but afterward it is likely that they found a house, where the Magi also found them. For they had gone up to Bethlehem, to be registered there, as Luke also says. And since a great multitude had run together because of the registration, they had no house for the time, but He was born in the cave; then a house was found, where the Lord was seen by the Magi.

Matt. 2:11. And they fell down and worshipped Him. As at an illumination of the soul. They beheld a poor child, and worshipped. For they were assured that He was God; wherefore also they offer Him gifts, as to God and as to man.

Matt. 2:11. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented to Him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. The gold they offered to Him as to a king; for to a king we who are under his hand pay gold. The frankincense, as to God; for to God we offer the incense of frankincense. And the myrrh, as to One who should taste of death. For with myrrh the Jews bury [their dead], that the body may remain undecayed; for myrrh, being dry, dries up the moisture, and does not suffer worms to be bred. You see the faith of the Magi? For from the prophecy of Balaam also they were taught that the Lord is both God and king, and one who should die for us. And hear the prophecy: He lay down, he says, and rested as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp. Behold the kingly [aspect], through the lion; and through the “he lay down,” the dying. They that bless you are blessed; behold the Godhead. For the power of blessing the divine nature alone possesses.

Matt. 2:12. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they withdrew to their own country by another road. Behold the sequence: first, through the star, God guided them to faith; then, when they had come to Jerusalem, He taught them through the prophet that He is born in Bethlehem; and lastly, through the angel. And they obey the warning—that is, the divine communication. Being warned, then—that is, having received a revelation from God—they were true witnesses.

Matt. 2:13. And when they were departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the young child and His mother. Do you see for what cause God permitted the Virgin to be betrothed? For here it is made plain to you—because of the caring for and the tending of her. And he did not say, “Take your wife,” but “the mother of the young child.” For since the suspicion had been dissolved, and the just man had been assured by the wonders at the birth that all was of the Holy Spirit, he no longer names her his wife.

Matt. 2:13. And flee into Egypt. The Lord too flees, that He might confirm that He was indeed also man. For if, coming into the hands of Herod, He had not been slain, it might have seemed that He was incarnate only in appearance. And He flees into Egypt, that He might sanctify it also. For there were two lands that were workshops of all wickedness, Babylon and Egypt. Babylon, then, He received as it worshipped, through the Magi; and Egypt He sanctified by His own presence.

Matt. 2:13. And be there until I bring you word. “Be”—instead of “remain there, until you are bidden by God.” For we ought to do nothing apart from the divine counsel.

Matt. 2:13. For Herod will seek the young child, to destroy Him. Behold the folly of man, who is eager to overcome the counsel of God. For if [the child] is not of God, why do you fear? But if He is of God, how will you destroy the young child?

Matt. 2:14–15. So he got up, took the child and his mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, and remained there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my son. The Jews say that this was spoken concerning the people who were brought up out of Egypt through Moses. We say, then, that it was indeed spoken at that time concerning the people in a figure; but it came to pass truly in Christ. Then also, who is the Son of God? The people who worshipped the idol Baal-peor and the graven images, or He who is truly the Son of God?

Matt. 2:16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Magi. Just as God mocked Pharaoh through Moses, so also Herod through the Magi; since both Herod and Pharaoh were child-slayers. Pharaoh slew the males of the Hebrews in Egypt, and Herod those in Bethlehem.

Matt. 2:16. was enraged, and sent and killed all the boys in Bethlehem. He displays his wrath against the Magi upon those who had done no wrong. But for what reason were the children permitted to be slain? That the wickedness of Herod might be shown. But perhaps you will say to me: And what of this? Were the children wronged for this, that his wickedness might be shown? Hear, then, that they were not wronged, but were deemed worthy of crowns. For everyone who suffers any evil here suffers it either to the dissolving of his sins, or to the increase of his crowns; even as also these children shall be the more greatly crowned.

Matt. 2:16. And in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the Magi.

Matt. 2:17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying. Lest anyone should suppose that the slaying of the infants came to pass against the will of God, he shows that He both foreknew it and foretold it.

Matt. 2:18. A voice was heard in Rama. Rama was a high place of Palestine. For this is what the name signifies, “high”; and it fell by lot to the tribe of Benjamin, who was the son of Rachel; and Rachel was buried in Bethlehem. The prophet, then, calls Bethlehem “Rachel,” because she was buried in it; and [says] that the weeping and the lamentation were heard in the high place. Hear, then, the prophet: Lamentation, and weeping, and much mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, that is, Bethlehem, and she would not be comforted, because they are not. In this life they are not, since the souls are immortal.

Matt. 2:19. But when Herod was dead. A bitter end did Herod have: with fever, and dysentery, and itching, and a swelling of the feet, and a putrefying of the privy member that bred worms, and shortness of breath, and trembling, and convulsion of the limbs, he burst forth his wicked soul.

Matt. 2:20. Behold, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, take the young child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel. He does not say “Flee,” but “Go.” For there was no longer any fear. For they are dead who sought the life of the young child. Where is Apollinaris, who said that the Lord did not take a human soul? For from this he is refuted.

Matt. 2:21–22. And he arose and took the young child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Herod left three sons, Philip, Antipas, and Archelaus; Archelaus, then, he commanded to be king, but the rest to be tetrarchs. And Joseph was afraid to go into the land of Israel—that is, into Judea—because Archelaus also was like his father. But Antipas, this is the second Herod, who slew the Forerunner.

Matt. 2:22. And being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee. Galilee was not the land of Israel, but was of the Gentiles; wherefore also the Jews looked upon them as an abomination.

Matt. 2:23. and went and settled in a town called Nazareth. And how does Luke say that, after His birth, when He had fulfilled the forty days, and had been taken up in the arms of Symeon, the Lord went down into Nazareth; while here Matthew says that, after the return from Egypt, He came into Nazareth? Learn, then, that what Matthew passed over in silence, Luke spoke. What I mean is this: after His birth, He fulfilled the forty days; then He went down into Nazareth—this Luke says; but Matthew speaks of what came after, that He fled into Egypt, and then went up from Egypt into Nazareth. They are not, then, contrary to one another; but the one, namely Luke, speaks of the going down from Bethlehem into Nazareth, while Matthew speaks of the going up that came afterward from Egypt into Nazareth.

Matt. 2:23. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, that He shall be called a Nazarene. And what prophet said this? It is not now found. For through the negligence of the Hebrews many books were lost, and also through the continual captivities; but perhaps it was spoken among the Jews unwritten. Now “Nazarene” signifies “sanctified.” If, then, Christ is holy, He might fittingly be called a Nazarene. For “Holy One of Israel” is the Lord called by many of the prophets.

Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven

Matt. 3:1. Now in those days. Not when the Lord was a child and dwelt in Nazareth, but he speaks simply, meaning, in that time, the time before the new generation.

Matt. 3:1. John the Baptist comes. For this purpose was John sent by God, that, reproving the Jews, he might persuade them to come to a sense of their own evils, and so to receive Christ. For unless one perceives his sins, he does not come to repentance. John, therefore, was sent.

Matt. 3:1–2. Preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying: Repent. The Jews were arrogant; for this reason he presses them on to repentance.

Matt. 3:2. for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. By the kingdom of heaven he means the first and second coming of Christ, and the virtuous life. For whenever, living on earth, we conduct ourselves as in heaven, not living passionately, we possess the kingdom of heaven.

Matt. 3:3. For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. The way means the Gospel; and the paths, the commandments of the law, as being worn down and old. He says, then, that: Be ready for the evangelical way of life, and make the commandments of the law straight—that is, make them spiritual. For the spirit is straight. Whenever, then, you see a Jew understanding the things of the law carnally, say that this man has not made the paths straight—that is, he does not understand the law spiritually.

Matt. 3:4. And John himself had his garment of camel’s hair. He summoned them to repentance even by his dress; for he had a mournful robe. And they say that the camel is between clean and unclean. For inasmuch as it chews the cud, it is clean; but inasmuch as it is not cloven-hoofed in its nails, it is not clean. Since, then, John too brought to God both the people that seemed clean, the Jewish, and the unclean, the gentile, and was a mediator of the old covenant and the new, for this reason he wore the camel’s hair.

Matt. 3:4. and a leather belt around his waist. All the saints are introduced in Scripture as girded, as being always at work; for the negligent and luxurious are not girded, as now the Saracens; or [it is] because they have mortified the passions of desire; for leather is part of a dead animal.

Matt. 3:4. And his food was locusts and wild honey. [This is said] to those who hold that the locusts are herbs, which they also call melagra; while some [say they are] tree-fruits, that is, wild fruits of the season. And understand the “wild” honey to be that worked by wild bees, found in trees and rocks.

Matt. 3:5–6. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about the Jordan. And they were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. Even though they were baptized, yet the baptism of John did not have remission of sins. But John preached only repentance, and led toward remission of sins—that is, he guided [them] to the baptism of Christ, from whom comes the remission of sins.

Matt. 3:7. And seeing many of the Pharisees. “Pharisee” is interpreted “set apart.” For they seemed in life and in knowledge to be set apart, and to surpass the others.

Matt. 3:7. And of the Sadducees. These believed neither in resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit. And they are interpreted “righteous.” For Sedek is righteousness; for they named themselves righteous. Or they are named from the heresiarch Sadok.

Matt. 3:7. Coming to his baptism, he said to them. They did not come with a right mind, like the rest. For this reason he also lays hold of them.

Matt. 3:7. Brood of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? He speaks to them bitterly, knowing their hardness; yet he also praises them, saying: Who has warned you? For he marvels how this came to pass, that their wicked generation should repent. And he calls them a brood of vipers, because, just as these come forth devouring the wombs [that bore them], so these too murdered their fathers, that is, their teachers, the prophets; and by “the wrath to come” he means that of Gehenna.

Matt. 3:8. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance. You see what he says, that one must not only flee from wickedness, but also bring forth the fruits of virtue.

For, he says, turn away from evil, and do good.

Matt. 3:9. And think not to say within yourselves: We have Abraham as our father. This was to their destruction, that they took confidence in their noble lineage.

Matt. 3:9. For I say to you that God is able even from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. By stones are understood also the gentiles, from whom many believed. Yet John says this also quite plainly, that even from stones [God] is able to make children for Abraham. For indeed Sarah was a stone and a rock, because of her barrenness, but she bore a child; and the Lord raised up children to Abraham from the stones—when? When, at his crucifixion, many, seeing the rocks rent asunder, believed.

Matt. 3:10. And now also the axe is laid to the root of the trees. By the axe he means the judgment of Christ; and the trees [are] each one of us. He, then, who has not believed is from now on cut off root and all, and is cast into Gehenna.

Matt. 3:10. Every tree, therefore. Even if it be descended from Abraham.

Matt. 3:10. Which brings not forth good fruit. He did not say, “Which has not brought forth,” but, “Which brings not forth.” For one must ever bear fruit. For if yesterday you showed mercy, but today you are grasping, you do not please [God].

Matt. 3:10. is cut down and thrown into the fire. The fire of Gehenna.

Matt. 3:11. I indeed baptize you with water to repentance; but he that comes after me is mightier than I. He had said to them: Bring forth fruit. He shows, then, what the fruit is: that it is to believe in him who comes after him. And Christ came after him; inasmuch as he was later than [John] in birth, by six months only, but also in manifestation. For the Forerunner was made manifest first, then Christ, attested by him.

Matt. 3:11. Whose sandals I am not worthy to bear. I am not, he says, even his lowest servant, so as to bear these. And you may understand the sandals [as] his two descents, that from heaven to earth, and that from earth to Hades. And the sandals are the fleshly skin and the mortification; these two descents the Forerunner cannot bear, being unable to comprehend how they came to pass.

Matt. 3:11. He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. That is, He shall flood you abundantly with the gifts of the Spirit. For my baptism, he says, does not furnish spiritual grace, nor even the remission of sins; but he will both forgive you, and give the Holy Spirit.

Matt. 3:12. Whose winnowing-fan is in his hand. Think not that if you are baptized by him, then, when you sin, he will pardon you. But he also has a winnowing-fan, that is, judgment and scrutiny.

Matt. 3:12. And he will thoroughly purge his threshing-floor. That is, the Church, which has many baptized, just as on the threshing-floor [there is] every kind of crop; but among these, some are chaff, as many as are light and moved by the spirits of wickedness; and others [are] wheat, as many as both benefit others, and nourish [them] through teaching and practice.

Matt. 3:12. And he will gather his wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Unquenchable is that fire; so that Origen talks nonsense, saying that there will be an end of punishment.

Matt. 3:13–14. Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him; but John forbade him, saying. Being pure, he is baptized, that he might wash us clean; and that he might show us that the one upon whom we are about to be baptized must first be purified, lest we defile baptism, being thereafter easily soiled through evil habit. And John forbids him, lest the beholders should suppose him also to be one of the many baptized to repentance.

Matt. 3:14. I have need to be baptized by you. For the Forerunner had need to be cleansed by the Lord. For, being descended from Adam, he too dragged along the defilement that came from the disobedience; but Christ, being made flesh, cleansed all.

Matt. 3:14. And do you come to me? He did not dare to say, “And are you baptized by me?” but,

Matt. 3:14. And do you come? so reverent was he.

Matt. 3:15. But Jesus answering said to him: Suffer it now. Now, he says, give way; but there will be a time when we shall have the glory that is due, even if now we do not appear [in it].

Matt. 3:15. For thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. By righteousness he means the law. Accursed, he says, was human nature, because it could not bring the law to fulfillment. I, then, have accomplished the other things of the law also; but this remains to me, to be baptized. Having accomplished this, then, I shall deliver nature from the curse; for this becomes me.

Matt. 3:16. Then he suffers him; and Jesus, having been baptized. At thirty years of age he is baptized, since this age receives all the sins. For in the first age there is much thoughtlessness; in the second, that of the younger men, [there is] much flame of desire and of anger; in this, that of full-grown men, [there is] much love of money. He waited, then, for this age, that through all the ages he might fulfill the law, and sanctify us.

Matt. 3:16. Immediately he went up from the water. The Manichaeans say that his body was laid aside in the Jordan, and that according to appearance he showed another body. But they are silenced from this. For Jesus, he says, went up; not another went up, but the very one who had gone down into the water.

Matt. 3:16. And lo, the heavens were opened to him. Adam closed them; but through Christ they are opened; that you might learn that you also, when you are baptized, open them.

Matt. 3:16–17. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and coming upon him; and lo, a voice from the heavens, saying. The Spirit descends, to bear witness that the one baptized is greater than the one baptizing. For the Jews held John to be great, but for Christ they did not so much care. And all saw the Spirit coming upon Jesus, lest they should suppose that the voice which said,

Matt. 3:17. This is my Son, the beloved, came on account of John; but, seeing the Spirit, they might believe that the voice is on account of Jesus. And “like a dove” [signifies] the guileless and the gentle; and because the dove is most pure, and where there is a stench it does not remain; so too the Holy Spirit. But also in the days of Noah the dove announced the abating of the flood, bearing an olive branch; so too here the Holy Spirit declares the loosing of sins. There [it was] a twig; but here [it is] the mercy of God.

Matt. 3:17. This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased; that is, In whom I have taken delight, in whom I am pleased.

Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee

Matt. 4:1. Then was Jesus led up into the wilderness by the Spirit. Teaching us that after baptism we must expect temptations, he is led up by the Holy Spirit; for he did nothing without the Spirit. And he is led up into the wilderness, that he might show us that the devil tempts us then, when he finds us alone, and not helped by one another. We must, then, not rashly trust in ourselves.

Matt. 4:1. To be tempted by the devil. He is called “devil” (diabolos) who slandered (diabalōn) God to Adam. For he said to him that God envies you. And now too he slanders [our] nature to us.

Matt. 4:2. And having fasted. He fasted, that he might show that fasting is a great thing against temptations, just as luxury is the leader of sin.

Matt. 4:2. Forty days and forty nights. He fasts as many [days] as both Moses and Elijah; for had they been more, the incarnation would have seemed an illusion.

Matt. 4:2. Afterward he hungered. When he gave way to nature, then he also hungered, that he might give the devil occasion to approach and to grapple with him through hunger, and so [Christ] might throw him, and cast him down, and grant the victory to us.

Matt. 4:3. And the tempter, coming to him, said: If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves. The robber had heard the voice from heaven. Again he saw him hungering, and was thereafter in doubt how the Son of God hungers; for this reason, then, he tempts him, that he might learn. And he flatters him, thinking to undermine him, in saying:

Matt. 4:3. If you are the Son of God. But you will say: And what sin was there in making the stones loaves? Hear, then, that to listen to the devil in this is a sin. And besides: he did not say, Let this stone become a loaf, but, The stones, wishing to lead Christ into excess. For one loaf altogether suffices the hungry man; for this reason Christ did not listen to him.

Matt. 4:4. But he answered and said: It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. The testimony is from the Pentateuch; for it is the saying of Moses, since indeed the Hebrews too were fed by the manna, which was not bread, but [came] through the word of God, fulfilling every need of the Hebrews, and becoming all that anyone desired to eat. For whether the Jew desired fish, or egg, or cheese, the manna afforded him such a taste.

Matt. 4:5. Then the devil takes him into the holy city, and sets him upon the pinnacle of the temple. Some part of the temple, such as the things called by us “double-sloped”; for they look like wings.

Matt. 4:6. And says to him: If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it is written, that he shall give his angels charge concerning you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. If you are the Son of God—he all but says this: I do not believe the voice from the heavens; nevertheless you, if you are the Son of God, show me. And yet, O foul one, if he were the Son of God, would he have cast himself down? It is of your cruelty, this, to cast down the demon-possessed; but of God, to save. And it is not written,

Matt. 4:6. In their hands they shall bear you up, concerning Christ, but concerning the saints, who have need of angelic help. But Christ has no need, being God.

Matt. 4:7. Jesus said to him: Again it is written: You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Gently does Christ repel him, teaching us through meekness to conquer the demons.

Matt. 4:8–9. Again the devil takes him to an exceedingly high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and says to him: All these things will I give you, if you fall down and worship me. Some indeed suppose the “high mountain” [to be] the passion of the love of money, to which the enemy is eager to lead Jesus up; but they do not suppose rightly. For the devil appeared to him perceptibly; for the Lord did not admit thoughts—God forbid. Perceptibly, then, he showed him on the mountain all the kingdoms, setting these before his eyes in appearance, and,

Matt. 4:9. All these things will I give you, he says. For he reckons the world as his own, out of pride; and this he says now also to the covetous, so that those who worship him, they possess these things.

Matt. 4:10. Then Jesus says to him: Get behind me, Satan; for it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. The Lord is angry at him, when he saw him appropriating the things of God, and saying:

Matt. 4:9. All these things will I give you, as his own. And learn how the Scriptures profit; for the Lord from them silenced the enemy.

Matt. 4:11. Then the devil leaves him; and lo, angels came and ministered to him. The Lord conquered the three temptations: that of gluttony, that of vainglory, and that of the love of money, that is, the love of wealth. For these are the rulers of the passions; having conquered these, then, [he conquered] the others much more. Whence Luke says that he accomplished every temptation, having accomplished the chief heads of the temptations. Whence also angels minister to him, that it might be shown that to us also, after the victory, angels will minister. For all things Christ both does and shows for our sake; since to him, as God, the angels ever minister.

Matt. 4:12–13. And Jesus, having heard that John was delivered up, withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. Jesus withdraws, instructing us not to cast ourselves into dangers. And he withdraws into Galilee, which means “the rolling-down.” For the gentiles were rolling down into sin. And he dwells there in Capernaum, which is “house of consolation”; for in order to make the gentiles a house of the Comforter, for this he came down. And Zebulun is interpreted “night-place”; and Naphtali, “broadening.” The gentiles, then, had both night and broadening in [their] life. For they did not walk the narrow way, but that which leads to destruction.

Matt. 4:14–16. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the gentiles; the people that sat in darkness saw a great light; and to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up to them. “By the way of the sea,” instead of, lying toward the way of the sea. And the “great light” [is] the Gospel. For the law too is a light; but a small one. And the “shadow of death” [is] sin; for it is a likeness and a shadowy outline of death. For just as death [deadens] the body, so this deadens the soul. And the light has sprung up to us. For we did not seek it, but it appeared to us, as though it had pursued us.

Matt. 4:17. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say. From the time John was bound, Jesus began to preach. For he waited for John first to bear witness concerning him, and to prepare a way for him, by which he was about to come, just as servants prepare beforehand for their masters. For the Lord, being equal to the Father, had himself also a prophet, John, just as his Father and God had the prophets before John—or rather, those too belong to both the Father and the Son.

Matt. 4:17. Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is also Christ, and it is also the blessed life. For whenever someone conducts himself as an angel on earth, is he not then heavenly? So that in each of us is the kingdom of heaven, if we live angelically.

Matt. 4:18. And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen), and he says to them. These had been disciples of John. And while John was yet living, they came to Christ. But when they saw John bound, they returned again to fishing, and so Christ, coming, fishes for them, saying:

Matt. 4:19–20. Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they, immediately leaving their nets, followed him. You see—obedient men, immediately they followed him. Whence it is clear that this is a second calling. For having been taught beforehand by Christ, then having left him, they readily followed again when they saw him.

Matt. 4:21. And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father. A very great virtue, to support their father in his old age, and to be nourished from just labors.

Matt. 4:21. Mending their nets. For they were poor, and for this reason, being unable to buy new ones, they patched the old.

Matt. 4:22. And they, immediately leaving the boat and their father, followed him. It appears that Zebedee did not believe, and for this reason they left him. You see when one must leave [his] father: when he hinders [him] from virtue and godliness. And these, seeing the former ones following, fittingly followed, imitating those.

Matt. 4:23. And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. That he might show that he is not contrary to the law, he enters into the synagogues of the Hebrews.

Matt. 4:23. And healing every disease and every sickness among the people. He begins with the signs, that he might confirm the things he teaches. And disease is chronic suffering; sickness, the temporary disorder of the body.

Matt. 4:24. And his fame went out into all Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and beset with torments, and those possessed of demons, and lunatics, and paralytics, and he healed them. Christ did not demand faith from any of those brought, since this very thing was [a mark] of faith, to bring them from afar. And by “lunatics” he means the demon-possessed. For the demon, wishing to sow among men [the notion] that the stars are malefactors, watched for the moon when it was full, and then attacked, that the moon might seem the cause of the suffering, and the creation of God might be slandered, just as the Manichaeans too were deceived.

Matt. 4:25. And great multitudes followed him from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies

Matt. 5:1. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain. Teaching us not to do anything for show, he goes up into the mountain; for since he was about to teach, he trains us to withdraw from the tumults around us whenever we teach.

Matt. 5:1. And when he had sat down, his disciples came to him. The crowds come for the miracles, but the disciples for the teachings; whence also, after he had finished the miracles and healed the bodies, he heals the souls as well, so that we may learn that he himself is the Maker of both souls and bodies.

Matt. 5:2. And he opened his mouth. Why is it added, He opened his mouth? For it seems to be superfluous. But it is not; for even without opening his mouth he used to teach. How? Through his life and his miracles; but now, opening his mouth, he teaches.

Matt. 5:2. He taught them, saying. Not the disciples alone, but the crowd as well; and he begins from the beatitudes, just as David also began from a beatitude.

Matt. 5:3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. He lays down humility first, as a foundation. For since Adam fell through pride, through humility Christ raises us up again; for Adam hoped to become God. And those who are crushed in soul, these are the poor in spirit.

Matt. 5:4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Those who mourn over their sins, not over any worldly thing; and he said “mourning,” that is, always and not once; and not only over our own sins, but also over those of our neighbor. And they shall be comforted even here; for he who mourns over sin rejoices spiritually; and there much more.

Matt. 5:5. Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. Some say the “earth” is the spiritual one, that is, heaven; but understand this earth here as well. For since the meek are thought to be despised and deprived of their possessions, he says that they rather possess all things. And the meek are not those who are never angry at all (for such are without feeling), but those who, though they have anger, master it, and are angry [only] when it is fitting.

Matt. 5:6. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Since he is about to speak about almsgiving, he shows first that one must pursue righteousness, and not give alms out of plunder; and one must pursue righteousness with all desire; for the words Hungering and thirsting signify this. And since the greedy seem to be well off and filled, he says that the righteous rather will be filled even here, for they possess what is their own in security.

Matt. 5:7. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. It is possible to show mercy not only through money, but also through a word; and even if you have nothing, through tears. And they shall obtain mercy even here, from men; for he who was merciful yesterday, if he falls into need today, will be shown mercy by all; and there, from God still more greatly.

Matt. 5:8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. There are many who do not plunder, but rather show mercy; yet they commit fornication, and are unclean in other ways. Christ therefore commands that, along with the other virtues, [we] be pure also, that is, chaste—not only in body, but also in heart. For without holiness, that is, without chastity, no one shall see the Lord. For just as a mirror, if it be clean, then receives the reflections, so also the pure soul receives the vision of God and the knowledge of the Scriptures.

Matt. 5:9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Not only those who are themselves at peace with all, but also those who reconcile others who are at strife. And peacemakers are also those who by their teaching turn back the enemies of God. And such are sons of God. For indeed the Only-begotten also came down to reconcile us to God.

Matt. 5:10. Blessed are those persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Not only the martyrs are persecuted, but also many for helping those who are wronged, and simply for every virtue; for righteousness is all virtue. Since thieves and murderers too are persecuted, but they are not blessed.

Matt. 5:11–12. Blessed are you when they shall revile you and persecute you. Henceforth he turns to the apostles themselves, showing that it is especially proper to teachers to be reviled. and utter every kind of evil against you falsely, on my account. It is not he who is simply reviled that is blessed, but [he who is reviled] both for Christ’s sake and falsely. And if these two things are not present, that man is wretched, as one who scandalizes many. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward is great in heaven. Of the others he did not speak of a great reward; but here he does, showing that to endure reviling is a great and most grievous thing. For many have even hanged themselves. And Job too, having endured the other trials, was then most troubled, when his friends reviled him as one suffering for sin. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you. Lest the apostles should suppose that they would be persecuted for teaching things contrary [to the law], he consoles them, saying that the prophets before you too were driven out for virtue’s sake; so that you have a consolation in their sufferings.

Matt. 5:13. You are the salt of the earth. The prophets were sent to one nation. But you are the salt of the whole earth, through your teaching and your reproofs making astringent those who are slack, that they may not breed the worms that never die; so do not cast away the astringency of reproofs, even if you are reviled, even if you are persecuted. Therefore he says: But if the salt has lost its savor, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything, but to be cast out and trodden under foot by men. For if the teacher has lost his savor—that is, if he does not reprove and make astringent, but has grown slack—with what shall he be salted, that is, set right? Then indeed he is cast out of the teacher’s dignity, and trodden under foot, that is, despised.

Matt. 5:14. You are the light of the world. First salt, and then light. For he who reproves the things done in secret, that man is light. For everything that is made manifest is light. And these enlightened not one nation, but the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. He trains them to be earnest and exact concerning their life, as those who are about to be seen by all. For do not suppose, he says, that you will be hidden in a corner, but you will be conspicuous; so see how you will live blamelessly, that you may not scandalize others as well.

Matt. 5:15. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all that are in the house. I indeed, he says, kindled the light; but that the grace be not quenched, let that be the work of your diligence, so that the brightness of your life may shine to others as well. He says, then:

Matt. 5:16. Thus let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. He did not say that “You display your virtue” (for that is not good), but let it alone shine, so that even your enemies may marvel, and glorify—not you, but your Father. So that if we practice virtue, we ought to practice it for the glory of God, not our own.

Matt. 5:17. Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets; I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Since he himself was about to introduce new laws, lest they should suppose that he is opposed to God, he speaks, healing beforehand the supposition of the many, [saying] that “I have not come to destroy the law, but rather to fulfill it.” And how did he fulfill it? First, because whatever the prophets said about him, he did. Wherefore the evangelist too frequently says: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet. But he also fulfilled all the commandments of the law. for he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. And in another way too he fulfilled the law, that is, he filled it up; for whatever that [law] sketched in outline, this one painted in full. That one [said], You shall not kill; this one, “Neither be angry without cause.” Just as the painter, too, does not destroy the outline, but rather fills it up.

Matt. 5:18. For truly I say to you. The “Amen” is confirmatory, equivalent to “Yes, I say to you.” Till heaven and earth pass away, one iota or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. He shows here that the world passes away and is transformed. He says, then, that so long as the universe holds together, not even the least letter would pass from the law. But others say that the iota and the tittle are the commandments of the law; and others, the Cross; for of the Cross the iota is the upright wood, and the tittle the crossbeam. He says, then, that the things spoken concerning the Cross shall be fulfilled.

Matt. 5:19. Whoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. By “least commandments” he means those that he himself is about to deliver; for not the legal ones. And he names them “least” out of humility, that he may train you too to be modest-minded about your teachings. And he “shall be called least in the kingdom,” equivalent to: in the resurrection he shall be last and cast away into Gehenna. For he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven—far from it; rather understand “kingdom” as the resurrection. But whoever shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. First “do,” and then “teach”; for how shall I guide another into a way I have not traveled? And again, if I do indeed, but do not teach, I do not have so great a reward; and often even condemnation, when out of envy or sloth I do not teach.

Matt. 5:20. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. By “righteousness” he means all virtue; as in, Job was righteous, holy, blameless. Shudder then, O man, considering how much is required of us. Then he teaches us how we may exceed; and he enumerates the virtues.

Matt. 5:21. You have heard that it was said to them of old: You shall not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be liable to the judgment. By whom it was said, he does not say. For if he had said, “My Father said to them of old, but I say to you,” he would have seemed to legislate against the Father. Again, if he had said, “I said to them of old,” he would have been hard to accept. Therefore he speaks indefinitely, that It was said to them of old; and he shows that the law had grown old, by saying that It was said to them of old; and since it had now grown old, and is near to vanishing, one must let it go and run to the new.

Matt. 5:22. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause shall be liable to the judgment. The prophets, when about to prophesy, said: “Thus says the Lord”; but Christ, “I say,” showing the authoritative power of his Godhead. For they were servants; but he is the Son, and has all that is the Father’s. And he who is angry with his brother without cause, that man is condemned; but if anyone is angry with good reason, and for the sake of correction, and according to a spiritual zeal, he shall not be condemned; for Paul too uttered words of anger against Elymas the magician, and against the high priest, yet not without cause, but according to zeal. And we are angry “without cause” when [it is] for money or glory. And whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the council. By “council” he means the law court of the Hebrews. And the [word] Raca means, equivalent to, “You”—just as we are accustomed to say to someone despised by us, “Get away, you!” Wishing therefore to train us to be exact even about small things, and to honor one another, he exhorts these things. And some [say] that “Raca,” in Syriac, means “contemptible.” Whoever therefore insults his brother as contemptible shall be liable to the council of the holy apostles, when they shall sit judging the twelve tribes. And whoever shall say, You fool, shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire. Many say and think that this too is harsh, but it is not. For he who deprives his brother of speech and understanding—by which we differ from the beasts—how is he not worthy of Gehenna? For he who reviles and insults dissolves love; and this, once dissolved, destroys the virtues along with it, just as its presence holds them together; therefore he who insults tears down all the virtues, in tearing apart love. So that he is fittingly worthy of the fire.

Matt. 5:23–24. If therefore you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. God thinks little of the honor due to himself, that we may love one another. And in saying “if your brother has something against you,” he added nothing else. For whether he has it justly or unjustly, be reconciled. And he did not say, “if you have something against him,” but, “If he has something against you,” make haste to make him your friend. He commands [you] to leave the gift, that he may lay upon you the necessity of being reconciled; for you, wishing your gift to be offered, will be compelled to be reconciled. And at the same time he shows that love is the true sacrifice.

Matt. 5:25–26. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him, lest the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. Truly I say to you, you shall in no wise come out from there till you have paid the last farthing. Some think that by “adversary” is meant the devil, and by “the way” [this present] life; and that the Lord exhorts thus: As long as you are in this life, settle with the devil, that he may not afterward have [grounds] to reprove you concerning sin, as one having something of his, and [that] you then be delivered to punishment, being held to account down to the last sins. For a “farthing” is two mites. But you may understand that he says this also concerning the adversaries here [below], exhorting [us] not to go to law, and to be drawn away from divine works; for if you have been wronged, he says, do not go off to a law court, but settle in the way, lest you suffer worse things through the power of the adversary.

Matt. 5:27. You have heard that it was said: You shall not commit adultery. Adultery is one thing, and fornication another; adultery [is] with a married woman, but fornication with one who is unmarried.

Matt. 5:28. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. That is, he who stands and busies himself [gazing], and kindles desire from looking, and again looks in order to desire the more—such a one has already completed the evil in his heart. But if he did not add the deed, what of it? He was not strong enough; since if he should be strong enough, he will at once accomplish the evil. Yet know that even if we desire, and are then hindered from doing the deed, it is plain that we have been sheltered by grace. And women too, if they adorn themselves in order to please some, even if they do not please, have nonetheless mixed the poison, even if no one drinks.

Matt. 5:29–30. And if your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you. For it is profitable for you that one of your members perish, and not that your whole body be cast into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from you. For it is profitable for you that one of your members perish, and not that your whole body be cast into Gehenna. Hearing “eye” and “hand,” do not think that this is said concerning [bodily] members; for he would not have added “the right [eye]” and “the right [hand]”; but [it is said] concerning those who seem [to be] friends and [yet] harm us. For instance: there is a certain young man, having dissolute friends, and he is harmed. Cut these off, he says; for perhaps you will save even them, when they come to their senses; but if not, [you will save] at least yourself. But if you cling to your friendship with them, you will both perish.

Matt. 5:31. And it was said, that Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. Moses commanded that if anyone hated his wife, he should separate from her, lest something worse happen; for being hated, she might perhaps even be killed; and [he commanded] to give to her who was put away a certificate of dismissal, which was called a “writing of divorcement”; so that she might no longer return to him, and from this there arise confusion, the husband living with another.

Matt. 5:32. But I say to you that everyone who puts away his wife, except for the matter of fornication, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever shall marry her that is put away commits adultery. He does not abolish the Mosaic [laws], but corrects them, frightening the husband, that he may not without reason hate his wife. For if he puts her away with good reason—that is, when she has committed fornication—he is not condemned; but if without fornication, he is condemned; for he forces her to commit adultery. But he also who receives her is an adulterer. For if he had not received her, she would have returned, and submitted to her husband. For the Christian ought to be a peacemaker both toward others, and much more toward his own wife.

Matt. 5:33. Again you have heard that it was said to them of old: You shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths. That is, When you swear, speak the truth.

Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World

Matt. 5:34–35. But I say to you, Do not swear at all; neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Since the Jews, hearing God saying, Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool, used to swear by such things. The Lord therefore, forbidding them, does not say that “Since heaven is fair and great, and the earth useful, for this reason do not swear,” but that the one is the throne of God, and the other his footstool, so that idolatry may have no place. For the elements would have been deified by those who swore by them; which indeed happened before.

Matt. 5:36. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. God alone swears by himself, as being subject to no one; but we, not having authority over ourselves, how could we swear by our head? For it is another’s possession. For if your head is yours, change, if you can, a single hair.

Matt. 5:37. But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no. Do not say, “And how then shall I be believed?” he says; If you speak the truth, and never swear. For no one is so distrusted as the man who swears readily. But whatever is more than these is of the evil one. To swear, he says, being more than the “yes” and the “no,” is of the devil. But you will say, “Then was the law of Moses, which commands swearing, evil?” Learn then that swearing was not evil at that time; but after Christ, it is evil; just as also to be circumcised, and simply to Judaize. Since to nurse at the breast, too, befits infants, but to grown men is a shame.

Matt. 5:38. You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. The law, condescending, permitted retaliation in kind, so that through fear of suffering the same things, they might not wrong one another.

Matt. 5:39–42. But I say to you, Do not resist the evil one; but whoever shall strike you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. By “the evil one” here he means the devil, who works through the man; must we then resist the devil? Yes; but not by striking back, but by enduring. For fire is not quenched by fire, but by water. And do not think that he speaks only of the blow on the cheek, but also of every other [wrong] and simply of every hardship. And to him who would go to law with you, and take your tunic, leave him your cloak also. If he drags you to a law court and troubles you, leave him your cloak also; not if he simply asks [for it]. And “tunic” properly [means] what among us is called the undershirt; and “cloak” [means] what is thrown over [it]; though indeed the names are used interchangeably. And whoever shall compel you [to go] one mile, go with him two. Why do I speak, he says, of cloaks and tunics? Rather, give your very body to him who unjustly drags [you]; and do more than he wishes. Give to him who asks you, and from him who would borrow from you do not turn away. Whether enemy, or friend, or unbeliever, whether he seeks money, or some other use. And by “loan” he does not mean that [made] with interest, but simply the use [of a thing]. Since in the law too they lent without interest.

Matt. 5:43–44. You have heard that it was said: You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy; but I say to you: Love your enemies. He has reached the summit of the virtues; for what is greater than this? And it is not impossible; for Moses and Paul loved the Jews who raged against them, [interceding] on their behalf, and all the saints [loved] their enemies. Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. For one must regard them as benefactors. For everyone who persecutes and tries us lightens for us the punishment for our sins. And besides, [consider] also when God gives us so great a prize. For hear:

Matt. 5:45. That you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. Do you see how great a good he gives you who hates you and spitefully uses you, if only you are willing to endure? And understand by “rain” and “sun” both knowledge and teaching; for God enlightens and teaches all.

Matt. 5:46. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans do the same? Let us shudder, when we are not even equal to the publicans, but even hate those who love us.

Matt. 5:47–48. And if you greet your friends only, what do you more [than others]? Do not even the publicans do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. For to love some men—those who are, of course, friends—but to hate others, is imperfect; but the perfect thing is to love all.

On despising the things of the world.

Matt. 6:1. Take heed that you do not do your almsgiving before men, to be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. Having led [them] up to love, the greatest of the virtues, he now removes vainglory also, which follows upon good deeds; and see what he says: “Take heed,” as though he were speaking about a dreadful beast—take heed lest it tear you to pieces; and even if you give alms before men, but do not do this in order to be seen, you are not condemned. But if you have vainglory as your aim, even if you do it in your storeroom, you are condemned. For God either punishes or crowns the intention.

Matt. 6:2. When therefore you do almsgiving, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. The hypocrites did not have trumpets, but he here mocks their mind, because they wished their almsgiving to be trumpeted. And hypocrites are those who are one thing, but appear another; and these indeed appear prosperous, but are other [than they seem]. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. For being praised, they received in full from men.

Matt. 6:3. But when you do almsgiving, let not your left hand know what your right hand does. This he said hyperbolically; that, If it be possible, hide [it] even from yourself. Or also in another way: the left hand [is] vainglory; the right hand [is] almsgiving; let not vainglory, then, know the almsgiving.

Matt. 6:4. That your almsgiving may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret, he will reward you openly. When? When all things are presented bare and open, and then I shall be glorified the more.

Matt. 6:5. And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. These too he names hypocrites, as seeming to attend to God, but [in fact] attending to men; from whom they have [it] in full, that is, they receive their reward.

Matt. 6:6. But you, when you pray, enter into your storeroom, and shutting your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. What then? Shall I not pray in church? Indeed [you may], very much; but with a right intention, and so as not to make a display; since the place does not harm, but the manner and the aim. Many, at any rate, praying in secret, do this for the pleasing of men.

Matt. 6:7. And when you pray, do not babble, as the heathen [do]. Babbling is idle chatter; for instance, to ask for some earthly thing, glory, wealth, victory. And barbarism is inarticulate speech, like that of little children; do not you, then, be a babbler. For they think that in their many words they shall be heard. But one ought not to make long prayers, but short ones, [yet] frequent, and, uttering few [words], to be pierced with compunction in prayer.

Matt. 6:8. Do not therefore be like them; for your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask him. For we do not ask in order to instruct [him], but that, occupying ourselves apart from the things of [daily] life, we may be benefited by calling upon him.

Matt. 6:9. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father who is in heaven. A vow is one thing, and prayer another; for a vow is a promise to God—as when someone promises to abstain from wine or from something else; but prayer is the asking for good things. And by saying “Father,” he shows you of what good things you have been deemed worthy, having become a son of God; and by saying “in heaven,” he showed you your homeland and your father’s [house]; for if you wish to have God as Father, look toward the heavens, and not toward the earth. And you do not say, “My Father,” but, “Our Father,” so that you may have brethren too, of one Father.

Matt. 6:9. Hallowed be your name. That is, Make us holy, that through us you also may be glorified; for just as God is blasphemed through me, so also he is hallowed through me, that is, he is glorified as he ought to be.

Matt. 6:10. Your kingdom come. That is, the Second Coming; for he who has a conscience [made] confident prays for the resurrection and the judgment to come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Just as, he says, the angels do your will, so grant us also to do it.

Matt. 6:11. Give us today our needed bread. By “daily” [bread] he means that which is sufficient for our nature and constitution, he says; and he removes anxiety about the morrow. And the body of Christ too is daily bread, of which we pray to partake without condemnation.

Matt. 6:12. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Since even after baptism we sin, we entreat that he forgive us; and he will forgive in such manner as we also [forgive]. For if we bear malice, he will not forgive us; for God has me as his example; and what I do to another, he does to me.

Matt. 6:13. And do not bring us into trial. We men are weak, and therefore we ought not to cast ourselves into trials; but, having fallen [into them], to pray not to be swallowed up by the trial. For he who is dragged down and overcome, that man has been brought into the pit of trial, but not he who has fallen in, yet conquered. But deliver us from the evil one. He did not say, “from evil men”; for it is not they who wrong us, but the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory to the ages. Amen. Here he gives us courage. For if the Father is king, and powerful, and glorious, then surely we too shall conquer the evil one, and afterward be rewarded.

Matt. 6:14. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Again he teaches us to be free of malice. And he reminds us of the Father, that we may reverence him, and not become savage, being children of such a One.

Matt. 6:15. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Nothing does the meek God so hate as cruelty.

Matt. 6:16. And when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, gloomy; for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. Disfigurement of the face is the pallor, when someone appears not such as he [really] is, but feigns a gloomy look.

Matt. 6:17–18. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, that you may not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. The ancients had as a sign of joy the anointing with oil after the bath; do you too, then, appear thus rejoicing. And by “oil” is also understood almsgiving. And our head is Christ, whom we must anoint with our almsgiving; but the face, that is, the senses, [we must] wash through tears.

Matt. 6:19–21. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Since he cast out the disease of vainglory, he now speaks about possessing nothing. For since men acquire more out of vainglory, he shows the unprofitableness of the treasure upon the earth; that moth and rust consume foods and garments, and thieves [consume] gold and silver. Then, lest someone say to him that “But not all [men] are robbed,” he says: Even if none of these [befall], yet this very thing—your being nailed to anxiety about wealth—how is it not wretched? Therefore he says:

Matt. 6:22–23. The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye be single, your whole body is full of light; but if your eye be evil, your whole body will be full of darkness; if therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! This he says, that, If you nail your mind to anxiety about money, you have quenched the lamp, you have darkened your soul. For just as the eye, being single—that is, healthy—gives light to the body, but if it be evil—that is, diseased—darkens [it], so also the mind is blinded by anxiety. And if the mind be darkened, the soul becomes darkness, and much more the body.

Matt. 6:24. No one can serve two masters. By “two masters” he means those who command contrary things, such as God and Mammon. And we make the devil our master, just as [we make] the belly a god; but truly the Lord is God, while Mammon is unrighteousness. For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Do you see that it is not possible to serve wealth, which is also unrighteous, and God [together]? For the love of money casts him out from God.

Matt. 6:25. Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your soul, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; nor for your body, what you shall put on. “Therefore”—because of what? Because of being cast out from God by riches. It is not the soul that is fed, for it is incorporeal, but he said this according to common usage. For the soul seems not to endure being in the body, unless the flesh be fed. He does not cast out working, but [forbids] this: the giving of ourselves wholly to anxieties, and neglecting God. Since one must indeed farm, but also care for the soul. Is not the soul more than food, and the body more than clothing? That is, He who [made] the greater, having formed the soul and the body, will he not also give both food and clothing?

Matt. 6:26. Look at the birds of heaven, that they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? Though able to bring forward as an example Elijah, [or] John, he makes mention of the birds, that he may shame us, [showing] that we are even more unreasoning than these. And God feeds them, having put into them a natural knowledge for gathering food.

Matt. 6:27. Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature? This he says, that, Even if you are anxious, you do nothing, unless God wills [it]. Why then do you needlessly wear yourself to pieces?

Matt. 6:28–29. And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not toil, neither do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these. Not only from the unreasoning birds does he shame us, but also from the lilies that wither away. For if God so adorned those, though there was no need [of it], how much more will he supply the need of our clothing? And he shows that, even if you are very anxious, you will not be able to be adorned like the lilies; seeing that Solomon, the most prudent and most luxurious [of men], through all his kingdom was not able to array himself in anything such.

Matt. 6:30. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, [will he] not much more [clothe] you, O you of little faith? We learn from this that one ought not to be anxious about adornment. For this belongs to the flowers, which last [but] a season. So that everyone who adorns himself is grass. And by “you” he meant the rational [creatures], for whom he formed soul and body; and “of little faith” [are] all who are anxious. For if they had perfect faith in God, they would not be so unyieldingly anxious.

Matt. 6:31–32. Therefore do not be anxious, saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or with what shall we be clothed? For after all these things the nations seek. Eating he does not forbid. But the saying, “What shall we eat?”—this he forbids. [It is] what the rich say from the evening before: “What shall we eat tomorrow?” Do you see that he forbids luxury and wanton excess?

Matt. 6:32–33. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek first his kingdom, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. The kingdom of God [is] the enjoyment of good things; and this comes through righteousness. Whoever therefore seeks the spiritual things, to him are added also the bodily things, according to the bountifulness of God.

Matt. 6:34. Therefore do not be anxious for the morrow; for the morrow will be anxious for its own things; sufficient to the day is its own evil. By the “evil” of the day he means its affliction and hardship; for instance, It is sufficient for you to be afflicted for today; but if you are anxious also for the morrow, when will you have leisure for God, always wearing yourself down over bodily things?

Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets

Matt. 7:1. Judge not, that you be not judged. He does not forbid the rebuking [of others], but the condemning. For reproof is to profit, but condemnation to reproach and contempt—and that especially when a man who himself has great sins reproaches others for lesser ones, which God is about to judge.

Matt. 7:2–5. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you. And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, Let me cast out the mote from your eye, and behold, a beam is in your own eye? Hypocrite, first cast out the beam from your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast out the mote from your brother’s eye. He who is about to rebuke others must be blameless. For if he himself, having a beam in his eye—that is, a great log, or sin—finds fault with another who has a mote, he has made that one more shameless. And the Lord shows that one who sins greatly cannot even rightly see his brother’s sin; for he who has a beam in his eye, how should he see another who is moderately harmed?

Matt. 7:6. Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Dogs are the unbelievers; swine are those who believe, yet have a filthy life. One must not, then, speak the mysteries to unbelievers, nor the bright and pearl-like words concerning theology to the unclean; for the swine trample, that is, despise, the things spoken, while the dogs, turning, tear us in pieces—as do those called philosophers, when they hear that God was crucified, who tear us with their syllogisms, sophistically [arguing] that this is impossible.

Matt. 7:7–8. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you; for everyone that asks receives, and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks it shall be opened. In the foregoing he commanded great and difficult things; so here he shows how they shall be accomplished—namely, through continual prayer to God; for “Ask,” he said, meaning “always”; for he did not say, “Ask once.” Then he confirms what was said by an example drawn from human life.

Matt. 7:9–10. Or what man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will hand him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will hand him a snake? Here he teaches that one must both ask earnestly and ask for things that are profitable. For you, he says, see your children asking for fitting things, bread and a fish, and you give to them when they seek such things; so do you seek the spiritual things, not the carnal.

Matt. 7:11. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? He calls men evil, comparing them with God, since our nature is good, as God’s creation, but by choice we do evil.

Matt. 7:12. All things therefore whatever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them; for this is the law and the prophets. He shows the short road to virtue; for we men know of ourselves what is fitting. For if you wish to receive good, do good; if you wish to be loved by your enemies, love your enemies also. For indeed the law of God and the prophets say those things which the natural law too enjoins upon us.

Matt. 7:13. Enter in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are that go in by it. By the narrow gate he means the trials—both the voluntary, such as fasting and the rest, and the involuntary, such as bonds and persecutions. As, then, a fleshy man, or one carrying much, cannot enter through the narrow [gate], so neither can the luxurious or the rich; but through the broad [gate] such men enter. And showing that the strait place too is temporary, and the broadness passing, he called it a gate and a way; for the one who suffers hardship passes through the gate, that is, the hardship, while the one who lives in luxury passes along his luxury as along a way. Since, then, both are temporary, the better is to be chosen.

Matt. 7:14. How narrow is the gate, and strait the way that leads to life, and few there are that find it! The “How” is an exclamation; for he marvels—alas, how narrow it is! How then does he say elsewhere, My yoke is light? Because of the recompenses to come.

Matt. 7:15–16. But beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves; by their fruits you shall know them. The heretics are crafty and treacherous; for this reason he says, Beware. For they put forward fair speech, and feign a solemn life, but within is the hook. And the sheep’s clothing is also the gentleness which some assume in pretense, in order to flatter and deceive. And by their fruit they are known—that is, by their works and their life. For even though they play the hypocrite for a season,

Matt. 7:16–18. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so every good tree brings forth good fruits, but the corrupt tree brings forth evil fruits. Thorns and thistles are the hypocrites: thorns, as wounding secretly; thistles, as crafty and many-sided. And a corrupt tree is everyone whom a sodden and dissolute life rots away.

Matt. 7:18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruits. So long as it is corrupt, it cannot; but if it be changed, it can. For see that he did not say, “It will not be able,” but that, so long as it is corrupt, it brings forth no good things.

Matt. 7:19–20. Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you shall know them. These things are aimed at the Jews, for John also said such things to them. And he likens man to a tree, because he can be grafted from fruitless sin into virtue.

Matt. 7:21. Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Here he shows himself to be Lord, in saying, Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord—so that he calls himself God. And he teaches us that, if we have faith without works, we are nothing profited thereby; for “he that does the will”—he did not say “he that does it once,” but “he that does it until death.” And he did not say “my will,” lest he should give offense to the hearers, but “my Father’s”; and from this [it follows] that the will of the Father and of the Son is one, since the Son is no rebel.

Matt. 7:22–23. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works? And then will I confess to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you that work iniquity. Many at the beginning of the preaching cast out demons, even being unworthy, the demons fleeing because of the name of Jesus; for grace works even through the unworthy, just as we are sanctified even through unworthy priests. Judas too worked signs, and the sons of Sceva. And the “I never knew you” means, “Not even then, when you were working wonders, did I love you”; for knowledge here is called love.

Matt. 7:24–25. Everyone therefore who hears these my words, and does them, I will liken to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon the rock. Without the word, virtue cannot be accomplished; for this reason he says, I will liken him to a wise man. The rock is Christ; the house is the soul. Whoever, then, builds his soul upon the working of the commandments of Christ—him neither the rain, the devil fallen from heaven, nor the floods, the men begotten of such rain, nor the winds, the spirits of wickedness, nor, in a word, any of the trials whatever, can cast down.

Matt. 7:26–27. And everyone who hears these my words, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. He did not say, “I will liken him,” but, “he shall be likened” of himself to a foolish man—that one who indeed believes, but does not act; this man builds upon sand, upon the rottenness of his works; therefore he also falls by the trials. For when a trial strikes—that is, dashes against—him, he falls a great fall. But none of the unbelievers falls, for they always lie upon the ground; rather it is the believer that falls. And for this reason the fall is great, because it is a Christian that falls.

Matt. 7:28–29. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. For he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. It was not the rulers that were astonished—for how should they be, who envied him?—but the guileless multitude. And they marveled not at the phrasing of the words, but at the boldness; for he showed an authority above the prophets. For those [prophets] said, “Thus says the Lord”; but Christ, as God, said, “I say to you.”

Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father

Matt. 8:1–2. And when he was come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came and worshipped him, saying: Lord, if you will, you are able to cleanse me. The leper, being prudent, did not go up onto the mountain, lest he should interrupt the teaching. But when he had come down, the leper worships him. And showing great faith, he did not say, “If you entreat God, you will heal me,” but, “If you will”—wherefore Christ also [answers]:

Matt. 8:3–4. And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying: I will; be cleansed. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus says to him: See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. He touches the leper, showing that he is not subject to the law, which commands not to touch a leper, but is Master of it; and that to the clean nothing is unclean; and that his holy flesh imparted sanctification. And fleeing glory, he commands him to tell no one, but to show himself to the priest. For unless the priest declared that the leper was cleansed, he would have remained outside the city. And he commands him also to offer the gift for a testimony to the Jews, that is: “When they accuse me of dissolving the law, you shall be a witness that I have now commanded you to bring forward the things ordained by the law.”

Matt. 8:5. And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him and saying. Neither did this man come to him on the mountain, lest the teaching should be broken off. And this is the same [centurion] as the one in Luke. And if Luke says that he sent others as envoys to Jesus, this is no contradiction to Matthew, who says that the man himself came. For it was likely that he first sent others, and then, when the danger pressed upon him, came himself and said:

He did not bring him on a bed, believing that he could heal him even when absent; therefore,

Matt. 8:6–7. Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus says to him: I will come and heal him.

Matt. 8:8–10. And the centurion answered and said: Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant shall be healed; for I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes, and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed: Truly I say to you, not even in Israel have I found so great faith. “If I,” he says, “being a servant of the king, command the soldiers under me, much more can you command death and the diseases, so that this one withdraws and is laid upon another; for the diseases of the body are soldiers and avengers of God.” Christ therefore marvels, saying that not even among the Israelites have I found so great faith as in this Gentile.

Matt. 8:11–12. And I say to you, that many shall come from the East and the West, and shall recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He did not say that many Gentiles shall recline, lest he should wound the Jews, but spoke covertly, “from the East and the West.” And he made mention of Abraham, showing that he is not opposed to the Old [Covenant]; and in saying “outer darkness,” he made plain that there is also an inner [darkness], which is also lighter. For there are degrees even in the punishment. And he calls the Jews “children of the kingdom,” for to them belonged the promises: For, he says, Israel is my firstborn son.

Matt. 8:13. And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as you have believed, so be it done to you. And his servant was healed in that hour, and the centurion, returning to his house in that same hour, found the servant whole. He showed, by the things he healed with a word, that he speaks truly also concerning the casting away of the Jews.

Matt. 8:14–15. And when Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she got up and began to serve them. He entered into Peter’s house in order to eat. And touching her hand, he not only quenched the fever, but also restored the woman to perfect health, so that her strength returned and she was able to minister—and yet we know that much time is required for the sick to recover. And while the other evangelists said that they besought him, and that thus he healed her, Matthew did not say this, taking thought for brevity. For I told you at the beginning that what this one leaves out, another says; and learn also that marriage in no way hinders virtue, for the chief of the apostles had a mother-in-law.

Matt. 8:16–17. And when evening was come, they brought to him many that were possessed with demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses. In the evening and at an unsuitable hour they brought the sick; but he, being compassionate, healed all. Then, lest you should disbelieve how so many diseases were healed in a short time, he brings forward Isaiah as a witness. And yet the prophet says this concerning sins, while Matthew applied it to sicknesses; for indeed most [sicknesses] come from sins.

Matt. 8:18. And when Jesus saw great crowds about him, he commanded them to depart to the other side. For he was not fond of glory, and at the same time he was avoiding the envy of the Jews.

Matt. 8:19–20. And a certain scribe came and said to him: Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus says to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head. By “scribe” he means one who understood the letter of the law. This man, then, seeing the many signs, expected that Jesus would gather money from them, and therefore is eager to follow him, that he too might gather. But Christ, meeting his thought, all but says this: “You expect, by following me, to gather money; do you not see that I am homeless? Such also must he be who follows me.” And he said these things as if to persuade him to follow once he had changed; but the man withdraws. And some say that the foxes and the birds are the demons. He says, then, that “The demons rest in you, and I therefore have no rest in your soul.”

Matt. 8:21–22. And another of his disciples said to him: Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said to him: Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead. After one has given himself to God, he ought not to turn back to the affairs of this life. For one must indeed honor one’s parents, but prefer God [to them]. And here the parent was also an unbeliever—and this is plain from his saying, “Let the dead,” that is, the unbelievers, “bury their own dead.” But if that man was not even permitted to bury his father, woe to those who, after having given [themselves to God], turn back to the affairs of this life.

Matt. 8:23–24. And when he was entered into the boat, his disciples followed him; and behold, a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but he was asleep. He kept the disciples themselves [with him], that they might see the wonder. And he allows them to be tossed by the storm, that they might be exercised against trials, and that through this sign they might believe. And he sleeps, so that, being afraid, they might recognize their own weakness and call upon him; wherefore he says:

Matt. 8:25–26. And his disciples came and woke him, saying: Lord, save us, we perish. And he says to them: Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? He did not call them unbelieving, but of little faith; for inasmuch as they said, “Lord, save us,” they show faith; but the “We perish” is not of faith. For with him sailing along with them, they ought not to have been afraid. And see how, in reproaching them, he shows that fear brings on the tossings, and how, having first stilled the storm of the soul, he gives peace, and then looses also that of the sea.

Matt. 8:26–27. Then arising, he rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying: What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him? For what was seen was of a man; but the works were of God.

Matt. 8:28. And when he was come to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two who were possessed with demons. While those in the boat were in doubt what manner of man he is, that even the winds and the sea obey him, the demons come as heralds. And if Mark and Luke speak of one as having the legion, understand that that one was [but] one of these two, the more prominent perhaps; and of his own accord he came to them, terrible as they were; no one dared to bring them forward.

Matt. 8:28. Coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no one was able to pass by that way. They dwelt in the tombs, the demons wishing to instill the doctrine that the souls of the dead become demons. Which let no one even imagine; for the soul, when it has gone forth, does not wander in the world; for the [souls] of the righteous are in the hand of God, while those of sinners are also led away from here, as was [the soul] of the rich man.

Matt. 8:29. And behold, they cried out, saying: What have we to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here before the time to torment us? They proclaim him Son of God, first confessing their enmity. And they reckon it a torment not to be permitted to wrong men; and as for “before the time,” understand that they thought Christ would put an end to their evil-doing already—because of the excess of their wickedness—and would not await the [appointed] time of punishment; which is not so, for until the consummation they are permitted to wrestle with us.

Matt. 8:30–32. Now there was, a good way off from them, a herd of many swine feeding; and the demons besought him, saying: If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said to them: Go. And they came out and went away into the herd of swine. The demons ask this so that, by striking the swine, they might grieve their owners, that they might not receive Christ. But Christ permits the demons, showing what bitterness they have toward men, and that, if they had the power and were not hindered, they would deal with us worse than with the swine; for he guards the demoniacs, so that they do not kill themselves.

Matt. 8:32–34. And behold, the whole herd of swine rushed down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. And those who fed them fled, and going away into the city, they told everything, and the things concerning the demoniacs. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they besought him to depart from their borders. Being grieved, and supposing they would suffer something worse thereafter, they besought him. But do you learn that, where there is a swinish life, Christ does not remain there, but the demons do.

Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners

Matt. 9:1. And entering into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. By his own city he means Capernaum, for there he dwelt; for Bethlehem bore him, Nazareth nourished him, but Capernaum had him as a continual resident. This paralytic is another than the one in John; for that one was at the sheep-pool in Jerusalem, but this one in Capernaum. And the one had no man, but this one is carried by four, as Mark says, so that he was even let down through the roof—which Matthew omitted.

Matt. 9:2. And Jesus, seeing their faith. Either of those who brought him—for often he works wonders on account of the faith of those who bring—or also of the man himself.

Matt. 9:2. He said to the paralytic: Take courage, child; your sins are forgiven you. He calls him child, either as a creature of God or as one who believed; showing that paralysis arises especially from sins, he first looses those.

Matt. 9:3–5. And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves: This man blasphemes. And Jesus, seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil things in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Arise and walk? By knowing their thoughts he shows himself to be God. He convicts them, then, saying this: You suppose me to be a blasphemer, as daring to forgive sins, which is indeed a great thing; and you think that I take refuge in this so that I may not be put to the test. But I will give assurance, from the healing of the body, of the healing of the soul as well; through the lesser thing, which seems also the harder, confirming likewise the remission of sins, which, though it is great, seems to you the easier because it is unseen.

Matt. 9:6–8. But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins—then he says to the paralytic: Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. And he arose and went away to his house. But when the crowds saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, who had given such power to men. He commanded him to carry the bed, that it might not seem an illusion, and at the same time that the crowds might see the sign—they who held him to be a mere man, yet mightier than all.

Matt. 9:9. And as Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man sitting at the tax office, called Matthew, and says to him: Follow me. And he arose and followed him. He did not call this man together with Peter and John, but when he was about to be persuaded; for thus he also called Paul later, when it was the time. And see the evangelist, how he parades his own former life, though the others concealed his name, not calling him a publican; but it was the work of God to convert him by a word alone.

Matt. 9:10–11. And it came to pass, as he reclined at table in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and reclined together with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples: Why does your teacher eat with the publicans and sinners? Matthew, rejoicing at the reception of Christ, called the publicans together; and Christ eats with them, so as to do them good, even though he was reproached for this. For the Pharisees, wishing to draw away his disciples from him, slandered his eating together with the publicans.

Matt. 9:12–13. But when Jesus heard it, he said to them: They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I have not come now, he says, as a judge, but as a physician; whence also I bear with the stench. And he convicts them as ignorant, saying: Go and learn—that is, since up to now you have not learned, at least from now on go and learn that God prefers showing mercy to sinners above sacrifices. And the words, I came not to call the righteous, he says in irony—that is, you who justify yourselves—since no one among men is righteous. I came to call sinners, not that they should remain sinners, but that they should repent.

Matt. 9:14. Then come to him the disciples of John, saying: Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast? The disciples of John, envying the glory of Christ, find fault with him because he does not fast; and perhaps they were perplexed how he conquers the passions without ascetic exercise, which John was not strong enough to do. For they did not know that John was a mere man, righteous out of virtue, but Christ is virtue itself, as God.

Matt. 9:15. Jesus therefore said to them: Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they will fast. A time of joy, he says, is the present season, as long as I am with the disciples. For he names himself bridegroom, as wedding to himself the new synagogue, the old one having died; and the sons of the bridechamber are the apostles. There will be a time, then, he says, when, after I have suffered and been taken up, they will fast, being persecuted in hunger and thirst. And, showing the disciples to be still imperfect, he adds:

Matt. 9:16–17. No one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the piece that fills it up takes away from the garment, and a worse rent is made. Neither do men put new wine into old wineskins; else the wineskins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the wineskins perish; but they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved together. Not yet, he says, have the disciples become strong, but they need condescension; and one must not lay upon them the weight of injunctions. He said these things, teaching the disciples also, that they too, when they make disciples of the world, should show condescension. The unshrunk cloth, then, and the new wine are fasting; the old garment and the wineskins are the weakness of the disciples.

Matt. 9:18–19. While he was speaking these things to them, behold, a certain ruler came and worshiped him, saying: My daughter has just now died; but come and lay your hand upon her, and she will live. And Jesus arose and followed him, and his disciples. This man appears to have faith, even if not great; for he begs Jesus not merely to speak the word, but also to come and lay on his hand. And he says that his daughter has died, although Luke says that she had not yet died—either as conjecturing it, because she had been left at her last breath, or as magnifying the calamity so as to draw Christ to compassion.

Matt. 9:20–22. And behold, a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself: If I may but touch his garment, I shall be made whole. But Jesus, turning about and seeing her, said: Take courage, daughter; your faith has made you whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. Being unclean because of her affliction, the woman did not come forward openly, fearing lest she be hindered; and she thought to escape notice, yet hoped to obtain health if only she touched the edge of his garment—the hem. But the Savior makes her manifest, not as accusing her, but that he might display her faith for our benefit, and that the ruler of the synagogue also might be assured. And he says to her, Take courage, because she was afraid, as having stolen the gift; and he calls her daughter, as faithful. And they say that, had she not brought faith, she would not have received the grace, even though the garments were holy. And they say that she made a statue of the Savior, at whose feet there grew up a herb that healed women with an issue of blood, which in the days of Julian the impious cast down.

Matt. 9:23–24. And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a tumult, he said to them: Withdraw, for the girl is not dead, but sleeps. And they laughed him to scorn. Since it was a Jewish custom, they bewailed her with the wedding flutes, doing this according to the law; and he says that she sleeps, because with him death was a sleep, since he was able to raise her up. And if they laugh him to scorn, do not be troubled; for they rather bear witness to the miracle, as being one who truly raised her—for, lest anyone say that she had merely fallen into a deathlike faint, for this reason it was confessed by all that she had died.

Matt. 9:25–26. But when the crowd was put out, he entered in and took hold of her hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land. Where there is distraction, Jesus does not work a wonder. And he takes hold of her hand, imparting power; and you too, if you are deadened by sins, will then rise up when you take hold of the active hand, having cast out the crowd of distractions.

Matt. 9:27. And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying: Have mercy on us, Son of David. The blind men said, Have mercy, as to God; but, Son of David, as to a man. For it was bruited about a little among the Jews that the Messiah would come from the seed of David.

Matt. 9:28. And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. And Jesus says to them: Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to him: Yes, Lord. He draws the blind men as far as the house, that he might display their persevering faith, and might condemn the Jews. And he asks them whether they believe, showing that faith accomplishes all things.

Matt. 9:29–30. Then he touched their eyes, saying: According to your faith be it done to you. And their eyes were opened. He heals in the house and privately, because he was without love of glory. For everywhere he taught humility.

Matt. 9:30–31. And Jesus sternly charged them, saying: See that no one knows it. But they went out and spread his fame in all that land. Do you see his freedom from vainglory? But they, not as disobeying, but as giving thanks, spread it abroad. And though elsewhere he appears saying, Go and declare the glory of God, there is nothing contrary in this; for he wishes to say nothing about himself, but to declare the glory of God.

Matt. 9:32–33. And as they went out, behold, they brought to him a man who was mute and possessed by a demon. And when the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The affliction was not natural, but from the demon; therefore others bring him. For he could not entreat through himself, since the demon had bound his tongue. Whence he does not even require faith, but immediately heals him, casting out the demon that hindered his speech.

Matt. 9:33. And the crowds marveled, saying that it was never so seen in Israel. The crowd, marveling, sets Christ above the prophets and patriarchs as well. For he healed with authority, and not, as those did, by praying. But let us see also what the Pharisees say.

Matt. 9:34. But the Pharisees said: By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons. Their words are of the utmost folly. For no demon casts out a demon. But grant that he cast out the demons as serving the ruler of the demons, that is, by sorcery: how then did he loose diseases and sins, and proclaim the kingdom? For the demon, on the contrary, rather both brings on diseases and draws away from God.

Matt. 9:35. And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. Being a lover of mankind, he does not wait for them to come to him, but he himself goes about, that they might have no excuse, saying, No one taught us. And by deed and by word he draws them, teaching and working wonders.

Matt. 9:36. But when he saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were faint and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. They had no shepherd, since their rulers not only failed to set them right, but even did them harm; and it belongs to a true shepherd to have compassion on the flock.

Matt. 9:37–38. Then he says to his disciples: The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest. He names the multitude needing healing the harvest, and the laborers those who ought to teach, who were not then in Israel. And the Lord of the harvest is Christ himself, as Lord of prophets and apostles; and this is plain from his appointing the twelve without asking God. For hear:

Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles

Matt. 10:1. And calling to him his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. He chooses twelve disciples, according to the number of the twelve tribes; and adding power to these, though they were few, he sent them forth; for few are those who travel by the narrow way. And he gives them the working of wonders, so that, astonishing men by the wonders, they might have their hearers obedient to the teaching.

Matt. 10:2. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother. He lists the names of the apostles, on account of the false apostles. And he sets Peter and Andrew first, because they were also the first called. Then the sons of Zebedee; and he ranks James before John—for he lists them not according to worth, but simply as it happened. He says, then:

Matt. 10:2–4. James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. See the humility of Matthew, how he ranked himself after Thomas. And coming to Judas, he did not say, the foul one, the enemy of God, but named him Iscariot from his homeland. For there was also another Judas, who was both Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus. There were, then, two named James, the son of Zebedee and the son of Alphaeus; and two named Judas, Thaddaeus and the traitor; and three named Simon, Peter, the Canaanite, and the traitor—for Judas Iscariot was called Simon.

Matt. 10:5–7. These twelve Jesus sent forth, charging them, saying: Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into a city of the Samaritans; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Whom does he send? These—the fishermen, the unlettered, the publicans. And he sends them first to the Jews, that these might not be able to say that they were sent to the Gentiles, and that, for this reason, we Jews did not believe. He leaves the Jews, then, without excuse. And he joins the Samaritans to the Gentiles, since, being Babylonians, they had settled in Judea, and did not even receive the prophets, but only the five books of Moses. And by the kingdom of heaven understand also the enjoyment that is to come. And he arms them with wonders, saying:

Matt. 10:8. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Nothing so befits the teacher as humility and freedom from possessions. These two, then, he displays here. Freely you have received, he says—for do not be high-minded, as though you had and gave such good things of your own; for you have these freely and by grace. But along with being humble-minded, become also free from the love of money. For freely, he says, give. And, more perfectly tearing up the root of all evils, he says:

Matt. 10:9–10. Do not acquire gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts; no bag for the journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for the laborer is worthy of his food. He trains them to all exactness, thereby making them altogether free of superfluity and free of care; he does not even allow them to have staffs. For this is exact freedom from possessions, which makes the one who teaches about freedom from possessions to be believed. Then, lest they say, From where shall we be fed? he says: The laborer is worthy of his food—that is, you will be fed by the disciples. For they owe this to you, as laborers. And he said food, not luxury. For teachers must not live in luxury.

Matt. 10:11. And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there remain until you depart. He does not bid them go to everyone, lest, mingling with the unworthy, they be slandered; for if they go only to the worthy, they will surely also be fed. And he bids them remain, and not move from house to house, lest they be reproached as gluttons, and seem to insult those who first received them.

Matt. 10:12–13. And when you enter into the house, salute it, saying: Peace to this house. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. By the greeting and the peace understand the blessing, which abides only with the worthy. Learn, then, from this that especially our own works bless us.

Matt. 10:14–15. And whoever does not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Amen I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. He wishes them to shake off the dust, to show that they took nothing from there, because of their disobedience, or so that it might be a testimony of the long journey they walked, while bringing those people no profit. It shall be more tolerable, then, for the Sodomites than for the disobedient, because the Sodomites, having been punished here, will there be punished more moderately.

Matt. 10:16. See, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. He armed them with signs, he made them confident concerning their food, opening to them the doors of the worthy. Now he tells them also of the terrors that will befall them, displaying his foreknowledge. And he comforts them by the word I. I, he says, the mighty one, send you; therefore be confident, for you will be unconquered. And he prepares them to suffer; for as it is impossible for a sheep in the midst of wolves not to suffer, so also for you in the midst of the Jews. But even if you suffer, do not be angry; for I wish you to be gentle as sheep, and so the rather to conquer.

Matt. 10:16. Be therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doves. He wishes the disciples to be wise as well. For lest, hearing them called sheep, you should suppose that the Christian must be a simpleton, he says that he must also be wise, knowing how he ought to conduct himself in the midst of many enemies. For as the serpent gives up all the rest of its body to be struck, but guards its head, so also let the Christian give up all that is his, and his body, to those who strike him; but let him guard his head, which is Christ and the faith in him. And just as the serpent, squeezing through some narrow hole, sloughs off its old skin, so let us too, traveling by the narrow way, put off the old man. And since the serpent is also harmful, he bids us be innocent—that is, simple and guileless and not harmful, like the doves; for these, even when their young are taken and they are driven off, return again to their masters. Be, then, wise as a serpent, so as not to be mocked in life, but to render all that is yours blameless; but as for harming others, be like a dove—that is, guileless.

Matt. 10:17–18. But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you; and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. Do you see, this is to be wise: to be on guard and not to give occasion to those who wish to afflict you, but to manage your own affairs wisely. If the persecutor wants money, give it; if honor, give it, that he may have no occasion; but if he takes away the faith, then set your head against him. And he is about to send the disciples not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles; therefore he also says, For a testimony to them and to the Gentiles—that is, for the conviction of those who do not believe.

Matt. 10:19–20. But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious how or what you shall speak; for it shall be given to you in that hour what you shall speak. For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you. Lest they say, And how shall we be able to persuade the wise, being unlettered? he bids them be confident, and not be anxious. For when we are about to discourse among the faithful, we must prepare beforehand, and be ready for our defense, as Peter exhorts; but in the midst of crowds and raging kings, he promises his own strength, that we may not be afraid: to confess is ours, but to make a defense wisely is God’s. And lest you suppose that the aptitude for making a defense is natural, he says, It is not you who speak, but the Spirit.

Matt. 10:21. And brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents, and put them to death. He foretells to them what will befall, so that, when it happens, they may not be troubled. And he shows also the power of the preaching, how one had to despise nature; for such is Christianity. But he also makes plain the madness of those people, that they will not spare even their nearest of kin.

Matt. 10:22. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake; but he who endures to the end, this one will be saved. By all, instead of, by many. For not all hated them; for there were also those who would receive the faith. But he who endures to the end, and not only at the beginning, that one will partake of eternal life.

Matt. 10:23. But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the other. Amen I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of man come. The things said above, the fearful ones—such as, They will deliver you up, and, You will be hated—were about the things that would befall after the Ascension; but what is said now is about the things before the Cross. For you will not have gone through the cities of Israel in your preaching, and immediately I will come to you. And he bids them flee when persecuted; for openly to throw oneself into danger, and to become a cause of condemnation to the murderers, and to harm those who would have profited by the preaching, is devilish. As for the words, Until the Son of man come, do not understand them of the second coming, but of his being with them and his comfort before the Cross. For having been sent forth and having preached, they returned again to Christ, and were with him.

Matt. 10:24–25. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the servant as his master. Here he teaches them to bear with insults. For if I, the teacher and master, bore with them, much more should you, the disciples and servants. But you ask how he says, A disciple is not above his teacher, when we see many disciples better than their teachers? Learn, then, that as long as they are disciples, they are less than their teachers; but if they become better, they are no longer disciples—just as the servant, as long as he is a servant, is not above his master.

Matt. 10:25–26. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household? Therefore do not fear them; for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hidden that shall not be known. Take comfort, he says, from what concerns me; for if they called me, the master, the ruler of the demons, what wonder if they slander you, my own people? For he called them those of his household. But not servants—showing his closeness to them. But be confident. For the truth will not be hidden away, but time will show both your virtue and the wickedness of those who slander you; for there is nothing hidden that shall not be known. So that even if they slander you, yet later they will recognize you.

Matt. 10:27. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops. What I have told to you alone, and in one place—for this is the meaning of in the ear and in the darkness—teach with boldness and with a loud voice, so that all may hear you. And since dangers follow upon boldness, he adds:

Matt. 10:28. And do not fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. He teaches them to despise death as well; for more fearful, he says, is the punishment in hell. For those who kill work the destruction of the flesh only, and perhaps even benefit the soul; but God, casting into hell, punishes both, soul and body together. And by saying in hell, he signifies the perpetuity of the punishment. For “Gehenna” (geenna) is so called from aei, “ever.”[1]

Matt. 10:29–31. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Lest they be troubled as though abandoned, he says: If not even a sparrow is caught without my knowing it, how shall I abandon you, whom I love? And, displaying his exact knowledge and providence, he says that our hairs are numbered by God. Do not suppose, however, that it is by God’s working that the sparrows are caught, but that not even their catching is unknown to him.

Matt. 10:32–33. Everyone, therefore, who will confess me before men, I also will confess him before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever will deny me before men, him I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. He urges them on to bear witness; for he is not content with the faith of the soul alone, but wishes also that which is by the mouth. And he did not say, Whoever will confess me, but, in me—that is, in my power; for the one who confesses confesses being helped by the grace from above. But since, of the one who denies, he did not say, in me, but, me—he shows that, not having the help from above, he denies. The one, then, who confesses that Christ is God will find Christ confessing concerning him to the Father, that he is a genuine servant. But those who deny will hear the words, I do not know you.

Matt. 10:34–36. Do not suppose that I came to bring peace upon the earth; I came not to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. Concord is not everywhere good; rather, there is a time when division too is good. The sword, then, is the word of the faith, which cuts us off from the attachment to our kindred and relatives when they hinder us in our reverence for God. For he does not speak simply of being set against, that is, of being separated from, these people, but only when they do not go along with us, or rather even mock at the faith.

Matt. 10:37. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Do you see that we must hate parents and children at that time when they wish to be loved more than Christ? And why do I speak of father and mother and children? Hear something greater:

Matt. 10:38. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever, he says, will not renounce the present life, and give himself over to a shameful death (for this the cross was among the ancients), is not worthy of me. And since many are crucified as robbers and thieves, he added the words, And follow after me—that is, lives according to my laws.

Matt. 10:39. He who finds his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. He seems to find his soul who preserves the life in the flesh. He also loses it, being consigned to eternal punishment; but he who loses his soul and dies—not as a robber or as one who strangles himself, but for Christ’s sake—that one saves it.

Matt. 10:40–42. He who receives you receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. He rouses us to receive those who come from Christ. For he who honors his disciples honors him, and through him the Father also. And we must receive the righteous and the prophets in the name of a righteous man and a prophet—that is, because they are righteous men and prophets; not on account of some patronage and support with kings, but even if perhaps one has the appearance of a prophet, yet falls short in deed, you receive him as a prophet. And God will reward you as though you had received a truly righteous man. For this is the meaning of, He will receive a righteous man’s reward; or you may understand it also otherwise, that the one who receives him will himself be reckoned righteous, and will receive the reward which the righteous receive.

Matt. 10:42. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. Lest anyone put forward an excuse, he says: Even if you give a cup of cold water, for the sake of this man’s being my disciple, you will receive the reward for this also. And he too gives a cup of cold water who teaches one inflamed with the fire of wrath and of the desires. And, making him to be called a disciple of Christ, this man too does not lose his reward.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact gives a Greek etymology: γέεννα (“Gehenna”) derived from ἀεί (“ever”), signifying the perpetuity of the punishment; the wordplay works only in Greek.

Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John

Matt. 11:1. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, that he departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. Having sent forth the disciples, he himself thereafter keeps quiet, not working wonders, but only teaching in the synagogues. For if he himself healed when present, no one would come to the disciples; so that they might have room to heal, he himself withdraws.

Matt. 11:2–3. Now when John had heard in prison of the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him: Are you the one who is to come, or do we look for another? Not as though John himself were ignorant of Christ does he ask. For how could he be, when he had borne witness concerning him that, Behold the Lamb of God? But since his disciples envied Christ, in order to assure them, for this reason he sends them, so that, seeing the wonders, they might be persuaded that Christ is greater than John. For this reason he also frames himself as asking, Are you the one who is to come?—that is, the one expected in the Scriptures to come in the flesh. And some say that he asked about the descent into Hades, with John supposedly being ignorant, as if saying: Are you the one who is to come even into Hades, or do we look for another? But this is senseless. For how could John, being more than the prophets, be ignorant of the crucifixion of Christ and the descent into Hades, and that when he had named him Lamb on account of his being about to be slain for us? Whether, then, John already knew that the Lord would come even into Hades with his soul, that there too he might save, as Gregory the Theologian says, those who were going to believe, [and that] in their days he was made flesh—he does not ask as one ignorant, but as wishing to assure his disciples concerning Christ through the working of the wonders. For see what Christ too says to such a question.

Matt. 11:4–6. And Jesus answered and said to them: Go and report to John the things you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who shall not be offended in me. He did not say, Report to John that I am the one who is to come, but, as knowing that John had sent his disciples for this purpose, that they might see the wonders, he says, Report to John the things you see, and surely that man, seizing the occasion, will bear witness more abundantly concerning me to you. And by the poor having the Gospel preached to them, you may understand either those who proclaim the Gospel, that is, the apostles—for they were poor as fishermen, and despised for their lack of learning—or those who give ear to the Gospel and hear of the eternal goods. And, showing John’s disciples that what they were reasoning did not escape him, he says, Blessed is he who shall not be offended in me; for they had much doubt concerning him.

Matt. 11:7. And as these went away, Jesus began to say to the crowds concerning John: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Perhaps the crowds, hearing John’s question, would have been offended, [supposing] that even John doubted concerning Christ, and so easily changed his mind, although he had borne witness concerning Christ before. Removing this suspicion, then, Christ says: John is not a reed—that is, easily turned. For if he were such, why then did you go out to him into the wilderness? For surely you would not have gone out to a reed, that is, an unstable man, but you went out as to a great and steadfast man. He remains, then, such as you yourselves supposed.

Matt. 11:8. But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Behold, those who wear the soft things are in the houses of kings. For lest they be able to say that, having become a slave to luxury, he afterward grew soft, he says, No. For his robe, being of hair, shows that he is an enemy of luxury. For if he had worn soft things, he would also have been in the houses of kings, and not in prison, had he wished to live in luxury. Learn, then, that the exact Christian must not wear soft things.

Matt. 11:9. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. John is more than a prophet, because the other prophets only foretold concerning Christ, but this one became also an eyewitness, which is indeed a great thing. And because the others prophesied after they were born, but this one, while still in his mother’s womb, recognized Christ and leaped for joy.

Matt. 11:10. For this is he of whom it is written: Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you. He was called a messenger both on account of his angelic and almost immaterial life, and because he announced and proclaimed Christ. And he prepared the way of Christ, as bearing witness concerning him, and as baptizing to repentance—for after repentance comes remission of sins, which remission Christ gives. And Christ says these things after John’s disciples have departed, lest he seem to be flattering him. And the prophecy spoken is that of Malachi.

Matt. 11:11. Amen I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist. He declares this with assurance, that there is none greater than John; and by saying of women, he excepted himself. For Christ himself was born of a virgin, not of a woman—that is, of one who had come to marriage. But he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Since he had spoken many praises concerning John, lest they suppose that he too is greater than himself, he says here more plainly: I who am least, both in age and in your estimation, am greater than he in the kingdom of heaven—that is, in the spiritual and heavenly goods. For here I am inferior to him, both in that he was born before me, and in that he seems to you to be great; but there I am greater.

Matt. 11:12. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and the forceful take hold of it. This seems to be inconsequent, but it is not. Consider, then: for, having said concerning himself that he is greater than John, Christ presses them on to believe in him, showing that many seize the kingdom of heaven—that is, faith in him; and there is need of much violence. For to leave father and mother, and to despise even one’s own soul—how much violence is needed for this?

Matt. 11:13. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. This too belongs to the same train of thought. For he says: I am the one who is to come, for all the prophets have been fulfilled; and they would not have been fulfilled had I not come; expect nothing, then, further.

Matt. 11:14. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. If you are willing, he says, to receive it—that is, if you judge fairly, and not enviously—he is the one whom the prophet Malachi said would be Elijah. For both the Forerunner and Elijah have the same ministry. The one ran before the first coming, and Elijah will run before the coming that is to be. Then, showing that it is an enigma, that John is Elijah, and that there is need of understanding to grasp it, he says:

Matt. 11:15. He who has ears to hear, let him hear, leading them on to inquire and to learn.

Matt. 11:16–17. But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace, and calling to their companions, and saying: We piped to you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament. Here he hints at the peevishness of the Jews. For being perverse, they were pleased neither with the austerity of John nor with the simplicity of Christ; but they were like children who are hard to please because of their fickleness, whom, if one weeps, it does not please, and if one pipes, neither does this.

Matt. 11:18–19. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a gluttonous man and a wine-drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. To mourning he likens the conduct of John; for John displayed much austerity, both in words and in deeds. But the conduct of Christ he likens to piping; for the Lord was most gracious, condescending to all, that he might gain them all, and proclaiming the kingdom, and having nothing gloomy, such as John had. And wisdom is justified by her children. This he says: Since, then, neither the life of John nor my own pleases you, but you spurn all the ways of salvation, I, who am wisdom, am shown to be just. For you will no longer have an excuse, but will surely be condemned. For I have fulfilled all things, but you, having disobeyed, prove me, who have left nothing undone, to be just.

Matt. 11:20. Then he began to upbraid the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. After he had shown that he did all that he ought, and they remained unrepentant, then at last he upbraids them.

Matt. 11:21. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! That you may know that those who did not believe were not wicked by nature, but by choice, he makes mention of Bethsaida, from which were Andrew and Peter and Philip and the sons of Zebedee; so that their wickedness was not by nature, but by choice. For if it were by nature, those men too would have been wicked.

Matt. 11:21–22. For if the mighty works done in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. He calls the Jews worse than the Tyrians and Sidonians, in that the Tyrians transgressed the natural law, but the Jews the Mosaic law as well. And because the Tyrians did not see wonders, but these, even seeing them, did not believe. And the sackcloth is a symbol of repentance, and the sprinkling of ashes and dust upon the head we see among those who mourn.

Matt. 11:23–24. And you, Capernaum, who have been exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. Capernaum was exalted because it was the city of the Savior; for it was glorified as though it were his homeland; but it profited nothing, because it did not believe. On the contrary, for this very reason it is the more condemned, down to Hades, because, having such an inhabitant, it profited nothing from him. And since Capernaum is interpreted “place of comfort,” see that even if one be counted worthy to become a place of the Comforter—that is, of the Holy Spirit—and then become high-minded, and be lifted up to heaven, he thereafter falls down on account of his high-mindedness. Shudder, then, O man.

Matt. 11:25. At that time Jesus answered and said: I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes. What he says is this: I confess—instead of, I give thanks—O Father, that the Jews, who seem to be wise and skilled in the Scriptures, disbelieved, but the unlearned and the babes believed and knew the mysteries. And God hid the mysteries from those who seem to be wise, not as begrudging or as being the cause of their ignorance, but because they were not worthy, by reason of their very supposing themselves to be wise; for he who thinks himself wise, and trusts in his own judgment, does not even call upon God. And thereafter God, not being called upon, neither helps him nor reveals to him. Besides, God rather, out of love for mankind, does not reveal the mysteries to the many, lest they be punished the more, as having spurned them after coming to know them.

Matt. 11:26. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before you. Here he makes plain the love of mankind of the Father, that not at another’s entreaty did he reveal to babes, but so it pleased him from the beginning. For good pleasure is the will and the satisfaction.

Matt. 11:27. All things have been delivered to me by my Father. He said above to the Father, You have revealed, O Father; so then, lest you suppose that he himself does nothing, but that all things are the Father’s, he says, All things have been delivered to me, and there is one authority of mine and his. But hearing the word delivered, do not suppose that they were delivered to him as to a servant and an inferior, but as to a Son. For according as he was begotten of the Father, accordingly were they delivered to him; for if he had not been begotten and were not of the same essence as the Father, they would not have been delivered. For see what he says: All things have been delivered to me, not by a master, but, by my Father; just as, for example, if a comely child be born of a comely father, and he should say, Comeliness has been given to me by my father.

Matt. 11:27. And no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal him. He says the greater thing: It is no marvel if I am Master of all, seeing that I have something else greater, namely, to know the Father, and so to know him that I may reveal him to others as well. And consider: above he said that the Father revealed the mysteries to babes; but here, that the Son reveals the Father. Do you see, then, one power of the Father and of the Son, since both the Father reveals and the Son?

Matt. 11:28. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He calls all, not only Jews, but also Gentiles. For you may understand the Jews as laboring, as pursuing the burdensome observances of the law, and laboring in the working of the commandments of the law; and the Gentiles as heavy laden, who were pressed down by the weight of their sins. All these, then, Christ gives rest. For to believe, and to confess, and to be baptized—what labor is it? And how is it not rest? Because both here you are free of care concerning the things done before baptism, and there likewise rest awaits you.

Matt. 11:29–30. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is good, and my burden is light. The yoke of Christ is humility and gentleness. He, then, who humbles himself before every man has rest, remaining undisturbed; just as the vainglorious and arrogant man is always in anxieties, not willing to be inferior to anyone, but reckoning how he may be more glorified, how he may conquer his enemies. The yoke of Christ, then—humility, I mean—is light; for it is easier for our humble nature to be humbled than to be exalted. But all the commandments of Christ also are called a yoke, which are light because of the recompense to come, even if for a time they seem heavy.

Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren

Matt. 12:1. At that time Jesus went on the Sabbaths through the grainfields. And his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck ears of grain and to eat. Doing away with the legal observances, he leads the disciples through the grainfields, so that by eating they might loose the Sabbath. And the Pharisees, seeing it, said to him: Behold, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. But he said to them: Have you not read what David did, when he himself was hungry, and those with him? how he entered into the house of God, and ate the loaves of the presentation, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests only? Again the Pharisees lay the blame upon the natural affection, [namely] hunger, themselves sinning more grievously; but the Lord puts them to shame from the history concerning David. For that man, he says, on account of hunger, dared even something greater. And the loaves of the presentation are those set forth each day; for there were set forth upon the table twelve, six on the right side, and six on the other; and yet, even though David was a prophet, not even so was it right to eat, for it was lawful for the priests only. But much more was it not lawful for those with him; nevertheless, on account of hunger, he is worthy of pardon. So, then, also the disciples.

Matt. 12:5–6. Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbaths the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say to you, that one greater than the temple is here. The law forbade working on the Sabbath; the priests, then, on the Sabbath both split wood and kindled fire, so that they profaned the Sabbath—that is, defiled it, as you suppose. But you say to me that those were priests, and the disciples are not. I say, then, that one greater than the temple is here—that is, Since I, the Master greater than the temple, am also with the disciples, these have greater authority to loose the Sabbath than the priests.

Matt. 12:7–8. But if you had known what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. He shows them to be also unlearned, as not knowing the prophetic [writings]; For ought one not, he says, to have had mercy on men who were hungry? And besides, I, the Son of Man, am Lord of the Sabbath, as the Maker of all things and of the days [themselves], so that I loose the Sabbath as Master. And understand it also according to the anagogical sense; for the apostles were laborers, and the harvests are the ears of grain, [namely] those who believe; the apostles plucked these and ate—that is, they had as their food the salvation of men; and this they did on the Sabbaths, in the resting from evils; but the Pharisees were indignant. So too in the Church, when the teachers often teach and benefit [the people], those who play the Pharisee and are envious are displeased.

Matt. 12:9–10. And departing thence, he came into their synagogue, and behold, there was a man there having a withered hand, and they questioned him, saying: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbaths? that they might accuse him. The other evangelists say that Jesus questioned the Pharisees. It is possible, then, to say that, being envious, they anticipated [him] and questioned him, as Matthew says. Then Christ again questioned them, as it were mocking and deriding their hardness, which the other evangelists relate. And they questioned him, that they might have an occasion for slandering [him].

Matt. 12:11–12. But he said to them: What man shall there be among you, who shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the Sabbaths, will he not lay hold of it, and lift it out? How much, then, does a man differ from a sheep? So that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbaths. He shows them, on the one hand for the sake of love of money, and that they might not be deprived of a sheep, dissolving the Sabbath; but on the other hand, with regard to a man’s being healed, not enduring this to come to pass. So that at one and the same time he shows them to be both lovers of money and inhuman, and despisers of God. For they take thought for the Sabbath, that they might not lose a sheep; but they are merciless, because they do not will the healing of a man.

Matt. 12:13. Then he says to the man: Stretch forth your hand; and he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole as the other. Many even now have withered hands—that is, [they are] unmerciful and ungiving; but when the evangelical word resounds in them, they stretch these forth to giving, even though the Pharisees, the boastful and demon-driven, who are cut off from us, on account of their envy toward us, do not will our hands to be stretched forth to almsgiving.

Matt. 12:14. But the Pharisees, going out, took counsel against him, how they might destroy him. But Jesus, knowing it, withdrew thence. O envy! When they are benefited, then they rage. And Jesus withdraws, because the time of the Passion had not yet come, and sparing those very men, lest they fall under a charge of murder. For rashness is not pleasing to God. And observe the [word], Going out. For when they went out from God, then they took counsel to destroy Jesus. For no one who abides in God takes such counsel.

Matt. 12:15. And great crowds followed him, and he healed them all; and he charged them, that they should not make him known. Soothing the envy of those [Pharisees], he does not will to be made manifest. For he was eager in every way to heal them.

Matt. 12:17–19. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: Behold my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall declare judgment to the nations. He shall not strive, nor cry out. He brings in also the prophet as a witness of the meekness of Jesus. For whatever, he says, the Jews wish, he will do; if they wish him not to appear, then this also he will do, and he will not resist as one who loves glory, nor will he strive. But he will charge the crowds that they should not make him known; yet to the nations he will declare judgment—that is, he will also teach the Gentiles. For judgment is the teaching, and the knowledge, and the discernment of the good. Or also he will declare the coming judgment to the Gentiles, who had never heard concerning a coming judgment.

Matt. 12:19. Neither shall anyone hear his voice in the streets. For not in the midst of the marketplace, like those who love glory, but in the temple and the synagogues, and on the mountain, and by the seashores, did he teach.

Matt. 12:20. A bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench. He was able, he says, to break the Jews in pieces like a bruised reed, and to quench their wrath like smoking—that is, burning—flax; but he did not will it, until he should fulfill the [divine] economy, and conquer them through all things. For this is what the [clause] that follows signifies.

Matt. 12:20–21. Until he send forth judgment to victory; and in his name shall the nations hope. For that they might not have anything to plead as an excuse, he endured all things, so that he might afterward condemn them, and conquer them when they could say nothing in reply. For what did he not do that he might gain those [men]? But they would not; whence the nations shall hope upon him, since the Jews would not.

Matt. 12:22. Then was brought to him a demoniac, blind and dumb, and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb man both spoke and saw. And all the crowds were amazed, and said: Is not this the son of David? The demon had shut up the ways toward faith—eyes, and hearing, and tongue. But Jesus heals him, and is named son of David by the crowds. For the Christ was expected [to come] from the seed of David; and now too, if you see anyone neither himself understanding the good, nor receiving the words of another, consider this one blind and dumb, whom God may heal by touching his heart.

Matt. 12:24. But the Pharisees, hearing it, said: This man does not cast out the demons, except by Beelzebul the prince of the demons. And yet the Lord had withdrawn on their account, but those men, even hearing from afar, slander him, and, while men were being benefited, they were thus enemies of [human] nature, like the devil.

Matt. 12:25–26. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? By publishing their thoughts abroad, he shows that he is God. And he makes his defense to them from common examples, which show their senselessness. For how do the demons cast themselves out, when rather they band themselves together? And Satan is so called as the adversary.

Matt. 12:27. And if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. Granted, he says, that I am such a one; but your sons—that is, my disciples—by whom do they cast them out? For surely not they too by Beelzebul? And if those [cast them out] by a divine power, much more do I. For they work wonders in my name; for this cause, then, those men shall be for your condemnation, because, even seeing those men working wonders in my name, you still slander me.

Matt. 12:28. But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. This is what he says: If by a divine power I cast out the demons, then I am the Son of God, and I have come for your sake, that you might be benefited. So that my presence has come upon you. For this is the kingdom of God; why, then, do you slander my presence, which has come about for your sake?

Matt. 12:29. Or how can anyone enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man, and then he will plunder his house? So far, he says, am I from the demons being my friends, that I even set myself in array against them, and bind them, who before my presence were strong; for having entered into the house—that is, the world—Christ plundered the goods of the demons, [namely] men, I mean.

Matt. 12:30. He who is not with me is against me; and he who gathers not with me scatters. How, he says, was Beelzebul going to work together with me, who rather works against me? For I teach virtue, but he wickedness. How, then, is he with me? And I gather men to salvation, but he scatters; and he hints also at the Pharisees, that while he was teaching and benefiting many, those men were dispersing the people, so that they should not come to him. He shows them, then, to be truly demonic.

Matt. 12:31–32. Therefore I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven men. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in the [age] to come. This is what he says here, that every other sin, indeed, has at least some small excuse—such as fornication, theft; for we take refuge in human weakness, and are the more pardonable. But when someone sees wonders accomplished through the Spirit, and slanders these as being done by a demon, what excuse shall this man have? For it is plain that he knows, indeed, that they come from the Holy Spirit, but is willfully malicious. How, then, is such a one pardonable? When, therefore, the Jews saw the Lord eating and drinking, and consorting with publicans and harlots, and doing all the other things as Son of Man, and then slandered him as a glutton and a wine-drinker, for this they are worthy of pardon, and shall not even be required to repent of it. For they seem to be reasonably offended. But when, seeing him working wonders, they slandered and blasphemed the Holy Spirit, saying that it was demonic, how shall this sin be forgiven them, unless they repent? So know that he who blasphemes against the Son of Man, seeing him living in human fashion, and saying that he is a friend of harlots, and a glutton, and a wine-drinker, because Christ does these things, such a one, even if he does not repent, shall not give account for this; for he is pardoned as not having understood that he was God, hidden [in the flesh]. But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit—that is, the spiritual works of Christ—and says that they are demonic, unless he repent, shall not be pardoned; for he had no reasonable occasion for slandering, as did that man who, seeing Christ among harlots and publicans, then slandered. To this man, then, it shall not be forgiven, neither here nor there; but both here and there shall he be punished. For many are chastised here, but there not at all; like the poor Lazarus. Others, both here and there; like the Sodomites, and these who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. But some, neither here nor there; like the apostles, and the Forerunner. For even though they seem to be chastised in being persecuted, yet those are not punishments for sins, but trials and crowns.

Matt. 12:33. Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt. For by the fruit the tree is known. Since the Jews were not able to slander his wonders as evil, but blasphemed Christ, the doer of these things, as demonic, he says: Either call me also a good tree, and then by all means my wonders too, which are the fruit, will be good; or, if you call me a corrupt tree, plainly the fruit also—that is, the wonders—will be corrupt. But you do say that the wonders—that is, the fruit—are good; therefore I too am good, [I,] the tree. For by all means the tree is recognized by its fruit, so that I too [am known] by the wonders.

Matt. 12:34. Offspring of vipers, how can you speak good things, being evil? Behold, he says, you, being evil trees, bear evil fruit, speaking evil of me; so that I too, if I were evil, would bear evil fruit, and not such wonders. And he calls them offspring of vipers, since they vaunted themselves over Abraham. He shows them, then, that they are not from Abraham, but from forefathers worthy of their wickedness.

Matt. 12:35. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; the good man, out of the good treasure, brings forth good things; and the evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things. When you see someone foul-mouthed, know that he does not have in his heart [only] as much as he says, but many times more. For it is only out of the abundance that [the heart] pours forth even to the outside, and, having a hidden treasure, it shows but a small part. Likewise also he who speaks good things has more in his heart.

Matt. 12:36–37. But I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment; for by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned. We must be alarmed here, that we shall give account even for an idle word—that is, the false, the slanderous, or also the disorderly and frivolous. Then he sets down a testimony from the Scripture: By your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.

Matt. 12:38. Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying: Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you. The evangelist, marveling, added the [word], then. For when they ought to have submitted on account of the wonders already done, then they ask for a sign; and they wish to see a sign from heaven, as another evangelist says. For they supposed that he did the wonders upon the earth by the power of the devil; for the devil is ruler of the world. What, then, [does] the Savior [say]?

Matt. 12:39–40. But he, answering, said to them: An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. He calls them an evil generation, as insolent and deceitful. And adulterous, as departing from God, and cleaving to demons. And he means by a sign his resurrection, as a paradox; for in the heart of the earth—I mean in the lowest place, namely Hades—having descended, he rose on the third day. And the three days and the three nights understand in part, and not as complete [days]. For he died on the Friday—this was one day; and on the Sabbath he was dead—behold, another day; and the night of the Lord’s Day still found him dead. Three day-and-night periods, then, are reckoned in part. For thus also we are often accustomed to reckon.

Matt. 12:41. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. Jonah, he says, after his coming out from the sea-monster, was believed when he preached; but I shall not be believed by you even after the resurrection. Whence you shall also be condemned by the Ninevites, who believed my servant Jonah without signs, and these being barbarians; [while] you who were nurtured among the prophets, who have seen signs, did not believe me, the Master. For this is what the [saying] signifies: And behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

Matt. 12:42. The queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The queen, he says, came from afar, although she was a weak woman, that she might hear about trees and plants and certain things of nature. But you, even when I came to you, and spoke ineffable things, did not receive me.

Matt. 12:43–45. But when the unclean spirit has gone out from the man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and finds none; then it says: I will return into my house from which I came out. And coming, it finds it empty, swept, and adorned. Then it goes, and takes along with itself seven other spirits more wicked than itself. And entering in, they dwell there, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first; so shall it be also with this evil generation. He shows them to be coming to the uttermost ruin from their not receiving him. For as those who are freed from demons, if they grow slack, suffer worse things; so too your generation was held by a demon, when you worshiped the idols; but through the prophets they cast out this demon. And I too came, willing to cleanse you yet more; but since you thrust me away, and rather hasten to be impious, as sinning worse, you shall also be chastised worse, and your last captivity shall be heavier than the former ones. But understand also this, that through baptism the unclean spirit is cast out, and goes about in the waterless and unbaptized souls; but in those it finds no rest. For rest, for the demons, is to harass the unbaptized through wicked deeds, since it already holds the unbaptized. It returns, then, upon the baptized one with the seven spirits. For as the gifts of the Spirit are seven, so, on the contrary, the spirits of wickedness also are seven. For before there was hope through baptism; but now there is no hope, except that which is through repentance.

Matt. 12:46. But while he was yet speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and his brethren stood outside, seeking to speak with him. His mother wished to display something human, that she had authority over her child. For she did not yet conceive anything great concerning him; for this cause, then, while he was still speaking, she wishes to draw him to herself, taking pride [in him] as a son who was subject to her. What, then, [does] Christ [do]? Since he knew her aim, hear what he says.

Matt. 12:47–50. And someone said to him: Behold, your mother and your brethren stand outside, seeking to speak with you. But he, answering, said to him who told him: Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? And stretching forth his hand toward his disciples, he said: Behold my mother and my brethren. For whoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. He says these things not to insult his mother, but to correct her vainglorious and human opinion. For he did not say that You are not my mother; but, that Unless she do the will of God, it will profit her nothing to have given birth to me. For he does not deny the kinship according to nature, but adds also that according to virtue. For no one unworthy is profited by kinship. Having corrected, therefore, the disease of vainglory, nevertheless he again obeys his mother when she calls. For the evangelist says:

Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens

Matt. 13:1–2. And on that day Jesus went out from the house, and sat by the sea. And great crowds were gathered together to him, so that he entered into the boat and sat, and all the crowd stood upon the shore. He sat down in the boat, that he might set all the hearers before his face, and that all might hear. And as it were from the sea he fishes for those upon the land.

Matt. 13:3. And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying: To the guileless crowds upon the mountain he speaks without parables; but here, the deceitful Pharisees being present, he speaks in parables, so that, even as not understanding, they might ask and learn. And besides, since they were unworthy, the teachings ought not to be set before them bare. For one must not cast the pearls before the swine. And he speaks first the parable that makes the hearer more attentive; for hear:

Matt. 13:3. Behold, the sower went out to sow his seed. He calls himself the sower, and the seed the word. And he went out, not in place; for he was everywhere; but inasmuch as he drew near to us with flesh, in this respect he is said to have gone out, namely from the bosom of the Father. He went out, then, to us, since we were not able to come to him. And to do what did he go out? that he might burn up the earth on account of its many thorns? that he might punish? No, but to sow. And he called it his seed, because the prophets too sowed. But [they sowed] not their own seed, but that of God. But he, being God, sowed his own proper seed; for he was not made wise by divine grace—far from it!—but he himself was the wisdom of God.

Matt. 13:4–6. And in his sowing, some [seeds] fell by the wayside; and the birds of heaven came and devoured them. And others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth; but when the sun was risen, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. Those by the wayside are the slack and slothful, who do not at all receive the word. For their reasoning is a road, trodden down and hard, and not plowed at all; from these, then, the birds of heaven—that is, of the air, the spirits, that is, the demons—snatch the word. And those upon the rocky places are they who hear, indeed, but on account of weakness do not withstand temptations or afflictions, but betray their own salvation; for by the sun that rose understand the temptations, because temptations make men manifest, and reveal, like the sun, the hidden things.

Matt. 13:7. And others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. These are they who choke the word through cares; for even if the rich man seem to do some good deed, yet this deed does not increase, nor advance, being hindered by anxieties.

Matt. 13:8. And others fell upon the good earth, and gave fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. The three parts of the seed were lost, and only the fourth was saved; for few are they who are saved. And later he speaks concerning the feeble earth, giving us hope of repentance; for it is possible, even if one be rocky, or by the wayside, or thorn-bearing, for him to become good earth. Yet not all who receive the word bear fruit equally; but the one a hundredfold, perhaps he who has perfect poverty and the highest ascetic discipline; the one sixtyfold, perhaps the cenobitic monk, still in the active life; the one thirtyfold, he who has chosen honorable marriage, and earnestly pursues the virtues as far as he is able. And observe the goodness of God, how he receives all—both those who do the great things, and those the middling, and those the small.

Matt. 13:9. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. He makes clear that these things must be understood spiritually by those who have acquired the spiritual ears. But many have ears, yet not for hearing; for this cause, then, he put forth the [saying], He who has ears for hearing, let that man hear.

Matt. 13:10–12. And the disciples, coming, said to him: Why do you speak to them in parables? But he, answering, said to them, that To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to those it is not given. For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Seeing much obscurity in the things spoken by Christ, the disciples, as kindly guardians of the multitude, come asking; and he says: To you it is given to know the mysteries—that is, since you have eagerness and zeal, it is given to you; but to those, who have no zeal, it is not given. For that man receives, who seeks. For seek, he says, and it shall be given to you. See, then, how here the Lord spoke the parable, but only the disciples, having sought, received. So that we said well, that to him who has zeal, to that man is given the knowledge, and it is given in abundance. But from him who has neither zeal nor worthiness, even what he seems to have shall be taken away from him; that is, even if he have some little spark of the good, [the Lord] quenches even this, because he does not fan it through the Spirit and through spiritual works and [spiritual] men.

Matt. 13:13. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, neither do they understand. Attend. For from this is resolved the question of those who say that some are evil by nature and from God. For Christ also said, they allege, that To you it is given to know the mysteries, but to the Jews it is not given. We say, then, to those who say such things, in God, that God indeed makes all to understand what is needful, by nature. For he enlightens every man that comes into the world; but our own choice darkens us. This, then, is what is shown here also. For he says, that Seeing by nature—that is, having been fashioned by God to understand—they do not see by [their] choice; and hearing—that is, having been fashioned by God by nature, so as to hear and understand—they do not hear, neither do they understand, from [their] choice. For tell me, did they not see the wonders of Christ? Yes, but they made themselves blind, and accused him. This, then, is the [meaning of], seeing they do not see. He therefore brings forward also the prophet as a witness.

Matt. 13:14–15. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown gross, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. Do you see what the prophecy says? That it is not for this [reason] that you do not understand, because I created your heart gross, but because it grew gross, being subtle before; for that which is being thickened was subtle before. And when this had grown gross, so they closed their eyes. But he did not say that God closed their eyes, but that they did, from [their] choice. And this they did, he says, lest they should be converted and I should heal them; for they willfully and maliciously took pains to remain unhealed and unconverted.

Matt. 13:16–17. But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. For amen I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and saw it not, and to hear what you hear, and heard it not. The bodily eyes and ears of the apostles are indeed blessed; yet far rather are the soul’s eyes and ears worthy of blessing, because they recognized Christ. And he prefers these to the prophets, because these also saw Christ bodily, while those [saw him] only with the mind; but also because those were not deemed worthy of so many mysteries and of such knowledge as these. In two respects, then, the apostles surpass the prophets: both in seeing bodily, and in being initiated more spiritually into the divine things. He explains, then, the parable to the disciples, saying:

Matt. 13:18–19. Hear, then, the parable of the sower. To everyone who hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, comes the evil one and snatches away that which was sown in his heart; this is he who was sown by the wayside. He exhorts us to understand the things spoken by those who teach, that we too may not be like those by the wayside; and perhaps, since Christ is the way, those outside of Christ are by the wayside. They are not in the way, but beside the way.

Matt. 13:20–21. But he who was sown upon the rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but is for a season. And when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he is offended. He said affliction, since many, being afflicted by parents or by other misfortunes, immediately blaspheme; and persecution, on account of those who fall away under the tyrants.

Matt. 13:22. But he who was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, and the care of this age and the deceit of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. He did not say that The age chokes [it], but The care of the age; nor that riches [choke it], but The deceit of riches. For wealth, when it is scattered abroad, does not choke, but increases the word; but the thorns—the cares and the indulgences—kindle the fire both of desire and of Gehenna. And just as the thorn, being sharp, sinks into the body, and is hardly cast out, so too indulgence, if it master a soul, sinks in, and is hardly rooted out.

Matt. 13:23. But he who was sown upon the good earth, this is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, the one a hundredfold, the one sixtyfold, the one thirtyfold. Diverse are the forms of virtue, diverse also are those who make progress. And observe that there is an order in the parable. For we must first hear the word and understand it, that we be not as those by the wayside. Then [we must] hold firmly what we have heard; not to be lovers of money. For what profit is it if I hear and hold [the word], but through love of money choke it?

Matt. 13:24–30. Another parable he set before them, saying: The kingdom of the heavens is likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then appeared also the tares. And the servants of the householder, coming, said to him: Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field? Whence, then, has it the tares? But he said to them: An enemy, a man, did this. And the servants said to him: Do you wish, then, that we go and gather them up? But he said: No; lest, while gathering the tares, you root up the wheat together with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. In the former parable he said that the fourth part of the seed fell into the good earth; but in the present [parable] he shows that not even that very [seed] which fell into the good earth did the enemy leave incorrupt, because of our sleeping and being slack. The field, then, is the world, or the soul of each one. The sower, Christ. The good seed, the good men, or [good] thoughts. The tares, the heresies, or the wicked thoughts. And he who sowed these, the devil. And the men who slept, those who through slackness give place to the heretics and to the wicked thoughts. And the servants, the angels, who are indignant at there being heresies, or wickednesses, in the soul, and wish to pluck up and cut off from life both the heretics and those who think wicked things. God does not permit the heretics to be consumed through wars, lest the righteous also suffer with them and be consumed together. Likewise neither, on account of the wicked thoughts, does God wish to cut off the man, lest the wheat too be destroyed with [them]. For example, if Matthew, being a tare, had been cut off from life, there would have been cut off together with him also the wheat of the word that was afterward to spring up from him; likewise also Paul, and the thief; for these, being tares, were not cut off, but were permitted to live, that their virtue thereafter might grow. He says, therefore, to the angels, that, At the consummation, then you shall gather the tares, that is, the heretics. But how? Into bundles, that is, having bound their hands and feet; for no one can then any longer work, but every active power is bound. But the wheat, that is, the saints, are gathered by the reaper-angels into the heavenly barns. Likewise, then, also the wicked thoughts which Paul had when he persecuted were burned by the fire of Christ, which he came to cast upon the earth; but the wheat, that is, the good thoughts, were gathered into the barns of the Church.

Matt. 13:31–32. Another parable he set before them, saying: The kingdom of the heavens is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; which is indeed the least of all the seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than all the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and lodge in its branches. The grain of mustard seed is the preaching and the apostles; for these, seeming to be few, embraced the whole inhabited world; so that the birds of heaven—that is, those who have a light and winged mind toward the things above—rest in them. And you too, then, be a grain of mustard seed: small in appearance, but ardent and zealous and keen and reproving; for thus you will become greater than the herbs—that is, than the weak and imperfect—being yourself perfect, so that the birds of heaven, that is, the angels, may rest in you, who live an angelic life. For these too rejoice over the righteous.

Matt. 13:33. Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened. By the leaven he means the apostles, as also [by] the grain of mustard seed. As, then, the leaven, being small, transforms the whole [batch of] meal into itself, so too you will transform the whole world, even though you are few. And a measure was a certain measure among the Jews. But some understand by the leaven the preaching; and by the three measures, the three powers of the soul, the rational, the spirited, and the appetitive; and by the woman, the soul, which hid the preaching in all the powers, and mingled it in, and was leavened, and wholly sanctified by it; for we must all be leavened and transformed to the better. For he says, until the whole was leavened.

Matt. 13:34–35. All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world. He brings forward the prophet foretelling how Jesus was to teach, namely that [it would be] in parables, lest you suppose that Christ devised some new manner of teaching. And the [word], That it might be fulfilled, do not take in a causal sense, but from the issue of the matter. For Christ did not teach in this manner in order that the prophecy might be fulfilled, but because he taught in parables, the [saying] of the prophet is found, from the result, to have been fulfilled in him. And without a parable he did not speak to them—then only [was this so]; for he did not always speak in parables. For the Lord uttered the things that were hidden from the foundation of the world. For he himself revealed to us the mysteries in the heavens.

Matt. 13:36. Then, dismissing the crowds, Jesus came into the house. He dismissed the crowds then, when they were profited nothing by the teaching. For he himself spoke in parables, that they might ask him; but they, not caring for this, nor seeking to know anything, are reasonably dismissed by him. And his disciples came to him, saying: Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. Concerning this one alone they ask, as the others were thought by them to be plainer. And tares are all the destructive things that grow up upon the wheat: darnel, vetch, wild oats, and the rest.

Matt. 13:37–42. But he, answering, said to them: He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; and the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil; and the harvest is the consummation of the age; and the reapers are the angels. As, then, the tares are gathered and burned with fire, so shall it be in the consummation of this age: the Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all the things that cause stumbling, and those who work iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Whatever needed to be said has been said above. For we said that he is here treating of the heresies, which are permitted to be until the consummation. For if we slew the heretics and cut them off, there would be insurrections and battles, and perhaps many of the faithful would be destroyed in the insurrections; but also Paul and the thief had tares before they believed; they were not cut off, then, at that time, on account of the wheat that was to spring up in them; and the tares were burned by the fire of the Spirit and by the [Spirit’s] fervor.

Matt. 13:43. Then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father; he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Since the sun seems to us the most brilliant of all the stars, for this cause he compares the brilliance of the righteous to the sun. Yet they shall shine even beyond the sun; and perhaps, since Christ is the Sun of righteousness, then the righteous shall shine forth as Christ; for they too shall be gods.

Matt. 13:44. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man, having found, hid, and from his joy goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. The field is the world; the treasure, the preaching and the knowledge of Christ. And it is hidden in the world. For we preach, says Paul, a wisdom that has been hidden; and he who seeks the knowledge of God finds it; and all that he has, whether Hellenic doctrines, or wicked habits, or money, he immediately lays aside, and buys the field—that is, the world; for he who has the knowledge of Christ has the world as his own possession; for, having nothing, he holds all things, and has the elements as his servants, commanding them as did Jesus, as did Moses.

Matt. 13:45–46. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who, having found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. The sea is the present life. The merchants are those who pass through it and seek to find some knowledge. Many things, then, seem to be pearls, [namely] the opinions of the many wise; but one is the precious [pearl]. For the truth is one, which is Christ. As, then, the pearl is recorded to be born in an oyster, into which, when it opens its valves, lightning flashes; then again, when it closes these, from the lightning and the dew the pearl is conceived, and for this cause it is most white; so too Christ was conceived in the Virgin from the lightning from above, [namely] the Holy Spirit; and just as he who has a pearl, often holding it in his hand, himself knows how much wealth he has, while others are ignorant of it; so too the preaching is hidden in the obscure and lowly. We must, then, acquire this pearl, giving all things.

Matt. 13:47–50. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a net cast into the sea and gathering of every kind, which, when it was filled, they drew up upon the shore, and sitting down, gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away; so shall it be in the consummation of the age. The angels shall go forth, and shall separate the wicked from the midst of the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Fearful is this parable; for it shows that, even if we believe, yet have not a good life, we shall be cast into the fire; for the net is the teaching of the fisher-apostles, which was woven from both signs and prophetic testimonies. For the things which the apostles taught, they confirmed both by the wonders and by the voices of the prophets. This net, then, gathered from every kind: barbarians, Greeks, harlots, publicans, robbers. But when it was filled—that is, when the world is consummated—then those in the net are sorted out. For even if we have believed, yet be found bad, we are cast away; but those who are not such are put into vessels, I mean the eternal dwellings. And every deed, whether good or wicked, is said to be food of the soul. For the soul has intelligible teeth. Then, therefore, the soul gnashes these, that is, being crushed in its active powers, since it did such things.

Matt. 13:51–52. Jesus says to them: Have you understood all these things? They say to him: Yes, Lord. But he said to them: Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. Do you see how the parables made them more attentive? Behold, then, those who were otherwise unintelligent and unlearned understood the things hardly spoken. Whence the Savior, praising them, says, that Every scribe, and so forth. For he calls them scribes, as learned in the law; but even if they were learned in the law, they did not remain in the law, but were made disciples to the kingdom—that is, to the knowledge of Christ—and are able to bring forth both the things of the New and of the Old. The householder, then, is Christ, as rich. For in him are the treasures of wisdom. He, teaching the new things, then thus props them up with testimonies from the old; for example, he said that you shall give account for an idle word—this is the new. Then he adduced a testimony: For by your words you shall be justified, and shall be condemned—this is the old. Like to these, then, are the apostles, such as Paul, saying: Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ.

Matt. 13:53–54. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue. He spoke these parables, since he was also about to speak others a little later. And he passes over, that he might benefit others also by his presence. And by his own country understand Nazareth; for in it he was brought up. And in the synagogue he teaches, speaking in public and with boldness, that they might not afterward be able to say that he taught certain unlawful things.

Matt. 13:54–57. So that they were astonished and said: Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is his mother not called Mary, and his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And are not all his sisters here among us? Where then did this man get all these things? And they took offense at him. Being unintelligent, the Nazarenes supposed that the low birth and the meanness of one’s forebears hinder a man with regard to being useful to God. For granted that Jesus was a mere man, and not God; what hindered him from becoming great in wonders? They are found, then, both unintelligent and envious. For they ought rather to have prided themselves, that their own country had brought forth such a good. And the Lord had brothers and sisters, the children of Joseph, whom he begot of the wife of his brother Clopas; for when Clopas had died childless, Joseph took his wife according to the law, and begot of her six children, four males and two females, [namely] Mary, who was called the daughter of Clopas according to the law, and Salome. And the [phrase], are with us, [stands] instead of, dwell here among us. They too, then, were offended in the Lord, just as Herod supposed him [to cast out] the demons by the demons.

Matt. 13:57–58. But Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house. And he did not do there many mighty works, because of their unbelief. Observe Christ, how he does not insult them, but meekly says: A prophet is not without honor, and so forth. For we men are accustomed always to despise the things in familiarity, but to welcome the foreign. And he added the [phrase], in his own house, because his brethren also, those of the same house, envied him. And he did not do there many mighty works, because of their unbelief, sparing them, lest, remaining unbelieving even after the signs, they should be the more chastised. Many [works], then, he did not do, but a few, that they might not be able to say, that, If he had done [them] at all, we would have believed. But understand also thus, that even to this day Jesus is dishonored in his own country—that is, among the Jews; but we, the foreigners, honor him.

Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water

Matt. 14:1–2. At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report of Jesus, and said to his servants: This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore the powers are at work in him. This Herod was the son of the one who slew the infants in Bethlehem. Consider from this the conceit of the tyrannical life. For behold, after how long a time Herod hears the things concerning Jesus! For those in places of power learn such things slowly, because they take no thought for those who shine in virtue. And this man appears to fear the Baptist. For this reason he does not even dare to declare it to any others, but to his servants—that is, to his slaves. And since, while John was living, he did no sign, Herod supposed that from the resurrection he had received this gift also from God, the working of wonders.

Matt. 14:3–5. For Herod, having laid hold of John, bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother. For John said to him: It is not lawful for you to have her; and though he wished to kill him, he feared the multitude, because they held him as a prophet. Matthew did not make mention in what went before of the narrative concerning John, because his purpose was to write only the things concerning Christ. For indeed he would not have made mention of it even now, had this not borne upon Christ. And John reproved Herod, as holding unlawfully the wife of his brother; for the law commanded that the brother should then take the wife of his brother, when that one had died childless. But here Philip did not die childless; for he had a child, the girl who danced. Some, however, say that, while Philip was yet living, Herod took away both the wife and the tetrarchy. But whether this or that, the deed was unlawful. And not fearing God, he feared the multitude, whence also he kept putting off the killing; but the devil found for him an opportune season.

Matt. 14:6–8. But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod; whence he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. And she, being instructed beforehand by her mother, said: Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist. Behold the wantonness! The queen dances, and the better she dances, the worse it is. For it is a shame for a queen to do anything unseemly with skill. And consider also another folly of Herod: he swore to give whatever she might ask; but if she had asked for your own head, would you have given it? Give me here, she says, the head of John. For what reason did she add the word here? She feared lest Herod, coming to his senses afterward, should repent. Through this she presses him: Give me here, she says.

Matt. 14:9–12. And the king was grieved; yet for the sake of the oaths and of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given, and sent and beheaded John in the prison; and his head was brought on a platter, and was given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took up the body and buried it. He was grieved on account of virtue. For even an enemy admires virtue; yet for the sake of the oaths he gives an inhuman gift. And let us learn from this, that there is a time when it is better to break an oath than, for the sake of an oath, to do something impious. The body of the Baptist was buried in Sebaste of Caesarea; but his precious head was first laid in Emesa. And they came and told Jesus. What did they tell Jesus? Not that John was dead—for the narrative concerning John was inserted in the middle—but that Herod was saying of him that he was John.

Matt. 14:13. And when Jesus heard of it, he withdrew from there by boat into a desert place apart. Jesus withdraws on account of Herod’s murderous deed, teaching us also not to cast ourselves openly into dangers. And at the same time, lest he should seem to have been made flesh in appearance only, for this reason he withdraws. For if Herod had laid hold of him, he would have attempted to kill him; and had he attempted to kill him, if Jesus had snatched himself out of the midst of the dangers—because the time of his death had not yet come—he would have seemed to be a phantom; for these reasons, then, he withdraws. And into a desert place apart, that he might work the wonder of the loaves.

Matt. 14:13–14. And when the multitudes heard of it, they followed him on foot from the cities. And Jesus, going forth, saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and healed their sick. The multitudes display faith, in that they run to Jesus even as he withdraws. Therefore as a reward of their faith they receive their healings; but also the following on foot, and that without food—all these are [marks] of faith.

Matt. 14:15–16. And when evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying: The place is desert, and the hour is already past; send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food. But Jesus said to them: They have no need to go away; give them to eat yourselves. The disciples are loving toward men, for they care for the multitude, and for this reason do not wish them to be fasting. What, then, does the Savior do? Give them to eat yourselves, he says. And this he says, not as ignorant of how great poverty the apostles had—far from it—but that, when they said, We have not, he might seem to come of necessity to the working of the wonder, and not out of vainglory.

Matt. 14:17–19. And they say to him: We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes. And he said: Bring them here to me. And having commanded the multitudes to recline upon the grass, taking the five loaves and the two fishes, looking up to heaven, he blessed. Bring me the loaves here; for even if it is evening, yet I, the Maker of the seasons, am present; if the place is desert, yet I am he who gives food to all flesh. And we learn from this, that even if we have but little, we ought to spend it upon hospitality; for the apostles also, having but little, gave to the multitudes. But just as these few things were multiplied, so also your few things shall be multiplied. And he makes the multitudes recline upon the grass, teaching frugality, that you too may not take your rest upon costly couches and coverlets. And he looks up to heaven and blesses the loaves, perhaps both that he might give assurance that he is not against God, but came from the Father and from heaven; and at the same time, that he might train us, when we touch the table, to give thanks and so to eat.

Matt. 14:19–21. And having broken them, he gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes; and they all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the fragments, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. He gives the loaves to the disciples, that they might always have the wonder in remembrance, and that it might not slip from their minds—although they quickly forgot it; and that you might not suppose that he worked the wonder in appearance only, for this reason there is a surplus. And twelve baskets, that Judas also might carry one, and might not be flung headlong into betrayal, calling to mind the wonder. And he multiplies both the loaves and the fishes, that he might show that he himself is the Maker of earth and sea, that the things we eat each day, by his giving, nourish us, and are multiplied by him; and the wonder is in the wilderness, lest anyone should suppose that he bought the loaves from some nearby city, and distributed them to the crowd; for it was a wilderness. And thus, then, according to the history. But according to the higher sense, learn that, since Herod—the tyrannical and leathern mind of the Jews (for so is Herod interpreted)—beheaded John, the chief of the prophets, that is, did not believe those who prophesied of Christ, Jesus thereafter withdraws into a desert place, to the nations, which were deserted of God, and heals those sick in soul, and then also nourishes them. For if he will forgive us our sins, and heal our infirmities through baptism, will he not nourish us by the imparting of the undefiled mysteries? For no one unbaptized partakes. And the five thousand are those who use the five senses badly; and through the five loaves they are healed. For since the five senses were diseased, as many as were the wounds, so many also were the fillings. And the two fishes are the words of the fishermen: one fish is the Gospel, the other fish the Apostle. And the five loaves they understood to be the Pentateuch of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. And the twelve baskets were those carried by the apostles. For the things which we, the multitudes, are not able to eat—that is, to understand—these the apostles carried and contained. And besides women and children: nothing childish or womanish and unmanly is required of Christians to have.

Matt. 14:22. And immediately Jesus constrained his disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before him to the other side, until he should send the multitudes away. Hinting at the inseparability of the disciples, he said the word constrained; for they wished always to be with him. He sends the multitudes away, not wishing to draw them after him, lest he should seem fond of display.

Matt. 14:23–24. And having sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain apart to pray; and when evening had come, he was there alone; but the boat was now in the midst of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Showing us that we must pray without distraction, he goes up into the mountain; for he does all things for our sake, since he himself had no need of prayer. Until evening he prays, teaching us not to withdraw quickly from prayer; but to do this especially in the night, for then there is much stillness. And he allows the disciples to be storm-tossed, that they might learn to bear temptations nobly, and might come to know his power. And the boat was in the midst of the sea, that the fear might be the greater.

Matt. 14:25–27. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking upon the sea; and when the disciples saw him walking upon the sea, they were troubled, saying that It is a phantom, and they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying: Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid. He did not at once stand by them to loose the storm, teaching us not to ask quickly for release from misfortunes, but to bear them nobly; but [he came] about the fourth watch. For the night is divided into four [watches] among the soldiers who keep guard by turns, each watch having three hours. The Lord, then, after the ninth hour of the night, walking upon the water, as God, stood by them. Because of the strangeness and unwontedness of it, they thought it was a phantom. For they did not recognize him by his form, both because of the night, and because of the fear; but he first encourages them, saying: It is I, who can do all things; take courage.

Matt. 14:28. And Peter answered him and said: Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you upon the waters. Peter, being most fervent in his love toward Christ, desires quickly to be near him, and before the others. And he believes that Jesus not only himself walks upon the waters, but will also grant this to him; and he did not say, Bid me walk, but Come to you. For the one would have been a matter of display, but the other of love toward Christ.

Matt. 14:29–30. And he said: Come. And Peter, coming down from the boat, walked upon the waters, to come to Jesus; but seeing the wind strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying: Lord, save me. The Lord spread the sea beneath Peter, showing his own power. But see how Peter, having prevailed over the greater thing—the sea, I mean—feared the wind; so weak is human nature. And immediately, when he feared, then he began to sink; for when his faith grew weak, then Peter is plunged under. And this made him not to be high-minded, and consoled the other disciples. For perhaps they had envied him; but he also showed how greatly Christ surpasses him.

Matt. 14:31–33. And immediately Jesus, stretching out his hand, took hold of him, and says to him: O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they had entered into the boat, the wind ceased; and those in the boat came and worshiped him, saying: Truly you are the Son of God. Christ, showing that it was not the wind that was the cause of the sinking, but the faintheartedness, rebukes not the wind, but Peter who had grown fainthearted. Wherefore also, lifting him up, he set him upon the water, allowing the wind to blow. And Peter doubted not altogether, but in something—that is, partially; for in that he feared, in this he disbelieved; but in that he cried, Lord, save me, in this he healed his unbelief. Wherefore he hears that he is of little faith, but not unbelieving. Those, then, in the boat were themselves also loosed from fear. For the wind ceased; and indeed, having come to know Jesus from these things, they confess his divinity. For to walk upon the sea is not [the work] of a man, but of God; as David also says: In the sea are your ways, and your paths in many waters. And let us sum up the discourse: the vessel is the earth; the waves are the life troubled by the wicked spirits. And in the fourth watch, toward the end at last of the ages, Christ stood by. For the first watch was the covenant with Abraham; the second, the law of Moses; the third, the prophets; the fourth, the coming of the Lord; for he saved those who were storm-tossed, entering in and becoming with us, so that we, coming to know him as God, might worship him. And see this also, how the things that befell him on the sea foreshadowed Peter’s denial, and then his turning back and repentance; for just as there he says, presumptuously, I will never deny you; so here also: Bid me come upon the waters; and just as then he was permitted to deny, and the Lord granted it to him, and did not forsake him utterly, [so here the force] of the denial drew him on.

Matt. 14:34–36. And having crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region, and brought to him all who were sick, and besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment; and as many as touched were saved. When Jesus, after a long time, came to Gennesaret, the people, recognizing him not only from his appearance, but also from the signs, display a fervent faith; so that they desire even to touch the hem, and indeed, having done this, they were healed. So then do you also touch the edge of the garment of Christ, that is, the end of his incarnate sojourning. For if you believe that he was taken up, you shall be saved; for the garment is the flesh, and the hem of it the end of his life on earth.

Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed

Matt. 15:1–2. Then there come to Jesus the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem, saying: Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. Although all the regions had scribes and Pharisees, yet the more honored ones were in Jerusalem; wherefore these especially were envious, as being more fond of glory. Now the Jews had a custom, from an ancient tradition, not to eat with unwashed hands. Seeing, therefore, the disciples despising this tradition, they supposed that they were setting at nought the elders. What, then, does the Savior do? He makes no defense at all against this; but he counter-charges them.

Matt. 15:3–6. But he answered and said to them: Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, saying: Honor your father and your mother; and he who speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death. But you say: Whoever shall say to father or mother, It is a gift, whatever you might have been profited by from me, and he shall not honor his father or his mother; and you have made void the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition. The Pharisees accused the disciples as transgressing the commandment of the elders; but Christ shows them to be transgressing the law of God. For they taught the children to give nothing to their parents, but to dedicate whatever they had to the treasury of the temple. For there was in the temple a treasure, into which whoever wished cast [his offering], and this was called the corban. And the treasure was distributed to the poor. The Pharisees, therefore, persuading the children to give nothing to their parents, but to dedicate it to the treasure of the temple, taught them to say: It is a gift—that is, it is dedicated to God, O father, that which you seek to be profited by from me. And thus they themselves shared the money with the children, and the parents were left uncared for in their old age. And the creditors also did this. For if anyone lent money to someone, and then the debtor was difficult and did not pay back what was owed, the creditor would say to this ungrateful debtor: It is corban that you owe me—that is, a gift dedicated to God. The debtor, then, as thenceforth owing it to God, paid it even against his will; this the Pharisees taught the children to do.

Matt. 15:7–9. Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, saying: This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far removed from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the precepts of men. He shows, through the voice of Isaiah, that they were such toward his Father as they are found to be toward himself; for being wicked, and through their wicked works removing themselves far from God, they spoke the oracles of God with the mouth only. For wholly in vain do they worship and seem to honor God, who through their works dishonor him.

Matt. 15:10–11. And having called the multitude to him, he said to them: Hear and understand. Not that which enters into the mouth defiles the man, but that which comes forth out of the mouth, this defiles the man. He no longer discourses with the Pharisees, as being incurable, but with the multitude. And by calling them to him he seems to honor them, that they might receive his word, and he says: Hear and understand, rousing them to attention. Now since the Pharisees blamed the disciples as eating with unwashed hands, the Lord speaks concerning foods, that no food defiles the man—that is, pollutes [him]. And if food does not pollute, much less does eating with unwashed hands. For what defiles the inner man is the speaking of things that ought not [to be spoken]. And by this he hints at the Pharisees, who were polluted by speaking words of envy; and see his wisdom, how he neither openly lays down a law to eat with unwashed [hands], nor turns [men] away from it. But he teaches something else: not to cast forth wicked words from the heart.

Matt. 15:12. Then his disciples came and said to him: Do you know that the Pharisees, when they heard the word, were offended? The disciples speak on account of the Pharisees, that they were offended. Yet they themselves also were disturbed; and this is plain from Peter’s coming forward and asking about this. Jesus, then, hearing that the Pharisees were offended, said:

Matt. 15:13–14. Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up; let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind; and if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into a pit. He says that the traditions of the elders and the Jewish precepts shall be rooted up; not the things of the law, as the Manichaeans suppose; for the law is a planting of God; this, then, was not rooted up. For its root remains, that is, the hidden spirit. But the leaves, that is, the apparent letter, fell away; for we no longer understand the law according to the letter, but according to the spirit. And since the Pharisees were past hope and incurable, he said: Let them alone. From this, then, we learn that the being offended of those who are willingly offended and incurable is not harmful to us. And he calls them teachers blind [guides] of the blind; and this he says in order to draw the multitudes away from them.

Matt. 15:15. And Peter answered and said to him: Explain to us this parable. Peter, since he knew that the law forbade the eating of all things, fearing to say to Jesus, I am offended at the things you said, which appear to be unlawful, feigns ignorance and asks.

Matt. 15:16–20. But Jesus said: Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet perceive that everything which enters into the mouth passes into the belly, and is cast out into the privy? But the things which come forth out of the mouth come out of the heart, and those things defile the man; for out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnessings, blasphemies. These are the things that defile the man. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man. The Savior rebukes the disciples, and reproaches their foolishness, either as having been offended, or as not perceiving what is plain; he says, then: Do you not perceive this thing, which is understood and apparent to all? That foods do not remain within, but pass downward, defiling the man in no way as to the soul, for they do not remain inside. But the thoughts are both begotten within, and remain there, and coming forth—that is, advancing into deed and into action—they defile the man; for the thought of fornication, both remaining within, pollutes, and coming forth into deed and being acted upon, stains [the man].

Matt. 15:21–23. And Jesus, going forth from there, withdrew into the parts of Tyre and Sidon; and behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried to him, saying: Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed by a demon. But he answered her not a word. For what reason, having forbidden the disciples to go into the way of the Gentiles, does he himself come to Tyre and Sidon, the Gentile cities? Learn, then, that he did not come there to preach, since, as Mark says, he even hid himself. And besides, since he saw that the Pharisees did not receive the discourse concerning foods, he passes over to the nations. And she says, Have mercy—not on my daughter; for she has no feeling—but on me, who suffer the terrible things and have feeling. And she does not say, Come and heal, but Have mercy. But he answers her not a word, not as despising her, but that he might show that he came first of all on account of the Jews; and that he might stop their slanders, so that they might not have it to say afterward that he benefits the Gentiles; and at the same time, that he might display the persevering faith of the woman.

Matt. 15:23–24. And his disciples came and asked him, saying: Send her away, for she cries after us. But he answered and said: I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The disciples, burdened by the crying of the woman, asked that he might send her away—that is, they besought him to dismiss her. And this they did, not as being without compassion, but rather wishing to persuade the Lord to have mercy on her. But he says: I was not sent except to the Jews, who are lost sheep, [lost] through the wickedness of those entrusted with them. And through these [words] he makes the faith of the woman the more public.

Matt. 15:25–27. But she came and worshiped him, saying: Lord, help me. But he answered and said: It is not good to take the children’s bread and to cast it to the little dogs. But she said: Yes, Lord; for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. When the woman saw her advocates, the apostles, fail, she comes forward again fervently, and calls him Lord. And since Christ calls her a dog, because the Gentiles have an unclean life and busy themselves about the blood of things offered to idols, and [calls] the Jews children, she answers prudently and very wisely, that: Even if I am a dog and not worthy to take bread—that is, some power and great sign—yet grant this thing, which is little as regards your power, but great to me; just as with the crumbs, those who eat the loaves have nothing great, but the dogs [have it] as great, and are nourished from them.

Matt. 15:28. Then Jesus answered and said to her: O woman, great is your faith; be it done to you as you wish; and her daughter was healed from that hour. Jesus now made manifest the reason for which he had put off the healing from the beginning; for that the faith and understanding of the woman might be made to shine forth, for this reason Christ did not at once from the beginning consent, but rather even sends her away. But now, since her faith and understanding were uncovered, she is praised, hearing: Great is your faith; and in saying, Be it done to you as you wish, he showed that, had she not had faith, she would not have obtained her request; so that, if we too are willing, there is nothing to hinder us from obtaining what we wish. And note this, that even if the apostles were not strong enough to ask on our behalf, as the apostles [asked] on hers, yet we, asking on our own behalf, accomplish the more. And the Canaanite woman is also a symbol of the Church from among the nations. For indeed the nations, formerly cast off, were afterward raised up into the rank of sons, and were counted worthy of the bread—the body, I mean, of the Lord. But the Jews became dogs, seeming to be nourished from the crumbs, that is, from the small and worthless things of the letter. And Tyre signifies a constraining; Sidon, hunters; and Canaanite, made ready by humility; those, then, who are held fast by wickedness, the Gentiles, over whom were the demons who hunt souls, these are the ones made ready by humility; for the demons were made ready by the height of the kingdom of God.

Matt. 15:29–31. And Jesus, departing from there, came beside the sea of Galilee, and going up into the mountain, he sat there; and there came to him great multitudes, having with them the lame, the blind, the dumb, the maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at the feet of Jesus, and he healed them; so that the multitudes marveled when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. He does not sojourn continually in Judea, but in Galilee, on account of the great unbelief of the Jews; for the Galileans were more believing than they. See, then, their faith, how, being lame and blind, they go up even into the mountain, and do not shrink back, but cast themselves at the feet of Jesus, glorifying him as one above man, whence also they obtained healing. Do you also, then, go up into the mountain of the commandments, where the Lord sits; even if you are blind, not able of yourself to see the good; even if lame, seeing indeed the good, but not able to come to it; even if dumb, neither hearing another exhorting, nor able to exhort another; even if maimed, that is, not able to stretch out the hand to almsgiving; even if you be sick with any other thing, falling at the feet of Jesus and touching the footsteps of that life, you shall be healed.

Matt. 15:32. But Jesus, having called his disciples to him, said: I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with me three days, and have nothing to eat, and I am not willing to send them away fasting, lest perhaps they faint on the way. The multitudes did not dare to ask for bread, as having come for healing. But he, being loving toward men, takes thought; and that no one might be able to say, But they have provisions, he says: Even if they had, they would have been used up; for it is now three days. And he shows that they had also come from afar, in saying: Lest they faint on the way. And these things he says to the disciples, wishing to rouse them to say to him, You are able to feed them as you did the five thousand also; but they are still without understanding.

Matt. 15:33. And his disciples say to him: Where should we get so many loaves in a wilderness, so as to fill so great a multitude? And yet they ought to have understood, when before also more were fed in a wilderness; but they are without perception, that, when you see these same men afterward full of so great wisdom, you might marvel at the grace of Christ.

Matt. 15:34–38. And Jesus says to them: How many loaves have you? And they said: Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitudes to recline upon the ground; and taking the seven loaves and the fishes, having given thanks, he broke them and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the fragments, seven baskets full. And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. Teaching frugality, he makes them recline upon the ground; and teaching us to give thanks before food, he himself also gives thanks. But you ask how it is that there, although there were five loaves and five thousand who were fed, [there were] twelve baskets; while here, the loaves being more and those fed fewer, seven baskets were left over. It is possible, then, to say either that the baskets were larger than the [former] baskets, or that [it was] lest the equality of the wonder should cast them into forgetfulness. For if even now twelve baskets had been left over, they would have forgotten, by reason of the equality, that he had worked a wonder upon loaves a second time. But do you know this also, that the four thousand—that is, those who have the four virtues perfectly—these are nourished by seven loaves, that is, by more spiritual and more perfect words. For the number seven is a symbol of the seven spiritual gifts; and they recline upon the ground, putting beneath them all earthly things and trampling them under, just as the five thousand also reclined upon the grass—that is, they set the flesh and [its] glory beneath them. For all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. And the seven baskets here are the superfluities, because the things which they were not able to eat were spiritual and more perfect; those things, then, were left over which seven baskets contain—that is, the things which only the Holy Spirit knows. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

Matt. 15:39. And having sent the multitudes away, he entered into the boat, and came to the borders of Magdala. Jesus withdraws, since no other sign made more [people] follow him than that of the loaves. So that they were even about to make him a king, as John says. That he might flee, therefore, the suspicion of [seeking] tyranny, he passes over.

Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer

Matt. 16:1. And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and tempting him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. Although the Pharisees and Sadducees differed in their doctrines, yet against Christ they are of one mind; and they sought a sign from heaven, such as to stay the sun, or the moon; for they supposed that the signs upon earth were wrought by demonic power and by Beelzebub. For the foolish men were ignorant that Moses also wrought many signs from the earth in Egypt, and that the fire which came down from heaven upon Job’s cattle was from the devil; so that not all things from heaven are from God, nor all things from earth from demons.

Matt. 16:2–3. But he answered and said to them: When evening has come, you say: Fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning: Today there will be a storm, for the sky is red and lowering; hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the sky, but the signs of the times you cannot? He reproves their tempting inquiry, naming them hypocrites, and he says that: Just as, of the things that appear in heaven, one is a sign of storm, and another of fair weather, and no one would seek the sign of storm in a calm, or [the sign] of calm in a storm; so also concerning me it must be understood. For this is one season, that of [my first] coming, and another the one to come; now there is need of the signs upon earth. But the [signs] in heaven are betokened in that season, when the sun shall be quenched, the moon shall be hidden, the heaven shall be changed.

Matt. 16:4. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet, and he left them and went away. A wicked generation, as tempting; adulterous, as departing from God and consorting with the devil. And when they seek a sign from heaven, he does not give it except the sign of Jonah—that is, that, having been three days in the belly of the great whale of death, he will rise again. And this sign you might say is also from heaven. For at his death the sun was darkened, and the whole creation was shaken. And note the saying: A sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For the signs were given to them—that is, they came to pass for their sake—even though those men disbelieved. Wherefore also, leaving them as incurable, he went away.

Matt. 16:5–6. And his disciples, coming to the other side, forgot to take bread. But Jesus said to them: Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Just as leaven is sour and old, so also the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees was biting the souls, being sour, and bringing in the old traditions of the elders; and just as leaven is a mixture of water and flour, so also the teaching of the Pharisees was a mixture of word and a corrupted life. He did not say to them openly, Beware of the teaching of the Pharisees, that he might remind them of the signs of the loaves.

Matt. 16:7–12. But they reasoned among themselves, saying that: We took no bread. And Jesus, perceiving it, said to them: Why do you reason among yourselves, O you of little faith, that you took no bread? Do you not yet perceive, nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? How is it that you do not perceive that I did not speak to you concerning bread, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? Then they understood that he said to beware, not of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They supposed that he was saying this to them, namely, to guard against the defilement from the Jewish foods, wherefore also they reasoned that they took no bread; he reproaches them, then, as foolish and of little faith. For in that they did not remember with how many loaves he had fed how many, [they were] foolish; but in that they disbelieved, that, even if they had not bought loaves from the Jews, he himself was able to provide them, in this they were of little faith; as a master he reproved them more sharply, for gentleness is not everywhere good; and immediately they understood that he called the teaching leaven. So strong everywhere is reasonable rebuke.

Matt. 16:13. And Jesus, coming into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? He made mention of the one who founded the city, since there is also another Caesarea, that of Strato, and he asks them not in that one, but in this. For he leads the disciples far away from the Jews, that, fearing no one, they might speak with boldness. And first he asks the supposition of the multitude, that they might be raised to a higher thought, and might not fall into the same lowliness as the many; and he does not ask, Whom do the Pharisees say that I am? but, [Whom do] men [say], speaking of the guileless multitude.

Matt. 16:14. And they said: Some, John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Those who named him John were like Herod, supposing that John, after the resurrection, had received this gift also, that of wonder-working; and those [who said] Elijah, on account of [his] reproving [spirit], and because it was expected that he would come; and those [who said] Jeremiah, on account of the natural and untaught quality of his wisdom; for Jeremiah, while yet a child, was appointed to prophecy.

Matt. 16:15–16. He says to them: But whom do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And again, as fervent, Peter leaps forward, and confesses him truly to be the Son of God. For he did not say, You are the Christ, a Son of God, without the article, but with the article, the Son—that is, that very one, the one and only, not a Son by grace, but the one begotten of the very essence of the Father; since there were also many christs, all the priests and the kings, but the Christ with the article is one.

Matt. 16:17. And Jesus answered and said to him: Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father who is in the heavens. He blesses Peter as having received the knowledge from divine grace; and approving him, he shows thereafter that the suppositions of the other men are false; he said to him Bar-Jonah—that is, son of Jonah—saying all but this, that: As you are the son of Jonah, so I am of one essence with my Father who is in heaven. And he calls knowledge a revelation, the hidden and unknown things having been made manifest by the Father.

Matt. 16:18. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. The Lord rewards Peter, giving him a great reward, that the Church should be built upon him. For since Peter confessed him to be the Son of God, he says: This confession which you have confessed shall be the foundation of those who believe, so that every man about to build the house of faith shall lay this confession as the foundation. For though we build ten thousand walls, yet if we have not for a foundation the right confession, we build to no soundness. And in saying, My Church, he shows himself to be Master of all; for all things are his servants. And the gates of Hades are the persecutors in their seasons, who sent the Christians down to Hades. And the heretics also are gates leading down to Hades; over many persecutors, then, and many heretics the Church has prevailed. And each one of us is also a church, becoming a house of God. If, then, we are established upon the confession of Christ, the gates of Hades—that is, the sins—shall not prevail against us; for it was when lifted up out of these gates that David also said: You who lift me up from the gates of death. From what gates, O David? From the two, those of murder and of adultery.

Matt. 16:19. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatever you loose upon the earth shall be loosed in the heavens. As God he says, I will give you, with authority; for as the Father gave me the revelation, so I [give] the keys. By keys you will understand the things that bind and loose sins, [namely] either the remittings or the [retainings]; for they have authority to forgive and to bind, who after the manner of Peter have been counted worthy of the episcopal grace; for although it was said to Peter alone, I will give you, yet it has been given to all the apostles also. When? When he said: Whoever’s sins you remit, they are remitted. For indeed the word I will give signifies a future time—that is, the [time] after the resurrection. And the virtues also are called heavens, and the keys of these are the works; for through working we enter, as through certain keys that open, into each of the virtues. But if one does not work them, he who walks in them is bound in the heavens—that is, in the virtues; for the earnest man is loosed in these. Let us, then, not have sins, that we may not be bound with the cords of our own sins.

Matt. 16:20. Then he charged his disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Christ. Christ wished, before the cross, that the glory concerning him should be overshadowed. For if men had heard before the passion that he is God, and then had seen him suffering, how would they not have been offended? For this reason, then, he hides himself from the many, that after the resurrection he might be made known without offense, the Spirit smoothing out all things through the wonders.

Matt. 16:21. From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. He foretells to them the passion, that, when it came unexpectedly, they might not be offended, supposing that he had suffered unwillingly and in ignorance; for since they had come to know, through Peter’s confession, that he is the Son of God, then he reveals to them also the things of the passion. And after the grievous things, he adds also the joyful, his being raised on the third day.

Matt. 16:22. And Peter, taking him aside, began to rebuke him, saying: Be it far from you, Lord; this shall not be to you. What was revealed, Peter rightly confessed; but what was not revealed, in this he erred; that we might learn that without God he could not utter even that great [confession]. Not wishing, then, that Christ should suffer, and being ignorant of the mystery of the resurrection, he says: Be it far from you, Lord; this shall not be to you.

Matt. 16:23. But he turned and said to Peter: Get behind me, Satan, you are an offense to me, for you do not mind the things of God, but the things of men. When Peter spoke right things, Christ blessed him; but when he was irrationally faint-hearted and did not wish him to suffer, he rebuked him, saying: Get behind me, Satan. And Satan means the adversary. Get behind me, then—that is, do not set yourself against [me], but follow my will. And he calls Peter thus, since to Satan also the suffering of Christ was unwished-for; he says, then, that: You by human reasoning think the passion unseemly for me; but you do not perceive that God through this works salvation, and that this is most fitting for me.

Matt. 16:24. Then Jesus said to his disciples: If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Then—when? When he had rebuked Peter; for wishing to show that Peter had erred in hindering him from suffering, he says: You hinder me; but I say to you that not only is my not suffering harmful to you, but neither will you be able to be saved unless you yourself also die—and likewise anyone else, whether man or woman, whether poor or rich. And he said If anyone wishes, that he might show that virtue is free and not constrained. And he follows after Jesus, not [merely] he who confesses him to be the Son of God, but he who also comes through all the terrible things, and endures the same. And he said, Let him deny himself, signifying the perfect denial through the putting-off [of self]. That is, let him have nothing in common with the body, but let him despise himself, just as we are wont to say, So-and-so denied so-and-so, instead of, He has him neither as friend nor as acquaintance. So, then, everyone too must have no friendship toward the body; so as even to take up the cross—that is, to choose death, and with eagerness to seek out even a reproachful death; for such was the cross among the ancients. But, And let him follow me, he says. For many robbers and thieves are crucified, but those are not my disciples; let him follow, then—that is, let him display also all the rest of virtue. And he too denies himself who yesterday was wanton, but today is chaste. Such was Paul, who denied himself in saying: It is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. And he takes up the cross who has put to death and crucified himself to the world.

Matt. 16:25. For whoever wishes to save his soul shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his soul for my sake shall find it. He urges us on to martyrdom. He finds his soul for the present—that is, saves it—who denies [me], who also loses it afterward; but he loses his soul, yet for the sake of Christ, who shall bear witness on his behalf. And he shall also hold it fast in incorruption and life eternal.

Matt. 16:26–27. For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world, but forfeit his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall render to each according to his deed. Suppose, he says, by way of hypothesis, that you have gained the whole world; but what is the profit, when the soul is ill-disposed, that the body should fare well? As if, when the mistress of the house went about in torn rags, the maidservants were splendidly clad. For neither in the age to come can anyone give anything in exchange for his soul. For here he can give tears, groanings, almsgiving; but there, no. For the Judge who succeeds [to all] is not to be bribed; for he judges each according to his works; and [he is] fearful, for he comes in his glory with the angels, and not despised.

Matt. 16:28. Truly I say to you, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. He said that the Son of man is about to come in his glory. Lest, then, those men should disbelieve, he says that there are some here who, so far as is possible, shall see in the Transfiguration the glory of the second coming; and at the same time he also shows in what glory those will be who have suffered for his sake. For as his flesh shone forth at that time, so in proportion the saints shall then shine; and here he hints at Peter and James and John, whom he took up into the mountain, and showed them his kingdom—that is, the state which is to come, in which he himself also will come and the righteous shall shine forth. He says, then, that: Some of those here shall not die until they see [him] transfigured. And note that those who stand fast in the good and are steadfast, those behold Jesus transfigured into the more splendid [form], and ever advance in faith and in the commandments.

Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma

Matt. 17:1. And after six days, Jesus takes Peter, and James, and John his brother. This is not contrary to what is said in Luke, that, And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, and so forth; for Luke counts both the first day and the last, on which they went up into the mountain, while Matthew counts only the days in between. And he took Peter as one who loved him exceedingly, and John as one who was beloved, and James as one who was himself also a zealot; and that he had zeal is clear from his both promising to drink the cup, and from Herod’s slaying him with the sword to please the Jews.

Matt. 17:2. And he brings them up into a high mountain apart, and he was transfigured before them. And his face shone as the sun, and his garments became white as the light. He brings them up into a high mountain, showing that unless one is lifted up, he does not become worthy of such visions. And [he leads them] apart, because Christ was wont to perform his more extraordinary miracles in secret, lest, being seen by the many as God, he should be thought to be a man only in appearance. And when you hear “transfiguration,” do not suppose that he then cast off the body, but that, the body remaining in its own form—for you hear of his face and his garments—he appeared more radiant, his divinity displaying a little of its own rays, and this only so far as [the disciples] were able to behold it. For this reason he above called the Transfiguration the kingdom of God, as having revealed to the disciples the unspeakable [greatness] of his authority, and as having shown that he is genuinely [begotten] of the Father, and as bearing the dignity of the second coming, through the ineffable splendor of the face of Jesus.

Matt. 17:3. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him. What were they talking about? His departure, Luke says, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem—that is, the cross. And why did Moses and Elijah appear? That it might be shown that he is Lord both of the law and of the prophets, and of the living and the dead; for Elijah is a prophet, and is still alive, while Moses is a lawgiver, and has died. But also that it might appear that he is not opposed to the law, nor against God; for neither would Moses have spoken with one who opposed his own [precepts], nor would Elijah the zealot have endured him, were he against God. And further, that he might dispel the suspicion of those who said he was Elijah or one of the prophets. How did the disciples know that they were Moses and Elijah? Surely not from images, since to make images of men was then thought impious. It seems, then, that they recognized them from the words they were speaking; for perhaps Moses was saying, “You are he whose Passion I prefigured, when I slew the lamb and celebrated the Passover”; and Elijah, “You are he whose resurrection I prefigured in the widow’s son”—or some such things. Showing these men, then, to the disciples, he teaches them to imitate them: to be, after the manner of Moses, meek and able to lead the people; and after the manner of Elijah, zealous and unbending when there is need, and ready to face danger, just as these men were for the sake of the truth.

Matt. 17:4. And Peter answered and said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you will, let us make here three tabernacles, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Peter, wishing that Christ should not suffer, out of his great love says: “It is good to remain here, and not to go down and be killed. For even if someone should come here, we have both Moses and Elijah to work with us; for Moses overcame the Egyptians, and Elijah brought down fire from heaven; so that against the enemies who might come here, these men will be such [helpers].” He spoke these things out of much fear, as Luke says, not knowing what he said. For the strangeness astonished him; or because he truly did not know what he was saying, wishing Jesus to remain on the mountain and not to go down and suffer for us. And fearing lest he should seem presumptuous, he says, “If you will.”

Matt. 17:5. While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear him. You, O Peter, seek tabernacles made with hands; but the Father, setting around them another tabernacle not made with hands—the cloud—shows that, just as he himself appeared to the ancients in a cloud, being God, so too does his Son. And the cloud here is bright, not dark as in the old [covenant], because he wished not to terrify but to teach. And the voice came from the cloud, that it might be shown that it was from God. And the [phrase] “in whom I am well pleased” [stands] for “in whom I rest and take delight.” And he teaches that “you are to hear him, even if he wills to be crucified; do not oppose him.”

Matt. 17:6–8. And when the disciples heard it, they fell upon their faces, and were exceedingly afraid; and Jesus came and touched them, and said: Rise, and be not afraid. And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, save Jesus only. Not bearing the brightness of the cloud, nor the voice, the disciples fell to the ground; and their eyes were also weighed down with sleep—and by “sleep” he means the great stupor that came from the sight. But lest the fear, lingering long, should cast out the memory of the things they had seen, he raises them up and emboldens them, and he alone is found, so that you might not suppose that the voice was about Moses or Elijah, but about himself; for it is he who is the Son of God.

Matt. 17:9. And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no one until the Son of man be risen from the dead. Out of humility he charges them to tell no one; and at the same time, that those who heard such things might not be scandalized, seeing him afterward crucified. For they would have thought him a deceiver, who had performed the godlike [wonders] only in appearance. But learn this, that after six days—that is, after [passing beyond] the world that was created in six days—comes the vision of God; for unless you pass beyond the world and are lifted up on the mountain, you will not see the radiant things—neither the face of Jesus, by which I mean his divinity, nor the garments, by which I mean the flesh. And then you would also see Moses and Elijah conversing with Jesus; for the law and the prophets and Jesus speak one thing and are in concord. But also, whenever you find someone interpreting the meaning of Scripture radiantly, know that this man beholds the face of Jesus radiantly; and if he also makes the words clear and brightens them, this man also sees the garments of Jesus as white; for the words are the garments of the meanings. But do not say, like Peter, It is good for us to be here; for one must always advance, and not remain at one single level of virtue and contemplation.

Matt. 17:10. And his disciples asked him, saying: Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? Deceiving the people, the scribes said that he was not the Christ; for if he were, Elijah would have come first—not knowing that there are two comings of Christ, of which the forerunner of the first is John, and of the second, Elijah. This very thing, then, Christ also interprets to the disciples; for listen.

Matt. 17:11–13. And Jesus answered and said to them: Elijah indeed comes first, and shall restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished; so also shall the Son of man suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptist. In saying, “Elijah indeed comes,” he shows that he had not yet come, but will come as forerunner of the second coming, and will restore to the faith of Christ all the Hebrews who shall be found obedient, restoring them as one restores to certain men a fallen paternal inheritance. But in saying that “Elijah has already come,” he means the forerunner John. And “they did to him whatever they wished,” having slain him; for through the very means by which they permitted Herod to slay him, being able to prevent it, they themselves slew him. Then, indeed, the disciples, becoming sharper, understood that he had called John “Elijah,” as having become forerunner of the first [coming], while that other [Elijah] shall be [forerunner] of the second coming.

Matt. 17:14–16. And when they had come to the crowd, there came to him a man kneeling down to him, and saying: Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffers grievously. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. This man appears to be exceedingly unbelieving, both from what Christ said to him, “O faithless generation,” and because he accuses the disciples. And it is not the moon that is the cause, but the demon watches for the moon when it is full, and then sets upon him, so that the works of God might be blasphemed as harmful. But understand also that every foolish man is altered like the moon, according to what is written—at one time appearing great through virtue, at another diminished and vanishing away. This man, then, is moonstruck and falls down, both into the fire of wrath and of desire, and into the water, the currents of a life full of cares, in which leviathan lurks—that is, he who reigns in the waters; for are not the cares of the rich like waves following one upon another?

Matt. 17:17–18. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him. And Jesus answered and said: O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him here to me; and Jesus rebuked him, and the demon went out of him, and the boy was healed from that hour. Do you see the man laying his own fault of unbelief upon the disciples, as though they had been too weak for the healing? The Lord, therefore, putting him to shame—since he accused the disciples—says: “O faithless generation”; that is, the fault is not so much one of their weakness as of your unbelief; for being great, it overcame their measured power. And in reproaching the man, he reproaches all in common as unbelieving, even the bystanders. And in saying, “How long shall I be with you?” he shows that he longs for the Passion upon the cross, or for his departure from them. For how long shall I dwell among the insolent and unbelieving? And Jesus rebuked him—whom? The lunatic; from this, then, it appears that he too, being himself unbelieving, became, through his unbelief, the cause of the demon’s [coming] upon himself.

Matt. 17:19–21. Then the disciples came to Jesus apart, and said: Why could we not cast it out? And Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you; but this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. The apostles feared lest they had perhaps lost the grace given to them against the demons; therefore in private they ask, in anxiety. But the Lord, reproaching them as too imperfect, says that it is “because of your unbelief”; for if you had warm and fervent faith, even though it seemed small, you would have accomplished great things. Where the apostles removed mountains is nowhere written; nevertheless, it is likely that they did remove them, and that it was not written. For not all things were written; and besides, the occasion did not require it, and for this reason they did not remove them, but did other, greater things. See, then, what the Lord also said: You shall say to this mountain, Move, that is, “Whenever you say it, then it will move”; the apostles, then, did not say it, since neither the occasion called for it nor any necessity, and for this reason they did not move mountains; whereas, had they said it, they would have moved them. And this kind, the kind of demons, is cast out through prayer and fasting; for both the demon-possessed themselves must especially fast, and those who are about to heal them. And prayer is effective then, when it is made not with drunkenness but with fasting. Understand also that all faith is a grain of mustard seed, reckoned indeed to be of little worth because of the foolishness of the preaching; yet, if it lights upon good soil, it grows into a tree, in which the birds of heaven—the thoughts that soar on high—make their nests. Whoever, then, has all faith, that man is able to say to this mountain, “Move”—that is, to the demon; for he was pointing to the demon that had gone out.

Matt. 17:22–23. And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said to them: The Son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him, and on the third day he shall be raised; and they were exceedingly grieved. He continually foretells the Passion, lest he should be thought to suffer unwillingly, and at the same time that he might train them, and that they might not be troubled by its unexpectedness when it came to pass. And to the grievous things he joins also the joyful, [namely] “He shall rise again.”

Matt. 17:24. And when they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma came to Peter, and said: Does your teacher not pay the didrachma? He says: Yes. God, in place of the firstborn of the Hebrews, willed that the tribe of Levi should be consecrated to him. And the tribe of Levi, when numbered, was found to be twenty-two thousand; while the firstborn were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. In place of those firstborn who were over and above the tribe of Levi, God appointed that a didrachma be given to the priests. From then on, therefore, it became a custom that all the firstborn, without exception, should pay the didrachma, which is five shekels, that is, two hundred obols. Since, then, the Lord too was a firstborn, he also paid it; but perhaps out of reverence for Christ on account of his miracles, they do not question him, but Peter—or rather, craftily, as if to say something like this: “Has your teacher, who opposes the law, then deigned to pay the didrachma?”

Matt. 17:25–26. And when he had entered into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying: What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tribute or tax? from their own sons, or from strangers? Peter says to him: From strangers. Jesus said to him: Then the sons are free. As God, although he had not heard, he knew what those men had discussed with Peter; therefore he also anticipates him, saying: “If the kings of the earth do not take tribute from their own sons, but from strangers, how shall the heavenly King take the didrachma from me, his Son?” For this, as I said above, was offered to the priests and to God. If, then, the sons of the kings here below are free—that is, paying nothing—how much more I!

Matt. 17:27. But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you have opened its mouth, you shall find a stater; take that and give it to them for me and for you. “That we may not be reckoned arrogant and despisers of the law,” he says, “and so give offense, pay the tribute; for I give it not as one who owes it, but as one correcting their weakness.” For from this let us learn that we must not give offense where we are not harmed; for where we are harmed by a single deed, we must not have regard for those who are unreasonably scandalized. So then, that he might show that he is God and ruler of the sea, he sent Peter to bring the stater from the fish. And at the same time we also learn a certain mystery: for our nature is the fish, baptized in the deep of unbelief; but the apostolic word drew us up, and found in our mouth the stater, the oracles of the Lord and the confession of Christ; for he who confesses Christ, that man has the stater in his mouth—a stater drawing two drachmas. For Christ also has two natures, being God and man. This precious stater, then, was given for two: for Jews and Gentiles, and for the righteous and sinners. And whenever you see a lover of money, having nothing else in his mouth but gold and silver, know that this man is a fish, swimming in the sea of this life; but if some teacher like Peter is found, he hooks him, and casts out of his mouth the gold and the silver. Some, however, think the stater to be a fourth part of a [standard] coin.

Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents

Matt. 18:1. At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Since they had seen Peter honored by Christ—for he was honored in being commanded to give the stater for Christ and for himself—on this account they suffered something human, and, stung by envy, they come asking the Lord obliquely: Who is greatest?

Matt. 18:2–4. And Jesus called a little child to him, and set it in their midst, and said: Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Seeing the disciples held fast by the passion of love of glory, the Lord checks them, showing them through the unpretentious little child the way of humility. For we must be children in the lowliness of our disposition, not in the childishness of our reasoning; and in innocence, not in folly. And in saying, “Unless you turn,” he showed that they had passed from humility into love of glory. They must, then, turn back there again—that is, to the humility from which they had departed.

Matt. 18:5–6. And whoever shall receive one such little child in my name, receives me; but whoever shall scandalize one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him that a millstone be hanged about his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Not only must you be humble-minded,” he says, “but if you also honor others who are humble-minded for my sake, you shall receive a reward; for you receive me, whenever you receive the little children—that is, the humble.” Then from the contrary he also says that “whoever shall scandalize”—that is, insult—“one of these little ones”—that is, of those who make themselves small and humble, although they are in fact great—“it would be better for him that an ass’s millstone be hanged about his neck.” For he brings forward a sensible punishment into the midst, wishing to show that those who insult and scandalize the humble in Christ shall undergo great chastisement. But understand also that even if one scandalizes the truly little—that is, the weak—and does not by every means support him, he shall be punished. For the great man is not easily scandalized, but the little one is.

Matt. 18:7. Woe to the world because of offenses! for it is necessary that offenses come; but woe to that man through whom the offense comes. As one who loves mankind, he laments the world, as about to be harmed by offenses. But someone might say: And what need is there to lament, when one ought rather to help and stretch out a hand? We will answer, then, that this very thing—to lament over someone—is itself a form of help. For often those whom our exhortation did not benefit, we benefit when we lament over them, [thereby] bringing them to a sense [of their state]. And if it is necessary, he says, that offenses come, how are those who cause them punished? It is necessary that they come, but not necessary that one perish. For it is possible to resist offenses. And by “offenses” understand those who hinder [men] from the good, and by “the world,” those who are base and earthbound, and who can easily be hindered.

Matt. 18:8–9. And if your hand or your foot scandalizes you, cut it off, and cast it from you; it is good for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire; and if your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out, and cast it from you; it is good for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than, having two eyes, to be cast into the Gehenna of fire. By “hand” and “foot” and “eye” understand your friends, whom we hold in the rank of members; if, then, those who harm us are such persons—that is, kinsmen and friends—we must despise them as rotted members, and cut them off, lest they harm others also. So that from these things it is plain that, even if it is necessary that offenses come—that is, those who do harm—it is not necessary that we be harmed. For if we do as the Lord said, and cut off from ourselves those who harm us, even if they be friends, we shall not be harmed.

Matt. 18:10–11. See that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you that their angels in heaven do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven; for the Son of man came to save that which was lost. He charges us not to despise those reckoned little—that is, the poor in spirit, who are great in God’s sight; for so greatly, he says, are they loved by God that they have angels as guardians, that they may not be harmed by demons. For each of the faithful, or rather all men, have angels. But the angels of the little and humble in Christ are so intimate with God that they always behold his face, standing before him. And from this it appears that, although we all have angels, yet the angels of sinners, as if ashamed because of our lack of boldness, do not themselves have boldness to behold the face of God, nor, perhaps, to make petition on our behalf; whereas the angels of the humble-minded, these behold the divine face, because they have boldness. And what then? “For this cause I came, to save that which was lost, and to win back those who have fallen away.”

Matt. 18:12–14. What do you think? If a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them go astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go to seek the one that is straying? And if it should come to pass that he find it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. To what man did the hundred sheep belong? To Christ. For the whole rational creation, both angels and men, are the hundred sheep, of which Christ is the shepherd, not a sheep. For he is not a creature, but the Son of God. He, then, left the ninety-nine in heaven; and taking the form of a servant, came to seek the one sheep, which is human nature. And he rejoices over this more than over the steadfastness of the angels. This hints, by way of summary, that God takes care for the conversion of sinners, and rejoices over these more than over those who have a settled virtue.

Matt. 18:15–17. But if your brother sin against you, go and reprove him between you and him alone; if he hear you, you have gained your brother; but if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established; and if he refuse to hear them, tell it to the Church; and if he refuse to hear the Church also, let him be to you as the heathen and the publican. Having stretched out a severe word against those who give offense, he now also sets right those who are offended. For so that you who are offended—that is, harmed—may not utterly collapse, as though the offender held the [stronger position], he says: “You who are offended, that is, harmed, I wish to reprove those who wrong and harm you, if they be Christians.” For see what he says: “If your brother sin against you”—that is, the Christian. For if an unbeliever wrongs [you], then withdraw even from your own possessions; but if a brother [wrongs you], reprove him; for he did not say, “Insult [him],” but, “Reprove [him].” “If he hear you”—that is, condemn himself; for he wishes that sinners be reproved first in private, lest, being reproved before many, they become more shameless. But if, having been reproved before two or three witnesses, he is not abashed, then let the fault be made public before the presidents of the Church. For since he did not hear the two or three—although the law says that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word is confirmed—let him henceforth be brought to his senses by the Church; and if he hear not even her, then let him be cast out, lest he impart his own evil to the others also. And he likens such brethren to publicans, since a publican is a [worthless] thing; and it is a consolation to the one wronged that the one who wrongs him be reckoned a publican and a heathen—that is, a sinner and an unbeliever. Is this the only punishment of the one who wrongs? No. But hear what follows.

Matt. 18:18. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. “If you who are wronged,” he says, “hold the one who wrongs you as a publican and a heathen, he shall be such in heaven also. And if you loose him—that is, forgive him—he shall be forgiven in heaven also.” For not only the things that the priests loose are loosed, but whatever we too, when wronged, either bind or loose, those things also shall be bound or loosed.

Matt. 18:19–20. Again, truly I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father who is in heaven; for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in their midst. Through such words he leads us to peace with one another; for since he forbade us to scandalize one another, and to harm and be harmed, he speaks also of concord with one another. But those who are understood to be in agreement are not those gathered for evil, but those gathered for good. For see what he said: “If two of you”—that is, of the faithful, of the virtuous; for Annas and Caiaphas too agreed, but blamably; so that for this reason we often pray and do not receive, because we do not even have concord with one another. And he did not say, “I shall be,” for he neither delays nor is absent, but, “I am”—that is, “I am found there at once.” And you will understand that, when the flesh and the spirit agree, and the flesh does not lust against the spirit, then the Lord is in the midst. And the three powers of the soul also agree—the rational, the irascible, and the appetitive. But the old [covenant] and the new, the two, also agree, and in their midst Christ is found, proclaimed by both.

Matt. 18:21–22. Then Peter came to him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times? Jesus says to him: I do not say to you, until seven times, but until seventy times seven. This is what Peter asks: “As often as he sins, and comes and asks pardon in repentance, shall I forgive him?” And he added, “against me”; for if one sins against God, I, a layman, am not the one to forgive him, unless perhaps the priest, who holds the rank of God; but if he sin against me, and I then forgive him, he shall be forgiven, even though I am a layman and not a priest. And he said “until seventy times seven” so that he might not confine forgiveness to a number; for it is unreasonable that one sit counting until four hundred ninety be reached—for so many are “seventy times seven”—but he signifies here what is unlimited; as though he said: “As often as one stumbles and repents, forgive him.” For this he says also through the parable that follows, that we must be compassionate.

Matt. 18:23. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a man who was a king, who would take account with his servants. The general sense of the parable teaches us to forgive the sins committed against us by our fellow servants, and especially if those who have need of forgiveness fall down before us. But to expound the parable in detail would belong only to one who has the mind of Christ; nevertheless, we too will set our hand to it. The kingdom is the Word of God; not, however, the kingdom of some small things, but of the heavens. This one, then, was likened to a man who was a king, having been made flesh for us and become in the likeness of men; and he takes account with his servants, as a good [king] judging for them. For he does not punish without judgment; for that belongs to cruelty.

Matt. 18:24–25. And when he had begun to take account, there was brought to him one who owed ten thousand talents; and as he had nothing to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. Debtors of ten thousand talents are we, who are benefited every day, yet give nothing good in return to God. Debtors of ten thousand talents also are those who have received the oversight of a people and of many men—for each man is a talent, according to him who says, “A great thing is man”—and then have not used their office well. And the selling of the debtor together with his wife and his children signifies the estrangement from God. For he who is sold becomes the property of another master. And may it not be that the wife is the flesh, as being the consort of the soul, and the children the deeds wrongly wrought by the soul and the body? He commands, then, that the flesh be given over to Satan for destruction—that is, be delivered up to sicknesses or to the suffering of a demon; but also that the children—I mean the workings of evils—be tormented. For instance, there is someone whose hand steals; this God withers, or strangles through some demon. Behold, then, the wife, the flesh, and the children—that is, the working of the evil—have been delivered up to affliction, that the spirit may be saved; for that man will no longer work in thievish fashion.

Matt. 18:26–27. The servant therefore fell down and did obeisance to him, saying: Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all; and the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. Behold the strength of repentance, and the love of mankind of the Lord. For repentance made the servant fall down from his wickedness; for he who stands firmly in wickedness is not to be forgiven. And the love of mankind of God forgave even the loan entirely, although the servant did not ask for entire forgiveness, but for a postponement. Learn, then, that God gives even more than we ask. For so great is his love of mankind that even that which seemed harsh—the commanding that he be sold—he spoke not out of harshness, but that he might terrify the servant, and persuade him to have recourse to supplication and entreaty.

Matt. 18:28–30. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay me what you owe; his fellow servant therefore fell down at his feet and besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay you all. But he would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay the debt. Having been forgiven, he goes out and thus throttles his fellow servant; for none of those who abide in God is without compassion, but [only] he who has gone out from God and become a stranger to him. And so great was his inhumanity that, having been forgiven the greater [debt]—for it was ten thousand talents—he would not show the least clemency over the lesser—for it was a hundred denarii—nor grant any delay. And yet the fellow servant says the very same words, reminding him of the means by which he himself was saved: Have patience with me, and I will pay you.

Matt. 18:31. And when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly grieved. And they came and reported to their lord all that was done. The angels appear from this to be the fellow servants, haters of evil and lovers of good; and they tell these things to the Lord not as to one ignorant of them, but that you might learn that the angels are our overseers, and that they are indignant against the inhuman.

Matt. 18:32–34. Then his lord called him, and says to him: You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you besought me; should you not also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you? And his lord, being angry, delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was owed to him. The master is judged by the servant on account of his love of mankind, that it might be shown that it was not he, but the cruelty of the servant and his ingratitude, that overturned the gift. And to what tormentors does he deliver him? To the punishing powers, so that he might be chastised eternally. For the [phrase] “until he should pay the debt” signifies this: that he should be punished until then—that is, until he should pay; but in truth he will never pay the debt—that is, the punishment ever owed in due measure; therefore he shall be punished forever.

Matt. 18:35. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you do not each from your hearts forgive his brother their trespasses. He did not say “your Father,” but “my Father”; for such men are unworthy to have God as Father. He wishes [us] to forgive from the heart, and not from the lips only. And consider also how great an evil is the bearing of malice, since it overturned the gift of God; for although the gifts of God are without repentance, yet they were overturned.

Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus

Matt. 19:1–2. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that he departed from Galilee, and came into the borders of Judea beyond the Jordan; and great crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Again he sojourns in Judea, that the unbelievers among those in Judea might have no excuse to say: “He did not dwell among us more constantly, but among the Galileans.” Again, then, after the teaching and the finishing of the discourses, the miracles follow. For we must both teach and also act; but the foolish Pharisees, having seen the miracles, when they ought to have believed, rather tempt [him]; for listen.

Matt. 19:3–6. And the Pharisees came to him, tempting him, and saying: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said to them: Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female? and he said: For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. So that they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Oh, the folly! They sought to silence Christ by their questions; for if he should say that it is lawful to put away one’s wife for every cause, they would be able to say to him: “How then did you say that no one is to put away [his wife] except [for] adultery only?” But if he should say that it is not lawful to put away one’s wife, they would slander him as legislating against Moses. For that man commanded that the hated [wife] be sent away, even without a reasonable cause. What then does Christ do? He shows that monogamy is the work and the legislation of him who formed us from the beginning. For from the beginning, he says, God joined one [man] to one [woman]; so that one man ought not to be joined to many [women], nor one [woman] to many [men], but, as they were joined from the beginning, so to remain, not rending apart the cohabitation without reason. And he did not say, “I made them male and female,” lest he wound them, but indefinitely, “He who made them.” Thus, then, he says, is the good of marriage so earnestly sought by God, that he even permitted [men] to leave their parents and cleave to their wives. But how is it that in Genesis it is written that Adam spoke the [words], “For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother,” whereas here Christ says that God said, “For this cause shall a man leave,” and so forth? We say, then, that what Adam said, he said from God; so that Adam’s word is the word of God. Since, then, those who are joined become one flesh both through their union and through natural affection, just as it is unholy to cut one’s own flesh, so also to rend apart those who are joined. And he did not say, “Let not Moses put asunder,” lest he disturb them, but simply, “man,” showing the difference between God who joins and man who dissolves. And understand this also, that he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit, and a marriage comes to be for the believer with Christ. For we are all become of one body with him, and are members severally of Christ. Rightly, then, can no one separate such a union, according to the word of Paul, who says: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? What therefore God has joined together, neither man, nor any other creature, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, as Paul says, are able to put asunder.

Matt. 19:7–9. They say to him: Why then did Moses command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He says to them: Moses, because of your hardness of heart, permitted you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you that whoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is put away commits adultery. The Pharisees, seeing that the Lord had silenced them, were then constrained, and they bring forward Moses as legislating against Christ, and they say: “How then did Moses command that a writing of divorcement be given, and that [a man] put away [his wife]?” The Lord, then, turning the whole of the accusation back upon their own head, makes a defense on Moses’ behalf, and says: “Moses, in giving this legislation, does not say it in opposition to God, but he legislated this with a view to your wickedness; that, wishing through licentiousness to be with others, you might not do away with your former wives. For being savage men, they would have murdered their wives, had they been compelled to keep them. But now he commanded that a writing of divorcement be given to those wives who were hated by their husbands. But I say to you,” he says, “that it is good to put away the wife who has committed fornication, as an adulteress; but if one puts away her who has not committed fornication, he becomes the cause of adultery in her.”

Matt. 19:10. His disciples say to him: If the case of a man with his wife is so, it is not expedient to marry. The disciples are troubled, and they say that “If they were joined together for this purpose, that they might be one and remain inseparable throughout the whole of life, so that even if the wife should otherwise be wicked, [a man] should not dare to put her away, it is not expedient to marry; for it is lighter not to marry, but to fight and wrestle with natural desires, than to endure a wicked wife.” For by “the case of a man with his wife” he means the inseparable union. But some understand it thus also: that “If the case of the man is so”—that is, if the man is going to incur a charge, namely blame and accusation, as putting away his wife unlawfully—it is not expedient to marry.

Matt. 19:11. But he said to them: Not all receive this saying, but those to whom it is given. Since the disciples had said that it is better not to come to marriage, the Lord says that virginity is indeed a great thing, but not achievable by all, but only by those whom God helps. For the [word] “it is given” stands here for “those whom God helps.” And it is given to those who ask. For ask, he says, and it shall be given to you. For everyone that asks receives.

Matt. 19:12. For there are eunuchs who were so born from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it. Of few, he says, is this achievement of virginity. For there are some eunuchs from their mother’s womb—that is, there are some who, from their natural constitution, remain unmoved toward union, and who are chaste without [any] gain [of merit]. And there are those made eunuchs by men; but those who make themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven are not those who mutilate themselves—for that is accursed—but those who exercise self-control. And understand it also thus: there is the eunuch by nature, who because of his natural constitution is not easily moved to sexual things; and one is made a eunuch by men who, through human teaching, cuts off the burning of fleshly desire; and one makes himself a eunuch who is taught not by another, but by himself, and of his own learning inclines toward chastity. This one, then, is also the best—he who is guided to the kingdom of heaven not by another, but by himself. And wishing virtue to be wrought in us by [free] choice, he says: He who is able to receive it, let him receive it. For he does not compel [men] to be virgins, nor does he abolish marriage, but he sets virginity before [them].

Matt. 19:13–14. Then little children were brought to him, that he might lay his hands on them and pray; but the disciples rebuked them; but Jesus said: Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Mothers were bringing their children, that they might be blessed through the touch of his hands. But they came in a disorderly and tumultuous manner, and for this reason the disciples forbid them, at the same time also supposing that the dignity of the Teacher was diminished by the bringing of little children. Christ, then, showing that he rather welcomes the unpretentious, says, Suffer the little children; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. He did not say “of these,” but “of such”—that is, of those who have simplicity, who are guileless, who are without malice. And even if someone is teaching, and some come to him asking childlike questions, let him welcome these, and not forbid them.

Matt. 19:15–16. And having laid his hands on them, he departed thence. And behold, one came and said to him: Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And he said to him: Why do you call me good? None is good, save one, God. This man did not come as one tempting, but as one wishing to learn, and thirsting for eternal life; but he came to Christ as to a mere man. For this reason the Lord says: “Why do you call me good? None is good save one, God”—that is, “If you call me good as [you would call] one of the teachers, you speak ill; for no man is good in the strict sense; partly because we are changeable, turning away from the good; and partly because human [goodness], when compared to the goodness of God, is reckoned as wickedness.”

Matt. 19:17–19. But if you would enter into life, keep the commandments. He says to him: Which? And Jesus said: You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The Lord refers the questioner to the commandments of the law, that the Jews might not be able to say that he despises the law.

Matt. 19:20. The young man says to him: All these have I kept from my youth. What do I yet lack? Some accuse this man as a boaster and braggart. For how had he achieved the love of his neighbor, if he was rich? for no one who loves his neighbor as himself is richer than his neighbor; and every man is [our] neighbor. But some understand it thus: “Suppose,” he says, “that I have kept all these; what do I yet lack?”

Matt. 19:21–22. Jesus said to him: If you would be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. But when the young man heard the saying, he went away grieved; for he had many possessions. “When you said that you had kept [these things],” he says, “you kept them in the Jewish manner; but if you would be perfect—that is, be my disciple and a Christian—go, sell what you have, and give it all at once together, holding nothing back, that you may make your almsgiving unceasing.” For he did not say, “Give to the poor,” but, “Give once for all and strip yourself bare.” Then, since there are some who give alms, yet have a life full of all filth, he says: “And come, follow me”—that is, “Have also all the rest of virtue.” The young man, however, was grieved; for he did indeed desire [it], and the earth of his heart was deep and rich, but the thorns of riches were choking it; for he had, it says, many possessions. For he who has little is not held fast by them in the same way; for in great [possessions] the bond is more tyrannical. And since the Lord was conversing with a rich man, he says, “You shall have treasure in heaven,” because he was a lover of money.

Matt. 19:23–24. And Jesus said to his disciples: Truly I tell you, a rich man will enter the kingdom of heaven only with difficulty. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. As long as one is rich, and himself has superfluities while others lack even necessities, he shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven. But when he has shaken off everything, then he is no longer rich, and thereafter he shall enter. For it is impossible for one who has much to enter, just as it is impossible for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle. See, then, how above he said that to enter is difficult, but here [that it is] altogether impossible. Some, however, say that the “camel” is not the animal, but the thick rope which sailors use for casting their anchors.

Matt. 19:25–26. And when his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying: Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked upon them and said to them: With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. The disciples, being lovers of mankind, ask not on their own behalf—for they were poor—but on behalf of all men. The Lord, then, teaches [us] not to measure salvation by human weakness, but by the power of God. For if one begins not to be grasping, he will advance also to the giving away of his superfluities, and from this he will proceed also to the emptying out of his necessities, and so he will be prospered by the help of God.

Matt. 19:27. Then Peter answered and said to him: Behold, we have left all and followed you; what then shall we have? Even if Peter seems to have left nothing great, as being poor, yet know that he too in fact left many things. For we men have, in a manner, more in our few things; but Peter also disregarded all worldly pleasure, and the love of the flesh toward his parents. For these passions wage war not only against the rich, but also against the poor.

Matt. 19:28. And Jesus said to them: Truly I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Will they then sit? No; rather, he indicated the surpassing honor by the [image of the] seat. Will Judas, then, also sit? No. For he said “those who have followed”—that is, those [who followed] to the end; but that man [did] not [follow] to the end. Besides, God often promises good things to certain men who are worthy. But when they change and become unworthy, he takes the things away. And likewise in the case of more grievous [threats], he often threatens and does not carry out [the threat], when we have changed. And by “regeneration” understand the resurrection.

Matt. 19:29. And everyone who has left houses, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or wife or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life. Lest anyone suppose that what was said applies only to the disciples, he extended the promise to all who do the like. For they shall have, in place of kinsmen according to the flesh, intimacy with God and the brotherhood; and in place of lands, paradise; and in place of houses of stone, the Jerusalem above; in place of a mother, the elder women in the Church; in place of a father, the presbyters; in place of a wife, all the faithful women—not by marriage, far from it!—but by a spiritual disposition and relationship, and by a loving care toward them. The Lord does not command [us] to separate from our own kindred simply, but only when they hinder [us] from piety. Just as he also commands [us] to despise both soul and body, yet not so as to kill ourselves. And see that God, being good, gives not these things only, but adds eternal life as well. Be diligent, then, you also, to sell what you have, and to give to the poor. And your possessions are, for the wrathful man, his wrath; for the adulterer, the adulterous disposition; for the malicious man, his malice. Sell these, then, and give them to the poor demons, who are destitute of all good. Turn the passions back upon the makers of the passions; you will find Christ in your heaven—that is, in your mind—such as is the heavenly One.

Matt. 19:30. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. Here he hints at the Jews and the Gentiles. For the former, being first, became last, while we Gentiles, being last, were established as first; and that you may clearly learn what is said, he joins to it also the parable that follows.

Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men

Matt. 20:1–7. For the kingdom of heaven is like a man who was a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And having agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said: Go you also into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you; and they went. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle; and he says to them: Why have you stood here all the day idle? They say to him: Because no one has hired us. He says to them: Go you also into the vineyard, and whatever is right you shall receive. Christ is the kingdom of heaven, who is likened to a man, according to that form of ours which he took; and a householder, as being master of the house—that is, of the Church. Christ himself, then, went out from the bosom of the Father, and hires laborers into the vineyard, that is, the Scriptures or the commandments. Or [rather] he hires each one to work the vineyard, that is, his own soul. And he hires the one in the morning—that is, in his youthful age; another at the third hour—the adolescent age; others at the sixth and ninth—when one is twenty-five years old, or thirty, and in general of manly age; and about the eleventh, the old men; for many old men too have believed. Or, otherwise, by “day” is meant the present age, for in it we work as in the day. The Lord, then, called at the first hour those about Enoch and Noah; at the third, those about Abraham; at the sixth, those about Moses; at the ninth, the prophets; at the eleventh—that is, at the present time—those of the Gentiles, who were idle as to works of well-doing; for no one had hired them.

Matt. 20:8–16. And when evening had come, the lord of the vineyard says to his steward: Call the laborers, and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first. And when those who came about the eleventh hour came, they received each a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they murmured against the householder, saying: These last have worked but one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the heat. But he answered and said to one of them: Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go. But I will give to this last one even as to you. Or is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Is your eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many are called, but few chosen. The “evening” is the consummation; at the consummation, then, all receive each a denarius, which is the grace of the Holy Spirit, refashioning man into [his estate] according to the image, and making him a partaker of the divine nature. But those before the coming of Christ labored more, inasmuch as death was not yet then abolished, nor was the devil crushed, but sin was still alive; whereas we, justified by the grace of Christ through baptism, receive power to conquer our adversary, who has already been cast down and put to death by Christ. But also, according to the former interpretation, those who believed in their youth have more labors than those who came in old age; for the young man bears the burden of wrath and the heat of desire, warring against the passions, while the old man comes to be in calm. Yet nonetheless all are deemed worthy of one and the same gift of the Holy Spirit. The parable teaches us, then, that even in old age it is possible to repent and to attain the kingdom; for this is the eleventh hour. But will not the saints envy those who receive equal [reward]? Far from it; rather, this is shown thereby, that so many and so great are the good things given to the righteous, that they are able even to stir up envy.

Matt. 20:17–20. And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said to them: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify; and on the third day he shall rise again. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, doing obeisance and asking something of him. And he said to her: What do you wish? She says to him: Say that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left, in your kingdom. The sons of Zebedee supposed that if the Lord went up to Jerusalem he would reign with a perceptible kingdom; for they heard him saying continually, “We go up to Jerusalem.” They suffered, then, something human, and they persuade their mother to come forward, themselves being reluctant to approach openly; for they too came secretly, as Mark says; for he says that James and John went before him, [meaning] that they came forward stealthily and privately.

Matt. 20:22. But Jesus answered and said: You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say to him: We are able. Leaving aside the mother, he converses with the sons, that he might show that he was not ignorant that they had put their mother forward, and he says to them: “You do not know what you ask”—how it is great, and astounding even to the powers of the angels; then, drawing them away from such thoughts, he urges them rather toward dangers. And he asks, not in ignorance, but that he might compel [them] to disclose the sore through their answer, and that they might be eager to fulfill the promise. For this is what he means: “Since no one can become a partaker of my kingdom unless he also becomes a partaker of my sufferings, tell me whether you are able to suffer the like.” For by the “cup” he means martyrdom and his own death, at once showing that it is easy, like the drinking of a cup, and that we too must henceforth hasten to it as to an easy thing; and at the same time signifying that he himself also gladly accepts death. And just as one who drinks a cup immediately grows drowsy, being weighed down, so also he who drinks the cup of martyrdom is borne down into the sleep of death. And he also names death a “baptism.” And they promised, not knowing what they said, but only longing for the honor.

Matt. 20:23. And he says to them: My cup indeed you shall drink, and with the baptism that I am baptized with you shall be baptized; but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father. “You shall indeed bear witness—this I know, and it surely came to pass. For Herod killed James, and Trajan condemned John as he bore witness to the Word of truth. But to sit is not mine to give, but [it is] for those for whom it has been prepared”—that is, “if anyone is found who, besides bearing witness, also has all the rest of virtue, that man shall receive the gift.” For it has been prepared for the one who has labored, just as crowns are prepared for those who contend. As, then, when a foot-race is set forth, and the king presides over the contest, if someone should come who has not contended at all and should say, “Give me the crown, O president of the games”—to one who has not contended that man would say, “It is not mine to give the crown as a favor, but [it is] for the one for whom it has been prepared—that is, for the one who has run and conquered.” So indeed here too Christ says: “It is not in my power to give you, as a favor, the seat at my right hand; for it belongs to others, to those who have labored, since for them it has been prepared.” You will ask, then: Are some indeed going to sit there? But you will learn that no one will sit there. For this belongs to the divine essence alone. For to which of the angels did he say, Sit at my right hand? But the Lord said this with a view to their supposition; for not understanding that to sit upon twelve thrones is to be glorified for virtue, they were seeking such a seat.

Matt. 20:24–28. And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him, and said: You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever would be first among you shall be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. When the ten saw the two rebuked by Christ, then they too became indignant, and it became plain that they had been provoked at the honor [shown] to these two. For they were still imperfect; for the [two] set themselves above the ten, while the [ten] envied the two. Since, then, the ten were troubled at what they heard, he calls them to him, by the very calling soothing them before [speaking] the words. For the sons of Zebedee, having drawn apart from the rest, were conversing with him; so he speaks to all in common. For knowing that the love of being first is tyrannical, and needs a more severe blow, he reaches them more deeply, casting them down into the lot of the heathen and unbelievers, if they should wish to love glory. And thus he shames them, saying: “Other men, because they rule, are made illustrious; and the loving of pre-eminence is a passion of the heathen; but my disciples are honored through humility; so that he who wishes to be greater ought to serve his inferiors, which belongs to the utmost humility. And in myself I show this, who, being ruler and king of those in heaven, humbled myself to serve you to salvation; and I serve you so far as even to give my life a ransom for many”—that is, for all; for “all” are “many.”

Matt. 20:29–34. And as they went out from Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying: Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. And the crowd rebuked them, that they should be silent. But they cried out the more, saying: Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. And Jesus stood still and called them, and said: What do you wish that I should do for you? They say to him: Lord, that our eyes may be opened. And Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. The blind men, knowing the Lord from report, seized the opportunity, having heard that he was passing by the way, and believing that Jesus, who according to the flesh was of the seed of David, was able to heal them; and being exceedingly fervent in faith, they did not keep silent even when rebuked, but cried out the more. Wherefore he does not even ask them whether they have faith, but what they wish, lest anyone suppose that he gives one thing to those who want another. He shows, then, that they did not [seek to be] healed in order to receive money, but in order to be cured. And he touches them in healing, that we might learn that every member of his holy flesh was life-giving and a member of God. And if Luke and Mark speak of one blind man, this is no discrepancy; for they made mention of the more notable one. Besides, Luke says that before coming to Jericho he healed a blind man, while Mark [says it was] after going out from Jericho. Matthew, then, being fond of brevity, included the two in one. And understand the blind men [to be] those of the Gentiles, who were healed in passing; for Christ did not come primarily for the Gentiles, but for those of Israel. And just as the blind men learned of Jesus from hearing, so also the Gentiles [learned] from the hearing of faith; and those who silenced the blind men, that they should not cry the name of Jesus, are the persecuting tyrants, who tried to silence the Church, but she confessed the name of Christ all the more; wherefore she also was healed, and sees the light of truth more clearly, and follows Christ, imitating him in [her] life.

Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard

Matt. 21:1–5. And when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them: Go into the village over against you, and immediately you shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them and bring them to me; and if anyone say anything to you, you shall say that the Lord has need of them, and immediately he will send them. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: Tell the daughter of Zion: Behold, your King comes to you, meek, and mounted upon an ass, and a colt the foal of a beast of burden. He sat upon the ass, there being no other need, save to fulfill the prophecy, and to show you how one ought to ride in humble fashion; for he was carried not upon a horse, but upon a humble little ass. He fulfills, then, the prophecy both according to the history and according to the higher sense: according to the history, as the one seen sitting upon an ass; according to the higher sense, because he sat also upon the colt—the new and untamed people, the unsubjected. And both the ass and the colt were bound with the cords of their own sins. And two [disciples] were sent to loose [them]: Paul to the Gentiles, and Peter to the circumcision—that is, the Jews. And even to this day, two loose us from our sins, the Apostle and the Gospel. And Christ comes meek; for he came not to judge the world at his first coming, but to save [it]. And whereas the other kings of the Hebrews were rapacious and unjust, Christ is a meek King.

Matt. 21:6–7. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus had commanded them, and brought the ass and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat upon them. Luke and Mark spoke only of a beast of burden, but Matthew [spoke] of an ass and a colt, [yet] they do not say contrary things; for as the colt was led, its mother followed along with it. And he sat upon them—not the two beasts, but the garments; or first he sat upon the ass, and then also upon the colt. For he first rested upon the synagogue of the Jews, and then upon the people from the Gentiles.

Matt. 21:8–9. And the very great crowd spread their garments in the way; and others cut branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way; and the crowds that went before and that followed cried out, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. According to the history, the spreading of the garments and the cutting of branches displays great honor, a token of festal celebration; but according to the higher sense, learn that after the apostles laid down their garments—that is, their virtues—then the Lord sits [upon them]. For unless the soul be adorned with the apostolic virtues, God does not ride upon it. And those who go before are the prophets before the incarnation of Christ; and those who follow are the martyrs and teachers who came afterward, who strew their garments for Christ—that is, they subject the flesh to the spirit; for the body is the garment and covering of the soul. They spread [them], then, in the way—that is, in Christ. For I am the way, he says. For unless one strew his flesh—that is, humble it—in the way—that is, abiding in Christ, and not being a heretic—the Lord does not ride upon him. As for the “Hosanna,” some say that it signifies a hymn or psalm, but others [say], what is also more exact, “Save now.” And the Lord is called “he who comes,” as being expected by the Hebrews to come; for thus John also says, Are you he who comes, instead of “he who is expected to come.” And in another sense too he is called “he who comes,” inasmuch as his second coming is awaited day by day; each one, then, ought always to expect the consummation, and the Lord ever coming, and to make himself ready.

Matt. 21:10–11. And when he had entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying: Who is this? And the crowds said: This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth of Galilee. The crowds, being guileless and unaffected, neither envied Christ nor again held the fitting opinion concerning him. Wherefore here too they call him a prophet. But perhaps, since they say it with the article, “the prophet,” it can be understood that this is the awaited prophet, of whom Moses said that God will raise up for you a prophet. For they did not say, “This is a prophet,” but, “The prophet”—that is, that long-awaited one.

Matt. 21:12–13. And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all those who sold and bought in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold doves. And he says to them: It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers. As master of the house, that is, of the temple, he cast out those who sold, showing that the things of the Father are his own as well. And this he did, at once both caring for the good order of the temple, and signifying the transference of the sacrifices; for by casting out the oxen and the doves he foretold that there would no longer be need of animal-sacrifices or victims, but of prayer; for “my house,” he says, “is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers”; for in the dens of robbers there are slaughters and sheddings of blood; or [he so calls it] because of the petty traders, and those buying and selling, that he called the temple a den of robbers; for the love of gain is a robber’s passion. And the money-changers are those whom we call bankers; for “kollybos” is a kind of paltry coin, just as we perhaps have obols or small silver pieces. And those who sell the offices in the Churches also sell doves. For the grace of the Spirit, which is the dove, these men sell. Wherefore they are cast out from the temple above and from the one below; for they are unworthy to exercise the priesthood. But take heed, you also, lest you make the temple of God—that is, your own mind—a den of robbers, that is, of demons. And it will become a den if we have thoughts that love matter, that buy and sell and love money, gathering up even the very “kollyba,” that is, the paltry coins; and if we sell and traffic away the doves—that is, if there be in us any spiritual teaching and thought of such a kind—we have made ourselves a den of robbers.

Matt. 21:14. And the lame and the blind came to him in the temple, and he healed them. By healing the sick he shows that he is God and does well in casting out the unworthy from his house with authority. And this too is shown, that after the Jews were cast out, those who clung to the law and to animal-sacrifices, the blind and the lame from among the Gentiles were taken in, being healed by him.

Matt. 21:15–16. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were indignant, and said to him: Do you hear what these are saying? And Jesus says to them: Yes. Have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have perfected praise? The Pharisees, seeing the children offering to Christ the hymn of David, which the prophet seems to dedicate to God, are cut to the heart with envy, and reproach him as one who tolerates the things of God being said of himself; but he, rather confirming it, says, “Yes.” “For I am so far,” he says, “from silencing those who say these things to me, that I even bring forward the prophet as a witness, and prove you to be either ignorant or envious. For have you not read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have perfected praise?” And “you have perfected” stands for “You have shown forth a complete and perfect hymn, even though these seem imperfect in age.” For it was not they who spoke what they spoke, but, having given only their mouth to the Spirit, they were his instruments. For this reason, then, he says, “Out of the mouth of babes,” hinting that the words were not of their own understanding, but only of the mouth, moved by divine grace. And this signified that he would be blessed even by the Gentiles, who are babes and foolish. And this was a consolation also to the apostles, that to them too a word would be given, even though they were somewhat simple. And you also, if you become a babe in evil, being without malice, and suck the spiritual milk, the divine oracles, then you will become worthy to hymn God.

Matt. 21:17. And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there. He withdraws from these men as unworthy, and comes to Bethany, which is interpreted “house of obedience”; for from the unsubjected he passes over to those who obey him, and lodges among them. For he says, I will dwell in them and walk among them.

Matt. 21:18–20. Now in the morning, returning to the city, he was hungry; and seeing a single fig tree by the way, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only, and he says to it: Let no fruit grow on you henceforth forever. And immediately the fig tree withered away; and when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying: How did the fig tree wither away so soon? Since the Lord had wrought many miracles for the benefit of all who beheld [them], but had displayed no punitive miracle, lest some should suppose that he was unable to punish, he shows here this power of his also—not abusing it against men, but [using it] against a tree, as one who loves mankind, just as before [he had used it] against the swine. He withers, then, the tree, that he might bring men to their senses; and the disciples marvel, with reason. For this tree is more full of sap, and the wonder is the more displayed, that it withered quickly; and the fig tree signifies also the synagogue of the Jews, which has leaves only—that is, the visible letter—and not the fruit of the Spirit. But also every man who has given himself over to the sweetness of the present life is likened to a fig tree, who has no spiritual fruit to give to the hungering Jesus, but leaves only, the fleeting and decaying show [of things]. This man, then, hears himself cursed: Depart, he says, you cursed, into the fire. And his tongue is also dried up, like that of the rich man.

Matt. 21:21–22. And Jesus answered and said to them: Truly I say to you, if you have faith and doubt not, you shall not only do this of the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be removed and cast into the sea, it shall be done; and all things whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. Great is the promise of Christ to the disciples, that they can remove mountains, if we doubt not—that is, waver not; for whatever we ask, believing without doubt in the power of God, we shall receive. “Yes,” one says, “but if I ask something unprofitable, and foolishly believe that God will give me this, shall I then receive even that which is unprofitable? And how is God a lover of mankind, if he fulfills my unprofitable request?” Hear, then. First, that whenever you hear “faith,” you ought to understand not the foolish kind, but the true kind; and that prayer which asks the things that are profitable, as the Lord delivered it, saying, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, and whatever words belong to such a prayer. Then consider also the very word “doubt.” For he who is united to God, and is one with him, and is not divided nor separated [from him]—how should he ask the unprofitable thing? So that, if we are inseparable and undivided from God, then we shall ask the things that are profitable, and shall receive [them].

Matt. 21:23–27. And when he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, saying: By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority? And Jesus answered and said to them: I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or from men? And they reasoned among themselves, saying: If we say, From heaven, he will say to us, Why then did you not believe him? But if we say, From men, we fear the crowd; for all hold John to be a prophet. And they answered Jesus and said: We do not know. And he also said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. The teachers of the law, envious that he had cast out of the temple those who trafficked there, come questioning him, as if [to say]: “Who are you to cast out of the temple those who do business? Is it as a priest? Yet you have no priestly office. Is it then as a king? Yet you are neither a king, nor, even if you were, would it be permitted you to do such things; for it is not lawful for kings to do these things in the temple.” And they asked these things of the Lord so that, if he should say, “I do these things by my own authority,” they might slander him as a rebel claiming to have authority of his own; but if he should say, “I do these things by divine authority,” they might draw away from him the crowds who praised him as God, showing the crowds that “Behold, he himself is not God, but does these things by the authority of God, as a servant.” What then does Christ, who is Wisdom itself? He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and asks them the like concerning John, so that, if they should say that the preaching of John was from heaven, they might be found fighters against God, as not having accepted it; but if they should say it was from men, they might be endangered by the crowd. For all held John to be a prophet. And the Lord shows from this that one need not answer those who question with malice. For neither did he himself answer the Jews who questioned him in guile, although he was not at a loss for an answer. And at the same time we learn that to praise oneself is not according to Christ. Behold, then, the Lord, though able to say by what authority he does these things, did not say it, lest he should seem to praise himself.

Matt. 21:28–32. But what do you think? A man had two sons; and he came to the first and said: Son, go work today in my vineyard. But he answered and said: I will not. Yet afterward he repented and went. And he came to the second and said likewise; and he answered and said: I go, sir; and went not. Which of the two did the will of the father? They say to him: The first. Jesus says to them: Truly I say to you that the publicans and the harlots go before you into the kingdom of God. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but the publicans and the harlots believed him; and you, when you had seen it, did not even afterward repent, that you might believe him. He introduces two ranks: one, of those who promised from the beginning—such as were the Jews, who said, All that God has spoken we will do and obey; and another, of the disobedient, such as harlots and publicans, but also indeed of the people from the Gentiles, who, having from the beginning obeyed the will of God, afterward repented and obeyed. See, then, the wisdom of Christ. He did not at once from the beginning say to them that the publicans and the harlots are better than they, but he first secured them, and they confessed that of the two sons the obedient one was he who did the will of the father. Then, when they had thus confessed, he added that “John came in the way of righteousness”—that is, in a blameless life; for you cannot say that his life was open to blame—“yet nonetheless the harlots obeyed, but you did not; therefore they also go before you—that is, they enter before you into the kingdom; so that you too must strive, that you may at least enter after them, you yourselves believing; but if you do not believe, you shall not enter in at all.” And many even to this day promise God and the Father, perhaps, that they will become monks or priests, but after the promise grow slothful. Others, however, did not promise the monastic or priestly manner of life, yet they live in monastic and priestly fashion; so that these are obedient children, who do [the work] even though they promised nothing.

Matt. 21:33. Hear another parable. There was a certain man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and put a hedge about it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. He brings forward another parable to them, showing that, although they had been deemed worthy of countless cares, they were not made better. For the man, the householder, is the Lord, who is called “man” on account of his love of mankind. And the vineyard is the people of the Jews, planted by God in the land of promise; for, having brought them in, he says, you shall plant them in your holy mountain. And the hedge is the law, not permitting them to mingle with the Gentiles; or [it is] the angels who guarded Israel. The winepress is the altar. The tower is the temple. And the husbandmen are the teachers of the people, the Pharisees and scribes. And the householder, God, went into a far country, when he no longer spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; or the going into a far country [is] the long-suffering of God. For God seems both to slumber and to go away in being long-suffering, and in not exacting the penalties for wrongdoings on the very heels [of the deeds].

Matt. 21:34–39. And when the time of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, to receive his fruits. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and stoned another, and killed another. Again he sent other servants more than the first, and they did to them likewise. But afterward he sent to them his son, saying: They will reverence my son. But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among themselves: This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and seize on his inheritance. And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. The time of the fruits drew near in the times of the prophets. For the servants sent are the prophets, whom the husbandmen—that is, the false prophets and false teachers of the several times—insulted in various ways. For one they beat, as Micaiah, whom Zedekiah struck on the cheek; another they killed, as Zechariah, between the temple and the altar; and they stoned [another], as Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the high priest. And afterward the Son of God was sent, having appeared in the flesh. And the [saying] “They will reverence my son” he spoke, not in ignorance that they were about to kill him, but signifying what ought to have come to pass. For it ought, he says, even if they killed the servants, that they should at least reverence the dignity of the Son. But the husbandmen, when they saw him, said: “This is the heir; come, let us kill him.” For indeed the Jews, who said, “This is the Christ,” they crucified him. And they cast him out of the vineyard, for outside the city the Lord was put to death. But also, since we said that the vineyard is [the people] of the guileless disposition, the Pharisees killed him.

Matt. 21:40–41. When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen? They say to him: He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out the vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons. “When he comes”—when? Is it at the second coming? This too seems to be intended; nevertheless it is better understood thus: The lord of the vineyard is God the Father, who sent his Son, who was also slain by them. When, then, this one comes—that is, when he looks upon the lawlessness which the Jews committed—then he will miserably destroy those wicked men, sending against them the Roman armies. And his vineyard—that is, the people—he will let out to other husbandmen—that is, to the apostles and teachers. And understand by the vineyard also the divine Scriptures, in which the hedge is the letter; the winepress dug is the depth of the Spirit; and the tower is theology, being lofty and most exalted. These Scriptures, then, wicked husbandmen, the Pharisees, possessed before; but God let them out to us, who cultivate them well. For those men also killed the Lord outside the vineyard—that is, outside [the things] of which the Scriptures spoke.

Matt. 21:42–44. Jesus says to them: Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore I say to you that the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone shall be broken; but on whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. He names himself a stone; and the builders are the teachers of the Jews, who rejected him as useless, saying, You are a Samaritan, and have a demon. But he, having risen from the dead, was set as the head of the corner—that is, he became the head of the Church, joining together the Jews and the Gentiles into one faith. For just as the stone which forms the corner in a building holds together the wall on this side and on that, so also Christ bound all together into one faith. And this corner is marvelous, and was the Lord’s doing. For the Church which holds us together and unites us in faith was the Lord’s doing, and is worthy of much wonder, because it was so well built. And in another way too it is marvelous, because the word of Christ was confirmed and strengthened by the miracles; so that the constitution of the Church is marvelous. The kingdom of God, then, was taken away from the Jews—that is, the intimacy with God—and was given to those who believed. For those who stumble at the stone, and are scandalized at Christ, shall indeed be broken in the second coming; but already from now they have been ground to powder by him—that is, they have been scattered everywhere over the earth, as we now see the wretched Jews. This, then, is the [meaning of] “it will grind to powder”—that is, it will scatter them.

Matt. 21:45–46. And when the chief priests and the Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them; and seeking to lay hold on him, they feared the crowds, since they held him to be a prophet. See again that the crowd, being guileless and unaffected, follows the truth; but the teachers of the law work wickedness. And even to this day the Hebrews seek to lay hold of Jesus, but they neither lay hold of him nor understand [him]. For they shall lay hold of the Antichrist, and shall worship him; but Christ shall not be seized, that is, understood, by them.

Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings

Matt. 22:1–7. And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who was a king, who made a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, and they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come to the wedding. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise; and the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. And when that king heard of it, he was angry, and sent his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. This parable too signifies the disobedience of the Jews, just as the parable of the vineyard did. Except that the former indicates the death of Christ, while this one indicates a wedding joy, that is, the Resurrection. And this parable shows that these men sinned worse than those in the former parable. For those, when fruits were demanded of them, killed those who demanded them; but these, when invited to a wedding, displayed their bloodthirstiness. God, then, is likened to a man who is a king; for he does not appear as he is, but as he must appear toward us. Whenever, then, we die as men, being subject to human failings, God appears toward us as a man; but whenever we walk as gods, then God stands in the congregation of gods. And just as, whenever we live as wild beasts, he too becomes toward us, in their regard, a panther, and a bear, and a lion; so he makes a wedding for his Son, joining him to every soul that is beautiful. For Christ is the Bridegroom, and the bride is the Church and the soul. And the servants sent first are those around Moses, whom the Hebrews did not obey, but provoked God in the wilderness forty years, and would not receive the word of God and the spiritual joy. Then other servants were sent, the prophets. But of these too some they killed, as Isaiah; others they treated shamefully, as Jeremiah, casting him into a pit of mire. And others declined with milder feeling, the one going off to his own farm, that is, turning aside to a flesh-loving and luxurious life; for each man’s own farm is his body; and the other to his merchandise, that is, to the gain-loving life; for merchants are a most gain-loving race. The parable shows, then, that those who fail of the spiritual wedding, and of the union with Christ and of the banquet, fail for the most part through these two things: either through bodily pleasures, or through the passion of love of gain. And here he names it a dinner, although elsewhere he calls it a supper; and not without reason. He calls it a supper, because in the last times this wedding appeared in its fullness, and toward the evening, that is, the end of the ages; but a dinner, because in the former ages too the mystery was being revealed, though more dimly. And the oxen and the fatlings are the Old and the New Covenant. For the Old is shown through the oxen, for it had animal sacrifices; and the New through the fatlings, for now we offer loaves upon the altar, which might more truly be called fatlings, as being composed of wheat. God, then, calls us to eat both the good things of the Old Scripture and those of the New. But also, whenever you see someone interpreting the divine oracles clearly, know that such a one gives fatling foods; for he who teaches clearly, as it were, feeds and gives nourishment to the simpler. And you will inquire here how he says, Call those who are invited; if they were already invited, how was he about to call them again? Learn, then, that each of us is called by nature to the good, being called by the word of the innate teacher. Nevertheless God sends also the outward teachers, that those who were called naturally by the word, these too may call outwardly. Then he says to his servants: The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy; go therefore to the partings of the highways, and as many as you find, call to the wedding. And those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good; and the wedding was filled with guests. Since the former servants, those around Moses and the prophets, did not persuade them, then he sends other servants, the apostles, who called those of the nations, who were not walking in the true way, but were scattered, each in a different direction, divided among many ways and doctrines. Or rather, they were beside the partings of the ways, that is, in much error and irregularity. For indeed they too were in faction among themselves, and were not in the ways, but beside the partings; and those partings are the wicked doctrines which they held. But perhaps it is better understood also thus: The way is each man’s life and conduct; and the partings off from the way are the doctrines. The Greeks, then, having wicked ways, that is, blameworthy lives, went out from their wicked lives to the godless doctrines, setting up shameful gods as advocates for their passions. The apostles, then, going out from Jerusalem to the nations, gathered together all, both bad and good, that is, both those filled with all wickedness, and the good in comparison with those.

Matt. 22:11–14. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who was not clothed in a wedding garment, and he says to him: Friend, how did you come in here, not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants: Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth; for many are called, but few are chosen. The entrance into the wedding comes about by grace; for by grace alone were we all called, both good and bad. But the life thereafter of those who have entered will not be unexamined; rather, the king makes a very thorough examination of those who, after entering into the faith, are found defiled. Let us shudder, then, considering that, if a man does not have a pure life, faith alone profits him nothing; for not only is he cast out of the wedding, but he is also sent away into the fire. And who is the one wearing defiled garments? He who has not put on bowels of compassion, kindness, brotherly love. Many, then, deceiving themselves with empty hopes, suppose that they will attain the kingdom of heaven, and thrust themselves into the company of the guests, thinking great things concerning themselves. And the Lord, in justifying himself toward that unworthy man, shows us these two things: one, that he is loving toward mankind; and the other, that we too must not condemn anyone, even if they sin openly, unless those who have sinned are convicted. The Lord, then, says to the servants, the angels of punishment:

Matt. 22:13. Bind him hand and foot, that is, the active powers of his soul. For in the present age it is possible to act and to work; but in the age to come all the active powers of the soul are bound. And it is not possible to do any good to counterbalance one’s sins; and the gnashing of teeth is the unprofitable repentance that will then come about. For many are called; for God calls many, or rather all; but few are chosen. Few are both saved and worthy to be chosen by God; so that to call belongs to God, but to become chosen, this is in our power. The parable was spoken against the Jews, who were indeed called,

Matt. 22:15–16. Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his speech; and they send to him their disciples together with the Herodians. What was being done was a plot, and for this reason Luke too names such men as suborned spies, as having been sent secretly to plot against Christ. And the Herodians were either the soldiers of Herod, or those who supposed that Herod was the Christ; for since, when the rulers of Judah had failed, Herod reigned, they supposed that he was the Christ. The Pharisees, then, come with these to entrap him. And hear how they speak with him, saying:

Matt. 22:16–22. Teacher, we know that you are true, and that you teach the way of God in truth, and that you care for no one, for you do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said: Why do you tempt me, hypocrites? Show me the tribute coin. And they brought him a denarius. And he says to them: Whose image and inscription is this? They say to him: Caesar’s. Then he says to them: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And when they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went their way. Supposing that they would soften him and make him slack through their praises, they flatter him, that, made slack, he might say that one ought not to give the tribute, and from this they might seize him as a seditious man stirring up the people against Caesar. For this reason too they bring along the Herodians, as being of the king, that they might lay hold of him as a revolutionary. You do not regard the person, they say; that is, you would say nothing to gratify Pilate or Herod. Tell us, then, ought we to be subject to men also, and to bring them the tax, just as we bring the half-shekel to God; or should we pay it to God alone, and not also to Caesar? This they said so that, if he should say that one ought not to pay it to Caesar, they might lay hold of him and kill him, as they did those around Theudas and Judas, who said that one ought not to sacrifice on behalf of Caesar’s name. But Jesus, through Caesar’s being stamped upon the coin, persuades them that one ought to render to Caesar his own things, that is, the things bearing his image; and that in bodily and outward matters we are to be subject to the one who reigns, but in the inward and spiritual matters, to God. And it must also be understood thus: that each of us ought to render and cast back to Caesar the things of Caesar, that is, the things of the demon who rules over the things below. For example, you have wrath from Caesar; cast this upon him, be angry against him; for thus you will be able also to render to God the things of God. But moreover, since we too are twofold, for we are composed of soul and body, to the body, as to Caesar, we owe food and clothing, but to the diviner part within us, the things that befit it.

Matt. 22:23–28. On that day there came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, and they questioned him, saying: Teacher, Moses said: If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers; and the first, having married, died; and having no seed, he left his wife to his brother; likewise also the second, and the third, to the seventh. And last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven shall she be? For they all had her. When the Pharisees together with the Herodians had been silenced, again the Sadducees tempt him. And the heresy of these men was of this sort: they believed neither in a resurrection, nor in spirit, nor in angel, being disposed opposite to the Pharisees. So they put together a thing that never happened. For suppose that two took her, and died: how would the third not have taken it for a bad omen and refused the marriage, taught by those before him? They fabricate it, then, supposing that they would throw Christ into perplexity, that they might slander the resurrection; and they take Moses as an advocate for their fabrication. And they said the brothers were seven, that they might the more make a mockery of the mystery of the resurrection; and whose, they say, shall the woman be? One might say, then: O foul Sadducees, she shall be the wife of the one who first married her, if indeed we should grant that there is marriage even in the resurrection; for the others are men after the manner of remarriage, not lawful husbands.

Matt. 22:29–33. But Jesus answered and said to them: You are in error, knowing neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the crowds heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. The Savior shows that there will indeed be a resurrection, and not such a fleshly one as they err in supposing, but a diviner and more spiritual one. For why, he says, are you in error, knowing neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For if you knew the Scriptures, you would understand that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living; and if you knew the power of God, you would know that all things are possible to God, so that he can even make men live as angels. And see the wisdom of the Lord: those men were eager to overthrow the doctrine of the resurrection from Moses, and he in turn persuades them from Moses. For I am, he says, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; and what he means is this: God is not the God of those who are not, but of those who subsist and are; for he did not say, I was, but, I am. For even if they died, yet they live in the hope of the resurrection. But you ask, How then does he say elsewhere that he is Lord both of the dead and of the living? Learn, then, that there he calls dead those who have died, but who are about to live. But here the Lord, in standing against the heresy of the Sadducees, who held that the soul is not immortal but is utterly destroyed, says that God is not the God of the dead, that is, of those who, as it seems to you, are utterly destroyed, but of the living, that is, of those who have an immortal soul, and who will rise again, even if now they are dead.

Matt. 22:34–40. But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they were gathered together to the same place, and one of them, a lawyer, questioned him, tempting him, and saying: Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And Jesus said to him: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind; this is the first and great commandment; and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Out of measureless envy the tempter approaches; for since they saw the Sadducees put to shame, and the Lord praised for his wisdom, they approach tempting him, to see whether he would add something to the first commandment, as though correcting the law, that they might find a handle against him. But the Lord, testifying against their wickedness, that they came not to learn, but out of having no love, and rather out of envy and jealousy, shows love to be supreme among the commandments. And he teaches that we must not love God partially, but give our whole selves to God. For we observe these three distinctions concerning the soul of man: the vegetative, the animal, and the rational. For in that whereby it grows and is nourished, and begets its like, it is likened to plants; and in that whereby it grows angry and desires, to the animals; and in that whereby it reasons, it is called rational. See, then, these three signified here:

Matt. 22:37. You shall love your God with all your heart; this is the animal part of man; and with all your soul; this is the vegetative, for plants too are ensouled; and with all your mind; this is the rational. So that to love God with the whole soul is this: to attend to him through all the parts and powers of the soul. This is the first and great commandment, training us to piety; and the second is like it, rousing us toward what is just in our dealings with men. For there are two things that lead to destruction: wicked doctrines and a corrupted life. That we may not fall, then, into impious doctrines, we must love God; and that we may not have a corrupted life, we must love our neighbor; for he who loves his neighbor fulfills all the commandments, and he who fulfills the commandments loves God. So that these two commandments are knit together and established through one another, and they contain all the other commandments. For who that loves God and his neighbor will steal, or bear malice, or commit adultery, or murder, or fornicate? And this lawyer came at first tempting, but then, having been bettered by the answer of Christ, was praised, as Mark too says: that Jesus, looking upon him, welcomed him, and said to him: You are not far from the kingdom of God.

Matt. 22:41–46. Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying: What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is he? They say to him: David’s. He says to them: How then does David in spirit call him Lord, saying: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? If David, then, calls him Lord, how is he his son? And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day to question him any more. Since they supposed him to be a mere man, he overturns their opinion, and teaches the truth through the prophecy of David, that he is also Lord, proclaiming his own divinity. For when the Pharisees had said that the Christ is the son of David, that is, a mere man, he says: How then does David name him Lord? And not simply Lord, but in spirit, that is, having had him revealed through the grace of the Spirit? And he says this not denying that he is the son of David, but showing this: that he is not a mere man, descended only from the seed of David. And the Lord asks these things, so that either, saying, We do not know, they might ask and learn; or, saying the truth, they might believe; or, having nothing to say, they might be put to shame and withdraw, no longer daring to question him.

Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees

Matt. 23:1–3. Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying: The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down on Moses’ seat; all things, therefore, that they tell you to observe, observe and do; but do not do according to their works. For they say, and do not do. When he had silenced them, and shown that their disease was incurable, then he speaks concerning them; he discourses about life and conduct, correcting his hearers, that they might not despise their teachers, even if they be of a corrupted life. And at the same time he shows that he is not opposed to the law, but rather wills that the things of the law be done, even if those who teach these things are unworthy. For whatever the teachers say, he says, consider that they say it from Moses, or rather from God. Ought one, then, to do all things whatever they say, even if they be evil? We say, then, first, that a teacher would never dare to urge anyone toward evil. Next, even if we should grant this, that there will be someone urging others to an evil life, such a one does not speak from Moses’ seat, nor from the law. Nor does the Lord speak concerning such, but concerning those who sit on Moses’ seat, that is, those who teach the things of the law. We must, then, hear those who teach anything from the divine law, even if they themselves do not do it.

Matt. 23:4–5. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger. And all their works they do to be seen by men; for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments. The Pharisees laid on heavy burdens, compelling men to fulfill the commandments of the law, which were many and hard to keep; or also they weighed men down beyond the commandments of the law, handing on certain traditions beyond the law, while they themselves would not move them with their finger, that is, did nothing themselves, nor dared even to come near to such burdens. For when the teacher not only teaches but also does, he seems to bear the load together with those he teaches, and to help them; but when he loads me down, while he himself does nothing, he weighs me down the more, showing, by the very things he neglects, that it is impossible to accomplish what he says. The Lord, then, accuses the Pharisees, as unwilling to help bear the weight of the commandments and to work together. And not only do they do no good, but they even make a show of doing it; and yet even if they did do it, since they did it to be seen, the gain would be taken away from them. But as it is, of how great condemnation are they worthy, when they neither do it, and yet wish to be glorified as doers? And what do they do? They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments. And this matter was of this kind: it was laid down in the law, Write upon your hand, and let it be unmoved before your eyes. So they wrote the ten commandments of the law upon two skins, that is, parchments, and set the one upon their forehead, and hung the other from the right hand; and they made the borders upon the edges of their garments, certain threads of hyacinth-blue or of scarlet, like fringes. And this too they found laid down in the law, that, seeing them, they might not forget the commandments of God. But God did not will this; rather, the having of the phylactery upon the hand signified that one must work the commandments; and the borders being scarlet signified that we must be marked with the blood of Christ. But the Pharisees falsified it, enlarging the phylacteries and the borders, that they might seem to be keepers of the law.

Matt. 23:6–7. And they love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men Rabbi, Rabbi. Rabbi! As if he should say: Because they love it, for this reason they are condemned. And if the one who merely loves the chief place is blamed, of what is the one worthy who does everything for the sake of it? and the front seats in the synagogues, there, where they ought rather to have taught others to be humble-minded, there they themselves were corrupted. For they did everything for the sake of glory; and in doing these things they were not ashamed, but rather loved to hear Rabbi, Rabbi, that is, teachers.

Matt. 23:8–12. But you, do not be called Rabbi; for one is your teacher, the Christ; and you are all brothers. And call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, who is in the heavens. Nor be called masters; for one is your master, the Christ. But the greater among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Christ does not forbid that anyone be called a teacher, but the wishing to be called so out of passion, and being eager in every way to be so called. For the dignity of teacher belongs in the proper sense to God alone. And in saying, Call no man father, he does not forbid the honor due to parents, since he wills us to honor our parents, and especially our spiritual fathers; but he leads us to recognize the true Father, that is, God; for properly God is Father. The bodily fathers are not the cause of our begetting, but ministers and joint causes. And showing the gain of humble-mindedness, he says that the greater among you ought to be your servant and least. For he who exalts himself, supposing himself to be something, shall be humbled, being abandoned by God.

Matt. 23:13. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour the houses of widows, and for a pretense make long prayers; for this you shall receive the greater judgment. He calls these men hypocrites, as professing reverence and doing nothing worthy of the profession, but for a pretense of praying long, that is, for a long time, devouring the goods of the widows. For in truth they were mockers, deriding the simpler and despoiling them. Therefore you shall also receive the greater judgment, because you devour all the goods of the widows, to whom you ought rather to have given freely, and to have set right their poverty. And in another way too the condemnation will be the greater, because under the guise of a good work, that is, of praying, they accomplish something wicked, the devouring of the goods of the widows; for he is worthy of the greatest condemnation who, under the guise of a good thing, allures men to evil.

Matt. 23:14. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut up the kingdom of heaven before men; for you neither enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Not only, he says, are you yourselves unbelieving, and have a corrupted life, but you also teach others not to believe in me, and through your life and example you corrupt them. For the people are wont to be made like their rulers, and the more so if they see them inclining toward evil. Let every wicked teacher and ruler see, then, what he gains: the woe, as one who through his own life does not allow any to advance toward the good.

Matt. 23:15. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you go about the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves. Not only, he says, do you corrupt the Jews, but also those who from idolatry have come over to the Jewish religion; for these they named proselytes. For you are eager to turn someone to the Jewish way of life and to circumcision; but when he has Judaized, then he is destroyed, being corrupted by your wickedness. And a son of hell is one worthy of it, and having a certain kinship to it, so as to be burned by it.

Matt. 23:16–22. Woe to you, blind guides, who say: Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound. Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is upon it, he is bound. Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Whoever, then, swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things upon it; and whoever swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it. He calls them blind, as unwilling to teach what is fitting, but honoring the lesser things, while accounting the things of the first honor to be of secondary worth. For they preferred the gold in the temple, and the Cherubim, and the golden jar, above the temple itself. Therefore they also taught many that it is nothing to swear against the temple, but to swear by the gold that surrounded the temple, which for this very reason was wholly venerable, namely that it surrounded the temple. And the gifts placed upon the altar they said were more honorable than the altar itself; so that the Pharisees also laid down this doctrine, that if anyone swore by the gold, or by an ox, or a sheep brought forward for sacrifice, and then forswore himself, he was condemned to pay the equivalent. For they preferred the gift to the altar because of the gains from the sacrifices. But if anyone swore by the temple and forswore himself, since he could not build something equal to the temple, for this reason he was let off; and so the oath by the temple seemed to be the lighter, because of the love of gain of the Pharisees. Under the old covenant, then, Christ does not allow the gift to be greater than the altar; but in our case the altar is rather sanctified by the gifts; for the things upon the altar are changed by divine grace into that very Body of the Master.

Matt. 23:23–24. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, and not to have left the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat, but swallow the camel. Again he reproaches them as senseless, because, despising the greater commandments, they sought exactness in the small ones, not even overlooking the tithing of cumin, but tithing even that; and whenever anyone blamed them as petty, they alleged that the law says this. But it would have been better and more pleasing to God, if they had required judgment and mercy and faith of the people. And what is judgment? To do nothing unjust and unreasonable, but all things with discernment and with reason. For mercy at once follows judgment. For he who does all things with discernment knows also whom he ought to pity; and faith follows mercy. For he who shows mercy believes wholly that he will lose nothing, but will receive all things; and besides, one must show mercy, but also believe in the true God. For many of the Greeks had mercy, but, not believing in the living God, did not have faith following upon their mercy. Each of the teachers, then, must tithe from his own people, that is, require from the ten senses, the five bodily and the five of the soul, judgment and mercy and faith. And as for the saying, These you ought to have done, the Lord said it not to urge the tithing of herbs, but that he might not seem to be legislating against Moses for the time. And he names them blind guides, because, while boasting that they teach and know all things, they benefited no one, but rather corrupted all, casting them into a pit of unbelief. And he names them those who strain out the gnat, as guarding against the small sins, but swallowing the camel, that is, the great ones, and overlooking them.

Matt. 23:25–26. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of plunder and injustice. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside of them may become clean also. Holding to the traditions of the elders, they washed the cups and the platters, that is, the dishes on which the meats are placed; but they drank wine got by plunder, and ate foods of plunder, and so defiled those very things. Do not acquire wine, then, he says, from injustice, and thereupon the inside of the cup becomes clean. Or he does not speak of cups and dishes, but of the bodily and outward state, and of the inward and spiritual. For you, he says, fashion the outside of the cup, that is, your outward state, to be the more dignified, but your inside is full of filth; for you plunder and act unjustly. But one must wash the inside, that is, the soul, that by the purity of the soul the outward dignity may shine forth together with it.

Matt. 23:27–28. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness; so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. This parable too is understood like the preceding one; for they were eager to appear dignified in their outward state, like the tombs that have been whitewashed, that is, made white with gypsum and lime; but their inward parts were full of all uncleanness and of dead and rotten works.

Matt. 23:29–31. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say: If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. So that you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. He pronounces woe upon them, not because they build the tombs of the prophets, for this is pleasing to God, but because, while pretending these things, and supposedly condemning their fathers, they did worse than those, and surpassed them in wickedness, lying openly that, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have murdered the prophets; for they themselves grieved the Master of the prophets, so as to murder him. Therefore he also says:

Matt. 23:32–33. And you, fill up the measure of your fathers. Serpents, offspring of vipers, how shall you flee from the judgment of hell? He says, Fill up the measure of your fathers, not commanding them, or urging them on to murder him, but he says something of this sort: Since you are serpents, and the offspring of such fathers, and have been hurled into so great a wickedness as to be incurable, more quickly be eager to outdo your fathers; and this will come to pass if you murder me; for you will attain the very summit of wickedness if you fill up the bloodthirstiness that was lacking to your fathers. How, then, being such, shall you flee from the punishment?

Matt. 23:34. Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city. He convicts them, who had falsely said that, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have murdered the prophets. For behold, he says, I send prophets, and wise men, and scribes, but nevertheless you will kill them. And he says these things concerning the apostles; for the Holy Spirit, adorning them also with teachings, made them scribes, that is, teachers of the people, and prophets, and filled with all wisdom. And he said, I send, showing the authority of his divinity.

Matt. 23:35–36. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. He says that upon the Jews then living shall come all blood unjustly shed; for they shall be punished worse than their fathers, who were not brought to their senses even after so many examples; just as Lamech too was punished more than Cain, although he had not slain a brother, because he was not brought to his senses by the example concerning Cain. There shall come, then, he says, upon you all the blood, from Abel to Zechariah. And opportunely he made mention of Abel. For as Abel was slain through envy, so also was Christ, being envied. And which Zechariah does he here mention? Some say it is the one numbered among the twelve prophets; but others, the father of the Forerunner; for there is a tradition handed down to us, that there was a certain place in the temple in which the virgins stood. This Zechariah, then, being high priest, set the Theotokos, even after she had borne Christ, in the place of the virgins; and the Jews, being indignant at this, killed him, as having ranked among the virgins a woman who had given birth. And it is nothing to wonder at, if the father of the Forerunner too had a father named Barachiah, just as the one among the twelve prophets is also called the son of Barachiah; for it is likely that, just as the names of these men coincided, so also did the names of their fathers.

Matt. 23:37–39. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets, and stone those who are sent to you, how often I wished to gather together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall not see me from now on, until you say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. He doubles the name of Jerusalem, pitying her and calling her back with compassion; for, just as toward one beloved, but ardently despising the one who loves her, he makes his defense, being about to bring on the punishment. For he charges her as murderous, and that, though he often wished to have mercy on her, she herself would not, but, obeying the devil who scatters her and leads her away from the truth, which is a single and unified thing, she would not receive the Lord who gathers her together. For nothing so scatters from God as sin, just as, on the other hand, a good conscience gathers toward God. And showing his tender love, he set down the example of the bird. Therefore, since you will not, I leave the temple desolate. And from this let us learn that God dwells in the temples for our sake; but when we are given over to despair, then the temples too are forsaken. You shall not, then, see me until the second coming. For then, even unwillingly, they shall worship him, and shall say: Blessed is he who comes. And understand the from now on as meaning, after my crucifixion, not, however, that hour in which he was saying these things. For they saw him many times after he had spoken these things; yet after the crucifixion they did not see him, nor shall they see him until his coming is at hand.

Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour

Matt. 24:1–2. And Jesus went out and was departing from the temple, and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. But Jesus said to them: Do you see all these things? Truly I say to you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. Going out from the temple, he showed that he would remove himself from the Jews. And just as he had said, Your house is left to you desolate, so indeed he also does. And he foretells to the disciples the destruction of the temple; for since they, being earthly-minded, were astonished at the beauty of the buildings, and as it were, were showing Christ, See of what house the beauties are which you leave desolate, he leads them away from being nailed to earthly things, and sends them on toward the Jerusalem above. There shall not remain, he says, one stone upon another here; and this he said, hinting at the utter destruction of the building, and making his statement in a hyperbolic manner.

Matt. 24:3. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately, saying: Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the consummation of the age? They come privately, as being about to question him concerning great matters. For they question him about two things: When shall these things be, that is, the destruction of the temple and the capture of Jerusalem; and another, What shall be the sign of your coming?

Matt. 24:4–5. And Jesus answered and said to them: See that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying: I am the Christ; and they will deceive many. Many, he says, will come proclaiming themselves to be Christs; for indeed Dositheus the Samaritan said, I am the prophet foretold by Moses; and Simon the Samaritan named himself the great power of God.

Matt. 24:6–8. And you will be about to hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places; but all these things are the beginning of birth-pangs. By wars he means those of the Romans at Jerusalem. And he says that not only wars will come to pass, but also famines and pestilences, showing that the wrath against the Jews will be sent from God. For the wars one might say come about through the malice of men; but the famines and pestilences from nowhere else than wholly from God. That they might not suppose that the world will be consummated before they preach, he says: Do not be troubled. For the consummation is not yet; nor will the general consummation come together with the razing of Jerusalem. And he says that nation shall be raised against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, because of the evils that are to befall the Jews, which are the beginning of birth-pangs. For just as the birth-pangs come upon the woman in labor, and so she gives birth, so too the present age, after its confusions and wars, will bring to birth the things to come.

Matt. 24:9–13. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and will kill you; and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will be made to stumble, and will betray one another, and will hate one another; and many false prophets will arise, and will deceive many. And because lawlessness will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end, the same shall be saved. He foretells the evils that will come to pass, encouraging the disciples by foretelling them. For the unexpected is wont to frighten and disturb. He levels out their fear, then, by foretelling the coming terrors, the envyings, the enmities, the stumblings, the false prophets, who are forerunners of the Antichrist, leading the many astray, so as to hurl them headlong into every kind of lawlessness; and because of the multiplying of lawlessness through the deceit of the Antichrist, men will become so brutish that they will not keep even a drop of love toward their nearest kin, but will be betrayed by one another. But he who endures to the end, and bears it patiently, and does not give way before the things brought upon him, shall be saved, having shown himself an approved soldier.

Matt. 24:14. And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the inhabited world, for a testimony to all the nations; and then the end shall come. You shall not be hindered in your preaching; take courage. For the Gospel will be preached among all the nations, for a testimony, that is, for a reproof, for an accusation of those who did not believe; and then the end shall come, not of the world, but of Jerusalem; for before Jerusalem was captured, the Gospel was preached, as Paul too says: The Gospel having been preached in all creation under heaven. For that he speaks concerning the end of Jerusalem is plain from what follows; for he says:

Matt. 24:15. When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let him who reads understand— By the abomination of desolation he means the statue of the one who took the city, which he set up in the inner sanctuary of the temple; of desolation, then, because the city was laid waste; and an abomination, because the Hebrews, hating idolatry, called the statues and the images of men abominations.

Matt. 24:16–18. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; let him who is on the housetop not come down to take the things out of his house, and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his garments. Hinting at the inescapable excess of the calamities, he says that one must flee without turning back, taking no thought for the things in the houses, neither garments nor other goods. But some, understanding the abomination of desolation to be the Antichrist, as one who will come for the desolation of the world and the overthrow of the churches, and will sit in the temple, understand these things too in this way: that he who is on the housetop, that is, who is in the height of the virtues, must not come down from the height of the virtues so as to take up the things of the body. For the house of the soul is the body. And one must withdraw also from the field, that is, from earthly things; for the field is this life; and one must not take up the garment, the old wickedness which we have put off.

Matt. 24:19. But woe to those who are with child and to those who give suck in those days. For the women with child will not be able to flee, weighed down by the burden of the womb. And those who give suck, because of their sympathy toward their children, being able neither to leave them, nor yet to carry them and be saved together with them, will not escape the wrath of that time. Or Christ hints also at this, the eating of children. For Josephus says that, there being a famine because of the siege, a woman roasted her own child and ate it.

Matt. 24:20. But pray that your flight may not be in winter, nor on the Sabbath. He says these things in the person of the apostles to the Jews; for the apostles had already gone out of Jerusalem beforehand. To the Jews, then, he says to pray that their flight may not be in winter, since because of the difficulty of the season they would not be able to escape, nor on the Sabbath, for then they rest according to the law, and would not dare to flee. But understand it also thus: that we must pray that our flight from this life, that is, our death, may not be on a Sabbath, in the idleness of good deeds, nor in winter, in the barrenness of good things, but in the fair weather and tranquility of the soul.

Matt. 24:21–22. For then there shall be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be; and unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened. The tribulation then was unbearable. For the soldiers of the Romans were ordered to spare no one; but God, for the sake of those who were about to believe from among them, or who had already believed, did not allow them to be utterly destroyed, but shortened both the tribulations and the war. For if the war had prevailed longer, all those within would have perished by the famine. But some understand these things concerning the days of the Antichrist; yet these things are not about the Antichrist, but about the capture of Jerusalem. And the things concerning the Antichrist begin from here; listen.

Matt. 24:23–25. Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or there, do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will give great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand. Since the disciples brought forward two questions, concerning the capture of Jerusalem and concerning the coming of the Lord, having spoken of the capture, he now begins to speak concerning his own coming and the consummation of the world. And the word then does not indicate this, that immediately after Jerusalem is captured, if anyone says to you, and so forth, but it indicates that time at which it is about to come to pass; so that what is said is of this sort: Then, that is, when the Antichrist is about to come, there will be many false christs and false prophets, who through the phantasms of demons mock the eyes of those who behold them, so as to deceive some; so that, unless they are watchful, even the righteous will be deceived. But behold, I have told you beforehand; you have no excuse; for you are able not to be deceived.

Matt. 24:26–28. If, then, they say to you, Behold, he is in the wilderness, do not go out; behold, he is in the inner chambers, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of man; for wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. If the deceivers come, he says, saying that the Christ has come, but he is hidden in the wilderness, or in some house, and in the inner chambers and more secret places of it, do not be deceived; for the coming of Christ does not need anyone to point it out, but will be manifest to all, just like the lightning. For this too is both sudden and clear to all; so that coming of his too will be evident to all who are in the world; for it is not as in the former coming, when he passed from place to place, that it will be in the second, but in the twinkling of an eye he will be present. And just as the eagles, that is, the vultures, swiftly gather over a dead body, so also, wherever Christ may be, all the saints will come, who fly to the heights and are to be caught up in the clouds like eagles. And the carcass is wholly Christ, because of his falling for us and dying, as Symeon too says: This one is set for the falling.

Matt. 24:29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. After the coming of the Antichrist, he says, which will quickly be brought to an end—for this he indicated by the immediately—the sun shall be darkened, that is, shall be dimmed, not vanishing away, but overcome by the light of Christ’s coming; and likewise the stars and the moon. For what need is there any longer of such perceptible light, there being no night, and the Sun of righteousness having appeared? But also the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, that is, they shall be astounded and shudder, seeing the creation being altered, and all men from Adam until then about to give account.

Matt. 24:30. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. The Cross will then be seen in heaven, shining brighter than the sun, for a reproof of the Jews; for the Lord comes against the Jews as one having the Cross as a kind of mightiest vindication, just as if someone struck by a stone should display the stone. And by the sign he means the Cross, as a trophy and a royal emblem. Then, therefore, shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, namely the Jewish tribes, perceiving their own unbelief; and all those who are earthly-minded, even if they are Christians, shall mourn. For the tribes of the earth might be said to be those who are cast down upon earthly things. And if the Lord comes with the Cross, yet he comes also with power and great glory.

Matt. 24:31. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. He will send the angels to gather together the saints, and those who have risen from the dead, so as to meet him in the clouds. He honors them, then, even with the calling through angels. And if Paul too says that they will be caught up through clouds, this is not contrary; for when they have been collected by the angels, the clouds will catch them up. And the trumpet is for the greater astonishment.

Matt. 24:32–33. Now from the fig tree learn the parable: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near; so also you, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors. When, he says, all these things have come to pass, the interval between the consummation and my coming will not be great. And by summer he means the age to come, and the calm after the storm, which is for the righteous; whereas for sinners it is rather winter and turmoil. As, then, he says, seeing the branches and the leaves of the fig tree, you hope for summer, so also, seeing those signs which I have spoken of, the sun and the moon being altered, look for my coming.

Matt. 24:34–35. Truly I say to you, this generation shall not pass away until all these things come to pass. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. By generation here he means, not the one then existing, but that of the faithful; as if he were saying this: The generation of the faithful shall not pass away until all these things come to pass. For do not, because you hear of famines and pestilences, suppose that the generation of the faithful will be destroyed by these evils, but it will remain, and no terror shall prevail over it. But some understood the all these things of the capture of Jerusalem alone, and not also of the second coming; whence they interpret it thus: This generation shall not pass away, that is, the generation of you the apostles shall see the calamities of Jerusalem. And confirming what he has said, he says that it is easier for heaven and earth to vanish away, those fixed and unmoved elements, than for anything of the things spoken by me to prove false.

Matt. 24:36. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of the heavens, except my Father alone. Here he teaches the disciples not to seek to learn the things that surpass human knowledge. For in saying, not even the angels, he restrained them from learning now what even the angels do not know; and in saying that the Father alone knows, he prevented them from seeking to learn it for the time thereafter. For if he had said, I do know, but I do not wish to tell you, they would have been grieved, as though despised by him; but as it is, by saying that not even the Son knows, except the Father alone, he prevents them from seeking; just as fathers too, often holding something in their hands, and then being asked for it by their children, and not wishing to give it, hide it, saying, We do not have what you seek; and so the children cease their wailing. So also the Lord, that he might make the apostles cease from wishing to learn concerning the day and the hour, said that not even I know, except the Father alone; for that he himself too knows that hour and day was plain even from many other things. For all things that the Father has are the Son’s; and the Father has the knowledge of the day; the Son, then, also has it. And more evidently, from this: for how is it possible that the Son should be ignorant of the day, to whom the things before the day are thus known? For he who has led us to the very doorway, plainly knew the door also; but profitably he did not open it; for it is not profitable for us to know when the consummation is, lest we grow slack. For ignorance keeps us awake.

Matt. 24:37–39. But as the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of man also be. For as they were in the days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so shall the coming of the Son of man also be. For the confirmation of his unerring words, he makes use of the things that came to pass in Noah’s time; for as then some accounted the building of the ark a thing to mock at, until the calamity came and swept all away, so now too some mock at the words concerning the consummation; but suddenly, he says, the destruction will come upon them. And he shows that, when the Antichrist has come, pleasure will prevail over men, and they will incline toward marriages and luxuries more insolently, just like the giants in Noah’s time.

Matt. 24:40–41. Then two shall be in the field; the one is taken, and the one is left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. Then, he says, when all are without care, and are working their own works, the one is taken, that is, the righteous one, to meet the Lord in the air, but the one, the sinner, of course, is left below, in Hades. But even if certain ones are servants and are grinding, of these too some are taken, all who are worthy, and others are left, all who are unworthy; so that from this also we learn that both servants and women are not hindered from virtue.

Matt. 24:42–44. Watch, therefore, for you do not know in what hour your Lord comes. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief comes, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for in an hour when you do not think, the Son of man comes. He commands them to be vigilant and to make themselves ready, that is, to have the works of virtue stored up beforehand, so that, when the Lord comes, requiring some of the things he wills, we may have something to give. And see how he did not say, I do not know in what hour the thief comes, but, You do not know; and by the thief he means the consummation, and the death of each one. And he hints from this that his coming will be also by night. As, then, the thief comes unseen, so also my coming; therefore do not grow slack, but be watchful. For if we knew when our death will be, we would be eager to please God on that day alone; but now, being ignorant of it, we are ever watchful to the works of virtue.

Matt. 24:45–47. Who then is the faithful and prudent servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, shall find so doing. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. The Lord raises the question who shall be the faithful and prudent servant, whom his master set over his household, in order to show that such a one is rare and hard to find. And of every steward two things are required, faithfulness and prudence; for whether he is faithful and steals nothing, but is not prudent, and squanders the goods to no purpose, or whether, while being prudent, he himself steals, there is no benefit. The one, then, who shall then be found faithful and prudent, that one will also attain the more perfect things, I mean the kingdom of heaven. For of all the possessions of God the saints shall be heirs. And a faithful and prudent servant is also every teacher who in due season gives the food to each of those taught by him, such as Paul, now giving milk to drink, now speaking wisdom, being a faithful minister, he who was formerly a blasphemer, and prudent, as not being ignorant of the devices of the enemy. But also everyone who has received anything whatever from God, whether money, or power, or rule, ought to administer these things both faithfully and prudently, as one who shall give account.

Matt. 24:48–51. But if that wicked servant says in his heart, My master delays his coming, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, the master of that servant will come in a day when he does not expect him, and in an hour when he does not know, and will cut him asunder, and will appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Having said how the faithful servant will be honored, he now says how the wicked one will be punished. For if anyone entrusted with the stewardship of some gift despises the judgment-seat there, and says, My master delays, that is, does not impose the punishment forthwith and immediately, and makes the long-suffering of God an occasion for wickedness, and beats his fellow servants—I mean, causes them to stumble, and beats their conscience; for the subjects, seeing the rulers using badly the things given them, are struck and made to stumble, and are harmed—such a one, then, will be cut asunder, that is, will be stripped of the gift that was his, and then he will appear for what he was, and will be cast into the darkness; for formerly through his outward guise he deceived, such as many of the chief priests, seeming to be holy because of their dignity; but then the grace will be taken from them. And they will be punished as hypocrites, being one thing and appearing another.

Chapter 25.—On the Ten Virgins. On Those Who Received the Talents. On the Coming of Christ

Matt. 25:1–4. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were foolish, and five were wise; for they that were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them. Under the person of the virgins He frames the parable concerning almsgiving, so that, since this is a great thing, no one who succeeds in it alone should neglect the rest; but learn that, if you should lack almsgiving even while possessing virginity, you will be cast out together with harlots. And rightly is the unfeeling and unmerciful person cast out, even though he be a virgin; for the fornicator was overcome by a passion that is both tyrannical and natural, whereas the unmerciful man was under no such necessity. The weaker the adversary, then, the more inexcusable is the one defeated by the passion of avarice; and such a person is foolish for this very reason, that he was able to conquer the burning of nature, yet was defeated by money. The slumber is delay; and the bridegroom’s tarrying is the failure to perceive the second coming.

Matt. 25:6–13. And at midnight there was a cry: Behold, the bridegroom; go forth to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: Give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying: Lest there be not enough for us and for you; go rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said: Truly I say to you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man comes. He says the cry came in the middle of the night, to show that the Lord comes when He is not expected, just as at midnight we are all already sleeping a deep sleep. But He comes with a cry, for there is a trumpet; and the mind of each of us is a lamp, which may or may not have the oil of the virtues, that is, almsgiving. The virgins are foolish in this respect also, that they sought the oil at the very time when there was no longer any opportunity for transaction. And the wise say: Lest there be not enough for us and for you. For one man’s righteousness will scarcely suffice him for his own defense, much less for me as well; for each will be justified by his own works, not by his neighbor’s. And only now, for the first time, do they recognize that we ought to have had our oil from the poor. This, then, is what is meant: that they went to them that sell to buy oil—that is, they went in their thinking to the poor, and reckoned up what a good thing almsgiving is; but the door was shut against them, for after our departure from here there is no time for repentance or for labor. The Lord therefore says to them: I know you not. For the One who loves mankind and is merciful does not know the unmerciful. How should He know those that are foreign to Him and unlike Him? And know that every soul has received a lamp and illumination from God, and all are roused to meet the Lord; for all desire to meet and to be joined to God. But when God has given illumination and a lamp, the wise pour in oil through good works, while the foolish, leaving their lamps without oil, are shut out, having no good works by which to rekindle the light of God within us that we have quenched.

Matt. 25:14–19. For it is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants and delivered to them his goods; and to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one—to every man according to his own ability—and immediately took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents; in like manner he also that had received the two gained another two. But he that had received the one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants comes and settles accounts with them. Having said above, You know not the day when the Lord will come, He adds this parable as well, showing that He will come suddenly. For just as a man traveling abroad, so too did the Lord call His own servants and arrange this and that for them. Christ, who became man for our sake, is said to travel abroad, either in that He ascended into heaven, or in that He is long-suffering and does not at once demand the work, but waits. His servants are those entrusted with the ministry of the word—such as bishops, priests, and deacons—who have received spiritual gifts, some greater and some lesser, each according to his own ability, that is, according to the measure of faith and of purification. For with whatever vessel I bring to God, with that same one will He pour out His gift upon me: if I bring a small one, little; if a great one, much. And immediately he that had received the five talents went and traded. See his diligence, how he neglected nothing, but immediately set to work, doubling what he had received. For whoever benefits not only himself—whether he has the word, or wealth, or power with kings, or any other ability or skill—but also wishes to benefit others, such a man doubles his portion. But he who buries his talent is the one who is concerned only for his own benefit and not for that of others, and he is condemned. And if you see a clever and capable man who has misused his cleverness for schemes and deceits and earthly affairs, say that such a man has buried his talent in the ground—that is, in the affairs of earth. After a long time comes the one who seeks the money; and the money is the tested word, the good thoughts, any gift whatever, that has gained interest for the one who holds it. And he who has traded well renders back the money for a glorious gain; and he settles accounts with those who received.

Matt. 25:20–30. And he that had received the five talents came and brought him another five talents, saying: Lord, you delivered to me five talents; behold, I have gained beside them another five talents. His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord. He also that had received the two talents came and said: Lord, you delivered to me two talents; behold, I have gained another two talents beside them. You are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter; and I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground; lo, there you have what is yours. But his lord answered and said to him: You wicked and slothful servant, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter; you ought therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with interest. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that has ten talents. For to every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.[1] Those who labored with what was given are praised by the master alike, both of them hearing, Well done, good and faithful servant. By “good” we here understand the man who is ungrudging, who extends his own goodness to his neighbors as well; and having shown themselves faithful over a few things, they are set over many. For even if we are here counted worthy of gifts, these are nothing compared to the good things to come. The joy of the Lord is the unceasing gladness which God has, rejoicing over His works, as David says. With such gladness, then, the saints too rejoice over their works; just as sinners grieve over their own works and repent. And the saints, having the Lord as their wealth, rejoice in Him. Notice that both he who received the five talents and he who received the two are counted worthy of the same good things. For whenever someone, even though he received little, nevertheless administers well the grace given to him, however small it may be, he will receive equal honor with the one who was counted worthy of great things and succeeded. For each, according to what he received, seems also to reach the summit, if he succeeds. Such, then, are the grateful servants; but the wicked and slothful one makes another sort of defense, one unworthy of himself. For he calls the master hard, just as now too many of those who teach say: It is a hard thing to demand obedience from people in whom God has not implanted obedience, nor sown in them docility. For this he hints at by saying, You reap where you did not sow—that is, from him in whom you did not sow docility, you demand docility. But in calling the master hard, the servant condemns himself. For since he was hard, he ought all the more to have taken care, having so hard and harsh a master. For if he demands what belongs to others, he will all the more demand what is his own; so you too ought to have increased what you received, and to have made disciples, from whom he would have demanded what was owed. For he calls the disciples “bankers,” as those who approve or reject the word; and he demands interest from the disciples—the demonstration of works. For the disciple, receiving the word from his teacher, both keeps it himself and renders it back whole; and he adds, as interest, the working of the good. The gift, then, is taken from the wicked and slothful servant. For he who has received some gift for the benefit of others, and has not used it, loses even that; but he who has made greater effort draws to himself a greater gift as well. For to him that has effort shall be given greater grace, and he shall have abundance; but from him that has not effort shall be taken away even the gift he seems to have. For such a man received it, yet does not have the gift, but only seems to have it.

Matt. 25:31–33. When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all the nations, and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Since the first coming of the Lord took place in dishonor and outrage, He says, When He comes in His glory. For at the second coming He will come with glory, with angels as His bodyguard. First He separates the saints from the sinners, freeing them from anxiety, and sets them apart, and then speaks to them. He calls the saints “sheep” because of their gentleness, and because they give us fruit and benefit as sheep do, providing wool—that is, a divine and spiritual covering—and milk, that is, suitable nourishment. The sinners He calls “goats,” for they walk along precipices, and are disorderly and unfruitful, like goats.

Matt. 25:34–40. Then shall the King say to them on His right hand: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying: Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You? or thirsty, and gave You drink? When did we see You a stranger, and took You in? or naked, and clothed You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You? And the King shall answer and say to them: Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of these least of My brethren, you did it to Me. For this is what righteousness shows: that He honors before He punishes, before He examines; for He is righteous, and He trains us in this too, not to punish before we have examined. For thus those who are punished after a tribunal will be the more without excuse. He calls the saints “blessed,” as accepted by the Father; and He makes them heirs of the kingdom, to show that God makes them sharers of His own glory, as His sons. For He did not say, Receive, but, Inherit, as though some paternal estate. He calls them “least brethren” either His own disciples or, quite simply, all the poor. For every poor man is a brother of Christ in this very respect, since Christ too passed His life in poverty. See the righteousness of God, how He proclaims the saints; and see their good sense, how out of modesty they deny having fed Him; but the Lord takes upon Himself what is done for the poor.

Matt. 25:41–46. Then shall He say also to them on the left: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me not in; naked, and you clothed Me not; sick, and in prison, and you visited Me not. Then shall they also answer, saying: Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You? Then shall He answer them, saying: Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life everlasting. Those on the left He sends into the fire which is prepared for the devil. For since the demons are without compassion and without pity, those who share their disposition are rightly counted worthy of the same punishment, and they have become accursed by their own works. Notice that God did not prepare the fire for human beings, nor make the punishment on our account, but for the devil; yet I make myself liable to the punishment. Shudder, O man, considering from this that, behold, these are punished not as fornicators, nor as robbers, nor for having committed any other evil, but for not having done good. For if you consider well, the unmerciful man is a robber; for all that he has beyond his need he has surely snatched from those who are in want but do not receive from him. For if he had laid these things up in common, they too would have been without lack; but now, since he has shut them up and made them his own, for this reason those others are in poverty. So the unmerciful man is a robber, wronging as many as he could have helped but did not; therefore these shall go away into punishment everlasting and never-ending, but the righteous into life everlasting. For just as the saints have unceasing joy, so too the unrighteous have unceasing punishment—even though Origen babbles, saying that there is an end of punishment, and that sinners will not be punished forever, but that there will be a time when they come to the place of the righteous, purified through punishment. For he is plainly refuted here, on the one hand by the words in which the Lord says “everlasting punishment,” which means never-ending; and on the other by the words in which He likens the righteous to sheep and the sinners to goats. For just as a goat could never become a sheep, so neither will a sinner ever be purified and become righteous. The “outer darkness” is that which is farthest from the divine light, and for this reason makes the punishment more grievous. And one may give this reason for it too: the sinner here also has darkness, having fallen from the Sun of righteousness; but since there is hope of change, for this reason this darkness is not “outer.” After he dies, however, and the examination of his deeds is set in place, the outer darkness succeeds it; for there is no longer hope of change, but he undergoes the complete deprivation of the good things of God. For as long as he is here, even if he enjoys the good things of God only moderately—I mean the perceptible things of creation—and seems in some way to be a servant of God, dwelling in His house, this creation, and being fed and sustained by Him; but then he is cut off altogether from God, partaking of none of His good things. This is the darkness, called “outer” by comparison, in relation to that which is here, which is not outer, since the sinner is not yet completely cut off here. But do you flee unfeelingness, and work mercy, both perceptibly and also spiritually. For feed Christ when He hungers for our salvation; and if you feed and give drink to the one who hungers for teaching, you have fed and given drink to Christ. For the Christ, or the faith, within the Christian is nourished and increased through teaching. And if you see someone becoming a stranger to the faith, bring him in—that is, together with your own entering into heaven, lead him in too, not preaching to others while you yourself are disqualified. And if anyone has cast off the garment of incorruption which he received through baptism, and has been stripped naked, clothe him; and the one who is weak in the faith, as Paul says, receive; and the one shut up in the prison of this dark body, visit, shining upon him like some radiance. These forms of love perform indeed also bodily; for since man consists of soul and body, these things can be understood in a twofold way.

[1] Migne’s printed lemma telescopes Matthew 25:22–24: it passes straight from the two-talent servant’s report (“I have gained another two talents”) to the one-talent servant’s words (“You are a hard man…”), omitting the master’s commendation of the second servant and the introduction of the third. The English follows the source lemma as printed.

Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter

Matt. 26:1–2. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples: You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified. Since He had spoken of the kingdom and of recompense, He at once speaks also of His own Passion, all but saying this: that those who crucify Me will be counted worthy of the fire.

Matt. 26:3–5. Then were gathered together the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people into the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they took counsel together to take Jesus by guile and kill Him; but they said: Not on the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people. Although the law commanded that there be one high priest for life, they unlawfully made many, exchanging them year by year; and so they go to the high priest of that year to take counsel about murder—for which the murderers ought rather to have been punished. By “chief priests” he means those who had already completed their year of office. But, intending to commit this unholy murder, they fear not God, but the crowd. For they were afraid that, if they killed Him during the feast, the crowd might rise to defend Him, or might even refrain from offering the customary sacrifices because of their bloodguilt, and so they themselves would lose the profits from the sacrifices. Perhaps they were also afraid of this, lest, if He were killed during the feast, His death should become notable and glorious; for they wished to blot out His memory. They, then, having thus taken counsel before the feast, intended perhaps to kill Him after the feast; but He, showing that He suffers not when they wished, but when He Himself willed, allowed them to seize Him at the time of the Passover, so that, when the typical Passover was being kept, then also the true Passover might come to pass. And one may also learn their bloodthirstiness from this: for those who did not wish to kill Him during the feast, when they found the betrayer, then they kill Him, despising even the crowd, only so that their will might be done.

Matt. 26:6–7. Now while Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. Some say there were three women who anointed the Lord, of whom the four evangelists make mention; others say there were two—one in John, who is Mary the sister of Lazarus, and the one now mentioned in Matthew, who is the same as the one in Luke and Mark. As for this Simon the leper, some say he was also the father of Lazarus, whom the Lord cleansed of leprosy and then was entertained at his house. And it is said that the Lord, when He told the disciples, Go to such a one, and he will show you an upper room furnished, sent them to this man; and indeed he received the Lord, as they say, and the Passover was kept at his house. The woman, then, seeing the leper cleansed, took courage, believing that she too would obtain forgiveness and be cleansed of the leprosy of her soul; and she displayed great faith by pouring out such precious ointment and not sparing it. She pours it on His head, offering the honor to the most sovereign part. And you too, then, if you have a leprosy of soul that is Pharisaic, puffed up or cut off from God, receive Jesus into your house and anoint Him with the ointment of the virtues; for you can pour ointment on Jesus when He has cleansed you of your leprosy, and pour it upon His head. And what is the head of Christ but His divinity, to which the fragrance of the virtues is offered? For let my prayer, he says, be set forth as incense before You, O Lord. Offer, then, to the divinity of Christ the fragrance that comes from the manifold ointment of the virtues; and indeed, if you confess Him to be not a mere man only, but also God, you have made His head, that is His divinity, fragrant—that is, you have given right theology.

Matt. 26:8–11. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying: To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. But Jesus, knowing it, said to them: Why do you trouble the woman? For she has wrought a good work upon Me. For you have the poor always with you, but Me you have not always. The disciples, having heard much about almsgiving and making much account of it, blamed the woman, seeking mercy more than the honor due to God—though it is God who seeks mercy. But He rebukes the disciples, because they blamed the woman unseasonably. For we must not demand lofty things from those who approach, and especially from a weak woman, but accept even their moderate faith. For when someone offers a gift to God, do not turn him away, nor break down his eagerness by dismissing him to distribute it to the poor, but let him fulfill his offering. If, however, he takes counsel with you, asking whether he should give to the poor for their benefit or offer to God, advise him to give to the poor; but after he has offered, it is superfluous to turn him away. For we must prefer the honor of God to everything whatever, even to almsgiving itself. Nor, because Christ out of love for mankind takes mercy upon Himself, should you think you ought to despise God and practice almsgiving only; since on that reasoning one would have to commit sacrilege and then make almsgiving from the spoils. But this is not so; for that showing mercy to the poor and honoring and serving Christ Himself are not the same thing, hear: For the poor, He says, you have always with you, but Me you have not always. You see, then, how it is one thing to serve Christ and another to show mercy to the poor, even though out of love for mankind Christ takes upon Himself what is done for the needy.

Matt. 26:12–13. For in pouring this ointment on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, what this woman has done shall also be told, for a memorial of her. He teaches us that the woman did this by some divine impulse, prefiguring His death and the burial of His body; for the Lord would not have allowed Himself to be anointed with ointment unless it signified some mystery. And as God He foretold what would be: that what the woman did would be told everywhere, to her praise. And see the love of God for mankind, how He requites the woman with great grace; for He makes her to be remembered throughout, as long as His Gospel is preserved. And how did the ointment contribute to His burial? It was the custom of the Jews to bury bodies with ointments, as the Egyptians also did, so that they might be kept from decay and without foul odor. The woman shows, then, He says, by pouring out the ointment, that My body will be prepared for burial. And He says all this to shame and turn back Judas, through whom He was to be handed over to burial. Understand also, by way of anagogy, that the leper is the Gentile people, and the sinful woman is the gathering and Church drawn from the nations, which poured out the ointment—that is, faith—upon the head of Christ, that is, His divinity. For everyone who believes that Christ is God pours ointment upon the head of Christ; but Judas, who rebuked the woman, as John says, holds the type of the Jews, who even now murmur against the Church.

Matt. 26:14–16. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said: What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you? And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver; and from then on he sought opportunity to betray Him. When the woman who was a stranger, the harlot, displayed such great honor, then the disciple goes off to betray Him. For it is not in vain that “then he went” is set down, but to show the shamelessness of Judas; and he adds “Iscariot” to make him more recognizable. For there was also another Judas, the one called Lebbaeus. This betrayer, however, was from a certain village called Iscara. And “they appointed thirty pieces of silver” means that they agreed and set apart this sum to give, not, as many suppose, that they weighed it out. He sought opportunity, then, to deliver Him to them alone; for they feared the crowd, and for this reason they hired Judas to inform them when He was by Himself.

Matt. 26:17–19. Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him: Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover? And He said: Go into the city to such a one, and say to him: The Teacher says: My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them, and they prepared the Passover. By “the first day of unleavened bread” he means the day before the unleavened bread. What I mean is this: on Friday evening they were going to eat the Passover, and that day was called the day of unleavened bread; the Lord, then, sends His disciples on Thursday, which the evangelist calls “the first day of unleavened bread,” since it was before the Friday on whose evening they ate the unleavened bread. The disciples, then, come and ask: Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover? For neither they nor He had a house of their own. He sends them to a man who neither knew them nor was known to them, just as He did in the matter of the donkey, showing them that He can, even by bare words, persuade even those who do not know Him at all to receive Him. For He wished to keep the Passover, lest He seem to be opposed to the law; and He calls His slaying “His time,” that we may learn that He is not slain in ignorance, nor unwillingly. And to the words “I will keep the Passover at your house”—that is, in your house—He adds “with My disciples,” so that the preparation may be sufficient, since many were going to eat.

Matt. 26:20–22. Now when evening had come, He reclined with the twelve; and as they were eating, He said: Truly I say to you, that one of you will betray Me. And being exceedingly sorrowful, they began every one of them to say to Him: Is it I, Lord? From this some suppose that in that year the Lord did not eat the Passover; for they say that they ate the lamb standing, whereas Christ reclined, and therefore He did not eat the Passover. We say, then, that He ate the Passover first while standing, and then, having reclined, delivered His own mystery; for having first fulfilled the typical Passover, He thus accomplished the true one. He foretells the matter of Judas, in order to correct him, that he might be put to shame, if by nothing else, at least by the common table, and might recognize that he is about to betray God, who knows hearts. The disciples were in anguish; for even though their conscience was clear, nevertheless they trusted Christ more than themselves, as One who knew their hearts better.

Matt. 26:23–25. But He answered and said: He that dipped his hand with Me in the dish, the same will betray Me. The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed. It had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, who betrayed Him, answered and said: Is it I, Rabbi? He said to him: You have said. He plainly exposes the betrayer, since when reproved secretly he was not set right; therefore He makes him manifest, saying: He that dipped with Me—so that he might even thus be corrected. But Judas, being shameless, dipped in His dish, that is, His plate. Then He says: The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of Him—that is, even though Christ was foreordained to suffer for the salvation of the world, yet Judas is by no means to be honored for this, but woe to him; for he did not do this as cooperating with the counsel of God, but to gratify his own wickedness. For indeed, if you consider it closely, Christ did not even, in the first instance, wish to be crucified. He shows this also by praying that the cup might pass; but since it had been determined before all the ages, as there was no other way for men to be saved, because of the wickedness of the enemy, what was in the first instance unwilled becomes willed by Him. And in saying, It had been good for that man if he had not been born, He shows that nonexistence is better than existence in sins. Notice too the word “goes.” For it suggests that His death will be a departure rather than a death.

Matt. 26:26. Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and having given thanks, broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said: Take, eat; this is My body. For this reason he added “as they were eating,” to show the inhumanity of Judas, that at the table and in the sharing of the same food—when, even had he been a wild beast, he would have grown gentler—then he did not understand even when reproved, but, having tasted His body, did not repent. Some say that, after Judas had gone out, He imparted the mysteries to the other disciples. And so we too ought to do this, and to bar the wicked from the mysteries. He gives thanks when about to break the bread, both that He may teach us to offer the bread with thanksgiving, and that He may show that He receives with thanksgiving the breaking of His own body, that is, His death, and is not displeased as at something involuntary, and that we too may thus receive martyrdom with thanksgiving. And in saying, “This is My body,” He shows that the bread which is sanctified on the altar is the very body of the Lord, and not a figure of it. For He did not say, This is a figure, but, This is My body; for by an ineffable working it is changed, even though it appears to us as bread. For since we are weak and could not bear to eat raw flesh, and the flesh of a man, for this reason it appears as bread, while it is in truth flesh.

Matt. 26:27–28. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying: Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood, that of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Just as the old covenant had a sacrifice and blood, so too the new has blood and sacrifice. He said it was shed “for many,” meaning “for all”; for “all” are also “many.” And why did He not say above, Take, eat, all of you, but here, Drink of it, all of you? Some say He said this because of Judas; for Judas took the bread but did not eat it, but hid it, in order to show the Jews that Jesus calls the bread His own body; but the drink he drank even against his will, being utterly unable to hide it. For this reason, then, He said, Drink, all of you. But others, more by way of anagogy, say that to partake of solid food is not for all, but for the more perfect, whereas to drink is for all; for this reason, then, He here said, Drink, all of you. For to receive the simpler of the doctrines is for all.

Matt. 26:29. But I say to you, I will not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of My Father. Having tasted the cup, He thereafter renounces bodily drink; and He promises a certain new manner of tasting in the kingdom, that is, in the resurrection. For having risen, He ate and drank in a certain new manner; not as needing bodily nourishment according to the laws of tasting, but assuring us of the true nature of His body. And He fittingly calls His own resurrection the “kingdom.” For then He abolished death, having shown Himself to be in truth a king. And you may also understand it thus: the new drink is the revelation of the mysteries of God, which will then be revealed in the kingdom of God—that is, at the second coming—being new, that is, such as we have not heard at any other time. And Christ is said to drink these with us, because He regards our benefit as His own food and drink.

Matt. 26:30. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. After they had supped, they sang a hymn, that we may learn that we too ought to do this. And He goes to the Mount of Olives, and not to some other place, so as not to seem to be fleeing; for He withdraws not to an unknown place, but to one familiar to the Jews. At the same time He also withdraws from the bloodthirsty city, leaving it behind, so that He might be pursued, and might afterward reprove them, in that they pursued Him even as He withdrew.

Matt. 26:31–32. Then Jesus says to them: All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. As God He foretells what will be; and that they might not be offended as though accused by Him, He said that it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, hinting at this: that I was holding you together, but My departure will scatter you. And the Father is said to “strike” the Son, because by His consent, or rather His permission, the Jews crucified the Lord; for one who is able to prevent something and then does not prevent it is said to do it, on account of the permission. Then, relieving their sorrow, He brings them good tidings, saying: I will rise, and will go before you—that is, I will reach Galilee ahead of you—showing thereby that He will forsake Jerusalem and depart to the nations; for Gentiles inhabited Galilee.

Matt. 26:33–34. But Peter answered and said to Him: Even if all shall be made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble. Jesus said to him: Truly I say to you, that this night, before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times. Out of great self-assurance Peter alone promises not to be made to stumble; therefore Christ permitted him to fall, in order to persuade him not to trust in himself but in God, and to consider the words of Christ more trustworthy than his own conscience. For it is full of arrogance to say, “If all shall be made to stumble”; for it shows him to be boastful and not recognizing his own weakness. The Lord therefore foretells to him both the hour, that it would be this night and before the cock crows, and the number of the denials, that he would deny Him three times.

Matt. 26:35–36. Peter says to Him: Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You. And all the disciples said likewise. Then Jesus comes with them to a place called Gethsemane, and says to the disciples: Sit here, while I go and pray over there. Peter, wishing to show that he has a genuine disposition, contradicts the Savior; for, freed from the fear of the betrayal, out of great love and ambition he began both to set himself above the others and to oppose Christ. But the rest of the disciples too, out of ignorance, made promises before the trial of temptations—promises which they were not going to fulfill. And He goes apart to pray; for prayer needs leisure and stillness.

Matt. 26:37–39. And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and very heavy; then He says to them: My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch with Me. And going forward a little, He fell on His face, praying and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. He does not take all the disciples, but the three to whom He had shown His glory on Tabor, lest, seeing Him praying and heavy, they be made to stumble; yet even these He leaves, and going apart He prays quite alone. By dispensation He is sorrowful and heavy, that He may confirm that He was truly man. For it belongs to human nature to dread death; and since death entered contrary to nature, for this reason nature flees from it. At the same time, it was also that He might escape the notice of the devil, who would leap upon Him as upon a mere man, so as to put Him to death, and thus be crushed. Besides, had the Lord leaped upon death, He would have given the Jews an excuse, as though they did not sin in killing One who had rushed upon the Passion. And from this we too learn not to throw ourselves into temptations, but to pray to be delivered from them; for this reason He goes off no great distance, but near the three disciples, so that, hearing Him, they too, when they fell into temptations, might remember and pray likewise. And He calls the Passion a “cup,” either because of the sweet sleep of salvation, or because it became to us a cause of gladness and salvation. And He wishes the cup to be set aside, either to show that as man He declines death by the laws of nature, as has been said, or because He did not wish the Hebrews to commit so great a sin, such that for its sake the temple should be destroyed and the people perish. Nevertheless He wills that the Father’s will be done, that we too may learn that, even if nature draws us back, we must obey God rather, and fulfill His will.

Matt. 26:40–41. And He comes to the disciples and finds them sleeping, and says to Peter: So you could not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Since Peter and the other disciples were bold, He reproves their weakness, as having spoken too rashly, and addresses Peter especially. So you could not stay awake with Me one hour? And how will you lay down your souls for Me? But again, since by the reproof He stung them, He heals them by saying that the spirit indeed is willing, but the weakness of the flesh resists—that is, I count you worthy of pardon, because you fell asleep not out of contempt, but out of weakness. So then, since you are weak, do not be bold, but pray that you enter not at all into temptation. Others, however, understand “Enter not into temptation” as meaning “Be not overcome by temptation.” For He does not, they say, command us to be untried; for it is temptations that crown us. Rather, He commands us to pray not to be swallowed up by temptation, and not to enter into its belly, as into that of some wild beast. For he who is overcome by temptation has entered into it—that is, has been swallowed up by it.

Matt. 26:42–44. Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying: My Father, if this cup cannot pass from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done. And He came and found them again sleeping; for their eyes were heavy. And leaving them, He went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same words. Learn, O man, to pray continually in temptations, hearing that the Lord too prayed many times. And finding them sleeping again, He did not reprove them, lest He grieve them, but leaves them. And going away He prayed a third time, confirming His humanity; for the number three is indicative of truth and confirmatory.

Matt. 26:45–46. Then He comes to His disciples and says to them: Sleep on now and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; behold, he that betrays Me is at hand. Showing that He has no need of help from them when He is about to be betrayed, He says to them: Sleep on now—or He says this ironically, as though saying: Behold, the betrayer is at hand, and if it pleases you and the moment affords it, sleep on. He then rouses them from that place where He had been praying, and goes to meet those who are about to seize Him, and goes forward to encounter them, as though they were about to give Him something joyful. So too the things for which He prayed, He prayed in order to confirm the dispensation, wishing not to suffer, that the Hebrews might be preserved from the destruction which was going to overtake them because of their sin against Him.

Matt. 26:47–50. And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed Him gave them a sign, saying: Whomever I shall kiss, that is He; seize Him. And immediately he came up to Jesus and said: Hail, Rabbi; and kissed Him fervently. But Jesus said to him: Friend, for what have you come? Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. Do you see the implements of the chief priests? Clubs and swords. So peaceable were they, and so possessed of the spirit of gentleness! And the words “one of the twelve” the evangelist said in wonder, that, though he was chosen and ranked among the foremost, he nevertheless gave himself to the devil. So you too, O man, be afraid, even if you should be among the most intimate, lest, growing slack, you fall away. Judas gives a sign, both because it was night and they could not make Him out, and because those who came to seize Him were not so much from the crowd as from the servants of the high priest, who perhaps did not know Jesus at all. But the disciple makes the teacher known to them by the kiss; for, knowing the Lord’s love for mankind, he is bold even to kiss Him. And the Lord bears with him even to the last hour, striving by His long-suffering to win him. But when even so he was not brought to his senses, then He makes them fall, as John says, so that at least by their falling they might recognize His power; and when even so they did not desist from their boldness, then He gives Himself up. He calls Judas “friend,” mocking and deriding him, as one who gave a kiss as if of friendship. And the words “for what have you come?” mean: For what purpose are you here? As a friend? But surely it was not fitting to come with swords. As an enemy? Then how is it that you kiss? He convicts him, therefore, as treacherous.

Matt. 26:51–54. And behold, one of those with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus says to him: Put up your sword into its place. For all who take the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now appeal to My Father, and He will furnish Me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so? It was Peter who drew the sword, as John says; and he had a sword, as having just slain the lamb which they ate. But let us not blame Peter; for he did this out of zeal, not for himself, but for his teacher. The Lord, however, reshaping him to an evangelical way of life, teaches him not to use the sword, even if one thinks he is avenging God. And by cutting off the ear, Peter shows that the Jews were sick with disobedience. Then He also lays down the saying of the law, that the murderer is murdered in turn; for the law says this, that those who take the sword shall perish by the sword. And He hints that the Jews who took the sword against Him will be destroyed by the sword of the Romans. He did not say, I am able to furnish twelve legions of angels, but, to appeal to My Father, saying this by dispensation, as man, because of their weakness. For He had then displayed many human things—the sweat, the dread—and would not have seemed to speak credibly if He had said, I am able Myself to furnish angels. So then, in place of the twelve disciples, twelve orders of angels would have stood by Me, had I willed. For a legion is the largest order, six thousand horsemen. It is necessary, He says, that all these things come to pass, that the Scriptures which foretold them may be fulfilled. Not that, because the Scriptures foretold them, the Jews are therefore wicked; rather, because the Jews were going to do these things out of a wicked purpose, for this reason these things were set down in the Scriptures by the Spirit.

Matt. 26:55–56. In that hour Jesus said to the crowds: You have come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize Me; daily I sat with you teaching in the temple, and you did not lay hold of Me. But all this has come to pass that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. He shows the irrationality of their attempt, and that it was not by their own strength that He was seized. For when, He says, I was in the temple, you wished to take Me, and because I did not allow you, you were not able. But now I willingly betray Myself; for I know that it is impossible for the Scriptures to be proved false, which foretold your wickedness.

Matt. 26:56–58. Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled. But they that had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled; and Peter followed Him afar off, to the court of the high priest; and going in, he sat with the officers, to see the end. The other disciples fled; but Peter, being more ardently disposed toward his teacher, followed afar off. And if John too followed, it was not as a disciple, but as one known to the high priest.

Matt. 26:59–60. The chief priests and the elders and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put Him to death, and found none. And though many false witnesses came, they found none. They lead Jesus away to Caiaphas; for he was the high priest of that year. There the rest also passed the night, not having eaten the Passover then, but having waited, so that they might kill the Lord and transgress the law. For the Lord ate at the appointed time, but they, only in order to kill the Lord, despise even the law.

Matt. 26:60–63. But at last two false witnesses came and said: This man said: I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose and said to Him: Do You answer nothing? What is it that these testify against You? But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him: I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus says to him: You have said. These were indeed false witnesses; for Christ did not say, I am able to destroy, but, Destroy. And He did not say, the temple of God, but, this temple—that is, My body. And again He did not say, I will build, but, I will raise up; so that these are plainly false witnesses, saying that Christ said one thing when He said another. Jesus, then, knowing their tribunal to be unlawful, kept silent; for those whom signs did not persuade, how would defenses persuade? But the high priest, wishing to cast Him into blasphemy, asks: that, if He should say, I am the Son of God, He might be condemned as a blasphemer, and if He should deny it, he might have Him as having testified against Himself. But the Lord, who catches the wise in their craftiness, answers: You have said—meaning, Your own mouth has confessed that I am the Son of God.

Matt. 26:64. Nevertheless I say to you, from now on you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. He speaks to them out of the prophecy of Daniel. For that prophet says, I saw one like a Son of man coming on the clouds. Since they supposed Him to be a deceiver, appearing in lowly form, He says: You will see Me then coming with power, and seated together with the Father; for here by “power” He means the Father’s; and coming not from earth, but from heaven.

Matt. 26:65–66. Then the high priest tore his garments, saying: He has blasphemed; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard His blasphemy; what do you think? And they answered and said: He is guilty of death. It was the custom of the Jews, whenever some intolerable thing came upon them, to tear their tunics; so then Caiaphas also, as at a manifest blasphemy, did this to deceive the crowd, that he might show them that He had blasphemed grievously, and thus might force them to say that He is guilty of death. Note, however, that Caiaphas’s tearing of his garments was a symbol of the high priesthood of the old order being torn asunder.

Matt. 26:67–68. Then they spat in His face and buffeted Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying: Prophesy to us, Christ, who is it that struck You? When He was condemned, then they displayed against Him the things customary toward sinners, and mocked Him, covering His face, as the evangelist says, with a garment; for since they held Him to be a prophet, for this reason they mock Him in this way. To “buffet” is to strike with the hands, the fingers being bent in, or, to say it more plainly, to strike with the fist.

Matt. 26:69–75. Now Peter sat outside in the court; and a maid came to him, saying: You also were with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying: I do not know what you are saying. And when he had gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and says to those there: This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth; and again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a little while those who stood by came and said to Peter: Truly you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you. Then he began to curse and to swear, I do not know the man. And immediately the cock crew; and Peter remembered the word of Jesus, who had said to him, Before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times; and he went out and wept bitterly. Overcome by fear, Peter forgot his promises and became enslaved to human weakness, as though dead from fear, and not even knowing what he was saying. Understand it for me also by way of anagogy: that Peter is reproved by the maidservant—that is, by human weakness, which is small and servile—until the cock, crowing, brought him to his senses. The cock is the word, which does not allow us to be slack and to sleep, but says, Watch, and, Awake, you who sleep. Roused, then, by the word as by a cock, Peter, having gone out of the court of the high priest—that is, out of the precinct of the hardened mind—and having come out from his insensibility, wept bitterly. For as long as he was in the court of the hardened mind, he did not weep, for he had no perception; but when he came out, he came to perception.

Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb

Matt. 27:1–2. When morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus, to put Him to death; and having bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. See how the devil seized hold of them all, persuading them to commit murder on such days—days on which many sacrifices and offerings were required for the rest of their sins, and purity and cleansing. They bind Him and lead Him away to the governor Pilate, who was from Pontus but, being a subject of the Romans, was sent as governor to that region.

Matt. 27:3–5. Then Judas, who betrayed Him, seeing that He was condemned, repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying: I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. But they said: What is that to us? See to it yourself. And casting down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed, and went and hanged himself. In these things Judas is shown to have repented, yet to have repented as a sinner; for to condemn himself was good, but to hang himself was devilish. For, unable to bear the reproaches that would come afterward, he removes himself from life, when he ought rather to have wept and propitiated the One he had offended. Some say that Judas, being avaricious, took the silver supposing that he would both gain the money by betraying Christ and that Christ would not be killed, but would escape the Jews, as He had often escaped; and that then, seeing Him condemned and already sentenced to death, he repented, since the matter had turned out contrary to what he had supposed. Therefore he hanged himself, in order to go before Jesus into Hades, and, by his entreaty, obtain salvation. Yet know that he put his neck into the noose, hanging himself from a certain tree; but the tree bent down, and he survived, since God willed either to preserve him for repentance, or for a public example and shame. For they say that he fell into a dropsical disease, so that, where a wagon passes easily, he could not pass through. Then, falling headlong, he burst asunder—that is, he was torn open, as Luke says in the Acts.

Matt. 27:6–10. But the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said: It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood. And taking counsel, they bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field was called the Field of Blood, to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him that was priced, whom they of the children of Israel did price, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me. By “treasury” they meant the treasure in the temple, into which they cast the gifts offered to God. And see their God-driven judgment against themselves: for to this day, he says, that field is called the Field of Blood, so that it is remembered that they murdered the Lord. Note this too, that even among the Jews hospitality was so esteemed that even for strangers a plot of ground was bought for burial. Let us, then, be ashamed—we who think ourselves to be of a more perfect way of life, yet overlook strangers. “The price of Him that was priced,” he says—plainly, of Christ; for He was beyond price, yet He was priced by the children of Israel—that is, the children of Israel set His price, agreeing with Judas to give thirty pieces of silver.

Matt. 27:11–14. Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked Him, saying: Are You the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him: You say so. And when He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate says to Him: Do You not hear how many things they testify against You? And He answered him never a word, so that the governor marveled greatly. As though accused of public crimes, He is led away to Pilate; whence he also asks Him whether He had set about a revolt, and attempted to become king of the Jews. But Jesus said to him: You say so—giving him a most wise answer; for He neither said, I am not, nor again, I am, but said somewhat measuredly: You say so. For this can be understood in two ways: that I am, as you say; and also, that I do not say this, but you say it. He answered nothing else, however; for the trial was not to proceed reasonably. Pilate, then, marveled at the Lord, both as one despising death, and as to how, being eloquent and having countless things to put forward in His defense, He answered nothing, but disregarded His accusers. And let us too be taught from this, that when we have to do with a corrupt tribunal, we should say nothing, so that we neither stir up greater tumult, nor become the cause of greater condemnation to those who will not hear our defenses.

Matt. 27:15–18. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner, whom they wished. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. So when they were gathered together, Pilate said to them: Whom do you want me to release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him. Pilate was eager to release Christ, though more weakly than he ought; for he should have stood firm for the truth. First, then, he questioned the Lord: Do You not hear what these testify against You? He questioned Him so that, if Christ defended Himself, he might have occasion to release Him; but since the Lord made no defense, knowing surely that even if He defended Himself He would not be set free, Pilate turns to another way, and takes refuge thereafter in the custom, all but saying this: If you will not release Jesus as innocent, at least grant Him to the feast as a condemned man. For how could Pilate have supposed that they would ask for the innocent Jesus to be crucified and release the guilty robber? Knowing, then, that He was not guilty but was envied, for this reason he questions them; whence it is shown that he was too weak, for he ought to have risked himself first for the good. For this reason, then, he too is worthy of condemnation, as one who concealed the truth. Now “Barabbas” is interpreted “son of the father”; for “bar” is “son,” and “abbas” is “father.” The Jews, then, asked for the son of their father, the devil, and crucified Jesus; and to this very day they attach themselves to the son of their father, the Antichrist, and reject Christ.

Matt. 27:19–26. And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying: Have nothing to do with that righteous man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him. But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them: Which of the two do you want me to release to you? And they said: Barabbas. Pilate says to them: What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? They all say to him: Let Him be crucified. And the governor said: Why, what evil has He done? But they cried out the more, saying: Let Him be crucified. So when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see to it yourselves. And all the people answered and said: His blood be on us and on our children. Then he released Barabbas to them, but Jesus he scourged and delivered to be crucified. O the wonder! Being judged by Pilate, He struck fear into Pilate’s wife; and it is not Pilate himself who sees the dream, but his wife, either because he was unworthy, or because he would not have been believed, but would have seemed to speak as a favor; and perhaps too he would have kept silent had he seen it, being a judge. The dream was a work of Providence, not so that Christ might be released—it did not come about for that—but so that the woman might be saved. Why, then, did Pilate not release Him? Because it was not safe for him to let Him go, as one accused of aiming at tyranny; rather, he ought to have sought proofs—whether He was enlisting soldiers, whether He was forging weapons; but now, as one frivolous and weak, he is swept along. For this very reason he is not blameless; for when they asked for the one steeped in wickedness, he gave him, but concerning Christ he asked, What then shall I do with Jesus?—making them masters of the judgment, although, being governor, he could have snatched Him away, as the tribune did Paul. But they said, Let Him be crucified, wishing not only to kill Him, but also to surround Him with a wicked charge; for the cross was the punishment reserved for the wicked. And he washes his hands, showing himself, as it were, clean of the abomination, though wrongly minded; for, while calling Jesus righteous, he nevertheless handed Him over to the murderers. And they take upon themselves the punishment for His murder—that is, in our own day, in that the Romans destroyed them and their land; but the Hebrews even to this day, being perhaps the descendants of those who murdered the Lord, have His blood upon themselves; for because of their unbelief toward the Lord they are persecuted by all, and there is no boldness for them, persecuted for this very cause. And he scourged Jesus—that is, flogged Him—either to gratify them, or to show that he too had condemned Him, and that it was not an innocent man they were about to crucify, but one already dishonored. So then this too was fulfilled: I gave My back to the scourges.

Matt. 27:27–30. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort against Him; and stripping Him, they put on Him a scarlet robe. And plaiting a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and bowing the knee before Him, they mocked Him, saying: Hail, King of the Jews; and they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. Here was fulfilled the saying of David: You have made me a reproach to the foolish. For the soldiers, being senseless, did these things of themselves: they clothed Him with the robe instead of purple, as a king; they gave Him the reed instead of a scepter, and the crown instead of a diadem. And they did obeisance to Him in mockery; for this is what the bending of the knee signifies—doing obeisance. See how they went through every kind of outrage: the face, by the spittings; the head, by the crown; the hand, by the reed; the rest of the body, by the robe; and the ears, outraging them by their mocking words. Yet even if they did what they did in sport, do you nevertheless understand these things to have been accomplished more mystically by Jesus. For the scarlet robe signified our nature, which, being bloody and murderous, He took upon Himself, and by putting it on He sanctified it. The crown of thorns is the sins that arise from the cares of life, which Christ consumes by His own divinity; for this His head hints at. The reed is a symbol of our flesh, which is rotten and weak, which the Lord took up, as David also says: The right hand of the Lord has exalted me. And by receiving through His ears the foul whisperings and slanders, He put to death the whispering of the serpent that had entered in.

Matt. 27:31–32. And when they had mocked Him, they took off the robe from Him and put His own garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. And as they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon; him they compelled to carry His cross. The three evangelists say that Simon carried the cross of Jesus; but John says that the Lord Himself carried it. It is likely, then, that both happened. For at first Jesus carried the cross, no one being willing to carry it; but on the way, finding Simon, they laid the cross upon him. And learn this too: that “Simon” is interpreted “obedience”; so he who has obedience, that man carries the cross of Christ. And Cyrene, being a city of five towns, signifies the five senses, which are constrained to carry the cross.

Matt. 27:33–34. And coming to a place called Golgotha, which is the place of a skull, they gave Him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall; and when He had tasted it, He would not drink. Golgotha is that place which they call the place of a skull, from the skulls of the dead being buried there. Some, however, say that this is the place where Adam was buried; for there are all the beginnings of the world. For he was buried there; just as in Adam we all died, so in Christ we shall be made alive. And do not be troubled at hearing that Matthew says they gave Him vinegar with gall, while Mark says wine mingled with myrrh, and John says vinegar and gall with hyssop; for many things were done by many people, since the multitude was disorderly, and one did one thing and another another. It is likely, then, that some offered the wine and others the vinegar of gall. And there were many modes of death, yet Christ is lifted up on a cross, that He might both sanctify the tree through which we were cursed, and bless all things: things heavenly, signified by the topmost part of the cross; things earthly, signified by the footrest; and both the eastern and the western, signified by the side-parts of the cross; and also that with His arms He might embrace the scattered children of God.

Matt. 27:35–37. And when they had crucified Him, the soldiers divided His garments, casting lots; and sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. And they set up over His head His accusation written: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. That Matthew said “accusation,” while another evangelist called it a “title,” is no contradiction; for they inscribed on a board the charge for which He was crucified—what Matthew calls the “accusation”—and they inscribed Him as a revolutionary, by way of slander. But for us this is a matter of faith, as a doctrine declared by the enemies themselves. For the Lord is King, having come for this very purpose, that He might save the Jews; and since the carnal Jews would not, He reigns over the confessing and spiritual Jews—that is, over those who confess.

Matt. 27:38–40. Then there were crucified with Him two robbers, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying: You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself; if You are the Son of God, come down from the cross. In like manner also the chief priests, mocking, with the scribes and Pharisees, said: He saved others, Himself He cannot save; if He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said, I am the Son of God. And the robbers who were crucified with Him reproached Him with the same thing. Two robbers were crucified with Him to slander Christ, that He too might seem to be such a one, a transgressor like them. But these were a type of the two peoples, the Jewish and the Gentile; for both were transgressors, and reproached Christ. And these robbers too reproached Him at first; but afterward the one, recognizing Him, confessed Him as King, wherefore he also said, Remember me, Lord, in Your kingdom. So too the Gentile people confessed Christ. But the other robber, the Jewish people, blasphemed. And the devil put forward those who said, “If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross,” that, being provoked, He might come down, and the salvation of all through the cross might be overthrown. Therefore Christ, who both is the Son of God and was not persuaded by the enemy, that you too may learn that we must not be persuaded by the devil’s devices, but must do the good, even if men are going to hold a wicked opinion of us.

Matt. 27:45–49. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour; and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? And some of those standing there, when they heard it, said: This man is calling Elijah. And immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. But the rest said: Let be; let us see whether Elijah comes to save Him. The darkness that came about was not according to a natural sequence, as from an eclipse occurring naturally; for an eclipse of the sun never happens when the moon is fourteen days old, but only when the so-called new moon occurs—then the natural eclipses of the sun take place. But at the crucifixion the moon was certainly fourteen days old; for the Passover of the Hebrews was then being celebrated. So the Passion was beyond nature. And the darkness was universal, not partial as in Egypt, that it might be shown that everywhere the light had departed from the Jews. The Jews who asked to see a heavenly sign now behold the sun darkened. And as man was fashioned on the sixth day, and on the sixth hour ate from the tree, so the Lord, refashioning man and healing the fault, is fastened to the tree on the sixth day and at the sixth hour. He speaks the prophetic word in the Hebrew tongue, to show that He is not at variance with the Old Scripture. And the words “Why have You forsaken Me?” He said in order to show that He truly became man, and not in mere appearance; for indeed man has a natural appetite for life, being a lover of life. So just as He was in anguish and prayed before the cross, displaying the love of life natural to us, so now too He says, “Why have You forsaken Me?” making manifest our natural love of life. For indeed He was truly man, and in all things like to us, apart from sin. Some, however, have understood it thus: that the Savior, taking on the person of the Jews, says, Why have You forsaken the Jewish people, whom You loved, so that it committed sin, and I was betrayed by it? For as one sprung from the Jews, Christ says, “You have forsaken Me,” meaning, My kindred, My people—why did You let it go, so as to do such evil against itself? And those of the crowd, being rustic and unlearned in the prophetic writings, did not understand the cry, and supposed that He was calling Elijah; for not all the Jews knew the prophetic writings, just as perhaps not even now do all Christians know those of the Gospels. And they gave Him vinegar to drink, that He might die more quickly, before Elijah should come to help. Whence the rest say, “Let be; let us see whether Elijah comes to save Him”—that is, Do not make Him hasten to die, so that we may know whether Elijah will help Him.

Matt. 27:50–53. And Jesus, crying out again with a loud voice, yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many. Jesus cries with a loud voice, that we may know that what He said, I have authority to lay down My soul, was true. For by His own authority He lays down His soul. And what was the cry? Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. For not by compulsion, but willingly, He yielded up His spirit. For this is what “I commit” signifies; and it also makes plain that He was going to take it up again, for such is a deposit, given back again. And see, in the Lord’s case, that when He had died and His spirit had been committed into the hands of the Father, from that time forth the souls of the saints too are placed into the hands of God, and no longer, as before, in the recesses of Hades. So the death of Christ became our sanctification; wherefore He also summons death with a loud voice, since it dared not approach unless it were called. The veil of the temple was a certain curtain hung in the midst of the temple, walling off the inner from the outer, like a partition wall. This, then, is torn, God showing that the temple—the inaccessible, the unseen, whose innermost parts the veil concealed—will be so dishonored and exposed as to become accessible and visible to all. Some give other reasons too: for the veil being torn signified, they say, the removal of the letter of the law, and that all the things of the law would be uncovered, which before were hidden by the letter as by a veil, and that the things that were obscure and enigmatic would now be made manifest, with Christ having come forth. And one may say this too, that it was a law among the Jews, at blasphemies against God, to rend their tunics. And so now the divine temple, as though grieved at the death of God, rent its own garment, the veil. And one could say other things as well, but these suffice. And the elements quaked, both showing that the One who suffered was the Creator, and signifying that affairs would be changed; for Scripture sets the earthquake to denote the changing of affairs. There took place, then, the change of God’s oversight, from the Jews to the nations; and the rocks—the stony hearts of the nations—were split, and received the seed of truth; and those who were dead in their sins arose, and came to the holy city, the Jerusalem above, appearing to those who walk along the broad way, being certain archetypes of repentance and conversion. For whoever sees one formerly dead converted and ascended to the holy city in the heavens, surely imitates him, and is himself converted. These things, then, were understood more subtly; but do you know that the raising of the dead which took place at the cross of the Lord signified also the freeing of the souls in Hades. And those who arose then appeared to many, lest what happened should seem to be a phantom; and they arose for the sake of the sign. And it is plain that they arose after Christ rose, if we are to accept this.

Matt. 27:54–56. Now the centurion and those with him who were keeping watch over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were done, feared greatly, saying: Truly this was the Son of God. And there were there many women, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. The Gentile centurion believes from the signs, together with those about him; but the Jews, who had listened to the prophets and the law, remain unbelieving—so great an evil is wickedness. And this centurion afterward bore witness for Christ. The women, beholding what happened—being of all the most compassionate, and that sex which had been condemned—are the first to enjoy the sight of good things; and the disciples flee, but the women persevere. By “Mary the mother of James and Joses” he means the Theotokos; for James and Joses were the children of Joseph by his former wife. Since, then, the Theotokos was called the wife of Joseph, she was fittingly called also the mother, or rather stepmother, of his children. And the mother of the sons of Zebedee was called Salome; and they say that she too was a daughter of Joseph.

Matt. 27:57–61. Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given up; and Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. Joseph, who had once been in hiding, now dares a great thing, laying down his soul for the body of his teacher, and taking upon himself such great enmity from all the Jews. And Pilate gives him the body as a great gift. For, since Christ had been put to death as a rebel, His body was fittingly to be cast out unburied; but Joseph, being rich, likely also gave Pilate gold. And taking it, he honors it, laying it in a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid. This was a matter of God’s dispensation, so that, when the Lord had risen, no one could say that some other dead man buried there had risen. For this reason, then, a new tomb. And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary—that is, the Theotokos, whom above he called the mother of Joses and James—these two, sitting opposite the tomb, were watching to see whether the madness would cease, that they might come and embrace the body and anoint it. Concerning such women Isaiah said: Women who come from a spectacle, come; this is not a people of understanding. For plainly, of the Jewish people who crucified the Lord he says that they have no understanding. It is fitting, then, to leave the people without understanding, and to come to the apostles, and to proclaim the good news of the resurrection.

Matt. 27:62–66. Now on the next day, which is after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying: Lord, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was still alive, After three days I will rise. Command therefore that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, He is risen from the dead; and the last error will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them: You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how. So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone, with the guard. He does not call the Sabbath “Sabbath,” because it was not even a Sabbath, on account of the wickedness of the Jews; for though the law declared that on the day of the Sabbath no one should move from his house, the lawless Jews gather to the foreign Pilate, instead of to the appointed assembly. But they were led by their wickedness to go to Pilate and to make the tomb secure; whereas it was God’s dispensation that the resurrection should take place with the enemies as witnesses, and with the tomb sealed and guarded. And it is worth inquiring whence the Jews had learned to say that He would rise on the third day; for surely the Lord did not say this plainly and openly. One may say, then, that they knew it from the example of Jonah; for Christ said, As Jonah was three days in the belly of the whale, so I also will be in the belly of the earth, or, Destroy this temple; for at first they did not understand this, but supposed that He spoke of the Jewish temple, and they testified against Him; but now they understood that He called His own body the temple, and they call Him a deceiver, not even having changed their wickedness. And among the Romans the guard is called “custodia”; so the soldiers stationed at the tomb he calls the “custody.”

Chapter 28.—On the Resurrection of the Lord. On the Guards of the Tomb, Witnesses of the Resurrection. On the Appearance of Christ to the Apostles and the Women in Galilee

Matt. 28:1–8. Now late on the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his garment white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers were shaken, and became as dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women: Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and behold, He goes before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Lo, I have told you. “Late on the Sabbath” is equivalent to what is said in Luke, “in the deep dawn,” and in Mark, “very early, when the sun had risen.” For here we must understand by “sun” the early rays of the sun; for from the moment the eighth hour of the night sets in, from then the beginning of the coming day, and the early morning, seems to set in. So it was then late on the Sabbath, but the beginning of the Lord’s Day, which he calls “the first day of the week.” For they called the days of the week “Sabbaths”; and “the first,” the Lord’s Day, “the first of the Sabbaths”—that is, the first of the days of the week; for in relation to the first the second is spoken of, then the rest. The Lord, then, rose with the tomb sealed; and after He had risen, the angel comes, in order that, having rolled away the stone, he might give the women entrance into the tomb. And the earthquake takes place so that the guards might be wakened and learn the strangeness of what had happened. The Lord, then, rose on the third day. And how are the three days reckoned? At the sixth hour of the Preparation He was crucified; from that hour until the ninth, darkness—reckon this for me as night. Again, from the ninth, light—this is day; behold, a day-and-night. Again, the night of the Preparation and the day of the Sabbath, a second day-and-night; the night of the Sabbath and the dawn of the Lord’s Day, a third; and Matthew himself bears witness, saying, “as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week”; for from the dawn the whole day is also reckoned. Behold, a third day-and-night. And you can reckon the three days in another way as well: on the Preparation He yielded up His spirit—this is one day; on the Sabbath He was in the tomb—this is a second day; and on the night of the Lord’s Day He rose, so the Lord’s Day too is reckoned in part as another day; thus, behold, three days. For indeed in the case of those who have fallen asleep, if someone dies about the tenth hour of the day, and another about the first hour of the same day, both are said to have died on the same day. And I have yet another reason to give you for this, how three days and three nights are reckoned. Attend, then: on Thursday evening the Lord made a supper, and said to His disciples, “Take, eat; this is My body”; so that, since He had authority to lay down His soul, it is plain that He then slew Himself, from the moment that He distributed His body to His own disciples; for no one eats anything unless it has first been slain. Reckon, then: the evening when He distributed His own body—that night is the first; then the whole day, that is, the darkness from the sixth hour, and the light from the ninth until evening—behold, a second day-and-night; the night after the Preparation, and the day of the Sabbath—behold, a third day-and-night. And late on the Sabbath He rose; these are three complete days-and-nights. As for the angel, Matthew said that he sat upon the stone, while Mark said that, having rolled away the stone, he was within the tomb on the right side. Is there, then, a contradiction? The angel first appeared seated on the stone, then went in; and again he appeared within the tomb, seated on the right side. And he said to the women: Do not be afraid—that is, It is for the keepers to be afraid; but you, the disciples of the Lord, do not be afraid. And after He frees them from fear, he brings them the good news of the resurrection. For first the fear had to be cast out, and then the good tidings received, while he named the Lord. For by the cross, as by a trophy of victory, we have come to know Christ.

Matt. 28:9–10. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying: Rejoice. And they came and took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him. Then Jesus says to them: Do not be afraid. Go, tell My brethren to go into Galilee, and there they will see Me. He greets the women with “Rejoice.” For since the female sex had been condemned to sorrow, the Lord, through His resurrection, procured joy beforehand for the female sex, and blessed them. Therefore, out of their great reverence for Him, they take hold even of His feet, not daring out of awe to touch any other part of His body, except the lowest parts of it. Some, however, say that they deliberately grasped His feet, in order to learn whether He had truly risen and not in mere appearance, nor was a spirit. For they suspected that perhaps it was a spirit. But according to John, Mary Magdalene attempts to touch Him but is not permitted, because she wished to be always with Him as before. Or rather, for this reason she is not permitted to touch Jesus according to John, as being overcurious. For since, as Matthew says, she had touched His feet, what further need was there to touch Him again? So He pushes her away, as one whose touch was now superfluous.

Matt. 28:11–15. Now as they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. And being assembled with the elders, and having taken counsel, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying: Say that His disciples came by night and stole Him while we slept; and if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were taught. And this saying is spread abroad among the Jews to this day. Those of the guard reported everything: that there had been an earthquake, that the stone had been lifted of itself, that they themselves, being afraid, had become as dead men. But the Jews, abashed neither by the wonders that took place at the Passion, nor by the things attested at the tomb by the soldiers, corrupt the soldiers by their own passion of avarice, persuading them to utter what is of all things most impious and most senseless—that He had been stolen. For how could the disciples have stolen Him, O senseless ones, when they were shut in for fear and did not dare to go out at all? And how, if they had stolen Him, would they later die for Him, proclaiming that He had risen, and be cut to pieces for a lie?

Matt. 28:16–20. Now the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed them; and when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. According to John, Jesus first appeared to the disciples on the very day of the resurrection, the doors being shut; then after eight days, when Thomas also believed; then, since they were to meet in Galilee, but not all had yet gathered together—rather, some of them were fishing on the Sea of Tiberias—He appeared then to the fishermen alone, who were seven. So what Matthew here relates took place later, after the things in John that happened earlier; for He appeared to them many times, presenting Himself over forty days and again withdrawing, not remaining continuously. The eleven, then, went into Galilee, having of course come together with the rest, and the eleven worshiped. And by “some” he means “certain ones”—that is, some of the seventy—who doubted concerning Christ; yet they too were confirmed. Some, however, understand it thus: that Matthew passed over saying who they were that doubted; and what this one passed over, John told—that it was Thomas who doubted. And perhaps they doubted again, as Luke relates. So you ought to understand it thus: that having come into Galilee, they worshiped Him; but these who worshiped in Galilee had doubted earlier in Jerusalem, as Luke says. Jesus, then, spoke to them: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” And this means the following: I had, as God and Creator, authority over all things—For all things are Your servants, David says to God—but I did not have the voluntary submission of all. Now, then, I am about to have this too; for all things will be made subject to Me; through the cross I have conquered him who had the power of death. For submission is twofold: the one involuntary, in that we are all servants of God, as even the demons are; the other voluntary, in the way that Paul was a servant of Christ. Before, then, when all had only the involuntary submission, the Savior had the authority over all but by half; but after the cross, the knowledge of God having been spread to all, and all having been brought into voluntary submission, Christ fittingly says, Now I have received all authority. For before, the authority belonged to Me partially, in that men served Me only involuntarily, inasmuch as I am their Maker; but now that men serve Me with knowledge as well, all authority, whole and entire, has been given to Me. And by whom was it given? Surely by Himself and by His own humility; for unless He had humbled Himself and grappled with the adversary through the cross, He would not have saved us. So understand “Authority has been given to Me” thus: By My own struggles and wrestlings I saved men, and there came to be Mine, henceforth, an inheritance and a chosen people. The Lord, then, has authority on earth, in that all the earth has come to know Him; and in heaven, because the reward of those who believe in Him, and their commonwealth, is in the heavens; and besides, since human nature, formerly condemned, being joined to God the Word according to hypostasis, sits in heaven, worshiped by angels, He fittingly says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven”; and human nature, which formerly was in servitude, now in heaven rules over all. To say it briefly, then, understand “All authority has been given to Me” thus: take it as spoken from God the Word, that “All authority has been given to Me,” inasmuch as both unwillingly and willingly all now acknowledge Me as God—those who formerly served Me after the manner of involuntary submission; but if taken as spoken from the human nature, understand it thus: that I, the formerly condemned nature, but, according to the unconfused union with the Son of God, being God, have received authority over all, so as to be worshiped by angels in heaven, and glorified on earth by all the ends of the world. He sends the disciples, then, no longer to the Jews only, but, since He had received authority over all, having sanctified human nature in Himself, He fittingly sends them to all the nations, commanding them to baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Let Arius, then, be ashamed, and Sabellius: Arius, in that Christ did not say to baptize “into the names,” but “into the name”; and the name of the three is one, the Godhead; so the three are one God. And Sabellius, in that He sets forth the names of the three persons—not of one person, as that man would have it, but of three persons; whereas Sabellius would have it that there is one person, sometimes named Father, sometimes Son, sometimes Spirit. And since it is not enough to be baptized only, but one must also work the good after baptism, He says: Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you. He did not say one or two of the commandments, but all; we are not perfect unless we keep all. For we are required to keep all. And see the teaching of the Lord, how it embraces both the chief points of Christianity—doctrine and practical virtue: for in saying that we must baptize into the name of the Trinity, He delivered to us theology; and in saying to teach also the keeping of the commandments, He delivered to us practical virtue. And encouraging them, since they were going to be sent among the nations and to slaughters and dangers, He says: Do not be afraid; for I will be with you until the end of the age. And notice this too, that He made mention of the consummation, in order the more to rouse them to endurance of hardships. Do not be discouraged, He says; and He said this quite simply to all His disciples, for surely the apostles were not going to live until the consummation. So He promises this to us also, and to those after us; not that, being present until the consummation, He will be absent after the consummation—far from it. For from that time He will be present all the more purely and clearly; for the word “until,” wherever it is found set down in Scripture, does not do away with what comes after. Having given thanks, then, to the Lord who is here present with us, and who supplies every good thing, and who will be present with us again more perfectly, let us send up glory to Him, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

The end of the interpretation of the holy Gospel according to Matthew, by our father among the saints Theophylact.

Commentary on the Gospel of Mark

Introduction

The Evangelist and His Gospel

Mark, on the tradition Theophylact relates, was the disciple and interpreter of the Apostle Peter—the same short life of the Evangelist, drawn from earlier tradition, that Theophylact sets, as a matter of custom, at the head of each Gospel commentary. At the request of the brethren in Rome he set down in writing what he had heard from Peter’s own preaching—a Gospel that Peter himself, on reading it, approved and authorized to be read in the churches. Mark then carried this Gospel to Egypt, became the first to preach Christ in Alexandria, and founded a church there, over which he presided until his death in the reign of Nero. This account, inherited from Papias and Clement of Alexandria by way of Eusebius, sets the frame for everything that follows: the reader is to hear, behind Mark’s voice, Peter’s own testimony.

The Gospel that results is the shortest of the four and, in its manner, the most urgent. Mark’s narrative moves at a pace unlike Matthew’s or Luke’s, joining one scene to the next with a rapid “and immediately” that Theophylact notices and comments on more than once. There is little extended discourse; there is a great deal of action—healings, exorcisms, journeys by boat across the Sea of Galilee, crowds pressing in from every side. Mark also records, more candidly than the other Evangelists, the disciples’ slowness to understand and the Lord’s own repeated commands that His identity and His works not yet be broadcast. Theophylact reads these features not as incidental but as bound up with Mark’s purpose: to set before the reader, without delay or embellishment, who Jesus Christ is and what He did.

A Gospel Without Chrysostom

For most of the New Testament, Theophylact’s method is to distill the great expositions of Saint John Chrysostom into a form a reader could take in at a single sitting. On Mark this method meets an obstacle: Chrysostom, who preached at such length on Matthew, left no homilies on the second Gospel. Where the Gospel narratives run in parallel—an episode Mark tells that Matthew also tells—Theophylact can and does draw on Chrysostom’s comment on the corresponding verse in Matthew, adapting it to Mark’s shorter wording. But for the material proper to Mark alone, and even for much that the Gospels share, he is working with a thinner patristic record and a good deal more of his own judgment.

The result is that Theophylact’s Explanation of Mark stands, in effect, as the first continuous Greek patristic commentary to cover the whole of that Gospel from beginning to end. Earlier Fathers had written on individual passages or had touched on Mark within broader harmonizing works, but no one before Theophylact had left a running, verse-by-verse exposition of Mark as its own book. That fact alone secured the work an importance beyond what its modest length might suggest, and it explains why, centuries later, a Latin scholar assembling a chain of patristic comment on the Gospels would turn to Theophylact here with particular frequency: in the volume on Mark he appears well over three hundred times, a share of the whole considerably higher than in the commentaries on Matthew or Luke, precisely because so little else of comparable range and clarity for this Gospel had survived from the Greek Fathers.

Argument and Distinctive Emphases

The commentary follows Mark’s sixteen chapters in their given order: the preaching of the Baptist and the baptism of the Lord; the Galilean ministry of teaching, healing, and exorcism; the confession of Peter at Caesarea Philippi and the first prediction of the Passion; the journey to Jerusalem; the last week in the city, ending in betrayal, crucifixion, and the empty tomb. Because Mark spends comparatively little space on formal discourse, Theophylact spends comparatively little of his own commentary unpacking parables and sermons at length; instead he lingers over the meaning of individual miracles—what each act of healing signifies about the person of Christ and about the condition of the one healed—and over the exact wording Mark chooses, which he treats as never accidental even where it is terse.

Throughout, the commentary keeps a steady eye on two questions that Mark’s spare narrative raises insistently: why does Christ so often silence those He heals and the demons He casts out, and why do the disciples, who have witnessed so much, understand so little until the very end? Theophylact answers both in terms of timing and pedagogy—Christ withholds premature acclaim to spare the crowds a shallow, wonder-seeking faith, and the disciples’ slowness is itself instructive, a preparation for the fuller understanding that will come only after the resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

How to Read This Commentary

Because Mark and Matthew overlap so extensively, a reader who has already gone through Theophylact’s Matthew will recognize much of the ground here, though rarely in identical words; where the two accounts diverge, even slightly, Theophylact treats the difference as meaningful and worth pausing over, and the attentive reader does well to pause with him. Read each episode with Mark’s own text open first, noting its brevity and pace, before turning to the comment—the commentary rewards a reader who has already felt the urgency of the narrative it is explaining. Because so much of this exposition stands on its own rather than borrowed from an earlier voice, it is also, more than in some of the other Gospel volumes, Theophylact speaking most directly in his own person.

Chapter 1

The Life of Mark, according to Sophronius. Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, according as he had heard Peter expounding, being requested at Rome by the brethren, composed a brief Gospel; which, when Peter had read it, he approved, and with his own authority published it to be read in the Church, as Clement writes in the sixth book of the Hypotyposes, and Papias bishop of Hierapolis makes mention of this Mark. And Peter, in his first Epistle, signifying Rome figuratively under the name of Babylon, says: She that is in Babylon, elect together with you, salutes you, and so does Mark my son. Taking, then, the Gospel which he himself had composed, he came to Egypt, and being the first to preach Jesus Christ in Alexandria, established a Church. With such instruction and austerity of life did he distinguish himself that he made all who followed Christ emulate his manner of conduct; whence also Philo, the most learned of the Jews, finding at Alexandria the first Church still Judaizing, as if in praise of his own nation, composed a book concerning their manner of life. And just as Luke relates that those who believed in Jerusalem had all things in common, so he too committed to memory what he saw being done at Alexandria under Mark the teacher. And having died in the eighth year of Nero, he was laid to rest in Alexandria, Ananias succeeding him.

The Life of Mark, from the Synopsis of Dorotheus, martyr and bishop of Tyre. Mark the evangelist, and first bishop of Alexandria, preached the Gospel of the Lord to the Alexandrians and to all the surrounding country, and as far as Pentapolis, in the second year of the reign of Trajan; at Alexandria a rope was put about his neck, and he was dragged from the places called those of Boucolou as far as the places called those of the Angels, and there he was burned with fire by the idol-mad, on the twenty-fifth of the month Pharmuthi; and there he was buried, in the [places] of Boucolou.

The Chapters of the Gospel according to Mark. 1. On John, who baptized the Lord in the Jordan. On the calling of Peter and Andrew, and of the sons of Zebedee. On the demoniac. On the mother-in-law of Peter. On those healed of various diseases. On the leper. 2. On the paralytic. On Jesus eating together with the publicans. On the disciples plucking the ears of grain on the Sabbath. 3. On him who had the withered hand. On the choosing of the apostles. On [his] mother and brethren. 4. The parable concerning the sower. On the rebuking of the waters. 5. On the legion. On the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue. On the woman with an issue of blood. 6. On the commissioning of the apostles. On John and Herod. On the five loaves and the two fishes. On the walking upon the sea. 7. On the disciples eating with unwashed hands. On the transgression of the commandment of God. On the Syrophoenician woman. On the deaf-mute. 8. On the seven loaves. On those seeking a sign. On the leaven of the Pharisees. On the blind man. On the questioning at Caesarea. On the rebuking of Peter. 9. On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the lunatic. On those disputing who is greater. On the removing of the cause of stumbling. 10. On those who asked whether it is lawful to put away one’s wife. On the rich man who questioned Jesus. On the sons of Zebedee. On Bartimaeus. 11. On the colt. On the withered fig tree. On the money-changers driven out of the temple. On boldness toward God. On the not bearing of malice. On the chief priests and elders who questioned the Lord. 12. On the vineyard. On those who questioned the Lord concerning the tribute. On the Sadducees. On the scribe. On the Lord’s question. On being wary of the hypocrites. On the widow who cast in the two mites. 13. On the consummation. On the day and the hour. 14. On the woman who anointed the Lord with ointment. On the Passover. On the betrayal of Christ. On the denial of Peter. On the accusations laid against the Lord before the high priest. 15. On those things which he suffered before Pilate. On the custom. On the asking for the body of the Lord. On the burial. 16. On the Resurrection of Christ. To whom the Lord appeared after the rising. How he charged the apostles with the preaching of the Gospel.

Prologue. The Gospel according to Mark was written at Rome after the Ascension of Christ. For this Mark was a disciple of Peter, whom Peter names his spiritual son. And he was also called John; he was a cousin of Barnabas, but also a fellow-traveler of Paul; for the most part, however, he was together with Peter, and at Rome. The faithful at Rome, then, asked him not only to preach unwritten, but also to set forth for them in writing the polity according to Christ. Hardly, then, being persuaded, he composed it; and to Peter it was revealed by God that Mark had written a Gospel. Seeing it, then, and confirming it as true, he afterward sent him forth as bishop into Egypt; where indeed, having preached, and having established a Church at Alexandria, he enlightened all those toward the southern region. The character of the Gospel, then, is clear, and has nothing over-subtle; and the present evangelist runs together with Matthew in nearly all things, except that the one makes mention at the beginning of the Lord’s generation according to the flesh, while this one began from the prophet John. Whence some (even if it seem over-curious) have spoken of a deeper meaning concerning the evangelists: that God, who sits upon the Cherubim—which Scripture says are four-faced—has delivered to us the Gospel also four-formed, held together by one Spirit. For as each of the living creatures had one face of a man, another of a lion, another of a calf, and another of an eagle,[1] so he began from the kingly and lordly [aspect] of the Word, saying, The Word was God. But the [Gospel] according to Matthew is man-formed; for it began from the generation of the Word according to the flesh. And the [Gospel] according to Mark began from the prophet: its grace is that of the winged symbol among the other living creatures, in that it is able to soar aloft while yet beneath the water above.[2] And like to a calf is the [Gospel] according to Luke, beginning from the priesthood, at the priesthood of Zacharias in the temple.[3] Hear, then, what he says.

Chapter 1.—On John, who baptized the Lord in the Jordan. On the calling of Peter and Andrew, and of the sons of Zebedee. On the demoniac. On the mother-in-law of Peter. On those healed of various diseases. On the leper.

Mk. 1:1–3. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophets: Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Behold, I send my messenger, who shall prepare your way. The saying of Isaiah, namely, The voice of one crying, is uttered from the person of God and the Father; of one crying, and so forth, which is the word of God: your way shall be made [ready]. Whence is shown the kinship of the Forerunner to Christ; for indeed of kings also the closest kinsmen go before them. And the voice of one crying in the wilderness [signifies] perhaps both the wilderness of the Jordan, and perhaps the synagogue of the Jews, which was a wilderness of all good. And the way is the New Covenant; and the paths are the Old, as being worn out; toward the way, then, they ought to have made ready, and to have made the paths straight, having of old received [the law] as their own track.

Mk. 1:4–5. John came baptizing in the wilderness, and preaching a baptism of repentance to remission of sins; and there went out to him all the country of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized in the Jordan, confessing their sins. The baptism of John had not remission of sins, but only brought in repentance to those baptized. How then does Mark here say that it was a baptism of repentance to remission? We say, then, that he preached a baptism of repentance; and this preaching of repentance prepared those about to believe in Christ, so that, coming to him, they might receive remission—that is, remission was about to be granted to those who through repentance had been made ready; for they were regenerated. Inasmuch as the Forerunner preached a baptism of repentance, those who repented, receiving Christ, received remission.

Mk. 1:6. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and ate locusts and wild honey. We spoke concerning these things in [the commentary] on Matthew, and now too we will say as much as was there left out: that the garment was a symbol of mourning, the prophet showing that he who repents must mourn. For sackcloth is [a token] of mourning; and the leathern girdle signifies the deadness of the Jewish people; and this mourning the robe declared, as the Lord also says, We have mourned to you, and you did not lament, those who followed the conduct of the Forerunner furnishing the lamentation. For he says that John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said that he has a demon; but also the food of John is interpreted, and of itself declares his self-control. And the locust is a symbol of the people’s rational food, a symbol of the word of heaven, lofty, yet a word nourished, seeming to be borne aloft and again leaping up; for such is the locust, leaping as it were toward the height, then again falling down. As, then, the people also ate honey, that produced by the bees—[namely] the prophets—but not cultivated and tamed through being rightly understood and sought out and apprehended; for the Hebrews had the Scriptures as a kind of honey, but did not cultivate them, nor search them out.

Mk. 1:7–8. And he proclaimed, saying: One mightier than I is coming after me, whose sandal-strap I am not fit to stoop down and untie. I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. I am not worthy, he says, to be even his lowest servant, so as to untie the strap—that is, the bond made from the leather of the sandals. And it is understood thus also: All who came and were baptized by John were loosed, through repentance, from the bond of their sins, in believing in Christ. Of all the others, then, John untied the straps and the bonds of their sins. But the strap of Jesus he was not able to untie, because neither did he find a strap—that is, a sin—in him, nor the strap of his sandals.

Mk. 1:9–11. And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan; and immediately, coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being rent, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him; and there came a voice from the heavens: You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Neither for the remission of sins does Jesus come to the baptism, for he did no sin; nor to partake of the Spirit—for the baptism of John, as I said, not cleansing sins, how could it have given the Spirit? But neither does he come to be baptized in order to repent; for he was far better even than the Baptist. Why, then, does he come? Surely that he might be made manifest by John to the people. For since many flocked together, he was well pleased to come, that it might be witnessed before these many who he is; and at the same time that he might fulfill all righteousness—that is, all the commandments of the law; for since this too seems a commandment, to be persuaded by the prophet baptizing as one sent by God, he fulfills this also. And the Spirit comes down, not because Christ had need of this—for how should he have need of that which abides in him essentially?—but that you might learn that, whenever you are baptized, the Holy Spirit will also come upon you. And at the same time the descent of the Spirit wrought this also: for since the Father said from above, This is the Son, lest those who heard should suppose that he spoke concerning John, the Spirit comes down upon Jesus, as the purpose shows. Matthew said simply that he came from Galilee, but Mark more particularly added also the city in which he dwelt. Concerning this it has been said. And the heavens are rent at his baptism, that we may learn that, when we are baptized, they are opened to us also.

Mk. 1:12–13. And immediately the Spirit drives him out into the wilderness; and he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. He teaches us not to be vexed if after baptism we fall into temptations; for this cause Jesus is led up into the wilderness to be tempted. Or rather, the temptations are not from without, but he is led up by the Holy Spirit. He teaches us, then, that we must not leap upon temptations, but receive them when they come. For this reason he is led up into the mountain, that the devil, taking courage from the desolation of the place, might draw near. For he is wont, whenever he sees the saints alone, then to assail them. The place was so untrodden that it was even full of wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him after the victory.

Mk. 1:14–15. And after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying that The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the Gospel. He withdraws into Galilee, having heard that John was delivered up into prison, that he might show us also that we must flee from temptations and give place to them, but if we fall into them, bear them. And it appears that the Lord, preaching the same things as John, says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; the kingdom of God is at hand. But it is not the same; for John said Repent so as to withdraw from sins, but Christ says Repent so as to flee from the letter of the law. Wherefore he also added, Believe in the Gospel; for he who is about to believe through the Gospel has thereafter abolished the law. For the Lord says that the time of the law also is fulfilled; for until John, he says, the law was in force, but from this [time] the polity according to the Gospel is present, which is fittingly likened to the kingdom of heaven. For when you see one living according to the Gospel as though without flesh, would you not then say that this man already has the kingdom of heaven (where there is neither food nor drink), even though it seem to be far off?

Mk. 1:16–20. And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen), and Jesus said to them: Come after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And immediately leaving their nets, they followed him; and going on a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets, and he called them. And leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, they went away after him. Peter and Andrew were disciples of the Forerunner. And seeing Jesus witnessed to by John, they came to him. Then, when John was delivered up, being grieved they withdrew again to their own craft. Whence Christ calls them a second time; for this is a second calling. And see them nourished from just labors, and not from unjust; for such are those worthy to become the first disciples of Christ. Leaving, then, immediately the things in their hands, they followed; for one must not delay, but follow immediately. And after these he draws into his net James and John, who, being themselves also poor, nevertheless supported their father in his old age. And they left their father, not because it is good to leave one’s fathers, but because he was about to hinder them from following. And there is a time when [the father] too runs ahead toward the good. It appears that Zebedee did not believe; but the mother of the apostles, however, did believe, and followed perhaps, after Zebedee had died. And know this also, that first the practical [life] is called, then the contemplative. Those, then, about Peter are a symbol of the practical; for he is most fervent, and leaps ahead of the others—such indeed as the practical is. And those about John signify the contemplative; for John is given to it.

Mk. 1:21–22. And they go into Capernaum. And immediately on the Sabbath, entering into the synagogue, he taught; and they were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Whence do they go into Capernaum? On this day, then, of the Sabbath Christ also enters. For to this end he commanded [men] to rest on the Sabbath, that people might have leisure for reading, gathering together to the same place. The Lord, then, taught by way of reproof, not by flattery as the Pharisees. For exhorting to the good, he threatened punishment to the disobedient.

Mk. 1:23–28. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying: Let be! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you, who you are, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Be silenced, and come out of him. And the unclean spirit, having torn him and cried with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying: What is this, that with authority he commands the unclean spirits? And the report of him went out into the whole surrounding region of Galilee. The wicked spirits are called unclean, because they delight in all shameful deeds; and the demon considers it his own destruction not to be fed, having no nourishment when [the demons] do not dwell in a body; wherefore the Lord also said that the race of demons is hunted by fasting.[4] And the foul one said, You are the Holy One; for many of the prophets too were holy, but [their title was] not with the article the addition—[whereas this is] the only and determinate Holy One. The Lord permitted the spirit of the demon to throw [the man] down, but not to cry from the heart, only to be carried out of the mouth; he allowed it to cast down the man, that it might become plain that it is a demon that does these things, and not the man who spoke. It came out of him, doing him no harm; for not because it injured him somewhat was he therefore declared wounded; but the Lord permitted it to cast [him] down, that the vehemence of its convulsing him might be known, yet did not allow it [more], that to such crowds his strength might be made manifest. And Christ does not accept its witness, even though it speak true things; but the demon throws him down and convulses him, that the beholders, seeing from what evil the man is freed, might believe on account of the wonder.

Mk. 1:29–31. And immediately, going out of the synagogue, he came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. And Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick of a fever, and immediately they tell him concerning her. And coming to her, he raised her up, taking hold of her hand; and the fever left her. When, then, the Lord had entered into the house of the disciples, she who ought to minister was held fast by sickness. But he healed her—the discourse showing that, if God heal you when you are held by a disease, you should use your health to the service of the saints, and to the ministry of God. And consider too how the angry man becomes, from his wrath, hasty with the hand; but if he master himself, and act not rashly, [the wrath] ceases. For the wrathful man, if the Word take hold of his hand, rises up, and then the wrath is brought to rest.

Mk. 1:32–34. And when evening was come, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door, and he healed many that were sick of various diseases; and he did not allow [the demons to speak]. Not without purpose is it added, When the sun had set, but because they thought it was not lawful for anyone to heal on the day of the Sabbath, wherefore they came in the evening. And he heals many; for the ‘all’ are ‘many’; or he did not heal all, but, as in the case of some, was hindered; for some were hindered from being healed through their unbelief, but he healed many of those brought before him—that is, those having faith. And he did not allow the demons to speak, as I said, teaching us all: let them be silent, since the unclean ought not to bear witness.

Mk. 1:35–39. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed. And Simon pursued after him, and those with him; and finding him they say to him, All seek you; and he says to them: Let us go into the neighboring villages, that I may preach there also, for to this end have I come forth. And he was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out the demons. After he had healed the sick, he withdrew, teaching us not to seek the glory that is from men, but, even if we do some good, to be hidden. And he prays also, showing us how we must refer it to God if we do any good, and to say that the grace is good and from above, descending from you; for it is not as that other [proud] thought, but rather that All power is from you.[5] And entering the regions there, preaching, he preached everywhere, interweaving with his teaching the working of the wonders, and cast out demons; for one must, if you wish to be true, also confess [the truth]—yet not merely work wonders;[6] for unless Christ also did wonders, his word would not have been heard.

Mk. 1:40–45. And there comes to him a leper, beseeching him and kneeling down to him, and saying to him, If you will, you are able to cleanse me. And Jesus, moved with compassion, stretching out his hand, touched him, and says to him: I will; be cleansed. And when he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed, and he was cleansed. Note that he did not say, If God will, but at once, I will; and right-minded was the leper, who said, If you will—for he came to him not as to a servant or as to an angel, but worshipped him as Master and God. And having sternly charged him, he immediately sent him away, saying, Tell nothing to anyone. Through these things we are taught not to be fond of glory when we show some good to anyone. For behold, he himself also commands the one cleansed not to publish him abroad. And yet he knew that the man would not be persuaded, but would publish it; for, as I said, training us to be without boasting, he commands him not [to do so]. Yet the one benefited ought to remain grateful, even if the benefactor have no need of it. For indeed the leper, even though the Lord charged him, nevertheless himself spread abroad the benefaction. And he sends him to the priest, because the law commanded that, unless the priest declared the former leper to have become clean, it was not lawful for him to enter otherwise into the city, but he was to be driven away; and he charges him also to offer the gift, which those cleansed were accustomed by custom to bring forward, that it might be a testimony that he is not opposed to the law, but so cherishes it that he himself also commands the things commanded by the law. And many began to gather together to him, so that he could no longer openly enter into a city. And that he touches not as a servant but as a Master you may see from this: that the demons, even when they confessed him, he made [to be silent], not that they should speak truth while mingling it with falsehoods. So also Paul forbade the spirit of Python, which said, These men are servants of the Most High God; for the Lord did not wish to be commended and witnessed to by an unclean mouth.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek of this clause is corrupt in the source (ἕτερον δὲ ἀνθρώπῳ, καὶ ἕτερον ἀετόν); the four faces of the living creatures (man, lion, calf, eagle) are restored from the standard patristic schema.

[2] Translator’s note: I.e. the eagle—able to fly higher than the other creatures, yet still beneath the waters above the firmament (cf. Genesis 1:7).

[3] Translator’s note: The Greek here (τοῦ βοῶντος, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· Ἔστιν ὁ λόγος τοῦ Κυρίου· βοῶντος, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· αὕτη σου ἔσται ἡ ὁδός) repeats, in garbled and duplicated form, material belonging to the comment on Mark 1:1–3 below (the prophecy of “the voice of one crying”); the Latin translation likewise has none of it here. It is omitted as a scribal intrusion.

[4] Translator’s note: The Greek here is elliptical (ἀπώλειαν δὲ ἑαυτοῦ ἡγεῖται ὁ δαίμων τρέφεσθαι); the negation in “not to be fed” is supplied from the sense—fasting being what starves and so expels the demon.

[5] Translator’s note: The Greek of this sentence is corrupt in the edition (καὶ λέγειν ἀγαθῇ ἄνωθεν ἡ χάρις … ὡς ἐκεῖνον); the rendering is tentative.

[6] Translator’s note: The Greek of this clause is anacoluthic and likely corrupt (θαύματα δὲ μὴ ποιεῖν· σοῦ δὲ τὸ λεγόμενον…); the rendering is tentative.

Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath

That nothing is unclean. For the Law commanded that one keep away from the leper as unclean; but the Lord, showing that nothing is unclean by nature, and that the observances of the Law must be abolished, and how these prevail over men out of love, touches the leper—and yet Elisha so feared the Law that he would not even endure Naaman, who was a leper and in need of being healed. And having sternly charged him, he immediately sent him out, saying, Tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them; on every side.[1] And through these things we are taught not to seek glory whenever we show some good to anyone. For behold, he himself also charges the one cleansed not to publish him abroad. And yet he knew that the man would not be persuaded, but would publish it; for, as I said, training us to be free of boasting, he charges him notwithstanding. Yet the one who has been benefited ought to be grateful, and to persevere, even if the one who conferred the benefit has no need of it. For indeed the leper, even though the Lord charged him, nevertheless himself spread abroad the benefaction. And he sends him to the priest, because the Law commanded that, unless the priest pronounced the former leper to have become clean, it was not permitted for him to enter the city otherwise, but he was driven away; and he enjoins also that the gift be offered, which those who were cleansed were wont by custom to present, so that this might be a testimony that he is not set against the Law, but cherishes it so greatly that he himself also enjoins the very things commanded by the Law.

Mk. 2:1–5. And again he entered into Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in a house. And immediately many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even about the door; and he spoke the word to them. And they come to him, bringing a paralytic, borne of four. And not being able to come near to him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was, and having broken it up, they let down the bed whereon the paralytic lay. And Jesus, seeing their faith, says to the paralytic: Child, your sins are forgiven you. What is the meaning of, after some days? Instead of, when certain days had passed. And when he had entered, they, hearing that he was in a house, ran together, expecting to meet with him more easily. And great was the faith of the men, so as even to dig through the roof and let down the bed; wherefore the Lord also heals, seeing the faith of those who carried him, or even of the paralytic himself. For neither would that man have submitted to be lifted up, had he not believed that he would be healed. For often, on account of the faith of the one who brings, he heals those who are brought, though they be unbelieving; and often the contrary, on account of the faith of the one brought, though those who bring be unbelieving. And first he forgives the sins of the sick man, then also heals the disease. For indeed the more grievous of bodily ailments arise, for the most part, out of sins, even as the Lord says that the paralytic in John also was palsied out of sins. For the one in John and the one now mentioned are not one and the same, but the one and the other are different. For the one in John had no man; but the one now has four; and the one was at the sheep-pool, but the one now in a house; and the one in Capernaum, but the other in Jerusalem; and you would find yet other differences. Nevertheless know that the one in Matthew and the one now mentioned in Mark are one.

Mk. 2:6–12. Now there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts: Why does this man so speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said to them: Why reason you these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise, and take up your bed, and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins—he says to the paralytic: I say to you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go to your house. And immediately he arose, and having taken up the bed, went forth before them all, so that all were amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. The Pharisees indeed slandered the Lord as a blasphemer, because he forgave sins; for to forgive sins belongs to God alone. But the Lord gives yet another proof of his being God—the knowing of their hearts; for God alone knows the inward things of each, as the prophet also says: You alone know the hearts. But they, although the things in their hearts had been laid bare, nevertheless remain insensible, not granting that he who knew their hearts could also heal sins. The Lord, however, gives assurance and confirmation, through the healing of the body, that he heals the soul also—confirming the unseen through the manifest, and the harder through the easier, even though to them it seemed not so. For the Pharisees thought the healing of the body to be harder, as being visible; but to say that the soul was healed [they thought] easy, because the healing was unseen. So that perhaps they reasoned even thus: Behold the deceiver, he has let go the healing of the body, the manifest thing, and heals the unseen soul, saying, Your sins are forgiven you. For surely, if he were able, he would have healed the body, and not taken refuge in the unseen. The Savior, then, showing them that he can do both, says: Which is easier, to heal body or soul? Assuredly to heal the body; but to you it seems the contrary. I therefore, through healing the body—which in truth is easy, but seems hard to you—will give assurance also of the healing of the soul, which is hard, but, because it is unseen and not open to testing, seems easy. Then, accordingly, he says to the paralytic: Arise and take up your bed, for fuller confirmation of the miracle, that it is not according to mere appearance; and at the same time that he might show that he not only healed him, but also put power into him. Thus, then, he does also in the ailments of the soul: he not only delivers us from our sins, but also puts in us power for the working of the commandments. I too, then, being palsied, am able to be healed. For even now Christ is in Capernaum, the house of comfort—that is, in the Church; for the house of the Comforter is the Church. And I am palsied, having the powers of my soul inactive and unmoved toward the good; but if I be lifted up by the four evangelists, and be brought to the Lord, then shall I hear: Child (for I become a son of God through the working of the commandments), and my sins shall be forgiven me. But how shall I be brought before Jesus? If they dig through the roof. And what is the roof? The mind, which lies above all that is in us. But this has much rubble and tiling—the earthly affairs, I mean; but if all these be cleared away, and the power of the mind in us be dug through and unburdened, then let me be let down—that is, be humbled; for one must not be lifted up because the roof of the mind has been unburdened, but after I am unburdened, I ought to be let down, that is, to be humbled. Then, accordingly, shall I be healed, and shall take up the bed—that is, the body—moving it to the working of the commandments. For one must not only rise from sin, and understand that we are sinning, but also take up the bed, that is, the body, to the working of the good. Then, accordingly, shall we be able to attain even to contemplation, so that all the thoughts within us say, We never saw it on this fashion—that is, we never so perceived. For he who has been cleansed of his sins, he it is that sees.

Mk. 2:13. And he went forth again by the sea-side, and all the crowd came to him, and he taught them. After the Lord had finished the miracle upon the paralytic, he goes forth by the sea, perhaps wishing to be alone; but the crowd comes together again, that you may learn that the more you flee from glory, the more it will pursue you. If, however, you pursue it, it will flee from you.

Mk. 2:14–17. And as Jesus passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and says to him: Follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat in his house, that many publicans and sinners sat together with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many, and they followed him. And the scribes and the Pharisees, seeing him eat with the publicans and sinners, said to his disciples: How is it that he eats and drinks with publicans and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he says to them: They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. As it seems, the Lord too was fleeing by the sea, and again the crowd pursued him; nevertheless even thence he fled. And as he passed by, he took Matthew alive; for the Levi now spoken of in Mark is Matthew, since he had two names. Luke, then, and Mark name him Levi, veiling the name; but that very man himself is not ashamed, but reports the things concerning himself; for, he says, Jesus beheld Matthew the publican. So let us too not be ashamed to confess our own sins. Levi was sitting at the receipt of custom, as it seems, demanding dues of certain men, or reckoning accounts, or doing some other of the things which publicans are wont to do in their own places of business. But he was so awakened that, having left all, he followed; and, as one rejoicing, he called together many to a banquet. But the Pharisees find fault, making themselves out, forsooth, to be clean. But the Lord says, I came not to call the righteous—that is, you who justify yourselves (for this he says in irony), but sinners; and to call them, not that they should remain sinners, but to repentance. For, that you may not suppose that he has called them for this only, that they should be turned, [he adds] that it is for this: to repentance.

Mk. 2:18–20. And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast; and they come and say to him: Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples fast not? And Jesus said to them: Can the sons of the bridechamber, while the bridegroom is with them, fast? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And the disciples of John, being more imperfectly disposed, continued in the Jewish customs; whence certain ones come to Christ, bringing these forward as an example, and finding fault, [asking] why his disciples do not fast equally with them. And he says: Now indeed I am the Bridegroom, and they ought to be of good cheer, and not to fast; but when I shall be taken from this life, then, falling into trials, they will both fast and be afflicted. Now he names himself Bridegroom, not only as wedding to himself the virgin souls, but also because the season of his first coming is not one of mourning, nor of gloom, to those who believe in him, nor has it toils, but easily, and without the works of the Law, through baptism he gives us rest. For what toil is it to be baptized? Yet nevertheless through this easy thing we find salvation. And the sons of the bridechamber are the apostles, as being themselves also counted worthy of the joy of the Lord, and partakers of every heavenly good and of all delight. But understand it thus also, that every man, when he works virtue, is a son of the bridechamber. So long, then, as he has with himself the Bridegroom Christ, he fasts not—that is, he displays not the works of repentance. For how should he who does not stumble? But when the Bridegroom Christ is taken from him—that is, when he has clearly slipped into sin—then he fasts and repents, that he may heal the sin.

Mk. 2:21–22. No man sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; else the new piece that fills it up takes away from the old, and a worse rent is made. And no man puts new wine into old wineskins; else the new wine bursts the wineskins, and the wine is spilled, and the wineskins perish; but new wine must be put into new wineskins. As if he should say: Just as, if a piece of unshrunk—that is, new—cloth be laid upon an old garment, it tears it by its own stiffness, and new wine by its own heat bursts the old wineskins, so also my disciples are not yet become strong, so that if we weigh them down, we shall do them harm. For they are like old garments, because of the weakness of their judgment. One must not, then, lay upon them the heavy injunction of fasting. Or you may understand it thus also: The disciples of Christ, being new, cannot be in bondage to old customs and laws.

Mk. 2:23–28. And it came to pass that he went through the cornfields on the Sabbath; and his disciples began, as they made their way, to pluck the ears of grain. And the Pharisees said to him: Behold, why do they on the Sabbath that which is not lawful? And he said to them: Have you never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, he and they that were with him? how he entered into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him? And he said to them: The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; so that the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. The disciples of the Lord pluck the ears of grain, as being no longer constrained to live according to the Law; but the Pharisees, being indignant, are rebuked by Christ, who brings forward David as having, out of necessity, set aside the Law in the days of Abiathar the high priest. For the prophet David, fleeing from the face of Saul, came to this high priest, and deceived him, as having been sent by the king on some necessary military errand. And so he both ate the showbread, and took with himself the sword of Goliath, which had been dedicated to the Lord. Now twelve were the loaves set forth each day upon the table, six on the right and six on the left. But certain ones inquire how the evangelist now named the high priest Abiathar, whereas the book of Kingdoms names him Ahimelech. It is possible, then, to say that perhaps Abiathar had two names, the same being called also Ahimelech. Or also thus: the book of Kingdoms says that Ahimelech was at one time priest; but the evangelist says that Abiathar was high priest. So that these are not contrary; for Ahimelech was priest, but Abiathar high priest. And understand it also by way of anagogy: that the disciples of Christ are on the Sabbath—that is, in the rest of their souls (for “Sabbath” is interpreted “rest”). When, then, they have rest from the passions, not being warred upon by the demons, then they make a way—that is, they become guides to others also to virtue, plucking and uprooting all the things that spring up from matter and from the lower imagination. But if one set himself in idleness, he would not make a way for others; rather, only if one first rest from the passions does he become a guide to others also to the good.

[1] Translator’s note: In the Greek the word πανταχόθεν (“on every side”) stands isolated here, apparently a residue of the abridged source.

Chapter 3.—On the Man Having a Withered Hand. On the Choosing of the Apostles. On [His] Mother and Brethren

Mk. 3:1–5. And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, that they might accuse him. And he says to the man who had the withered hand: Arise, into the midst. And he says to them: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil? to save a soul, or to kill? But they held their peace. And having looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their heart, he says to the man: Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored whole, as the other. The disciples having been accused by the Jews, because on the Sabbath they plucked the ears of grain, the Lord indeed stopped the mouths of the accusers, and by the example of David told by what necessity he entered into the holy place; [and now] he works a wonder, showing that, So far are my disciples from sinning, that I myself also work on the day of the Sabbath, displaying a miracle; so that if to work a miracle be evil, then it is simply evil also to do the necessary things on the Sabbath; but indeed to work a miracle, for the salvation of a man, is divine; therefore he does not transgress the law who on the Sabbath works no evil thing. For this cause, then, he also asks them whether it is lawful to do good, putting them to shame as hindering him from doing good. And every man who does not the works of the right-hand portion has his right hand withered. To whom Christ says: Arise—that is, Rise up from sin; and stand into the midst—that is, into the mean of the virtues. For every virtue is a mean, inclining neither to deficiency nor to excess; then, accordingly, when he is set in the mean, his hand shall be restored whole. And mark also the word, It was restored. For there was a time when we had our hands whole—that is, the active energy—when there was not yet transgression; but from the time when our hand was stretched out to the forbidden fruit, from then it was withered as to the working of the good. Let us, then, again stand in the midst of the virtues.

Mk. 3:6–12. And the Pharisees, going forth, immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. And Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea; and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan, and they about Tyre and Sidon—a great multitude, having heard what things he did, came to him. And he told his disciples that a little boat should wait upon him because of the crowd, lest they should throng him; for he had healed many, so that they pressed upon him to touch him, as many as had plagues. And the unclean spirits, when they beheld him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, You are the Son of God. And he charged them much that they should not make him known. Who were the Herodians? Either the soldiers of Herod, or a certain newly-arisen sect, teaching that Herod himself was the Christ, because in his time the succession of the Jewish kings had received its end. For the prophecy of Jacob declared that, when the rulers from Judah should fail, then Christ should come. Since, then, in the times of Herod there was no Jewish ruler, but he himself ruled, being of another race—for he was an Idumean—certain ones supposed him to be the Christ, and set up a sect. These, then, set their hands to destroy the Lord. But he withdraws; for it was not yet the season of the Passion. And at the same time, that he might benefit the more, for this cause he withdraws from the unfeeling ones; for indeed many followed him, and he healed them; and the men of Tyre and Sidon also, being of another race, were profited. But his kinsmen persecuted him. So there is no profit in kinship, unless the manner be good. And whereas men of another stock came to him from afar, the Jews persecuted him as he came to them. And mark also his freedom from love of glory; for, that the crowds might not trouble him, he seeks a little boat, that, having embarked in it, he might be kept undisturbed. And by “plagues” he means the diseases; for indeed in truth diseases contribute much to our chastening, God scourging us as a father his children. And understand also that the Herodians—the fleshly and the skin-clad—wish to kill Jesus. For Herod is interpreted “of skin.” But they who have gone forth from their own houses and from their own fatherlands—that is, from the relations toward the flesh—they follow him; whence also their plagues are healed, the sins, I mean, that scourge the conscience, and the unclean spirits are driven out. And take heed that Jesus charges his disciples that a little boat should wait upon him because of the crowds, that they might not throng him. For Jesus is the word within us, who charges that our little boat—that is, that it ride above the surge of the affairs of this life—lest it overwhelm us … Christ.[1]

Mk. 3:13–19. And he goes up into the mountain, and calls to him whom he himself would; and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal diseases, and to cast out demons. And he gave to Simon the name Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and he gave them the name Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder; and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. He goes up into the mountain to pray. For since he had wrought miracles, after the display of the miracles he prays, teaching us all that we ought to give thanks to God whenever we have accomplished some good work, and to ascribe it to the power of God; or, since he was about to ordain the apostles, for this cause he goes up to pray, that we may learn that we also, whenever we are about to ordain certain ones, ought first to pray that the worthy one may be revealed to us, and that we may not partake in others’ sins. And he puts forward Judas also as an apostle, that we may learn that not on account of the coming wickedness of anyone does God turn away from him who is going to work the evil, but on account of the virtue which is now present in him he counts him worthy of honor, even though afterward he is going to turn out wicked. And he enumerates the names of the apostles, on account of the false apostles; he names the sons of Zebedee, as great heralds. And they come into a house, and a crowd comes together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his own people heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him; for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said that He has Beelzebul, and that by the prince of the demons he casts out the demons. Having heard, he says, those who were of him—that is, his own household, perhaps those from the same fatherland, or even his brethren—went out to lay hold on him. For they said, He is beside himself—that is, He has a demon. For hearing that he cast out demons, and healed diseases, out of envy they thought that he had a demon, and was beside himself; whence they wished to lay hold on him, that they might bind him as one demon-possessed. And his own people, then, [acted] thus; and likewise also the scribes from Jerusalem said that he had a demon. For since they could not gainsay the things that were done, in another manner they slander them, [saying] that they came to pass from demons.

Mk. 3:23–27. And having called them to him, he said to them in parables: How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No man can enter into the strong man’s house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. From irrefutable examples he overturns the malignant Jews. For how, he says, is it possible for a demon to cast out a demon? Just as we see also in households: so long as those in them are at peace, they stand together; but when they are divided, they are dissolved. And how, he says, can one spoil the goods of the strong man, unless he first bind him? And what he says is of this kind: The strong man is the demon; and his goods are the men who contain him. If, then, one do not first bind the demon, and dissolve him, how shall he spoil his goods—the demon-possessed, I mean—out of him? So that, since I spoil his goods—that is, freeing the men from the demonic affliction—I have therefore already bound and dissolved the demons, and am their enemy. How, then, do you say that I have Beelzebul—that is, that, being a friend of demons and a sorcerer, I cast out the demons?

Mk. 3:28–30. Truly I say to you, that all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme. But whoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness to the age, but is liable to eternal judgment; because they said, He has an unclean spirit. He says here something of this kind: Whatever other things men sin, they may have some excuse to plead, and may obtain pardon, God condescending to the weakness of men—for instance, they called the Lord a glutton and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners; for this they shall be counted worthy of pardon; but when, seeing him work extraordinary miracles, they blaspheme the Spirit—that is, the wonder-workings wrought through the Holy Spirit—then how shall they obtain forgiveness, unless they repent? For when they were offended at the flesh of Christ, even if they did not repent, they might be forgiven, as men offended; but when, seeing him do divine works, they yet blasphemed, how, remaining unrepentant, shall they be forgiven? There come, then, his brethren and his mother. Standing outside, they sent to him, calling him; and the crowd sat about him, and they said to him: Behold, your mother and your brethren outside seek you. And he answered them, saying: Who is my mother and my brethren? And having looked round about on those who sat about him, he says: Behold my mother and my brethren; for whoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. The brethren of the Lord, in ignorance, came to lay hold on him as one beside himself and demon-possessed. And his mother, held by the passion of love of glory, came to draw him away from his teaching, and to show the crowds that she so leads about him whom they admired, as to draw him from his teaching. The Lord, then, shows that, It will profit my mother nothing to be my mother, unless she have the other virtue also; likewise neither does kinship profit my brethren; for those alone are truly kinsmen of Christ who do the will of God. He says these things, then, not denying his mother, but showing that she will be worthy of honor not on account of having borne him only, but also on account of all her other virtue; for if she should not have that, others would be preferred before her to the kinship.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek breaks off in disorder here (ἵνα μὴ ἡμῖν Χριστόν); the clause is corrupt or truncated in the abridged source, and the sense is supplied tentatively.

Chapter 4.—On the Parable of the Sower. On the Rebuking of the Waters

Mk. 4:1–2. And again he began to teach by the sea-side; and a great crowd was gathered together to him, so that he entered into the boat, and sat in the sea; and all the crowd was by the sea, upon the land. And he taught them many things in parables. He seemed to have sent his mother away, yet again he hearkens to her, for it is on her account that he goes forth by the sea. And he sits in the boat, that, having all before his face, he might speak in the hearing of all, and have none at his back. And he said to them in his teaching: Hearken; Behold, the sower went forth to sow; and it came to pass, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds of heaven came and devoured it. And another fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun was risen, it was scorched, and because it had no root, it withered away. And another fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And another fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit that sprang up and increased, and brought forth, one thirtyfold, and one sixtyfold, and one a hundredfold. And he said to them: He that has ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked him of the parable. And he said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those that are without, all things are done in parables; that seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. This first parable he sets forth, the one concerning the seed, that he may make the hearers more attentive. For since he is about to say that the seed is the word, and, falling among the heedless, is destroyed, for this cause before the rest he says such things, that the hearers may be earnest not to be made like to that earth which destroys the seed. Who, then, is the sower? Christ himself, who went forth from the bosom of the Father, in love for mankind and condescension, yet without departing thence. And he went forth, not that he might burn up the accursed earth, and the wicked hearts; nor that he might cut out the thorns, but that he might sow the seed. And what seed? That of Moses, perhaps? that of the prophets? No, but his own—that is, that he might preach his Gospel. He, then, sowed. And of the seeds, one fell into a soul trodden down by many; and the birds of heaven—the demons, I mean, who hold the air—devoured the seed. For such are the men-pleasers, a way trodden down by many; for whenever one does all things to please this man and that, he is trodden down by many. And mark: he did not say that He cast it upon the way, but, It fell. For the sower casts it as upon good ground; but that ground, being found wicked, destroys the seed, that is, the word. But certain ones gracefully understood the It fell by the wayside to mean that it fell into an unbelieving heart; for the way is Christ, and beside the way are the unbelievers, who are outside the way, that is, outside Christ. And another falls upon a rocky soul; he means those who easily receive, and then cast away; the rocky ones are in some small part like to the Rock, to Christ I mean, in that they received the word; but in that they receive it for a season, and then cast it away, they are unlike. And another into a soul full of cares; for the thorns are the cares. And the fourth, into good ground. Mark, then, how rare are the good, and how few they that are saved; for only the fourth part of the seed is found to be preserved. To the disciples, then, who asked him privately, he says that To you it is given to know the mysteries. Is it, then, by lot and by fate from nature that to some it is given, and to others not? God forbid! but it is given to those who seek. For ‘Seek,’ he says, ‘and it shall be given you.’ But the rest God blinded, that the understanding of the right and the not doing of it might not be to their greater condemnation. In another way: Will you know that God made all to see the right? Hear. That seeing—this is of God; that they see not—this is of their own wickedness. For God made them seeing—that is, understanding the good; but they see not, willingly shutting their eyes, lest they should be converted and corrected; for they grudge, as it were, their own salvation and betterment. And it is possible also to understand it thus, that, To the rest I speak in parables, that, if seeing they see not, and hearing they understand not, they may yet, even from this, perhaps be converted and corrected.

Mk. 4:13–20. And he says to them: Know you not this parable? and how then will you know all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these likewise are they that are sown on the rocky ground, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness, and have no root in themselves, but are temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they that are sown among the thorns, such as hear the word, and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for the other things, entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And these are they that were sown on the good ground, such as hear the word and receive it, and bring forth fruit, one thirtyfold, and one sixtyfold, and one a hundredfold. There are here three ranks of the perishing of the word. For those by the wayside are the heedless; those by the rock, the faint-hearted; those by the thorns, the pleasure-lovers. Of those, however, who received and preserved the seed, there are again three ranks: those bearing fruit a hundredfold are they who have the perfect and most exalted life; those sixtyfold, they who are of a middle state; and the thirtyfold, as many as bring forth little, yet they too according to their power offer it; for instance, some are virgins and solitaries, others mingled in life and in community, others laymen and in marriage. Yet the Lord receives all who bear fruit; and thanks be to his love for mankind. And he said to them: Does the lamp come that it should be put under the bushel, or under the bed? Is it not that it should be set upon the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden, except it should be made manifest; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come to manifestation. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. Here he exhorts the apostles to be bright in their life and conduct; for just as the lamp, he says, is set for shining, so also your life shall be conspicuous to all, and all shall look to it; therefore be earnest to have a good life. For you sit not in a corner, but you are beacons. And the lamp is not hidden under a bed; set upon the lampstand it shines. And each of us also is a lamp, which ought to be set upon the lampstand—that is, upon the height of the godly life—that it may be able to shine to others also; but not under the bushel, that is, under gluttony and the care for food, nor under the bed, that is, ease. For no one who is earnest about food, and longs for repose, can be a lamp shining to all through his own life. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest. Whether one do some good thing, or some wicked thing in secret, it shall be made manifest both here, and much more in the age to come. For who is more hidden than God? yet nevertheless he also was made manifest in the flesh.

Mk. 4:24–25. And he said to them: Take heed what you hear. With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you, and to you that hear shall more be added. For he that has, to him shall be given; and he that has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has. He rouses the disciples to soberness. For take heed, he says, what you hear; let nothing of the things spoken by me escape you. For with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you—that is, how great a measure of attention you bring, so great also a benefit shall be given to you. For if the hearer attend very greatly and to the utmost, God gives him in return also much benefit; but if he be slack, according to the proportion is also the gain of the benefit. For he that has eagerness and earnestness, to him shall be given benefit also; but he that has not eagerness and earnestness, even that which he seems to have shall be taken from him. For through slackness even the little spark which he had before is quenched, just as by diligence it is kindled.

Mk. 4:26–29. And he said: So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast the seed upon the earth, and should sleep and rise, night and day, and the seed should sprout and lengthen, he knows not how. For the earth bears fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the fruit is yielded, immediately he sends forth the sickle, because the harvest is come. By the kingdom of God understand the dispensation of God concerning us. For the man is God himself, who became man for our sake. And he cast seed upon the earth, the preaching of the Gospel; and having cast this, he sleeps—that is, he went up into the heavens; but nevertheless he rises night and day. For even if God seems to sleep, yet he rises: by night, when through trials he raises us up to the knowledge of him; and by day, when through pleasant and joyful things he orders our life. And the seed lengthens, he knows not how; for we are self-determining, and it lies in our own choice that the seed should grow or not. Since neither do we bring forth fruit by constraint, but of ourselves—that is, of our own selves we bear fruit, first putting forth the blade and showing the beginning of the good, when we are babes, and have not yet attained to the measure of the stature according to Christ; then the ear, when we are able also to withstand trials. For the ear is now girt about with joints, and stands upright, and is more perfect. Then also the full grain in the ear, when one brings forth the perfect fruit. And when the harvest is yielded, then the sickle gathers the fruit. And by the sickle understand the word of God; and by the harvest, the season of the consummation.

Mk. 4:30–34. And he said: To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what parable shall we compare it? It is as a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, is less than all the seeds that are upon the earth; but when it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of heaven can lodge under the shadow of it. And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable he spoke not to them; and privately to his disciples he expounded all things. Small indeed is the word of the faith. For, Believe in Christ, and you shall be saved. You see how great the word is—as great as the grain of mustard seed. But the preaching, when sown upon the earth, was spread abroad and increased, so that the birds of heaven—that is, all those who are lofty and high in mind and in knowledge—lodge upon it. For how many wise men, having left the Greek wisdom, found rest upon the preaching? Greater, then, than all became the preaching, and put forth great branches. For one of the apostles went to Rome, another to India, another to Achaia, and another into another part of the earth—they were divided abroad like branches. And he spoke to the crowds in many parables, fitting the parables to the capacity of the hearers. For since the crowd was rustic and unlearned, for this cause he makes mention of a grain of mustard seed, and of grass, and of seed, that from the names familiar and customary to them he might teach them something profitable, or at least might move them to come forward and ask, and through the asking to learn the things they knew not. For to the disciples he expounded all things privately, when they came forward, that is, and asked. And he solved all things, as many as they asked as not understanding. The things they learned by asking were clear to them, and familiar.

Mk. 4:35–41. And he says to them on that day, when evening was come: Let us pass over to the other side. And having sent away the crowd, they take him even as he was in the boat. And there were also other little boats with him. And there arises a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was now filling. And he himself was in the stern, asleep upon the pillow; and they awake him, and say to him: Master, do you not care that we perish? And having arisen, he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: Be silent, be muzzled. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said to them: Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And they feared with a great fear, and said one to another: Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Matthew related these things in one way, and Mark in another; for the things which the one told more at large, this one abridged; and on the contrary, what the one abridged, this one enlarged. He takes, then, only the disciples, making them spectators of the wonder that was to be; and that they might not be lifted up because, having sent away the others, he kept them, he suffers them to be tossed by the surge, and at the same time that he might teach them to bear trials. And he sleeps, that the wonder might appear the greater to them, who were first troubled; for if, while Christ was awake, the surge had arisen, either they would not have feared, or they would not have entreated him. He suffers them, then, to fall into fear of danger, that they might come to a perception of his power. For since they saw the others being benefited, but themselves enjoyed nothing of the kind, there was danger that they should become more slothful. He permits, then, the tempest to come on; and he sleeps upon the pillow of the boat, which was assuredly of wood. And being awakened, he rebukes first the wind (for this it is that makes the sea to rage), then also the sea. And he rebukes the disciples also, as having no faith; for if they had had faith, they would have believed that even while sleeping he could keep them unharmed. And they said one to another: Who then is this? For they were still in doubt concerning him; for inasmuch as by a mere command he laid the sea to rest, and neither with a rod, as Moses, nor by invocation, as Elisha [parted] the Jordan, nor with the ark, as Joshua the son of Nun, for this cause he seemed to them above man.

Chapter 5.—On the Legion. On the Daughter of the Ruler of the Synagogue. On the Woman With the Issue of Blood

Mk. 5:1–5. And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he had come out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the fetters broken in pieces; and no one was strong enough to subdue him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. The more accurate of the copies have, into the country of the Gergesenes. Now Matthew says that there were two who were possessed by demons, but Mark and Luke [say] one; for, having selected the more grievous one, they recount concerning him. The demoniac comes, then, confessing him to be the Son of God. For since those in the boat were in doubt what manner of man this was, the testimony from his enemies becomes more trustworthy—I mean from the demons. And he dwelt among the tombs, wishing to put an evil supposition into men, that the souls of those who die become demons. May it never be that anyone should believe this. And when he had seen Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, and crying out with a loud voice, said: What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, torment me not. For he said to him: Come out of the man, you unclean spirit. And he asked him: What is your name? And he answered, saying: Legion is my name, for we are many. And he besought him much, that he would not send them out of the country. The demons account it a torment to come out of the man. Therefore they say, Torment us not, that is, do not lead us out of our dwelling-place, namely the man; and besides, they supposed that, because of the excess of the things daringly done by them, he would not bear it, but would deliver them at once already to punishment; and for this cause also they beseech him not to torment them. But the Lord asks him, not that he himself might learn, but that the others might learn the multitude of the demons dwelling in him. For since he appeared to be one, Christ shows with how many enemies that pitiable man was wrestling. And there was there, near the mountain, a great herd of swine feeding. And all the demons besought him, saying: Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And immediately Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits, having gone out, entered into the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep place into the sea. And they were about two thousand, and were choked in the sea. And those who fed the swine fled, and told it in the city and in the fields. The demons indeed ask the Lord not to send them out of the country, but to release them into the herd of swine; and he permits this. For since our life is a wrestling-school, the Lord did not wish to release the demons outside of this life, in order that, wrestling with us, they might make us more fit. And he permitted them to enter into the swine, that we might learn that, just as they did not spare the swine, so neither would they have spared that man, had not a divine power been preserving him; for the demons, being enemies, would have cut us to pieces on the spot, had not God kept us. And learn that the demons do not have authority even over swine, and much more not over men, unless God permit; and understand that even into the men who live after the manner of swine, and wallow in the mire of pleasure, [they enter,] so as to carry them down the steep place of perdition into the sea of this life.

Mk. 5:14–20. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and behold the one who had been possessed by the demon sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind—the one who had had the legion—and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how it had happened to the demoniac, and concerning the swine. And they began to beseech him to depart from their borders. And as he was entering into the boat, the one who had been possessed besought him that he might be with him. But Jesus did not permit him, but says to him: Go to your house to your own, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and has had mercy on you. And he departed, and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him; and all marvelled. The people of that city went out to Jesus, being astounded at the miracle; but when they had heard, they were the more afraid. For this cause also they beseech Jesus to depart out of their borders; for they were in dread lest they should suffer some yet greater thing. For having lost the swine, and being grieved at the loss, they decline even the presence of the Lord. But the one who had been possessed besought him that he might be with him; for he was afraid lest, the demons finding him alone, they should again come upon him. But the Lord releases him to his own house, showing him that, even if he himself be not present, yet his power and his oversight will guard him; and at the same time, that being seen he might profit others also. Behold, accordingly, he began to proclaim, and all marvelled. And mark also the freedom from vanity of the Saviour. He did not say, Tell how great things I have done for you, but, How great things the Lord has done for you. So also do you, whenever you do any good thing, ascribe the deed not to yourself, but to God.

Mk. 5:21–29. And when Jesus had passed over again in the boat to the other side, much people gathered together to him; and he was beside the sea. And behold, there comes one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. And when he saw him, he falls at his feet, and besought him much, saying: My little daughter is at the point of death; come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made whole, and she shall live. And he went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. And a certain woman, who had been in an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather came to the worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind and touched his garment. For she said: If I but touch his garments, I shall be made whole. And immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she knew in her body that she was healed of the plague. After the miracle upon the demoniac, the Lord works another, raising up the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue. And he tells also the name of the ruler of the synagogue, on account of the Jews who knew what had come to pass. And the man is but half a believer; for in that he falls at his feet, he is a believer; but in that he beseeches him to come, he does not display as much faith as he ought. For he ought to have said, Speak the word. And as it were by the way, while the Lord is departing, the woman with the issue of blood also is healed; and most faithful was the woman, in that she thought to be profited even from his garments; wherefore also she obtains the healing. And you shall understand these things also with respect to human nature, which was [as one] with an issue of blood. For it brought in sin, which is the murder of the soul, and pours out the blood of our souls. And by many physicians—I mean the wise men of this world, and the law and the prophets—it could not be healed. But as soon as it touched the garments of Christ, that is, his flesh, it was healed. For he who believes that Christ was made flesh, this is he who touches his garments.

Mk. 5:30–34. And immediately Jesus, knowing in himself the power that had gone out of him, turned about in the press and said: Who touched my garments? And his disciples said to him: You see the multitude thronging you, and you say, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said to her: Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace, and be whole of your plague. A power goes out from Christ, not passing over locally, but distributed to others, and remaining undiminished in Christ; just as branches of learning too are both with those who practice them, and are handed on to those who learn. And mark how the multitudes thronged him, yet no one touched him; but she who thronged him not, she touched him. For from this we learn a mystery, that no one of those who have crowds and tumults touches Jesus, but only throngs him. But if anyone throng not Jesus, nor cast about with tumults the reason that is in himself, that man touches him. For what cause does the Lord make the woman manifest? First, that he might glorify the faith of the woman; then, that he might also encourage the ruler of the synagogue, that his little daughter too should thus be saved; and at the same time, that he might release the woman also from her great fear; for indeed the woman was afraid, as having stolen the healing; wherefore the evangelist also says, Fearing and trembling she came. But the Lord says not, I have made you whole, but, Your faith. Go therefore in peace, that is, into rest; so that what is said is of this kind: Depart, be at rest, since up to the present you have been amid waves and tumults. While he was yet speaking, there come from the ruler of the synagogue, saying: Your daughter is dead; why do you trouble the Teacher any further? But Jesus, immediately hearing the word that was spoken, says to the ruler of the synagogue: Fear not, only believe. And he suffered no one to follow with him, save Peter and James and John the brother of James. And he comes to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and beholds a tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he had entered, he says to them: Why do you make this commotion, and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeps. And they laughed him to scorn. But he, having put them all out, takes the father of the child and the mother, and those who were with him, and enters in where the child was lying; and taking the child by the hand, he says to her: Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted: Damsel, I say to you, arise. And immediately the damsel arose, and walked (for she was twelve years old); and they were amazed with a great amazement. And he charged them much that no one should know this; and commanded that something should be given her to eat. Those of the ruler of the synagogue’s house, supposing Christ to be one of the teachers, for this cause besought him to come and pray over the damsel; and thereafter, when she had died, they supposed there was no further need of him, because she was dead. But he encourages the father, and, Only believe, says he; for the lowly Jesus by no means wishes to do anything for display. And when he says that the damsel is not dead, but sleeps, they laugh him to scorn—so that they might not afterward be able to say that she had fallen into a coma, and that it was nothing wonderful if he raised her, but that they themselves, witnessing against themselves, might be convicted, that he truly raised her who had died; seeing that they even laughed him to scorn when he said that she was not dead. And he takes her by the hand, that he might put power into her. And he gives her to eat, that he might confirm the resurrection, that it truly came to pass and not according to fancy.

Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea

Mk. 6:1–3. And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the Sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue; and many hearing him were astonished, saying: Whence has this man these things? And what is the wisdom which is given to him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. He sets foot in his own country, not being ignorant that they will despise him, but that they might not afterward be able to say, If he had come, we should have believed; and at the same time, convicting their envious disposition. For whereas they ought rather to have gloried in the Lord, as adorning their own country both through his teaching and through his miracles, they instead set him at naught on account of the lowliness of his lineage. So great an evil is envy. For it ever casts a shadow over good things, and does not suffer those who envy to see them. And so even now many slander, as low-born, certain men who are otherwise worthy of honour, thinking evil and exceedingly basely.

Mk. 6:4–6. And Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and among his own kindred, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. The Lord says universally that all the prophets are without honour in their own countries. For whether they have illustrious kinsmen, these envy them, and on this account dishonour them; or whether they be low-born, again on account of their low birth they are dishonoured. He could not, then, there do mighty works—not that he himself was weak, but that they were unbelieving. For sparing them, that the signs might not be to their greater condemnation, since not even so would they believe, on this account he does no mighty works there. And besides, in the working of wonders there is need both of the power of him who works, and of the faith of those who receive. There, accordingly, the one being lacking—namely the faith of those to be healed—it was not possible for Jesus to do signs. For thus we ought to understand the He could not, instead of, It was not possible.

Mk. 6:6–11. And he went round about the villages, teaching. And he calls to him the twelve, and began to send them forth two by two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits, and charged them that they should take nothing for the way, save a staff only—no scrip, no bread, no money in the belt—but be shod with sandals; and, Put not on two coats. And he said to them: Wherever you enter into a house, there abide till you depart thence. And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when you depart thence, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony to them. Truly I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom or Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. Not in cities only did the Lord teach, but also in the villages, that we might learn neither to despise the small, nor ever to seek out the great cities, but to sow the word even in the mean little hamlets. And not only does he himself teach, but he also sends forth the twelve two by two, that they might be the more eager. For if he had sent one, that one would have been without zeal; and again, if more than two, the number of the apostles would not have sufficed for many villages. Two, accordingly, he sends; for Two are better than one, says Ecclesiastes. And he charges them to take nothing—neither scrip, nor money, nor bread—training them by these things in freedom from the love of money, and that those who beheld them might be put to shame by them, who taught freedom from possessions out of the very things wherein they themselves had nothing. For who, seeing the apostle carrying neither scrip nor bread, the most necessary thing, would not have been put to shame, and have stripped himself for the life without possessions? And he bids them remain in one house, that they might not seem, through gluttony, to be unsettled, exchanging one host for another. And from those who receive them not, he bids them shake off the dust, showing that they had walked a long road for their sake, and had profited nothing; or that they had received nothing from them, not even dust, but had shaken off even this, so that this might be for a testimony to them, that is, for a reproof. For Truly I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for Sodom or Gomorrha in the judgment, than for those who received you not. For the Sodomites, having been punished here, shall be punished there more bearably. And besides, neither were apostles sent to them; whereas those who received not the apostles shall suffer harder things than they.

Mk. 6:12–13. And going out, they proclaimed that people should repent, and they drove out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were ill, and healed them. That the apostles anointed with oil, Mark alone recounts—which James also, the Brother of God, says in his catholic Epistle: Is anyone among you ill? Let him summon the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, having anointed him with oil. The oil, then, is both profitable for toils, and a cause of light, and a procurer of gladness, and signifies the mercy of God and the grace of the Spirit, through which we are both delivered from toils, and receive light and joy and spiritual gladness.

Mk. 6:14–16. And king Herod heard of him (for his name was made manifest), and said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore the mighty works show forth themselves in him. Others said that it is Elijah; and others said that it is a prophet, as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard, he said: It is John, whom I beheaded; he is risen from the dead. This Herod was the son of the one who slew the infants. And though he was a tetrarch, Mark calls him king, using the name indifferently. He, then, hearing the miracles of the Lord, and knowing that he had slain John in vain, [John] being a righteous man, supposed that he had risen from the dead, and from the resurrection had received in addition the working of wonders. For formerly John did no sign; but from the resurrection Herod supposed that he had received in addition the working of the signs. And others said that it is Elijah; for he reproved the multitudes, as when he said, O faithless generation. But Herod is in dread; so pitiable, then, was he, as to fear the dead man.

Mk. 6:17–29. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold on John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. For John said to Herod: It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him, but she could not. For Herod feared John, knowing him to be a just man and holy, and kept him safe; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, when Herod on his birthday made a supper for his nobles, and the captains, and the chief men of Galilee; and when the daughter of the said Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat at table with him, the king said to the damsel: Ask of me whatever you will, and I will give it to you. And he swore to her: Whatever you shall ask of me, I will give it to you, to the half of my kingdom. And she went out and said to her mother: What shall I ask? And she said: The head of John the Baptist. And she came in immediately with haste to the king, and asked, saying: I will that you give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet, for the sake of his oaths and of those who sat with him at table, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. Here Mark inserts the account of the death of the Baptist, having seized the occasion. As for Herodias, some say that Herod tore her away while Philip was yet living, and that on this account he was reproved as transgressing the law, in putting asunder from his living brother his wife; but others [say] that Philip indeed had died, yet [had left] a daughter; and the daughter being alive, Herod ought not to have married his brother’s wife, not even after his death. For the law then commanded the brother to take the wife of his brother, when there was no child; but here the daughter was living, and therefore the marriage was unlawful. And mark how great is the strength of the madness of lust, so that it made even Herod—who had such reverence and fear toward John—to despise him, in order to gratify a single licentiousness. A drinking-bout is got up; and Satan dances by means of the damsel; and an oath is fulfilled, lawless and godless, or rather senseless. And the wicked woman, Give me, says she, at once—that is, immediately, in that very hour. And the senseless and love-stricken Herod is in dread of his oaths, and on this account murders the righteous man. But he ought here to have broken his oath, and not to have wrought so foul an abomination. For not everywhere is the keeping of an oath a good thing. And a speculator is what the executioner-soldier is called, who is appointed for the slaying. And by corpse he means the body; for after the beheading the body, having fallen, is called a corpse.[1] And it is possible to take these things also according to the higher contemplation. For Herod is the leathern people of the Jews; and he married a wife, the false and licentious opinion, whose daughter even now dances; and there is set in motion among the Jews the knowledge of the Scriptures that leads them astray. For they seem to know the Scriptures; but it is not so; for they beheaded John, that is, the prophetic word; for the head of the prophets was Christ, whom they received not; and so, even if they have the prophetic word, yet it is beheaded, without a head, that is, without Christ.

Mk. 6:30–33. And the apostles gather themselves together to Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And he said to them: Come, you yourselves, apart, into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by boat, apart. And the people saw them departing, and many knew him; and ran together there on foot out of all the cities, and outwent them, and came together to him. After the apostles had preached, they gather together to Jesus; that we too may learn, whenever we are put forward to any ministry, not to be restive and to exalt ourselves above him who put us forward, but to know him as head, and to turn back to him, and to report to him whatever we have either done or taught; for it behooves us not only to teach, but also to do. And Christ gives the disciples rest, that again those who preside may learn to count those who toil in word and teaching worthy of rest, and not ever to strain them with labours. And withdrawing into a desert place because of his freedom from the love of glory, nevertheless not even there does he escape the notice of those who seek him. But so watchful were they, lest he should escape them, that they even outwent him—that is, the multitudes outran the apostles, and went away to the place where Jesus was about to take his rest. So therefore do you also anticipate Jesus, not waiting for him to call you; but running, and rather yourself getting before him.

Mk. 6:34–40. And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came to him and say to him: This is a desert place, and now the hour is late; send them away, that they may go into the country and villages round about, and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat. But he answered and said to them: Give them to eat yourselves. And they say to him: Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? But he says to them: How many loaves have you? Go and see. And when they knew, they say: Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. The Pharisees, being ravening wolves, did not shepherd the people, but devoured them. For this cause [the people] gather together to Christ, the true shepherd, fleeing those others; whence he gives them food—primarily the more profitable and more precious food, that through the word, and then also the bodily. And mark the disciples, how they advance to greater love of men. For having had compassion on the multitudes, they come to Christ and make request concerning them. But the Lord, trying them, and proving whether they had recognized his power, that he is able to feed them, says: Give them to eat yourselves. But they even find fault with him, as not knowing how great their want was, and how great also the multitude of the crowd. For being weighed down they say, Shall we buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? Yet at the last he makes all sit down upon the grass in separate groups. For this is the meaning of, By companies, that is, in distinct tables. And this also is the meaning of, They sat down in ranks, that is, in distinct plots and divisions. For garden-beds is the name for the distinct plots in gardens, in which various things are oftentimes planted.

Mk. 6:41–44. And having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven and blessed; and he broke the loaves, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes he divided among them all. And they all ate, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that ate of the loaves were five thousand men. He looks up to heaven, at once both teaching us to ask our food from God, and not from the devil—which they do who are nourished out of unjust gains—and at the same time then showing to the multitudes that he is not opposed to God, but calls upon God. And he gives to the disciples, that they might not forget the miracle, as having received the loaves with their own hands. And twelve baskets over and above abound, for this very purpose, that each one, taking up a basket upon his shoulders, might keep the miracle unforgotten. And it was a superabundance of power, not only to feed so many, but also to leave over what was superfluous. For Moses, even though he gave the manna, yet [gave] according to the need of each; for what was over and above bred worms. And Elijah, feeding the widow, supplied what was sufficient. But Jesus, as Master, makes [the food] even to abound. These things, then, according to the history. But according to the anagogical sense: the five loaves are the words of Moses. For five are the books of Moses—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. And the two fishes are the words of the fishermen, the Apostle and the Gospel. By these, then, are nourished our five senses, for these are the five thousand. Yet we are not able to eat all things, but many things are over and above, which the apostles are able to bear. For the more difficult of the conceptions of the Law and of the Gospel, we who still serve the five senses do not bear, but the apostles do.

Mk. 6:45–52. And immediately he constrained his disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had taken leave of them, he departed into the mountain to pray. And when evening was come, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary to them. And about the fourth watch of the night he comes to them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it was an apparition, and cried out. For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and says to them: Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And he went up to them into the boat, and the wind ceased. And they were exceedingly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marvelled. For they understood not concerning the loaves; for their heart was hardened. He constrained the disciples. For they did not wish to be torn away from him, but were parted by force, at once both because of their love toward him, and because of their being at a loss how he should come to them, there being no boat. Having dismissed the multitudes, then, he went up to pray apart; for prayer has need of leisure and freedom from disturbance. And he leaves the disciples to be tried, that they might learn to endure. For this cause he does not even immediately stand by them, but suffers them through the whole night to be tossed by the waves, that he might teach them to be patient, and not at the beginning of hardships to hope for relief. And mark another thing also, that whenever he is about to make the terrors cease, then rather he casts them into greater fear. For when they saw him, they cried out, being troubled as at an apparition; and immediately through his voice he heals them, saying: Be not afraid. Then also through his entering into the boat he procures for them a more perfect freedom from disturbance; for immediately the wind ceased. And it is a great miracle to walk upon the sea, and [the work] of God in very truth; but that, there being also a tumult and the wind being contrary, [he walked,] is a heightening of the miracle. And the apostles, not understanding concerning the loaves, understood from this miracle upon the sea. It seems, then, that Christ on this account also suffered them to be tried, that, since they had not recognized him from the loaves, they might recognize him from the sea.

Mk. 6:53–56. And when they had passed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when they had come out of the boat, immediately they recognized him, and ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick, wherever they heard that he was. And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or fields, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment; and as many as touched him were made whole. After an interval of time, as it seems, the Lord sojourned in the place. Wherefore the evangelist also says: Recognizing him, they brought the sick. For they no longer called him into the houses, but rather themselves brought those who were ill, beseeching him that they might touch if it were but the border [of his garment]. For the miracle concerning the woman with the issue of blood had laid hold of the ears of all, and had put greater faith into them.

[1] Translator’s note: A play on words: πτῶμα (“corpse”) is cognate with πεσόν, “having fallen.”

Chapter 7.—On the Disciples Eating With Unwashed Hands. On the Transgression of the Commandment of God. On the Syrophoenician Woman. On the Deaf-mute

Mk. 7:1–5. And the Pharisees gather together to him, and certain of the scribes, having come from Jerusalem; and seeing some of his disciples eating bread with common, that is, with unwashed, hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands with the fist, do not eat, holding the tradition of the elders; and on coming from the marketplace, unless they bathe, they do not eat; and there are many other things which they have received to hold, the washings of cups and pots and bronze vessels and couches. Then the Pharisees and the scribes ask him: Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? The disciples of the Lord, having been taught to cling to virtue alone, and to busy themselves with nothing else besides, ate with unwashed hands, without fuss and simply. The Pharisees, therefore, wishing to find a pretext for mockery, lay hold of this; and they do not blame them as transgressing the law, but the tradition of the elders. For it is not written in the law to wash with the fist—that is, up to the elbow (for the term fist denotes the part from the elbow to the very tips of the fingers)—but they had this handed down to them from the elders.

Mk. 7:6–13. And he answering said to them: Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washings of pots and cups, and many other such like things you do. And he said to them: Full well do you set aside the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. For Moses said: Honor your father and your mother; and, He that speaks evil of father or mother, let him die the death. But you say: If a man shall say to his father or his mother, Corban, which is, A gift, by whatever you might have been profited by me; and you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition which you have delivered; and many such like things you do. The Lord, reproving the Jews more weightily, brings forward the prophet also as accusing them. They, then, charged the disciples with transgressing the tradition of the elders; but the Lord brings against them a more vehement charge, namely, the transgressing of the law of Moses. For the law, he says, declares: Honor your father and your mother; but you teach the children to say to their parents that it is Corban—that is, A gift and a thing dedicated to God—which you seek from me. For the Pharisees, wishing to devour the goods of the simpler folk, taught the children, if they had, as it were, some private store [peculium] and the parents sought it, to say: I have already consecrated this to God, and seek it no longer, as a thing dedicated to the Lord. Thus, then, deceiving the children and prevailing on them to consecrate, forsooth, to God what they had, they made them despise their fathers, while they themselves devoured the things consecrated. This, then, is what the Lord charges them with, that for gain’s sake they transgress the law of God.

Mk. 7:14–23. And calling all the multitude to him, he said to them: Hear me, all of you, and understand. There is nothing from outside the man, entering into him, that can defile him; but the things that come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he entered into a house from the multitude, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he said to them: Are you also so without understanding? Do you not perceive that whatever from outside enters into the man cannot defile him, because it enters not into his heart, but into the belly, and goes out into the privy, purging all the meats? And he said: That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man. The Lord, teaching men that the law’s prescriptions about the observances of foods we ought not to understand carnally, begins here to disclose, in measure, the intent of the law. And he says that none of the things that enter in can defile—that is, pollute—anyone, but that the things proceeding from the heart, those are they that pollute; and he enumerates them. By an evil eye he means either envy or wantonness; for indeed the envious man casts an evil and malignant eye upon the one envied; and the wanton man, beholding the evil through the eye, pursues it. By blasphemy he means insolence toward God, as when one says that there is no providence—this is blasphemy; wherefore he joins to it pride; for pride is, as it were, a contempt of God, when a man, having wrought some good, ascribes it not to God but to his own power. And by foolishness understand insolence toward men. All these passions, then, defile the soul, springing up and coming forth out of it. To the multitude, then, the Lord spoke more obscurely, wherefore also he said: He that has ears to hear, let him hear—that is, He that understands, let him understand. But to the apostles, who supposed that the Lord was saying something deeper, and who came forward and asked concerning the parable, the dark saying, first he rebuked them, saying —[1]

Mk. 7:24–30. And rising up from there, he departed into the borders of Tyre and Sidon; and entering into a house, he would have no man know it. And he could not be hid. For a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet; now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race; and she besought him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her: Let the children first be filled; for it is not good to take the children’s bread and cast it to the little dogs. But she answered and said to him: Yea, Lord; for even the little dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And he said to her: For this saying, go your way; the demon is gone out of your daughter. And departing to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. After the Lord had spoken concerning foods, and saw the Jews disobedient, he passes over to the borders of the heathen. For, the Jews having disbelieved, salvation was about to come to the nations. He himself, however, of set purpose strives to be hidden, that the Jews might not afterward have ground to accuse him of having run to the unclean nations. Yet he could not be hidden; for it was not possible for him to be hidden and not to be known by someone. The woman, then, having heard of him, displays a fervent faith. For this cause, therefore, the Lord does not at once hearken, but defers the gift, that he may show the woman’s persevering faith, and that, though sent away, she persists; that we too may learn not to leap away at once whenever, having prayed, we do not immediately obtain, but to persevere until we receive. By little dogs he names the heathen, as accounted polluted by the Jews; and by bread, the benefaction which God had set apart for the children, that is, for the Hebrews; for the benefactions he sent to the Hebrews. The Lord says, then, that the heathen ought not to partake of the benefaction which is set apart for the Jews; but since the woman answered wisely and faithfully, she obtained her desire. For the Jews, he says, have the bread—that is, you whole and entire, who came down from heaven—and your benefactions; but I ask for crumbs, that is, a partial benefaction. And mark the Lord also, how he said not, My power has saved you. But what does he say? For this saying—that is, for your faith—go your way; for your daughter has been cleansed. Learn, then, you also from here a profitable lesson. For each of us, whenever he sins, is a woman, that is, a weak soul; and a Phoenician woman, as having for her daughter a sin that is scarlet [phoenician] and bloody and murderous. Such a soul has the wicked deed, which it has as a demon. For wicked deeds are demons; being sinners, then, we are also named little dogs, full of uncleanness; for this cause we are not even worthy to receive the bread of God, that is, to partake of the undefiled mysteries; if, however, we recognize ourselves, and confess, and openly avow this—that is, the demoniac deed.

Mk. 7:31–37. And again, going out from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, he came to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis. And they bring to him one deaf, who had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to lay his hand upon him. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears; and spitting, he touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And immediately his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. And he charged them that they should tell no man; but the more he charged them, so much the more abundantly they proclaimed it, and were beyond measure astonished, saying: He has done all things well; he makes both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. He does not linger in the places of the heathen, but quickly removes, that, as I said, he might not give the Jews occasion to say that he transgresses the law by mingling with the heathen. Removing, then, from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, he draws near to Galilee. And seeing one deaf and with an impediment in his speech—and the affliction was from a demon—he heals him. Taking him aside privately; for he who had humbled himself even to our poverty was no lover of display, nor did he wish, for the most part, to work wonders before many, save only for the profit of the beholders. And spitting, he touched his tongue, that he might show that all the members of his holy flesh were divine and holy, even as the spittle also now loosed the bonds of the tongue. Taking him, then, privately, he put his fingers into his ears; one of the right hand into this ear, and one of the left into that. And spitting, and so forth; and although all spittle is a superfluity, yet in the Lord all things are newer and divine. Looking up to heaven he sighs—perhaps both as beseeching the Father to have mercy on the man, and teaching us, whenever we are about to work a wonder, to look toward God, and thence to ask for the power of wonders; and perhaps also as pitying human nature, how it was so delivered over to the devil as thus to be mocked and to suffer such things. Whence also, having healed him, he is proclaimed by those who were healed, even though he charges and commands them to say nothing. For we are taught from here that, when we do good, we ought not to demand applause and renown; but when we are benefited, to proclaim and to noise abroad those who have done us good, even though they wish it not.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek sentence breaks off incomplete here; the editor marks the passage ἄπορον (defective).

Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter

Mk. 8:1–9. In those days, the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and says to them: I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with me three days, and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away fasting to their own homes, they will faint by the way; for some of them are come from afar. And his disciples answered him: Whence shall one be able to fill these men with bread here in the wilderness? And he asked them: How many loaves have you? And they said, Seven. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, having given thanks, he broke them, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. And they had a few small fishes; and having blessed, he bade set these also before them. So they ate, and were filled; and they took up of the broken pieces that remained over seven baskets. Now they that had eaten were about four thousand; and he sent them away. Already before this the Lord had wrought some such wonder; but now he works it, having seized upon a reasonable occasion. And this was, that the multitude had remained three days, and the provisions of each had been consumed. For he did not always work wonders concerning food, lest the multitudes should seem to follow him for the sake of food. And now, then, had there not been an expected danger of want of nourishment coming upon the multitude, he would not have worked the wonder. And mark the disciples too, how they are still without understanding, not yet believing in his power from what had gone before. But he upbraids them with nothing, teaching us also not to rebuke too severely those who are untaught, but in some things even to bear with them in their want of understanding. And consider this also, that Christ wishes no one to be sent away fasting. For he wishes all to delight in his gifts of grace, and especially those who have remained with him three days—that is, the baptized. For since baptism is called illumination, and baptism is accomplished in three immersions, in three days are those who are illumined through baptism. He takes, then, the seven loaves—I mean the more spiritual words. For the number seven is a symbol of the Spirit. For it is the Spirit that perfects all things, and in the number seven our life is perfected, and this present age. And the illumined eat and are filled, and leave fragments over. For they cannot eat all the divine thoughts. But there, in the wonder of the five loaves, the fragments were twelve baskets; for they were five thousand, that is, men enslaved to the five senses. And for this cause they could not eat much, but were content with little; wherefore also the things left over were many. But here there are seven baskets, and few the remnants, because they were four thousand, that is, men exercised in the four virtues, and for this cause, as being stronger, they ate much and left little. For those things only they could not eat, which were more spiritual and deeper; for this is the seven baskets. And learn this also according to the history, that we ought to stand fast within our need, and to seek nothing more. For behold, the multitudes, having eaten and been filled, did not take with them the remnants of the loaves, but the disciples took these up, as also in the case of the baskets; thus, then, we too ought to be content with the due measure of our need.

Mk. 8:10–12. And immediately entering into the boat with his disciples, he came into the parts of Dalmanutha. And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And sighing deeply in his spirit, he says: Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation. After the wonder concerning the loaves, he immediately withdraws to another place, fearing lest the multitude, on account of such a wonder, should rise up and make him king. But the Pharisees seek a sign from heaven—such as to stay the sun, or the moon, to bring down thunderbolts, to alter the air. For they thought that he would not be able to make a sign from heaven, inasmuch as, by Beelzebul, he could work only the signs that are on the earth. But he does not yield to them. For the time of the signs from heaven is another, namely that of the second coming, I mean, when the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and the moon shall not give her light. But the time of the first coming has nothing of this kind, but all things full of meekness. So that there shall not be given to this generation such a sign, that is, one from heaven.

Mk. 8:13–21. And leaving them, entering again into the boat, he departed to the other side. And the disciples had forgotten to take loaves, and they had not with them in the boat more than one loaf. And he charged them, saying: Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no loaves. And Jesus, knowing it, says to them: Why do you reason, because you have no loaves? Do you not yet perceive, neither understand? Have you your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? and having ears, do you not hear? and do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments you took up? They say to him, Twelve. And when the seven among the four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments you took up? And they said, Seven. And he said to them: How is it that you do not yet understand? The Lord leaves the Pharisees, as past correction. For where there is hope of correction, there one ought to tarry; but where the evil is past correction, thence one ought to leap away. And by a [providential] dispensation the disciples forget to take loaves, that, being reproached, they might become better, and might come to a sense of the power of Christ. For when the Lord said to take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees—that is, of their teaching—they supposed that the Lord was forbidding them the leaven of [common] loaves. Whence with reason they are rebuked, as not understanding the power of Christ, that he can make loaves out of things that are not. And by leaven he names the teaching of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, as being rank and full of old malice. For everyone who is grown gross in malice, and can say nothing spiritual, so as to sweeten the throat of the hearer, such a one has leaven, a teaching of old malice that bites, and afterward brings the one persuaded to repentance. But who were the Herodians?

Mk. 8:22–26. And he comes to Bethsaida; and they bring to him a blind man, and beseech him to touch him. And taking hold of the blind man’s hand, he led him out of the village; and spitting upon his eyes, and laying his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. And looking up, he said: I see men, for I behold them as trees, walking. After that he laid his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up; and he was restored, and saw all men clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying: Neither enter into the village, nor tell it to any in the village. Bethsaida appears to have been sick with much unbelief, wherefore also Christ bewails it, as Matthew says: Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago. Here, then, when the Lord came, they bring to him a blind man. But the faith of those who brought him was not genuine, whence also the Lord leads the blind man out of the village, and thus heals him. And he spits upon the eyes of the blind man, and lays his hands upon him, that we may learn that the divine word, and the deed that follows the word, can accomplish wonders. For the hand is a symbol of action; the spittle, of the word, inasmuch as it is from the mouth. Nor yet did the blind man himself have perfect faith, for which cause neither does he make him see at once, but by degrees, as one not having entire faith; for according to the faith are the healings also wrought. And he charges him not to enter into the village, because, as I said, the people in Bethsaida being unbelievers, the man would have been harmed in his soul; but neither to tell to anyone what was done upon him, lest they, disbelieving, should draw upon themselves a worse judgment. And we too, then, are often blind in soul, being in the village—that is, in this world. Then, being led out of the village—that is, out of the world and its affairs—by Christ, we are healed. And after we are healed, he tells us no longer to return to the village, but to the house. And the house of each of us is heaven and the mansions there.

Mk. 8:27–30. And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and by the way he asked his disciples, saying to them: Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but others, one of the prophets. And he says to them: But whom do you say that I am? And Peter answering says to him: You are the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. Having led them far away from the Jews, he then asks concerning himself, that, fearing no one, they might confess the truth. They answer, then, that Some suppose you to be John, and others Elijah. For the many thought that John had risen, even as Herod also supposed, and that he had received from the resurrection the working of signs as well; for while John lived, he did no sign. After, then, he had asked them the suppositions of others, he asks them also their own opinion. As though saying this: They indeed think thus concerning me, being deceived, but do you say something else. What, then, does Peter? He confesses him to be the Christ proclaimed by the prophets. But what the Lord said in answer to Peter’s confession, and how he blessed him, Mark passed over, that he might not seem to be saying these things in favor of Peter, who was his teacher; but Matthew has spoken all things without omission. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. For he wished the opinion concerning him to be kept in shadow, lest many should be offended at him, and on this account, disbelieving, should become liable to greater punishment.

Mk. 8:31–33. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spoke that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But he, turning about and looking on his disciples, rebuked Peter, saying: Get behind me, Satan; for you mind not the things of God, but the things of men. When he had held them fast in confessing that he is the true Christ, then he reveals to them also the mystery of the cross, though not altogether nakedly; for neither even so did they understand, he says, nor did they perceive what the rising again is, but they thought it better not to suffer at all. Wherefore also Peter begins to blame him, as casting himself into death when it was possible to suffer nothing. But the Lord, showing that his passion would be for salvation, and that Satan alone does not wish him to suffer, that he might not save mankind, names Peter Satan, as minding the things of Satan, and not wishing him to suffer, but being set against him. (For Satan is interpreted adversary.) And, Get behind me, he says—that is, Follow my will, and set not yourself against me, nor come opposite to me, but follow behind me. And he said that Peter minded the things of men, inasmuch as, minding certain lowly and carnal things, he wished the Lord to be at ease, and not to be crucified, and to fall into trial for the salvation of the world.

Mk. 8:34–37. And calling the multitude to him with his disciples, he said to them: Whoever will follow after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Since Peter had rebuked him as wishing to be crucified, he calls the multitude to him, and in the hearing of all, addressing himself rather to Peter, he says: Do you blame me, Peter, that I choose the cross? But I say to you, that neither you nor any other shall be saved, unless he die for the good and for the truth. And mark that he said not, Even if one wish not, let him die, but, Whoever will. For I compel no one, he says. For I call to good things, not to evil, that I should also constrain; so that he who wills not is not even worthy of these things. And what it is to deny oneself, we may thus learn, if we know what it is to deny another. He who denies another—a brother, it may be, or a servant, or a father—even though he see him scourged, even though slain, does not turn to him, does not suffer with him, as having once for all become estranged. Thus, then, he wishes us also to be unsparing of our own body, that even if they scourge us, even if they do whatever they will, we may not spare it. And let him take up the cross—that is, the death of reproach; for the cross seemed at that time a thing of reproach. And since many are crucified for being robbers, he adds that, together with being crucified, one must have the rest of virtue also. For this is the saying, And let him follow me. And since this seemed a grievous and harsh thing which he enjoined, to give oneself over to death, he says that, on the contrary, this is rather a thing of love for man. For whoever shall lose his life—but for my sake, not being slain as a robber, or hanging himself (for this is not for my sake)—such a one, then, shall find his own life; even as, on the other side, he who thinks to gain shall lose it, he who in the time of martyrdom does not stand fast. For tell me not, But he gained life. For if you put with this that he gained also the whole world, there is no profit. For salvation is not to be bartered for money; whereas, if this were so, the man who gained the world but lost his soul might then, while frying in the flame, have given it and been set free. But there is no such ransom there. And from this, then, let us stop the mouths of the followers of Origen, who say that there will be a restoration of souls after they have been punished in proportion to their sins. For let them hear that it is not possible to give a ransom for the soul. Therefore neither is it possible to be punished so much as to counterbalance one’s sins.

Mk. 8:38–9:1. For whoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said to them: Amen I say to you, that there are some of them that stand here, who shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. He is not content with the faith that is in the mind, but demands also the confession through the mouth. For since man is twofold, let the sanctification also become twofold; the soul being sanctified through faith, and the body also being sanctified through confession. Whoever, then, shall be ashamed to confess the crucified one as his God, him also will he be ashamed of, judging him a servant unworthy of himself, when he shall come—no longer lowly, nor such as he appeared here, mean, so that some are ashamed at him, but in glory and with the bodyguard of the angels. And since he had spoken concerning his glory, wishing to show them that he does not vainly boast, he says that There are some of them that stand here—that is, Peter and James and John—who shall not die, until I show them, in the transfiguration, with what glory I am about to come at the second coming. For the transfiguration was nothing other than a foreshowing of the second coming. For thus shall he too then shine forth, and the righteous also. And he named the generation adulterous, not because they commit adultery, but because they are addicted to the devil. And since, and so forth.

Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling

Mk. 9:2–3. And after six days Jesus takes Peter and James and John, and brings them up into a high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them; and his garments became shining, exceeding white as snow, such as no fuller on earth can whiten them. Luke indeed says, after eight days, not as contradicting this, but rather as fully agreeing. For the one reckoned in both the very day on which he spoke and that on which he led them up; but Mark only the days between these. Taking, then, the chief ones, he brings them up into a high mountain: Peter, as having confessed and as loving; John, as being loved; and James, as being himself also most loud-voiced and most theological. For he was so grievous to the Jews, that Herod also, wishing to please the Jews, killed him. And he brings them up into a high mountain, that the wonder might be the more glorious. And apart; for he was about to show a mystery. And understand the transfiguration, not as a change of his form, but that, the form remaining such as it was before, there came upon it an addition of unspeakable splendor.

Mk. 9:4–8. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answering says to Jesus: Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. For he knew not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there came a cloud overshadowing them; and a voice came out of the cloud: This is my beloved Son; hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. Elijah and Moses appear talking with him, for many reasons; but two suffice. Since the disciples had said that the multitudes call him, some Elijah, and others one of the prophets, he shows them the chief ones of the prophets, that from this also they might learn the difference between the servants and the Master: this is one reason. And the other, since the many thought him opposed to God, as loosing the Sabbath and transgressing the law, he shows on the mountain the prophets—of whom the one was a lawgiver, and the other a zealot. For such prophets would not have conversed with one who seemed to loose the law, unless what he said pleased them. But Peter, fearing to go down from the mountain (for he dreaded the crucifying of the Lord), says: It is good for us to be here, and not to go down there into the midst of the Jews. For even if those who rage against you should come here, we have Moses, who drowned the Egyptians; we have Elijah, who brought down fire from heaven, and destroyed the captains of fifty. And what were the prophets talking with him? The things concerning his cross and his death. And Peter said what he said, not knowing what he was saying; for they had become sore afraid at the unspeakable light and glory. For he was not truly in his own mind, not wishing Jesus to go down to be crucified for our salvation, but rather to remain always on the mountain. And the saying is to be carried up also to contemplation. After the consummation of this world, which was fashioned in six days, Jesus will bring us up also, if indeed we are his disciples, into the high mountain—I mean heaven—and will manifest himself to us more resplendent. For now he appeared in dishonor, as crucified and the son of a carpenter; but then we shall see his glory as of the Only-begotten. And we shall see also the law and the prophets talking with him—that is, the things spoken concerning him by Moses and the prophets; then we shall understand and find them in concord with the facts, and then we shall truly hear the Father’s voice, the Father revealing to us the Son, and teaching that This is my Son. And how will he teach us? When the cloud overshadows us—that is, the Holy Spirit; for that is the fountain of wisdom.

Mk. 9:9–10. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, save when the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead should mean. For what cause does the Lord charge the disciples to tell no man concerning the transfiguration? That men might not be offended, hearing such glorious things concerning Christ, and then afterward seeing him crucified. But after he had risen from the dead, it was seasonable to tell such glorious things concerning Christ as had come to pass before the cross. The apostles, then, kept the saying with themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead should be. For they did not yet know, he says, that he must rise from the dead.

Mk. 9:11. And they asked him, saying, that, The scribes say that Elijah must first come? The apostles, then, kept the saying with themselves—the saying about his rising from the dead—telling it to no other; or else the saying about the transfiguration, questioning what the rising from the dead might be. For they did not yet know that he must rise from the dead; for, having seen one raise himself from the dead, yet not having heard it [explained], they supposed that this also was a parable, and inquired together what it signified, and asked him, saying, and so forth.

Mk. 9:12–13. And he answering said to them: Elijah indeed coming first restores all things; and how is it written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things and be set at naught? But I say to you, that Elijah is indeed come, and they have done to him whatever they would, as it is written of him. Concerning Elijah a certain report prevailed among the Jews, that Elijah would come before the Christ. But the Pharisees, not interpreting as they ought the things concerning Elijah, but of evil will hid the truth. For there are two comings of Christ: this one which has taken place, and the one to come. Of the former, then, John became the forerunner; of the second, Elijah is about to become so. Elijah, then, Christ calls John, as being reproving and a zealot and a dweller in the wilderness. The Lord, then, withstands the opinion of the Pharisees, who supposed that Elijah is the forerunner of the former coming of Christ. And how does he withstand it? Elijah indeed coming restores all things; and how is it written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things? And what he says is this: The Tishbite Elijah, when he is about to come, will make peace with the disobedient Jews, and will bring them to faith; so that he will be the forerunner of the second coming. For if the Tishbite, being the forerunner of the first coming, were the one about to restore all things, how then is it written that the Son of man must suffer thus and thus? Of the two, then, the one remains: either that Elijah is not the forerunner of the first coming, if indeed the Scriptures speak truly that the Christ must suffer; or that the Scriptures do not speak truly which say that the Christ shall suffer, if indeed we should believe, according to the word of the Pharisees, that the Tishbite shall be the forerunner of the former coming. For Elijah is about to restore all things, and there shall not be then any disobedient Hebrew, but all shall believe the preaching, as many as shall hear Elijah. Overthrowing, then, the supposition of the Pharisees, the Lord says that Elijah is already come—that is, John—and they did to him whatever they would. For they disobeyed him, and at last he was beheaded, becoming the prize of a dance.

Mk. 9:14–18. And coming to the disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them. And immediately all the multitude, seeing him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes: What do you question with them? And one of the multitude answered and said: Teacher, I brought my son to you, who has a dumb spirit; and wherever it takes him, it tears him, and he foams, and gnashes with his teeth, and pines away. And I spoke to your disciples that they should cast it out, and they could not. Coming to the disciples—namely, the nine who had not gone up with him—he saw them being questioned by the Pharisees. For the Pharisees, seizing upon the absence of Jesus, were attempting to overturn the disciples. But the multitude, suddenly seeing him, saluted him; for they longed to see him, and, as having seen him after a long absence, they saluted him. And some say that his very countenance, of itself, the transfiguration being yet upon it intensely, drew the multitudes to salute him. And one of the multitude answering said: This man was weak in respect of faith, even as the Lord also testifies, saying, O faithless generation, and again, To him that believes all things are possible; and as the man himself says, Help my unbelief. And he accuses the disciples, being himself altogether without faith. For he ought not to have come and accused them before all, but privately.

Mk. 9:19–27. And he answering him says: O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me. And they brought him to him; and seeing him, immediately the spirit tore him; and falling on the ground, he wallowed foaming. And he asked his father: How long a time is it since this has come to him? And he said: From childhood; and often it has cast him both into the fire and into the waters, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, help us, having compassion on us. And Jesus said to him: If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes. And immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, and said: I believe, Lord; help my unbelief. And Jesus, seeing that the multitude came running together, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and tore him sore, and came out; and he was as one dead, so that many said, He is dead. But Jesus, taking him by the hand, lifted him up; and he arose. The man who came forward charged the disciples as not having had strength to heal. But Christ turns the charge back upon him, all but saying this: Being yourself without faith, you became the cause that your son was not healed. And he says this not to him alone, but makes the word common, as reproaching all the Jews in common for unbelief. For it was likely that many of those standing by were offended. And he shows death to be a thing desired by him, in saying, How long shall I be with you?—that is, I have been worn out among you who are without faith. But he also applies the healing, not undertaking to heal the child for display, but rather with much modesty. For mark how he ascribes the healing not to his own power, but to the man’s faith, saying, All things are possible to him that believes. And yet another thing: for seeing the multitude gathering together, he rebuked the spirit; for he did not wish to heal before a multitude, as one courting notice and given to display. And in rebuking it and saying, Come out, and enter no more, he hints at this, that on account of the man’s unbelief the demon would have entered again, had it not been hindered by his command. And he permits it to tear the child, that all might know the malignity of the demon, and that it would have slain the man, had it not been held back by the divine hand. And one is cast by a demon into the fire of wrath and of desire, and into the water, the surge of the affairs of life. And this demon is dumb and deaf: deaf, as not willing to hear the words of God; dumb, as not even able to teach others their duty; but if Jesus—that is, the Gospel word—takes hold of the hand, I mean the practical power, then we shall be set free from the demon. And mark that God indeed helps us, and then we ourselves are required to render the good; the help is of God, and that he arose, this is of the man. This man was weak in respect of faith, as is plain from many things: from Christ’s saying, O faithless generation, and from his saying, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes; and from the man’s saying, Help my unbelief; and from his commanding the demon to enter no more into him. And if his unbelief was the cause that the demon was not cast out, why does he charge the disciples? Showing that even apart from the faith [of the sufferer] it is possible in many cases to heal.

Mk. 9:28–29. And when he was come into a house, his disciples asked him privately: Why could we not cast it out? And he said to them: This kind can come forth by nothing, save by prayer and fasting. The disciples feared lest they had lost the grace which the Lord had given them, and on this account could not cast out the demon. And mark also their reverence, how they come to him privately. But this kind—what kind? Either that of the lunatics, or simply every kind of the demons comes not forth in any other way, save by prayer and fasting; for both the sufferer must fast, and he who is about to heal. For there is need of both; but especially the word requires the fasting of the sufferer. One must not only fast, but also pray; nor only pray, but also fast. For thus is true prayer accomplished, if it have fasting joined with it. For then he who prays is not weighed down by the vapors that come from foods, but is light and aery.

Mk. 9:30–32. And going forth from there, they passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said to them, that, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and being killed, on the third day he shall rise again. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. Always he intersperses the word concerning the passion among the wonder-workings, that it might not be thought that he suffered through want of power. Having said, then, the sorrowful thing, that they shall kill him, he adds also the joyful, that on the third day he shall rise again, that we may learn that joyful things ever follow the sorrowful, and that we should not be vainly grieved at things painful, but should hope also for the better things.

Mk. 9:33–37. And he came to Capernaum; and being in the house he asked them: What was it that you disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace; for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve, and says to them: If any man desire to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set it in the midst of them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them: Whoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receives me; and whoever shall receive me, receives not me, but him that sent me. The disciples, minding things still too human, contended with one another which of them was greater and more honored with Christ. But the Lord does not forbid the desire of preferment. For he wishes us to desire the higher degree. He does not, however, wish us to snatch at the first places, but rather through humility to gain the height. For he set a child in the midst, and he wishes us also to become that. For the child neither covets glory, nor envies, nor bears a grudge. And not only, he says, if you yourselves become such, shall you receive a great reward, but even if you honor others who are such for my sake, you shall receive the kingdom of heaven in return. For you receive me; and receiving me, you receive him that sent me. You see, then, how much humility can do, and the artlessness and guilelessness of its manner. For it makes both the Son and the Father to dwell in us. And it is plain that the Holy Spirit also [dwells in us].

Mk. 9:38–40. And John answered him, saying: Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in your name, who follows not us; and we forbade him, because he follows not us. But Jesus said: Forbid him not. For there is no man who shall do a mighty work in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. Not led by any jealousy or envy does the son of thunder forbid that man who was casting out the demons, but wishing that all who call upon the name of Christ should also follow him, and that all the disciples should be one body. For in the beginning of the preaching, certain men, mastered by a love of vainglory, wished themselves also to work signs. And seeing the name of Jesus to have great power, they would pronounce it, and indeed wrought signs, being otherwise unworthy of the divine grace. For the Lord willed that the preaching should be spread abroad, even through the unworthy. What, then, does the Savior? He does not allow John to forbid him who works the signs, but, Let him alone, he says; for no man who shall do a mighty work in my name can lightly speak evil of me. For how should he speak evil of me, who makes my name an occasion of glory, and by calling upon it works wonders? But the Lord seems to say things contrary to himself. For elsewhere, having said, He that is not with me is against me, now he says, He that is not against us is for us. These, then, seem contrary; but they are not. For the saying, He that is not with me is against me, was spoken concerning the demons, who strive to draw men away from God and to scatter the things of God. But the present saying is concerning men who rather bring some to God by working wonders.

Mk. 9:41–42. For whoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. And whoever shall cause one of the little ones that believe in me to stumble, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. Not only, he says, do I not forbid him who works mighty deeds in my name, but even if anyone give you some very small thing for my name’s sake, and receive you for my sake—not for any human or worldly favor—he shall not lose his reward. And he said the cup of water, on account of those who plead poverty. For even if, he says, you give a cup of water, the meanest thing, not even this shall he lose. And as, if you honor one of the little ones, you please God, so, if you cause one of the little ones to stumble—that is, dishonor, supplant him—it is profitable for you that a millstone of an ass were hung about your neck; for we shall undergo, as it seems, a worse punishment. And he spoke of a sensible punishment, frightening us through this sensible example.

Mk. 9:43–50. And if your hand cause you to stumble, cut it off; it is good for you to enter into life maimed, than having the two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched, where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. And if your foot cause you to stumble, cut it off; it is good for you to enter into life lame, than having the two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched, where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. And if your eye cause you to stumble, pluck it out; it is good for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire, where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good; but if the salt have lost its saltness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. Having denounced those who cause to stumble, that it were profitable for them to be cast into the sea, now he exhorts those who are caused to stumble to guard themselves against those who are ready to cause stumbling and to supplant them. For whether it be foot, or hand, or eye, that causes you to stumble—that is, even if it be one of your nearest, even one of those close to you by blood and serviceable—cut him off; that is, renounce your friendship and intimacy with him. And the worm and the fire that punish sinners are the conscience of each, and the memory of the shameful things done in this life; which, like a worm, devours, and, like a fire, burns. For everyone, he says, shall be salted with fire—that is, shall be tried. Which Paul also says, that all things shall be tried by fire. And every sacrifice, he says, shall be salted with salt. And this he said from Leviticus. For there God says, Every gift of your sacrifice shall be salted with salt. It is good, then, for us to salt our sacrifices with the salt of God—that is, not to offer dissolute sacrifices, or even slothful ones, but pungent and savory. And by salt the Lord means also the apostles, and simply all who have the power that holds together and binds. For as salt holds together the flesh, and does not let it breed worms, so also the word of teaching, if it be pungent, binding together the carnal men, does not let the sleepless worm be bred in them. But if the teacher be saltless, and have not the pungent and binding quality, with what shall he be salted—that is, seasoned? Have, then, in yourselves salt—namely, the savory and cohesive grace of the Spirit—that you may be at peace with one another. For he who is bound fast to his neighbor by the bond of love, this man has salt, and so is at peace with his brother.

Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus

Mk. 10:1–9. And rising up from there, he comes into the borders of Judea by the farther side of the Jordan, and the multitudes resort to him again, and, as he was accustomed, he taught them again. And the Pharisees came and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. And he answered and said to them, What did Moses command you? And they said to him, Moses permitted to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said to them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh; so that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder. The Lord continually withdrew from Judea on account of the envy of those men; now, then, he sojourns there, since the Passion was about to be near. Yet he does not as yet go up to Jerusalem, but to the borders of Judea, that he might benefit the guileless multitude. For Jerusalem was the workshop of all wickedness, on account of the malice of the Pharisees. See, then, their wickedness, how they tempt the Lord, not suffering him, that the multitudes might believe in him, but ever coming forward and thinking to cast him into perplexity and to silence him by their questions. For they asked him a question having precipices on both sides: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? So that if he should say that it is lawful to put her away, they might meet him with, How then did you say that, except for the matter of fornication, it is not lawful to put her away? But if he should say that it is not lawful, they might charge him as opposing the decrees of Moses. Christ, then, the very Wisdom, answers them an answer that escapes their snares. For he asks them what Moses commanded them. And when they had said that he commanded to put her away, he interprets the law to them. For Moses was not so harsh, he says, as to bring in such a law, but he wrote this for your hardness of heart. For God, knowing the inhumanity of the Hebrews, and that he who wished would readily murder his own wife once he had come to hate her, permitted the man who was not pleased with her to put away his wife. But from the beginning it was not so; rather, the counsel of God glues the spouses to one another, and makes them one, so that they neglect even their parents. And see what he says, that God does not will polygamy, so as to leave this one and take another wife, and again to leave her and cleave to another. For if this were so, he would have made one man, but many women. But now this has not come to pass; rather, he made them male and female, ordaining one to be joined to one. And perhaps we may also understand the present passage thus. The teaching word, casting good seeds into the soul of the faithful man, holds the place of a husband toward the soul that receives it. Often, then, the word, wishing to benefit the soul that receives it, leaves its own father—that is, a lofty mind—and its own mother—that is, an embellished diction. And it cleaves to its wife—that is, it teaches the things to the benefit of that soul, condescending and preferring [to do so]. And thereafter the two become one flesh—that is, the soul is united in the knowledge and in the Word of God. And no human word shall separate them from one another, since they have become one through faith.

Mk. 10:10–12. And in the house his disciples asked him again concerning this matter, and he says to them, Whoever shall put away his wife and marry another, commits adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she commits adultery. The disciples too were still being made to stumble; for this cause, then, they come to him again and ask, as though their reasoning had not yet been sufficiently healed. And he answers them, saying, Whoever shall put away his wife and marry another is an adulterer against that second woman. Likewise, then, the woman also is an adulteress who has forsaken her own husband and joined herself to another.

Mk. 10:13–16. And they brought young children to him, that he might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said to them, Suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, and laid his hands upon them, and blessed them. Great was the faith of the multitudes, if indeed they thought that Christ blessed those brought to him even by the mere laying on of hands. But the disciples, thinking it unworthy of Christ that little children should be brought to him, hindered those who brought them. What, then, does Christ do? Teaching them to be modest-minded, and to trample down worldly conceit, he both takes them and embraces them. For he shows that he receives the guileless; wherefore also he says, For of such is the kingdom of God. Mark, he did not say, For of these is the kingdom, but, Of such—that is, of those who have by discipline the guilelessness which the children have by nature. For the child neither envies, nor bears malice, nor, when it is beaten by its mother, withdraws from her. But even though she wear rags, it prefers her to a queen. So also he who lives according to virtue prefers nothing to his mother—I mean the Church—nor the pleasure that reigns over the many. Wherefore also the Lord embraces such ones, saying, Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden. And he blesses them, saying, Come, you blessed of my Father. And by the kingdom of God he here means the preaching and the promise of good things. Whoever, then, shall receive the preaching of God as a little child—that is, doubting in nothing nor disbelieving—that man enters into the kingdom of God, and into the good things which he has already received by faith.

Mk. 10:17–22. And when he was gone forth into the way, one came running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor your father and mother. And he answered and said to him, Master, all these have I kept from my youth. Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said to him, One thing you lack: go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved; for he had great possessions. Some find fault with this young man, as being a sly fellow and wicked and a tempter. But this is not so; rather, the man was a lover of money, but not a tempter. For hear the evangelist, that Jesus, beholding him, loved him. Why, then, did Christ answer him thus, saying, There is none good? Because he came to him as to a man, and as to one of the many teachers. For this is what Christ says: If you suppose me to be good as a teacher, no man is good as compared with God; but if you suppose me to be good as God, why then do you name me teacher? So that by these words Christ wishes this—to make the man’s understanding loftier, to recognizing him as God. But he accomplishes yet another thing also, namely, to teach him, whenever he is about to converse with anyone, not to converse flatteringly, but to know God as the root and the fountain of goodness, and to refer the honors to him. And I marvel at this young man, that, whereas all the rest came forward concerning the healing of diseases, he himself seeks the inheritance of eternal life, even though he was held fast by a most grievous passion, the love of money, on account of which, when he heard, Go, sell, and give to the poor, he went away grieved. And mark, he did not say, Go, sell what you have piecemeal and give, but, Sell it all at once, and give—and not to flatterers and prodigals, but to the poor. And, moreover, Come, follow me—that is, lay hold also of every other virtue. For many are without possessions, yet not humble-minded; or even humble-minded, yet drunkards or having some other vice. For this cause, then, the Lord says, Sell, and give to the poor, and follow me, taking up the cross—that is, having prepared yourself for the death that is on my behalf. But he, being sad at the saying, went away. For he had great possessions; and not in vain is this added, the word but. For neither are those who have many possessions and those who have few held fast in like manner, but more grievous and harder to loose are the bonds of many possessions. But even if one be a younger man, light in mind, and not settled in his wits, let him sell what he has—such as wrath and desire, and all the evils that spring from these—and let him give and cast these away to the demons, who are poor, being deprived of every good and fallen from the riches of the goodness of God. And then let him follow Christ. For he who has cast away the riches of his sins to the demons, that man is able to follow Christ. For depart from evil, that is, from the demons; and do good, that is

Mk. 10:23–27. And Jesus looked round about, and says to his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answers again, and says to them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus, looking upon them, says, With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible. It is not riches that are evil, but those who possess them are worthy of blame; for one ought not to have them—that is, to hold them fast—but to use them to what is needful. For riches (chrēmata) are so named from their being for the use (chrēsis) of men, not from their being held fast. Those, then, who possess these and shut them up, shall hardly enter into the kingdom of God. And the word hardly here understand instead of impossible. For it is impossible for a rich man to be saved. And this is plain from the example which the Lord sets down, saying that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man into the kingdom of God. For it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. And by camel understand either the animal itself, or a thick rope, such as the greatest of ships use. It is impossible, then, for a man, while he is rich, to be saved. With God, however, this is possible. For Christ said, Make friends for yourselves out of the mammon of unrighteousness. Do you see how, when we hearken to God, this becomes possible? But with men it is impossible—that is, whenever we are minded according to men, this is impossible. And for what cause were the disciples astonished at these words? For surely they themselves were not rich. It seems to me that they were in anguish on behalf of all men. For they had already begun to become lovers of mankind. But some here are perplexed how he said, With God all things are possible. We say, then, that whenever he says all things, he means the things that are; but sin is a thing that is not. For sin is a thing without substance and without subsistence; and besides, sin is not of power, but of weakness, as the Apostle also says, Christ, when we were yet without strength, died. And again David, Their infirmities were multiplied. So that sin, being a weakness, is not possible with God. Can God, then, they say, also make that which has happened as though it had not happened? We say, then, that God is truth. But to make that which has happened as though it had not happened is a falsehood. How, then, shall the truth make the falsehood? For first it would destroy its own nature; so that this is what those say who ask, Can God, then, not be God? For you see the absurdity of the question.

Mk. 10:28–31. And Peter began to say to him: Look, we have left everything and followed you. Jesus answered and said: Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for my sake and for the gospel’s, who will not receive a hundredfold now, in the present time—houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. Peter, even if he left but little, yet names all these things. For even the little things have a bond of attachment, so that he who has left even little is blessed. But when Peter alone had asked, the Lord makes the saying universal, saying, Everyone who has left either wife or father; and he says these things, not that we should leave our fathers without help, and separate ourselves from our wives, but teaching us to prefer godliness toward God to all carnal things. For since war was kindled by the preaching, and children were about to deny their fathers for the sake of godliness, he says, Whoever shall leave his carnal kindred, and simply all bodily things for the sake of the Gospel, shall receive all things a hundredfold in the present age, and in the age to come eternal life. Shall he, then, receive wives also a hundredfold? Yes; even though the accursed Julian made comedy of this. For tell me, what does the wife contribute to the man’s household? Surely she takes care of the man’s nourishment and clothing, and the man is led to be free of all care from these things. See, then, this also in the case of the apostles: how many women took thought for their clothing and their food, and ministered to them while they took thought for nothing save the word and teaching only. Likewise the apostles had also many fathers and mothers, those who loved them all and were tenderly affectionate toward them. But Peter too, having left one house, afterward had the houses of all his disciples. And now he has the temples throughout all the earth, in his name, as splendid houses; and what is greater, that with persecutions the saints inherit all these things—that is, being persecuted, and not faring softly, but afflicted. Whence also those who seem to be last in the present age, because they are afflicted and persecuted, shall be first on account of their hope toward God; but the Pharisees too, being first, became last. And those who left all and followed Christ became first.

Mk. 10:32–34. Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them, and they were astonished, and as they followed they were afraid. And taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was about to happen to him: Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, and flog him, and spit on him, and kill him; and on the third day he will rise. For what cause does he foretell the things that should happen to him? In order to smooth out the disciples’ understanding beforehand, that having heard it in advance, they might bear it more easily, and not be struck down by its suddenness, and that they might know that he suffers willingly. For he who foreknows and is able to flee, yet flees not, plainly delivers himself up willingly to his sufferings. And taking the disciples apart, he speaks to them alone. For since the Passion was a mystery, it had to be revealed to the more intimate ones. For this cause, then, he also goes before all in the way, wishing to separate his disciples from the rest of the throng. At the same time, also, by going before all and outstripping them in the way, he shows that he runs toward the Passion, and does not flee the death that is on behalf of our salvation; only, even all the gloomy things are dissolved by this: on the third day he will rise.

Mk. 10:35–38. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come to him, saying, Master, we would that you should do for us whatever we shall ask. And he said to them, What would you that I should do for you? And they said to him, Grant to us that we may sit, one on your right hand, and one on your left hand, in your glory. But Jesus said to them, You know not what you ask. Can you drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said to him, We can. Another evangelist says that their mother came to Christ. And it is likely that both things happened: that the apostles, being ashamed, put their mother forward, and then came forward themselves privately; wherefore also the evangelist marks this, saying, They come to him, instead of, They come privately, having separated themselves from the rest. But let us learn what it was they asked. They supposed that this going up to Jerusalem was a going up to reign in a perceptible kingdom, and that after he had reigned, then he would suffer what he was about to suffer. Thinking these things, then, they ask for the seat on the right and on the left; wherefore the Lord rebukes them as seeking something foolish. For you know not, he says, what you ask. For you suppose my kingdom to be perceptible, and you ask for a perceptible seat. But it is not so; rather, all these things are above understanding. And to sit on my right hand is a great thing, surpassing even the angelic orders; and you indeed gape after glory, but I call you to death. For by cup and baptism he names the cross: a cup, as leading at once to sleep, and as gladly received by him; and a baptism, as working a cleansing of sins. But they, not understanding what he said, made their promise, supposing that he spoke concerning a perceptible cup, and a baptism such as the Jews were baptized with, washing before they ate.

Mk. 10:39–40. And Jesus said to them, You shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized with shall you be baptized; but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. The martyrdom, he says, you shall enter into, and you shall die the death that is on behalf of the truth. But to sit is not mine to give. And here two things are inquired into. The one is this: Is the sitting prepared for anyone? And the other, Can the Master of all not give this seat? We say, then, that no one shall sit on the right hand or on the left. But even though in many places of the Scripture you hear of seats, do not understand a seat, but a surpassing honor. And the saying, It is not mine to give, has this meaning: It is not mine, the just judge’s, to give you this honor by favor; for I should not be just; but to those who have striven, to those is this honor prepared—just as if a just king were presiding over some contest, and then certain friends of his came to him and said, Give us the crowns, he would say, It is not mine to give, but if anyone strive and conquer, for that one is the crown prepared; so that you also, sons of Zebedee, shall indeed bear witness for me, but if anyone be found, together with the martyrdom, having also every other virtue above you, that one shall take precedence of you.

Mk. 10:41–45. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to him, and says to them, You know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you; but whoever will be great among you, shall be your minister; and whoever of you will be the first, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. The disciples were still disposed in a human way, and were assailed by envy. Wherefore also they are displeased with the two. But when? When they saw them not received beforehand by the Lord, but, as it were, thrust away, then they are displeased. For as long as they were honored by the Lord, they endured without being displeased, although they saw them being preferred; but since here these very ones asked for the honor, the rest no longer bear it. But now indeed they were thus imperfect, while later you will see them yielding even the chief places to one another. But Christ heals them, first by calming them through bringing them near to himself. For this is what is signified by, having called them to him. Then by showing that to snatch at honor, and to be enamored of the chief places, is a heathen thing. For the rulers of the Gentiles, those bear themselves authoritatively and tyrannically. But my disciples not so; rather, he who wishes to be great, let him minister to all, since this too is the mark of a great soul, to bear with all and to serve all. And the example is near at hand; for even the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many—which is greater than to minister; for whenever anyone not only ministers, but even dies on behalf of the one ministered to, what is greater or more wonderful than this? But nevertheless this ministry and this condescension became an exaltation and a glory both for him and for all. For before he became man, he was known to the angels alone. But since he became man and was crucified, he has not only that glory, but has also taken on another besides, and reigns over the whole world.

Mk. 10:46–52. And they come to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the wayside begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And many rebuked him, that he should hold his peace; but he cried so much the more, Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called; and they call the blind man, saying to him, Be of good cheer, rise, he calls you. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him, Rabboni, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has made you whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him in the way. But Matthew speaks of two blind men. And it is likely that there were two who were healed, but that the more notable of them was this one now mentioned by Mark. And see how the multitudes too honor Jesus, so as to rebuke the blind man for crying out, as though some king were passing by. And the Lord asks him, that no one might say that the Lord gives one thing to a man who wishes another. And of a noble disposition was the soul of the blind man; for after he was healed he did not leave the Lord, but followed him. And this may also be understood in an anagogical sense. Jericho is this place below. And the blind man sitting here is human nature, which was a son of God, who is above all honor. This nature, then, cried out to Jesus as he passed through Jericho—that is, through this life. And he had mercy on it, and saved it through faith, when it had put off the old garment of sin. And being saved, it followed him, working the commandments in the way—that is, in this life. For here it is possible to follow Christ; but after these things all are shut out from working the commandments.

Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord

Mk. 11:1–6. And when they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sent forth two of his disciples, and said to them: Go your way into the village over against you; and as soon as you enter into it, you shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat. Loose him, and bring him. And if any man say to you, Why do you this? say that the Lord has need of him; and immediately he will send him here. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without, in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. And certain of them that stood there said to them, What do you, loosing the colt? And they said to them even as Jesus had commanded them; and they let them go. Often at other times also he came to Jerusalem, but never with such conspicuousness as now. For formerly he hid himself because of their envy; but now, since the time of the Passion was at hand, which he himself had appointed for himself, he comes more splendidly, that, if they should be willing, they might join in his glory, and from the prophecies concerning him being fulfilled might recognize that he is true God. But if they should not be willing to understand, it would be for them a greater condemnation, that not even after so many splendid miracles did they believe. For see how many signs there are here. He told them that they would find a colt. He told them that they would be hindered, and then, when they said that the Lord has need of him, they would be let alone. For neither is even this a small thing, that the apostles were permitted to lead away the colt—which would not have come to pass had not some divine necessity lain upon the owners of the colt, compelling them, poor men and perhaps farmers as they were, to give up the animal. But learn that not in vain did the Lord do this. For he had no need of the colt, who often went about all Galilee and Judea on foot; but he was showing that he would mount upon the Gentile people, who were disobedient and untaught, and were bound by their own sins in the place where two ways met—that is, in this life—by the door, that is, outside the Church. And it was loosed by the disciples through baptism and faith; and the Lord was carried upon it, when the apostles laid upon it their garments, that is, all the comeliness that comes from virtue. For formerly, being naked, those of the Gentiles were unseemly, doing lawless things. But when they were led by the apostles, then indeed, then did they learn to walk in seemly fashion, and for this reason Christ also is borne upon them, being carried. And who were the former masters of the colt? But the apostles become mightier even than these.

Mk. 11:7–10. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments in the way; and others cut down branches off the trees, and strewed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying: Hosanna; Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Blessed be the kingdom that comes in the name of the Lord, of our father David; Hosanna in the highest. The multitude, so long as it remains uncorrupted, recognizes what is fitting. Therefore they also honor Jesus, each according to his ability. But let us see what they sang. From David they took this hymn. And the word Hosanna, according to some, means, Save now; but according to others it means, A hymn. Yet the first is better. For in the hundred and seventeenth psalm it is written: O Lord, save now; which in the Hebrew is written Hosanna. And by the kingdom of David they meant the kingdom of Christ, both because the Lord was descended from the seed of David, and also because David is interpreted, mighty in hand, or sufficient in hand. And who else is sufficient in hand, save the Lord, whose hands wrought so many miracles? But let us also spread our garments, that is, our flesh (for the flesh is the garment of the soul), and let us subject it to the Lord. And let us strew the way of our life, cutting branches from the trees, that is, imitating the lives of the saints. For the saints are trees, from which he that imitates their virtue cuts branches. But let both our preceding and our following deeds be to the glory of God. For some have shown a good beginning in their preceding life, but the following life—I mean the latter—was not such, nor to the glory of God.

Mk. 11:11–14. And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple; and when he had looked round about upon all things, the hour now being late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. And on the morrow, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry; and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if perhaps he might find anything thereon; and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answering said to it: Let no man eat fruit of you henceforward for ever. And his disciples heard it. Jesus entered into the temple, but again went out, showing that he now leaves it desolate and given over to plunder. And he goes out to Bethany, which is interpreted, house of obedience. For leaving the unsubmissive and hard-hearted Jews, he comes with his disciples to those who obey him. But let us also consider the matter of the fig tree; for many absurdities seem to arise. First, whether he was hungry in the early morning; then, whether, the time of figs not being come, he demanded fruit; and further, what reason there is that a senseless plant should be punished. They say, then, that all this is a dispensation. For since he often wrought miracles for the benefit of men, but the disciples had not seen his power exercised to the harming of anything, for this cause, wishing here to show the disciples that he is able also to harm, and that, if he willed, he could in a single moment of time make away with those who were about to crucify him, he displays his power upon the senseless tree. And this too is a great marvel: how a tree so full of sap was suddenly withered. For the fig tree is well-near the most full of sap of all. And in the early morning he hungers, by dispensation yielding to the flesh, and seeks fruit from the tree that had not the season of fruit, in order that, as I said above, he might show the disciples that he is able also to punish. And this fig tree has also a figure of the Jewish Synagogue, who had leaves only, that is, a law affording them a shadow, but had no fruit at all. And Jesus hungered for their salvation. For my food, he says, is to do the will of my Father. And the will of God is to turn back those who sin. Since, then, the synagogue had no fruit, it was cursed and withered, having neither prophet nor teacher.

Mk. 11:15–18. And they come to Jerusalem; and Jesus, having entered into the temple, began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of them that sold doves; and he would not allow that any man should carry a vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying to them: Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but you have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and the chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him; for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his teaching. That those who sold were cast out by Jesus, John also relates. But he places it at the beginning of the Gospel, this one near the end. It is likely, then, that this happened a second time, which is also a greater accusation against the Jews, seeing that, though the Lord had done the same thing many times, they were not turned. And he names the temple a den of thieves, because of their love of gain. For the race of thieves is set agog about gaining. Since, then, they too sold the animals brought for sacrifice for the sake of gain, he named them thieves. And the moneychangers (kollybistai) were those who exchanged the coinage. For the kollybos is a kind of small copper coin. And he sets over them as accuser the prophet Isaiah also, who says: My house shall be called a house of prayer. But may it not come to pass that we too be cast out of the temple. For many of us also enter into our temple, selling good things and buying worse. And there are also those who have tables full of small coin—those who manage and administer the affairs of the Church, but through love of money do everything. But the seats also of those who sell doves are overthrown—that is, the chief priests who sell the spiritual gifts (for the dove is a symbol of the Spirit) the Lord thrusts out of the high priesthood. For he who ordains for the giving of gold is deposed. But also whoever betrays to the devil the grace and purity that come of baptism, this man has sold his dove, and for this cause is cast out of the temple.

Mk. 11:19–23. And when evening was come, he went forth out of the city. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. And Peter, calling to remembrance, says to him: Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered. And Jesus answering says to them: Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, that whoever shall say to this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that the things which he says come to pass, it shall be to him whatever he says. Even though Matthew says that the fig tree was withered immediately, and the disciples, seeing it, marveled, be not troubled now in hearing Mark say that on the morrow they saw the fig tree withered. For thus ought one to understand the passage in Matthew, namely that the fig tree was withered immediately. Stop, then, at this point; and then say, And the disciples, seeing it, marveled. When? When they saw it—not immediately, but on the morrow. Understanding it thus, nothing perplexing will meet you. And see how from this too Christ is shown to be God. For the Lord says through the prophets: I wither the green tree, and make the dry tree to flourish again. And marvel at the divine love for man, how to those also who are made like to him through faith he gives power to work miracles, which he himself has by nature, who is able even to remove mountains. And a mountain is also the high-minded disposition, being something lofty and hard. Whoever, then, sees the passion of pride dwelling within him, let him be diligent to cast it out of his own oversight and forethought (for that man is proud who says that he himself sets all things right, and not through God); such a one, then, ought to rebuke this mountain—the pride, I mean—and to say to it: Be removed, and be cast into the sea, that is, into worldly men, who are in the sea of this life and are unbelieving. And let this man not doubt, that is, be not separated from God. For the proud man is separated from God, saying that, Nothing is from God, neither have I need of his alliance.

Mk. 11:24–26. Therefore I say to you, Whatever things you ask, praying, believe that you receive them, and they shall be to you. And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have aught against any one, that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses; but if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses. He who believes without doubting has assuredly stretched up his heart to God, according to the saying of David, he poured out his soul before God. And he that has stretched up his heart to God is united to him, and his heart, being warmed through, is assured that he shall obtain his request. Whoever, then, has experienced this, that man shall know it. And I think that all experience this, at least those who attend even moderately. For this cause, then, the Lord says, that You shall receive all things, as many as you ask with faith. For he that believes gives his whole self to God, conversing with him with tears and, as it were, clasping the feet of the Master in prayer. But do you wish to receive what you ask in yet another way? Forgive if in anything your brother has sinned against you. Do you see the easiness of the gift of God?

Mk. 11:27–33. And they come again to Jerusalem; and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, and they say to him: By what authority do you these things? and who gave you this authority, that you should do these things? And Jesus answering said to them: I will also ask you one thing, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? answer me. And they reasoned among themselves, saying: If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, From men—they feared the people; for all held John, that he was indeed a prophet. And they answered and say to Jesus, We know not. And Jesus answering says to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. Being maddened because he had cast out of the temple those who trafficked, they come to him, feigning to be at a loss, forsooth, by what authority he does these things. For they said to him all but this: Who are you that do these things? Have you been set up as a teacher? Have you been ordained a high priest? And these things they said, being eager to drive him into a strait, that they might lay hold of him. For if he should say that, By my own authority I do these things, they would stone him as an adversary of God. But if he should say that, By the authority of God, they would estrange from him the crowd, which deemed him to be God. The Lord, then, asks them concerning John, not in vain nor sophistically counterattacking. But since John bore witness concerning him, for this cause he asks the evildoers concerning him, in order that, if they should receive John as being from God, they might be compelled to receive also the testimony concerning Christ, which John bore. But since those men were willfully malicious, Neither do I, he says, tell you. He did not say that, Neither do I know what to say; but, Neither do I tell you—that is, Since you act maliciously, I will not count you worthy of an answer.

Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites

Mk. 12:1–9. And he began to speak to them in parables: A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and dug a winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent to them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others, beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one beloved son of his, he sent him also last to them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. The vineyard is the people which the Lord planted. For Restore, he says, this vine, which your right hand has planted. And Moses says: Bring them in and plant them in your holy mountain. And the hedge is the law, hindering them from mingling with the other nations. The tower is the temple, being conspicuous. And the winefat is the altar, where the blood was poured out. And he let it out to husbandmen, the teachers and rulers of the Jews from time to time. And he sent one servant—perhaps the prophets about Elijah’s time, such as Micaiah, whom Zedekiah the false prophet smote. And a second servant, whom they stoned and wounded in the head, that is, they completed and brought to a head their insolence—the prophets such as Hosea and Isaiah. And a third servant, those in the captivity, those about Daniel and Ezekiel. And last God sent his Son, who was named man because of his love for man, saying, They will reverence my son. Not in ignorance of the future did he say this, but speaking of what was fitting and likely to be done. But the evil husbandmen, learning that this is the Son of God, cast him out of the vineyard, that is, outside Jerusalem, and killed him. For outside the city he was crucified. The lord of the vineyard, then, the Father of the murdered Son—or rather the murdered one himself—will destroy the husbandmen, delivering them up to the Romans. And he will let out the people to other husbandmen, that is, to the apostles. For do you wish to see how the apostles tilled the vineyard? Read the book of Acts, and you will find three thousand and five thousand believing all at once and bearing fruit to God.

Mk. 12:10–12. Have you not read even this Scripture: The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner; this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes? And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the multitude; for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them. And leaving him, they went their way. Through all these things he shows the Jews to be cast off, and the nations received. For the stone is the Lord himself, and the builders are the teachers of the people. The stone, therefore, which the builders rejected, this became the head of the corner, having become the head of the Church. And the corner is the Church, as joining together and making one both Jews and Greeks, even as the corner also joins walls one to another, mediating between both. And this corner, that is, the Church, was from the Lord, and is marvelous in our eyes, the eyes of the faithful. For to the unbelieving even the miracles are lost. Marvelous, therefore, is the Church, as constituted out of miracles, the Lord working together with the apostles and confirming the word through the signs that followed.

Mk. 12:13–17. And they send to him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in his speech. And coming, they say to him: Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no one; for you regard not the person of men, but in truth teach the way of God. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them: Why do you tempt me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he says to them: Whose is this image and superscription? And they said to him, Caesar’s. And Jesus answering said to them: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at him. We have spoken at another time also concerning the Herodians, that it was a certain newly-appeared sect of those who said that Herod was the Christ, because in his times the successions of the Jewish kings failed. But others say that the Herodians are here those soldiers of Herod whom the Pharisees took along, that they might be witnesses of the things to be said by Christ, and afterward might arrest him and lead him away. And see their malignity, how with flattery they attempt to deceive the Lord. We know that you regard not the person of man—so that you will not stand in awe of Caesar either. And the whole of this was a snare, having precipices on both sides, so that, if he should say it is lawful to pay to Caesar, they might slander him to the crowd, as one enslaving them; but if he should say not to pay, they might accuse him as one stirring up the people against Caesar. But the fountain of wisdom escapes their toils. Show me, he says, the coin. And seeing that it has the image of Caesar, he says, Render that which has the image to him whose image it is, that is, to Caesar. And the things of God to God, that is, nothing hinders, as regards piety toward God, the paying to Caesar. One may both pay tribute to Caesar, and render to God the things that are his. And Caesar is, for each of us, also the inescapable necessity of the body. The Lord, therefore, commands us to render to the body also its own things, food and necessary coverings, and the things of God to God—watchfulness, fitting prayer, and the rest. But to the devil also, who is a Caesar, cast back the things given you by him—anger, lust, and the rest. And the things of God, offer to God.

Mk. 12:18–27. And there come to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying: Teacher, Moses wrote to us, that if any man’s brother die, and leave a wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. There were seven brethren; and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed; and the second took her, and died, neither did he leave any seed; and the third likewise. And the seven took her, and left no seed. Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. And Jesus answering said to them: Do you not therefore err, not knowing the Scriptures, neither the power of God? For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as angels which are in the heavens. And as touching the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You therefore do greatly err. A sect of the Jews are the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit. And approaching obliquely, as crafty men, they fabricate this tale, by it forsooth overturning the resurrection, putting forward a contrary supposition that never came to pass, nor perhaps ever will. And they compose seven men as having married the woman, that they might the more tear the resurrection to pieces. The Lord, then, since those men put forward the law of Moses, shows them to be ignorant of the Scriptures. For you are ignorant, he says, of what manner of resurrection the Scripture speaks. For you think that again there shall be such a condition, more bodily; but it is not so. Thus you are ignorant of the meaning of the Scripture; but you are ignorant of the power of God also. For you look to the difficulty of the matter, and therefore are at a loss how the dissolved bodies shall be able to come together with the souls. But to the power of God this is as nothing. There shall be, then, a resurrection—not bodily, but a more divine and angelic condition. For since we are not to be corrupted, but to remain the same, for this cause marriage also is no longer necessary; for now marriage comes to pass because of corruption, that, being maintained by the succession of the race, we may not be done away. But then, just as the angels, without succession of marriage, are the same, and never come to an end, so also those who rise, without marriage, remain undiminished. And in another way too they are convicted of not knowing the Scriptures. For if they had understood these, they would have understood also how that was said, I am the God of Abraham, as plainly of the living. For he did not say, I was; but, I am. As of those who stand fast, and have not perished. But should one say that the Lord said this concerning the soul of Abraham alone, and not also concerning the body, so that the bodies do not rise—I say, then, first, that Abraham means the two together, soul and body, so that he is God of the body also, it living with God, and not having gone wholly into non-being. Then, that the Sadducees were in doubt concerning the resurrection of the bodies; so that the Lord also spoke concerning the bodies, that they live with God, not concerning the souls. For this had already been acknowledged even among the carnal Sadducees. Then consider this also: the resurrection is the rising again of that which has fallen. And it was not the soul that fell, for it is immortal, but the body; this, then, shall also rise again, being once more interwoven with its yokefellow soul.

Mk. 12:28–34. And one of the scribes came, having heard them disputing together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, that the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like to it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said to him: Well, Teacher, you have said in truth that there is one God, and there is none other but he; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And Jesus, seeing that he answered sensibly, said to him: You are not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that dared ask him any question. Matthew says that he came tempting him, but Mark here says that he answered sensibly. Do they then contradict one another? Not at all; but it is likely that at first he asked as one tempting, and then, being benefited by the answer of Christ and answering sensibly, was praised. And see the praise also, how it does not bear witness that he is perfect. For he did not say, You are within the kingdom of God, but, You are not far. And for what cause did this lawyer put forward this question at all to Christ? Thinking to take hold of Christ as one who would correct the law, and for this cause to accuse him as opposed to the law. But the Lord, showing him that it is from not having love but being melted with envy that he comes to such questions, says that the first and great commandment is to love God, and the second like to it, to love one’s neighbor. And how is it like? Because they are held together by one another. For he that loves God loves also his creature; and the most intimate of his creatures is man; so that he that loves God will love also all men. And he that loves his neighbor much more loves God. For if he loves men, who often furnish occasions of stumbling and offenses, much more does he love God, who ever does him good. And hear the Lord also: He that loves me will keep my commandments. Do you see that from loving God we keep his commandments, and his commandments all treat of love toward one another? And again, By this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Do you see again, how from loving one another there is constituted the having of friendship toward Christ, and the being his disciples and friends? And consider how he enumerated all the powers of the soul. For there is a power of the soul, the animal, which he hints at in saying, with all your soul. For he wills that anger and desire be given wholly to the love of God. There is also another power of the soul, the one called vegetative, which is termed nutritive and growth-giving. And this also must be given wholly to God. There is also a third, the rational. This too must be dedicated to the mind. All the powers of the soul, then, we must dedi—[1]

Mk. 12:35–40. And Jesus answered and said, teaching in the temple: How say the scribes that the Christ is the son of David? For David himself said in the Holy Spirit: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. David himself therefore calls him Lord; and whence is he his son? And the great multitude heard him gladly. And he said to them in his teaching: Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the chief places at feasts; who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater condemnation. Since the Lord was about to come to his Passion, he corrects the mistaken opinion of the scribes, who supposed that the Christ was the son of David, but not Lord. He demonstrates, then, that he is God, from the very words of David, and not simply, but striking fear by saying, Till I make your enemies your footstool. And they were assuredly his enemies, whom God and Father set as a footstool of the feet of Christ. And see also how he asks. For he did not say, What think you concerning me? but, concerning the Christ; so that they might not contend. But neither can you tell me that David said this apart from the Spirit, but in the Spirit he called him Lord, that is, breathed upon by the grace of the Spirit. How then is Christ the son of David, and not also his Lord and God? The crowd, then, heard him gladly. And he said to them—I mean to those of the crowd—Guard yourselves against the scribes, who wear more solemn robes, and from these wish to be preferred, and accept the salutations and acclamations in the marketplaces, and whatever else they practice to vainglory, who also devour the houses of widows. For they crept in upon the unprotected women, as though they would be their protectors, and on the pretext of praying at length, and under the guise of reverence and with hypocrisy deceiving the simpler sort, devoured the houses of the rich. These, then, shall be condemned more than the other Jews who sin. For the mighty shall be mightily put to the test. Then he teaches them not to live after the manner of the scribes, being earnest, and fittingly showing them concerning their manner of life as well.

Mk. 12:41–44. And Jesus, sitting over against the treasury, beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. And calling to him his disciples, he says to them: Truly I say to you, that this poor widow has cast in more than all they that have cast into the treasury; for all they cast in of their abundance, but she of her want cast in all that she had, even all her living. A marvelous custom prevailed among the Jews, that those who had and wished might cast into the treasure in the temple (for this was called the treasury), so that from these the priests and the poor and the widows might be supported. While many, then, were doing this, a widow also, coming forward, displayed her purpose richer than her ability. Glory to you, Christ, who accept also the small things above the great oftentimes. May it come to pass that my soul also become a widow, casting off Satan, to whom it was joined, and cast into the sacred treasure two mites, the flesh and the mind, having made them thin—the flesh through abstinence, and the mind through humility—that I also may hear that I have made my whole life sacred, leaving no thought or motion to the world.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek column breaks off here mid-word (ἀναθε-, for ἀναθεῖναι, “to dedicate”); the segment is cut short at the foot of the column.

Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour

Mk. 13:1–4. And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples says to him: Teacher, see what manner of stones, and what manner of buildings! And Jesus answering said to him: Do you see these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately: Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be about to be consummated? Since the Lord had spoken many things concerning the desolation of Jerusalem, saying that, Your house is left to you desolate, his disciples, marveling, as though such great size and beauty of buildings should be made to vanish, point out to him the great seemliness of the temple. But he foretells that these things shall perish none the less, and to such a degree that not a stone shall be left upon a stone. And indeed some say that many remains of Jerusalem, the old city, were left behind, so that they attempt thereby to prove Christ false; but this is not so. For even if certain remains were left behind—which is not true—yet at any rate, until the universal consummation, not a stone shall be left upon a stone. Yet it is recorded that Aelius Hadrian dug down the city and the temple from their very foundations, so that this too was fulfilled in his time, namely, that not a stone should be left upon a stone. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, they came to him, asking, When shall these things be?—that is, when shall the things of Jerusalem be consummated? But he, before answering them concerning the things about which they asked, secures their understanding, lest they be led astray. For since, when the affairs throughout Judea began to sicken, certain men rose up calling themselves teachers, the Lord says: Take heed lest you be led astray.

Mk. 13:5–13. But Jesus, answering them, began to say: Take heed lest any man lead you astray; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and shall lead many astray. But when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not troubled; these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be earthquakes in various places. And there shall be famines and tumults. These are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves; for they shall deliver you up to councils, and in synagogues you shall be beaten, and before governors and kings you shall stand for my sake, for a testimony to them. And the Gospel must first be preached among all nations. Many shall come—such as was Judas, and Theudas, who said that they had been sent by God. And you shall hear of wars, he says, which Josephus also records to have come to pass before the capture. For indeed the nation rose up in revolt, and would not pay the tribute to the Romans. And they, being angered, came against them and made continual incursions; but it was not yet the end of Jerusalem, for the Romans dealt humanely with them. And not only did wars come to pass, but also God-sent plagues, famines and earthquakes, God plainly showing them that he himself was warring against them. And all these things are the beginning of sorrows—that is, of the evils about to befall them. But take heed to yourselves; for they shall deliver you up to councils. Opportunely he inserted the narration concerning themselves, that they shall deliver you up to councils, so that they might have some consolation, from the common calamities, amid their own. But in saying also, For my sake you shall be brought before governors and kings, he placed no small consolation in them, namely, that they are about to suffer for his sake. And the saying, For a testimony to them—that is, to their being without defense, and thenceforth already condemned; because those who racked you were not able to prevail over the truth. Then, lest they should think that the dangers and the afflictions hinder the preaching, he says that the Gospel must also be preached among all nations, and then shall Jerusalem be taken. For that the Gospel was preached before the capture, hear Paul: Their sound went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. And this too came to pass to the greater condemnation of the Jews, namely, that it was preached everywhere before the capture. For they ought, seeing how in a short time the preaching ran out into all the world, to have recognized the power of God, and to have repented, and to have been freed from their misfortunes; but they understood not. Therefore their judgment too is the greater. But when they lead you, delivering you up, take no thought beforehand what you shall speak, neither premeditate; but whatever shall be given you in that hour, that speak. For it is not you that speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father the child; and children shall rise up against parents, and shall put them to death. And you shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. For before the war was wholly kindled, what did the apostles not suffer at their hands, being set before tribunals, and led away before kings—Herod and Agrippa and Nero? Take no thought beforehand, then, what you shall answer in your defense, but in that very hour the Holy Spirit shall give you what you shall speak. And he foretells to them also the worst of all, that you shall be warred upon even by your nearest kin. And he says this, so that, hearing it beforehand, they may be prepared, and may thereafter bear the dreadful thing lightly. Then the consolation: the For my sake you shall be hated. For to be hated for his sake is enough to lighten all misfortunes. But the being saved for him that endures to the end—this too is the greatest comfort.

Mk. 13:14–17. But when you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not—let him that reads understand—then let them that are in Judea flee to the mountains. And let him that is upon the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter in to take anything out of his house; and let him that is in the field not turn back to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. The abomination of desolation is the statue of him that took the city. For every idol is called an abomination. And [it is the abomination] of desolation, because, when Jerusalem was taken and was suffering desolation, they set it up within the inmost sanctuary of the temple. But Pilate too, having brought in by night the images of Caesar into the temple, became the cause of much tumult to the multitude. From that time began both the war and the desolation of Jerusalem. Then, therefore, let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. And well did he say, those in Judea. For the apostles were not in Judea, but, as we have said, before the war they were driven out from Jerusalem; or rather, they themselves went out, moved by the divine Spirit. Let those, then, who are found in Judea flee; and let him that is upon the housetop turn back for none of the things in the house. And it is to be welcomed if one be saved even with naked body. But to them that have children and to them that are with child, woe. Why? Because they that have children, being held fast by their affection toward them, will not be able to flee; and they that are with child, by reason of the burden of pregnancy, neither will these have their flight easy. And I think that he signifies here also the devouring of children. For, being besieged in the famine, they laid hands even upon their own children.

Mk. 13:18–20. But pray that your flight be not in winter. For those days shall be affliction, such as has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, neither shall be. And except the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh should have been saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom he chose, he shortened the days. For if the flight should be in winter, by the difficulty of the season those who wish to flee will be hindered; and altogether there shall be affliction, more grievous than any that have ever come to pass or shall come to pass. And except God had shortened—that is, had quickly brought to an end—the war of the Romans, no flesh should have been saved—that is, no Jew should have been left; but for the elect’s sake—that is, those of the Hebrews who had believed, or who were yet about to believe—the war was quickly brought to an end. For God, foreknowing that many of the Hebrews would believe after the capture, for this cause did not permit the race to be utterly destroyed. And these things may also be raised to a more moral sense. The abomination of desolation is every satanic thought standing in a holy place, our mind. Then, therefore, let him that is in Judea flee to the mountainous country—that is, let him that has made confession run up to the mountains of the virtues. For Judea means confession; and let him that stands on high not go down. For when some passionate thought has stood within us, we must, through confession, run up to the high places, and not go down from the height of virtue. And let him that works the good not turn back so as to take up the old conscience, which is the garment that he has put off. But woe to him that flees in winter; for we must flee from sin with warmth, and not coldly and without motion. For such is the thing that fleeing in winter darkly hints at.

Mk. 13:21–26. Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is the Christ; lo, there; believe it not. For false christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall give signs and wonders, to lead astray, if it were possible, even the elect. But take you heed; behold, I have foretold you all things. But in those days, after that affliction, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall be falling, and the powers that are in the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. He has now fulfilled the things concerning Jerusalem. And he begins thenceforth to speak concerning the coming of the Antichrist. And the word then do not understand to mean that, when the things said above concerning Jerusalem have come to pass, then, if any man say to you, Lo, here is the Christ, believe it not; but know that this is an idiom of Scripture, just as Matthew also, after the birth of Christ, says, In those days comes John. In what days? Surely the days immediately following the birth of Christ? No, but indefinitely. So therefore here too he says, then—not when Jerusalem is made desolate, but, in the times of the coming of the Antichrist, be not led astray. For many shall counterfeit the name of Christ, so as to lead astray even the elect. And after the coming of the Antichrist, all creation shall be altered, the stars being darkened by reason of the excess of the light of Christ. And the angelic powers shall be shaken—that is, they shall be astounded, beholding so great a change come to pass, and their fellow-servants being judged. And then shall they see a perfect body; for that which is beheld is altogether a body. But [they shall see him] of much power and glory.[1]

Mk. 13:27–31. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now from the fig tree learn the parable: when its branch is already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near. So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that it is near, even at the doors. Truly I say to you, that this generation shall not pass away, until all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Do you see that the Son too sends the angels, even as the Father does? Where, then, are those who say that he is not equal to God the Father? The angels, then, shall come, gathering together the elect, that, caught up in the clouds, they may meet the Lord. And from the fig tree learn what I say: just as, when the fig tree already has leaves, immediately the summer is at hand, so also, after the affliction of the Antichrist, at once, with nothing intervening, comes the coming of Christ, which is in very truth a summer to the righteous after winter, but to the sinners a winter after summer. Truly I say to you, that this generation—that is, of the faithful, of the Christians I mean—shall not pass away until all these things, both those concerning Jerusalem and concerning the coming of the Antichrist, be done. For surely he does not mean the generation of the apostles. Since the apostles do not live even until the consummation of the world—they, the greater part of whom did not even attain to live until the consummation of Jerusalem. The generation of the Christians, then, he means, consoling the apostles. For lest they should suppose that, when so many evils came to pass, the faith would perhaps fail, he says: Take courage, the generation of the faithful shall not pass away, neither shall it fail. For sooner shall these immovable elements—heaven, I mean, and earth—pass away, than my words be put to shame.

Mk. 13:32–37. But of that day and that hour no one knows, neither the angels that are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you know not when the time is. As a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave to his servants the authority, and to each his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch therefore; for you know not when the lord of the house comes, at evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning; lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you I say to all: Watch. The Lord, wishing to restrain the disciples from asking concerning that day and that hour, says that neither the angels, nor the Son knows. For if he had said, I know indeed, but I do not wish to reveal it to you, he would have grieved them. But now he handles it more wisely, and altogether keeps them from seeking to learn and from troubling him, by saying that, Neither the angels, nor I know. And from a certain example you may understand what is said. Often little children see their fathers holding something in their hands, and they seek it. But the fathers will not give it. And they whimper, as not receiving it; at last, however, the fathers hide that which they hold, and, showing their hands empty to the children, make them cease from weeping. So also the Lord, dealing with the apostles as with children, hid the day. For if he had said, I know, but I do not tell it, they would have been vexed, as not learning it from him. But that the Lord knows the day and the hour is manifest. For he himself made the ages; that, then, which he made, how does he not know it? But indeed God also profitably hid the consummation of life—whether the universal, or that of each single one—that, the end being uncertain, we may ever strive, expecting it and fearing lest it come upon us unprepared. And let us consider also the words. At evening the end stands over one, when a man dies in old age. At midnight, when one is of middle age. At cockcrowing, when reason is made complete in us. For the cock is reason, which rouses us from the sleep of insensibility. When, then, the child begins to live according to reason and to be of understanding, then the cock crows in him. And morning is the wholly childish age. We must, then, all take forethought for the end. For even if it be an infant, forethought must be taken for this one too, lest it depart unbaptized. And the Lord enjoins these things upon all—both upon the more worldly and upon the more solitary. We ought, therefore, both to watch and to pray, these two things together. For many watch indeed, but spend the nights upon wicked things. And mark how he did not say, I know not when the time is, but, You know not. For he hid it for our profit. For if even now, the end being uncertain, we rage against one another, what would we not do if we were squandering the time before our death, and then in a single day [work] the worst of evils?[2]

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek is defective here; the closing clause breaks off (ἀλλ᾽ οἱ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς), evidently echoing the lemma’s “with great power and glory.”

[2] Translator’s note: The Greek of the closing sentence is defective (τί οὐκ ἂν ἐποιοῦμεν εἰ πρὸ τῆς τελευτῆς καιρὸν ἀνηλίσκομεν ἄν, εἶτα μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ χείριστα); the apodosis is incomplete, and the sense is rendered conjecturally.

Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest

Mk. 14:1–2. Now after two days was the Passover, and the feast of unleavened bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be a tumult of the people.

Mk. 14:3–5. And while he was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of ointment of spikenard, pure and very costly. And breaking the jar, she poured it on his head. But some were indignant among themselves and said: Why has this waste of the ointment been made? For it could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor. And they scolded her. On the fourth day the council was formed. And for this reason we too fast on the fourth days. They, then, wished to put off the time of the feast; but they were not permitted, but he himself, keeping the time of his passion for himself, was well-pleased to be crucified at the Passover. For he himself was the true Passover. Whence one may marvel at his power. For when they wished to seize him, they were not able; but when they wished, on account of the feast, to defer it, then he himself willingly gave himself up. And while he was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came. And all four make mention of the ointment. And it seems to some to be one woman, but it is not, but they are two. One, she that is in John, who was also the sister of Lazarus. And the other, she that is in the remaining three. Yet take heed, you will find these to be three. In John one, in Luke another, and in the two yet another single one. For she that is in Luke was both a harlot and appears about the middle of the preaching; whereas she that is in Matthew, near the time of the passion. And she was not confessedly a harlot; but the Lord accepts her purpose, as having spent so much upon the spikenard. And by pistic spikenard understand either a kind of spikenard so called, πιστική, or the genuine, unadulterated spikenard, prepared with faith (πίστις). And some were indignant. But John says that it was Judas who had indignation. It is likely, then, that the other apostles also blamed the woman, as having heard Christ ever teaching concerning almsgiving; Judas, however, had indignation against the woman not with the same aim, but on account of his love of money and his shameful greed. For this reason, then, John also makes mention of him alone, as having blamed the woman with a treacherous aim. And they scolded her—that is, they were indignant, reviled her, and rebuked her.

Mk. 14:6–9. But Jesus said: Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has wrought a good work on me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you will you may do them good; but me you have not always. She has done what she could; she has come beforehand to anoint my body for the burying. And truly I say to you, Wherever this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. The Lord blames the apostles, as unseasonably hindering the woman’s ready—or rather divinely moved—purpose. For why, he says, do you trouble her, turning her away, after she had offered the gift, by the reproach? And at the same time he also strikes the betrayer, in saying that, She has done this for my burying, and convicts him as one without conscience. All but saying this to him: You, betraying me to death, do not convict yourself; but she, bringing the ointment for my burial, as though moved by God, is she worthy to be convicted by you? And here the Lord prophesies two prophecies: both that the Gospel shall be preached in all the world, and that the work of the woman shall be preached together with it. Let them, therefore, be ashamed, who prefer the poor to Christ. For I myself have heard goldsmiths saying that, If I melt down the sacred vessel and give it to the poor, and I myself live thereby, there is no condemnation. Let them hear, then, how Christ prefers his own service to the poor. And the body of Christ, properly, is that which is on the golden paten, and the blood that which is in the chalice. He, then, who takes away the precious paten, and compels the body of Christ to be set in a meaner vessel, putting forward the poor as a pretext, let him know of what portion he is.

Mk. 14:10–11. And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests, to betray him to them. And they, when they heard it, were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him. When the woman displayed her own generosity, then the disciple goes mad—the one of the twelve. For not idly is it set down, one of the twelve; but that he might show that this man too was one of the chosen and select. And what is, that he might betray him?—that is, that he might give them information when he should be alone; for they feared to fall upon him while teaching, on account of the crowd. He, then, promised to deliver him to them set apart and alone.

Mk. 14:12–16. And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples say to him: Where will you that we go and prepare, that you may eat the Passover? And he sends two of his disciples, and says to them: Go into the city, and a man shall meet you bearing a pitcher of water; follow him, and wherever he shall go in, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says: Where is the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us. By the first day of unleavened bread he means the fifth day, which was before the unleavened bread. For the unleavened bread was eaten on the day of preparation. The disciples, then, come, asking where they should eat the Passover. And from this it is plain that Christ had no lodging of his own, nor yet had the disciples houses. For if they had had them, they would have received him there. And he sends two of his disciples, Peter and John, as Luke says, to an unknown man, showing them that he was able not to suffer. For he who persuaded the mind of this unknown man to receive him, what would he not have wrought among the others? And he gives them also a sign for the finding of the house, namely, to follow a man bearing a pitcher of water. And these things may also be raised to a higher sense. He that has been baptized bears a pitcher of water. And he goes into a house, the condition befitting rational beings. For he that bears the baptism comes to rest, living according to reason, and resting, as in a house, upon this condition—the mind, which shows a large upper room, the height of its own thoughts. But this upper room is also furnished—that is, even if it is lofty, yet it has nothing rough or proud, but is spread and made low with humble-mindedness. There, then, in such a mind I mean, the Passover is made ready for Christ by two disciples, Peter and John—of action, and of knowledge and contemplation. For Peter, as fervent, is the practical one, and John the contemplative, as a theologian.

Mk. 14:17–21. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said to them, and they made ready the Passover. And when evening was come, he comes with the twelve. And as they reclined and ate, Jesus said: Truly I say to you, that one of you shall betray me, he that eats with me. And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one: Is it I? and another, Is it I? And he answering said to them: One of the twelve, he that dips with me in the dish. The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had never been born. How did they recline, when the law commanded the Passover to be eaten standing? It is likely, then, that they first accomplished the legal Passover, and then reclined, being about to deliver his own Passover. And the disciples began to be sorrowful on account of the word of the Lord, which he had said, that “One of you shall betray me.” For although they were outside this passion, yet they were in anguish, trusting God, who knows the hearts, more than themselves. And mark also the word, He goes. For the death of Christ was as it were a journey abroad, not a death. And the saying, It had been good if he had not been born, was said with reference to the punishment which the betrayer shall undergo. For it is better not to have been born at all, than to have been born to punishment. From the outcome, then, it appears better that Judas had not existed at all. For God indeed made him for good works. But since he himself fell away into so great a wickedness, it was, as it seems, better that he had not been born at all.

Mk. 14:22–25. And as they ate, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave to them, and said: Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them; and they all drank of it. And he said to them: This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many. Truly I say to you, that I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Some say that Judas did not partake of the mysteries, but went out before the Lord delivered the mysteries. But others say that he imparted even to him, the thankless one, of the holy things. And having blessed—instead of, having given thanks—he broke the bread. Which we also do, adding prayers over it. This is my body—this which you now receive. For the bread is not a figure of the Lord’s body, but is changed into that very body of Christ. For the Lord also says: The bread which I will give is my flesh. He did not say, It is a figure of my flesh, but, It is my flesh. And again: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man… And how? he says; for flesh is not seen. On account of our weakness, O man. For since bread and wine are familiar to us, but, seeing blood and flesh set forth, we would not have borne it, but would have recoiled; for this reason the Lover of mankind, condescending to us, keeps the appearance of bread and wine, but transelements them into the power of flesh and blood. And he said blood of the New Testament, in contradistinction to the Old. For the Old Testament too, that also had blood, by which both the people and the book of the law were sprinkled. And I will not drink of the wine, he says, until the resurrection. For he names the resurrection a kingdom, as having then reigned over death. After the resurrection, then, he ate and drank with the disciples, giving assurance that he himself is the same who suffered. And he drinks it new—that is, in a new and strange manner; for he no longer had a passible body, needing nourishment, but an incorruptible and immortal one. And understand it also thus: the vine is the Lord himself, and the fruit of the vine the mysteries, and the hidden knowledge which he himself begets, who teaches man knowledge. In the kingdom of God, then—that is, in the eighth age—he will drink with his disciples the mysteries and the wisdom, teaching us certain new things, and revealing the things which are now hidden.

Mk. 14:26–31. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of Olives. And Jesus says to them, that All you shall be offended in me this night; for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said to him, Even if all shall be offended, yet not I. And Jesus says to him: Truly I say to you, that you today, this night, before the cock crow twice, shall deny me three times. But he spoke the more vehemently: Rather, even if I must die with you, I will in no wise deny you. And likewise also said they all. They gave thanks both before drinking, and they gave thanks after drinking, that we too may learn that we ought to give thanks and to sing a hymn, both before food and after food. And at the same time he shows this also, that the death on our behalf is welcome to him, who, going forth to be betrayed, sings a hymn to God. And altogether he teaches us also, when we fall into grievous things for the salvation of many, not to be downcast, but to give thanks to God, who through our affliction saves the others.[1] [He went out of the city] that, having come upon him and seized him, they might not make so great a tumult. For if they had come upon him while he was in the city, perhaps the multitude would have been stirred up over him; and then the enemies, seizing on a plausible pretext, would have contrived to slay him justly, as a seditious man. And he prophesies to them that they shall also be offended. Then, lest such a thing should seem to be a manifest accusation of all, he brings forward also a testimony from the prophet Zechariah, that they shall be scattered. And lastly he adds also a consolation to them, that I will go before you into Galilee—that is, I will precede you. But Peter resists; wherefore you also hear that, Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me three times. And this is of such a kind. Peter denied once; then the cock crowed; and when he had denied the other two denials, then the cock crowed again. This, then, is what he says here: Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me three times. And likewise also all, displaying a cold fervor, made promises, making the very Truth a liar; wherefore the Lord also yields, and human nature displays the things that are its own. For altogether the Lord was able to keep them, and especially Peter; yet nevertheless he let them be, that we might not be confident in ourselves. And the saying, I will smite the shepherd, the Father says. For since he permitted him to be smitten, he himself is said to smite him who, by his own permission, was smitten. And the sheep he named the apostles, as guileless.

Mk. 14:32–42. And they come to a place named Gethsemane; and he says to his disciples: Sit here, while I pray. And he takes Peter and James and John with him, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy. And he says to them: My soul is exceeding sorrowful to death; tarry here, and watch. And going forward a little, he fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said: Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; take away this cup from me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will. And he comes, and finds them sleeping; and he says to Peter: Simon, do you sleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away and prayed, speaking the same words. And returning, he found them asleep again; for their eyes were heavy, and they knew not what to answer him. And he comes the third time, and says to them: Sleep on now, and take your rest. It is enough; the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrays me is at hand. He was ever wont to pray alone, giving a pattern to us also, that we should seek stillness in our prayers. And he takes the three only, those who had also become beholders of his glory on Tabor, that they who had seen the glorious things might see also the sorrowful, and might learn that he was truly a man also, and is grieved and is heavy even as we. For since he took upon himself the whole man with the natural properties, altogether he will also be grieved and be heavy naturally. For we men are by nature ill-disposed toward death. By saying, then, Let the cup pass, he showed the human; but by saying, Not what I will, but what you will, he teaches us, that even when nature constrains us, we should think above it, asking for that which is pleasing to God. And when, having come after the prayer, he found the three sleeping, he rebukes Peter alone, all but saying such things to him: Are you not he that promised to die with me? You were not able to watch one hour, and will you despise death? But watch and pray, lest you enter into the temptation of denying me. For your spirit indeed is willing not to deny me; and for this cause you also promise me this; but the flesh is weak; so that, unless the Lord through prayer give power to the flesh, you will be in danger. And again he went away and prayed, speaking the same words, that, by praying a third time, he might give assurance that he was essentially and truly a man; and that he might teach us also to pray often, and not, having once said something, to desist. And finding them asleep again, he does not vehemently rebuke them; for they were weighed down with sleep. Whence learn the human lightness and weakness, how, not being able to hold out even against sleep, we often promise things impossible for us. Being a third time present, he prays, for the same causes as we said above. And he comes again, and says to them, not chiding—and yet he ought to have chided them, as men who not even after the rebuke had become better, but had given themselves over to sleep; what, then, does he say? Sleep on now and take your rest. And he says this to them ironically; for since he knew that the betrayer was coming, he says to them, Now is the time for sleeping, sleep on; behold, the enemy comes. And he said this, mocking their sleep. And that he said this ironically, hear how, going on a little, he says: Rise up, let us go—not that they might flee from dying, but because the Israelites, my own kinsfolk, are falling away from the kingdom of God.

Mk. 14:43–49. And immediately, while he yet spoke, comes Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a sign, saying: Whomever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And when he was come, immediately he went up to him, and says to him, Rabbi, Rabbi; and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him, and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus answering said to them: Are you come out as against a robber, with swords and staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you took me not; but this is that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. The phrase, One of the twelve, is not added in vain, but to the accusation of the betrayer: that, being of the first choir, he raged against the Master. And one must mark also his senselessness, how he thought to escape the notice of the Lord by the kiss, as though he would be reckoned a friend. And if he was indeed a friend, for what cause did he come with the enemies? Truly wickedness is senseless. And one of them that stood by—this was Peter; and Mark suppresses his name, lest he should seem to praise his own teacher Peter, as having shown zeal for Christ. And well did he cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. For it darkly hints that they were disobedient and unpersuaded, neglecting the Scriptures. For if they had had ears that hearkened to the Scriptures, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. And Peter smote no other servant, but the high priest’s. For the chief priests were the first to disobey the Scriptures, having become servants of envy and self-love. And he said to the crowds: Are you come out as against a robber? Daily I taught in the temple. And this shows his Godhead. For when he taught in the temple, they were not able to hold him, although he was in their hands, because the time of the passion was not yet. But when he willed, then he gave himself up, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled: when He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, neither striving nor crying out, but following willingly.

Mk. 14:50–54. And they all forsook him, and fled. And a certain young man followed him, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men lay hold on him. But he, leaving the linen cloth, fled from them naked. And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him are assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest; and he was sitting with the servants, and warming himself at the fire. The disciples fled. For it was not possible that the very Truth, nor that the prophets, should lie. And a certain young man followed him. And it is likely that this young man was of that house in which they ate the Passover. But some say that this was James the brother of God, who was surnamed the Just. For he used a single garment all his life; who also received the throne of Jerusalem from the apostles after the ascension of the Lord. This man, then, leaving the linen cloth, fled. And it is nothing strange if, when the chief disciples had fled, this man too forsook the Lord. But Peter follows, displaying a most fervent love toward the Teacher. And though the law commanded that there be one high priest for life, there were then many, who bought the office year by year from the Romans. By chief priests, then, he means those who had already fulfilled their appointed time, and were laying down the high-priesthood.

Mk. 14:55–61. And the chief priests and all the council sought for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimonies agreed not together. And certain ones rose up, and bore false witness against him, saying: We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. But neither so did their testimony agree. And the high priest rose up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying: Do you answer nothing? What is it that these witness against you? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. A semblance, forsooth, of a tribunal the self-condemned fashion, that they might seem to slay him with judgment. For where is there an upright tribunal, when such witnesses are brought forward, saying nothing sound, but all things confused and contradictory? And even they that seemed to say something, spoke falsely. For the Lord did not say, I will destroy the temple, but, Destroy it. And neither did he say, made with hands, but simply, temple. And the high priest, rising up, asks Jesus, wishing to draw him into a defense, that from the defense he might lay hold of him. But he keeps silence, knowing that they will not attend to his words; and Luke says that, when asked, the Lord said: If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask, you will not answer.

Mk. 14:61–65. Again the high priest asked him, and says to him: Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said: I am; and you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest, rending his garments, says: What further need have we of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; what think you? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say to him: Prophesy; and the servants struck him with the palms of their hands. The high priest asks again, not that he might learn and believe, but that he might lay hold of some occasion; and he adds to the, Are you the Christ, the, the Son of the Blessed. For there were many anointed ones—the kings, I mean, and the high priests—but none of these was Son of God, the ever-blessed and hymned one. And Jesus said, that I am. For he knew indeed that they would not believe; yet nevertheless he answers plainly, that they might not afterward be able to say, If we had heard him saying it clearly, we would have believed; for this reason their condemnation too is greater, because even now, having heard, they did not believe. And you shall see me, he says, as Son of man, sitting on the right hand of the power of the Father—for by power here he means the Father—for he will not come without a body, but such as to be beheld by those who crucified him, and to be recognized. The high priest, then, fulfills a Jewish custom; for whenever something dreadful and grievous befell them, they would rend their garments. And here too, then, as though the Lord had blasphemed, and a great calamity had come to pass, the high priest rends his garments. One might, then, opportunely say over these the word of David: They were rent asunder, and were not pricked in heart. And this too was a symbol—though that man understood it not—of the high-priesthood of the Jews being rent and brought to nothing. Since, then, the common vote of the chief priests condemned him, then the servants, covering him, struck him and said: Prophesy, who is it that struck you? How much, then, should we suffer, to render the like to the Master? These things are full of horror.

Mk. 14:66–72. And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there comes one of the maids of the high priest; and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and says: You also were with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying: I know not, neither understand I what you say; and he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. And the maid, seeing him again, began to say to them that stood by, that This is one of them; but he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter: Truly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and your speech agrees thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, that I know not this man of whom you speak. And the second time the cock crew; and Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, that Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me three times; and when he thought thereon, he wept. Peter became weak, though he was the more fervent, and denies the Lord, being thrown into confusion by fear; and this when a maidservant had frightened him. And this God permitted him to suffer by dispensation, that he might not be lifted up, and at the same time that he might be compassionate toward those who stumble, having been taught from himself the violence of human weakness. And it is a matter of indifference whether it was the same maidservant, or another, that convicted Peter. For Matthew says that this was another; but Mark, the same. But this is no hindrance to us with regard to the truth of the Gospel. For surely they do not disagree in some great matter that holds together our salvation? Did the one say that the Lord was crucified, and the other, not? Away with it. Peter, then, being thrown into confusion by fear, and having forgotten the word which the Lord said, namely, Him that denies me I also will deny before my Father, denied; but repentance again made him the Lord’s own, and his tears. For when he had thought thereon, it says, he wept—that is, having covered his head; or, instead of, having begun with vehemence. And that which Matthew said obscurely, that Before the cock crow, Mark interpreted, that Before it crow twice. For cocks are wont, in a single bout, to crow several times, then as it were to fall asleep, and again after some time to make another beginning of crowing. What, then, Matthew said is this, that Before the cock crow—that is, complete the cries of the first bout—you shall deny me three times. And let the Novatians be ashamed, who do not receive those who sin after baptism and the partaking of the mysteries. For behold, Peter, even after partaking of the undefiled body and blood, and having denied, was through repentance received again. For let us be zealous to turn our very shortcomings into examples, and to hasten back through repentance.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek is defective here; a clause appears to have dropped out. The thread resumes with the reason the Lord withdrew from the city—namely, that his seizure might not raise a tumult.

Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial

Mk. 15:1–15. And immediately in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. And Pilate asked Him, Are You the King of the Jews? And He answering said to him, You say it. And the chief priests accused Him of many things. But Pilate asked Him again, saying, Do You answer nothing? Behold how many things they testify against You. But Jesus yet answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. Now at the feast he released to them one prisoner, whomever they asked. And there was one named Barabbas, bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. And the multitude crying aloud began to ask him to do as he had ever done for them. But Pilate answered them, saying, Will you that I release to you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him for envy. But the chief priests stirred up the people, that he should rather release Barabbas to them. And Pilate answered and said again to them, What then will you that I do to Him whom you call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify Him. Then Pilate said to them, Why, what evil has He done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify Him. And so Pilate, willing to content the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified. The Jews delivered the Lord to the Romans; and they too were delivered by the Lord into the hands of the Romans. And the Scriptures are fulfilled which say, Woe to the lawless one, for evil shall come upon him according to the works of his hands; and again, Give them according to the works of their hands; and again, As you have done, so shall your recompense be to you. When Pilate asked, Are You the King of the Jews? the Lord gives an ambiguous answer. For the saying, You say it, can be understood to mean, You have spoken truly; you have said what I am; but it can also be understood thus: I do not say this, but you say it. And when He was questioned again and answered nothing, He brought Pilate to amazement; for he marveled that, though He was learned in the law and eloquent, and able by a defense to shake off the false accusations, He said nothing, but rather nobly endured the charges. Behold both the bloodthirstiness of the Jews and the moderation of Pilate—though he too is worthy of condemnation, because he did not zealously take his stand for the good. For they kept crying out that He should be crucified; but he, though weakly, nevertheless tries to snatch Jesus from condemnation; for this reason he asks again, What then shall I do with Jesus? giving them on every side occasions to release the Lord as guiltless, and for this cause delaying and putting it off. In the end, however, having bowed beneath their will, he scourged the Lord—that is, he flogged Him with plaited thongs—that they might think they had received Him already condemned from a tribunal; and he delivered Him to them to be crucified. For he willed what was enough to satisfy the multitude, not what was pleasing to the just man and to God.

Mk. 15:16–21. And the soldiers led Him away into the hall, which is the Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothe Him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about His head, and began to salute Him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote His head with a reed, and spat upon Him, and bowing their knees worshipped Him. And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, and put His own garments on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross. The tribe of soldiers, ever rejoicing in disorders and insults, displayed its own ways. For if the Jews, who had heard countless teachings, treated Him so—they who had been benefited much and often—what could we say concerning the Gentiles? They call together, then, the whole band—that is, the whole company—and clothe Him with purple, mocking Him as a king; and here the dancers of the devil take the crown instead of a diadem, and the reed instead of a scepter. And they compel a certain man to bear His cross, although another evangelist says that Jesus went forth bearing His own cross. Both, then, came to pass: for up to a certain point He Himself bore the wood; but when they found one to bear it, they compelled that man, and thereafter the cross was borne by him. And why did he say of what sons he was the father? For greater confirmation; for it is likely that the man was still living, and able to relate all the things at the cross. But let us also wear the purple, the royal robe. What do I mean? As kings we ought to walk, treading upon serpents and scorpions, and prevailing over sin; for we are called Christians—that is, anointed ones ourselves, just as the kings then were called christs (anointed). Let our life, then, be not servile and ignoble, but royal and free. And let us wear also the crown of thorns—that is, let us be eager to be crowned with the rough and continent and pleasureless life, not the soft and smooth and pleasure-loving one. And let us become Simon also, which is obedience, and let us take up the cross.

Mk. 15:22–28. They bring him to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), and they offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he would not take it. Then they crucified him and divided his garments among themselves, casting lots to decide what each would take. It was the third hour when they crucified him, and the inscription of the charge against him was posted above: THE KING OF THE JEWS. Alongside him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says: And he was numbered among the lawless. There is a tradition that has come down to us from the holy Fathers, that Adam was buried there. The Lord, then, who heals the fall and the death of Adam, is crucified there, that where the beginning of death was, there also might be the undoing of death. And they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink; and myrrh is most bitter; so in mockery they gave such things to the Lord. Another evangelist says vinegar with gall, and yet another says that something else was offered to the Lord; and there is nothing contradictory in these things. For, there being disorder, different men offered different things; the one, vinegar and gall; the other, wine mingled with myrrh. And perhaps the wine was sour, and the myrrh bitter; and so they agree, both he who says wine mingled with myrrh, and he who says vinegar with gall; for the wine is the vinegar, and the myrrh the gall—the one because it was sour, the other because it was bitter. Nor again does he who says, They gave Him to drink, but He received it not, contradict him who says, And when He had tasted it, He would not drink. For altogether, in saying that He received it not, he showed that He did not drink it. And they cast lots also upon His garments, doing this too for mockery, as though dividing the garments of a king, although they were paltry. And they wrote a title, that is, the cause for which He was crucified, THE KING OF THE JEWS; that by this also they might mock His glory, as one who was nothing and yet had proclaimed himself a king, and that all who passed by might not pity Him, but rather trample upon Him as upon a tyrant. But how does Mark say that He was crucified at the third hour, while Matthew says that the darkness came at the sixth hour? It may be said, then, that at the third hour He was crucified, but the darkness began to come from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. And He is crucified with thieves, that men might conceive an evil opinion of Him, that He too was a malefactor; but this came to pass by [divine] dispensation. For the prophecy is fulfilled, He was numbered with the transgressors. And in another sense, the two thieves are a symbol of the two peoples, the Jewish and the Gentile. For both were lawless: the Gentile, as having transgressed the natural law; the Jewish, as having transgressed both this and the written law which God gave him; but the Gentile was the grateful thief, while the Jewish was blasphemous to the end. And the Lord is crucified in the midst of the two peoples; for He Himself is the stone that joins us together.

Mk. 15:29–32. And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, You that destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with Him reproached Him. And they that passed by, he says—that is, those going along the road—these too blasphemed the Lord, as it were jeering at Him as a deceiver. Likewise also the chief priests said, He who saved others, does He not save Himself? And this they said in derision of His miracles, mocking them as though they had come to pass only in appearance; for by working wonders He had saved many. And the devil incited them to say, Let Him come down from the cross. For since the author of evil knew that salvation comes through the cross, he again tempted the Lord, that, if He should come down from the cross, he might be assured that He is not the Son of God, and so the salvation through the cross might be undone; but He was indeed truly the Son of God, and for this very reason all the more did not come down; for if He had been about to come down, He would not have gone up at all in the first place. But knowing that thus salvation would come to men, He endured both to be crucified and to suffer all the rest, and to complete His work. And they that were crucified with Him reproached Him—the two of them at the first; then one of them recognized Him as guiltless, as Luke says.[1]

Mk. 15:33–37. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, He calls Elijah. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit. Darkness came, not upon one place, but over the whole earth; and if it had been the season of an eclipse, one might say that the phenomenon was natural; but as it was, the moon was fourteen days old, when it is impossible for a natural eclipse to occur. And the Lord cries aloud in Hebrew the prophetic word, showing that even to His last breath He honors the things of the Hebrews. And the saying, Why have You forsaken Me? He speaks as from the person of human nature, as though saying this: Why have You forsaken Me the man, O God, that I should see God crucified for me? For we men were the ones who had been forsaken, but He was never forsaken by the Father. For hear what He says: The Father is with me; I am not alone. Or He says this also on behalf of the Hebrews, being Himself a Hebrew according to the flesh: Why have You forsaken Me—that is, the Hebrew people—that they should crucify Your Son? For just as we are wont to say that God has clothed Himself with me, instead of with human nature, so here too understand the saying, You have forsaken Me, instead of, My human nature, or My people the Jews. And one ran and gave Him vinegar to drink, that the sharpness of the vinegar might more quickly put Him to death. And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, gave up the spirit, as it were summoning death, as Master and dying by His own authority. And what the voice was, Luke declared: Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit. For this too the Lord accomplished for us, that the spirits of the saints should ascend into the hands of God; for formerly the souls of all were held in Hades, until He came who proclaimed release to the captives.

Mk. 15:38–41. And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, who stood over against Him, saw that He so cried out and gave up the spirit, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. There were also women looking on from afar, among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; who also, when He was in Galilee, followed Him, and ministered to Him; and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem. The veil was rent, God showing that the grace of the Spirit had departed from the temple, and that the Holy of Holies would be made visible and accessible to all—which also came to pass when the Romans entered—and that the temple too mourns. For what the Jews are wont to do in calamities, even to rend their garments, this the temple also, as though it were alive, displayed at the suffering of its Creator, rending its own garment. And another thing also is signified by this. This flesh is the veil of our temple—that is, of the mind; and so the power of the flesh, which it had against the spirit, was rent by the sufferings of Christ, from the top to the bottom—that is, from Adam to the last of men. For indeed Adam was sanctified by the sufferings of Christ, and no longer shall his flesh be accursed, nor subject to corruption, but we all have been honored with incorruption. And when the centurion—that is, the captain of a hundred (for the Romans call a hundred centum)—saw that He so gave up the spirit in a lordly manner, he marveled and confessed. And behold the order reversed: the Jews put to death, the Gentile confesses; the disciples flee, the women remain. For there were, he says, women also, among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and of Joses; and this was the Theotokos, who, inasmuch as she was betrothed to Joseph, was their stepmother; and the children of Joseph were James and Joses. She is called, then, their mother, instead of stepmother; just as she was also called the wife of Joseph, instead of betrothed. And Salome was the mother of the sons of Zebedee. And many others also. For he mentioned by name the more notable ones.

Mk. 15:42–47. And now when the evening was come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable counselor, who also himself waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and calling the centurion, he asked him whether He had been any while dead. And when he knew it from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen, and laid Him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone to the door of the sepulchre. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where He was laid. The blessed Joseph, while still serving the law, yet recognized Christ as God, and therefore dares a praiseworthy daring; for he did not reckon, I am rich, and I shall fall from my wealth if I ask for the body of one condemned for tyranny, and I shall be slandered to the Jews; none of these things did he say within himself; but counting all things secondary, he asked that he might bury the body of the condemned. And Pilate marveled that He was already dead; for he supposed that He would hold out a long while, as the thieves also did. And he asked the centurion whether He had been long dead—that is, whether He had died before the [usual] hour. So Joseph, having received the body, bought fine linen. And taking Him down, he wrapped Him in the linen, burying the precious One preciously. For he too was a disciple of Christ, and knew how one ought to honor the Master; and he was honorable—that is, grave, reverent, blameless. And to be a counselor was a certain dignity, or rather a public office and burden, which those who held it were constrained to oversee the affairs of the market; and danger often came upon many from this, because of the misconduct of the market. Let the rich hear, and those occupied with public affairs, how in no way did the counselor’s dignity hinder Joseph toward virtue. And Joseph is interpreted addition; and Arimathaea, taking away that. May it come to pass, then, that we too become like Joseph, ever adding to the course of virtue, and taking away that—that is, what is truly good; and that we receive also the body of Jesus through communion, and lay it in a sepulchre hewn out of a rock—that is, in a soul that remembers and does not forget God. And let that soul be hewn out of a rock—that is, from Christ, who is the rock that gives stability; and let us wrap it in fine linen—that is, receive it in a pure body; for the linen of the soul, and as it were its garment, is the body. We must, then, receive the divine body of the Lord not only in a pure soul, but also in such a body; and we must wrap it—that is, fold and gather it together, and not spread it out; for the mystery is folded and hidden, and not spread abroad.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek here is defective; the final clause (φημοῦντι) is corrupt and breaks off mid-sentence.

Chapter 16.—On the Resurrection of Christ. To Whom the Lord Appeared After His Rising. How He Arranged for the Disciples the Preaching of the Gospel

Mk. 16:1–8. When the sabbath had passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint him. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb, saying to one another: Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us? But looking up, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away—for it was very large. And going into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. But he said to them: Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you into Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you. And they went out and fled from the tomb, seized with trembling and amazement, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. The women, thinking nothing great nor worthy of the Godhead of Jesus concerning Him, sit by the tomb and buy myrrh-oils, that according to the custom of the Jews they might anoint the body, so that it might remain fragrant, and suffer no foul odor from decomposition; and at the same time the myrrh-oils, having a certain drying power, drink up the moisture of the body and keep it from decay. Such things the women thought. And very early—which Matthew calls late on the sabbath, and Luke, deep dawn—of the first day of the week (that is, of the first of the days of the week; for they named the days of the week sabbaths, and the first one, one), rising up, they come to the sepulchre, and they reason who shall roll away the stone; and while they were reasoning these things, an angel rolled away the stone without the women perceiving it. Which Matthew also says, that after the women had come, the angel rolled away the stone; but Mark passed over this in silence, since Matthew had told by whom the stone was rolled away. And if Matthew says that the angel sat upon the stone, while Mark says that after entering the sepulchre the women saw him sitting within, one need not be troubled. For it is possible that the one whom they saw sitting without upon the stone, as Matthew says, this same one they saw again within the sepulchre, he having gone before the women and entered. And some say that the women in Matthew were different from those in Mark; the Magdalene, however, accompanied them all, being one fervent and ardent in zeal. So that one who appeared said to the women, Do not be alarmed. For first he frees them from fear, then also he brings them the good tidings of the resurrection. And he names Him; for he is not ashamed of the cross; for this is the salvation of men, and the sum of good things. He has risen. How is this plain? For he is not here; and would you be assured? See the place where they laid him. For this very reason He had the stone lifted, that he might show the place. But go, tell his disciples and Peter. He separates Peter from the disciples, naming him pre-eminently as the chief, apart from them; or, since Peter had denied Him, had the women come and said, We were charged to tell the disciples, Peter would have said, I denied Him; therefore I am no longer His disciple; He has cast me off, He has abhorred me. For this cause, then, he adds, And Peter, that Peter might not be scandalized, as though he had not been deemed worthy of a word, as one who had denied, and for this reason not even worthy to be ranked with the disciples. And He sends them into Galilee, leading them away from the tumults and the great fear of the Jews. Yet fear and amazement—that is, astonishment—held the women, both at the sight of the angel and at the awfulness of the resurrection, and for this reason they said nothing to anyone. For they were afraid; either they feared the Jews, or they were out of their minds. And for this reason they said nothing to anyone.

Mk. 16:9–13. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that He was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that He appeared in another form to two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest; neither believed they them. Afterward He appeared to the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not those who had seen Him after He was risen. Now when Jesus was risen: here put a stop, then say, Early the first day of the week He appeared to Mary Magdalene; for He did not rise early. For who knows when He rose? But He appeared early, on the Lord’s day; for this is the first of the sabbath—that is, of the week—which above he called one of the sabbaths. To Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils, that is, many; for Scripture is wont to take the number seven instead of a multitude; as the saying, The barren has borne seven; or seven devils, the opposites of the seven spirits of virtue; such as a spirit of fornication, a spirit of folly, a spirit of ignorance, a spirit of falsehood, and whatever else are adverse to the gifts of the Spirit. And after these things, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked; concerning whom Luke also speaks. And they told it to the rest; neither believed they them. And how does Luke say that, returning, they found the eleven gathered together, saying that the Lord is risen, while Mark here says that they did not believe even those who came from the country? We say, then, that the saying, They told it to the rest, does not speak of the eleven apostles, but of certain others; for these he named the rest.

Mk. 16:14–20. For the eleven indeed saw Him on that same day, when those also who returned from the country found them saying that the Lord is risen. And He said to them, Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Behold the commandment of the Lord, Preach to every creature. He did not say, Preach to those who obey, but, to every creature, whether they obey or not. He that believes—and this does not suffice, but also being baptized. For he that believes but is not baptized, but is still a catechumen, is not yet saved. And He says that signs shall follow them that believe: the casting out of devils, the speaking with new tongues, the taking up of serpents—that is, the doing away with serpents, whether the intelligible ones, as the saying, Tread upon serpents and scorpions, the intelligible ones, that is. But it may also be understood thus, They shall take up serpents, as Paul took up the viper in his hand, suffering nothing from it; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. And such things have come to pass; in the histories it is found that certain who drank poison were preserved through the grace of the Lord. And these things He says after [it is said] that He sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached every where; the Lord, he says, working with them and confirming the word through the signs that followed. Do you see—every where our part first, then the cooperation of God; for when we work and give a beginning, the Lord works with us; for if we give the occasion, then God will be present; therefore the occasion of words is the beginning of the work, and that of works is confirmed; just as in the case of the apostles then, the works and the signs that followed confirmed the word. And may it come to pass, O Word Christ, that our words also, which we speak concerning virtue, be confirmed through works and deeds; so that we may stand before You perfect, You working with us in all works and words; for to You belongs the glory through words and deeds. Amen.

Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

Introduction

The Evangelist and the Third Gospel

Theophylact begins, as always, with the traditional life of the Evangelist: Luke of Antioch, a physician by training, the companion of the Apostle Paul on his journeys, and, though not himself an eyewitness of the Lord’s ministry, a careful gatherer of the testimony of those who were, as the Gospel’s own opening lines declare. That opening—Luke’s address to Theophilus, promising to have “followed everything closely from the start” and to “write them out for you in order”—is for Theophylact a signal of the whole book’s character: Luke writes as an historian concerned with sequence, occasion, and detail, more so than any of the other three Evangelists. It is Luke alone who supplies the infancy narrative in full, with its censuses and genealogies and precise notices of time; Luke alone who preserves parables found nowhere else, among them the prodigal son and the good Samaritan; and Luke alone who continues the story past the resurrection into the Acts of the Apostles, of which this Gospel is expressly the first half.

Theophylact and Cyril of Alexandria

For most of the New Testament, Chrysostom is the patristic voice Theophylact leans on most heavily; for Luke, the deeper debt runs to Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Cyril had preached an extensive series of homilies on this Gospel, works of considerable theological weight that survive today mostly through Syriac translation and through scattered Greek fragments preserved in the later catenae—the chains of patristic comment that Byzantine compilers built up around each verse of Scripture. The principal Greek catena on Luke, assembled by Niketas of Heraclea, draws so heavily on Cyril that editors piecing the fragments back together have had to sort Cyril’s own words from passages contributed by other commentators woven into the same chain, Theophylact among them—a sign of how closely the two men’s readings of this Gospel were felt to run together.

Cyril’s homilies, where they survive complete, are the more celebrated achievement: dense, doctrinally exacting, alert above all to what each verse establishes about the person of Christ. Theophylact’s commentary is the more modest one, but also the more complete and the more approachable—a continuous, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole Gospel where Cyril’s homilies exist only in part, absorbing Cyril’s Christological precision, especially in the infancy narrative and the parables, while setting it out in a plainer voice for a wider readership. A Latin scholar of the thirteenth century, gathering a chain of his own from Cyril, Chrysostom, and Theophylact together for the whole of Luke, would cite Theophylact well over four hundred times in that single volume—more than in any of the other Gospels—a rough measure of how much of Luke’s Gospel this commentary alone carried forward in continuous form.

Argument and Structure

The commentary follows Luke’s twenty-four chapters in sequence: the announcements to Zechariah and to the Virgin Mary and the birth and childhood of the Lord; the preaching of John the Baptist and the beginning of the Galilean ministry; a long central section, often called the travel narrative, in which Luke gathers teaching and parables loosely around the Lord’s journey toward Jerusalem; the final days in the city; and the Passion, resurrection, and ascension. Theophylact gives particular care to the parables unique to this section—the lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son, the rich man and Lazarus, the publican and the Pharisee—drawing out in each the same pastoral concern that runs through his commentary generally: not simply what the parable teaches about God, but what it demands of the one who hears it.

Two further features draw Theophylact’s sustained attention. The first is Luke’s care for those the world of his day counted least—the poor, the sinful woman who anoints the Lord’s feet, the Samaritan, the tax collector Zacchaeus, the penitent thief on the cross—a concern Theophylact reads as belonging to the very center of the Gospel rather than to its margins. The second is the resurrection narrative proper to Luke, above all the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who recognize the risen Lord only “in the breaking of the bread”; Theophylact lingers here over what it means that their eyes were first “holden” and only afterward opened, and draws from the episode a broader lesson about how faith and recognition of Christ are granted, not simply achieved by looking.

How to Read This Commentary

Because Luke shares so much material with Matthew and Mark while also containing a great deal found nowhere else, it helps to notice, as Theophylact himself notices, when he is treading ground already covered in the earlier Gospel commentaries and when he is working with material that is Luke’s alone. The parables and the infancy narrative reward the closest attention, since it is here that the commentary’s debt to Cyril shows most plainly and its doctrinal reach is greatest. Above all, a reader should keep before them Luke’s own announced purpose—an orderly, verified account, written so that Theophilus, and every reader after him, “know with certainty the truth of the things you were taught”. Theophylact’s commentary serves that purpose still: it is written to settle the reader in the certainty of the Gospel, not merely to inform.

Chapter 1

LIFE OF LUKE. According to Sophronius. Luke, a physician of Antioch, as his writings show, was not unskilled in Greek learning. A zealous follower of the apostle Paul and his companion throughout all his travels abroad, he composed a Gospel concerning which Paul himself says: “We have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the Gospel throughout all the Churches.” And to the Colossians: “Luke the beloved physician greets you.” And to Timothy: “Only Luke is with me.” He also published another excellent volume bearing the title Acts of the Apostles, whose narrative extends to the time when Paul was spending two years in Rome—that is, to the fourth year of Nero. From this we are persuaded that the book was composed in that same city. For the “Circuit of Paul and Thecla,” and the whole fable of the lion that was supposedly baptized, are to be reckoned among the apocryphal writings; for it was not possible that one who was inseparable from the Apostle should, amid the rest of his deeds, have been ignorant of this. But Tertullian too refers to that time a certain presbyter in Asia, a zealous follower of the apostle Paul, who, having been convicted before John as the author of such a book, confessed that he had done this out of love for Paul; and for this reason some suppose that he was deposed. For as often as Paul says in his own Epistles, “according to my Gospel,” he plainly signifies the volume according to Luke. And Luke learned the Gospel not only from the apostle Paul—who was not with the Lord in the body at that time—but also from the rest of the apostles, as he himself plainly declares at the beginning of his own composition: “even as they delivered them to us who from the beginning were eyewitnesses.” Therefore he wrote the Gospel even as he had heard it, but the Acts of the Apostles he composed according to what he himself had witnessed. His relics were brought and laid to rest. LIFE OF LUKE THE EVANGELIST.

LIFE OF LUKE. From the synopsis of Dorotheus, martyr and bishop of Tyre. Luke the evangelist was an Antiochene by birth and a physician by profession. He composed the Gospel by the commission of Peter the apostle, and the Acts of the Apostles by the commission of Paul the apostle. For he journeyed abroad together with the apostles, and especially with Paul, whom Paul also mentioned when he wrote in an Epistle: “Luke the beloved physician greets you in the Lord.” He died at Ephesus and was buried there. Later he was translated to Constantinople, together with the apostles Andrew and Timothy, in the times of the emperor Constantius, son of Constantine the Great. ARGUMENT.

Of the Gospel according to Luke. The divine Luke was an Antiochene, a physician, and abundantly versed in outward wisdom; yet he also trained himself in Hebrew learning, having frequented Jerusalem at the very time when our Lord was teaching—so that, as some say, he became one of the seventy apostles, and met the risen Christ together with Cleopas. After the Lord was taken up, and Paul had come to believe, he became Paul’s fellow-traveler and follower—I mean Paul’s; and indeed he composed the Gospel with all exactness, as its very preface shows, writing it fifteen years after the Ascension of Christ. He writes to Theophilus, who was a senator and perhaps a magistrate; for the title “most excellent” was used of magistrates and governors, as Paul also says to the governor Festus, “Most excellent Festus.” And indeed every man who loves God, and who has taken up power against the passions, is a “most excellent Theophilus,” one who is truly worthy to hear the Gospel. CHAPTERS OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE.

THE CHAPTERS OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE. Concerning the parentage of John the Baptist and his birth. Concerning the salutation of the angel to Mary. Concerning Mary’s salutation to Elizabeth. Concerning the census. Concerning the bringing forth of Mary. Concerning the shepherds. Concerning Symeon. Concerning Anna the prophetess. Concerning Jesus found in the midst of the teachers. Concerning the preaching of John. Concerning those who questioned John. Concerning Herod and John. Concerning the baptism of the Savior. Concerning the genealogy of Christ. Concerning the fasting and temptation of the Savior. Concerning Jesus led by the Jews to the brow of the hill, and passing through the midst of them. Concerning the man having a spirit of a demon. Concerning Peter’s mother-in-law. Concerning those healed of various diseases. Concerning the great catch of fish. Concerning the leper. Concerning the paralytic. Concerning Levi the publican. Concerning Jesus eating together with publicans. Why the disciples of John fast, but those of Christ do not. Concerning the disciples of Christ plucking the ears of grain on the Sabbath. Concerning the man with the withered hand. Concerning the choosing of the apostles. Concerning the Beatitudes. Concerning loving one’s enemies. Concerning not contending with one’s neighbor. Concerning not judging one’s neighbor. Concerning the centurion. Concerning the widow’s son. Concerning those sent by John. Concerning the woman who anointed the Lord with ointment. Concerning the parable of the sower. Concerning the mother and brethren of Jesus who wished to see him. Concerning the rebuking of the waters. Concerning the legion. Concerning the daughter of the synagogue-ruler. Concerning the woman with the issue of blood. Concerning the sending of the Twelve. Concerning Herod, that he heard about Jesus. Concerning the five loaves and the two fishes. Concerning the Lord’s question. Concerning the Transfiguration of Christ. Concerning the moonstruck boy. Concerning those disputing who was greatest. Concerning the man hindered by the disciples from casting out demons. Concerning not asking vengeance upon those who did not receive them. Concerning the one not permitted to follow. Concerning the appointing of the seventy. Concerning the lawyer who questioned him. Concerning the man who fell among robbers. Concerning Martha and Mary her sister. Concerning prayer. Concerning the man having a dumb demon. Concerning the woman who lifted up her voice out of the crowd. Concerning those seeking a sign. Concerning the Pharisee who invited Jesus. Concerning the woes upon the lawyers. Concerning the leaven of the Pharisees. Concerning the man wishing to divide the inheritance. Concerning the rich man whose land brought forth plentifully. Concerning despising the things of this life. Concerning fleeing covetousness. Concerning the watchful servant. Concerning not contending with one’s neighbor. Concerning the Galileans, and those at Siloam. Concerning the fig tree that bore no fruit. Concerning the woman having a spirit of infirmity. The parable of the grain of mustard seed, and of the leaven. Concerning the man who asked whether few are saved. Concerning those who spoke to Jesus about Herod. Concerning the man with dropsy. Concerning not loving the chief seats. Concerning inviting the poor rather than friends to the supper. Concerning those invited to the supper. Concerning the building of a tower: a parable. Concerning the hundred sheep: a parable. Concerning the man who journeyed into a far country. Concerning the unjust steward. Concerning not one tittle passing from the law. Concerning not putting away one’s wife. Concerning the rich man and Lazarus. Concerning offenses. Concerning forgiving the sins of one’s neighbors. Concerning faith in God. Concerning the ten lepers. Concerning Jesus asked when the kingdom of God comes. Concerning praying always. Concerning the unjust judge. Concerning the Pharisee and the publican. Concerning the children, that of such is the kingdom of God. Concerning the man who questioned Jesus. Concerning the blind man. Concerning Zacchaeus. Concerning the man who went to receive a kingdom for himself. Concerning the ten servants who received the pounds. Concerning the colt of the donkey. Concerning the weeping of Jesus over Jerusalem. Concerning those cast out of the temple, the sellers and buyers. Concerning the chief priests and scribes who asked the Lord by what authority he did these things. Concerning the vineyard: a parable. Concerning those who brought a charge concerning the tribute. Concerning the Sadducees who denied the resurrection. Concerning the Lord’s…

Lk. 1:1–4. Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the beginning, it seemed good to me also, having followed everything closely from the start, to write them out for you in order, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know with certainty the truth of the things you were taught. Who were these “many” who took it in hand? The false apostles; for many composed Gospels, so to speak, such as the one “according to the Egyptians” and the one inscribed “of the Twelve.” Such men, then, only took it in hand, but did not bring it to completion; for since they began apart from divine grace, for this reason neither did they finish. Well, then, did Luke say that the “many” took it in hand; whereas the few—such as Matthew and Mark—did not merely take it in hand but also brought it to completion, for they had the Spirit that perfects. And he said “things most surely believed,” because the things of Christ are not a matter of bare tradition only, but rest upon truth and sure faith and full conviction. And how are these things surely believed? Tell us, O Luke. “Even as they delivered them to us who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word.” From this it is plain that Luke was not from the beginning a disciple, but came later in time; for others were those discipled from the beginning, those around Peter and the sons of Zebedee, who delivered to him what he himself had not seen nor heard at first hand. And what is the meaning of “that you might know the certainty concerning the things wherein you were instructed”? On this I have two thoughts. The one: that “formerly I instructed you without writing, O Theophilus; but now, delivering the Gospel to you in writing, I make your reasoning secure, lest it forget the things delivered without writing.” The other is this: men have the custom often, when someone tells us something unwritten, of suspecting him as perhaps lying; but when he also writes what he says, then we believe, as though, had he not been confident that he was speaking the truth, he would not have written. This, then, the evangelist also says: “For this reason I have written you the Gospel, that the things in which you were instructed without writing you may hold with greater certainty,” believing me the more now that I am so confident in the unwritten things as even to set them down in writing. And note also the word “that you might know”—he did not say “know,” but “come to know fully,” that is, that you might receive a second and fuller knowledge, and boldness and certainty that I do not lie.

Lk. 1:5. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife too was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. He makes mention of the reign of Herod, partly because he narrates after the manner of the prophets—for they too begin in this way: “In the days of Joachaz and Hezekiah, and of such a one, these things came to pass”—and partly because, since he is about to speak concerning Christ, he therefore mentions Herod, in order to show that Christ truly came in the time of Herod. For this Herod arose when the rulers from among the Jews had failed, as the prophecy of Jacob declares; whence Christ is shown to have come. And he accomplishes yet another thing: he shows the Gospel to be true by stating the time. For he gives license to those who wish to inquire to learn the truth of the Gospel from the date as well. And he begins from Zacharias and the birth of John, fittingly; for since he is about to speak of the birth of Christ, and John was the Forerunner of Christ, fittingly he relates the birth of John before that of Christ—a birth which itself was not without a miracle. For since a Virgin was about to bear, grace arranged beforehand that an aged woman should bear, not according to the law of nature, even though with a husband. And what is the meaning of “of the priestly division of Abijah”? Some understand it thus: that there were two priests performing the liturgy in succession, the one called Abijah and the other Zacharias; and so, since Abijah served in the liturgy, after his division Zacharias served. But this does not seem to be so. For Solomon, when he had completed the temple, established the divisions, that is, the weeks; and in this week, say, he appointed the sons of Korah, in that one Asaph, in that one Abijah, and in another, another. So what Luke says, that Zacharias was “of the priestly division of Abijah,” is to be understood thus: that he was of the week of Abijah—not that he took over the liturgy after the week of Abijah, for then he would have said “after the division of Abijah”; but by saying “of the division of Abijah” he indicates that he was of the order and week of Abijah. And wishing to show that John was, on both sides, lawfully of priestly stock, he says, “and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron”—of that same line. Elizabeth is interpreted “of God.” “And they were both righteous before God.” Often some are righteous, but not before God—only in appearance, and before men; but those two were such before God.

Lk. 1:6. Living blamelessly, keeping all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. Commandments are such as “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not steal”; ordinances are such as “He that curses father or mother, let him die the death”—for this is just. But know that a commandment too can be called an ordinance, as making a man just, or rather as being also God’s own act of justice. For on that Day God, having the commandments like a written deed of justice, will condemn us by them. “For if I had not come and spoken to them,” he says, “they would not have had sin”; and again, “The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge them.” And why is “blameless” added to “walking in all the commandments”? Hear: often some walk in the law of God, but do everything to be seen of men; such men, then, are not blameless. But Zacharias both practiced the commandments and practiced them blamelessly, not performing them in order to please men.

Lk. 1:7. They had no child, since Elizabeth was unable to bear one, and both of them were already advanced in years. The wives of the righteous, and righteous women themselves, are often childless, that you may learn that the law does not demand bodily fruitfulness, but spiritual. “Both were well stricken” in years, both in body and in spirit; for indeed they had advanced in soul as well—that is, they had made progress, setting ascents in their heart, and having day, not night, for their life, as walking in light becomingly.

Lk. 1:8–10. Now it happened that, while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, in keeping with the custom of the priesthood he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and offer incense; and the whole crowd of the people stood praying outside during the hour of the incense offering. Before God only the pure perform the priestly office; but from the impure God turns away his face. And when was it that his lot fell to burn incense? Surely at the time of the atonement, when the high priest alone entered into the Holy of Holies; that we may learn that, just as this high priest, entering into the Holy of Holies, received a fruit, so also the Lord Jesus, the one and truly great High Priest, entering into the Holy of Holies—that is, into heaven with his flesh—received the fruit of his incarnate sojourn, namely our adoption and salvation.

Lk. 1:11. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. The angel does not appear to all, but to the pure in heart, such as Zacharias was. He said “the altar of incense,” since there was also another altar, that of the whole burnt offerings. “And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you shall have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth.” Zacharias is troubled, for an unaccustomed sight troubles even the saints. But the angel allays the trouble; for everywhere this was the mark of distinction between visions that are from God and those that are demonic: if the reasoning begins from trouble and at last is settled, the fear being quickly dissolved, the vision is truly divine; but if the fear and trouble are rather intensified, the vision is demonic. And why does the angel say, “Your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son”—was Zacharias praying for a child, and not rather for the sins of the people? Some say, then, that since he was praying for the sins of the people, and was about to beget a son who would cry, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” fittingly the angel says to him that “your prayer is heard” for the forgiveness of the sins of the people; “for you shall beget a son through whom there shall be forgiveness of sins.” But others understand it thus: “Your prayer is heard, Zacharias, and God has forgiven the people their sins”; then, as though Zacharias had said, “Whence is this plain?” the angel says, “This I give you for a sign, that Elizabeth shall bear you a son”; so that from Elizabeth’s bearing it should be made credible to him that the people’s sins were forgiven.

Lk. 1:12–17. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. The angel promises that John shall be great—but “in the sight of the Lord”; for many are called great in the sight of men, and not of God, such as the hypocrites. But John was great in soul, just as everyone who is offended is small in soul; for no one who is great is offended, but the small and faint-hearted. The Lord therefore says, “Whoever shall offend one of these little ones.” And just as those who begot John were righteous before God, so also their child was great before the Lord. “Strong drink” is said of everything able to produce drunkenness, even though it be not from the vine. While still in his mother’s womb he was filled with the Holy Spirit, when the Mother of the Lord came to Elizabeth, and the babe leaped, exulting at the Lord’s presence. “He turned the hearts of the fathers to the children,” that is, of the Hebrews to the apostles; for the Jews were the fathers, and the apostles their children. He turned, then, the hearts of the Jews to the apostles, teaching and bearing witness concerning Christ; and he who bears witness concerning Christ surely renders his disciples worthy of trust as well. John did not turn all, but many; the Lord, however, enlightened all. He came “in the spirit of Elijah,” inasmuch as grace worked in John as it had in Elijah; for Elijah is forerunner of the second coming, and John of the first. And “in the power of Elijah”—for the comings of both, of Elijah and of John, have the same power, since they gather men to Christ. And in another sense John came in the power and spirit of Elijah, because he too was a dweller in the desert, frugal, and reproving, as that one was. He turned also the disobedient Jews “by the wisdom of the just,” that is, by the teaching of the apostles; for the wisdom of the apostles is the grace of the Spirit within them, by which they were governed. And he made ready “for the Lord”—that is, for Christ—“a people prepared,” that is, made ready to receive the preaching. What I mean is this: when a prophet came preaching, not all believed, but only the prepared, that is, those who had made themselves ready beforehand for this. For just as, if someone comes to a house by night, not all receive him, but those who are awake to receive him, so also John made ready a people prepared, that is, made ready beforehand, for the reception.

Lk. 1:18–20. And Zacharias said to the angel: Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well stricken in years. And the angel answering said to him: I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I am sent to speak to you, and to bring you these glad tidings. And behold, you shall be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall come to pass, because you believed not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. Although Zacharias was righteous and holy, yet, looking to the marvel of begetting a child, he did not readily believe. Therefore the angel states his own rank, that “I am Gabriel, that stand before God”—no deceiving demon, but an angel of God. “Since, then, you disbelieve, be dumb and unable to speak.” Fittingly he suffered these two things, neither to hear nor to speak: as one who heard amiss, he is condemned to deafness; and as one who contradicted, to silence. Moreover, he was also a foreshadowing of what befell the Jews. For just as this man, old and barren and unbelieving, begot a son greater than the prophets, so also the synagogue and priesthood of the Jews, grown old, barren, unbelieving, and disobedient, nevertheless bore in the flesh the Word of God, the Master of the prophets; and when he was born, those who before were disobedient passed over into faith and good speech.

Lk. 1:21–23. Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zacharias, and wondered at his delay in the temple. When he came out he could not speak to them, and they realized he had seen a vision in the temple; he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when the days of his service were completed, he went back to his home. Do you see how the Jews waited and remained until the priest should come out? But we Christians, as soon as we enter the church, think we suffer some dreadful thing if we do not get out. Zacharias beckoned to the people, perhaps as they asked the cause of his silence; for being unable to speak, he signified it by a gesture. And observe: until the days of his ministration were completed, he did not depart to his house, but stayed near the temple; for the hill country lay truly far off and distant from Jerusalem. Yet even if the priest had his house in Jerusalem itself, it was not permitted him to go outside the courts of the temple during the time of his course—whereas we, alas, how we despise the divine services! And that Zacharias could not speak but beckoned to the people signifies the irrational polity of the Jews; for having killed the Word, they cannot render an account concerning what they do or say, but even if you ask them anything prophetic, they are silenced and cannot give you word or answer.

Lk. 1:24–25. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and kept herself hidden for five months, saying: This is what the Lord has done for me, now that he has looked on me with favor and taken away my disgrace among people. Being chaste, Elizabeth was ashamed, and for this reason hid herself, because she had conceived in old age. For five months she hid herself, until Mary too should conceive; but from the time that Mary too conceived, and the babe leaped in her womb, she no longer hid herself, but even spoke openly, as the mother of such a child, honored with prophetic dignity even before he was born.

Lk. 1:26–30. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in to her and said: Hail, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for you have found favor with God. He calls “the sixth month” the sixth from the conception of John. He says that the Virgin was betrothed to a man of the house of David, in order to show that she too was descended from the line of David; for it was the law that both parties should be of the same family and the same line. And since the Lord said to Eve, “In sorrow shall you bring forth children,” the joy which the angel brings to the Virgin dissolves this sorrow, saying, “Hail, you that are highly favored.” And since Eve was cursed, this woman hears herself called “blessed.” She pondered concerning the salutation, what manner it might be—whether perhaps something improper and unchaste, as from a man to a maiden, or rather divine; since the mention of God accompanied the salutation, in the words “The Lord is with you.” First he settles her heart from fear, that, being in tranquility, she might receive the divine answer; for it was not possible, while she was troubled, that she should accurately hear what was to come to pass. And what he said above, “highly favored,” he now, as it were, interprets, saying: “For you have found favor with God.” For this is what it is to be highly favored—to find favor with God, that is, to be pleasing to God. But this is something common, for many others also found favor with God; what follows, however, is not common.

Lk. 1:31–33. And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give to him the throne of David his father. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. “Behold, you shall conceive”—this extraordinary thing, of which no other was counted worthy. He said “in your womb,” to show that the Lord was made flesh from the very womb of the Virgin, essentially. And rightly was he called Jesus, who came for the salvation of our race; for this name, rendered into the Greek tongue, means “salvation of God.” Jesus, then, is interpreted “Savior,” since salvation also is called “iao.” “He shall be great,” he says, “and shall be called the Son of the Highest.” John too was great, but not also Son of the Highest; whereas the Savior was great inasmuch as he taught, and Son of the Highest both for this very reason (for he taught as having authority), and because of the marvelous working of his miracles. And he who is seen as man is called Son of the Highest; for since there was one hypostasis, in truth the man, the Son of the Virgin, was Son of the Highest. For the Word was Son of the Highest even before the ages, but was not so called, nor was he made known; but when he was made flesh and manifested in the flesh, then indeed he was called Son of the Highest—he who is seen and works the miracles. And when you hear “the throne of David,” do not think of a perceptible kingdom, but a divine one, which he reigned over all the nations through the divine preaching; for the “house of Jacob” are both those of the Hebrews who believed and also those from the other nations; for these are properly Jacob and Israel. And how is he said to sit upon the throne of David? Hear: David was small among his brethren, and the Lord was despised and slandered as a glutton and a wine-bibber and a carpenter’s son, and was dishonored among his brethren, the sons of Joseph—for not even his brethren, it says, believed in him. That one was persecuted while doing good, and the Lord was slandered and stoned while working miracles. That one conquered and reigned through meekness, and the Lord, having through meekness accepted the cross, reigned. Do you see how he is said to sit upon the throne of David? For as David received the perceptible kingdom, so also the Lord the spiritual one, of which there shall be no end; for there shall be no end of the kingdom of Christ, that is, of the knowledge of God and of Christianity. For even when persecuted, we shine with the grace of Christ.

Lk. 1:34–35. Then said Mary to the angel: How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said to her: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. Not as one disbelieving did the Virgin say, “How shall this be to me?” but as one wise and prudent, seeking to learn the manner of the thing; for nothing of the kind had happened before, nor would happen afterward. Therefore the angel pardons her, and does not condemn her as he did Zacharias, but rather interprets the manner. For Zacharias was fittingly condemned, since he had many examples—that many barren women had borne; but the Virgin had no example. “The Holy Spirit,” he says, “shall come upon you,” making your womb fruitful and fashioning the flesh for the consubstantial Word; and “the power of the Highest,” that is, the Son of God—for Christ is the power of God—“shall overshadow you,” that is, shall cover you, shall surround you on every side. For as a bird overshadows its nestlings, gathering them all under its wings, so also the power of God enfolded the whole Virgin; and this is to overshadow. But another might perhaps say that, as the painter first sketches in shadow and then completes the coloring, so also the Lord, fashioning the flesh for himself and forming the image of the man, first overshadowed it in the womb of the Virgin, having compacted flesh from the blood of the Ever-Virgin, and then by little formed it. But this is doubtful; for some say that, as soon as the Lord overshadowed the womb of the Virgin, the babe was at once complete, while others do not accept this. Hear what he says: “Therefore also that holy thing which is born”—that is, that which is growing little by little in your womb, and was not at once complete. And from this also the mouth of Nestorius is stopped; for he said that it was not the Son of God who, dwelling in the womb of the Virgin, was made flesh, but a mere man born of Mary, who afterward had God attending him. Let him hear, then, that what was born in the womb, that was the Son of God; and it was not that one thing was carried in the womb and the Son of God another, but he was one and the same, the Son both of the Virgin and of God. And see how he revealed the holy Trinity, naming the Holy Spirit, the Son as power, and the Father as the Highest.

Lk. 1:36–38. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; this is now the sixth month for her who was said to be barren, for nothing spoken by God will be impossible. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it happen to me according to your word. And the angel left her. One might be at a loss how Elizabeth was a kinswoman of the Virgin, seeing that the Virgin was of the tribe of Judah, while Elizabeth was of the daughters of Aaron; for the law commanded marriages to be made within the same tribe, so that kinships too are found among those of the same tribe. Now one might say that the families were confounded from the time of the captivity; but the better explanation is this. Aaron took to wife Elizabeth, the daughter of Aminadab, who was of the tribe of Judah. Do you see that from above, even from Aaron, the Theotokos was a kinswoman of Elizabeth? For since the wife of Aaron was descended from the tribe of Judah, from which the Theotokos also came, and Elizabeth was of the daughters of Aaron, fittingly Elizabeth was a kinswoman of the Theotokos; for her ancestress, namely the wife of Aaron, was of the tribe of Judah. There was also this consequence of the kinship: Elizabeth was the name of Aaron’s wife, and Elizabeth also the name of the wife of Zacharias, as descended from that one. But let us see what the Virgin says: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word.” I am a painter’s tablet: let the artist paint what he wills; let the Lord do what he wishes. So that what she said earlier, “How shall this be to me?” was not of unbelief, but of a desire to learn the manner; for had she disbelieved, she would not have said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word.” And learn that Gabriel is interpreted “man-God,” Mary “lady,” and Nazareth “sanctification.” Fittingly, then, when God was about to become man, Gabriel is sent, who is interpreted “man-God”; but also the salutation takes place in a holy place, that is, in Nazareth; for where God is, there is nothing unclean.

Lk. 1:39–42. And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. The Virgin, having heard from the angel that Elizabeth had conceived, ran to her, partly rejoicing at her kinswoman’s good, and partly, as one most prudent, wishing to be fully assured whether he who had appeared to her had spoken truly, that from this she might have no doubt concerning her own case. For being cautious, she feared lest she be deceived—not as disbelieving, but as wishing to learn the matter more exactly. Zacharias, then, dwelt in the hill country, and for this reason she ran there. And John, having received an extraordinary gift beyond the rest of men, leaps in his mother’s womb, whence also he is greater than the prophets. For they prophesied after being born, but he, while still in his mother’s womb, was counted worthy of such a gift. For observe: the Virgin saluted Elizabeth, that is, addressed her. The voice of the Virgin, then, was the voice of God who was being made flesh within her; and for this reason it both gave grace to the Forerunner in the womb and made him prophesy. For whatever Elizabeth said prophetically to Mary were not the words of Elizabeth, but of the babe; the mouth of Elizabeth only served, just as the mouth of Mary served the Son of God who was in her womb. For when the babe leaped in the womb, then Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit. For had not the babe leaped, she would not have prophesied. And so, just as they say the prophets first were in ecstasy and inspired, and then prophesied, so perhaps John too first leaped, as it were in inspiration, and then through his mother’s mouth prophesied. And what did he prophesy? “Blessed are you among women.” Then, since many holy women bore profane children, as Rebekah bore Esau, he says, “But also the fruit of your womb is blessed.” And it may be understood in another way: “Blessed are you among women”; then, as though someone had asked, “Why?” she gives the cause: “For blessed is the fruit of your womb”—that is, for God is the fruit of your womb, and God alone is blessed; as David also says, “Blessed is he that comes.” For Scripture is wont to use the conjunction “and” in place of “for,” as in “Give us help, and vain is the salvation of man,” instead of “for vain is the salvation of man”; and again, “You were angry, and we have sinned,” instead of “for we have sinned.” And he called the Lord “the fruit of the womb” of the Theotokos, because fathers are the fruit of the Lord, but Christ is the fruit of the womb alone.

Lk. 1:43–45. And how has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the child leapt for joy within my womb. Blessed is she who believed, for what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled. Just as afterward, when Christ came to be baptized, John hindered him out of reverence, saying, “I am not worthy,” so also now he speaks through his mother: “Whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”—naming her the mother of the Lord while she yet carried him in the womb, before she bore him. For in the case of others, before they bear, one ought not to call them mothers, because of the fear of miscarriage, that is, of loss; but in the case of the Virgin nothing of the kind was to be suspected. Therefore even before bearing you are a mother, and blessed are you, O Mary, who did believe that there shall be a fulfillment of the things told you from the Lord.

Lk. 1:46–50. And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior; for he has looked with favor on the low estate of his handmaid. From now on, indeed, every generation will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; and his mercy extends from generation to generation upon those who fear him. The Virgin, more perfectly assured, glorifies God, ascribing the wonder to him and not to herself. “For he,” she says, “looked upon me the lowly one—I did not look up to him; he had mercy on me—I did not seek him; and from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed,” not Elizabeth only, but also the generations of those who believe. And why shall they call me blessed? Is it for my virtue? No; but because God has done great things with me. And she named him “mighty,” that no one might disbelieve what is said, reasoning that the Lord is not unable to do these things. And she said “holy is his name,” showing that the most pure one is in nothing defiled by being conceived in a woman’s womb, but remains holy. And his mercy is not upon me alone, but upon all who fear him; for those who do not fear him, but are altogether unworthy, are not pitied. And by saying that the mercy of God is “from generation to generation,” she showed that men are pitied both in the present generation, that is, in this present age, and in the generation to come, that is, in the age without end; for here they receive a hundredfold, and there far more. And note that first the soul magnifies the Lord, and then the spirit rejoices. What I mean is this: he magnifies God who walks worthily of God. You were called a Christian: do not diminish the dignity and name of Christ by doing what is unfitting, but magnify it, accomplishing great and heavenly deeds; and then your spirit too shall rejoice—that is, the spiritual gift which you did receive through your great deeds shall leap and advance, and shall not be contracted and, so to speak, deadened. And know that Scripture seems plainly to use “spirit” and “soul” for the same thing, but properly distinguishes them. It calls a man “natural” who lives according to nature and is governed by human reasonings, such as one who, when stirred, eats, hates his enemy, and in short imagines nothing above nature; but “spiritual” it calls the man who has risen above the laws of nature and thinks nothing human. And this is the difference between soul and spirit in Scripture; physicians, perhaps, distinguish these otherwise, but it is Scripture that concerns us—let the physicians be.

Lk. 1:51–56. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever. And Mary stayed with her about three months, then returned to her own home. The arm of the Father is the Son. God the Father, then, showed strength and power against nature in his Son; for when the Son was made flesh, nature was overcome, a virgin bearing, God being made man, man being made God. And the Lord scattered the proud demons, casting them out of human souls; and some he sent into the abyss, and others into the swine. It may also be understood of the Jews, whom he scattered into every land, and they are dispersed even now. He put down the mighty from their seats—I mean the demons, who tyrannized over men and had men’s souls for thrones, resting in them; but also the Pharisees, who were mighty, as plundering the goods of the poor, and had thrones as teachers, from which they were cast down. And he exalted them of low degree—the men whom sin had humbled, or the nations; for he exalted these, granting them adoption. And likewise the hungry, the same ones, I mean those of the nations—for they had no Scriptures, nor law, nor commandments—he filled with the good things of Scripture; while the rich Jews, rich in law and commandments, he sent away outside Jerusalem, both the upper and the lower, empty of every good; for the Jews now have nothing, even if they seem to have. He helped Israel his servant—either he speaks of the perceptible Israelites, for many tens of thousands of these also believed, and the promise to Abraham was fulfilled, God having said to him, “In your seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed”; or he speaks of the spiritual Israel, for everyone who sees God is called Israel, since the name so interpreted means “seeing God.” He helped, then, these who see God, leading them up to the heavenly inheritance. And Mary abode with Elizabeth about three months, then returned. For since Elizabeth was about to give birth, the Virgin withdrew because of the multitude that would gather for the birth; for it was unbecoming for a virgin to be present at such occasions. And that the Virgin returned when Elizabeth was about to give birth is plain from this: in the sixth month of the Forerunner’s conception, Mary came to Elizabeth and remained about three months.

Lk. 1:57–64. Now Elizabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her kinsfolk heard how the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said: Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said to her: There is none of your kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying: His name is John. And they marveled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue, and he spoke, blessing God. The Virgin abode about three months with Elizabeth, perhaps astonished at the marvel, and needing some consolation, which she was to have from being with Elizabeth; but when the birth drew near, she withdrew. And as Elizabeth’s time was fulfilled that she should bring forth, it is to be observed that of sinners it is not said, “The time was fulfilled that she should bring forth,” but only where the one being born is righteous, there it is said; for the births of sinners are, as it seems, unfinished and unfulfilled, and it were better for them had they not been born. And why was the name given after the circumcision? Because one must first receive the seal that is from God, and then the human name; and besides, circumcision signifies this—the casting off of carnal things. No one, then, unless he first cast off and cut away carnal things, is worthy to be named a soldier of God, and to have his name written in the book of the heavens. Elizabeth, as a prophetess, spoke concerning the name, that “John is his name”; and perhaps John himself imposed the name upon himself, for he it was who imparted the prophetic gift to his mother. And Zacharias, unable to declare the name by a gesture, asked for a writing tablet; and since he agreed with his wife concerning the child’s name, all were amazed; for there was no one in their kindred so named, that anyone might say that the two had planned this beforehand. And John is interpreted “the grace of God”; therefore his father too, being immediately filled with grace, prophesies first concerning Christ, and afterward concerning the child.

Lk. 1:65–75. Fear came upon all who lived around them, and word of all these things spread throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard it laid it up in their hearts, saying: What, then, will this child become? For the hand of the Lord was with him. And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited his people and brought about their redemption, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, just as he spoke through the mouths of his holy prophets of old—salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to Abraham our father: to grant that we, delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. Fear came upon all because of the marvel of Zacharias’ speaking out. For as the people had been astonished at his silence, so also at his speaking; that through these two miracles all might reason concerning the child that he was beyond the many. And all these things came to pass by divine economy, that he who was to testify concerning Christ might be worthy of trust, and that all might be assured from the very birth of John that he was beyond the many. And Zacharias blesses God as having visited the Israelites; for in truth he came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but the more part of them would not receive the grace; therefore he visited the true Israelites, who are those who believed. And he raised up a horn of salvation, that is, a saving power and kingdom; for the horn signifies power, since horned animals have their strength in their horns; or a kingdom, for kings were anointed with the horn. Christ, then, is the power and kingdom of the Father; he was raised up for us as a horn of salvation. For God seemed to sleep, overlooking the many sins and being long-suffering toward idol-madness; but in the last times, being made flesh, he was awakened and crushed all the demons that hate us, no longer enduring to sleep and to be long-suffering. He was raised up “in the house of David,” that is, in Bethlehem, for there he was born; and Bethlehem is, of course, the city of David, even as the prophets foretold. For all spoke concerning the incarnation; and Micah makes mention also of the house of David, namely Bethlehem, saying, “And you, Bethlehem, are by no means the least; for out of you shall come forth a ruler.” And he wrought mercy not with the living only, but also with our fathers; for the grace of Christ ran back even to those already dead. What I mean is this: he gave us, the living, the hope of resurrection, and we shall rise; but not we alone shall be counted worthy of this grace, but also those who died before us; for the whole of nature obtained the good. And in another sense he wrought mercy with the fathers, inasmuch as he fulfilled their hopes; for whatever they expected, they saw accomplished in Christ. And indeed the fathers, beholding their children enjoying so many good things, rejoice, and becoming partakers of the gladness, receive the mercy to themselves. And what covenant did he remember, and what oath made to Abraham? Surely that one: “Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” For Abraham has now been truly multiplied, all the nations being made his adopted sons through faith; for as he believed, so also these were made his own through faith. And he delivered us from our enemies “without fear”; for often some are delivered, but with fear and many struggles and warfare; whereas Christ, with no toil on our part, was crucified for us, and thereafter delivered us without fear, that is, without danger. And why did he deliver us—was it that we might live softly? No; but that we might serve him, not once, nor for two days, but all the days; and to serve, not by bodily worship and ministry alone, but in holiness and righteousness. Holiness is what is just toward God; righteousness, what is just toward men. For example, if a man abstains from sacred things, and does not lay hands upon divine things impiously, but preserves all honor toward things honorable, such a man is holy; likewise he who reveres his parents is holy, for these too are household gods. And if a man be not covetous, nor a plunderer, nor a thief, nor an adulterer, nor a fornicator, such a man is righteous. Thus, then, one must serve God: in holiness, I mean reverence toward divine things, and in righteousness, the praiseworthy conduct toward human things; and to serve “before him,” not before men.

Lk. 1:76–80. And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high has visited us, to shine on those seated in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and lived in the wilderness until the day of his manifestation to Israel. It might seem strange that Zacharias speaks to the child; for surely one ought to converse with a child who has no perception. One may say, then, that just as the child had a strange birth, leaping and prophesying in the womb at the coming of Mary, so it is nothing incredible that he should also perceive the things said by his father after his birth. “You shall go before the Lord,” he says, “leaving me almost at once.” For Zacharias knew that he would soon be bereft of him, since he was to flee into the deserts. And why shall you go before? To prepare the ways of the Lord; and the ways are the souls along which the Lord journeys. The Forerunner, then, prepared the souls, that Christ might walk in them. And how did he prepare them? By giving knowledge of salvation to the people; for salvation is the Lord Jesus, and the knowledge of salvation—that is, of Christ—was given to the people by John, for John bore witness concerning Jesus; and the knowledge came “by the remission of sins.” For the Lord could not otherwise have been known to be God, unless he had forgiven the people their sins; for it belongs to God to forgive sins. And he forgave us these “through the tender mercy”—not because of our works, for we did nothing good; but he visited us “from on high,” being called the dayspring; for he is the Sun of righteousness. And he gave light to us who sat in darkness, that is, in ignorance, and in the shadow of death, that is, in sin; for two evils held sway over the nature of men: ignorance of God, which the Greeks had, and sin, which the Hebrews had, even though they knew God. He gave light, then, to human nature, that he might enlighten both those in darkness, that is, in ignorance and godlessness, and those sitting in the shadow of death, that is, in sin. And sin is the shadow of death by this reasoning, as I think: just as the shadow follows the body, so also where there is death, there is sin. For example, Adam died, and there forthwith was sin; nor will you find the death of Christ apart from sin, for Christ died, but for my sins; so that sin is fittingly said to be the shadow of death, as ever attending it. And there are other things one might say to this, which I think we said in expounding Matthew. But is it enough only to give light to those darkened? No; one must also guide our feet into the way of peace, that is, of righteousness; for as sin is enmity toward God, so righteousness is peace. The way of peace, then, is the conduct of righteousness, toward which Christ, who arose from on high, guided the feet of our souls. And the child grew according to bodily age, and grew strong in spirit; for together with the body the spiritual gift also grew, and the more the child increased, the more the energies of the Spirit were displayed, the instrument being able to contain them. And why was he in the deserts? That he might pass his life outside the wickedness of the many, and that, abashed before no one, he might reprove with boldness; for had he been in the world, he might perhaps have been defiled by friendships and the customary dealings of men; and at the same time that he might be worthy of trust when he was to preach concerning Christ, being indeed a dweller in the desert and beyond the many. And he was hidden in the deserts until God was pleased to show him to the people of Israel.

Chapter 2

Lk. 2:1–7. A decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be registered. This first registration took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. Joseph too went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to register together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth, and she bore her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them at the inn. The enrollment takes place for this reason: that when all had come to their own homelands, the Virgin too might go up to Bethlehem as her own homeland, and so the Lord might be born in Bethlehem, and the prophecy be fulfilled. And it was fitting that, when one God was about to put an end to polytheism, one king also should prevail, namely Caesar. And Christ too is enrolled with all; for it was fitting that the Lord be enrolled together with the world, that he might sanctify those enrolled and abolish slavery. For just as, by being circumcised, he abolished circumcision, so by being enrolled as a slave he abolished the slavery of our nature. For those who serve the Lord are no longer slaves of men, as the Apostle says: “Be not the slaves of men”; but even if slaves in body, they are free in spirit, not being led away with the impiety of their masters. And he called the Lord the “firstborn” Son of the Virgin, although no second was born—fittingly; for he is called firstborn who is born first, even if no second was born after. And he is laid in a manger, perhaps to school us in lowliness from the beginning; and perhaps also showing symbolically that he sojourned in this world, which is a place of us who were made like the irrational beasts. For just as the manger is the proper place of the irrational beasts, so also this world is ours; the manger, then, is the world, and we the irrational beasts; and that he might redeem us from irrationality, for this reason he came here.

Lk. 2:8–14. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, an angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said to them: Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people. For to you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign to you: You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. There were shepherds “abiding in the field,” that is, lodging and passing the night in the field. The angel appears to these because of the guilelessness and innocence of their character; and because in their manner of life they appear to imitate the conduct of the righteous, for the ancients too were shepherds—the patriarchs, Jacob, Moses, David. For he did not appear in Jerusalem to the Pharisees or scribes, for those were vessels of all wickedness; but these guileless men were counted worthy of divine sights—God showing that he chose, from the very beginning, the more rustic of men, and made them heralds; for they departed and proclaimed concerning all these things. And the angel brought good tidings of great joy, which shall be, he says, “to all the people”—to the people that is properly God’s; for not all the Jews are the people of God. But also to all the people of mankind the incarnation of God became joy. And what does the hymn of the angels signify? Surely the thanksgiving and joy of the orders above, because we who are on earth received benefit. “For glory to God,” they say; for now there is peace on earth. For formerly human nature had enmity toward God; but now it was so reconciled that it was even joined to God and united to him who was made flesh. What peace, then, of God toward man! And in another sense it may be understood: peace is the Son of God himself—“For I,” he says, “am the peace.” This peace, then, the Son of God, came to be on earth, and “good will among men,” that is, the resting of God; for God now rested and was well pleased among men, who formerly was not well pleased nor took satisfaction in men.

Lk. 2:15–20. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the men, the shepherds, said one to another: Let us now go even to Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. These shepherds are a symbol of the spiritual shepherds, the high priests. The high priests, then, must guard their flock and abide in the field—that is, sing certain spiritual things and teach the people—and thus they shall be counted worthy of divine sights and hearings. And Bethlehem is interpreted “house of bread.” And what other is the house of bread but the Church, in which the Bread is laid up? It is the task, then, of the rational shepherds to seek the heavenly Bread; and after they have seen the Bread, they ought also to preach it to others, just as the shepherds, having seen the babe, told it abroad to others. “But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told to them.” What sayings did the Virgin keep? Some say, all that the angel had told her and all that the shepherds said; for she observed these and pondered them in her heart—that is, she compared them and found from all a single harmonious conclusion, that her Son is God. But to me it seems that here the “sayings” mean the “deeds”; so that the meaning is this: Mary kept all the sayings—that is, these deeds, which now I am saying and showing to be “sayings”; for a deed, when it is told, becomes a saying. And the shepherds returned giving thanks to God for all things; for they were not envious, like the Jews.

Lk. 2:21–24. And when eight days had passed and it was time for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord—as it is written in the law of the Lord, that every male who opens the womb is to be called holy to the Lord—and to offer a sacrifice as prescribed in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Since the law gave commandments, those who transgressed them were under a curse. The Lord, therefore, is circumcised, that, by fulfilling the law in this too and omitting nothing of what it commanded, he might deliver us from the curse. And from this those are confounded who say that he was made flesh in appearance only; for how was he circumcised, if he was made flesh in appearance? It is useless also to inquire where that severed part is; for what Scripture passed over in silence one must not inquire into, especially when it is for no profit. But one may say that, at the time when it was severed, touching the earth, it sanctified the earth, just as did the blood and water that flowed from his side; and by what means he knows, he kept this part unharmed; and after the resurrection, taking it up again, he rose, that in this respect too he might be found lacking nothing—since we also shall receive back our perfect body in the resurrection. And note that the Lord was not conceived at the moment the angel said, “Behold, you shall conceive a son,” but afterward, when he willed; for see what he says here: “which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” And from the very wording this is shown; for he did not say, “Behold, you conceive,” but “Behold, you shall conceive.” So that from this one may reason that the Lord was conceived at that hour indeed, but not at the very instant in which the angel was speaking, but perhaps when he had finished his words. These things, however, we do not say dogmatically. “And the days of their purification were accomplished according to the law of Moses.” Well did he say “according to the law of Moses”; for according to the truth, the Virgin had no need to await the days of purification, which were forty for a male child. For it is said in the law: “A woman who conceives seed and bears a male”; but the Virgin did not conceive seed, but bore of the Holy Spirit; so that she had no need, but, wishing to fulfill the law, she went up to the temple. And why for a male seven days, but for a female twice as many? “A woman,” it says, “if she conceive seed and bear a male, shall be unclean seven days; but if a female, twice seven.” Because she who bore the male brought a second Adam into the world, but she who bore the female bore a second Eve—the unsound vessel, the weak vessel, the broken jar, the staff of deceit, the guide to disobedience. And the law saying, “Everything that opens the womb is holy to the Lord,” this came to pass properly of Christ alone; for he himself opened the womb of the Virgin, since in the case of other wombs the husband opens the womb. And the law commanded to offer a pair of turtledoves, showing that childbearing comes from chaste wedlock; for they say the turtledove is a chaste creature, so that even when it has lost its mate it does not marry again. And if they had no turtledoves, they offered two young pigeons, that the life of that child might be one of many offspring; for the pigeon is a prolific creature.

Lk. 2:25–32. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Symeon; and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, he also took him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said: Lord, now do you let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for mine eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples: a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. Symeon was not a priest, but a God-loving man, awaiting that Christ would come to comfort the Hebrews and to release them from the slavery under sin—and perhaps also from that under the Romans and Herod; for he who believes in Christ is truly free, honored by kings and all men. Behold the apostles: they were not slaves of the Romans; yet now the kings of the Romans honor and bow before them. Behold, then, to these, who were Israelites, Christ became a consolation. This Symeon, then, moved by the Holy Spirit, went up to the temple when the mother brought up the Lord; and receiving him, he confesses him to be God; for to say, “Now you let me depart, Master,” belongs to one confessing that he is the Lord of life and death. And see how the saints reckon the body a bond; therefore he says, “Now you let me depart,” as from a bond. He said “according to your word” because of the oracle he had received, that he should not die until he had seen Christ. And “in peace” stands for “in rest”; for as long as a man lives, he is troubled, as David also says; but when he dies, he is at peace. And in another sense you will understand “in peace,” that is, in the attainment of his hope. For “before I saw the Lord,” he says, “I was not at peace in my reasonings, awaiting him and ever anxious when he would come; but now, having seen him and being at peace and freed from anxiety, so to speak, I am released.” And he called the incarnation of the Only-begotten “salvation,” which God prepared before all the ages; and this salvation he prepared “before the face of all peoples”; for that he might save the world, and that his incarnation might be manifested to all, for this reason he was made flesh. And this salvation is a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, that is, to the enlightenment of the darkened Gentiles, and the glory of the Israelites; for Christ is the glory of the true people of Israel, inasmuch as he arose from them; and the truly grateful take pride in him. These things Symeon. And it seems to me that the words of David also fit this Symeon: “With length of days will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.”

Lk. 2:33–35. And Joseph and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Symeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold, this child is set for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that will be spoken against—and a sword will pierce through your own soul too—so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare. Symeon blessed both; but, leaving aside the reputed father, he spoke to her who was truly the mother: “Behold,” he says, “this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel”—for the fall of those who do not believe, and for the rising of those who believe. And in another sense, the Lord is set for the fall of the evils in our souls, and for the rising of the good. Fornication falls, chastity rises. And in yet another way it may be understood: Christ is set “for a fall,” in the sense that he himself is about to suffer and to fall into death, and after his fall many are to rise. Place a stop, then, at “for a fall”; then begin, “and the rising of many.” And the “sign” is the cross, which to this day is spoken against—that is, not received by the unbelievers. The incarnation of the Lord too is called a sign, and a strange sign; for God became man, and a virgin a mother. And this sign—I mean the incarnation of Christ—is spoken against; for some say his body was from heaven, others that it was in appearance, others babble some other thing. “And your own soul also”—that is, the Virgin’s—“a sword shall pierce through”: perhaps the affliction that came upon her at the Passion; and perhaps by “sword” he means the offense by which she was offended, seeing the Lord crucified. For perhaps she supposed: How is he who was born without seed, who worked miracles and raised the dead, crucified and put to death and spat upon? And “that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” signifies this: that the reasonings of many who are offended shall be revealed and made manifest, and being reproved, they shall find a swift healing. As, for instance, even you, O Virgin, shall be revealed and made manifest as to what you think concerning Christ; then you shall be confirmed in your faith in him. Likewise Peter too was revealed when he denied, but the strength of God was shown, taking him back through repentance. And in another sense the thoughts of many hearts were revealed when the betrayer appeared and those who loved him appeared—such as Joseph, who came to Pilate, and such as the women who remained by the cross.

Lk. 2:36–40. There was also a prophetess, Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and then as a widow to about eighty-four years; she never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. Coming up at that very hour, she too gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of him to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. And when they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. The evangelist dwells on the account of Anna, listing both her father and her tribe, that we may learn that he speaks the truth, summoning, as it were, many witnesses, those who knew both her father and her tribe. She, then, gave thanks to the Lord—that is, she rendered thanksgiving and taught all concerning the Lord, that he was the Savior and the consolation of us who await the redemption. And after they had performed all things, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth; for Bethlehem too was their city, but as their fatherland, while Nazareth was as their dwelling-place. And Jesus grew according to the body, although able from the very womb to come to the measure of manly stature; but it would have seemed an illusion, and for this reason he grows little by little. And as he grew, the wisdom of God the Word was being manifested; for he did not become wise by progress—far from it; but, little by little revealing his innate wisdom in keeping with his bodily age, he is said to advance and to wax strong in spirit. For if, while small in stature, he had revealed all wisdom, it would have seemed a portent; but now, displaying himself in proportion to his age as was fitting, he fulfilled the dispensation, not anticipating wisdom (for what could be more perfect than that which was perfect from the beginning?), but uncovering little by little the wisdom that was already there.

Lk. 2:41–50. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the feast; and when the days were completed and they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother did not know it. Supposing him to be in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey, and then began searching for him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find him, they turned back to Jerusalem, searching for him, and after three days found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and questioning them. All who heard him were astonished at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were amazed, and his mother said to him: Child, why have you treated us this way? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in anguish. And he said to them: Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business? But they did not understand what he said to them. He goes up with his parents to Jerusalem, that through all things he might show that he is not opposed to God, nor sets himself against what is ordained by law. And when they had fulfilled the days—namely the seven of the Passover—he tarried in Jerusalem. And he disputed with the scribes, questioning them from the law; and all were astonished. Do you see how he advanced in wisdom, through being known to many and admired? For the manifestation of his wisdom, this is his advance. And the Theotokos names Joseph his father, knowing well that he is not his father; but for the sake of the Jews, lest he be thought to be of fornication, she calls Joseph his father. Besides, since he showed a father’s care and ministry in the upbringing, fittingly she named him father—as though the Holy Spirit were honoring him with the appellation of father. And why did they seek him? Did they have the supposition that he was lost or had strayed, as a child? Far from it. For neither did this belong to the all-wise Mary, who had received countless revelations concerning him, nor to Joseph, who had himself been told that he is of the Holy Spirit. But they sought him lest he had departed from them, lest he had forsaken them. And when they found him, see how he answers them; for when the Virgin called Joseph his father, he says: “He is not my true Father, for then I would have been in his house; but God is my Father, and for this reason I am in his house”—that is, in his temple. But they understood not what he spoke to them; for it was a mystery.

Lk. 2:51–52. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and his mother treasured all these words in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. He was subject to his parents, giving us also an example, that we should be subject to our fathers. And the Virgin kept all these things; for divine were both the deeds done and the words spoken by the child, and not as of a twelve-year-old, but of one perfect. And see how here the evangelist, interpreting what it is to advance in wisdom, adds, “and in stature.” For the advance of stature he says to be the advance of wisdom. And he was in favor both with God and with men—that is, he did things pleasing to God and praiseworthy to men. And first that which is with God, then that which is with men; for first one must please God, then men.

Chapter 3

Lk. 3:1–3. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance to He makes mention of the time and of the rulers rightly, that he may show that the succession of the Jewish rulers had failed in the time of Christ, Pilate, a man of another nation, being governor, and the sons of Herod the Ascalonite being tetrarchs; and so it may fittingly be believed that Christ was at hand, according to the prophecy of Jacob. “And the word of God came,” he says, “to John”—that you may learn that he did not come self-summoned to testify concerning Christ, but moved by the divine Spirit; for by “the word” you will understand either the Holy Spirit or the command of God. And the word of God came to John “in the wilderness”; for since the children of the wilderness—I mean the Church of the Gentiles—were to be more than those of her who had a husband—that is, the Jewish synagogue—fittingly the word and command of God comes to John while he is in the wilderness. And he preached to the peoples a “baptism of repentance,” that is, of confession. And this baptism aided them toward the remission of sins which is given through the baptism of Christ. For the baptism of John did not itself have remission of sins, but contributed to remission—that is, it prepared men to receive the baptism of Christ, which has

Lk. 3:4–6. the remission of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. The “way” is the conduct that is according to Christ, which he bids to be prepared; for the Lord was about, almost at once, to preach. The “paths” are the commandments of the law, as already well-trodden, which he orders to be made straight; for the Pharisees were perverting the commandments. And the “way” may also be understood as the soul, and the “paths” as the thoughts and the deeds. We must, then, prepare our soul, and make our deeds and thoughts straight. Then, as though someone asked, “And how shall we accomplish this? For virtue is hard to work, having many ravines and difficulties, both from the wicked powers and from the passions dwelling within us”—he says that it shall be in no way laborious, but all things easy. For the ravines shall be filled—that is, our natural powers, which had grown weak toward the good and been brought low, shall be filled up again; and every mountain and hill—I mean the opposing powers, which through pride were lifted up—shall be brought low. For in truth both the opposing powers grew weak, and the desires that seem to be naturally set within us. And all things have been made smooth, and the crooked things have been brought to straightness. For Christ both abolished the opposing powers—which here are called mountains and hills—and revived our natural movements toward the good, which the evangelist called the ravines being filled. For this is why he was made flesh, that he might restore our nature to its proper state. “And all flesh,” he says, “shall see the salvation of God”: no longer Jews only and proselytes, but all flesh; for the Gospel reached to all the earth. There were many other things to say, but for the sake of clearness let these suffice.

Lk. 3:7–9. So he said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him: Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Produce, then, fruit worthy of repentance, and do not begin saying to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father; for I tell you, God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these very stones. Already the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree, then, that does not produce good fruit is cut down. He calls the Jews a generation of vipers, as oppressing their fathers and mothers; for they say that this creature is born by gnawing through the womb. But also they killed the prophets and the teachers. By “the wrath to come” he means the eternal punishment. And “fruits worthy of repentance” are not only the avoidance of evil, but also the working of the good; for this is truly the fruit and offspring of repentance—to work the good. “And begin not to say within yourselves” that “we are well-born,” and, trusting in your fathers, neglect virtue. For God will be able to give children to the patriarch even from these stones, as he did almost so before; for the womb of Sarah, being harder than stones, was nevertheless graced for childbearing. And the “axe” is the divine judgment, which hews the unworthy out of life. “If, then, you do not repent,” he says, “you shall be hewn out of life; for the axe is laid at the root of you, the trees.” The “root,” then, is life, as we said. But the “root” may also be understood as the kinship of Abraham, from which kinship of Abraham those who are not worthy to be his branches are hewn off, according to the Apostle. And the punishment is twofold; for the sinful and fruitless man is not only hewn off from kinship with the righteous, but also

Lk. 3:10–18. and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying: What shall we do then? He answers and says to them: He that has two coats, let him impart to him that has none; and he that has meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said to him: Master, what shall we do? And he said to them: Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying: And what shall we do? And he said to them: Do violence to no man, neither accuse falsely; and be content with your wages. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not, John answered, saying to them all: I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I comes, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire; whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he to the people. John admonishes three orders that came to him: the multitudes, the publicans, and the soldiers. To the multitudes he exhorts attention to almsgiving, bidding him who has two coats to impart to him who has none; to the publicans, to exact nothing more—that is, to demand nothing beyond what is appointed; and to the soldiers, not to plunder, but to be content with their wages, that is, with the bounties customarily given by the king. And see how to the multitudes, as being guileless, he exhorts to do something good—that is, to impart—but to the publicans and soldiers, to abstain from evil; for these had not yet capacity, nor were able to do something good, but it was sufficient for them not to do evil. Some understand also, in a higher sense, “let him that has two coats impart to him that has none”; for they say the two coats are the spirit of Scripture and the letter. He, then, who has the two, John exhorts to impart to him who is wholly naked; that is, if anyone understands Scripture in both ways, according to the letter and according to the spirit, let him impart to him who has not—let him teach the ignorant, and give him at least the letter. And so great was John’s virtue, that all reckoned concerning him, whether perhaps he were the Christ. Repelling, then, such a supposition, he says: “And so great is the difference between me and Christ, that I baptize in water, but he in the Spirit and fire; and another thing, that I am not worthy even to loose the latchet of his shoes.” And what do these things signify? That “he will baptize you in the Spirit and fire” is altogether plain; for indeed he sent the Spirit to the apostles, and tongues of fire appeared, distributed among them. And that he was not worthy to loose the latchet of his shoes—according to the evident sense, that “I am not worthy even to be ranked as his lowest slave.” But in a more hidden sense, the Lord has two shoes: his coming from heaven to the earth, and his coming from earth to Hades; the manner of these two comings no one is able to loose, not even one like John. For who can tell either how he was made flesh, or how he descended into Hades? And “whose fan is in his hand” signifies this: that “even if he baptize you, do not think you are already innocent; but unless you show forth a blameless life thereafter, he will burn you with unquenchable fire.” For he is chaff who has a fruitless mind, and bears only the great rubbish of worldly affairs. “And many other things in his exhortation preached he to the people”; for good teaching is truly an exhortation, and may fittingly be called good tidings.

Lk. 3:19–22. Now Herod the tetrarch, rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother’s wife, and concerning all the evil deeds Herod had done, added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said: You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased. Fittingly the evangelist inserts here the things concerning Herod, all but saying this: while the multitude reasoned thus concerning John, Herod, being reproved by him, added this above all, the shutting of him up in prison. As though, then, in indignation he relates these things, and as one suffering grievously that, while the multitude held such an opinion of John, Herod did such deeds. And the heaven is opened, that it may be shown to us that baptism opens heaven to all, which Adam closed. And the Spirit comes down upon Jesus, that from this too we may learn that upon us also when baptized the Spirit comes; for the Lord surely had no need of the Spirit, but does all things for our sake, and himself becomes the firstfruits of all that we were afterward to receive, that he might become the firstborn among many brethren. And as a dove, that we may learn that we must be meek and pure; and because, as in the time of Noah the dove announced the cessation of God’s wrath, so here too the Holy Spirit reconciled us to God, having made a flood of sin. And he is called Son, the voice being borne from the Father, showing that to us also when baptized he granted adoption. “In you I am well pleased,” that is, “in you I have rested.”

Lk. 3:23–38. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, who was of Heli, who was of Matthat, who was of Levi, who was of Melchi, who was of Janna, who was of Joseph, who was of Mattathias, who was of Amos, who was of Naum, who was of Esli, who was of Naggai, who was of Maath, who was of Mattathias, who was of Semei, who was of Joseph, who was of Juda, who was of Joanna, who was of Rhesa, who was of Zorobabel, who was of Salathiel, who was of Neri, who was of Melchi, who was of Addi, who was of Cosam, who was of Elmodam, who was of Er, who was of Jose, who was of Eliezer, who was of Jorim, who was of Matthat, who was of Levi, who was of Symeon, who was of Juda, who was of Joseph, who was of Jonan, who was of Eliakim, who was of Melea, who was of Menan, who was of Mattatha, who was of Nathan, who was of David, who was of Jesse, who was of Obed, who was of Booz, who was of Salmon, who was of Naasson, who was of Aminadab, who was of Aram, who was of Esrom, who was of Phares, who was of Juda, who was of Jacob, who was of Isaac, who was of Abraham, who was of Thara, who was of Nachor, who was of Saruch, who was of Ragau, who was of Phalec, who was of Eber, who was of Sala, who was of Cainan, who was of Arphaxad, who was of Sem, who was of Noe, who was of Lamech, who was of Mathusala, who was of Enoch, who was of Jared, who was of Maleleel, who was of Cainan, who was of Enos, who was of Seth, who was of Adam, who was of God. The Lord was baptized at thirty years of age, because this is the most perfect age, and at this age a man is either approved or disapproved. And Luke traces his genealogy in reverse order to Matthew, that he may show that he who has now been born in the flesh is from God. For see the genealogy, how it ascends to God; and at the same time, that we may learn that, in order to lead all the intervening fathers up to God and make them sons, for this reason he was made flesh. And I have another thing to say: the birth of the Lord was disbelieved, as being without seed; wishing, then, to show that at another time too a man came to be without seed, the evangelist ascends from the lowest up to Adam and to God, all but saying to us: “If you disbelieve how the second Adam came to be without seed, ascend with me in mind to the first Adam, and you will find him made without seed by God; and thenceforth, disbelieve no longer.” And some inquire how Matthew says Joseph was the son of Jacob, but Luke, the son of Heli; for it is impossible, they say, that the same man should be the son of two fathers. They say, then, to this, that Jacob and Heli were brothers by the same mother, but of different fathers; and when Heli died childless, Jacob took his wife, to raise up seed from her; and so Joseph is said to be the son of Jacob by nature, and of Heli by the law. For Jacob begot him by nature and truly, and so is his natural son; but of Heli he was a son according to the law only. For the law commanded that, if anyone died childless, his wife should be joined to his brother, and the child to be born of this should be reckoned to be the dead man’s, even though by nature it was the living man’s. So that the evangelists speak well, and do not contradict; for Matthew recorded the natural father of Joseph, but Luke the one reckoned his father according to the law, namely Heli—that both might show that for this reason the Lord was born, that he might by force sanctify both nature and law.

Chapter 4

Lk. 4:1–12. And being full of the Holy Spirit, he returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing; and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said to him: If you are the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying: It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him: All this power will I give you, and the glory of them; for that is delivered to me, and to whomever I will I give it. If you therefore will worship before me, all shall be yours. And Jesus answered and said to him: Get you behind me, Satan; for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to him: If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from hence; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you; and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said to him: It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. The Lord was baptized in order to sanctify the waters, for our sake who were to enjoy the grace; and after being baptized, he is led up by the Spirit into a desert mountain. For the Holy Spirit was leading him into the contest against the devil. And he goes off into the wilderness, to give the devil occasion to attack him; for he attacks us especially when we are alone. And he fasts forty days, and does not exceed the measure of the fast of Moses and Elijah, lest he give Satan thereby a suspicion that he is greater than these; but the enemy assails him, thinking that he too is a man—and at the same time, that he might not seem to be made flesh in appearance only. And he is tempted after the baptism, showing us that after baptism temptations await us. And he fasts, because fasting is a great weapon in temptations, and because after baptism we too must give ourselves not to luxury but to fasting. The enemy, then, assails him first from gluttony, by which he assailed Adam too; then from love of money, showing him all the kingdoms. And how did he show them? Some say he set them before him in imagination; but I think not in imagination, but that he showed them to him perceptibly, making them appear in a phantasm—though the Lord himself was not deceived by the phantasm. Thirdly he assails him from love of glory: “For if you are the Son of God,” he says, “cast yourself down.” And flattering him, he babbled such things, in the hope that, deceived by the flattery, and wishing to show himself the Son of God, he might cast himself down, and so it might be discerned by him who he was. But see how the Lord repels him from Scripture: “You shall not tempt the Lord your God,” he says. For one ought not to cast himself into manifest dangers, testing whether God will help him. And note this too, that he repelled the great serpent, Satan, from the Scriptures—both the saying concerning the manna (for the manna was bread), and “You shall worship the Lord your God,” and “You shall not tempt.”

Lk. 4:13–15. And when the devil had finished every temptation, he withdrew from him for a time. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of him spread through the whole region. He taught in their synagogues, and all glorified him. Luke says that the Lord ended “all the temptation,” although he was tempted with three temptations, because these three are the heads of all temptations: that of love of money, that of gluttony, and that of love of glory. The one of gluttony he repelled by saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone”; for he brought this temptation against him first, as against Adam too. For Adam he could overthrow neither from covetousness—for he had no one to be covetous of, being alone—nor from anger, for he had no one to be angry with, nor from envy; so it was from the belly that he overthrew him. And the one of love of money he repelled by not falling down and worshipping him. For when the devil showed him all the kingdoms perceptibly in a phantasm, he did not bow. Yet some understood this not of perceptible kingdoms, but of spiritual ones: that he showed him the kingdom of licentiousness, the kingdom of envy, and in short the kingdoms of all the sins; and as it were said to him such things as these: “If you will reign over these passions, and for this have come, to snatch away those held by me, fall down and worship me, and receive all those over whom I reign.” But the Lord indeed wills to reign, and for this has come, but to reign without sin, and not without struggle, but having wrestled and conquered. These things some understood; let whoever pleases accept them. But also the one of love of glory he repelled by quoting the scriptural saying. Deliver us also, then, O Lord, from these three heads of the dragon. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit; it seems to me that Jesus returned inspired—for this is the meaning of “in the power of the Spirit.” And perhaps note in the Scripture that, after he had conquered the tempter and shown his power, then it is written, “in the power of the Spirit.” And “he departed from him for a season” has this sense: the devil assails the Lord through two passions, pleasure and grief; and he departed from him for a season, that is, until he was to assail him through grief.

Lk. 4:16–21. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. And there was delivered to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had unrolled the book, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he rolled up the book, and gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say to them: This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. The Lord wished to make himself manifest to the Israelites, and to show that he had been anointed by God the Father to save those under heaven. And this too he arranges wondrously, manifesting himself before the rest to those in Nazareth, with whom he had been brought up; that he might teach us also first to do good to our own, and to instruct these, and then to pour out our love of mankind upon the rest as well. And when the book was delivered to him, he unrolled it, and found, not what chanced, but what he himself wished. For do not think that, when he opened the book at random, that place was found where the things concerning him were written; but it came to pass because he willed it. And what was written? That “the Spirit of the Lord has anointed me”—that is, has consecrated me, has appointed me—“to preach the gospel to the poor,” that is, to the Gentiles, who, having neither law nor prophets, were in truth in great poverty. And the brokenhearted were perhaps those of Israel, whose heart formerly was great and lofty and a house of God; but afterward, when they became idolaters and sinned in various ways, their heart was broken and dissolved, and, instead of being a house of God, became a den of robbers. The Lord came, then, to heal these too, and to give to the captives release, and to the blind recovery of sight—both to those of the Gentiles and to those of Israel; for both these parts were captive under Satan, and blind. And these things may also be understood of the dead; for these too, being captive and bruised, were released from the authority of Hades through the resurrection. And he preached the acceptable year. And what was the acceptable year? Perhaps the age to come, concerning which the Lord preached, saying, “In that day you shall ask me nothing,” and again, “The hour comes when the dead shall rise.” And that year is “acceptable,” that is, desirable and longed for by the righteous, which all who labor here look forward to. And the time of the Lord’s sojourn in the flesh is also an acceptable year, concerning which Paul says, “Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.” “This Scripture is fulfilled in your ears,” manifestly declaring that these things were written concerning himself.

Lk. 4:22–23. And all spoke well of him, and marveled at the gracious words that came from his mouth, and said: Is this not Joseph’s son? And he said to them: Doubtless you will quote me this proverb: Physician, heal yourself; whatever we have heard was done in Capernaum, do here also in your own country.

Lk. 4:24–30. of Joseph? And he said to them: You will surely say to me this proverb, Physician, heal yourself; whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country. And he said: Truly I say to you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent, save to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way. Hearing the things said by Christ, the multitudes wondered at the gracious words; but while wondering, they ridiculed him, saying, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” And yet what prevented him from being wonderful and worthy of worship? Do you not see how many things he does? Do you not hear how many things he says? And do you then ridicule his father? Truly may that be said of them: “Behold, a foolish and senseless people; eyes have they, and they see not; ears, and they hear not.” The Lord, then, what does he say to them? “You will surely say to me, Do in your own country the wonders that you did in Capernaum”; for this is the meaning of “Physician, heal yourself.” For this was a common saying among the Jews, applied to physicians who were themselves sick. “But I say to you, that I would have done many signs among you, my own countrymen, too; yet I know the common affliction that befalls all men—that even the most excellent of things are despised when they are not rare, but common and familiar, and all may enjoy them freely. For men are always wont to give heed to and admire what is strange and rare, but to despise what is common and familiar; and for this reason no prophet is honored in his own country, but if he come from somewhere else, they admire him.” So also the widows of Judaea did not receive Elijah, but the woman of Sarepta received him; and Eliseus cleansed the foreign leper, who showed faith in him, for his own familiar countrymen did not believe in him, and for this reason were not cleansed. “Likewise I too do not seem wonderful to you, my countrymen, but am despised; therefore I do no signs; but to those in Capernaum, who deem me wonderful, I both work signs and am acceptable.” Hearing these things in the synagogue, they were filled with wrath, when they ought to have marveled, and tried to cast him down headlong. But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way—not fleeing suffering, but awaiting the time. For he had come to suffer for us; but now, the preaching being only at its beginning, he ought not to give himself up to death, but, when he had taught sufficiently, then to be made perfect. So that from this it is plain that, even when he was crucified, he was not crucified unwillingly, but willingly gave himself to death. And know that the fatherland of the prophets is the synagogue of the Jews, in which the prophets are dishonored, for neither are they accepted; but we strangers received them. For the widow—I mean the Church of the Gentiles—received Elijah, that is, the prophetic word, when a spiritual famine had come upon Judaea, the famine of hearing the word of God; and concerning this widow the prophet says that the children of the desolate are many, that the barren bore seven, and she that had many children grew weak.

Lk. 4:31–37. And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. And they were astonished at his teaching; for his word was with authority. And in the synagogue there was a man having a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying: Let us alone; what have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us? I know you who you are; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Hold your peace, and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. And they were all amazed, and spoke among themselves, saying: What a word is this! For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about. Since teaching does not draw unbelievers to faith, for this reason the Lord brings forward the working of miracles, as a most powerful medicine. He works a miracle, then, in Capernaum; for these were most unbelieving and in need of much to bring them to faith. When, therefore, he had taught sufficiently, and that as one having authority (for he did not say, “Thus says the Lord,” but “I say to you,” so that he was not even as one of the prophets, but the true Son of God), after this he adds the miracle also, and heals the demoniac. And the demon first confesses his enmity, that the testimony might be worthy of trust; then he adds the testimony: “I know you who you are, the Holy One of God.” First, then, he charges him: “Why have you come here to destroy us?” Then he flatters, thinking that the Lord, softened by the flattery, would spare him—so senseless is wickedness. But the Lord, teaching us not to need the testimony and recommendation of demons, says: “Hold your peace, and come out of him.” And he permits the demon to throw the man down, that the bystanders might learn that he truly had a demon, and that the words were the demon’s, even though the man’s tongue served. And so they all spoke among themselves, marveling at what had happened, and saying: “What is this word?”—that is, “What is this command which he commands, ‘Come out of him, and hold your peace’?” And know that even now many have demons, all who fulfill the desires of the demons; for instance, there is a man given to anger—this man has a demon of anger. But if Jesus comes into the synagogue—that is, when the mind is gathered and not scattered—then he will say to the demon of anger, which is unrestrained: “Hold your peace”; and immediately, having thrown the man into the midst, it will come out of him. And what it is to be thrown into the midst, learn: a man must be neither wholly given to anger and bitterness, for that is bestial, nor wholly without anger, for that is insensible, but must walk the middle way, and have anger against wickedness. When, then, the wicked spirit throws someone into the midst, it comes out of him.

Lk. 4:38–41. Rising from the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him on her behalf. Standing over her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her; she rose at once and served them. As the sun was setting, all who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to him, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Demons also came out of many, crying out and saying: You are the Son of God. But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.

Lk. 4:42–44. and saying, You are Christ the Son of God. And he, rebuking them, suffered them not to speak; for they knew that he was the Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place; and the multitudes sought him, and came to him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. But he said to them: I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for therefore am I sent. And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee. The Master of all was entertained and fed among his disciples; and so now, being entertained at Peter’s house, he heals his mother-in-law, that he may teach you also not to reject even the hospitalities of the humble. And he does not simply heal her of the disease, but also puts strength and power into her, for ministering. If we too, then, receive him, he will quench our fever—both that of anger and that of desire—and will raise us up to minister to him, that is, to do the things pleasing to him. And consider for me the faith of the multitude, how, even when the sun was setting, they brought the sick, not hindered even by the time. And he does not allow the demons to speak, partly because he needs not the praise of the unclean—for praise is not seemly in the mouth of sinners—and partly because he wished not to kindle the envy of the Hebrews by being praised among all. And the multitudes seek him even when he had gone off to a desert place, and hold him fast; but he does not confine himself to one place, but “to the other cities also,” he says—teaching us too not to be slothful, nor to shut ourselves up in one place.

Chapter 5

Lk. 5:1–11. It happened, as the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God, that he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats moored by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, he asked him to put out a little from the shore; and sitting down, he taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon: Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon answered: Master, we labored all night and caught nothing, but at your word I will let down the net. When they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fish, and their net began to tear. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats until they began to sink. Seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord. For astonishment had seized him and all with him at the catch of fish they had taken, and likewise James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon: Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men. And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. The Lord flees glory, but it pursues him all the more. While the multitude, then, pressed upon him, he enters into the ship, that from the ship he might teach those standing on the shore, all being face to face with him and no one coming behind his back. And when he had taught the multitude out of the ship, he does not let the owner of the ship go unrewarded, but benefits him doubly: in that he granted him a multitude of fishes, and in that he made him his disciple. And marvel at the Lord’s dispensation, how he draws each man through what is his own and familiar; for as he drew the Magi through a star, so the fishermen through fishes. And see the gentleness of Christ, how he entreats Peter to thrust out from the land—for understand “he prayed” in the sense of “he entreated.” And see how obedient Peter was, so as to receive into his ship a man whom he did not know, and to obey him in all things; for when he told him to launch out into the deep, he did not chafe, nor say, “I toiled all the night and gained nothing; shall I now obey you and give myself to a second labor?” He said none of these things, but rather, “At your word I will let down the net”—so warm was he in faith even before the faith; whence also he encloses so many fishes that, unable to draw them, he beckons to his partners in the other ship. And he summons them by a beckoning, since for amazement at the draught he could not even speak. And out of much reverence Peter begs Jesus not to be in the ship, calling himself a sinner and not worthy to be with him. And understand these things also in a higher sense, if you wish. The ship is the synagogue of the Jews; Peter holds the type of the teachers under the law. The teachers before Christ, then, toiled all the night (for the time before Christ’s coming is night), and took nothing. But when Christ had come, and day had dawned, the apostles, being set in the place of the teachers of the law, at his word—that is, at his command—let down the net of the Gospel, and catch a multitude of men. And the apostles alone are not able to draw the net of fishes, and they beckon to their partners and fellows, and these help them. And these are the shepherds and teachers of the Churches in each generation, who, interpreting and teaching the apostolic words, help the apostles to catch men. And consider the expression “they let down the net.” For the Gospel is the net; but having a lowly and plain and condescending diction, suited to the simplicity of the hearers, for this reason it is said to be “let down.” And if anyone should say that thereby the depth of the meanings is signified—and so also the saying of the prophet, who said, “Behold, I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them”—by hunters he means the teachers of the Churches in each generation.

Lk. 5:12–16. And it happened, while he was in one of the towns, that a man full of leprosy saw Jesus, fell on his face, and begged him: Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Stretching out his hand, he touched him, saying: I am willing; be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but to go and show himself to the priest and make the offering for his cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. But the report about him spread all the more, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray. Worthy of wonder is the leper, in that, having a God-befitting thought concerning the Lord, he says, “If you will, you can make me clean.” For this shows that he thought of Christ as of God; for he came to him not as to a physician (for leprosy is not to be handled by the hands of physicians), but as to God, for it belongs to him alone to heal such things. And the Lord touches him—not without reason, but since, according to the law, one who touched a leper was reckoned unclean—wishing to show that he has no necessity to keep such pettinesses of the law, but that he himself is the Lord of the law; and that the clean man is in no way defiled by what seems unclean, but that leprosy of the soul is what defiles. For this reason he touches him; and at the same time, that he might show that his holy flesh has divine power, being both cleansing and life-giving, as being the flesh of God the Word. And he charges the leper to tell no one, teaching us not to seek praise from those we benefit. “But go,” he says, “show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift for a testimony to them.” For it was a law that the priest should examine those who were leprous, and judge whether they were cleansed; and if one was cleansed within seven days, the leper remained inside the city, but if not, he was cast out. This, then, the Lord says: “Go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift.” And what was the gift? Two little birds. And what is “for a testimony to them”? That is, for their conviction and accusation, that when they accuse me of transgressing the law, they may be convicted from this that I do not transgress, in that I commanded you to offer the gift which Moses commanded. And how those two little birds were offered to God, it is not out of season to say. One bird was slain, and they received its blood in a new earthen vessel; then both wings of the other bird were dipped in the blood, and so the bird was released alive. These things, then, imaged the things of Christ; for the two birds are the two natures of Christ, the divine and the human, of which the one was slain—that is, the human—and the other was released alive. For the divine nature remained impassible, anointed with the blood of the nature that suffered, and taking the passion into itself. And the blood of the Lord a new earthen vessel received—I mean the new people from among the Gentiles, receptive of the New Covenant. And note that after one is cleansed of leprosy, then he is worthy to offer this gift—that is, to sacrifice Christ and minister as priest; for being leprous and unclean in soul, he would not be counted worthy to offer such gifts, that is, to bring near the body and blood of the Lord, which is united to the divine nature. And mark this too, how immeasurable a superiority the Lord has over Moses. For Moses, though he prayed much, could not heal his sister when she became leprous; but the Lord cleansed the leper by a word alone. And consider also the humility of the Lord, how, while the multitude desired to touch him, he rather gladly spent his time in the wilderness and prayed; thus in all things he gave us examples both of praying in private and of declining glory.

Lk. 5:17–26. And it happened on one of those days, as he was teaching, that Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for him to heal. And behold, men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and set him before Jesus. Finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles, bed and all, into the middle, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, he said: Man, your sins are forgiven you. Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying: Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? But Jesus, perceiving their reasoning, answered and said to them: What are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Rise and walk? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins—he said to the paralyzed man—I say to you, rise, take up your bed, and go to your house. And immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and went to his house, glorifying God. Amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying: We have seen incredible things today. It was fitting, the enemies being gathered, that the Lord should work some newer wonder; he heals, then, a man sick with a disease hard to cure, that, through healing such a disease, he might also heal the hard-to-cure madness of the Pharisees. First, then, he heals the things of the soul, saying, “Your sins are forgiven you,” that we may learn that many of our diseases are born of our sins; then he heals also the things of the body, having seen the faith of those who brought him. For often, through the faith of others, he saves others. But the Pharisees say, “Why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And they say these things, condemning him to death; for the law commanded that he who spoke blasphemy against God should suffer death. The Lord, therefore, showing them that he is truly God and does not boast in vain, persuades them from another sign. For what they reasoned, this he understands; whence it is altogether plain that he is God, for it belongs to God to know hearts. He says, then, “Which seems to you easier, to forgive sins, or to make the body whole? Surely, by your reckoning, to forgive sins seems easier, as being unseen and not subject to proof, though it is the harder; but to heal the body seems harder, as being visible, though it is by nature the easier. Yet I will do both this and that; and by healing the body, which seems to you harder, I will confirm also the healing of the soul, which, though it is hard, seems to you easy because it is unseen.” And note that on earth sins are forgiven; for as long as we are on earth, we are able to blot out our sins through confession. But after our departure hence we can no longer blot out our sins. The story is told more at length in the other evangelists.

Lk. 5:27–32. After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth, and said to him: Follow me. And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others reclining with them. The scribes and the Pharisees among them grumbled at his disciples, saying: Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus answered them: Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Matthew openly proclaims his own name, saying, “Jesus saw Matthew the publican sitting at the receipt of custom.” But Luke and Mark, honoring the evangelist, set forward in the midst his other name, Levi. Marvel at the love of God for man, how he plunders the vessels of the wicked one. For a publican is a vessel of the wicked one, and a wicked beast; those who have had experience of bitter exactors know it. For these publicans, who bought the public taxes, did so in order to make gain against their own souls. And the Lord gained not Matthew only, but was zealous to gain also the other publicans with whom he feasted; for it was for this that he deigns to feast with them, that he might draw them too. And the Pharisees, finding fault with him, see what they hear: “I came not to call the righteous,” he says—that is, you who justify yourselves—“but I came to call sinners,” not that they should abide in sin, but that they should repent. And in another sense: “I came not to call the righteous,” for indeed I find none, since all have sinned; for if it were possible to find righteous men, I would not have come. And a publican is also everyone who serves the ruler of this world, and offers tribute to the flesh. The glutton pays to the belly foods; the fornicator, the filthy mixture; and another, another thing. When, then, the Lord—that is, the evangelic word—sees him sitting at the receipt of custom, that is, not advancing nor going forward and moving into greater wickedness, but as it were idle, then he will rise up from evil and follow Jesus, and receive the Lord into the house of his soul. But the Pharisees, the arrogant and those cut off from the rest, murmur because he eats with sinners.

Lk. 5:33–39. And they said to him: Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but your eat and drink? And he said to them: Can you make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And he spoke also a parable to them: No man puts a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old. And no man puts new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles, and both are preserved. And no man also having drunk old wine immediately desires new; for he says, The old is better. We spoke of these things in the Gospel according to Matthew. And now we will say briefly that he calls the apostles children of the bridechamber. For the coming of the Lord is likened to a marriage, because, having betrothed the Church, he led her home. The apostles, then, ought not to fast now; for the disciples of John ought to fast, inasmuch as their teacher accomplished virtue by toil and labor—for “John came,” it says, “neither eating nor drinking.” But my disciples, as being with me, God the Word, have no need as yet of the benefit that comes from fasting, being graced from this very source and guarded by me. But when I shall have been taken up, and they are sent forth to the preaching, then shall they both fast and pray, as men stripped for great contests. And in another sense, being now weak and not yet renewed by the Spirit, they resemble old bottles and an old garment. One must not, then, lay upon them any heavier manner of life, just as one does not put a new piece upon an old garment. You may, then, as I said, take the apostles to be like old bottles, as being still weak. But you may also understand the Pharisees to be likened to these, the Lord all but saying to them: “My teaching is new wine; but you, being old bottles, cannot receive it; rather, having drunk the old, you do not desire my new, but say, The old is better.”

Chapter 6

Lk. 6:1–5. On a Sabbath—the second after the first—he was passing through the grainfields, and his disciples were plucking heads of grain and eating them, rubbing them in their hands. Some of the Pharisees said to them: Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? Jesus answered them: Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those with him—how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the presence, and gave it also to those with him, though it is not lawful for anyone to eat it but the priests alone? And he said to them: The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath. The Jews called every feast a sabbath, for the sabbath is a rest; and often the feast fell on a Friday, and they called the Friday a sabbath because of the feast, and then named the sabbath proper “second-first,” as being second, another feast and sabbath having preceded. It happened, then, that such a thing occurred at that time, and that sabbath was called “second-first.” And when the Pharisees blamed the disciples because on the sabbath they ate, plucking—that is, pulling up the ears—and rubbing them, that is, husking them with their hands, the Lord brings forward David, who when an hungered ate the showbread. For fleeing from Saul, he came to Abiathar the high priest, and deceived him, saying that the king was sending him on some most necessary errand; and being an hungered, he received from the priest both the loaves of the showbread, which they set out daily, twelve upon the holy table, six on the right and six on the left—and he received also the sword of Goliath. By telling them this history, the Lord puts them to shame from the deed of David. “For if you honor David,” he says, “how do you condemn my disciples?” Besides, the Son of man—that is, I—am Lord of the sabbath, as its Maker and Creator and Master and lawgiver, having authority to dissolve the sabbath. For the Son of man could be called no other than Christ, who, being Son of God, marvelously deigned to become and to be called Son of man also for the sake of men. For that I and you are called sons of man is one thing; but he who marvelously became man is the Son of man in a higher sense.

Lk. 6:6–11. On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him closely, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a charge against him. But he knew their reasoning, and said to the man with the withered hand: Rise and stand in the middle. And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them: I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it? And looking around at them all, he said to him: Stretch out your hand. He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. What we said in the Gospel according to Matthew is plain; but now we say this, that he has a withered hand who does none of the works of virtue. For the hand is the instrument of action, and he who has it withered is altogether idle. Whoever, then, wishes his hand to be healed, on the sabbath shall it be healed. What I mean is this: it is not possible to work any of the works of virtue, unless one cease from wickedness. For turn aside first from evil, and then do the good. When, therefore, you keep sabbath—that is, rest from the works of wickedness—then you will stretch forth your hand to the works of virtue, and it shall be restored to you. And fittingly he said, “It was restored.” For there was a time when human nature had the working of the good, and the hand—that is, the active power—whole; then, having lost the former good…

Lk. 6:12–19. In those days he went out to the mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Coming down with them, he stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by unclean spirits were healed. And the whole crowd sought to touch him, because power went out from him and healed them all. The Lord does all things teaching us, that we too may do likewise. Behold, then, when about to pray, he goes up into a mountain; for one must pray at leisure, and not in the midst of many, and continuing through the night—not standing at prayer for a moment and then departing. And after the prayer he chooses the disciples, that he may teach us also, when about to set anyone in a spiritual ministry, to choose this with prayer, being guided by God, and asking of him that the approved man be revealed to us. And having chosen the twelve, he comes down from the mountain, that he might heal those who had come from the cities, and benefit them doubly, both in soul and in body. For hear that “they came to hear him”—this is the healing of souls—“and to be healed of their diseases”—this, of bodies. For virtue went out from him and healed all. For the prophets and the other saints had not virtue going out from them, for they were not themselves fountains of powers; but the Lord had virtue going out from him, for he himself was the fountain of power, whereas the prophets and saints rather received power from above.

Lk. 6:20–26. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: Blessed be you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice you in that day, and leap for joy; for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the like manner did their fathers to the prophets. But woe to you that are rich! for you have received your consolation. Woe to you that are full! for you shall hunger. Woe to you that laugh now! for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. After ordaining the disciples, he sets them in order, both through the beatitudes and through teaching, into a more spiritual state; for he directs his word to them. And first he blesses the poor—whether you would understand the humble-minded, or those who have a manner free from love of money. In short, all the beatitudes teach us frugality and humility and abasement and reproach. And likewise the “woe” is allotted to those, the rich in the present age, whom he says “have received their consolation”—that is, here in the present age they receive their gladness—and to those who laugh, and live luxuriously, and are praised. Let us shudder, brethren, how those have the “woe” who are praised by men, but grow old prematurely from God.

Lk. 6:27–36. But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. And to him that smites you on the one cheek offer also the other; and from him that takes away your cloak forbid not to take your coat also. Give to every man that asks of you; and of him that takes away your goods ask them not again. And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise. For if you love those who love you, what thank have you? for sinners also love those that love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thank have you? for sinners also do even the same. And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what thank have you? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love you your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the children of the Highest; for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. Be you therefore merciful, as your Father in heaven also is merciful. Since the apostles were to be sent forth to the preaching, and many persecutors and plotters were therefore expected against them, if then the apostles, distressed by persecution, and wishing to defend themselves against those who grieved them, had fallen silent and not taught, the sun of the Gospel would have been quenched; for this reason, then, the Lord, anticipating, exhorts the apostles not to proceed to vengeance upon their enemies, but to bear nobly all that befalls, even if some insult them, even if they plot impiously against them. So also he himself did upon the cross, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Then, lest the apostles should be able to say that such a command is impossible—to love one’s enemies—he says: “Whatever you would wish for yourself, this show also to others; and be such to others as you would wish others to be toward you. If you wish your enemies to be hard and unsympathetic and quick to anger toward you, be such yourself; but if, on the contrary, good and sympathetic and not remembering wrongs, do not think it impossible that you too be such.” Do you see a law innate, written in our hearts? So also the Lord said, “In those days, giving my laws, I will put them into their mind, and write them upon their hearts.” Then he lays upon us yet another constraint, that “If you love those who love you, you are like sinners and heathen; but if you love those who do evil to you, you are like God, who is good to the unthankful and the evil.” Which, then, do you wish—to be like the sinners, or like God? First he persuaded you from the natural law; then he persuades you also from the end and the reward, to be like God.

Lk. 6:37–38. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Lk. 6:39–40. a parable to them: Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. The Lord cuts away a most grievous disease of our souls—I mean the root of contemptuousness. For he who does not examine himself, but looks only on his neighbor’s affairs, and wishes to find fault with these, plainly is caught by contemptuousness without knowing it. For he assuredly thinks of himself that he does not sin, and for this reason accuses others who sin. If, then, you wish to be uncondemned, do not condemn others. For tell me, why do you condemn another as wholly transgressing the divine laws? And do you yourself not transgress a divine law? I pass over the other sins; but in this very thing, in judging others, you transgress—for a divine law surely commands you not to judge your brother; so that you too transgress a law. And being a transgressor, you ought not to judge another as a transgressor; for the judge must be above the nature that sins. Forgive, then, and you shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given to you. For good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over, shall they give into your bosom. For the Lord measures back not sparingly, but richly. As, then, if you were about to measure flour, you press it and shake it, and make it run over, if you wish to measure it without stinginess, so also the Lord will give you a great measure, running over. But someone keener might inquire: how, after saying, “With what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you again,” does he again say that they shall give a measure running over into your bosom? For if it runs over, how is it the same? We say, then, that he did not say, “In so great a measure it shall be measured to you,” but “in the same.” For if he had said, “in so great a measure,” then the saying would have difficulty and contradiction; but now, saying “in the same,” he resolves the contradiction. For it is possible to give in the same measure, yet not in so great a one. This, then, the Lord says: “You did a kindness—you shall be kindly dealt with”—this is the same measure; and “running over,” because, having done a kindness once, you shall be kindly dealt with ten thousandfold. The same holds also of condemnation; for he who condemns, then being condemned, receives back in the same measure; but inasmuch as he is condemned the more, because he condemned his like, in this respect the measure is running over. And having said these things, and forbidden us to condemn, the Lord speaks also a parable to us, that is, an example. “For tell me,” he says, “you who judge another while sinning the same things, are you not like a blind man leading a blind man? For if you judge another while you yourself fall into the same things, both are blind; and you seem to lead him to the good through your judging, but you do not lead him. For how shall he be led to the good by you, when you yourself stumble? For the disciple is not above his master; if, then, you who seem the master and guide stumble, surely also the one taught and guided.” For the perfect disciple—that is, the completed one—shall be as his master. These things he said concerning our not condemning those inferior to us.

Lk. 6:41–45. And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but perceive not the beam that is in your own eye? Either how can you say to your brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in your eye, when you yourself behold not the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of your own eye, and then shall you see clearly to pull out the mote that is in your brother’s eye. For a good tree brings not forth corrupt fruit; neither does a corrupt tree produce good fruit. Every tree is known by its own fruit; for figs are not gathered from thorns, nor grapes picked from a bramble bush. A good man brings forth what is good out of the good treasure of his heart, and an evil man brings forth what is evil out of the evil treasure of his heart; for the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. “Why do you behold the mote,” he says—that is, the little sin of your brother—“but perceive not the beam,” your own great sin? And this fits all, but especially teachers and rulers, who punish the sins of those under their hand, even when small, but leave their own, even though great, unpunished. Therefore the Lord calls these hypocrites, as appearing to be one thing—from punishing the sins of others, for they appear righteous—but being another thing, from sinning worse themselves. Then he confirms his word by an example. For just as, he says, a good tree does not bring forth corrupt fruit, nor a corrupt tree good fruit, so also he who undertakes to chasten and correct others and lead them to the better could not be wicked; and if he were wicked, he could not make others better. For the heart of each is a treasure: if it has good things, the man too is good, and speaks good things; but if the heart is full of wicked things, the man too is wicked, and speaks wicked things. And you may understand all these things also as said concerning the Pharisees; for directing his word against them, he says, “Cast out first the beam out of your own eye, and then the mote in your brother’s eye”—just as elsewhere he says, those who swallow the camel and strain out the gnat. How then, he says, can you bring forth good things? For your word too is of the heart from which you speak. How then will you correct others, sinning yourselves?

Lk. 6:46–49. call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them—I will show you what he is like. He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on rock; and when a flood came, the river burst against that house and could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; the river burst against it, and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great. This too is necessary for us, who confess him Lord with our lips, but deny him by our deeds. “For if I am Lord,” he says, “you ought by all means to do the works of servants.” And it is the work of servants to do what the lord commands. Then he tells us what he gains who hears him, and not only hears but also does. For he is like a man, a builder, who built upon the rock. Now the rock is Christ, as the Apostle testifies. And he digs and goes deep who does not receive the words of Scripture superficially, but searches their depths with the spirit. Such a one, then, also founds upon the rock. Then, when a flood arises—a persecution perhaps, or a temptation—the stream beats upon that house, the tempter, whether demon or man, and is not able to shake it. And the tempting man may fittingly be likened to a river; for as the rain falling from above makes the river flood, so also the Satan who fell from above makes the tempting man swell. But the house of those who do not do the words of the Lord falls, and the ruin of that house is great. For great are the falls of those who hear but do not. For he who neither heard nor did stumbles more lightly, but he who heard and did not do sins more grievously.

Chapter 7

Lk. 7:1–10. When he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now the servant of a certain centurion, whom he valued highly, was sick and about to die. Hearing about Jesus, the centurion sent Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and save his servant’s life. Coming to Jesus, they pleaded urgently with him, saying: He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue. So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him: Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not presume to come to you myself. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; I say to this one, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes, and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd following him, said: I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. This is the same as the one in Matthew. For even if Matthew does not say that he sent the Jews to ask and entreat him, what of it? For it is likely that he first sent the Jews, and afterward came himself; what Matthew passed over, Luke tells. And perhaps the Jews, melting away with envy, would not even have suffered the centurion to come to the feet of Jesus, since this would bring glory to Jesus; and so at the last, being compelled, he would himself have come to Jesus. But perhaps again someone might be perplexed: How then does Matthew say that the man himself in his own person begged Jesus not to come, while Luke here says that he sent and besought him not to come? It may be said, then, that it is nothing strange both to send others, and himself, coming, to say these same things, begging him not to come. And the faith of the man is worthy to be marveled at, who calls himself unworthy of the visitation of Jesus. Therefore the Lord also says that not even among the people of Israel had he found so great faith. For the centurion was a Gentile, perhaps from the Roman legions. And every mind is a “centurion” that rules over many in wickedness, having many affairs in this life. And it has a sick servant—the irrational part of the soul, I mean wrath and desire; for these were appointed to be servants. And it calls upon Jesus, sending to him as mediators the Jews—that is, the reasonings and words of confession; for “Judah” is interpreted “confession.” And by the words, “I am not worthy that you should come under my roof,” it shall quickly receive back its servant whole.

Lk. 7:11–17. Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and a large crowd of his disciples went with him, along with a great many people. As he drew near the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; a considerable crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her: Do not weep. Then he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. He said: Young man, I say to you, rise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying: A great prophet has risen among us, and God has visited his people. Since he had made the centurion’s servant whole even without being present, he works another and stranger wonder. For lest anyone should say, “And what strange thing did he do upon the servant? for perhaps the servant would not even have died,” for this reason he raises that dead man who was being carried out. And he works the wonder not by word only, but he also touches the bier, that we may learn that his body is a body of life. For since the flesh became the flesh of the Word who quickens all things, for this reason it too is life-giving, and destructive of death and corruption. The dead man therefore sat up and began to speak, lest it should seem to some that he had been raised only in appearance. For these are the signs of a true resurrection: to sit up and to speak; since a lifeless body can neither sit up nor speak. And by the widow you may understand also the soul that has cast away her husband—the word of God, who sowed the good seeds. And the son of this soul is the mind, dead and carried forth outside the city—the Jerusalem that is above; for that is the country of the living. The Lord, then, having compassion, touches the bier. And the bier of the mind is the body; for the body is truly a tomb and a sepulchre—even as some have said that the body is a “sign,” that is, a tomb. Having therefore touched the body, the Lord raises the mind, making it youthful and noble. And the young man having sat up—this mind, I mean—and being raised from the tomb of sin, then begins to speak, that is, to teach others. For so long as he is held by sin, he cannot teach and speak; for who will believe him?

Lk. 7:18–23. And the disciples of John showed him of all these things. And John calling to him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are you he that should come? or look we for another?” When the men were come to him, they said, “John Baptist has sent us to you, saying, Are you he that should come? or look we for another?” And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and to many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said to them, “Go your way, and tell John what things you have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whoever shall not be offended in me.”

Lk. 7:24–30. And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak to the people concerning John, “What went you out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went you out for to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went you out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare your way before you. For I say to you, Among those that are born of women…” there is no one greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And the people, when they heard this, and the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with John’s baptism. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by him. The wonder at Nain was heard throughout all Judaea and the country round about, and it was heard also by the disciples of John; they then, being imperfect, were stung at the praises of the Lord. John therefore, wishing to show them the greatness of Christ, and how far he himself stood beneath him, dispenses the matter. And he says nothing to his disciples that commends Christ; but, feigning to be ignorant, he sends them, that, seeing the wonders, they might believe from his very works that great is the distance between the Master Jesus and the servant John. For do not suppose that John, being truly ignorant of the things concerning Christ, sent his disciples to ask. For how could he who even before his birth leaped in his mother’s womb, as recognizing him, and who at the Jordan bore witness to him as the Son of God, be ignorant? He sends, then, his disciples, telling them to ask Jesus, “Are you he that should come?” Do you see how he leads the disciples deeply into believing that Jesus is God? For the prophets are said to be sent; and John himself, as the Evangelist also says, was a man sent from God. But the Lord is “he that comes.” For he came with authority, not unwillingly. You, then, he says, are you he that is expected to come into the world? And some understand “he that comes” of Hades, so that what is said is this: Are you he that is to come even into Hades? What then does the Lord do? Knowing the aim of John, for which he sent these men—namely that they might behold what he does, and from these things believe, and that for this they had been sent—he says, Tell what you see. Then he reckons up the works of the wonders, which were also proclaimed by the prophets. For “the blind receive sight” and the rest are from Isaiah. Then he says, And blessed is he, whoever shall not be offended in me—as much as to say to them, And you are blessed if you are not offended in me. And since it was likely that many would be offended at John—that John, who had borne such great witness concerning Christ, now should send and ask whether he is he that should come—for this reason Christ says to the multitudes, that, Suppose nothing of this sort concerning John. For is he a reed, to be bent now here, now there, and now to bear witness concerning me, now to be ignorant of me? For if he were such, for what cause went you out into the wilderness then to behold him? But perhaps he was corrupted in mind by luxury? Nay, his robe shows him to be above all luxury. For if he lived delicately, he would be in kings’ courts. But do you hold him for a prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet. For the others foretold concerning Christ only, but this man both saw him and pointed him out, saying, Behold the Lamb of God. And the other prophets prophesied after they had come forth from their mothers’ wombs; but this man, even before he came forth from the womb, recognized the Lord and leaped. Then he brings forward the prophet also as a witness. For he says, This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger. For John is a “messenger,” perhaps both because of his almost bodiless and angelic manner of life, and perhaps because he announced the coming of the Savior. Truly I say to you, among them that are born of women there is not risen a greater than John—exalting the Forerunner above all the rest. Then, as though someone had said, And is he greater even than you yourself, O Christ? he adds, But he that is less than he, even I, am greater in the kingdom of heaven. For now I am reckoned less than he, both in noble birth and in age and in glory; but in the kingdom of heaven I am greater than he—that is, in all things divine and spiritual. All the people, then, hearing John, justified God—that is, honored God, because they received his prophet. But the Pharisees dishonored God, not receiving John. And some understood “among them that are born of women” thus: that he well said “born of women,” the Lord exempting himself; for he was born of a Virgin, not of a woman, that is, of one wedded to a man. And “he that is least in the kingdom of heaven” they understood otherwise: that he who is least in the life according to Christ is greater than the just man under the law; as, for instance, John was blameless according to the righteousness in the law, but if anyone be found baptized, yet having as yet wrought neither good nor evil, this man, being least in the kingdom of heaven—that is, in the preaching according to Christ—is nevertheless greater than the unbaptized, though righteous under the law. And in another sense: that even though John was almost fleshless, yet he was still in the flesh; and for this reason he that is least in that incorruption is greater. For then, being made perfectly incorruptible, the saints shall be greater than him who is now righteous indeed, yet still bears flesh. […] […]

Lk. 7:31–35. To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying: We piped for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, He has a demon. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children. There was among the Jews a certain kind of children’s game such as this: a crowd of children was divided into two parts, and, as it were mocking life, those on the one side mourned, and those on the other piped. And neither did those of the one part agree with those that mourned, nor did these agree with those that piped. The Lord therefore mocks the Pharisees also, as doing something of this kind. For neither did they mourn together with John, who led a mournful life and introduced repentance, nor did they imitate him; nor were they persuaded by, or did they agree with, Jesus, who showed forth a gracious manner of life; but they thrust both away, neither mourning together with the mourning John, nor making merry together with the relaxed and gladsome Jesus. And so the wisdom of God was justified—that is, was honored—not by the Pharisees, but by her children, that is, by those who received the word both of John and of Jesus.

Lk. 7:36–43. One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, learning that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, began to wet his feet with her tears and wipe them with the hair of her head, and she kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Seeing this, the Pharisee who had invited him said to himself: If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said to him: Simon, I have something to say to you. And he said: Teacher, speak. There was a moneylender who had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, the other fifty. When they had nothing to pay, he forgave them both. Tell me, then, which of them will love him more? Simon answered: I suppose the one to whom he forgave more. And he said to him: You have judged rightly. This Pharisee who had invited Jesus appears not to have been straightforward in his thinking, but crafty and full of hypocrisy. He says, then, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known—so that he did not believe, because Jesus spoke such things. Yet the Lord, although knowing him not to be upright, enters in to him and eats with him, teaching us altogether through this, that toward those who are inwardly disposed against us, we should bear ourselves simply and without guile. And many inquire how many were the women who anointed the Lord with ointment. And some say there were two: the one in John, who was also the sister of Lazarus, and another in Matthew and Mark, and now in Luke. But I am persuaded by those who say there were three of them: one in John, six days before the Pascha, who was also the sister of Lazarus; another in Matthew and Mark, two days before the Pascha; and a third, this one now in Luke, about the middle of the Gospel, who anointed the Lord—and it was nothing strange that she did this first, the time of the Passion not yet being at hand; and then those others, whether imitating her or otherwise, did the same near the Passion. And if the one who invited the Lord in Matthew was named Simon, and the one now in Luke also, what is strange in the names coinciding? Since that one was also a leper, but not this one. And that one, having been healed of his leprosy, renders the invitation as a thank-offering to Christ; but this one was neither a leper, nor speaking in thanksgiving. And that one said nothing, but this one murmured, and condemns in one and the same act both Jesus and the woman: the woman as a sinner, and Jesus as one too kindly. O the senselessness! Truly the man was a Pharisee. But the Lord, asking him in parables and bringing two debtors forward into the midst, secretly declares that he too is a debtor, seeming to owe less, yet owing nonetheless. For neither can you, who owe the less, pay your debt—for you have no confession, being held fast by pride—nor can the woman. To both, then, it shall be forgiven; and who will love more? Surely he to whom the more was forgiven. […]

Lk. 7:44–47. And he turned to the woman, and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, you gave me no water for my feet: but she has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. You gave me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. Mine head with oil you did not anoint: but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I say to you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

Lk. 7:48–50. And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, “Who is this that forgives sins also?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” The Lord shows Simon to be both arrogant and senseless: arrogant, in that he condemned the woman for her sins, being himself a man; and senseless, in that he did not perceive that one who had done such tokens of faith and love ought to have been received, and not sent away. Wherefore the Lord also reproves him, as condemning in vain her who had done so much—things that he himself had not done, nay rather not even the far lesser ones: as, for instance, You gave me not even water for my feet—that common thing—but she washed them with tears. You did not even kiss my face; but she kissed my feet. You gave not even oil; but she poured out ointment. Wherefore, since you said that I am not a prophet because I did not discern that this woman was a sinner, behold, I reprove the things in your heart, that you may know that, just as I know the things you hide, much more do I know hers, which many others also know. Her sins, then, are forgiven, because she loved much—that is, she showed forth much faith. And they that sat at meat, being themselves also murmurers, did not reckon that what he said to Simon was likely meant for them as well. But the Lord, restraining their murmuring, and wishing to show them that the faith of each one saves him, said not, O woman, I save you—lest they should envy the more—but, Your faith has saved you. And this he said, as I have said, at once both restraining their envy, and leading them also to believe, when they recognized that faith saves. And the words, Go in peace, mean, into righteousness. For peace is righteousness, even as sin is enmity toward God. And observe that after he forgave her her sins, he did not set her only as far as the forgiveness of sins, but added also the working of good. For the words, Go in peace, you ought to understand as, Do such things as shall make you to be at peace with God.

Chapter 8

Lk. 8:1–3. And he went about through cities and villages, proclaiming and announcing the good news of the kingdom of God; the twelve were with him, along with some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their own means. Having come down from heaven, that he might become for us in all things a pattern and example, he teaches us not to be slothful in teaching, but to go about every place and preach. For whatever he did, he did for our admonition. He went therefore throughout every city and village; and he took the twelve disciples with him, not as teaching or preaching, but as being discipled and taught by him, both from what he did and from what he said. And the Lord preached not the good things of the earth, but the kingdom of heaven. For whom did it befit to preach the things above, save him who came from above? Wherefore none of the prophets preached the kingdom of heaven; for what they had not seen, how could they preach? For this cause the Forerunner also said, He that is of the earth speaks of the earth; but he that comes from above bears witness of what he has seen. And women also followed him, that we might learn that not even the female sex is hindered by its weakness from following Christ. And observe how, being even rich, they nevertheless despised all things, and chose the poverty that is for Christ and with Christ. For that they were rich, hear: that they ministered to the Lord of their substance, and not of strange goods and unjust gains, as many do. And as for “out of whom seven devils had gone,” some understand the “seven” as “many,” for in Scripture “seven” is taken for “many.” But perhaps one might say that, just as there are seven spirits of virtue, so on the contrary there are seven spirits of wickedness. As there is a spirit of the fear of God, there is on the contrary a spirit of fearlessness toward God; as there is a spirit of understanding, there is conversely a spirit of senselessness, and so on. If, then, these seven spirits of wickedness be not cast out of the soul, one cannot follow Christ. For it is needful first to cast out Satan, and so to settle Christ within.

Lk. 8:4–8. As a great crowd was gathering and people were coming to him from town after town, he spoke in a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some fell on rock, and as it sprang up it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and produced a hundredfold. As he said this, he called out: Let anyone with ears to hear listen. And his disciples asked him what this parable meant.

Lk. 8:9–10. he said: To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. What David said of old in the person of Christ, this now came to pass. For, he says, I will open my mouth in parables. The Lord therefore speaks in parables for many reasons: both that he might make the hearers more attentive and rouse their mind to inquiry into the things said—for we men are wont to busy ourselves about things spoken obscurely, and to despise things spoken plainly—and that the unworthy might not hear the things spoken in a mystery. And for many other reasons he speaks in parables. A sower, then, went out—that is, the Son of God went out from the bosom of the Father, and from his hiddenness, and became manifest. And who went out? The one who is ever sowing. For the Son of God ceases not ever to sow in our souls. For not only when he teaches, but also through this creation, and through the things that daily befall us, he sows in our souls the good seeds. And he went out not to destroy the husbandmen, or to burn up the land, but to sow; for often the husbandman goes out also for other things, not only to sow. And he went out to sow his own seed; for the word of his teaching was his own, and not another’s. For the prophets, whatever they said, said not their own things, but the Spirit’s; wherefore they said, Thus says the Lord. But Christ had his own seed; wherefore, when he taught, he said not, Thus says the Lord, but, I say to you. And as he sowed—that is, as he taught—some fell by the way side. He said not that the sower cast it, but that it fell; for the sower sows and teaches, but the word falls upon the hearers. And these are found to be either a way side, or a rock, or thorns, or good ground. And when the disciples asked the parable, the Lord says, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God—that is, to you who seek to learn. For everyone that asks receives; but to the rest, who are not worthy of the mysteries, they are spoken obscurely, and they seem indeed to see, yet see not, and hear indeed, yet understand not—and this for their own benefit. For lest they be the more condemned, as having despised the mysteries after coming to know them; for he who knows and then despises is worthy of heavier judgment.

Lk. 8:11–15. Now this is the parable: the seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, lest they believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root: they believe for a time, and in a time of testing fall away. What fell among thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by cares and wealth and pleasures of life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. But what fell on the good soil are those who, hearing the word with a noble and good heart, hold it fast and bear fruit with endurance. There are three ranks here of those not saved. For those by the way side are they who did not receive the word at all. For as the way, being trodden down and packed hard, receives not the seed, being hard, so also the hard-hearted receive not the word at all, even though they hear, not giving heed. And those by the rock are they who received it, but then through human weakness were softened in temptations. And the third are they who heard, but are choked by the cares of life. There are, then, three portions of those who perish, and one of those who are saved; thus few are they that are saved, but more they that perish. And observe, concerning those that are choked, how he said not that they are choked by riches, but by the cares of riches. For it is not riches that harm, but the cares of them; since many have been profited by riches, having cast them into the bellies of the poor. And mark me the exactness of the Evangelist, how he said, concerning those who are saved, that, having heard the word, they keep it. This he said because of those by the way side; for these keep it not, but the devil takes away the word from them. And the words, they bring forth fruit, he said because of those that are choked and bring nothing to perfection. For those bring forth no fruit—those, I mean, who bring nothing to perfection. And the words, with patience, he said because of those on the rock, who receive the word indeed, but, not enduring the assault of temptation, are shown to be reprobate. Do you see how he said, of those who are saved, they keep it, and they bring forth fruit, and with patience, and through these three distinguished them from those who keep it not—who are those by the way side; from those who endure not the assault of temptation—who are those among the thorns; and from those who endure not the assault of temptation—who are those on the rock.

Lk. 8:16–18. No man, when he has lighted a candle, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed; but sets it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how you hear: for whoever has, to him shall be given; and whoever has not, from him shall be taken even that which he seems to have. Here is the beginning of another teaching. For directing these words to the disciples, he speaks them, leading them on to exactness of life and training them to be earnest, as those who are to be looked upon by all. For he who teaches and preaches is looked upon by all, is scrutinized by all, whether he is good or the contrary, and none of his doings is hid. You therefore, O disciples, if you have attentiveness and earnestness, more grace shall be given you from God. But whoever has not earnestness and attentiveness, even the gift which he seems to have from God, through his negligence he quenches and destroys.

Lk. 8:19–21. Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told him by certain which said, “Your mother and your brethren stand without, desiring to see you.” And he answered and said to them, “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.” From this it is shown that Christ was not with his kinsmen according to the flesh; for leaving these, he gives himself to spiritual teaching, while they come to him. Thus, then, ought everyone also who is entrusted with the ministry of God to count nothing more honorable than this, but to thrust aside even parents, if they are about to hinder us uselessly and in vain from the work of God—even as the Lord also does now. For since certain told him concerning his kinsmen, he does not shut up brotherhood within a few, nor count the children of Joseph alone worthy to have as brethren, but, since he came to save the whole world, and to make all men brethren, he says, My mother and my brethren are they which hear the word of God. Then, since bare hearing saves no one, but rather condemns, he says, and do it. For together with hearing one must also do. And by the word of God he means his own teaching; for whatever he said was his Father’s. For he was not opposed to God, that what he said should not be of God. And some understand this passage thus: that while Christ was teaching and was well-esteemed for his teaching, certain, envying and as it were sneering at him, said, Behold, your mother and your brethren stand without, desiring to see you. For since his mother seemed to be lowly, and his brethren obscure, as sons of a carpenter, for this reason, disparaging him as base-born, they put forward to him his mother and his brethren. But he, knowing their thought, said, that, The lowliness of kindred harms me nothing; rather, even if one be lowly, yet if he hears the word of God, I make him my kinsman.

Lk. 8:22–25. One day he got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they set out. As they were sailing, he fell asleep, and a violent windstorm came down on the lake; the boat was filling, and they were in danger. They came to him and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing.” Then he rose and rebuked the wind and the surge of the water, and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid and marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?” Exercising his disciples and testing their faith, whether they are unshaken in temptations, the Lord sleeps by dispensation; but their weakness is reproved. For they show forth not perfect faith, but faith mingled with unbelief. For they believe indeed that he is able to save; but, as being of little faith, they say, Save us, we perish. For if they had perfect faith, they would have been fully assured that it was impossible for them to perish, while he was with them who is mighty in all things. And he arose and rebuked the wind. For he suffered them to be troubled, that his power might become the more manifest. For we men are wont to remember the one who saves us the more, when he delivers us from great dangers. For this cause, not at the beginning, but at the height of the danger, he rose up and saved them. And observe also in the anagogical sense, that this is a type of what afterward befell the disciples. For the lake is Judaea, upon which there came down a great storm of the madness against Christ, with which the Jews raged when they crucified the Lord. And the disciples too were troubled; for all forsook him and fled. But the Lord rose up from sleep—that is, he rose again—and again the disciples were in calm. For appearing to them, he said, Peace be to you. And these things in the anagogical sense. And the words, What manner of man is this? they speak not as being perplexed, but as marveling; as if they were to say, Who is this—meaning, how great and how mighty and of what sort, and in how great authority and power he does these things?

Lk. 8:26–33. And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God most high? I beseech you, torment me not.” For he commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness. And Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. Behold the demon divided between two passions of wickedness—boldness and fear. For to say, What have I to do with you, is of a bold and shameless slave; but, I beseech you, is of one that fears. And he dwelt in the tombs, wishing to instill into men an evil opinion, that the souls of the dead become demons. And the demons beg not to go into the deep, but to be permitted yet to abide upon the earth. And the Lord permits them to be on the earth, that, wrestling with men, they may make them more approved. For if there were no adversaries, there would be no contests; and if there were no contests, there would be no crowns. And learn also in a more anagogical sense, that whoever has demons within himself—that is, demonic deeds—wears no garment, that is, has not the robe from baptism, and abides not in a house, that is, in the Church. For he is not worthy to enter into the Church, but dwells in the tombs—that is, in the receptacles of dead works, such as brothels and custom-houses; for these are memorials of wickedness.

Lk. 8:34–39. When those who were tending them saw what had happened, they fled and reported it in the city and in the countryside. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Those who had seen it also told them how the demoniac had been saved. Then the whole multitude from the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. Now the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging that he might be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your house, and recount what great things God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. The flight of those that fed the swine became an occasion of salvation to the Gadarenes, but they understood it not. For whereas they ought to have marveled at the power of the Savior and believed in him, they rather besought Jesus—for “they asked” is here equivalent to “they besought”—to depart from them; for they feared lest they should suffer some other harm, even as they had lost the swine. But that man who was healed shows the proof of his cure to be beyond contradiction. For so was he made whole in mind, that he recognized Jesus and counted him worthy to be with him. For, as it seems, he feared lest, being removed far from Jesus, he should again be easily assailed by the demons. But the Lord, showing him that even if he be not with Jesus, he is able, sheltered by his grace, to be above demonic assault, says, Return to your own house, and tell how great things God has done to you. He said not, How great things I have done to you—giving us a pattern of humility, and that we may refer all our achievements to God. But the man was so thankful, that he tells how great things Jesus had done to him. For the Lord commanded him to tell how great things God had done to him, but he tells how great things Jesus had done to him. We too, then, ought, when we do anyone a good thing, not to wish it proclaimed; but he who has received the good thing, even though we wish it not, ought to proclaim it.

Lk. 8:40–48. When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And behold, a man named Jairus came; he was a ruler of the synagogue, and falling at Jesus’ feet he begged him to come into his house, because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. As he went, the crowds pressed around him. And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had spent her whole livelihood on physicians, yet could not be healed by anyone, came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her flow of blood stopped. Jesus returned from the country of the Gadarenes; and the multitudes were waiting for him, both for his teaching and for his wonders. There came, then, a certain ruler of the synagogue, no mean or rejected man, but of the first. And the Evangelist adds also his name, that the wonder might be the better known, as being true. And this man falls before Jesus, necessity pressing him. And yet he ought, even without necessity compelling, to have fallen down and recognized him to be God; yet affliction also sometimes forces men to the choice of the better. Wherefore David also said that he would hold with bit and bridle the jaws of those who draw not near to you. And in passing, a woman approaches, bringing very great faith. For coming, she touched the border of his garment, believing altogether that, if only she touched, she should be made whole. And immediately her issue of blood stanched. For as if one should bring an eye to a shining light, or a dry twig to fire, they immediately work, so she, bringing faith to him who is able to heal, at once obtained the cure. For she reckoned nothing—neither the long duration of the disease, nor the failure of the physicians, nor anything else; but only believed, and was saved. And, as it seems, she first touched Jesus in mind, then also in body. And Jesus said, Who touched me? And when all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitudes throng you and press you, and do you say, Who touched me? Jesus said, Somebody has touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, trembling she came, and falling down before him, she declared to him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said to her, Be of good comfort, daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace. The Lord, wishing both to display the woman’s faith to all, that they might become imitators of her, and to give Jairus good hopes concerning his daughter, makes manifest what had been done secretly, and seeks who it was that touched him. But Peter, as one bold, blaming him because of the question, says, So great multitudes throng you, and do you say, Who touched me? But he understood not what the Lord was asking. For Jesus inquired, Who touched me with faith, and not simply so. For as one has ears to hear, and another has ears yet hears not, so one touches with faith, and another draws near indeed, but his heart is far off. The Lord therefore asks, although he knew the woman, but, as I said, that he might both display her faith and make the ruler of the synagogue of good hope; he asks, and brings the woman into open view. For I perceived, he says, that virtue is gone out of me—fittingly. For the prophets had not powers going out from themselves; for they wrought wonders by the grace of God. But Jesus, being a fountain of every good and of all power, has also powers going out from himself. And the Lord heals the woman in a twofold manner: first, healing her disease; then also calming the trembling of her soul, by saying, Be of good comfort, daughter.

Lk. 8:49–56. While he was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher any longer.” But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be saved.” And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him except Peter and James and John, and the girl’s father and mother. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep; she has not died, but is sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she had died. But after putting them all outside, he took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she rose up at once; and he ordered that something be given her to eat. And her parents were astonished, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened. When Jesus heard that one said to the ruler of the synagogue, Trouble not the Master—that is, Put him not to labor, move him not—he did not wait for the ruler of the synagogue to say anything to him, but, anticipating him, lest the ruler should say, I have no more need of you, the evil is already done, behold she is dead whom we hoped would be healed—that he might say no such thing (for he was unbelieving and a Jew)—Christ, forestalling him, says, Fear not; believe only. Look, he says, to the woman with the issue of blood; imitating her you shall not fail. And he suffers only Peter, John, and James to enter in, as preferred among the disciples, and as able to keep silent about the wonder. For he wished not that it should be revealed before the time to the many, because of the envy, perhaps, of the Jews; concealing the greater part of his works, that they might not, inflamed with envy, be liable to judgment. As therefore we too ought to do, when anyone envies us, we ought not to lay bare our achievements to him, lest, smiting him, we make him envy the more, and cast him into sin; but as much as possible to be zealous that they escape his notice. And when the Lord said that she is not dead but sleeps, calling death sleep—because he was about to raise the dead girl as out of sleep—they that heard laughed him to scorn, that the wonder might be the more a wonder. For lest they should be able to say afterward that she had not died but was sleeping, for this reason he ordered it by dispensation that he should first be laughed to scorn, in saying that she is not dead but sleeps, that the mouths of those wishing to slander might be stopped. For she was so truly dead, that they even laughed him to scorn when he said she was not dead. And he put them all out, perhaps both teaching us to be without love of glory, and to do nothing for display; and perhaps also teaching that, when one is about to work a wonder, he ought not to be in the midst of many, but alone and undistracted. He restored, then, the spirit of the maiden; for he brought in no other soul, but that very one which had flown away from the body, this he made to return to it. And he commanded that meat should be given her, for the fuller assurance and confirmation that she had truly risen. And it is possible to understand these things thus also: every soul is one with an issue of blood, gushing and welling forth the bloody and murderous sin. For every sin is a murderer and slayer of the soul. This soul, then, having touched the garments of Jesus—that is, his incarnation—and having believed that the Son of God was made flesh, is sanctified. And though one be a ruler of the synagogue—that is, a mind ruling over many gains gathered from covetousness—and his daughter be sick, the understanding, I mean, let him only call upon Jesus and believe, and she shall be saved.

Chapter 9

Lk. 9:1–6. Then he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And he said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staff nor bag nor bread nor money, and do not have two tunics each. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there. And as for those who do not receive you, when you leave that city, shake off even the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. And from this too is shown the surpassing excellence of the Godhead of Jesus. For not only did he himself work wonders, but he also gave this same power to his disciples; and to bestow such gifts upon his own friends belongs altogether not to a man, but to God. And having given them authority over the evil spirits, he did not limit them to this, but commanded them also to preach the Gospel. For he who is entrusted with teaching must both preach and work wonders. For the preaching is confirmed by the wonders, and the wonders by the preaching. For many oftentimes have wrought wonders from demons, but their preaching was not sound; wherefore neither were their wonders of God. And so unencumbered does he send them forth, that he wishes them to carry neither bread, nor anything else of the things that most of us take with us. And he commands them this also, not to leap from this one to that, but, into whatever house they enter, there to abide, lest they seem to be unstable and fickle. And he bids them shake off the dust, if any receive them not, for a testimony against them—that is, for a reproof and condemnation of them, showing them that, having accomplished a long journey for their sake, they had no gain from them. And some understand the apostles’ not bearing scrip, nor staff, nor having two coats apiece, thus: that, Lay not up treasure—for of this the scrip is a symbol, as gathering much; nor bear a staff—that is, be not wrathful and ready to strike; nor have two coats apiece—that is, be not variable in character and double in mind.

Lk. 9:7–9. Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that had happened, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had arisen. And Herod said, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept seeking to see him. This Herod was the lesser, the son of the great Herod who slew the infants. For that one was a king, but this a tetrarch; and he was perplexed concerning Jesus, who he might be. For, John have I beheaded, he says, and if it is John that is risen from the dead, then surely, seeing him, I shall recognize him. For he desired to see him. And observe that the Hebrews held a resurrection of the dead to be in a fleshly life, and in foods and drinks, holding a wrong opinion. For the resurrection is not in eating and drinking, or in a fleshly life, but they shall live as the angels of God.

Lk. 9:10–17. And when the apostles returned, they reported to him all that they had done. Taking them with him, he withdrew privately to a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when the crowds learned of it, they followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. Now the day began to decline, and the twelve came and said to him, “Dismiss the crowd, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside to lodge and find provisions, for we are here in a deserted place.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them recline in groups of about fifty each.” And they did so, and made them all recline. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them and broke them and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over for them was taken up, twelve baskets of fragments. Jesus goes away into a desert place, since he was about to accomplish the wonder of the loaves, that no one might be able to say that, a city being near, the loaves were brought thence. Having received, then, the multitudes, he both taught and healed, that you may learn that the philosophy that is according to us is divided into word and deed, and that we ought neither to speak things void of deeds, nor to do things void of reason. And as the day wore away, the disciples, beginning now to be more compassionate and more pastoral, have pity on the multitudes, and say, Send them away—that is, heal their infirmities quickly, fulfil their requests. But the Lord, saying to the disciples, Give you them to eat, says it not as ignorant of their helplessness, but wishing to move them to say how many loaves they have, that so the wonder might be shown to be great, from their own confession, the quantity of the loaves being made plain. And the words, Make them sit down by fifties in a company, show that we ought, when we entertain anyone, both to make him sit down, and to count him worthy of all care. And he looks up to heaven, showing us that, when we are about to eat, we should send up thanksgivings to God. And he gives to the disciples, and so they to the multitudes, that they might not forget the wonder, but be reminded of it, considering that they took the loaves into their own hands. And the surplus was twelve baskets, that we might learn how great is the power of hospitality, and how our things are multiplied when they are supplied to the needy. And concerning these things it has been spoken more at large in the Gospel according to Matthew.

Lk. 9:18–22. And it came to pass, while he was praying alone, with his disciples with him, that he questioned them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered and said, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and others, that one of the prophets of old has arisen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” And strictly warning them, he commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” When the Lord asks the disciples, he does not at once ask what they themselves say, but first the opinion of the people, and then so their own. And this he does, that, having shown the report of the many concerning him to be untrustworthy, he might remove the disciples to the true belief. Which indeed came to pass. For when the disciples had said, Some say John, and some Elias, he himself asks, But you—that is, You who differ from all, the chosen, the elect, whom say you that I am? And Peter leaps forward before the rest, and, becoming the mouth of all, confesses him to be the Christ of God, who of old was preached. For he said not, A christ of God, but, The Christ of God, with the article, that he might show that he is properly the Christ of God. For many were anointed, but the Christ of God is one and only.

Lk. 9:23–27. And he was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, this one will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, but loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his own glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall certainly not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” Since he had said concerning himself that the Son of man must suffer many things, he adds also something common and universal, that, Not I alone shall undergo death, but indeed all who wish to follow me ought to deny themselves, having no fellowship with the flesh, but despising themselves. And by the cross here he means the death of reproach; for no other death was so inglorious as that by the cross. He shows therefore that, if anyone wishes to be his disciple, he ought to die a death not glorious, but full of reproach, being slain as one condemned. And since many are slain with reproach, yet as robbers and evildoers, for this reason he added, And follow me—that is, let him pursue every virtue. For whoever will save his life shall lose it—that is, whoever wishes to live according to the world, this man shall die according to the soul. And he is ashamed of Christ who says, How shall I believe in a God crucified and mocked? But he is also ashamed of his words who disparages the simplicity of the Gospel. Such a one, then, shall the Lord be ashamed of in his glory—that is, at the second coming. And what he means is this: As some householder having a wicked servant is ashamed to name him his own servant, so I too, he says, shall be ashamed to name as my servant the one who has denied me. And since he said above that, Whoever shall lose his life shall save it, wishing to show of what good things such men are counted worthy, he says, There be some here who shall not die till they see the kingdom of God—that is, the glory in which the righteous are to be. And this he said concerning the Transfiguration. For the Transfiguration was a type of the glory to come above; and as in it Jesus shone forth wondrously, so in like manner shall the righteous then shine. There are, then, he says, certain—John, Peter, and James—who shall not first die, till they see in what glory those who confess me shall be. And they see this at the time of the Transfiguration.

Lk. 9:28–36. And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his garments was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spoke of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elias”—not knowing what he said. While he thus spoke, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son: hear him.” And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. Matthew says that six days passed after these sayings, and that then Jesus went up into the mountain; but Luke says eight passed. Matthew speaks of the days between only; but Luke counts not only the days between, but also the day on which these sayings were spoken, and that on which the Transfiguration took place. And he took the three only—Peter, as loving; John, as beloved; and James, because he too was fervent in his zeal for him—or also as being able to hide the matter, and keep it close, and tell no man. And he goes up into a mountain to pray. For we too, when we pray, ought to ascend, and to stoop down to none of earthly things. And the fashion of his countenance was altered—not as though he had changed into another nature, for he remained what he was, but the form of his countenance appeared brighter than before. As it happened also with his garments; for of these the appearance only shone forth, the substance of the garments not being changed, but their outward show. And Moses and Elias stood by him as he prayed, that it might be shown that he is not contrary to the prophets and to the law. For if he were, then neither Moses, who gave the law, nor Elias, the most fervent of the prophets, would have endured to attend him and to stand with him. And they spoke of the decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem—that is, of his death. But Peter was weighed down with sleep, while Christ gave himself to prayer. For he was weak, and fulfilled the human lot, being subject to sleep. And when he had thoroughly awakened, he beholds the glory and the two men; and, as approving the sojourn there, both because of the light and because of beholding the prophets, he says, It is good for us to be here. For he supposed that then was the consummation, and the kingdom of Jesus—not knowing what he said. For not yet was the end, nor had the day of the kingdom come, nor the enjoyment of the good things which the saints shall partake of. And at the same time, also fearing that Christ would be crucified, he says these things. For since he had heard him say that he must be slain and rise again the third day, he says these things, all but saying, Let us not go down from the mountain, but abide here, that we may escape the cross and the Passion. We have Elias for a helper, if the Jews come upon us, who brought down the fire and destroyed the captains of fifty. We have Moses, who blotted out so many nations. But these things he said, not knowing what he said. For he himself supposed that the cross was some grievous and evil thing, and therefore, fleeing it, he said these things. But the Lord chose to be crucified, since it was not otherwise possible for men to be saved. And while Peter was saying, Let us make three tabernacles, the Lord suddenly makes a tabernacle not made with hands, and enters into it, together with the prophets, that it might be shown that he is in nothing inferior to the Father. For as in the old covenant the cloud was said to contain the Lord, and Moses entered into it, and so received the law, so now also the cloud received Christ—and a cloud not dark; for the shadow of the law passed away, and the darkness of obscurity; but a luminous cloud. For the truth came, and the grace of the Lord shone forth, and nothing now is dark. And there came also a voice out of the cloud, even as of old the voice of God was heard out of the cloud. And Jesus was found alone, that no one might suppose that the words, This is my Son, were spoken concerning Moses or Elias. And perhaps this also signifies, that up to a certain time the law and the prophets appeared, as here Moses and Elias, and then Jesus alone, those having passed away; for the Gospel now prevails, the things of the law having passed away. And the apostles kept silence, and told none of the things they had seen. For before the cross it was not fitting that anything godlike should be spoken; for, seeing him crucified, what glory could they have supposed him to have? Therefore the apostles said nothing.

Lk. 9:37–42. And it came to pass on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great crowd met him. And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you, look upon my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and suddenly he cries out; it convulses him so that he foams, and with difficulty departs from him, leaving him bruised. And I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” And Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” And while he was still coming, the demon dashed him down and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. This man was exceedingly faithless; for this reason the demon did not even go out of his son, his unbelief overpowering the power of the apostles. But indeed even from this his unbelief and presumption are shown—that he came forward before all and accused the disciples. The Lord therefore, showing that it is owing to his unbelief that the boy is not healed, reproaches him before all—and not him alone, but all the rest also in common. For in saying, O faithless generation, he comprehends all the Jews. And the word, perverse, makes plain that the wickedness was not from the beginning, nor from nature. For by nature they were upright, for they were the holy seed of Abraham and Isaac; but they were perverted by wickedness. And the words, How long shall I be with you, and how long shall I suffer you? show that he counts death welcome, and wishes to be quickly delivered from them. For how long, he says, shall I endure your unbelief? Showing, then, that he has power to overcome the unbelief of the Jews, he says, Bring your son here. And having made him whole, he delivered him to his father. For before, the possessed boy was not his father’s, but belonged to the wicked spirit that held him; but then the Lord delivered him to his father, who had lost him, and then received him back.

Lk. 9:43–45. And they were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Lay these words to heart: for the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying. All the rest wondered at all things which Jesus did, not at this one wonder only. But he, leaving the others, discourses to the disciples, and says, Lay you all these things—both the wonders and the words spoken upon the wonders—into your ears. Why? Because I am about to be delivered up and crucified, that, when you see me crucified, you may not suppose that I suffered this from weakness. For he who works such wonders was able even not to be crucified. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them. And why did this happen? That they might not be grieved before the time, and troubled with fear. God therefore, condescending to their weakness, and as it were governing them like little children, did not suffer them to understand what was said concerning the cross. And observe their reverence also, how they were reverent to ask, or rather feared. For fear is an intensification of reverence, even as reverence is a contracted fear.

Lk. 9:46–50. Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them might be greatest. But Jesus, seeing the thought of their heart, took a child and set him beside himself, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For the one who is least among you all, this one shall be great.” And John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for he who is not against us is for us.” A passion of vainglory crept over the apostles. For since it seemed that the possessed boy was not healed, the passion was stirred up in them. For it was likely that they fell to contending about this, each saying, It was not through my weakness, but through that of such a one, that the boy was not healed; and from this the strife as to which might be greater was kindled. But the Lord, knowing the hearts of each, anticipates them, and before this passion grew, hastens to cut it out by the roots. For passions, when they begin, are easily overcome, but, when they have grown, become hard to put away. How then does he cut out the evil? He takes a child, and shows it to the disciples; making plain to them through this, that we ought to fashion in ourselves such a disposition as age has given to children. For these are without experience of evil and most simple, troubled neither by reasonings of vainglory nor of love of precedence. Whoever, then, he says, shall receive such a child in my name receives me. And what he means is this: You suppose that, if you appear haughty and ambitious, then you shall please the many, and then the more shall receive you. But I say to you, that I so rejoice in simplicity, and it so characterizes my disciples, that whoever shall receive the most simple and guileless man, as my disciple (for this is the meaning of, in my name), receives me. For he who receives the boastful man receives neither my disciple nor me. And John answering said, Lord, we saw one casting out devils in your name, and we forbad him. What connection has the word which John spoke with what the Lord said? Much, surely. For since the Lord said, He that is least among you, the same shall be great, John thereupon feared lest they had done some evil in forbidding a man, masterfully and arrogantly. For to forbid anyone from anything shows the one who forbids to be not less, but to think himself somewhat greater than the one forbidden by him. John therefore feared this, lest he had done a boastful work in forbidding the man. And for what cause did they forbid the man? Not from envy, but judging him unworthy to work wonders; for he had not received with them the grace of working wonders, nor had the Lord sent him forth to this, as he had them; nor did he follow Jesus at all. What then does the Lord say? Suffer him, he says, to do this. For he too breaks the power of Satan, and since he hinders you not in the preaching, nor works together with the devil, he is therefore for us. For he that is not against God is for God, even as whoever gathers not with God, that one is with the devil. And marvel with me at the power of the name of Christ, how even through the unworthy, and through those who are not his disciples, the grace wrought, when his name was merely named; so also through the priests, even though they be unworthy, the grace works, and all are sanctified, even though the priest be impure.

Lk. 9:51–56. And it came to pass, when the days were being fulfilled for his being taken up, that he set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers ahead of him. And they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for him. But they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But he turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know of what spirit you are. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village. What is the meaning of his saying, that it came to pass when the time was come that he should be received up? That is, that the time was now at hand in which he must, having undergone the saving Passion for our sake, be taken up into heaven and be reunited with God the Father. Then, therefore, when the time of his Passion was at hand, and of his being taken up out of the world, he determined no longer to go about here and there, but to go up to Jerusalem. And the words, he set his face, mean that he marked off, ratified, and fixed his counsel to go away to Jerusalem. And he sends messengers before his face, that they might make ready some lodging for him, knowing indeed that he would not be received by the Samaritans, yet sending them, that he might take away every excuse of the Samaritans, and that they might not be able to say afterward, We would have received him, if he had sent any before him. And at the same time profiting his disciples also, that they might not be offended, seeing him afterward insulted on the cross; but that from this present moment they might learn that, as now, despised by the Samaritans, he bore it without resentment, nay rather even reproved the disciples who exasperated him against the insolent, so also then, being crucified, he bears it not as one weak, but as one long-suffering. And he profits his disciples also in this, that he teaches them by his own example to be without resentment. For they, looking to Elias, who twice consumed fifty men with their captains, exasperated the Lord against those who had insulted them; for they were still imperfect. But he, showing them that his law is higher than the manner of life according to Elias, rebukes them, and turns them away from such a mind, teaching them to bear insolent men with meekness. And what is it that he says, They received him not, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem? Does he say this, that they received him not because he had determined to go away to Jerusalem? And if we understand it so, that for this reason they received him not, because he himself had determined to go away to Jerusalem, are not those found guiltless, who received him not? It may be said, then, that the Evangelist says this, that they received him not, neither did he enter into Samaria. Then, as though one asked, And why did they not receive him even against their will, neither did he enter—was it because he was unable, nor had power, even against their will, to enter?—solving this, he says: Not because he was unable, but because he willed not to enter there; but, had those willed, he would have entered into the village.

Lk. 9:57–62. And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said to him, “Lord, I will follow you whithersoever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has not where to lay his head.” And he said to another, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their dead: but go you and preach the kingdom of God.” And another also said, “Lord, I will follow you; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.” And Jesus said to him, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” This man who came to Jesus, and asked that he might follow him, came with an evil purpose. For since he saw the Lord drawing a great multitude after him, he supposed that the Lord gathered money from these, and he too thought that, if he followed Jesus, he should gather money; for this cause, then, the Lord rebuffs him, all but saying to him such things as these: You suppose that you shall gather money from following me, for you think that my manner of life is such; but it is not so. For I introduce and teach such great poverty, that the other animals have holes, but I have not even a house. And this man, then, he thus rebuffed. To another, who had not even asked, he grants the following; but to the one who asked to go away and bury his father, he does not concede this, saying, Let the dead bury their dead—which hints that his father was unbelieving, and for this reason unworthy to be tended in his old age by his believing son. For, Let the dead kindred, he says—that is, the unbelieving—tend in old age your unbelieving father even to burial; for to bury here means this, to count him worthy of care, even to burial, since in common speech also we are wont to say thus: So-and-so buried his father—not meaning that he only buried him, and did nothing else good, but that he cared for him even to his death and burial. Let those dead, then—that is, the unbelieving—bury their dead, I mean your father; but you, since you have believed, preach, as my disciple, the Gospel of God. And this the Lord said, not forbidding us to nourish our parents, but teaching us that we ought to prefer the worship of God to unbelieving parents, and that we ought to have nothing as a hindrance to the good, but to despise even nature itself. As also to him who asked to follow him, but first to bid farewell to those at his house, he does not concede this—I mean, to go away to his house and bid farewell, that is, to say good-bye, to put it more simply. For such a man shows that he has a clinging to the world, and is not disposed like the apostles, who, hearing him, immediately followed him, busying themselves with nothing else, but leaving even the leave-taking from their own. For often it happens that, while one bids farewell to his kinsmen, some of them are found hindering him from the life that is according to God; wherefore it is good, together with the willing of the good, to accomplish it without drawing back. For no man having put his hand to the spiritual plough, and looking again upon the world, is fit for the kingdom of God. And you may understand by the foxes also the crafty demons, who are also called birds of the air—that is, of the air; for, as it is said, according to the prince of the power of the air. The Lord therefore says to the man, that, The demons have holes in you, and for this reason the Son of man, I, have not where to lay my head—that is, of faith in me I see no place in your heart, which is filled with demons. For the head of Christ a man holds, when he believes him to be God. And the dead is the sinner, who utters not his wicked thoughts, by burying the wicked thought through confession.

Chapter 10

Lk. 10:1–3. After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two ahead of him into every city and place where he himself was about to come. Then he said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” It is written in Exodus that the children of Israel came to Elim, and there were there twelve fountains of waters, and seventy palm trees. This, then, happened then historically and typically, but now has truly come to pass. For Elim is interpreted “ascent”; which is nothing else than this, that, ascending to a more perfect understanding and spiritual growth, and not, like the Hebrews, remaining in the law, but running up into Christianity, we shall find the twelve fountains—I mean the chief twelve apostles, who are fountains of all sweetest teaching. And we shall find also the seventy stems of the palm trees—the seventy, I mean, who are not called fountains, but palms, as being nourished and taught by the apostles. For even though Christ chose them, yet they were inferior to the twelve, and became their disciples and followers afterward. These palms, then, were nourished by the fountains, the apostles, I mean. And to us they supplied fruit at once sweet and moderately astringent. For such is the teaching of the saints—neither altogether sweetening and flattering, nor altogether astringent and smiting, but partaking of both, and truly seasoned with salt, yet also having grace, even as Paul cries, Let your speech be in grace, seasoned with salt. And the Lord appoints the seventy disciples because of the multitude of those who needed teaching. For as fields that have borne richly seek many reapers, so those about to believe, being many and numberless, needed many teachers. And he sends them two and two, as safer, that the one may work together with the other; and going before his face, they evidently taught, as John, Prepare you the way of the Lord. And observe how, having said, Pray you the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers, afterward he himself, of his own authority, sends them. For truly he himself is the Lord of the harvest—that is, of those who believe—as being true God. And he foretells them what shall be, that the things coming upon them be not unexpected.

Lk. 10:4–9. Carry neither moneybag nor bag nor sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace to this house. And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in that same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not move from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you, heal the sick there, and say to them, The kingdom of God has drawn near to you. Since he was about to send them forth as heralds of the Gospel, he says, Carry neither purse, nor this thing nor that; for it suffices you to have the care of the word. For if you carry a purse, it is plain that you will busy yourselves about it, and will despise the word. And besides, since you are to be nourished by those whom you teach, what need have you of purse, or scrip, or shoes? For all your need of these the taught will supply. And the words, Salute no man by the way, he lays upon them for this reason—that they should not occupy themselves about human greetings and friendly courtesies, and from this be hindered in the preaching. For it is likely that one who has received a greeting would in turn greet again, and perhaps count him worthy of a longer conversation, as is the manner of fellow-travelers, then, as having now become a friend, would show some further courtesy, and so little by little the apostle would fall into human relationships, and neglect the word. By the way, then, he forbids saluting anyone for the said cause. But when you enter a house, he says, say, Peace be to this house—that is, salute those in the house. Then, showing that this is not only a greeting, but also a blessing, he says, that, If the master of the house be worthy, he shall be blessed; but if he be insolent and incapable of peace, fighting and opposing your word and teaching, the blessing shall not come upon him, but shall return to you. And he commands them not to pass over into many houses, lest they seem gluttons, and offend many, and grieve those who from the first received them. But eat, he says, such things as they give—that is, what they set before you, even though they be small, even though they be poor—seeking nothing further. And instead of wages have your nourishment, and seek not both to be nourished and again to receive wages besides; but have the very nourishment instead of wages. See, then, how he makes the disciples secure toward possessionlessness; and he commands them also to heal the sick in the cities, that from this, working wonders, they might draw men to the preaching. For see what he says, And say to them, that, The kingdom of God is come near to you. For if you first heal, then teach, the word will run prosperously for you, and men will believe that the kingdom of God has come upon them. For they would not have been healed, were there not some divine power accomplishing these things. But indeed also when those who are sick in soul are healed, then has the kingdom of God come near to them. For far from the sick man is it, while he is yet reigned over by sin.

Lk. 10:10–12. But into whatever city you enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaves on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be you sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come near to you. But I say to you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. When, he says, they receive you not, going out, testify to them, that, We have nothing common with you, nor have we anything from your city; but even the dust that cleaves to us we wipe off—that is, shake off, sponge off, fling back to you; only know that the kingdom of God is come near to you. Here one will ask: How does the Lord say that the kingdom drew near both to those who receive the apostles and to those who receive them not? It may be said, then, that he says nothing contrary. For to those who receive the apostles the kingdom draws near for benefit, and to those who receive them not, for condemnation. For suppose me, in some theatre, that there are many condemned, and others not condemned—I mean senators, and generals, and nobles, perhaps—and then that some herald says to all together, both the condemned and the honorable, that, The king has come near to you—does he not say that the king draws near to the one for punishment, and to the other for honor and benefit? So, then, understand here. And it shall be more tolerable for Sodom, he says, than for the city which receives you not. Why? Because to Sodom apostles were not sent; those, then, who receive not the apostles are worse than the Sodomites. And observe that the city which receives not the apostles has streets. For broad is the way that leads to destruction; whoever, then, has broad ways leading to destruction, that one receives not the apostolic and divine word.

Lk. 10:13–16. Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. And you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell. He that hears you hears me; and he that despises you despises me; and he that despises me despises him that sent me. Tyre and Sidon were Greek cities, but Bethsaida and Chorazin were Jewish. He says, then, that, At the judgment it shall be more tolerable for the Greeks than for you who saw wonders and believed not. For those, had they seen, would have believed. But you too, Capernaum, were exalted to heaven, being glorified by the many wonders done in you, but shall be thrust down to hell, condemned for this very thing, that even after so many wonders you disbelieve. Then, lest those who are sent to the preaching should say, To what place do you send us, if no cities are to receive us? he says, Be not grieved; he that despises you despises me and my Father, so that the insolence stops not at you, but runs up to God. Let it therefore be a comfort to you, that God is insulted; as again, boast not, nor be high-minded, if some hear you. For the work is not yours, but mine and the grace’s.

Lk. 10:17–20. And the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.” And he said to them, “I was watching Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice that your names have been written in heaven.” He foretold that he had sent the seventy. Now therefore he says that they returned rejoicing, because they not only drove out the other diseases, but because they also cast out the greater evil, the demons. And observe how they are not high-minded. For they say, that, In your name the demons are subject to us; in your grace, not in our own strength. And the Lord said to them, Marvel not if demons are subject to you; for their ruler long ago fell from heaven, and has no strength. For even though this was not seen by men, yet it was beheld by me, the beholder of things invisible. And he fell as lightning, since he was light, and an archangel, and morning-star, even though he became darkness. If, then, this one fell from heaven, his servants, the demons I mean, why shall they not be subdued? And some understand the words, from heaven, thus—that is, from glory. For since the seventy said to him that the demons are subject, he says, that, I too knew this. For I beheld Satan fallen from the heavens—that is, from the glory which he had, and from his honor. For before Christ he was honored as a god. But now he has fallen from heaven—that is, from being honored as a god, and being supposed to be in heaven. Behold, then, I give you power to tread down his powers. For serpents and scorpions are the phalanxes of demons, dragged below; and those who strike more openly, these are serpents, but those who strike more covertly, these are scorpions. As, for instance, the demon of fornication and of murder is a serpent, for it thrusts toward manifest evils; but the demon that, under pretext of sickness, persuades a man to use baths and ointments and the other softnesses, such a demon may be called a scorpion, not having a visible sting, but eagerly striving secretly to pamper the flesh, that it may cast the one persuaded into a great fall. And thanks be to the Lord, who gives power to tread upon these. And, training them not to be high-minded, he says, Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the demons are subject to you. For others are they who are benefited thereby, those who are counted worthy of the cure. But rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven—not with ink, but with the remembrance of God, and with grace. And the devil falls down from above, but men, being below, are written above. The true joy, then, is that your names are written above and remembered by God.

Lk. 10:21. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in your sight.” As a good father, seeing his children having accomplished something, rejoices, so also the Savior is glad that the apostles were counted worthy of such good things. He gives thanks, then, to the Father, that such mysteries were hidden from the wise—that is, the Pharisees and scribes who interpret the law—and from the prudent—those who are taught by these scribes. For wise is the one who teaches, and prudent the one who is taught and understands the things said. As, for example, wise was Gamaliel, and prudent Paul; for the one was teacher, the other understood the things said by him. And the Lord calls his own disciples babes, as not being learned in the law, but the most of them gathered from the multitude and from the fishermen. But indeed they might also be called babes as being guileless. And those others, seeming to be prudent and wise, were nevertheless not such. The mysteries, then, were hidden from those who seemed wise and prudent, yet were not. For if they had been, they would have been revealed to them. Even so, Father, I give you thanks, that so it seemed good in your sight—that is, that such good pleasure and will came to pass before you, and so it pleased you.

Lk. 10:22–24. “All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him.” Then turning to his disciples privately, he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” All things are delivered to the Son by the Father, in that all things were to be subjected to the Son. For there are two ways according to which God reigns over all: the one, even over the unwilling; the other, over the willing. As, for example: God is my Master, even if I will not, in that he is my Maker; but he is again my Master when through the working of his commandments I fulfil his will, as a thankful servant. For formerly the nature of men was a slave, and subject to God, even unwilling, even though it served Satan. But since Christ took upon himself the war on our behalf, and, snatching us from the tyranny of the devil, made us his servants and workers of the commandments, from then we have become thankful servants both by nature and by choice. For the former slavery was by nature only, but the second is also by choice. This, then, is what the Lord now says, that, All things are delivered to me by my Father—that is, all things are about to be subjected to me, and to fall under my lordship. And this is like what was said elsewhere, All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. For since he made peace among all things, both those in heaven and those on earth, for this reason he says such things. And in another sense: All things are delivered to the Son by the Father—all the works of the dispensation on our behalf. For since on our behalf neither the Father nor the Spirit was incarnate, or suffered, or rose, but the Son wrought all these things, and became the author of our salvation, for this reason he said that all things were delivered to him, as if he said, My Father entrusted all things to me—to be made flesh, to suffer, to rise, to save the nature that was thrust away. And no man knows the Son but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son. Since he said, All things are delivered to me, he now as it were solves a certain perplexity. For lest one be perplexed, And for what cause did he deliver all things to you, and not to another—perhaps to an angel or archangel?—he says, that, For this cause he delivered them to me, because I am of the same nature with him and consubstantial. And as no one knows him, so neither me, except the Father alone; so that fittingly he delivered all things to me, as one of the same nature with him, and surpassing all knowledge, even as he too is beyond all knowledge. For the Father also, he says, is known by the Son only, and by him to whom the Son will reveal him. And observe how the Son knows the Father not by revelation, but the created know by revelation; for by grace they receive the knowledge; the Son, then, is not created. And turning to the disciples, he calls them blessed, and all simply who see, with faith of course, him walking in the flesh and working wonders. For the prophets and kings of old desired indeed to see the Lord in the flesh, and to hear him, but obtained it not. And in another sense: Since he said above that, He whom the Son shall reveal it to, that one knows the Father, he thereupon calls the disciples blessed, as having obtained this revelation. For he revealed to them the Father. And of this good thing none of the prophets partook, for they saw not the Lord in the flesh, through whom the Father is revealed to the apostles.

Lk. 10:25–28. And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? how do you read?” And he answering said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered right: this do, and you shall live.” The lawyer was a boastful man, or rather proud, as is shown from what follows; and not only so, but also crafty. He comes forward, then, tempting the Lord. For he wished to trip him up out of whatever he might answer him. But the Lord leads him to the law, on which he greatly prided himself. And observe the exactness of the law, how it commands to love God. Man is the most perfect of all creatures, partaking indeed of them all, but having also something special. What I mean is this: He partakes of the stone; for he has hair, nails—things without sensation, like the stone. He partakes also of the plant, in that he grows, and is nourished, and begets the like, even as the plants. He partakes also of the irrational creatures, in that he has the senses, and grows angry, and desires. And he partakes also of God beyond all the other living things, according to the intellectual soul. Wishing, then, to show that man ought to give himself wholly and through all to God, and to spend all the powers of his soul upon the love of God, by saying, with all the heart, he indicated the more bodily power, that which is proper to the plants; and by, with all the soul, the middle power, that which belongs to the sensible creatures; and by, with all the mind, he declared the intellectual soul, most proper to man. And, with all the strength, means that we ought to draw upon all these mightily. For we ought to subject also the vegetative power of the soul to the love of Christ. But how? Mightily, and not slackly. And the sensitive power, this too mightily; and the intellectual, this also with all the strength. So that we ought to give ourselves wholly to God, and to subject our nutritive, and sensitive, and intellectual power to the love of God. And your neighbour as yourself. The law, not yet able to teach perfect things because of the childishness of the hearers, exhorts to love the neighbour as oneself. But Christ taught to love the neighbour even above oneself. For greater love, he says, has no man, than that a man lay down his life for his friends. He says, then, to the lawyer, You have answered right. For since, he says, you are still subject to the law, you answer rightly; for according to the law you think.

Lk. 10:29–37. But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied and said, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who stripped him, inflicted wounds on him, and went away, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite too, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came upon him, and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. He came near, bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day, when he went away, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return. Which of these three, then, seems to you to have become neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, and you do likewise.” Having been praised by the Savior, the lawyer broke out into arrogance. For he said, And who is my neighbour? For he supposed that, being righteous, he had no one like himself, or drawing near him in virtue. For he hoped that only the just man was neighbour to the just. Wishing, then, to justify himself and to exalt himself above all men, he says boastfully, And who is my neighbour? But the Savior, as being the Maker, and knowing all to be one creation, defines the neighbour not by deeds, nor by dignities, but by nature. Suppose not, he says, that because you are righteous none is like you. For all who have shared the same nature are your neighbours. Become you, then, also a neighbour to them, not by place, but by disposition and by care for them. Wherefore I bring in to you the Samaritan as a pattern, that I may show you that, as he, differing in manner of life, yet became a neighbour to the one worthy of mercy, so do you also show yourself a neighbour by sympathy, and go unbidden to the help. We are taught, then, by this parable, to be ready for mercy, and to hasten to become neighbours to those who need our help. And we are taught also the goodness of God toward man. For the human nature was going down from Jerusalem—that is, from the unmoved and peaceful manner of life; for Jerusalem is interpreted “vision of peace.” And where was it going down? To Jericho, the hollow and low and stifling with heat—that is, to the passionate life. And observe, he said not that it went down, but that it was going down. For ever did the human nature incline to things below, not once, but throughout, attending to the passionate life. And it fell among thieves, the demons. For unless one go down from the height of the understanding, he falls not among the demons; who, having stripped the man, and deprived him of the garments of virtue, then laid on the wounds of sin. For first they strip us bare of every good thought and of the shelter of God, and then thus lay on the wounds of sin. And they left the human nature half dead, either because the soul is immortal, but the body mortal, so that the half of the man was made subject to death; or because the human nature was not altogether despaired of, for in Christ it was hoped to have salvation. So that it was not utterly slain, but, so far as concerned the transgression of Adam, death entered into the world; but so far as concerned the righteous deed of Christ, death was to be done away. And by the priest and the Levite understand me the law and the prophets. For these wished indeed to justify the human nature, but were unable. For it is impossible, says Paul, that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. They had compassion, then, on the man, and purposed to heal him; then, overpowered by the mastery of the wounds, they withdrew again to the rear. For this is the meaning of, passed by on the other side. For the law came, and stood over the one lying there, then, not being strong to heal, turned away; which is the meaning of, passed by. And observe what sense the words, by chance, have. For truly the law was given not as the chief thing, but because of the human weakness, which was unable from the beginning to receive the mystery according to Christ. Therefore he says, that, The priest—that is, the law—by chance, which we are wont to call by accident, but not as a chief design, came to heal the man. But the Lord and our God, who became a curse for us, and who was called a Samaritan, journeying—that is, making this very thing the pretext of his journey, and setting his aim, the healing of us, and not passing by, and visiting us as a thing by the way—came to us, having dealings with us, and conversing with us without phantasm. He then immediately bound up the wounds, not suffering the wickedness to be longer unchecked, but binding it up; and he poured in oil and wine—oil, the word of teaching, that exhorts through good things; and wine, that which leads to virtue through the more fearful things. As when you hear the Lord saying, Come to me, and I will give you rest, this is the oil; for it shows forth gladness and rest. And again, Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you. But when he says, Go into the darkness, this is the wine, the astringent teaching. And you may understand also otherwise: by oil the manner of life that is according to man, by wine that which is according to God. What I mean is this: The Lord wrought some things humanly, and others divinely. For to eat and to drink, and to pursue the relaxed life, and not to display austerity, as John, this is the oil. But the strange fasting, and the walking upon the sea, and the rest of the works of the divine power, these are the wine. For to wine the Godhead is to be likened, which no one was able to bear unmixed, unless the oil were also there, that is, the manner of life according to man. Since, then, through both he saved us—through the Godhead, I mean, and the manhood—for this reason he is said to pour in wine and oil. And every day those who are baptized are delivered from the wounds of the soul, being anointed with the oil of the chrism, and immediately communing, and partaking of the divine blood. And the Lord set our wounded nature upon his own beast—that is, upon his own body; for he made us his members, and partakers of his body, and raised us up, who lay below, to that dignity, so that we are of one body with him. And the inn is the Church, receiving all; for the law received not all. For a Moabite, it says, and an Ammonite shall not enter into the Church of God. But now in every nation he that fears God is acceptable to him, wishing to believe and to become a part of the Church. For she receives all, both sinners and publicans. And observe the exactness, how he says, that, having brought him to the inn, he took care of him; for before bringing him to it, he only bound up the wounds. What then is it that I say? That, the Church being established, and the inn coming into being—that is, the faith having been increased from almost all the nations—then came also the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of God was enlarged. And this you shall learn from the Acts of the Apostles. And the figure of the host every apostle, and teacher, and pastor holds, to whom the Lord gave two pence, the two Testaments, the Old and the New. For both bear the image of one king, being the oracles of the same God. These pence, then, the Lord, ascending into the heavens, left to the apostles and to the bishops and teachers of each generation. And he said, that, Whatever you spend more of your own, I will repay you. For truly they spent of their own, sowing teaching. But also those of each generation spent much of their own, for which they shall receive their reward—that is, at the second coming. For then it is as if they say, Behold, what you gave me, two more have I spent besides.

Lk. 10:38–42. Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Great indeed is the good of hospitality, which Martha showed forth, and not to be rejected; but greater is it to give heed to the more spiritual words. For by the former the body is nourished, but by the latter the soul is quickened. For not for this cause are we here, O Martha, he says, that we may fill the belly with various meats, but that we may profit souls. And observe the mind of the Lord. He said nothing to Martha before he received from her the occasions for the rebuke. For since she tried to draw away her sister from the hearing, then the Lord, taking hold of the occasion, rebukes her. For up to that point hospitality is to be honored, so long as it draws us not away, and leads us not from the more necessary things. But when it begins to hinder us from the weightier things, then the hearing of divine things is to be preferred to it; or rather, to speak more exactly, the Lord forbids not hospitality, but the variety and the bustle—that is, the distraction and the trouble—since the plain reception he praises. For why, he says, Martha, are you careful and troubled about many things—that is, distracted, troubled? We have need of one thing, to eat something or other, not of variety. And some understood the words, One thing is needful, not concerning eating, but concerning attending to the teaching. And by the things he says, the Lord teaches the apostles, that, when they enter into anyone’s house, they should seek nothing varied, but be content with a plain reception, seeking nothing further than to give heed to the teaching. And understand me by Martha the practical virtue, and by Mary contemplation. The practical, then, has distractions and troubles; but contemplation, having become mistress of the passions—for Mary is interpreted “mistress”—busies herself solely with the beholding of the divine words and judgments. And give heed also to the words, Sitting at his feet, she heard his word. For the feet might be understood as referring to the practical virtue, for they are indicative of motion and journeying; but to sit is a symbol of steadfastness. Whoever, then, shall sit at the feet of Jesus—that is, whoever shall be established in the practical, and, having imitated the journeying and manner of life of Jesus, be made firm in this—that one afterward attains to the hearing of the divine oracles, that is, to contemplation. Since Mary too first sat, and then heard the words. Do you therefore, if you are able, ascend to the rank of Mary, having become mistress of the passions, and having attained to contemplation. But if this is not possible for you, be Martha, devoted to the practical part, and through this receiving Christ. And observe also the words, which shall not be taken away from her. For the practical man has that which shall be taken away from him—that is, this very occupation and distraction; for, advancing and attaining to contemplation, he is freed from the distraction and the bustle; so that something is taken away from him. But the contemplative man is never deprived of this good part, I mean of contemplation. For into what better thing—namely, the seeing of God, which is to be deified—shall he be changed? For the like is apprehended by the like.

Chapter 11

Lk. 11:1–4. And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say, Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” The disciple of Christ emulates the disciples of John; wherefore he also seeks to be taught a manner of prayer. The Savior therefore teaches, not rejecting the request of the disciple. Our Father, he says, which are in heaven. Observe the power of the prayer. Immediately it leads you up on high, and persuades you, since you name God Father, not to fall altogether short of the likeness, but to be earnest to be made like to the Father. And he said not, My Father, but, Our Father, rousing you to brotherly love, and constraining you to love all, as common brethren. And by saying, Which are in heaven, he circumscribes not God there, but leads the hearer up to the heavens, and draws him away from earthly things. Hallowed be your name—that is, glorified; that is, make our life to be to your glory. For as the name of God is blasphemed because of the wicked, so it is glorified because of those that have a good life. Your kingdom come. The sinner deprecates the kingdom of God, not wishing it to come, because of the tribunals there; but the righteous man, on the contrary, prays that it may come quickly, that, being delivered from the temptations here, he may rest. And let your will be done—as in heaven by the angels, so also by us men on earth. For the angels all do all things according to the will of God. And he teaches us to seek the daily bread only—that is, that which is for our being, and contributes to the constitution of life—not the superfluous altogether, but the necessary. And the words, not to enter into temptation, signify not to leap into temptations. For we ought not to entreat God that he cast us into temptation, but to deprecate this; but when it comes, to bear it nobly. And it may be said that the kind of temptations is twofold. For some are voluntary; such as drunkenness, murder, adultery, and the other passions; for into these temptations we cast ourselves willingly. And involuntary temptations are those to which tyrants and violent men subject us. From the voluntary temptations, then—that is, from the passions—we ought to flee, and to deprecate these, and to say, Lead us not—that is, suffer us not to fall into temptation, that is, into voluntary passion; but deliver us from evil. For this one brings both the involuntary and the voluntary temptations. Wherefore, being not voluntarily tempted, deprecate not the temptation, but the evil one. For he it is that works it.

Lk. 11:5–8. And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within will answer and say, Do not trouble me; the door has already been shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give you anything. I tell you, even if he will not rise and give him something because he is his friend, yet because of his shameless persistence he will rise and give him as much as he needs.” The Lord speaks a certain parable and example, teaching us to pray without slackness. What then does the parable signify? By midnight some say is meant the last things of life, in which men, having come, attain to a perception of the good, and run to God. For this is the friend, who loves all, and wishes all to be saved. Many, then, draw near at midnight—that is, in the last part of life—to God, as to a friend, and say, Give three loaves, the faith in the Trinity. For a friend is come—that is, the angel who receives the soul. And a friend is every angel, even as the Lord also says, There is joy in heaven over the salvation of a man. And the children resting upon the bed are those who have been turned, and become as little children, and counted worthy to rest together with the Lord. And by importunity he means the prayer intensified with endurance. And understand also otherwise: by midnight the height, and the very middle, of temptations. For every temptation is night, and midnight is altogether the midst of temptations. When, then, one is in the midst of temptations, he draws near to God who loves us, and says, Lend me three loaves, the salvation of the body, and of the soul, and of the spirit. For from temptations there is fear lest these three be endangered. And who is the friend that is come from the journey? Surely the Lord, who tests us in temptations, and wishes to eat of our salvation. And he has nothing to set before him who has fallen into the temptations, and is too weak of himself to withstand them, and to serve God. And the shutting of the door signifies this, that we ought before the temptations to be made ready; but when we have fallen in, the door of preparation is shut, and, being found unprepared, unless God help, we are in danger. And the children, as was before set forth, would be those who have become sons of God through virtue, and recline and rest in God.

Lk. 11:9–13. So I tell you: ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for bread, will hand him a stone instead? Or if he asks for a fish, will he hand him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he hand him a scorpion? If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Observe the exactness of the expression. He said not, Ask once, and it shall be given, but, Ask—that is, seek continually. For everyone that asks receives. Does, then, the one who asks unprofitable things receive? No; for, first, the asking of unprofitable things would not even be called an asking toward God. For he who prays to God ought to ask the things which God gives. But when one asks the unprofitable things, he makes not his request toward God; for he gives not unprofitable things. Then hear also of the Lord himself, how he teaches us to ask the things we ought. For a son, he says, asks bread, and a fish, and an egg. As, then, these are food for a man, so also our requests ought to be profitable and conducing to our benefit. And understand me, that bread he asks who asks that the faith in the Trinity be revealed to him, and the rightness of doctrines; for bread is these things, as strengthening the heart. And a fish he asks who, being in the sea of this life, seeks the help that is from God, that in the midst of the temptations he may be kept unsubmerged, and living like a fish. And an egg he asks who asks that there be given to him the offspring of the virtuous souls, that, taking wings, they may be likened to the heavenly, and rise on high in the spirit.

Lk. 11:14–20. Now he was casting out a demon, and it was dumb. And when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke, and the crowds marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” And others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and house falls upon house. And if Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. But if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your own sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Dumb is said for the most part of one who speaks not, but might be said also of one who hears not; and more properly of one who neither hears nor speaks. And those who from birth hear not, neither speak; for this befalls them of necessity. For we speak those things which through hearing we learn. When, then, one hears not, fittingly neither does he speak, unless perchance one has afterward, through some affliction, been harmed in his hearing; for such a one nothing hinders from speaking. He, then, who was brought to the Lord was both—dumb both in tongue and in ears. And this man is a symbol of the human nature, which, held fast by demons, neither endured to hear the words of God, nor much less was able to speak them forth. But the Lord, having come, and driven out the demons—the passionate and demonic deeds—made us to speak, and to preach the truth. For we ought not only to hear the words of God, but also to speak them to others. Let us therefore hear, we who have in ourselves the demonic deeds, yet suppose that we also teach others, and desire to be called Rabbi by men. For when the demon is gone out, then the true speech, that is, the teaching, comes to be; but so long as the working of the demon is within us, though we seem to speak, we speak not. But the Pharisees slander the wonder, and insult the Lord as a sorcerer. For having, they say, the prince of the demons as a friend, by his working he casts out the demons. To whom the Lord says, How is it possible for a demon to cast out another demon? For this would be a dissolution of his kingdom. For if they themselves count it a kingdom and a rest to dwell in men, but their ruler casts them out, it is plain that he dissolves himself. For indeed every kingdom divided and at strife is dissolved, and a house divided falls. And whether you understand by the house the building, well; for the building, so long as it keeps its continuity, stands; but when the walls part from one another, it falls; or whether you understand by the house those in the house, these too, so long as they are at peace, hold together; but when they part against one another, they fall. But be it that I cast out the demons by Beelzebub; your sons—that is, the apostles—by whom do they cast them out? Or is it not plain, by my name? How then say you of me that I cast out by Beelzebub, as having need of his power, where your own sons, that is, the apostles, cast out in my name? Therefore they shall judge you. For it is plain that, if those cast out in my name, I have no need of another’s power. With the finger of God, then—that is, with the Holy Spirit—I cast out, and not with an evil spirit. And he calls the Spirit a finger, that you may learn that, as the finger is consubstantial with the whole body, so also the Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the Son. And perhaps, since the Son is called the hand of God, and upon him rested the sevenfold workings of the Spirit—not as being wrought upon, but as being consubstantial with the Spirit. And one of the gifts and workings of the Spirit is to heal; for this reason it is said that with the finger of God he casts out the demons—that is, with the spiritual gift. For as the finger is a part of the hand, so also the spirit of healings was a part of the spirits which Jesus had, that is, of the workings of the Spirit. If, then, I cast out the demons, he says, by a divine working, the kingdom of God is come upon you, and the kingdom of the devil is dissolved, and God reigns.

Lk. 11:21–26. When a strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he takes from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divides his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathers not with me scatters. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I will return to my house whence I came out. And when he comes, he finds it swept and garnished. Then goes he, and takes to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Before my coming, he says, Satan was strong, and kept his own palace—that is, he held the human nature firmly and securely; but when I came, who am stronger than he, and have overcome the world, and his whole armour wherein he trusted, which is all the kinds of sin—for these are the weapons of the devil, and trusting in these he prevailed against men—this his armour, then, I broke, being found sinless; and from then he grew weak. And his spoils—that is, the men whom he held as plunder—I tore away from him, and divide them, one to one, another to another, to a faithful guardian angel, that, instead of the demon by which he was tyrannized, the angel may have him. And in another sense: What fellowship have I with Beelzebub? My work is to gather together the scattered children of God; his work is to scatter the gathered. How then reason you such things concerning me, that I have fellowship with Satan? But truly such a reasoning befell you from your being yourselves the more possessed of demons. For you had, even of old, the unclean spirit dwelling in you, when you worshipped idols, and slew the prophets; then it seemed to go out of you, and now, returning to its own house—that is, to your souls—with seven spirits, that is, many (for seven is taken in Scripture for many)—it made your last things worse than your first. Inasmuch as then, when you served idols, you slew the prophets, and yet did not openly insult the Son of God, who had appeared to you in the flesh. But now what hope of salvation is there, when, the Son having been incarnate, and working wonders among you, you stand in the same thanklessness and insolence? And dry places are the souls of those who have nothing watery or dissolute, but are dry and careful, in which the spirit of uncleanness finds no rest. Since, then, in such souls the evil one has no place of dwelling, he turns to the Jews, and their last things become worse than their first. For no longer are there prophets among them, for they slew the word; no longer is there anointing, for they crucified the Christ.

Lk. 11:27–32. And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bare you, and the paps which you have sucked.” But he said, “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, “This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” While the Pharisees and scribes were slandering the wonders, the woman commends the guileless and simple thing. And where are those who say that the Lord appeared in phantasy? For behold, he is testified even to have sucked the breasts. But he calls blessed those who keep the word of God, not casting his Mother out of the blessing—far from it—but showing that not even she would be profited from bearing and suckling him, unless she had also all the other virtue. And at the same time he says these things also with reference to the moment. For since the envious and disobedient to his words were slandering those that heard, he, on the contrary, blesses those that hear. And perhaps he says these things also because of the dumb man who was healed, that he too, having heard, might keep the word, and that the power of hearing might not become to him to condemnation. And when the people were gathered thick together, the Lord began to reprove the thankless. For since there were certain among them who sought a sign from heaven to be done by Jesus—for they said, that, Whatever signs he does are from earth, and he does these by Beelzebub the world-ruler, as having authority of the earth, but from heaven he is unable to do, as not being the Son of the heavenly Father—since, then, there were certain who said these things, for this cause the Lord reproves them, and says, that, A sign shall be given you, which shall show me to be the true Son of the heavenly Father. What is this? That of Jonas, that is, of the resurrection. For as he made three days in the belly of the whale, so I too, having made three days in the belly of the whale, the great beast, Hades, shall rise again. But to Jonas, preaching after his coming back to life as it were out of the whale, the Ninevites were persuaded; but in me, even when I am risen, this generation shall not believe; wherefore they shall be condemned, that they imitated not the Ninevites, though a greater than Jonas is here. For both my dignity and the kind of my preaching show much difference. I am Master, he was a servant. I preach the kingdom of heaven, he salvation from the overthrow. I with wonders, he without doing any wonder. In like manner also the queen of the south shall condemn this generation, that she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And understand me also every soul prevailing and standing firm in the good as a queen of the south. What I mean is this: the north in Scripture is blamed, as being the place of the adversary; for it is cold, and death-dealing, and benumbing; but the south is praised, as a warm and life-giving wind, and cherishing the benumbed members. Wherefore also the bride in the Song of Songs, driving away the north, says, Awake, O north wind; and come, you south. And again the prophet says, And him that is from the north will the Lord utterly destroy—meaning Satan. The soul, then, reigning in the south—in the good part and the spiritual life, and having dominion through the practical—comes to hear the wisdom, which is to ascend to contemplation. For the wisdom of our God is contemplation, to which one cannot otherwise come, save by the spiritual life, and by gaining dominion through the practical.

Lk. 11:33–36. No man, when he has lighted a candle, puts it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light; but when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness. If your whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle does give you light. Since the envious Jews, seeing the wonders, slandered them out of wickedness, for this reason the Lord says these things: that men, having received from God a candle—the grace of the mind, by which we see, as a light given to us—hid this discernment of the mind, and, darkened by envy, see not the wonders and the benefits. And yet for this we received the mind, that we may set it upon the candlestick, that others also may see the light. And he seems to me to say this: O Pharisee, you have knowledge—this is the candle. You ought to have used this knowledge to the recognition of the wonders, and to have shone and shown to others these things, that they are works of the Son of God, and not of Beelzebub, that they which come in—that is, the beginners and learners—might see the light. For the wise man has already journeyed, but he who is still learning is journeying. But you Pharisees willed not this, but made the eye of the soul, the mind, which is single, crooked and perverse. For as the eye of the body, however it be disposed, so makes the body also; if it be luminous, the body too will be in light, but if dark, that too will be in darkness—in the same way the soul also is disposed according to the mind. And the eye and light which it received from God, if it find this darkened, either by envy or by love of money, and, to speak simply, by love of glory, it too is darkened.

Lk. 11:37–41. Now as he was speaking, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him; and he went in and reclined at table. And when the Pharisee saw this, he was astonished that he had not first washed before the meal. But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give alms of such things as you have, and behold, everything is clean to you.” The Lord knew the perverseness of the Pharisees, but nevertheless he eats with them for this very reason, that they were wicked, and had need of amendment. For he eats with them, that he might take hold of an occasion, and better their characters. As also now, deriding their senseless custom—I mean the cleansing of themselves before eating—he teaches that the soul ought to be cleansed by good works, since the washing with water cleanses not the soul, but the body. For those senseless men supposed that, together with the body, their soul also is cleansed by the bathing and washing of the body. The Lord, then, uses a graceful example, that of the cup. For since it was the time of the table, he makes mention of the cup and the platter, bringing his testimony from the things lying before the eyes, and persuading the Pharisee that, as it is no profit for the cup to be clean without, but full of all filth within, so neither for the body to be washed, while the soul is full of all uncleanness, such as ravening and wickedness. And he hinted at the two passions that prevailed among the Jews—covetousness, by the ravening, and envy, and the things from envy, by the wickedness. It is no profit, then, when the soul is thus disposed. You fools, did not he that made the body, which you count worthy of much care, make also the soul? Suffer, then, this also to be cleansed. Then he teaches them how the inward part is cleansed. By alms, he says. And observe me how he heals their two passions, envy, I mean, and ravening, by setting before them alms. For he that has mercy truly will not seize the things of the one pitied, nor will he envy the one pitied. Since, then, he reproached these two passions, by one medicine he levers them out, that of alms, which is the first door of the deifying love; and, love being present, where is covetousness and envy? Of such things as you have, then—that is, of the things that you possess. And well he said, of such things as you have, and said not, that are, because riches are within in the heart of the lover of money, and sit there; wherefore David also says not to set the heart on riches—that is, not to nail it to them and bind it fast.

Lk. 11:42–51. “But woe to you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe to you, Pharisees! for you love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.” Then answered one of the lawyers, and said to him, “Master, thus saying you reproach us also.” And he said, “Woe to you also, you lawyers! for you lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! for you build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly you bear witness that you allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and you build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: truly I say to you, It shall be required of this generation.” The Pharisees, that they might not, forsooth, transgress the law, tithed even the least things; and if anyone perchance blamed them as being scrupulous about trifles, they brought forward the law, which commanded tithes to be offered to the priests from all things. The Lord therefore says, that, As you are not careless of these, so you ought to have provided also judgment and the love of God. For since they were unjust, and slew the widow and the orphan, he says, that, You ought to have judgment—that is, righteous judgment. And since they were also despisers of God, undertaking the sacred works indifferently, for this reason he charges them to have the love of God. For he that loves God undertakes his works not contemptuously. And perhaps it seems to me that, since there are two kinds of love—that toward God, and that toward the neighbour—he hints at these two: by saying judgment, intimating the love toward the neighbour; for to judge the neighbour righteously, and not to oppress him, comes from loving him. And by saying the love of God, signifying altogether the whole disposition toward God. And when one loves the neighbour not for any worldly thing, or shameful passion, but according to God, this too might be called the love of God—that is, that which God commands, and accepts. And they wished to be honored by every man, and to be addressed as teachers in the markets; for this is the greeting, the address. You are like, then, he says, to graves, which are full of all rottenness, but without shine with marbles; which men seeing know not where they walk, for else they would have loathed the abomination within. But the lawyer senselessly subjects himself to the reproof. Now the lawyers were other than the Pharisees. For the Pharisees seemed to be ascetics, and cut off from the rest; but the lawyers were scribes and teachers, loosing for those who wished the questions of the law. The lawyers, then, laded men with heavy and grievous burdens, enjoining on them the hard-to-keep observances of the law, but themselves touched not the burdens with their finger—that is, they themselves did nothing of the things they laid on others. For when the teacher does the things he teaches, he lightens the burdens, giving himself as a pattern, and making comfort for the taught. But when he does nothing of what he says, then truly the burdens seem heavy to the taught, as being not even able to be accomplished by the teacher. And the Lord shows the Jews to be descendants and heirs of the wickedness of Cain, by saying that all the blood shed from Abel to Zacharias shall be required of this generation. For, he says, you too slew the prophets, who were your brethren, as that one slew Abel. Whence not unreasonably some understood Cain of the people that slew the prophets, of whom sevenfold vengeance was taken—that is, with a lighter punishment; and Lamech of those who slew Christ, wherefore also seventy times sevenfold vengeance was taken, being scattered into a captivity without return. And who, then, was Zacharias, whom they slew between the temple and the altar? Some say the ancient Zacharias, the son of Jehoiada, whom they stoned, as may be learned from the book of Kings; others, the father of the Forerunner, in that he set the Theotokos among the virgins after she had borne Christ, and stood her in the place where the virgins stood—and that place was between the temple and the altar that was outside—bearing witness that a virgin had borne, which they turned away from; for they wished to be without a king.

Lk. 11:52–54. “Woe to you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in you hindered.” And as he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. The key of knowledge the Lord named the teaching, and the guidance through the law that was able to bring men to Christ. For the law is altogether a guide to Christ. The lawyers, then, who seemed to interpret the law, held the key of knowledge with a willful malice, and opened not the doors of the law, that through them they themselves and the people might enter in to Christ. For the law is a door to Christ; only this door is shut, unless one make plain and open the obscurity of the law. For the Lord said, If you had believed Moses, you would have believed me. And again, Search the Scriptures, for they are they which testify of me, and you will not come to me. As, for instance, to show it by one example: a lamb was slain by the Jews, the door-posts were anointed, and they ate the flesh, and this was for them a victory over the destroyer. And this whole thing made plain the mystery of Christ, who, like an unblemished and spotless lamb, being slain, our door-posts—wrath and desire, and the lintel above them, the reasoning—were anointed; and we ate the flesh of the Son of man, and overcame the one who destroys our soul-powers. And the more part of the law hinted at Christ. The law, however, was shut by the obscurity of the letter, as by a door. And if one had been entrusted with teaching, this man had the key of knowledge; and if he willed, he would have opened, and himself entered in, and become a guide to others; which the lawyers did not, but took away the key of knowledge—that is, hid it, made it vanish—and thereupon, as the key being taken away from the midst, that is, the interpretation of the law, its door remained shut. And you may understand by the key of knowledge also faith. For through faith comes the knowledge of the truth; and so the prophet Isaiah says, And, Unless you believe, neither shall you understand. The lawyers, then, took away from the midst the key of this, that is, faith, and hid it. For they suffered not any to believe in Christ, the Savior of all. He wrought wonders, and the people, believing through the wonders, were about to recognize him as God; but they said that he wrought the wonders by Beelzebub. Do you see how they took away the key of knowledge, not suffering men to believe in him through whom the knowledge was to come to them? He taught in the synagogues the will of God, but they said, You have a devil and are mad; why hear you him? They took away, then, in very truth the key of knowledge, and themselves entered not in, and hindered others, and these such as were entering in—that is, who were fit for the knowledge of God. And while he was yet saying these things, those men, as if bearing witness to his words, when they ought to have recognized their own weakness, showed themselves forsooth wiser than he, and began to provoke him to speak off-hand—that is, to question him thickly, and to perplex him. For provoking to speak off-hand comes to pass, when many question one about other and other matters. For then, not being able to answer all, he gives to the senseless an appearance of being at a loss. This, then, those accursed ones contrived against Christ. For many questioning one seemed to provoke him to speak off-hand, and to bring him to perplexity, as one not able to answer them—which fittingly came not to pass; for how can one answer many asking other and other things? And the provoking to speak off-hand may also be understood thus, instead of, to ensnare him, and to hold him fast by his mouth. For when one is caught by the things he says, he seems to be provoked off the mouth—that is, to be dragged by the mouth, and condemned. And the words following make this plain. For, seeking, he says, to catch something out of his mouth; for that which a little before he called provoking to speak off-hand, this now he calls catching something out of his mouth. And they questioned him, sometimes concerning the law, that they might convict him as a blasphemer accusing Moses (for this they suspected), sometimes concerning the things of Caesar, that they might denounce him as a seditious and tyrannical man—and, in a word, such things as wicked souls, full of all malignity, might devise.

Chapter 12

Lk. 12:1–3. When the crowd had gathered by the ten thousands, so that they trod one upon another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware for yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For nothing is covered that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in closets will be proclaimed upon the housetops.” The Pharisees tried to ensnare him in word, that they might turn the multitudes away from him. But it fell out to the contrary; for the multitudes rather drew near, and, gathering into ten thousands, each so longed to come near him, that they even trode one upon another. So strong is the truth, and craft everywhere weak. Jesus, then, seeing the craft of the Pharisees, and that they feign to ask, but in truth ensnare, said to his disciples concerning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, altogether reproving them, and laying bare their hearts full of hypocrisy. And he calls hypocrisy leaven, as being sour, and of the old wickedness, and altering and corrupting to itself the minds of men with which it is mingled. For nothing so alters the character as hypocrisy. Those, then, who have been discipled to Christ ought to flee hypocrisy. For Christ, being truth, is manifestly opposed to falsehood. And all hypocrisy is full of falsehood, fashioning one thing, but being another. The Pharisees, then, he says, suppose that they escape notice through hypocrisy, procuring for themselves a fair character. But nothing covered is, that shall not be revealed. For all things, both words and thoughts, shall be set forth bare at the last tribunal of all; only, even in the present life many of the things hidden are wont to be laid bare. Whatever, then, you spoke in darkness and in closets, and spoke secretly, shall be proclaimed in the light and upon the housetops. And these things he seems indeed to say to the disciples, but he aims them at the Pharisees, hinting at their plots, and all but declaring this to them, though he seem to say these things to the disciples: that, O Pharisees, whatever in darkness—that is, in your dark hearts—you meditated, wishing to ensnare me, shall be heard and known in the light; for I am the light, and you cannot escape me, but in me, the light, all that your darkness counsels is known. And whatever you counseled one to another in the ear, has become audible to me, as if it had been proclaimed upon the lofty housetops. And these things you may understand also of the light being the Gospel, and the lofty housetops the lofty souls of the apostles. For whatever the Pharisees counseled was preached afterward, and heard in the light of the Gospel, upon the housetops of the Spirit.

Lk. 12:4–7. And I say to you, my friends: do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. But I will show you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God, but even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Since the Lord accused the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and withdrew his disciples from it, and in the midst again smote the Pharisees by saying, What you said in darkness shall be heard in the light, now he discourses to his friends the more perfect things. For having now plucked out the thorns, he sows the good seed. I say to you my friends; for the things spoken before were not to them, but to the Pharisees; to you, then, I say, my friends. For this word fits not all, but those who from their whole soul love him, and who are able to say, Who shall separate us from the love of God? To such men this exhortation fits. Be not afraid, he says, of them that kill the body, and have nothing more to harm beyond this. For to a small thing the loss from them comes round, since they harm the body, which shall suffer its own lot, even if they harm it not. But him it is worthy to fear who chastises not only the body, but also the soul, the immortal thing, subjecting it to immortal punishments, and these in fire. To spiritual manliness, then, Christ anoints his friends, making them martyrs, and casting out from them the fear of men. For men, he says, stretch their wrath as far as the corruptible body, and the end of their plot against us is the death of the flesh; but when God chastises, the loss shall not stop at the flesh only, but the wretched soul too is led together with it to the torments. And mark from this, that to sinners death is brought as a punishment, both being chastised here by being slain, and there afterward being cast into hell. And, examining the expression, you shall understand something else also. For observe that he said not, Fear him that after killing casts into hell, but, that has power to cast. For not altogether are the sinners that die cast into hell, but it lies in the power of God to forgive also. And this I say because of the offerings and distributions made on behalf of the departed, which contribute no small thing even to those who died in grievous sins. Not altogether, then, after killing does he cast into hell, but he has power to cast. Let us therefore not be slack, being earnest through alms and intercessions to propitiate him who has power indeed to cast, but who altogether uses not this power, but is able also to forgive. And since many think the death for the truth’s sake to be a forsaking by God, Suppose not this, he says. For not as forsaken by me shall you die, since not even one of the sparrows that are sold is forgotten; far is it that your death, the death of my friends, should come to pass as though you were not cared for by me. For so great is the providence I make for you, that I know each of your things minutely, and have your very hairs numbered; even though, then, I suffer you to enter into temptation, I will altogether supply also the power to endure. And often, if I see one weak, I suffer him not even to fall into temptation. For being your guardian, and knowing all things, and having numbered even the smallest things, I dispense to each what is according to his worth and fitting. And, observing closely, you shall find in Scripture all the manly numbered, and those who have come to the measure of stature, and worthy simply of divine reckoning. By the head, then, of each of the faithful, the Christ-befitting manner of life is to be understood; and by the hairs of this, the several deeds, more mortified than the body, which are numbered by God, and set down in account. For such deeds of yours are counted worthy of divine oversight. And some understand the five sparrows as the five senses, which, being sold for two farthings—that is, through the New and Old Testament—are not forgotten before God. For those whose senses are ruled and brought to the word, so as not to be useless for spiritual food, these are unforgotten by the Lord.

Lk. 12:8–12. Also I say to you, Whoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: but he that denies me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but to him that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. And when they bring you to the synagogues, and to magistrates, and powers, take you no thought how or what thing you shall answer, or what you shall say: for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say. Now he sets forth the prize of martyrdom. For since he said, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and added, that, Even your hairs are numbered, lest one should say, Give me also some reward; for what does it profit me if you have my hairs numbered? he says, Will you also a reward? Hear: Whoever shall confess me, he shall be confessed before God. And the words, Shall confess in me, he said instead of, With my working together, and in my power. I too, then, will confess in him—that is, being worked together with by him. For we too have need first of all of God; for without him we can do nothing; and God again has need of us; for unless he find in us worthy works, neither does he take us to himself, else he would be a respecter of persons. We confess, then, in him—that is, in his working together; and he in us—that is, in our working together. For unless we give him occasion, neither will he confess for us. But he that denies, denies not in the power of God. Wherefore neither did he add, in me, but, He that denies me; and perhaps, inasmuch as every saint abides in Christ, and Christ in him, according to this it is said, Whoever shall confess in me—that is, abiding—I too will confess, abiding in him. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him. That is, whoever shall blaspheme against me, the apparent bare son of man, who eats and drinks, and consorts with publicans and harlots, is pardonable, whether he repent or not. For sin is not reckoned to him that believes not. For what did he see, that he should believe? Nay rather, what did he not see worthy of evil-speaking? He saw a man consorting with harlots, and blasphemes against him; sin therefore is not reckoned to him. For it was likely he should suffer this; for how is he Son of God, who consorts with harlots? He blasphemes, then, and calls him a deceiver, who lives thus, yet makes himself Son of God. But when one blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, he is unpardonable. And what he means is this: When, beholding divine signs, and great and excellent works, one disbelieves and slanders, ascribing the workings of the Holy Spirit to Beelzebub, then, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, and saying that the signs come to pass in an evil and not in a divine spirit, he is unpardonable, and shall not be guiltless, unless he repent. For to him that blasphemed against the Son of man not even sin was reckoned, wherefore even not repenting he is pardonable; but to him that sees the works of the divine Spirit and blasphemes, without repentance it shall not be forgiven. For it shall be reckoned the greatest sin. And when they bring you to the rulers and powers, and the rest. Since our weakness is twofold, and either through fear of punishments we flee martyrdom, or through rusticity and the not being able to give an account of the faith that is in us, he healed the fear of the punishments by saying, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and now heals also the fear from rusticity. For since not many wise according to the flesh believed, but the more were unlearned, Fear not, he says, rustic and unlearned man, neither take thought how or what you shall answer the tyrant when questioned, or what you shall say in another manner of public speaking; for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say. So that, what need is there of taking thought, if in the same hour you are to be taught by the Spirit? Thus, then, on both sides he anoints us to martyrdom, healing both the fear from bodily weakness, and that from rusticity.

Lk. 12:13–15. And someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?” And he said to them, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.” Teaching us how we ought to despise worldly things, and that we ought not to be distracted about earthly things, the Lord sends away the one who called him to divide the paternal inheritance. Wherefore he says, Who made me a judge or a divider over you? For since that man, leaving to ask the things useful and conducing to the soul’s salvation, asked him to become a divider over earthly and temporary matters, for this cause, as one troublesome and wishing to learn nothing of the things needful, he is sent away—and this the Lord does meekly, and not with rebuke. And altogether by this he persuades all, both then and now hearing, to make light of every temporary and earthly matter, not contending with brethren, but yielding to them rather, even though they wish to overreach. For from him that takes away your goods, he says, ask them not again, seeking such things as are useful and necessary to the salvation of the soul. Wherefore he added, saying, Take heed, and beware of covetousness, as exhorting us to flee it as a kind of devilish pit. And to whom did he say this, Take heed, and beware of covetousness? To these two brethren. For since their dispute was about an inheritance, and it was likely that one of these two wronged the other, for this reason he discourses to them concerning covetousness. For a great evil is this; wherefore Paul also calls it idolatry—perhaps as fitting only those who know not God; or, which is the truer, since the idols of the nations are silver and gold. Like to the idolaters is he who honors silver and gold; for both worship and tend the same matter. We ought, then, to flee the superfluous. Why? Because a man’s life consists not in the abundance of his possessions—that is, the measure of life is not co-extended with abundance; for he that has much shall not therefore live long, nor does length of life follow the multitude of riches. This the Lord says, overthrowing the reasonings of the lovers of wealth; for since the lovers of wealth, as lovers of life, tend their wealth, and, as about to live long, gather from every side, he says, O wretched and miserable man, shall length of life be added to you from having much? Why then do you suffer hardship manifestly for the sake of a rest that is uncertain? For uncertain it is, whether you shall reach the old age for which you lay up; but manifest it is that you now spend yourself upon the providing of riches.

Lk. 12:16–21. And he spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be, which you have provided? So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Having said that the life of man is not co-extended with the abundance of riches, for the confirmation of this he brings forward also a parable. And observe how he describes for us the insatiable reasonings of a senseless rich man. For God did his own part, and showed his own compassion; for not one little field of the rich man, but the whole country brought forth plentifully. But he was so unfruitful in compassion, that, before receiving, he held fast. And observe also the pleasures of the rich man, What shall I do? Such words does not the poor man too say, What shall I do, for I have not wherewith to be nourished, wherewith to be clothed? See me also the words of the rich man, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? A fair rest indeed! Since both the poor man says, What shall I do, because I have not, and the rich, What shall I do, because I have not where; what then do we gather from gathering the more? For rest we gain not, as is plain from the cares, but heap up for ourselves only a multitude of sins. I will pull down my barns, and build greater. And if next year the land bring forth yet more plentifully, again will you pull down, and again build? And what need to pull down and build? You have the bellies of the poor for barns, able to hold much, and indestructible and incorruptible; for they are heavenly and divine, since he that nourishes the poor nourishes God. And observe also another folly. My fruits and my goods. For he supposed not to have these from God, else he would have been disposed about them as a steward of God; but he counted them the offspring of his own labors; wherefore also, appropriating them to himself, he said, My fruits and my goods. For I have, he says, no partner, I make none a sharer; they are not God’s, but mine, I alone therefore will enjoy them; I will not take God to share in the enjoyment of them. Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years. He marks off for himself length of life, as if he had farmed this too out of the earth; for is this also your offspring, is this also a good of yours? Eat, drink, be merry. Well done, the goods of the soul! For to eat and to drink is the good of an irrational soul; having, then, yourself also such a soul, fittingly you ascribe these things to it. For the good of a rational soul is to understand, to reason, to be made glad in the law of God and in good thoughts. But it sufficed you not to eat and drink, O fool, but you lay also upon the soul the most shameful and abominable pleasure that follows these. For under fair words the Lord, by the, Be merry, indicated the most licentious passions, which attend the fulness of meats and drinks. But God said to him, You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you. It is not said, God spoke to the rich man, as though God conversed with him, but he means some such thing as this: while he thus thought, God said—for this the parable feigns—You fool. He calls him a fool, then, as having counseled altogether senseless things, as we have shown. For a fool and vain is every such man, even as David also says, In vain does every man trouble himself; and the cause is, he heaps up treasure, and knows not for whom he shall gather it. For how is he not a fool, who knew not that the measures of life are with God alone, and that no man is for himself the appointer of his own life? And observe also the expression, They shall require. For as certain harsh tax-gatherers, fearful angels require your soul from you unwilling, as one that, through love of life, clings to the things here; for the righteous man’s soul is not required, but he commits it to God and the Father of spirits, with gladness, and without grieving over the laying down; for the body is laid upon him as a light burden. But the sinner, having made his soul fleshly, and embodied it, and made it earth, has prepared it to be hard to draw away; wherefore also it is said to be required, as a debtor disobedient given over to harsh exactors. And observe how he said not, I require your soul, but, They require; for the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. Truly, then, in the night is the soul of such a one required; for he has not the light of the divine knowledge shining upon him, but, being in the night of the love of wealth, and darkened by this, is overtaken by death. So then, he that lays up treasure for himself, that is, is called a fool, and accomplishes not his counsels, but in the very moment of his counsel is cut off altogether from life. But if he had laid up treasure for the poor and for God, it would not have been thus. Let us therefore be earnest to be rich toward God—that is, to have trusted in him, and to have him as our wealth, and the storehouse of our wealth, and not to say, My goods, but, The goods of God; and if they are God’s goods, let us not deprive God of his goods. This is to be rich toward God, to believe that, even if I give all and empty myself, none of the necessary things shall fail me; for the storehouse of my goods is God, and I open and take the things needful.

Lk. 12:22–26. And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat; neither for the body, what you shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than garments. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them: how much more are you better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If you then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take you thought for the rest?” Little by little the Lord leads on his teaching to the more perfect things. For observe the order. He taught to beware of covetousness, and added the parable concerning the rich man, showing through it that he is a fool who craves the more. Then, advancing in his discourse, he suffers us not to take thought even for the necessary things. As, then, the devil, beginning from the small things, makes us fall into the greater (wherefore he is also named ant-lion by the wise), so on the contrary the Lord, undoing his works, first cuts off the great sins, then points out also the beginnings of these. Having, then, shown us to beware of covetousness, he comes also upon the root of it, that he may cut this too away—I mean care; and he says, Therefore I say to you, since, he says, he is a fool who marks off for himself larger measures of life, and is deceived to crave from this the more, such as was the rich man, for this reason I say to you, Take no thought for your soul what you shall eat—not as though the intellectual soul ate, but since the soul seems not otherwise to endure to be bound to the body, unless we are nourished, for this reason he so spoke. And besides, the body is clothed even when dead, but is not nourished; since, then, to be nourished belongs to the living thing, fittingly he ascribed to the soul the being nourished. Or is not the nutritive power also called soul? Take no thought, then, for the nutritive part of the irrational soul, what you shall eat, nor for the body, what you shall put on. Then he brings forward a reasoning; for he that gave the greater, the soul, will he not give also the nourishment? he that gave the body, will he not give also the clothing? Then from the example of the ravens, that he may nourish us, he brings the birds into the midst. For he might have brought forward holy prophets, such as Elias and Moses; but for the greater shaming he brings the birds. Then he brings forward also another reasoning. Tell me, what do you gain by taking thought? Do you add to your stature even the least? Nay rather you take away from your flesh; for care is a wasting. If, then, you can not add the least, why do you take thought for the rest? For it is plain that, as God gives the growth, so will he give also the rest.

Lk. 12:27–31. Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say to you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? And seek not you what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, neither be you of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knows that you have need of these things. But rather seek you the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added to you. The example also of the lilies he set forth to shame us the more; for if these God so clothes, that not even the glory of Solomon availed ever to be arrayed as one of these, and that, the beauty of the lilies being not necessary, how much more will he clothe us, the precious creature, and that, the clothing being necessary to our body? What then, he says, do you bid us not to farm? He said not, Farm not, but, Take no thought. For to work I forbid not, but to take thought—which is to have one’s hope in oneself—this I deprecate. For he that works indeed, but hopes in God, so passes his life without care. For that he cuts off care as leading away from God, is plain. For he says, Seek not what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, neither be you of doubtful mind. For by doubtfulness of mind he means nothing else than the distraction, and the unstable whirling of the reasoning, which thinks now this, now that, and from this leaps to that, and ever imagines the higher things. Is not this doubtfulness of mind? As, then, leading us away from God, he forbids such care, that is, the doubtfulness of mind, saying that, All these things the nations seek after. For care stops not at the necessary things, but, as I said, ever seeks the higher things; wherefore it is called doubtfulness of mind. What I mean is this: We have not bread, we take thought whence we shall have it, and stop not at this, but also of what sort the wheat-fat shall be; then also wine, and this fragrant, and dainties besides. Do you see the care, and the doubtfulness of mind? For this cause the Lord wholly cuts it off; for the nations seek these things. Then he brings forward another reasoning, that our Father knows that we have need; and not one reasoning, but more. For he is a Father, he says, and if Father, how shall he not give? And he knows too, for he is not ignorant; and you have need, for these things are not superfluous, but necessary. If, then, he is both Father, and you have need, and he knows, how shall he not give? Seek you, then, the kingdom of God as the chief thing, and put away the care about the things of life, as cutting us off from this. And then all these things shall be added to you. For if you seek the small things, you do a thing not pleasing to him; for you put to shame his great-giving. If you seek the great things, those you shall receive, and besides shall have as an addition the small things also. For if he see you occupied about his kingdom, it is altogether necessary that he provide for you in your own things. Or do not we too in our households do thus, caring more for those who have given themselves wholly to our service, and providing for these, as though they provided not for themselves? How much more, then, the Lord? The Lord, then, cuts off the care about the things of life, that he may persuade us to seek his kingdom; for to take thought together with this is not possible.

Lk. 12:32–34. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that you have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses that do not wear out, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches, nor moth corrupts. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The Lord names those who wish to be discipled to him a little flock, either because in this world the saints are little and least through their voluntary possessionlessness and lack of money, or because of being surpassed by the multitude of the angels, which is measureless and incomparably exceeds the things with us. For that the angels are more, is plain from the parable which the Lord spoke, that the shepherd rejoices over the one that strayed and was found, more than over the ninety and nine that strayed not; for he showed from this, that, as the one is to the ninety and nine, so is the human nature to the angelic. Fear not, he says, O little flock—instead of, Disbelieve not that God will provide for you, even though you take not thought. Why? Because it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Since, then, he gives the kingdom, much more the things of earth. Disbelieve not, therefore, that, if you practise possessionlessness, you shall not have one to provide for you; but sell that you have, and give alms, and make a treasure that fails not. Then he persuades us also by irrefutable reasonings. For here, he says, the moth corrupts, but in the heavens not so. Is it not, then, senseless to lay up treasure in a place where there is corruption? Then, since the moth corrupts not gold, he said also, Where no thief approaches. For the moth corrupts not gold, but the thief steals it. Then, since not all are robbed, he adds the greater reasoning altogether and irrefutable. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Be it, he says, that neither moth corrupts nor thief approaches—this very thing, to have the heart nailed to the buried treasure, and to cast the divine thing of the soul into the earth, of how great punishment is it worthy? Nay rather, how is it not the greatest punishment to him that has a mind? Where your treasure is, there is also your heart: if in the earth, this too; if in heaven, there above this also. Who, then, would not choose to be above, and not under the earth—to be an angel, and not a mole that ever dwells under the earth in the burrows?

Lk. 12:35–40. Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning; and be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding, so that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him at once. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he comes in the second watch, or the third watch, and finds them so, blessed are those servants. But know this: if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. You too, then, be ready, for the Son of Man comes at an hour you do not expect. Having made his disciple unencumbered, and stripped him of all worldly care and doubtfulness of mind, and made him light, the Lord now makes him also a minister. For he that wishes to minister must be light and thriving; wherefore he says, Let your loins be girded, which is, Show yourselves ever ready toward the works of your Master. And your lamps burning—which is, Live not in darkness and confusion, but let the light of the word be yours, showing all things to be done and not to be done. This world, then, is night. And those girded about the loins are they who pursue the practical. For such is the fashion of laborers, to whom the lamps too must be added, burning. For together with the practical must be also the gift of discernment, that the practical man may discern, not only what he ought to do, but also how. For many did the good, yet not well; such, then, were girded indeed about the loins, for they wrought, but had not the lamps burning—that is, had not the discernment from the word, but either fell into vainglory, or into some other precipice of folly. And you may understand also this, that first our loins are girded, then the lamps burn. For first is practice, then contemplation, which is the illumination of the mind. For our mind is a lamp, which, when it has the light of God shining in it, then is said to burn. Let us therefore be earnest to practise virtue, that we may have our two lamps burning, the inward word and the uttered word—the inward, ever lightening in the soul, and the uttered, on the tongue. For the one enlightens us within, but the teaching and uttered lamp enlightens others. And let us be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding. And who is this lord? Christ Jesus; who, having taken the human nature as a bride, and united it to himself, made a wedding, being joined to it into one flesh; or rather, he makes not one wedding, but many; for every day he is wedded in heaven, joining to himself the souls of the saints; even as Paul, or whoever is like Paul, presents to him chaste virgins. And he returns from the wedding in the heavens, perhaps universally at the universal consummation, when he shall come from heaven in the glory of the Father; and perhaps also at every hour, in the particular consummation of each one, standing over invisibly and unexpectedly. Blessed, then, is that one whom he shall find girded indeed about the loins, as by the practical part of the philosophy that is according to Christ prepared to serve God, and having the lamp of the word and of discernment burning, and not only doing the good, but also well; nay rather, having also contemplation, as a kind of lamp received. For through the girding of the loins there comes to be in us also the burning lamp of contemplation, nay rather the two lamps, the inward and the uttered. To such a servant, then, the Lord himself becomes a servant. For he will gird himself, he says, and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. For God girds himself, in that he supplies not to us the whole effusion of his good things, but restrains it; for who could contain God, how great he is? as is plain from the Seraphim, who veil themselves through the excess of the divine light. And he makes the good servants to sit down; for he gives them rest wholly through all; for as he that reclines rests the whole body, so also in the coming presence the saints wholly through all are at rest. For here they find no relaxation for the body, but there, together with their souls, their spiritual and divine bodies also, having inherited incorruption, enjoy all rest, and God shall be all in all to them; and he ministers to the worthy, requiting them with equal things; and as they ministered to him, so he too ministering to them, and furnishing them an abundant table, and giving freely the delight of the spiritual gifts. And by the second and third watch you may understand the different hours of our life. As, for instance: as he that watches in the second and third watch seems most wakeful (for these are the hours of the night most apt for sleep to men, and for the first sleep), so understand me also that, in the different state of our life, there are hours which make us blessed, if we be found watching. Has one snatched away your goods, have your children died to you, have you been slandered? if in such seasons you fall not down, but be found watching toward God and Master, and be constrained to do nothing outside his commandments, truly he found you watching in the second and third watch—that is, in a fearful season, and one giving deadly sleep and downfall to the slack souls. There is need, then, of wakefulness. For we are like to a master of the house, who, if he watch, the thief can do nothing against his goods; but if he be drowsy, the thief, taking all, will be gone. And by the thief here some understand the devil, even as by the house the soul, and by the master the man. Yet this interpretation seems not suited to the connection; for to a thief here is the coming of the Lord likened, because of its unexpectedness, as one of the apostles also says, For the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. And here too the Lord, see how, interprets to us who the thief is; for he says, You too, then, be ready, for the Son of man comes at an hour you do not expect. And some say that those watching about the first watch are understood as the more careful than the rest; about the second, those of lower rank; about the third, those yet inferior to these. And others have expounded the different ages: the first, in which we are young; the second, in which we are men; the third, in which we are old men. Blessed, then, is whoever shall be found, in whatever age, watching, and not slackly disposed about the working of the good.

Lk. 12:41–44. Then Peter said to him, “Lord, do you speak this parable to us, or even to all?” And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. Of a truth I say to you, that he will make him ruler over all that he has.” Peter asked, as one caring for all, and burning with zeal for the hearers as a lover of his brethren, and as one now entrusted with the Church, whether he speaks this parable to all. And the Lord openly answers him nothing to the question, but covertly shows that the parable spoken was common, and reached to all, even the ordinary faithful; but, he says, of the one toward you—that is, the apostles, and simply those counted worthy of teaching or rule—now hear: Who then is the faithful and wise steward? The parable before spoken, he says, fits many; but now I speak concerning those counted worthy of rule, saying, I am at a loss who shall be found having these things, both faith and prudence; for rare is such a one and hard to find. For as in the stewardships of money, if one be faithful to his master, but not prudent, the master’s goods are lost, he not being able to administer these as he ought, but, when there is need to give, not giving, and working the loss of more; again, if he be prudent indeed, and inventive, but unfaithful, he would be a thief, and so much the harder to detect, as he is the more prudent; so also in divine things, there is need at once both of faith and of prudence. For I know many seeming earnest in virtue, and godly, and having faith, who, in the not being able to administer prudently the things of the Church, have damaged not only money, but also souls. As, for instance: someone has stumbled in a soul-stumbling, and unless the ruler be prudent, but only having faith—that is, virtue without discernment—either by immoderate rebuke, or by unseasonable meekness, the one who stumbled is destroyed, and is not healed, but is worn down. Whoever, then, shall be found faithful and prudent, shall be set over the household of the Lord—that is, over all the servants—to give to each in due season the portion of meat, whether it be the doctrinal word, by which souls are nourished, or the pattern of deeds, and the ordinance how one ought to live. Such a one, if he be found so doing, is blessed, and over all that the Lord has shall the Lord set him; not only over the servants, but, having now counted him worthy of a higher degree, shall set him over all, so that he has both the earthly things obedient to him and the heavenly—such as Joshua the son of Nun, such as Elias, the one commanding the sun, the other the clouds of heaven; and simply all the saints, as friends of God, using the things of their friend; for common are the things of friends. And everyone who pursues the practical virtue in the quiet life, and administers the servile passions, wrath and desire, and supplies to each in due season the portion of meat—to wrath, so as to hate those that hate the Lord, and to pine away over his enemies; to desire, so as to make a needful providence of the flesh, and to send up the whole of it toward God—everyone such, then, is blessed, and shall attain also to contemplation, and shall be set over all the things of the Lord, counted worthy to behold and oversee all things with the contemplative mind; and not only these things that are not properly his, but also his own.

Lk. 12:45–46. But if that servant says in his heart, My lord delays his coming, and begins to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the lord of that servant will come on a day he does not expect, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. Woe to such servants, who, having received the gift of spiritual oversight, corrupt the stewardship entrusted to them, and drink indeed and are drunken—whether you will understand these things sensibly; for this too befalls the evil rulers of the Churches, who riot upon the goods of the poor—or whether you will understand by drunkenness the distraction of the mind, both in doctrines and in money. And such rulers beat the menservants and maidens—I mean, offending the weaker in the Church, they beat their conscience. For the weak and faint-hearted, seeing me the high priest leading my life ill, is beaten in his conscience, being offended, and receives blows in his heart, and becomes weaker. And all these things befall the wicked servant from his saying, My lord delays his coming; for from slackness, and from not considering the hour of the end, such things come to pass. For if we considered that the Lord is come, and that at the doors is the end and consummation of our life, we should sin less. But observe also the punishment. He will cut him in sunder, he says—that is, will deprive him of the teaching gift. For lest one suppose that the gift will avail him toward not being more severely punished, How, he says, shall the gift avail him, where he is then found stripped of it? for to be cut in sunder signifies this, the being deprived of the grace. For the wretched one is then found flesh, and not spirit; since then are we in the spirit, according to the Apostle, when the Spirit of God dwells in us; but he that has not walked in the spirit, but is in the flesh, and is found without lot in the spiritual manner of life, is ranked with the unbelievers, as being condemned together with the unbelieving world, as having been profited nothing from the seeming faith; for the true faith was not in him; for if the true faith had been in him, he would have been a faithful steward; but now, since he was drinking, and drunken, and corrupting the master’s goods, he had not the true faith, which the stewards of his mysteries are required to have; for, being deprived of the gift and stripped.

Lk. 12:47–48. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and prepared not himself, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, and did what deserved stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, of him the more will be asked. Here the Lord shows us something more and more fearful. For not only, he says, shall such a one be stripped of the gift, and it avail him nothing toward release from punishments, but the greatness of his dignity shall become to him a cause of greater condemnation. For by how much, knowing, he stumbled, by so much greater punishment does he make for himself. And by the things following he makes this plainer. For that which was given, he says, much, much also shall be required of him; and to whom they committed much, the more shall they ask of him. For by these things he hints at the punishment owed to the teachers, as being greater. And there is given to the teachers and committed to them: there is given, as it were, the gift of working wonders and of healing diseases; and there is committed to them the gift of the word and of teaching. Concerning the, There is given, then, he said not that they shall require the more; but concerning the, There is committed; for truly the gift of the word needs working out, and the teacher is required the more. For he ought not to be slack, but to multiply the talent of the word; the, It was committed, then, instead of, To whom much was lent, you ought to understand; for the loan he here named a deposit. But certain inquire: Be it, the one who knew the will of his master, and did it not, is justly punished; but he that knew not, why is he punished? Because, being able himself also to learn, he nevertheless willed not, but from slackness became himself to himself the cause of not learning; so that for this he is to be punished, that willingly he learned not. Let us shudder, brethren; for if he that knew not at all is worthy of stripes, what word shall release those who offend in knowledge, and especially if they be also teachers? For the heavier is the condemnation of these.

Lk. 12:49. I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I want, if it is already kindled? By fire is understood both the preaching—for the word is a fire devouring every material and refuse thought, and doing away the idols of whatever matter they be; and there is understood also the zeal for the good kindled in each of us; and perhaps this too, coming to pass through the word of God, differs not from the former. With this fire, then, the Lord wishes our hearts to be kindled; for we ought to have a burning zeal for the good. For, What do I want, means, How greatly I want it, that it were already kindled. For he hastens the kindling of this fire, even as Paul also says, Fervent in the spirit. And again, For I am jealous over you with the jealousy of God. And by baptism he means his own death.

Lk. 12:50. But I have a baptism to undergo, and how hard-pressed I am until it is accomplished! By baptism he means his own death. For since this fire was not otherwise to be kindled, except after his death—for from then the preaching and the zeal increased—for this reason he speaks also concerning his death, naming it a baptism. And desiring this exceedingly, he says, how hard-pressed I am—instead of, How greatly I am anxious and afflicted, until it is accomplished? For I thirst for the death that is on behalf of the salvation of all. And the Lord came to cast this fire, not only upon all the earth, into which the word and the faith were spread, but also upon the soul of each one, which is a land bearing thorns and unfruitful, but, by the divine word as by fire kindled, and becoming receptive of the divine seeds, and bearing fruit spiritually. For when the divine grace touches some soul invisibly, it seems to be set aflame with the longing for God, as it is not possible to say; even as, of course, those about Cleopas, being kindled invisibly by such a fire of the grace of God, said, Did not our heart burn within us? Whoever, then, has suffered such a passion will know what is said. And many suffer it, and oftentimes, when the divine Scriptures are read, or the lives of the holy Fathers, or when certain exhort and teach, being kindled toward the good in their souls; and some to the end, but some are presently cooled again.

Lk. 12:51–53. Do you suppose that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Christ is our peace; yet, I came not, he says, to give peace. Whence the saying seems like a riddle. We say, then, that not all peace is blameless and good, but there is one that is oftentimes perilous, and severs from the divine love—such as when we are at peace, and agree together, to the overthrow of the truth. This peace, then, Christ wills not to give, but on the contrary wills us to be at variance with one another for the good’s sake; and so it came to pass in the persecution. For in one house a Greek father was at variance with a believing son, and a mother with a daughter, and the reverse. But how, having said that five in one house should be divided, did he in the reckoning set six persons? We say, then, that one person was taken twice. For the daughter and the daughter-in-law are the same person, which, as toward the mother, is named daughter, but as toward the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law. Three, then, shall be divided—the father, and the mother, and the mother-in-law—against two—that is, the son and the daughter. For the daughter, as we have said, being one person, in that she takes on two relations, according to this seems to be two persons, being reckoned with the mother and with the mother-in-law. And understand me simply by father and mother and mother-in-law all the old things, and by son and daughter all the new. The Lord, then, wills his new and divine commandments and doctrines to fight against all our old and sinful habits and doctrines. And understand also thus: by father the mind, by son the word; a division, then, of these came to pass in the one house, the man, I mean. As, for plainer instance: the mind of Dionysius the Areopagite was illumined, and received the preaching; but against this his mind, which without demonstration received the faith, fought the Greek word, attempting to demonstrate, and constraining it to follow dialectical methods. Do you see a division of father and son, fighting one another for Christ and the preaching? And the understanding you may call mother and mother-in-law, and the sense daughter and daughter-in-law. And against these too a battle stands for Christ—the understanding against the sense, when the understanding persuades to prefer the things not flowing to the flowing, the things invisible to the visible, and has to this many demonstrations as helpers. And there is when also against the understanding a war is joined by the sense; for the sense, being led by the wonders and the seen signs to faith, is not persuaded by the reasonings of the understanding, nor wishes to follow the Greek demonstrations, which constrain those who attend to them not to believe that God became man, or that a virgin bore. For such are the prattlings of the Greek reasonings, slaves to nature. The sense, however, through the seen wonders, is a guide to the knowledge of God better than every demonstration. Not all peace, then, and concord is good, but there is when a battle also and division is good—against the wicked, even though it be father, even though mother be foes of the truth’s friends.

Lk. 12:54–59. And he said also to the people, “When you see a cloud rise out of the west, immediately you say, There comes a shower; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, There will be heat; and it comes to pass. You hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that you do not discern this time? Yea, and why even of yourselves judge you not what is right? When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, as you are in the way, give diligence that you may be delivered from him; lest he hale you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer cast you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart thence, till you have paid the very last mite.” Since he had discoursed concerning the preaching, and named it both fire and sword, and it was likely that the hearers should be troubled, not understanding what was said, he says, that, As you discern the qualities of the air from certain signs, so you ought to recognize also my coming, both from the things said and from the things done by me. For my words show me to be set against you, and my works likewise. For you are publicans and rapacious, but I have not where to lay my head. You ought, then, as from the cloud to conjecture the shower, and from the south wind the heat, so also to discern the time of my coming, and to conjecture that I came not to give peace, but a shower and a tumult. For I too am a cloud, and I come from the west—I mean from the human nature, which formerly was low, and had much of the gloom that comes from sin. But also I came to cast fire, and to make a burning heat; for I am a south wind, a warm wind, and contrary to the coldness of the north; since I appeared also from Bethlehem, which lies toward the south. Having said these things, he teaches them also henceforth concerning a peace that is praiseworthy; for since he showed the praiseworthy division, he shows also the blameless peace; and he says, that, When the adversary drags you to the tribunal, in the way give diligence, contend; for the, Give diligence, means this—to devise every way to be delivered from him; and in another sense, the, Give diligence, is understood instead of, Even if you have nothing, borrow, and give diligence—that is, interest—to be delivered from him; lest he hale you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer—that is, to the exactor—and he cast you into prison, till you pay the very last mite. And these things the Lord says, frightening through them the grosser sort, and gathering them to peace; for knowing that fear of loss and of punishments restrains the more earthly, for this cause he says these things. And they are understood also of the devil; for he is our adversary. In the way, then—I mean in this life—being, let us give diligence, working virtue, to be delivered from him, and to have nothing common with him, lest at any time in the judgment to come he deliver us to the judge. For his works, which here we wrought, these deliver us up to the judgment, and the judge delivers us to the officer—that is, to some punishing and evil-working power; and thereupon it torments us, until we pay the penalties even of the small sins, and fulfil the measure of punishment. So that we shall be punished. For if till then we are in prison, and we shall never be able to pay, it is plain that the punishment is everlasting.

Chapter 13

Lk. 13:1–5. There were some present at that time who reported to him about the Galilæans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you think that these Galilæans were sinners beyond all the other Galilæans, because they suffered such things? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish likewise. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them—do you think that they were more guilty than everyone else living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way. Judas the Galilæan, of whom this same evangelist makes mention also in the Acts, being supposedly a man learned in the law, persuaded many other Galilæans to be drawn away after his own doctrine. And he taught that no man should endure even so much as with the mouth to call any one lord, neither for any honour and courtesy, not even the reigning emperor himself; whence many of them, for not calling Cæsar lord, were grievously tortured. And they taught that nothing ought to be offered beyond the sacrifices ordained by Moses; wherefore they hindered the sacrifices that were made for Cæsar and for the nation of the Romans. It is likely, then, that Pilate, being indignant at these things, commanded these Galilæans to be slaughtered at the very sacrifices which were forbidden by them to be made for the nation of the Romans, so that their blood was mingled with the blood of the sacrifices. Certain men, then, reported these things to the Saviour as though they were done for piety’s sake, wishing to learn what was pleasing to him concerning them. For some supposed that they had suffered most justly as sinners, inasmuch as they had stirred up sedition, and had provoked Pilate to hate the Jews; for their sedition, which was for not calling Cæsar lord, touched the whole nation of the Jews. The Saviour, therefore, denies not indeed that they were sinners, yet he says not that they suffered these things as being more sinful than the rest who had not suffered. For, he says, if you too repent not, and, ceasing from sedition and from kindling civil wars, hasten not to serve God by your works, you shall suffer worse things; for under the pretext of piety you clothe yourselves with a [false] reputation, and turn aside to civil seditions. And the tower that fell in Siloam was a token of the things that should afterward befall the people; for through the few who then were destroyed he instructed the many, that they too should suffer the worse things; for the tower is a foreshadowing of the whole city, and the eighteen of the whole nation. When the city, then, fell under Titus, the whole nation perished together with it, abiding in their unbelief. Let this be to us an admonition with respect to all things that daily befall us. For let us not, because certain men fall into [calamities] while we are left untried, take this as ground for utter unconcern, [as though] we are left untried because we are righteous; but [let us rather judge] that those suffered in order that we might be made better, and if we are not, [then we too shall suffer] the worse things.

Lk. 13:6–9. And he spoke this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he to the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbers it the ground? And he answering said to him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and cast dung [upon it]: and if it bear fruit, [well]: but if not, then after that you shall cut it down. Fittingly he brings in this parable; for since he had said, Except you repent, you shall perish, with reason he subjoins this parable. The fig tree, then, is the generation of the Jews, putting forth leaves only, and bitter ones, but yielding no fruit. And it stood in the vineyard of God, [namely] in the Jewish commonwealth. The householder, Christ, having come and sought in it the fruit of faith and of well-doing, found none. And three years he came—through Moses, through the prophets, and the third time through himself; yet afterward, when they repented not, he cut them off from the love of God; for no longer are they called a portion of the Lord and a holy people, but into their place were brought in the nations that are able to bear fruit. And the whole of mankind too might be understood as the fig tree; the householder, God and Father; and the vine-dresser, the Son of God, who came to sojourn [among us] that he might labour over and cleanse our vineyard. Christ suffers not this fig tree to be cut down as unfruitful, saying such things as these: Let it alone this year also. If through the law and the prophets they were not bettered, and gave not the fruit of repentance, yet will I also water them with my own doctrines and sufferings; and if they bear the fruit of obedience, [well]; but if not, then after that you shall cut it down, cutting them off from the portion of the righteous. And our nature, sought a third time for fruit, gave it not: once, when in paradise we transgressed the commandment; secondly, when under the law they made the calf, and changed the glory of God into the likeness of a calf that eats grass; and thirdly, when they refused the Saviour and Lord, saying, We have no king but Cæsar. And each one of us also is a fig tree in the vineyard of God, the Church—or, to speak simply, planted in this world. God comes, then, seeking fruit, and if he find you unfruitful, he commands [you] to be cut off from this life; [but] the vine-dresser entreats him to spare. And who is the vine-dresser? Either the angel that is each man’s guardian, or even the man himself; for each is his own vine-dresser. Oftentimes, then, falling into deadly sicknesses or other dangers, we say, Spare, O Lord, this year also, and we will repent; for this is what the digging and the casting of dung about it signify. For the soul is digged when it shakes off the dust of the cares of this life, and is lightened. And dung is cast about it, [that is,] the warmth of the more dishonoured manner of life that is trodden under foot by all; for when one casts himself down from glory into an inglorious life for the soul’s salvation, this is called the casting of dung about the soul, that it may bear fruit. If, then, we bear fruit, [well]; but if not, he no longer leaves us in his vineyard, but cuts us off out of this world, that we cumber not the place. For one who sees the sinner long-lived is harmed, and becomes worse; and so the sinner is found neither bearing fruit himself, nor [letting] another who is able to bear fruit. But if he be cut off from this life, perhaps those who see him cut off, coming to a sense [of themselves], shall change and bear fruit. And the householder is said to come three years to the fig tree, perhaps both because of the three laws given to us, through which the Lord comes to us; and these are the natural, the [law] of Moses, and the spiritual. For we ought, being instructed by the natural law, to bear fruit; for nature herself teaches what is due; but since he found the natural [law] useless in us, he gave the Mosaic as a helper of the natural law; and since this too was found useless through our slothfulness, he gives the spiritual. When, then, these three better not a man’s soul, nor is it bettered by [his] long-suffering and love toward man, then indeed for the time to come it is no longer let alone; for God is not oftentimes deceived by [our] delays. And may you understand by the three years also the three estates of the ages [of life]? The childish, that is, of striplings, which is reckoned at about eighteen years; the manly; and the third, of those already beginning to grow grey. When, then, in old age, the third year, we give not fruit, and are yet suffered to live that dung may be cast about [us]—having taken up the dishonoured life for Christ’s sake—and then even so prove false, the Lord will no longer spare us, but will cut us off, that we cumber not the ground and harm others. This interpretation seems to me to be the more suited to the present aim.

Lk. 13:10–17. Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And behold, a woman was there who had had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, Woman, you are freed from your infirmity. And he laid his hands on her, and at once she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the crowd, There are six days on which work ought to be done; come and be healed on those days, and not on the sabbath day. Then the Lord answered him and said, Hypocrite, does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? And should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has bound eighteen years, be freed from this bondage on the sabbath day? And as he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things done by him. By a malicious assault of the devil this affliction befell the woman, even as indeed the Lord himself says, whom Satan has bound eighteen years. For perhaps, being for certain faults forsaken by God, she was punished by Satan. For he is the cause to the bodies of men of all grievous things, when from above it is permitted by God; since from the beginning he became to us the procurer of falling away from the incorruption for which we were created, and of being bound to a sickly body receptive of sufferings; for by this we altogether understand the coats of skin. The Lord, however, with a voice most befitting God and full of authority, drives away the sickness of this woman. And he lays his hands also upon her, that we may learn that the holy flesh bore the power and the energy of the Word; for it was his own, and not of any other beside him, existing apart and as a separate hypostasis, as indeed it seems to the impious Nestorius. Such, then, was the goodness of the Lord, and thus did he have mercy on his own creature. But he that from the beginning had bound the woman, Satan, being vexed at her loosing, as wishing her to be the more ill-treated, binds the ruler of the synagogue with envy, and through this man’s mouth assails the miracle; thus everywhere does he set himself against good things. He is indignant, then, that the healing came to pass on the sabbath, for which the Lord reproves him by a most graceful example of the irrational beasts; whence not he alone, but all the rest also that were set against Jesus were put to shame by his words. For it was exceedingly senseless to forbid a man to be healed on the sabbath, because of the idleness, forsooth, that was enjoined by the law upon the sabbath. The adversaries of Jesus, then, were put to shame by his words, but the multitudes rejoiced at his works—those [adversaries] indeed rejoiced not at the works, but were consumed [with envy] while Christ wrought wonders; but they of the multitude, as being profited by the signs, rejoiced, enjoying the healings. And take me these miracles also with respect to the inner man: for the soul is bowed together when it inclines toward earthly cares alone, and imagines nothing heavenly or divine; wherefore it is said to be sick eighteen years. For when one is weak concerning the keeping of the commandments of the divine law, which are ten, and concerning the hope of the eighth age, he is said to be bowed together eighteen years; or is not he that cleaves to the earth, and ever sins, both setting at nought the commandments, and not looking for the age to come? But the Lord on the sabbath and in the synagogue heals such a soul. For when one gathers within himself the reasonings of confession—for Judah is interpreted confession—and has a sabbath, that is, a rest from evils, then Jesus heals him, not by word only, saying to him, You are loosed from your infirmity, but [giving him] also his hands, that he may receive the healing as a fellow-working toward the doing of the works of virtue.

Lk. 13:18–22. And he said, What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his garden; and it grew and became a great tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches. And again he said, To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened. And he went through cities and villages teaching, and making his way toward Jerusalem. To a grain of mustard seed he likens the kingdom of God; and the kingdom of God is the word and the preaching. For through the preaching he reigned over the souls of men. As, then, the mustard seems to be small, but has great power, so also the word of the Gospel is despised by the many, and seems to be foolishness; but a man, having taken it and cast it into his garden, that is, into his own soul, makes [of it] a great tree, so that there are branches to it, and the fowls of the air—which is to say, the men that wish to fly aloft—lodge in these branches. For they that are lifted above earthly things rest in the branches of the preaching, that is, in its expanded meanings. As, for example: Paul took a grain, the small catechizing of Ananias; but having planted this grain in his rich garden, he made branches, [I mean] the many and beautiful teachings and epistles, in which lodged not only the lofty and wise in mind and wisdom of that time, such as the Corinthians, Dionysius, Hierotheus, and very many others, but also those of every several time. The grain of mustard seed may be understood to be the Lord himself, mean indeed in appearance—for he was the son of a carpenter, and most poor—but having fallen into the heart of the earth by being put to death, and being buried in the garden, he made fair branches, the apostles, on whom rest all those formerly carried about by every wind of error, such as those of the nations, who are compared to fowls because of the easily-turned and easily-deceived [nature] of their reasoning, and its great fulness of levity. For such are all that are in error, like to the fowls of the heaven, that is, of the air. Again, the divine word is like leaven, which a woman, that is, human nature, took and hid in three measures of meal, that is, in body, soul, and spirit, that these might be sanctified, even as the blessed Paul says, and become one lump by the communion with the Holy Spirit. And you may understand by the woman the soul, and by the three measures its threefold [part]—the rational, the irascible, and the concupiscible. If, then, one hide the word of God in this threefold [part], he will make the whole of it spiritual, so that neither does the reasoning [part] err in the doctrines, nor are anger and desire borne irrationally, but they are leavened and made like to the word of God. And Jesus went through the cities and villages, teaching; for neither did he visit the small only, such as the villages, while neglecting the cities—which they do that wish to deceive the simpler sort—nor, visiting the cities as one fond of display and a lover of glory, did he neglect the small, but as the common Master, or rather the Father providing for all, he went about everywhere. Did he, then, go about the cities without, in which there were not so many learned in the law, but flee from Jerusalem, as fearing the reproofs from those learned in the law, or apprehending the death [coming] from them? It cannot be said; but rather, since the sick were more [there], there rather did he press in.

Lk. 13:23–30. Then said one to him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said to them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and has shut to the door, and you begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence you are: then shall you begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets. And he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence you are; depart from me, all you workers of unrighteousness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east and from the west, and from the north and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last. Few are they that are saved, because it is not possible for many to be received by the strait [gate]. The householder, then, is the Lord, and he calls together all men to a banquet and to the enjoyment of the goods that are not to be spent; as many, therefore, as are diligent hasten to enter even up to the hour of the dinner. But as many as are more sluggish, coming after the hour of the dinner, are shut out. And what is the hour of the dinner, but the present life? For this is truly the season fit for the spiritual preparation toward being feasted. When, therefore, the householder is risen up, that is, rises up to judgment, and shuts the door—the way of virtue, I mean, which after the departure hence is no longer travelled, for while we are in this life the way of virtue is travelled—they that have lived here more carelessly begin to knock at the door; for then indeed, then, by unprofitable repentance they seek out the way of virtue with bare words, as with certain clappings and knockings calling it back, while works are absent. But the householder, having now justly shut [the door], makes as though he knew not even whence they are; and with reason, for they are of the devil, and the Lord knows them that are his. And the [saying], We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets, is said simply thus to Israel. For of them was Christ according to the flesh, and with them he ate and drank. Yet may it also be understood more loftily, the [saying], In your presence we have eaten and drunk; for, performing the legal service, and offering to God the sacrifices by blood, they ate and made merry, and heard also the divine books in the synagogues. For altogether the Lord taught also through the prophets; for the prophets put not forth their own things, but uttered the things of God, wherefore they said also, Thus says the Lord. But the service by blood sufficed not the Jews to justification, since they admitted not the faith that justifies the ungodly. And to the Christians of my own day also, who are careless in their life, these things may be fitted; for do not we too eat the divine Body, and drink the Blood of God, in his presence, approaching daily to the mystic table, and does not the Lord teach in the streets of our souls? But there is no profit, if we become hearers of the divine law, and not doers; nay rather, on the contrary, the hearing becomes to us an occasion of greater torments, even as also the partaking of the divine holy things becomes [an occasion] of judgment. And observe that they are cast out, in whose streets the Lord teaches; whereas if we have him teaching not in streets, but in strait and afflicted and contrite hearts, we shall not be cast out. And the [saying], There shall be weeping, when you shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, fits indeed the Israelites, to whom he discoursed these things, and still also the unbelievers of every time. For the Jews were stung most of all by hearing this, that others, of the nations, should rest with Abraham and the fathers, but they themselves should be thrust out. And it fits us also, who do not the things consequent upon the faith; for we too, glorying in the law of Christ, and then by transgression of it setting him at nought, are first indeed in seeming, as having been catechized in the word from our swaddling-clothes, [yet become last]; while those at the end of life [are] preferred, [obtaining] the time of life [though they came] toward the end.

Lk. 13:31–33. On that same day some Pharisees came up and said to him, Get out and go away from here, for Herod wants to kill you. And he said to them, Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and on the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must journey on to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside Jerusalem. Wasting away with envy, the accursed Pharisees attempt to affright the Lord, and threaten him with Herod; for they wished not to see him working wonders, lest by the multitude of the signs he should draw the crowds to himself, and, teaching by the power of the word, should turn them toward himself. They make Herod, then, their pretext, and feign to care for the Saviour. But he, knowing their hearts, mildly and under a veil, as was his custom, answers them, and says, Tell that fox; and he seems indeed to name Herod a fox, but rather the Pharisees, if one consider accurately. For he said not, to that fox [yonder], but to this [fox], using a certain middle expression, and that skilfully. For by saying in the singular fox, he gave those men to suppose Herod; but by saying demonstratively this, he hinted at those very crafty men; for in truth the Pharisees displayed the cunning and perverse [nature] of the fox. And see me how he answers them according to their malice. For since they, envying because of the healings, shook over him the fear from Herod, he says that very thing which he knew would grieve them: Behold, he says, I do cures, and cast out devils; for, as has been said before, for this cause they drove him away, that he might not, using the display of marvels, ensnare many to believing on him. And the [saying], to day and to morrow, signifies more days. As, then, we too are wont in common speech to say, To day and to morrow such a thing happens, not at all shutting up the work within so great an interval, but signifying that it shall come to pass quickly; so also Christ, having said, I do cures to day and to morrow, and on the third day I shall be perfected, signified not at all this, that he should of necessity be perfected on the third day, but signifies that his death should come to pass shortly. Nevertheless I must to day and to morrow, that is, for some time, remain here working wonders, and on the day following journey to Jerusalem; for there I appointed for myself the passion. For since they said to him, Get you out, for Herod is about to slay you—and these things they said in Galilee, for Herod ruled over it—he shows them that, even though Herod take much counsel, it shall not be his to slay him; for not in Galilee, but in Jerusalem, was it foreordained for him to suffer. And that I may set forth to you the saying of the Gospel more clearly: understand not that I must to day and to morrow journey, but rather, stay until the to day and to morrow; and so take the [saying], to journey on the day following—even as we, often numbering, are wont to say, I go out on the Lord’s day, the second, and the third—not as about to go out both on the Lord’s day and on the second, but only numbering off the two, that I may signify the third. So, then, the Lord here also, as it were numbering off, says, I must to day and to morrow, then on the third journey to Jerusalem; for there has the end been appointed for me. And, as we said above, not as shutting up his own life within three days does the Lord say these things, but he hints at more days indeed, yet not a very long time. For he says, as it were, such things as these to those that envy him: Why do you meditate my death? Behold, after a little this comes to pass. And when you hear that it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem, think not that a forcible necessity is laid upon the Jews to do such things from the fact that such things are written, but that this is said in accordance with their murderous purpose; just as, seeing a most murderous robber lying in wait upon a road, one might say, It cannot be that this road, on which the robber lies in wait for the wayfarers, be clean of blood; for altogether he speaks the consequence of the robber’s works. So [too], by reason of the Pharisees and Scribes, it was not possible that the Master of the prophets [should perish] elsewhere; for being accustomed to such things…

Lk. 13:34–35. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kill the prophets, and stone them that are sent to you; how often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen does gather her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left to you desolate: truly I say to you, You shall not see me henceforth, until you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. By the doubling of the name he shows the tender affection which the Lord has toward them; for as some lover despised by his beloved, so does he call back the adulterous Synagogue. And he shows also his own love toward man, that oftentimes he wished to gather them together, and signifies their senselessness in saying, You would not; I leave you henceforth. For so greatly did I hate your wickedness, that I say the temple is not even my house, but your house; for as long as virtue had its citizenship among you, the temple too was mine; but since you defiled it also, and made it a place of merchandise and a den of robbers by your much huckstering, and, by the money-loving of your mind, slaying one another—for this is the trade of robbery, to trip up the brother and seize his goods, which the robbers also do, for, tripping up the wayfarers, so then they take away their goods—since, then, you made the temple a den of robbers by the kind of traffickings which you carried on in the very house of prayer, it is no longer my house, but yours. And not the temple only shall you understand [as] the house, but also the whole generation of the Jews; for the Scripture knows to name the race also a house, as the [saying], O house of Levi, bless you the Lord. And here too may the [word] house be understood instead of, your race is left [forsaken] by me; as also through the prophet elsewhere he says, I have forsaken my house, I have left my inheritance; for there he calls the Israelites a house. And he shows that even before this he was himself the one holding them together, and delivering them from the enemies. And the [saying], You shall not see me until you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord, signifies the second coming. For then even against their will shall they confess him Saviour and Lord, when it shall profit them nothing. What then? Did they not see him from the time he said these things? Yea truly. When, then, he says, You shall not see me from now, he signifies not that hour then, but the time after the cross; as if he said, From the time you crucify me, you shall no more see me, until I come again.

Chapter 14

Lk. 14:1–6. And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees on the sabbath to eat bread, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a certain man before him who had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spoke to the Pharisees and lawyers, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; and answering them said, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day? And they could not answer him again to these things. Even though the Lord knew the perverseness of the Pharisees, yet he entered into their houses; for he had a care for the profit of souls, and for this cause he entered; for either from word and teaching, or from the display of signs, it was possible for them to be profited, if they were but willing. When, therefore, the man with the dropsy had come into the midst, the Lord regarded not this, how he might not offend them, but how he might do good to the man that needed healing. For it behoves us, where very great profit arises, not to take thought of those who are senselessly offended. And he reproves the folly of those who were about to accuse him, wherefore he also asks, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not? For does he not openly laugh them to scorn as senseless men?—seeing that, though God blessed the sabbath, they forbid to do good on it, and make it altogether accursed. For the day that admits no good work is not blessed. But these men, perceiving where the question tended, held their peace; then indeed Jesus does his own work, and by the touch heals the man; then by this he also puts the Pharisees to shame, all but saying to them such things as these: If the law has forbidden to show mercy on the sabbath, take no thought of a son that is in peril on the sabbath? And why do I say a son? when you will not leave even an ox unhelped, if you see him in peril? How then is it not senseless to watch closely against the healing of the man with the dropsy on the sabbath? And every one too is a man with the dropsy who, having through a loose and fluid manner of life sickened grievously in soul, has need of Christ; therefore he also shall be healed, if he come to be before Christ. For he that ever bethinks himself to be before God, and to be seen of him, shall sin very little.

Lk. 14:7–11. And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying to them, When you are bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than you be bidden of him; and he that bade you and him come and say to you, Give this man place; and you begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when you are bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade you comes, he may say to you, Friend, go up higher: then shall you have glory in the presence of them that sit at meat with you. For whoever exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. Do you see what kind of things the dinners of Christ are—turning to the profit of souls, not to the surfeit of the belly? For behold, he healed the man with the dropsy, he taught the Pharisees that it is good to do good on the sabbath. And since he saw them troubled also about the chief seat, he heals this affliction too, which takes its beginning not from a small occasion, but from a great and hardly-escaped one, I mean vainglory; and let no one think the teaching concerning this to be a small thing, and unworthy of the magnificence of God. For indeed you would not even call a physician a lover of man, who professed to heal the gout and such diseases as are of note, but undertook not to treat the bruising of a finger or the aching of a tooth. Moreover, how is the passion of vainglory a small thing, which altogether troubled those that sought the chief seats? It behoved, then, it behoved Christ, the teacher and author and finisher of humility, to cut off every branch of the wicked root of vainglory. And reckon me this also: if it were not the season of the table, and the Lord, leaving discourses about other things, discoursed about these, the censure would have reason; but now, when there was a dinner, and the passion of love of precedence was, before the eyes of the Saviour, troubling the wretched men, the exhortation had its season. For see, moreover, from how great a blemish it frees a man, and how it makes him orderly. For of how much shame is it full, when, having sought the place that befits you not, then, when the more honourable man comes, he that bade you says, Give this man place—and this oftentimes—and you yourself go down, while they sit in the first seats? And how worthy of praise is the contrary, when he that is worthy of the first seat, having gone down at the beginning, is then found in the first seat, all yielding to him the first places? Does so great an exhortation of the Lord seem to you a small thing, which sketches the greatest of the virtues, humility, and sets it in the souls of the hearers, and brings him that hears it to seemliness?—even that which the disciple of Christ, Paul, afterward said: Let all things be done decently and in order. How, then, shall this come to pass? Let no man seek his own, but each that of the other. Do you see the disciple uttering the same things as the teacher? And the [saying], Whoever exalts himself shall be abased, how shall we understand it? For indeed many in this life, exalting themselves, enjoy honour. This, then, is to be abased—when one enjoys greater honour in the world; for then he is wretched and lowly with God. And, besides, not to the end, nor with all, is such a one honoured, but, in so far as he is honoured by these, those tear him in pieces, or even these very ones that honour him. True, therefore, is the declaration of the Truth. And every one unworthy of exaltation, who usurps it, shall be abased—both with God, at the last judgment, and in this life too most of all; and by nature every man is unworthy of exaltation. Let no one, then, be lifted up, lest he be abased to the uttermost.

Lk. 14:12–15. Then said he also to him that bade him, When you make a dinner or a supper, call not your friends, nor your brethren, neither your kinsmen, nor your rich neighbours; lest they also bid you again, and a recompense be made you. But when you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and you shall be blessed; for they cannot recompense you: for you shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. The dinner being made up of two parts, both of those who invite and of those who are invited, the part of the invited he first took in hand, leading them by exhortation toward the saving humble-mindedness, and setting before them a relish that is not to be spent; and for the rest he repays the inviter with a like generosity, and feasts him in return by exhortation, drawing him away from making his feasts for the sake of some human favour, and looking for the immediate recompense. For the small-souled, calling friends or kinsmen, do this for the sake of the favour [returned] forthwith, and if they obtain it not, are vexed. But the great-souled, awaiting the future from him who is truly rich, look for the recompenses. And the Lord, in saying these things, debars us not from honour toward friends, but instructs us not to sell our kindly courtesy. And one, having heard these things, and supposed that God will repay with a like generosity, and feast the just in return with bodily tables, said, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. For he was not spiritual, that he should understand the things above sense, but was yet natural, that is, governed by human reasonings; for such is the natural [man], believing nothing above nature, but understanding all things according to nature. For there are three estates, the carnal, the natural, and the spiritual. And the carnal is, when one wishes to be pleased, and to rejoice, together with doing evil also to others, such as is the whole tribe of the covetous; and the natural estate is, when one wishes neither to harm nor to be harmed; for this is to live according to nature, since nature herself suggests this to us; and the spiritual is, when one wishes even to be harmed for the good’s sake, and to be ill-treated. The first, then, is contrary to nature, the middle according to nature, and the third above nature. Every one, therefore, that minds human things, and is able to understand nothing of the things above nature, is called natural, as being governed by soul and spirit; but when one is led by the Spirit, and no longer lives himself, but Christ lives in him, this is the spiritual man, who has risen above nature. He, then, was natural who supposed that the recompenses to the saints would be perceptible by sense, as being able to understand nothing of the things above nature.

Lk. 14:16–20. Then he said to him, A certain man gave a great supper, and invited many: and he sent his servant at supper time to tell those who had been invited, Come; for everything is now ready. And they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it: I beg you, hold me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out: I beg you, hold me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. When he that sat at meat had said, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God, the Lord teaches him more amply how we ought to understand the feasts of God. And so he speaks a parable of this sort, naming by the [word] man his loving Father. For when God hints at his punitive power, he is named in the Scripture panther, and leopard, and bear; but when he is about to hint at some love toward man, a man is brought in, even as also now; since the parable treats of the most loving dispensation which he wrought in us, having made us partakers of the flesh of his own Son, [who is] God, he named him a man. And he called this dispensation a great supper—a supper, because in the last seasons, and as it were at the setting of the age, the Lord came. And great is this supper, since confessedly great is the mystery of our salvation. And he sent his servant at supper time. Who is this servant? The Son of God, who took the form of a servant, becoming man, and as man is said to be sent. And mark how he said not, a servant, but with the article, the servant—the one, he says, who in his manhood was properly well-pleasing to him, and served well. For not only as Son and God is he well-pleasing to the Father, but also as man, he alone, having sinlessly ministered to all the counsels and commandments of the Father, and fulfilled all righteousness, is said to have served God and the Father; wherefore he alone may properly be called the servant of God. And he was sent at supper time, that is, in the appointed and fitting season. For there was no other season fitter for our salvation than that under the empire of Augustus Cæsar, when, wickedness being come to a head, it behoved it to be taken down. For as physicians suffer a festering and malignant disease to break out all its evil humour, and then so apply the remedies, so also it behoved sin to display all its own kinds, and then for the great Physician to lay on the medicine. For this cause the Lord waited for the devil to fill up the measure of wickedness, and so, being made flesh, he healed every kind of wickedness through all his holy manner of life. He was sent, then, in the [right] hour, that is, in the seasonable and fitting time, even as David also says: Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty One, in your comeliness; for altogether the sword is the word of God, and by the thigh is signified the birth in the flesh, which came to pass in comeliness, that is, in the fitting season. And he was sent to say to them that were bidden. And who are these that were bidden? Perhaps indeed all men; for God called all to the knowledge of him, partly through the good order of the things that are seen, and partly through the natural law; but perhaps more properly those of Israel, who were called through the law and the prophets. To these, then, the Lord was sent first, to the sheep of the house of Israel. He, then, said, Come; for all things are now ready; for the Lord brought to all the good tidings that the kingdom of heaven is near, and within you. But they all with one consent began to make excuse, that is, as from one agreement; for all the rulers of the Jews, having refused to have Jesus for their king, were not even counted worthy of the supper; the one through love of riches, the other through love of pleasure. For he that bought the field, and he [that bought] the yoke of oxen, may be understood as lovers of riches; and he that married a wife, a lover of pleasure. And, if you will, he buys a field who, because of the wisdom of the world, receives not the mystery. For the field is the world, and nature simply; and he that looks to nature receives not that which is above nature. Seeing, then, the field—that is, looking to the laws of nature—the Pharisee received not that a virgin should bear God, as being above nature; nay, all those also that boast in the outward wisdom, because of this field, that is, nature, were ignorant of Jesus who innovated upon nature. And he that bought five yoke of oxen, and proves them, may be understood as the lover of matter, who yoked the five senses of the soul to the bodily [senses], and made the soul flesh; for this cause, as one busied about the earth, he wishes not to partake of the rational supper; for the wise man too says, How shall he be made wise that holds the plough? And he that falls away because of the wife may be the lover of pleasure, who, cleaving to the flesh, the consort of the soul, and being in it, as glued to it, cannot please God. And you may understand all these things also according to the letter; for we too fall away from God when we cleave to these things, and break our necks over them all our life, but imagine no divine thought or [deed].

Lk. 14:21–24. And the servant returned, and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor, and the maimed, and the lame, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it has been done as you commanded, and there is still room. And the lord said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my supper. Cast off, then, were the rulers of the Jews, and none of these believed on Christ, even as they themselves boasted in their wickedness. For, it says, Have any of the rulers believed on him? These, then, the men learned in the law, and the Scribes, as the prophet says, being made foolish, fell from grace; but those of the Jews that were unlettered, likened to lame, and blind, and maimed—the foolish things of the world, and the things set at nought—these were called. For the multitude wondered at the words of grace that proceeded out of the mouth of Jesus, and rejoiced in the teaching. After these of Israel had entered, the election, I mean, which God foreordained to his glory—such as were Peter, and the sons of Zebedee, and the rest of the myriads of them that believed—the goodness of God is poured out over and above to the nations also; for they that are in the highways and the hedges may be understood as the nations. The Israelites were within the city, inasmuch as they had received the giving of the law, and had obtained a more refined manner of life; but the nations, being strangers from the covenants, and aliens from the lawgiving of Christ, and not fellow-citizens of the saints, abode not in one way, but in many [ways] of lawlessness and rusticity, and in the hedges, that is, the sins; for sin is a great hedge, and a middle wall parting us from God. The brutish manner of life of the nations, then, divided into many opinions, he hints at by the highways, but their life in sins by the hedges. And he commands not simply to call these, but to compel [them], although the believing is in the power of all to choose; but that we may learn that it is a sign of the great power of God for the nations, having so great ignorance, to have believed, for this cause he said, Compel. For if the power of the thing preached were not great, and the truth of the word great, how should men maddened after idols, and working shameful things, have been persuaded all at once to recognize the true God, and to perform a spiritual life? Wishing, then, to show the marvel of the change, he named the thing a necessity; as if one should say that even the Greeks, unwilling to forsake the idols and the luxury, were nevertheless by the truth of the preaching compelled to flee these things. And, besides, the power of the signs brought a great necessity of being changed to the faith of Christ. And this supper is prepared daily, and we are all called to the kingdom which God prepared for men even before the foundation of the world; but some through the curious meddling of wisdom, others through love of matter, others through love of the flesh, are not counted worthy of it; and the love of God toward man bestows it freely on other sinners—on the blind in their inward eyes, who understand not what is the will of God, or who understand indeed, but being lame, and unmoved toward the doing of it; and altogether on the poor who have fallen away from the glory above; and on the maimed, who display not a blameless life. To these sinners, then, wandering in the streets and broad ways of sin, the Father sends his Son, the inviter to the supper, who became also a servant according to the flesh, who came to call not the righteous, but sinners; and he feasts these with much honour in the stead of those knowing and rich ones who gratify the flesh. And on many, sending also sicknesses and dangers, he makes them, even against their will, renounce this life, by what judgments he knows; and he brings them in to his supper, laying upon them the necessity of the visitation of dangers; and of this the examples are many. And the parable teaches us also, in the simpler sense, to show kindness to the poor and maimed rather than to the rich; which, having a little before exhorted, for this very cause he seems to feast them with the parable. And we learn another thing also: that we owe [a debt] to the brethren, so as to constrain even the unwilling [to come]; for great is the admonition, so as to bring in even the unwilling.

Lk. 14:25–27. Now great crowds went with him: and he turned, and said to them, If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and even his own life besides, he cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Since many of those that journeyed with Jesus followed not with all readiness and renunciation, but were disposed more coldly, teaching them what manner of man his disciple ought to be, he declares concerning this, and as it were moulds him, and paints him, setting forth that he must hate not only those akin to him from without, but even his own life. But take heed lest you be carried away by the letter thus simply and unskilfully. For he that loves man teaches not inhumanity, nor does he admonish [men] to make away with themselves, but he wishes his genuine disciple then to hate those akin to him by race, when they hinder him toward godliness, and through his relation to them he is hindered from pursuing the good; since, if they hinder not, he rather teaches [him] to honour [them] even to the last breath. And how does he teach it? By the greater teaching, I mean, by the things which he himself did; for to Joseph, although he was not properly his father, but [his] reputed [father], he was subject; and of his Mother he ever took so great forethought, that not even while being crucified did he neglect her, but delivered her to the beloved disciple. How, then, should he who taught these things by his works bring in other things by his words? But, as I said, he enjoins us to hate parents when God [and his service] is in peril. For then they are reckoned neither parents nor kinsmen, when they oppose us to such profit. And hence too is plain what we say, from the [command] to hate even his own life; for altogether he commands not this, to kill ourselves, but to renounce the desires of the soul that separate us from God; and if martyrdom be set before [us], to take no thought of the life, only when eternal gain is set before [us]. And that he teaches this, and not simply the killing of ourselves, he shows again himself from the fact that, when the devil tempted him to cast himself down from the temple, he beat back the temptation, and gave not himself up to the Jews, but withdrew, and passing through the midst of them hid himself from those that sought him. Whoever, then, being harmed toward godliness by any of his kinsmen, cherishes his relation to them, and makes this more honourable than the well-pleasing of God, and still also through love of life oftentimes [does so], this man too cannot be Christ’s.

Lk. 14:28–30. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and counts the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Through the parable of the tower the Lord teaches us, having once chosen to follow him, to keep the same purpose, and not to lay down a foundation, that is, a beginning of following, and then not to set on the end, as not having a sufficient preparation of readiness. Such were those of whom John the evangelist said, Many therefore of his disciples went back. And every man also who, having chosen to practise virtue, but not having attained so as to receive also the divine knowledge, because he began virtue imperfectly and unreasonably, builds imperfectly, being unable to finish the tower of the lofty knowledge; whence he is mocked also by those that behold him, both men and demons. And otherwise also: by the foundation you may understand the word of teaching. For the word of teaching that treats, let us say, of self-control, is like a foundation laid upon the soul of the disciple. It behoves, then, upon this word, that is, upon the foundation, to build also the things of practice; that there may be perfected for us a tower of strength from the face of the enemy—that virtue, I mean, which we set before us. And that the word is the foundation, but the practice the building, the Apostle sufficiently teaches us, saying, I have laid a foundation, Jesus Christ, and another builds thereon; and next he reckons up the different buildings, that is, the workings either of good or of evil works. Let us fear, then, lest the demons mock us, concerning whom the prophet says, Mockers shall have dominion over them, that is, over those plainly that are rejected by God.

Lk. 14:31–35. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sits not down first, and consults whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an ambassage, and desires conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that has ears to hear, let him hear. This parable too teaches us not to be double-souled, nor to be nailed both to the flesh and to God; but, if we are to take up the war against the wicked powers, to bear ourselves toward them as enemies, and truly to set ourselves in array against [them]. A king, then, is sin also, reigning in our mortal body, that is, in [the body] of us who admit it; and a king too was our mind created. If, therefore, [it] is to withstand sin, let it war against it with the whole soul. For terrible is its army, and fearful, and seems both greater and more than ours; for the demons are the soldiers of sin, who seem to hold the number of twenty thousand, against our ten thousand; for being bodiless, and compared with us who are in the body, they seem to have the greater strength. And even if they seem stronger, yet we are able to set ourselves in array [against them]; for, it says, In God we shall do valiantly; and, The Lord is my light and my Saviour, whom shall I fear? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. For altogether the God who for our sakes was made flesh has given us to tread upon all the power of the enemy. Wherefore also, since, being in the flesh, we have not carnal weapons, even though we seem to have ten thousand because of our being in the body, while those are twenty thousand because of the bodilessness of their nature, yet ought we to say, O Lord, my God, my strength; and let us never make peace with sin, which is to be enslaved to the passions; but rather let us withstand them, and take up an implacable hatred toward them, wishing to have nothing of the passionate things of the world, but renouncing all; for he cannot be Christ’s disciple who renounces not all, but is at peace with some of the soul-harming things in the world. For the disciple of Christ ought to be salt—not only being himself good, and without share in wickedness, but also imparting goodness to others; for such is salt: itself remaining without corruption and unharmed, it keeps also other things uncorrupt, to which it imparts its quality. But if the salt cast away its own nature, it becomes wholly useless, being fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill. And what he says is of this sort: I wish every Christian to be profitable and seasoning—not only him to whom the gift of teaching is entrusted, such as were the apostles, and teachers, and pastors, but I require even the laity themselves to be useful and helpful to their neighbours. But if he that is to benefit others becomes himself reprobate, and falls out of the estate befitting a Christian, he shall be able neither to benefit nor to be benefited. For it is fit, he says, neither for the land nor for the dunghill. And he hints, by the land, at that which is benefited, and by the dunghill, at that which benefits. Wherefore, as neither benefiting nor benefited, he is altogether to be cast out and thrown away. And since the word was dark and parabolic, the Lord, rousing the hearers not to receive simply what was said concerning the salt, says, He that has ears to hear, let him hear, that is, He that has understanding, let him understand; for here we must understand by the ears the perceptive power of the soul, and the aptitude toward understanding. Each one of us, then, of the faithful is salt, having received this quality from the divine words and the grace from above; and that grace is salt, hear Paul: Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt; for when the word is without grace, it may be called saltless. If, then, we despise the quality of the divine words, and receive it not into ourselves, and make [savour] of it, then we become foolish and without understanding, and truly our salt is made savourless, as not having the quality of the grace from above.

Chapter 15

Lk. 15:1–10. Then drew near to him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners, and eats with them. And he spoke this parable to them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say to you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents. The Lord did that for the sake of which he was made flesh, receiving the publicans and the sinners, as a physician [receives] the sick; but the sinners in very truth, the Pharisees, requited this love toward man with a murmuring. For, accounting the publicans abominable, they themselves devoured the houses of the widows and the orphans. What, then, [does] the Lord [do]? Even as he showed love toward the publicans, so also toward these very men that slandered this love; for he turns not away from them as incurable and murmurers, but mildly heals them, speaking to them the parable of the sheep, and from the things plain and manifest persuading them, and stopping their mouths from being vexed at so great an outpouring of goodness. For if over one sheep—irrational, and not made after the image of God—so great joy comes to pass when it is found after wandering, how great is it likely to come to pass over a rational man made after the image of God? Manifestly, then, the parable calls the righteous the ninety and nine sheep, and the sinner that has fallen away the one. But some say that the hundred sheep are all the rational creation, and the one sheep [is] man, of the rational nature, which, having wandered, the good Shepherd sought out, leaving the ninety and nine in the wilderness, that is, in the place above, the heavenly. For heaven is a wilderness, removed from the much-thronging of the world, and filled with all calm and peace. And the Lord, having found this [sheep] that had wandered, laid it upon his shoulders. For our infirmities and our sins he himself bore, and all our burdens he himself took upon him without burden—paying off all that we owed, and saving us easily and without toil, even up to his own house, that is, heaven; and he calls together his friends and neighbours, perhaps the angels, whom we have rendered also to be sheep by one and another application. For in so far as every created nature is brutish as toward God, in this respect the powers above may be called sheep; but in so far as they are rational, that is, intelligent, and seem nearer than the other creatures, in this respect [they may be understood as] friends and neighbours, [namely] the choirs of the angelic powers. And you may understand by the woman the wisdom and power of God and the Father, his own Son, who lost one piece of silver out of the rational creatures created after his image, [namely] man, and lights a candle, his own flesh. For as the candle, being of earth, lightens the things that are darkened through the light which it receives, so also the flesh of the Lord, being earthy and like to us, shone by the light of the Godhead by which it was taken up; and indeed the house too was swept, that is, the whole world was cleansed of sin. For Christ was he that took away the sin of the world. And so the piece of silver was found, the royal image, and joy comes to pass both to Christ himself who found it, and to the powers above, who are his friends and neighbours—friends as doing his will, and neighbours as being bodiless. And I inquire whether all the powers above are his friends, but the nearer ones [his] neighbours, such as Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim. For mark the expression: And he calls together his friends and his neighbours; for he seems to indicate two parts, even though it may seem over-curious. […]

Lk. 15:11–16. And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me. And he divided his estate between them. And not many days after, the younger son gathered everything together, and journeyed to a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything. This parable also is like to those before it; for it too brings in by the [word] man God, who is truly the lover of man; and by the two sons, the two orders of men, the righteous, I mean, and sinners. And the younger said, Give me the share of the property that falls to me. Righteousness is an ancient possession of human nature, and the elder son starts not away; but sin is a later-born evil, wherefore the younger also starts away—he, plainly, that grew up together with the sin afterward brought in. And otherwise too the sinner is called the younger son, as an innovator, and an apostate, and one that has risen up against the father’s will. Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me. The goods of man are the rational [faculty], which is attended also by free choice, for everything rational is self-determining. The Lord gives us, then, the reason, that we may use it freely as being our own substance. And he gives to all alike, for all are alike rational, alike self-determining; but some of us use this bounty according to reason, and others make the divine gift useless. And simply all things, as many as the Lord has given us, may be reckoned our substance—I mean, for instance, heaven, earth, simply the whole creation, the law, the prophets. But the younger son saw heaven, and made [it] a god; he saw earth, and worshipped [it]; and in his law he would not walk; in the prophets he wrought wickedness. But the elder son used all these things to the glory of God. Having given these things alike, then, he left [them] to walk self-determiningly, for he constrains no one unwilling to serve him. For if he wished to constrain, he would not even have created us rational and self-determining. But all these things together the younger spent; and what is the cause? That he took his journey into a far country. For when a man departs from God, and makes himself far from the divine fear, he spends out all the divine gifts. For while we are near to God, we do no such thing worthy of perdition, according to the [saying], I foresaw the Lord always before me, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. But becoming far from him and apostates, we both do and suffer all the worst things, according to the [saying], Lo, they that remove themselves far from you shall perish. He scattered, then, his substance, and with reason; for virtue has one limit, and is some one thing; but vice is many-cloven, and works many wanderings; as, for example, of manliness there is one limit, [namely] to use the irascible [part] when one ought, and as one ought, and toward those toward whom one ought. But of vice [in this regard] there are two kinds, cowardice and rashness. Do you see the reason scattered, and the unity of virtue lost? And this substance being spent, and the man walking no longer according to reason—the natural law, I mean—nor keeping step with the written law, nor hearkening to the prophets, a mighty famine comes to pass, not a famine of bread, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. And he begins to be in want, as one not fearing the Lord, but holding himself far from him; whereas to them that fear the Lord there is no want. And how is there no want to them that fear? Because he that fears the Lord shall greatly delight in his commandments. For this cause glory and riches are in his house, and he himself scattered rather, and gave to the poor—so far is he from being himself in want. He, then, that has journeyed far from God, and has not before his eyes his fearful face, is with reason in want, no divine word working in him. And going, that is, advancing forward and progressing in vice, he joined himself to one of the citizens of that country. For he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit; but he that is joined to the harlot, [the] nature of the demons, becomes one body, being made wholly flesh, and not having room for the spirit in himself, as they in the time of the flood. For the citizens of that country which is far from God are altogether the demons. And this man, having progressed, and become mighty in vice, feeds swine, that is, he becomes to others also a teacher of wickedness and of filthy practice. For all that take pleasure in the mire of dishonourable practices and material passions are swine; for the eyes of the swine can never look upward, having received a strange formation. Whence the swineherds also, when, holding a swine, they cannot stop it from crying out, turning it on its back, persuade it to cry more moderately. For, coming as it were to a sight of what it never saw before, and looking at the things above, it is astonished, and is silent; such are the eyes of those nurtured in vile things—they never look on the things above. These, then, he feeds who excels many in vice, such as keepers of harlots, arch-robbers, chief publicans; for all these shall be said to feed swine. And this wretched man desires to be satisfied with sin, and no one gives him a satisfying of it. For he that is accustomed to the evils receives no fill of them; for the pleasure abides not, but at once it comes to be and passes away, and the wretched man is found again empty; for sin is likened to husks, having sweetness and roughness—for it gives pleasure for a season, but punishes for ever. No one, then, gives a satisfying of the evils to him that luxuriates in them. For who indeed shall give him a fill, and make [him] cease? God? But he is not present, for he that eats these things journeys far from God. But the demons? And how [should they], when [they wish him never] to come to a fill of vice?

Lk. 15:17–21. But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, and I am dying with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son: make me as one of your hired servants. And he got up, and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. He that was hitherto prodigal came to himself; for as long as he wrought the evil things, he was out of himself. For he is said to have spent his substance, and with reason; for this cause he is out of himself. For he that is not governed by reason, but lives as an irrational creature, and leads others in irrationality, is out of himself, and abides not in his own substance, that is, the reason. But when one reckons up who he was, and into what wretchedness he has come, then he comes to be in himself, reasoning, and coming to repentance from his outward wandering. And by hired servants he means, for instance, the catechumens, who have not yet attained to become sons, as not yet illumined. And altogether the catechumens have an abundance of the rational loaves, hearing daily at the readings. And that you may learn the difference between a hired servant and a son, hear. There are three orders of them that are saved: for some as slaves do the good, fearing the judgment; which David too hints at, saying, Nail down my flesh with your fear, for I was afraid of your judgments. And others seem to be hired servants, hastening to please God through desire of the good things, as the same David says, I have inclined my heart to do your statutes always, for the recompense. And if [there be] sons, [these are] they that do his commandments through love toward God, as again the same David witnesses, O how I love your law, O Lord! it is my meditation all the day; and again, I lifted up my hands to your commandments, which I have loved—not which I feared; and again, Your testimonies are wonderful, and because they are wonderful, therefore my soul has sought them out. When, then, one being in the order of a son, is then through sin disowned, and sees others enjoying the divine gifts of grace, and partaking of the divine mysteries and of the divine bread—for we must not understand [this] only of the catechumens as called hired servants, but also of those simply in the Church who are not of the first order—then indeed he ought to say to himself these piteous things: How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! But I will arise—that is, from the fall of sin—and go to my Father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you; for, having forsaken the heavenly things, I sinned against them, preferring before them the abominable pleasure, and choosing before my fatherland, heaven, the land of famine. For as one is said to sin, let us say, against gold, who prefers lead before it, so against heaven sins he who prefers before it the earthly things. For he altogether misses the way that leads to heaven. And note that, when he sinned, he sinned as not acting before God; but when he confesses, he perceives that he has sinned before God. And having arisen, he came to his father; for we ought not only to will the things dear to God, but also to do [them]. And as you have seen the repentance warm, so behold also the compassion of the father. For he waited not even for the son to come up to him, but anticipates [him], and embraces [him]. For he is a father by his kindness, even though by nature God, and wholly enfolds the whole [of him], that he may bind him fast to himself on every side, according to that which is said, And the glory of God shall enfold you. And of old, when the son made himself far off, it was a season also for the father to be removed from the embrace; but when he drew near through prayer and turning, it became a season for embracing. He falls, then, upon the neck of him that was formerly an apostate, showing him to be now become obedient; and as it were sends within, [as] through a fore-gate, the sanctification first into the mouth.

Lk. 15:22–24. But the father said to his servants, Bring out the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet: and bring the fattened calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and celebrate: for this son of mine was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate. By the servants you may understand the angels, the ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those worthy of salvation; for these too robe him that turns from vice with the best robe, that is, the ancient [robe] which we wore before we sinned, the garment of incorruption; or [with] the honourable [robe] before all the rest, such as is that of baptism. For this is put about me first, and from it I receive the covering of my unseemliness. Either, then, you may understand by the servants the angels, who minister to all the things accomplished among us, and through whom as means we are sanctified; or also the priests, who through baptism and the word of teaching clothe him that turns, and put about him the best robe, Christ himself (for as many of us as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ), and give a ring upon the hand, the seal of Christianity, which we have through our works; for the hand is a symbol of practice, and the ring of the seal. He, then, that is baptized, and simply he that turns from vice, ought to have upon his hand—that is, upon all his practical power—a seal and a token of a Christian, that he may have [something] to show, that he has been renewed after the image of him that created him. Or you may understand the ring otherwise, [as] an earnest of the Spirit; I mean this: God gives the most perfect good things then, when their season is; and now, plainly to assure us, he gives those gifts of grace, as it were certain earnests of the things to come—to some working of wonders, to others teaching, to others somewhat else; and receiving these, we firmly hope from them for the more perfect things also. Shoes on the feet, that they may be guarded from the scorpions—that is, the sins that seem small, and hidden, as David said, but which are nevertheless deadly—yea, and also from the serpents, [namely] the sins that are accounted manifestly to harm. And otherwise too, shoes are given to him that is counted worthy of the first robe, God making him ready to preach the gospel, and to benefit others. For this is a Christian—the benefit of his neighbour. And the fatted calf, who he is that is sacrificed and eaten, is not unknown; for altogether [it is] the true Son of God, who, as man, took also flesh, [that is,] the nature irrational and brutish, even though he filled it with his own glories. In this respect he is understood as a calf, untried by the yoke of the law of sin; and fatted, in that he was set apart to this mystery before the foundation of the world. And perhaps that which shall be said will seem over-curious; nevertheless it shall be said: that the bread which we break, according to the appearance indeed, being composed of wheat, may be [called] fatted; but according to that which is understood, being flesh, may be called a calf. And the same is both calf and fatted. He, then, that is baptized, and becomes a son of God—or rather is restored—and simply every one that is cleansed from sin, partakes of this fatted calf, and is made a cause of gladness both to the Father and to his servants, the angels and priests, as having lived again from death, and been found out of perdition; for, so far as concerned the abundance of his vice, he was dead, that is, despaired of; but so far as concerned the human nature, mutable and able to fall back from vice to virtue, he is said to be lost.

Lk. 15:25–32. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, Your brother is come; and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve you, neither transgressed I at any time your commandment: and yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this your son was come, which has devoured your living with harlots, you have killed for him the fatted calf. And he said to him, Son, you are ever with me, and all that I have is yours. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this your brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Here is the much-discussed question: How does the son appear envious—he that has lived well-pleasingly in all the rest, and has served the father? Which shall be solved, if one reckon up wherefore the parable was spoken. For altogether [it was] because the pure Pharisees, that justified themselves, murmured at the Lord for receiving harlots and publicans; for this cause this parable was spoken together with those before it. Since, then, [it was] because the Pharisees murmured, seeming to be righteous above the publicans, [that] it was spoken, consider that the person of the son who seems to murmur is taken for all those that are offended at the sudden well-doing and salvation of sinners. And this is not envy, but an overflow of the love of God toward man, unknown to us, and for this cause breeding the murmuring. For does not David too bring in the person of one offended at the peace of sinners? And Jeremiah likewise, saying, Wherefore does the way of the wicked prosper?—and, You have planted them, and they have taken root. For all these things are of the weak and poor understanding of men, set on fire, and doubting at the unworthy, forsooth, well-doing of the wicked. The Lord says, then, through the present parable, all but such things as these to the Pharisees: Be it so, you are righteous like that son, and well-pleasing to the Father; I exhort you that are righteous and pure not to murmur at the gladness which we make for the salvation of the sinner; for he too is a son. No envy, then, is shown forth from this, but the Lord instructs the mind of the Pharisees through this parable, so that, even if they were righteous, and had fulfilled every commandment of God, they should not be vexed at the reception of sinners. And it is no marvel if we are vexed at the things that seem to come to pass unworthily, for so great is the love of God toward man, and so ungrudgingly does he impart to us of his own good things, that even a murmuring can hence be bred; which also in common speech we say. For oftentimes, having done good to some one, and then being met with ingratitude from him, we say, All men blame me, that I did you so much good—and yet perhaps no one blamed us, but nevertheless, wishing to show the greatness of the benefit, we feign this. And let us see the parable also part by part, as in summary. The elder son was in the field, [namely] in this world, working his own land, the flesh I mean, that he might be filled with bread, and sowing in tears, that he might reap in joy. And having learned what was done, he would not go in to the common joy. But the father, who loves man, goes out, and entreats, and teaches him afresh the cause of the gladness, that it is the quickening again of a dead one—[the son] being offended as a man, and accusing him as having given not even a kid to himself, but having killed the fatted calf for the prodigal. And what is signified by the kid? Thus may you learn: every kid is set in the left and sinful portion. The well-pleasing son says, then, In all toils I passed my life, persecuted, ill-treated, afflicted by the sinners, and never on my behalf did you slay and kill a kid, that is, a sinner afflicting me, that I might find a little ease; as Ahab was a kid to Elijah. He persecuted, then, the prophet, and the Lord gave not this kid quickly to slaughter, that Elijah, being a little eased, might rest with his friends the prophets. Wherefore he says also to God, Lord, they have slain your prophets, and digged down your altars. A kid to David was Saul, and all those that slandered him, whom the Lord suffered to tempt him, and slew [them] not, that David might be gladdened; wherefore he said also, How long, O Lord, how long shall sinners boast? These things says also the son in the Gospel: Me, who am always in toils, you have counted worthy of no comfort, neither have you delivered any of them that afflict me to slaughter; but now you will thus so easily save the prodigal. This, then, is the whole aim of the parable, spoken because of the Pharisees murmuring at the sinners received by the Lord, and instructing [them] that, even if they be righteous, they should not shake off the sinners, nor murmur against God for receiving them. The younger son, then, [is] the harlots and the publicans; the elder son, the Pharisees and the Scribes, taken under the supposition of being righteous—as though God said, Be it so, you are truly righteous, and have transgressed no commandment; ought we not, then, to receive those who turn from wickedness? Such murmurers, then, he instructs through the parable. And I am not ignorant that some have taken the elder son [to mean] the angels, and the younger the nature of men, that innovated against the given commandment and broke loose; and others, the Israelites and the Gentiles. But the true [view], as we have only said, [is] that the elder son is taken for the person of the righteous, and the younger for [the person] of the sinners that turn. And the whole texture of the parable was framed because of the Pharisees, the Lord instructing them not to be vexed at the reception of sinners, even if they themselves were righteous, but rather to bear with the well-doing and salvation of those who, having turned to God from being sinners, are looked upon graciously by him.

Chapter 16

Lk. 16:1–9. There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused to him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said to him, How is it that I hear this of you? give an account of your stewardship; for you may be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord takes away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord’s debtors to him, and said to the first, How much do you owe to my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said to him, Take your bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much do you owe? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said to him, Take your bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say to you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. Every parable indirectly and figuratively sets forth the nature of certain things, not being in all points like to those things for the sake of which it was taken up. Wherefore neither ought we to be over-curious in scrutinizing minutely all the parts of the parables, but, reaping as much as suits the matter before us, to leave the rest, as subsisting together with the parable, and contributing nothing toward the matter in hand; which, indeed, we must do also in the parable here set before us. For if we set ourselves to examine all things minutely—who the steward is, who it is that sets him over the stewardship, and by whom he was accused, and who the debtors are, and for what cause the one [owed] oil and the other wheat, and why each is said to owe a hundred—and, simply, if we should examine all the rest over-curiously, we shall make the discourse dark, besides perhaps expounding ridiculous things through the constraint of our perplexity. We must, then, be profited from the present parable as much as is possible. I mean this: the Lord here wishes to teach us concerning the disposing well of the riches given to us. And first we learn this, that we are not lords of our money, for we have nothing of our own, but are stewards of things belonging to another, entrusted to us by the Master, that we may dispose of them well, and as he commands; next, that when we manage the stewardship of the riches not according to the mind of the Master, but use up the things given upon our own riotous living, we are accused stewards. For the will of the Master is to use the things given for the needs of our fellow-servants, not for our own luxuries; and being accused, and about to be removed from the stewardship of the money, that is, to be cut off from this life—when, plainly, we shall also give an account of the stewardship after the removal hence—if we are wise, we perceive, late though it be, what is fitting, and make to ourselves friends out of the money of unrighteousness. And those things are named money of unrighteousness which the Lord gave to be spent on the needs of the brethren and fellow-servants, but which we have held back for ourselves. But, late though it be, let us at least come to a sense [of it], how we are carried away, and that in that day we can neither labour—for then is no season for working—nor [is it] seemly to beg; for the virgins that begged are named foolish. What, then, remains? To make the brethren partakers with us of this money, that, when we fail hence—that is, depart from this life—the poor may receive us into the everlasting habitations; for to the poor in Christ the everlasting habitations have been allotted, into which they are able to receive those who here made themselves their friends through the giving of the money, which, being the Master’s, ought from the beginning to have been given to the poor. For these are the debtors, according to that which is said, The righteous shows mercy all the day, and lends; and again, He that has pity upon the poor lends to God. It behoved, then, that all should rather have been given at the first to these good debtors who repay an hundredfold. But since we are found stewards of unrighteousness, unjustly holding back what is set apart for others, we must not altogether abide in this inhumanity, but must impart to the poor, that we may be received by them into the everlasting habitations. Thus, then, taking the parable, nothing superfluous, or over-curious, or [like] a dream-interpretation, will meet us in the exposition. And the [saying], The children of this world are wiser, and what follows, seems to signify something strange. But it is neither hard to follow, nor odd. For he calls the children of this world those that devise all the things profitable to them in this life; and the children of light, those that ought to handle the spiritual riches in a way pleasing to God. This, then, he says: that men set as stewards of human administrations traffic in every way, that, after being removed from the stewardship, they may have a comfort; but [those] ranked as children of light—that is, entrusted with a spiritual administration of money—devise nothing toward being profited hereafter. The children of this world, then, are those entrusted with human administrations, and in their own generation—that is, in this life—wisely administering their own affairs. But the children of light are they that have received money so as to administer it in a way pleasing to God. We are found, then, in human administrations wisely administering and trafficking with our own affairs, that, even if we should ever fall out of the stewardship, we might have some refuge of life; but in the money that ought to be administered according to God we appear to take no forethought, lest we should give an account of the stewardship when removed from this life, and be found deprived of all comfort. Wherefore also we are called foolish, not being wise concerning the things that shall profit us hereafter; but let us make to ourselves friends [of] the poor, imparting to them of the riches of unrighteousness, that is, of that which was given us by God to become a weapon of righteousness, but was held back by us, and for this cause turned to unrighteousness. And if riches from sources accounted just, when not well administered and given to the poor, are reckoned unrighteousness and mammon, how much more those from unrighteousness! Out of these, then, let us make to ourselves friends, that, when we fail, and are faint, being condemned, they may receive us there.

Lk. 16:10–13. Whoever is faithful in the least is faithful also in much, and whoever is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If, then, you have not been faithful with the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful with what is another’s, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. He still teaches concerning the duty of administering the riches according to God. For he that is faithful in the least—that is, that has well administered the riches entrusted to him in this world—is faithful also in much; that is, in the age to come he is worthy of the riches that are truly [riches]. He calls, then, the earthly riches least, as being in truth small, or rather nothing, since it is fluid; but [the heavenly] much, as abiding for ever, and increasing. But he that is shown unjust in this earthly [riches], and has usurped to himself the things given him for the common need of the brethren, shall not be found worthy of that much either, but shall be cast out as unjust. And, interpreting what was said, he adds: If you have not been faithful with the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? He named unjust mammon the riches that are with you; for if it were not unjust, it would not be present [with you], but now, since it is present with you, it is plain that, being held back and not distributed to the poor, it is unjust; and this is the embezzlement of another’s money, even of the poor man’s, and this is unrighteousness. If, then, you administer these riches ill and unfaithfully, how shall you be entrusted with the true riches? And to us, who have not faithfully disposed of that which is another’s—that is, the money (and these things are another’s, as set apart for the poor, and otherwise too, inasmuch as we brought nothing into the world, but were born naked)—who shall give that which is our own? And our own is the heavenly and divine riches, for there is our citizenship; whereas to man, created after the image of God, money and possessions are another’s, for none of these is like to him. But the enjoyment of the divine good things, and the participation of God—this is that which is our own. Up to this point, then, he taught us how we ought to administer the riches faithfully; for it is another’s, and not ours, since we are stewards, and not lords and masters. But since the administration of the riches according to God is not else rightly accomplished, except through freedom from passionate attachment, he adds this also to the teaching, saying, You cannot serve God and mammon; that is, it is impossible for him that is nailed to the riches, and holds back something by passionate attachment, to be a servant of God; so that, if you are to administer the riches faithfully, be not a servant to it—which is, have no [passionate] relation toward it—and you have truly served God. For everywhere the love of money is condemned, which is the passionate relation and friendship toward riches.

Lk. 16:14–15. Now the Pharisees also, who were lovers of money, heard all these things: and they scoffed at him. And he said to them, You are the ones who justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts: for what is exalted among men is an abomination before God. The Pharisees derided the Lord, as being stung at his words; for they were displeased, as lovers of money, at hearing about possessionlessness, since it is said also, Godliness is an abomination to the sinner, and reproofs are bruises to the ungodly. But the Lord, uncovering their hidden wickedness, and showing that, even if they feign righteousness, they are abominable before God because of the self-conceit which they have concerning themselves, says: You are they that justify yourselves, and that suppose that to you alone it is given to understand what is fitting and to teach [it]; wherefore you also deride my words as those of a senseless man, wishing to be accounted by the multitude teachers of the truth. But it is not so; for God knows your hearts, and accounts you abominable because of your high-mindedness, and your desire of human glory. For that which is high among men is abomination before God, for every one that is high in heart is unclean before the Lord. It behoved you, then, O Pharisees, not to live for human esteem—for God has scattered the bones of the men-pleasers—but rather to justify yourselves before God.

Lk. 16:16–18. The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presses into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Whoever puts away his wife, and marries another, commits adultery: and whoever marries her that is put away from her husband commits adultery. These things seem to be disconnected, and to have no fellowship with the things said before; but to him that attends they would appear not inconsequent, but rather very consequent upon what went before. For since he himself introduced possessionlessness by what he said above, and called the riches unjust mammon, while the law gave the blessings even in riches, and the prophets promised the good things of the earth—lest any one, deriding him, as the Pharisees did, should say, What do you say? do you oppose the law? It blesses even in riches, and do you teach possessionlessness?—for this cause he says: The law and the prophets had their season until John. And they taught well, inasmuch as the infancy of the hearers had [its] season. But from the time of John—who was well-near immaterial in his possessionlessness, and possessionless through his near-immateriality—when he came, and preached the kingdom of the heavens, no longer for the future have the good things of the earth their season, but the kingdom of the heavens is preached. Wherefore those that desire the heavens ought to practise possessionlessness on earth. Since indeed the prophets and the law, making no mention of the kingdom of the heavens, with reason promised the good things of the earth to those who were still more imperfect, and unable to conceive anything great and manly. So that with reason, O Pharisees, I teach possessionlessness, inasmuch as the imperfect ordinances of the law have no longer their season. Then, lest they should say that henceforth he sets at nought all [the law], he says [the rest], that rather now it is fulfilled and perfected. For all that the [law] sketched out, whether speaking typically about Christ, or about commandments, these are now fulfilled, and none of these shall fall down even to one tittle; for the things shadowily indicated there about Christ shall now be accomplished more manifestly. And the commandments of the law, then given suitably and correspondingly to the understanding of the imperfect, shall now have the loftier and more perfect [sense]; for that the law discoursed to the imperfect imperfectly is plain from this. For indeed concerning the dissolution of marriage it answered with respect to the hardness of heart of the Hebrews, that, if the man should hate the woman, he should have power to put her away, lest something worse should happen. For being murderers and bloodthirsty, they spared not even their nearest, so as even to sacrifice their sons and daughters to the demons; but this is the low and imperfect [part] of the law, for there was a season for such a lawgiving then; but now there is need of another, more perfect teaching. Wherefore I say, Whoever puts away his wife—saving for the cause of fornication, plainly—and marries another, commits adultery; so that it is no marvel if I also discourse about possessionlessness, though the law teach nothing so plainly. Behold, then, concerning the dissolution of marriage the law commanded indifferently, because of the murderousness of the Jews; but I, training the hearers toward the more perfect, forbid the putting away without cause—not declaring things contrary to that [law], but rather establishing its intent. For it was the will of the law that there should be no murders between man and woman; this I too mould, by teaching the married to care one for another, and to spare [one another], as their own members; so that the law also willed this; but since the hearers were imperfect, it ordained the dissolution of marriage, that even thus there might be sparing, and the man and the woman might not rage one against another. All the things of the law, then, Christ established; so that he said well that it is impossible, he says, for one tittle of the law to fall; for how should that fall which is rather set upright by Christ? […]

Lk. 16:19–22. There was a certain rich man, who dressed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain poor man named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, covered with sores, and longed to be filled with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table: but even the dogs came and licked his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried. These things are consequent upon what was said before. For since he had first taught about disposing of the riches well, with reason he subjoins this parable also, which bears upon this very thing through the example of the rich man. For this too is a parable, and not, as some might senselessly suppose, a thing already come to pass. For not yet is the allotment of the good things to the righteous, nor of the contrary to the sinners, but the Lord framed the discourse to instruct the unmerciful what is laid up for them, and again to teach those that suffer ill what good things they shall enjoy in return for what they here endure. The rich man, then, he took in the parable without a name, as being not even worthy to be named before God, even as also he says through the prophet, I will not make mention of their names through my lips. But the poor man he mentions by name; for the names of the righteous are written even in the book of life. And there is a report, as the tradition of the Hebrews has it, that there was a certain Lazarus in Jerusalem at that time, who had been allotted extreme poverty and sickness, whom the Lord mentioned, taking him into the parable, as conspicuous and well known. The rich man, then, was prosperous on every side, for he was clothed both in purple and fine linen; and not only this, but he luxuriated also in all the rest of luxury. For he fared, it says, and not now indeed, and now not, but every day, and not moderately, but sumptuously, that is, riotously and lavishly. But Lazarus was both poor, and sick, and that grievously; for he was full of sores, it says. For it is possible to be sick, yet not to be full of sores. But here was an intensifying of the evil; and being laid at the gate of the rich man—another torment, to see others luxuriating, while he himself famished. For he desired to be fed, not with costly meats, but even with the very crumbs, and those with which the dogs are fed. But he was also bereft of any to tend him; for the dogs licked his sores, there being none to drive them away. Did Lazarus, then, being in so great evils, blaspheme? or revile the luxury of the rich man? or condemn his inhumanity? or blame providence? None of these things did he conceive, but with much philosophy he endured. Whence is it plain? From the fact that the angels received him when he died. For he would not, if he had been a murmurer and blasphemer, have been counted worthy of so great honour, and of the escort of angels. And the rich man also died, and was buried. For in truth, even while he lived, his soul was buried, carrying about the flesh as a tomb. Wherefore also, when he died, [he was] not [received] by angels, having never thought anything lofty or heavenly; but [to] the lowest [place] the Lord [appointed him], because his soul too always loved the lowest.

Lk. 16:23–26. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, to dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that you received your good things in your lifetime, and Lazarus likewise received bad things: but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you: so that those who wish to cross from here to you cannot; nor can anyone cross from there to us. As the Lord, casting Adam out of paradise, settled him over against it, that, by the continual sight, the suffering being renewed, he might give him a more exact sense of the falling away from the good things, so also he condemned this man over against Lazarus, that, seeing him in what state he was, he might perceive what things he had fallen from because of his inhumanity. And why did he see Lazarus not with some other of the righteous, but in the bosom of Abraham? Because Abraham was a lover of strangers. That, then, a conviction of his own hatred of strangers might come to pass, for this cause he beholds [Lazarus] with that man. He [Abraham] drew even the passers-by into his own house, but this man overlooked even the one lying within. And why does he not direct his word to Lazarus, but to Abraham? Perhaps he was ashamed; for he supposed, it may be, that Lazarus bore the memory of wrongs, and from his own case he judged also the things of Lazarus. For if I, enjoying so great prosperity, overlooked him pressed by so great evils, and imparted not even crumbs, much more will he that was despised bear the memory of wrongs, and will not consent to grant the favour. For this cause he makes his words to Abraham; for he supposed that the patriarch was ignorant of the things that had come to pass. What, then, [does] he [say]? He said not, O inhuman and cruel one, are you not ashamed? do you now make mention of love toward man? but how? Son. Behold a sympathetic and holy soul; for a certain wise man also says, Trouble not a soul that is humbled. For this cause he too says, Son, hinting through this, that thus far he has the power to name him so kindly, but beyond this he has authority over nothing. What I have, this I impart to you, [namely] a sympathetic voice; but to pass over from hence there is not ours, for all things have been shut up. And you indeed received your good things, but he the evil. And why said he not, You took, but, You received back? For the [phrase] to receive back we are wont to use of those that take what was owed them. What, then, do we learn? That, even if certain ones be defiled, even if they have driven on to the extreme of vice, oftentimes they have wrought two good things. Whence this man too, having certain good things, having received the recompense through his prosperity in this life, is said to receive them back; and likewise Lazarus the evil things. For perhaps he too wrought one or two evil things, and through the pain which he here endured, received back the worthy recompense of these. Wherefore this man is comforted, but you are tormented. And the gulf signifies the standing apart and difference of the righteous from the sinners. For as their purposes were different, so also their abodes have a great distance, each receiving back the things suited to his purpose and life. And note hence a deduction against the Origenists, who say that, the punishment having an end, there shall be a season when the sinners shall be united to the righteous and to God, and thus God shall be all in all. For behold we hear Abraham saying that they which would [pass] from hence to you, or from thence pass to us, cannot. As, then, it is impossible to pass from the lot of the righteous into the place of the sinners, so it is impossible, Abraham teaches us, to pass from the place of punishment into the place of the righteous. And Abraham is surely more worthy of credit than Origen. And what is hades? Some say it is a subterranean and dark region; but others said that hades is the removal of the soul from the manifest into the unseen and formless. For as long as the soul is in a body, it appears through its own energies; but having removed from the body, it becomes formless; this, then, they said is hades. And by the bosom of Abraham [is meant] the compass of the good things laid up for the righteous, for those who out of the storm have come to the heavenly havens. Since at sea also we are wont to call bosoms the haven-like and restful places.

Lk. 16:27–31. Then he said, I beg you then, father, to send him to my father’s house: for I have five brothers; so that he may warn them, lest they too come into this place of torment. Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them. But he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. And he said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, even if someone rises from the dead. Having failed in his own behalf, the wretched rich man makes his supplication on behalf of others. See how, by the punishment, he came to a sense [of things], and he that before despised Lazarus lying at his feet, now takes thought for others that are absent, and entreats that Lazarus be sent from the dead to his father’s house. And not simply one of the dead, but Lazarus, that those who saw him in sickness and dishonour, and became witnesses of his poverty, might also become beholders of his glory, seeing him crowned, and in glory and health. For it is plain that he was to appear to them in glory, since he must needs be a herald worthy of credit. What, then, [says] Abraham? They have Moses. You care not, he says, so much for your brethren as the God who made them; for he set over them ten thousand teachers. But the rich man says, Nay, father. For since he himself, hearing the Scriptures, disbelieved, and supposed the things said to be fables, he reckoned his brethren to be in like case, and judging from himself, said that they hearken not to the Scriptures—as neither did he himself—but if one rose from the dead they will believe. Such also are they now who say, Who is he that has [seen] the things in hades? who that came from thence reported to us? But let them hear Abraham, that if we hear not the Scriptures, neither shall we believe those that come from hades. And this the Jews showed, who, since they hearkened not to the Scriptures, neither believed when they saw dead men raised, but even attempted to kill Lazarus, and, when at the crucifixion many dead arose, nevertheless leaped upon the apostles the more murderously. For if it profited us to faith, the Lord would have done this often. But now nothing so profits as the exact search of the Scriptures. And to raise the dead the devil could counterfeit in appearance, and through this might deceive the senseless, sowing down doctrines worthy of his own malice concerning the things in hades; but the Scriptures being soundly searched, he shall be able to devise no such thing; for these are a lamp and a light, and, this shining, the thief appears and is found out. To these, then, we must give credence, and not seek raisings of the dead. And it is possible to take this parable also more figuratively, saying that the Hebrew people is indicated by the rich man. For this [people] was rich of old, enriched in all knowledge and wisdom, and in the oracles of God that are more precious than much gold and costly stone; yea, and was clothed in purple and fine linen, having kingdom and priesthood, and being a royal priesthood to God. And the purple hints at the kingdom, and the fine linen at the priesthood. For the Levites used linen garments in the sacred services. And it fared sumptuously every day; for every day they offered sacrifices morning and evening, which they named also [the sacrifices] of continuance. But Lazarus was the people of the nations, poor of the divine graces and of wisdom, and lying before the gates; for it was not lawful for the Gentiles to enter into the house, for it seemed a defilement, as also in the Acts Paul is cried out against as having brought Gentiles into the temple, and having defiled this holy place. But he was also full of sores with the stinking sins, and fed the shameless dogs, the demons, with these sores. For our sores are a pleasure to them. And he desired the crumbs that fell from the table of the rich man; for he was altogether without share in the loaves that establish the heart, and had need of the finest and small and rational food, even as the Canaanite woman also, being a Gentile, sought to be nourished from the crumbs. What, then? The Hebrew people died to God, and their bones became dead, making no movement toward the good. And Lazarus also, the Gentile people, died to sin; and the Jews, dying in their sins, are burned up in the flame of envy, being jealous, as the Apostle says, that the Gentiles were received into the faith, while the once poor and dishonoured people of the nations, with reason, abides in the bosom of Abraham, the father of the nations. For Abraham too, being a Gentile, believed God, and passed over from idolatry to the knowledge of God. They, then, that are partakers of his change and of his faith, with reason rest also in his bosom, having been allotted the same lots and abodes and receptions of the good things as he. And the Jew desires one drop of the old sprinklings and purifications under the law, that his tongue might be cooled, and he might have boldness to say something to us, as though the law were yet working; but he obtains it not. For the law was until John; and, Sacrifice and offering you would not, it says, and what follows. And Daniel foretold that the anointing should be utterly destroyed, and the prophecy sealed—that is, that it should cease and be shut up. But take you the parable also morally, and, being rich in evils, overlook not your mind famishing, and cast down below, though created to be borne upward, and lying before the gates; but bring it within, and let it not be without and wandering about, nor let it lie, but let it work. For thus shall the [good] befall you. And the rest of the parable too is easy [to refer] to morals.

Chapter 17

Lk. 17:1–4. It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe to him through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If your brother trespass against you, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him. Since the Pharisees, being lovers of money, murmured against the Lord when he spoke of possessionlessness, he spoke indeed the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, showing them through it what punishment awaits them because of their love of riches. And now he speaks further both to the disciples and concerning the Pharisees themselves, showing them to be workers of offence, and hinderers of the divine way, and for this cause allotting a woe to them. What, then, he says, let us see. It is impossible but that offences will come, but woe to him through whom they come—that is, it is impossible that the offences should not come, that is, the hindrances of the good and godly manner of life. For it is of necessity, because of the great wickedness of men, that many hindrances of the preaching and of the truth be found; nevertheless, woe to him through whom they come, the worker of these, such as the Pharisees that give offence, and hinder the preaching. But many inquire, raising a difficulty: if it is of necessity that the offences come, and impossible that the preaching be not hindered, why then do you condemn, O Lord, and pronounce wretched the workers of the offences? For of necessity they became such, and all that is of necessity is also pardonable. But hear, that this necessity has its beginning from free choice. I mean this: the Lord, seeing the wickedness of the men of that time, and how they are set upon evil, and choose nothing good, said that, so far as concerns the consequence of things seen, it is of necessity that the offences come. The wickedness, then, which the men practised, [comes] of free choice, but the working of the offences followed necessarily from the wickedness; so that for this cause the workers of the offences are also to be punished. As, to put it by an example, a physician, seeing one living wretchedly and using gluttony, might say, It is necessary that this man fall sick. Is the sickness, then, necessary? Yea, so far as concerns the consequence of the wretched diet. For this cause, woe to those that hinder the preaching, because they came to so great vice that there arose a necessity of the offences coming. For indeed it is profitable for the man that makes offences and hindrances that a millstone be hung about him, and that he be cast into the sea, rather than that he should offend and overturn one of the little believers. Wherefore he secures the disciples, and says, Take heed to yourselves. Behold, he says, I foretell you that the evils shall come; you are without excuse. For it is of necessity that those come, but it is not of necessity that you perish, if you secure yourselves and arm yourselves. For it is of necessity that the wolf come, but if the shepherd be watchful, it is not of necessity that the sheep be destroyed, but that the wolf go away having gaped in vain. Having said these things, then, concerning those that offend and harm—that is, hinder—since there are many differences of these (for some are incurable, such as the Pharisees, and others curable, such as the brethren of the Lord toward the Lord himself, for not even they believed on him; since, then, there are many differences of those that hinder—for it is likely that some such are even of the same faith)—for this cause he says, If your brother sin against you, rebuke him, you alone, privately; and if he hear you, you have gained him; but if not, take with you one or two, and so forth—all which Matthew set forth at large, but Luke passed over in silence as having been said by Matthew. He that hears the rebukes is worthy of pardon; but he that hears not, let him be to you as the heathen and the publican, that is, abominable, and not worthy to be called a brother. Then, as though one said, Be it so, Lord, these things you have divided well; but if one, having oftentimes been counted worthy of pardon, harm again, what must be done to him? he says, If he repent again, forgive him. And again, Though he turn seven times in the day, forgive him. And the seven times here stands instead of, oftentimes, even as also the [saying], The barren has borne seven. As often, then, as he repents, so often must you forgive him. For think not that the Lord sets a number of the forgiveness, but, as I said, the seven times stands instead of, oftentimes; and understand [it as] numberless, even as in common speech we say, a city of ten thousand men, not that it has ten thousand, for perhaps it has even more, but instead of saying, a populous [city], we say, a city of ten thousand. And that he means this is plain from Matthew. For there, when Peter said, Lord, shall I forgive him until seven times? the Lord said, Nay, but until seventy times seven, through this indicating the numberless. […]

Lk. 17:5–10. And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say to this sycamine tree, Be you plucked up by the root, and be you planted in the sea; and it should obey you. But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say to him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say to him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird yourself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward you shall eat and drink? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise you, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. The apostles indeed believed in the Lord; but coming to a sense of their own weakness, and hearing the Lord speaking to them about certain great things, and about the peril from the offences, they beg that the power of faith may abound in them, through which they shall be able to accomplish these things which he spoke, [namely] the things concerning possessionlessness. For nothing so accomplishes possessionlessness as to believe and trust God; even as nothing so makes [men] heap up treasure as not to believe that God is a great steward, and that his goodness is an inexhaustible storehouse. And, moreover, through faith they shall be able to withstand the offences also; wherefore, coming forward, they say, Increase our faith—make us more perfect in the faith, and more firm. And the Lord, showing them that they ask well, and that they ought to hold this judgment firm concerning the faith, as being able to do great things, says, If you had faith, you would remove even this sycamine. And two great things [are] in one: both that the thing rooted in the earth should be moved, and that it should be transplanted in the sea; for in water what could be planted? And it is plain that by saying these things he shows the power of faith. And perhaps one, allegorizing, might say that the sycamine is the devil, as being the procurer to us of the eternal worm, and becoming [its] nourisher through the reasonings sprung from him; for the leaves of the sycamine feed worms, of which the silk threads are made. This sycamine, then, faith is able to root up from the human heart, and to cast into the sea, that is, to dismiss into the abyss. And since he said these things about faith, he adds also another most necessary teaching, what [is it]? That concerning the duty of not being high-minded over right-doings. For since faith accomplishes many things, and makes him that has it a fulfiller of the commandments, together with adorning him also with works of wonder, and since from these it is likely that a man oftentimes fall into high-mindedness, he secures the apostles, that they be not lifted up over right-doings, by a most graceful example. For which of you, he says, having a servant, and what follows. For he shows through this parable that one ought not to be lifted up over any right-doing, or rather, not even over the fulfilment of all the commandments. For upon a servant lies the necessity of fulfilling the commandments of his lord, yet he ought not to inscribe this to himself as a right-doing. For if he work not, he is worthy of stripes; but since he wrought, let him be content that he escaped the stripes, yet he ought not necessarily to seek honour for this. For it is of the lord’s generosity to give him, or rather to grant him freely, something. So then, serving God also, whether one accomplishes the commandments, he ought not to be lifted up. For he did no great thing; nay, woe would have been to him if he had not done [it], as the Apostle says, Woe is me, if I preach not the gospel. Nor again, if he obtain gifts of grace, ought he to be high-minded over these; for they are gifts of grace freely given him through the mercy of God, not because the lord owed them to him. For rather the servant owes to his lord the doing of all his commandments. And if, even when we do all the commandments, not even then ought we to think anything great, what shall we become, when, not accomplishing even the smallest part of the commandments of God, we are yet lifted up? And note in the wording of the parable that he first set the [word] plowing, then added the [word] feeding cattle. For first one must be a plower, then also be entrusted with the pastoral [office]. For he that has well plowed his own flesh as a kind of land, this man is worthy [of more]; for he that knows not how to rule his own house, as one ought, how shall he feed the Churches of others—even as Jeremiah also says, the light of knowledge—which signifies the chief part of the pastoral [office].

Lk. 17:11–19. Now it happened, as he was going to Jerusalem, that he passed through the region between Samaria and Galilee. And as he was entering a certain village, ten leprous men met him, who stood at a distance: and they raised their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, it happened that they were cleansed. But one of them, seeing that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell on his face at his feet, giving thanks to him: and he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give glory to God, except this foreigner? And he said to him, Get up, go your way: your faith has saved you. And hence one may recognize that nothing hinders any one from being well-pleasing to God, even though he be of an accursed race, only if he have a good purpose. For behold, ten lepers met Jesus as he was about to enter into a certain village. And they met him outside the village; for it was not lawful for them, being accounted unclean, to live within the village; and standing afar off, as ashamed of their seeming uncleanness, and not daring to draw near—for they supposed that Jesus too would abominate them, as the rest did—they lift up their voice and supplicate. In place they stood afar off, but by their supplication they became near. For he is near also to all that call upon him in truth. And they supplicate him not as a mere man, but as one above man. For they name him Master, which is, Lord, guardian, overseer—which is near to accounting him God. And he commands them to show themselves to the priests; for the priests examined such persons, and from them received the verdict, whether they were clean of the leprosy or not. For the priests had signs by which they characterized the incurable leprosy. And after one was made leprous, then obtained health, the priests examined [him], and a gift was offered, that which was ordained in the law. But here, these men being confessedly lepers, why was it needful that they should be shown to the priests, if they were not altogether about to be cleansed? For the commanding them to go to the priests indicated nothing else than that they should be clean; wherefore he also says that, as they went, they were cleansed. But mark what we said at the beginning, that, they being ten, the nine, although Israelites, appeared ungrateful, but the Samaritan, being of another race, returned and uttered the voice of thankfulness. For the Samaritans were Assyrians, that no Gentile may despair, and that no one being of holy forefathers may boast. And this miracle hints also at the common salvation that came to pass for the whole human race; for the ten lepers [are] the entire nature of men, made leprous by vice, and carrying about the unseemliness of sin, and living outside the city of the heavens because of [its] uncleanness, and standing afar off from God; [yet] this very standing afar off had [in it] a supplication. For to him that loves man, and wills all to be saved and made good, the greatest occasion to mercy is to see no one partaking of his goodness, for by this very thing he is bent toward healing those that are in so piteous a case. And indeed he healed the whole nature that was made leprous, having been made flesh, and tasted death, on behalf of every man. But the Jews, although, so far as concerns the Lord, they were cleansed of their own uncleannesses of the leprous sin, showed themselves thankless, and turned not back from their way of vanity, so as to give glory to God who saved [them]—that is, to believe on him, that, being God, he endured to suffer the extreme things. For this is the glory of God, the flesh and the cross. These, then, confessed not the incarnate and crucified Lord of glory. But the people of the nations, of another race, recognized him that cleansed, and glorified him by believing that God is so loving toward man and powerful, as both to take upon him for our sakes the most dishonourable things—which is of love toward man—and, having taken them upon him, to be in nothing harmed in his own nature—which is of power.

Lk. 17:20–25. And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God comes not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said to the disciples, The days will come, when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. In many places of his teachings the Lord made mention of the kingdom of God. And the Pharisees, hearing these things, mocked at him, and for this cause came forward asking about it, when it comes, deriding him as preaching strange things and concerning an unwonted and foreign matter. For none of the former teachers and prophets made mention of it. Or perhaps also, having in mind that they were about to slay him, they came forward asking as in mockery and irony, and saying, as it were, such things as these: You make your discourses about a kingdom, but when shall this kingdom of yours be? For you are about to be put to death by us to-morrow, and a cross shall receive you, and all the things of dishonour. What, then, [does] Christ [do]? He answers not the senseless according to their senseless judgment and folly, but, leaving them to wander about the homonymy of the kingdom, and not unveiling [it] to them—for they would not have received about what manner of kingdom he discourses, and that this kingdom is not, as it were, of this world, but above the world—leaving these things, then, as of men not worthy to hear them because of their willing deafness, he discourses about the season of the kingdom, that it is unknown and unobservable. For it has no appointed season, but the kingdom of God is ever present to him that wills [it]. For altogether the kingdom of God is the angelic estate and manner of life. For then indeed God is said to reign in very truth, when nothing worldly has its citizenship in our souls, but we are in all things living in a super-worldly manner. And this manner of life we have within us, that is, when we will [it]. For there is no need of a long season, nor of a journey, but near us is both the faith and the manner of life according to God after believing. And this same thing the Apostle also said, The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith. For both the believing, and after the faith the walking worthily of the calling, is within us. The Pharisees, then, jeered at the Lord, as preaching about a kingdom of which none preached. But the Lord, showing that they are ignorant of a matter [that] is within them, and that to those who will to receive it there is much ease—For, now that I am in the midst of you, you can altogether receive the kingdom of God, by believing on me, and choosing to live according to my commandments. And to his disciples he said, The days will come, and what follows; that is, To you too the kingdom of God is present, in so far as I am with you. And it is present to you, not only in so far as you believed on me and followed me, but also in so far as you live now in all freedom from care, while I care for you and provide for you. But days will come when, I being absent, you shall be delivered to perils, and being led before governors and kings, you shall long for the present careless and peril-free season, and the freedom from care which you have while I am with you, as [for] a kingdom of God. And you shall oftentimes desire to obtain one of my days, that is, of this living-together with me, as more free from peril. For even if, being with him, they led not a wholly toil-free and peril-free life, but, fleeing with him as he fled, suffered ill, and, being reviled with him as he was reviled, were reviled together [with him], yet the former things befalling them, compared with the perils to come, shall appear to have much freedom from peril. So that the kingdom of God was, even in this manner, within the apostles—as regards the freedom from peril and toil, I mean. For indeed after the resurrection they went about as captives and persecuted. And through these words he makes the hearts of the apostles patient of toil and enduring, and foretells to them, that they be not deceived. For if they say, he says, Lo here, or, lo there, follow not. For let no one, he says, persuade you that I came here or there; for my second coming, the more splendid and glorious, shall not be shut up in a place. But as the lightning is not hidden, but shines from one end of the earth to the other, so also my coming shall be splendid and manifest, and shall be hidden from no one. Be not, then, deceived by the false Christs. For not as formerly, in a manger and in poverty, I appeared for thirty years, [shall it be] then also, but all things in glory, with angels escorting [me], and in the twinkling [of an eye]. Then, since he had foretold that fearful things should meet them, comforting them, and exhorting them to bear [it] nobly, he establishes this by the example of himself. For marvel not, he says, if such toilsome things befall you as to bring you a longing for this present living-together with me. For I myself, who am about to appear as lightning, am first about to suffer many things, and to be rejected. Let the looking off to my [suffering] make you ready to endurance—even to suffer perils and be rejected.

Lk. 17:26–30. And just as it was in the days of Noe, so it will be also in the days of the Son of man: they were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noe entered the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and brimstone rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be the same on the day the Son of man is revealed. And through these things the sudden and unlooked-for [nature] of his coming is shown. For as in the time of Noah the flood came suddenly, and swept away all, so shall his coming also be. And he hints, through these examples—both that of the men in the time of the flood, and that of the Sodomites—that, when Antichrist is come, the [pleasures] of unseemly delights shall be laid upon men, and they shall be lustful, and given over to lawless pleasures; which indeed the Apostle also said, that in the last days men shall be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And with reason shall the evils flourish under the kingdom of the deceiver; for that man being a lodging-place of wickedness and of all sin, what else should he make to have its citizenship in the wretched generation of the men of that time than altogether the things proper to himself? for out of the unclean what shall be cleansed? Men, then, shall at that time be in all luxury, as in the time of Noah, and shall expect nothing grievous, but, even though one tell [them] of grievous things, [they shall not believe], as also they in the time of Noah [did not].

Lk. 17:31–33. In that day, whoever is upon the housetop, with his belongings in the house, let him not come down to take them away: and likewise let the one in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it; and whoever loses it will preserve it. In that day of the coming of Antichrist, let him that is upon the housetop—that is, upon the height of virtue—not come down, nor let himself down from it for any worldly pretext. For all worldly things are said to be vessels to a man, contributing in one case to virtue, and in another to vice. Let not, then, him that stands upon the height of virtue come down for anything worldly, and fall away from his own height, but let him stand firm against the vice, and not be softened. And he that is in the field, likewise, let him not return back; for him that works virtue in the field, [namely] in this world, one ought not to turn back, but to reach forward to the things before. As also elsewhere he says, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of the heavens. And he brings on as an example the wife of Lot, who, having turned back, was fixed into a pillar of salt—that is, not having gone out of vice, she abode in its saltness, becoming wholly evil, and standing as a monument of the defeat which she suffered, fixed and abiding in vice. Then he adds the things consequent upon what was said above: Whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it. For let no one, he says, in the persecution of Antichrist be eager to preserve his own life, for he shall lose it. But whoever shall give himself up to slaughter, and simply to perils, shall be saved, not bowing under the tyrant through love of life. As, then, he said above, that he who is upon the height of virtue, let him not come down for worldly matters, being softened perhaps because of possessions and money, and through these letting go his firm stand, so now also, going forward in his discourse, he says, And what say I, that you shall not come down because of stuff? Neither for outward things let go virtue, nor for the very preservation of your life consent to be bowed down to the deceiver and persecutor. And these things Matthew says were all spoken by the Lord because of the capture of Jerusalem, hinting at the assault of the enemies, and that without turning back one must flee the Romans when they come on, and neither, being on the housetop, come down into the house for anything needful, but flee immediately; for there is no season of leisure to pack up [one’s] gear; nor, being in the field, turn back to the house; for him that is in the house also one must flee. And it is no marvel that these things both came to pass in the capture of Jerusalem, and are about again to come to pass at the coming of Antichrist; or rather, at the very season of the consummation.

Lk. 17:34–37. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said to him, Where, Lord? And he said to them, Wherever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together. And hence we learn the unlooked-for and sudden [nature] of his coming; for the saying that two shall be on one bed shows freedom from care; and the grinding, this too indicates that the coming shall be unlooked-for. And we learn another thing also, that the coming shall be in the night. He says, then, that even of the rich, who rest upon a bed, some shall be saved, and some not. For since he had said that the rich are saved with difficulty, he shows now that neither do these perish [utterly], nor are the poor [all] saved, but even of the rich one is taken to the meeting of the Lord, being caught up as light in spirit and heavenly, while the other is left below as condemned. And of the poor likewise, whom he signified by the grinding, one shall be saved, and the other not. For not all the poor are righteous; for of these are the thieves and cut-purses; so by the grinding he indicated the toilsome life of the poor. And when the disciples asked, Where, Lord, shall these be taken? he said, Wherever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together—that is, where the Son of man is, there [shall] all the saints [be gathered], the light and high-flying, as indeed the sinners [are] heavy, wherefore they are left below. As also, when a dead body lies, all the flesh-eating birds are borne to it, so also, the Son of man having for our sake been put to death and set for [our] falling and rising, when he appears from the heavens, all the saints shall be gathered together, and the angels themselves; for with them he shall come in the glory of the Father, and in unspeakable radiance. For even if he named that season night, yet he said this because of [its] unexpectedness [coming as] darkness; for to the righteous the Lord is a light, [yea,] a sun.

Chapter 18

Lk. 18:1–8. He told them a parable, to show that they ought always to pray and not lose heart, saying, There was a judge in a certain city who neither feared God nor regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she kept coming to him, saying, Give me justice against my adversary. And for a while he refused: but afterward he said within himself, Though I neither fear God nor regard man; yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she does not wear me out by her continual coming. And the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God give justice to his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he is patient with them? I tell you that he will give them justice speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Since he had made mention of tribulations and perils, he brings on also the remedy of these, and this is prayer—and not simply prayer, but persevering and careful [prayer]. For all these things, he says, are about to befall those of that time, but a great helper against these is prayer, which we ought to make perseveringly and continually, considering how the widow’s sitting-by importuned the unjust judge. For if this man, full of all wickedness, and shameless toward both God and men, was softened by her endurance, how much more shall we draw God, the Father of mercies, to pity, even though he bear long for the present? And note that the not being ashamed even before men is a token of worse vice; for God indeed many fear not, yet are ashamed before men, and for this cause sin the less. But when one becomes shameless even toward men, here is already the summit of vice. Wherefore also the Lord placed afterward the [phrase], neither regarding man, as if saying this: that the judge feared not God; and why do I say this, that he feared not God? he had the greater token of vice, that he was not even ashamed before man. These things, then, the parable teaches us, as we have often said, admonishing [us] not to faint in our prayers, even as elsewhere also he said: Which of you having a friend, then, when he comes and knocks by night, will send him away? for because of his importunity, if for nothing else, he will open. And again, Which of you, of whom if his son ask bread, and what follows. For through all these things he sets before us the constant attendance in prayers. And some have attempted to take this parable more curiously, and have dared to liken it to the truth. The widow, they said, is every soul that has cast off her husband whom she had before, the devil I mean, and for this cause has him as an adversary, ever setting upon her; and she comes to God, the judge of unrighteousness—that is, who condemns unrighteousness—who neither fears God (for he himself is God alone, and has no other whom he shall fear), nor is ashamed before man (for God accepts not the person of man). This widow, the soul that continually entreats God because of her adversary the devil, God pities, this sitting-by having importuned him. These things, then, let him to whom they are dear receive; for they were set down lest they should be unknown. Now, the Lord having taught us these things about the duty of praying, and having shown that, if this lawless man, full of all wickedness, was moved to pity by the continuance of the supplication, how much more shall God, the author of all righteousness, do the avenging speedily, although he bears long, and appears not to hear those that supplicate him night and day? Having taught these things, then, and shown us that at the season of the consummation we must use prayer against the perils that shall then come upon [us], he adds, Shall the Son of man, then, when he comes, find faith on the earth?—in the form of a question signifying the rarity of the faithful that shall then be found. For so greatly shall the son of lawlessness then prevail, as to deceive even the elect, if it were possible. And it is his wont, of that which is rarely found, to use the interrogative manner, as also in the [saying], Who then is the faithful and wise servant? And here too, indicating the same thing, and that they shall be few and very scanty who keep the faith both toward God and toward one another, he used this question. And with reason he joined the word about faith to the exhortation concerning prayer. For since faith is the base and foundation of all prayer—for if a man believe not that what he asks he shall receive to profit, vain is the prayer which he makes—for this cause the Lord, teaching about prayer, made mention also of faith, hiddenly showing that the praying too shall belong to few then, since the faith also shall be found in few. The Lord, then, coming in the clouds, shall not find the faith [strong] at that time; for all, even against their will, shall confess [him]—yet these things must one call faith, and not necessity—none [denying] the Saviour from him [who was] before blasphemed.

Lk. 18:9–14. And he spoke this parable to certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. The Lord ceases not to cleanse away the passion of pride by many [means]. For since it troubles human minds more than the other passions, for this cause in many places and oftentimes he teaches concerning it. And indeed now too he cleanses away the worse kind of it. For many are the offshoots of self-love. For both self-conceit, and boastfulness, and vainglory spring from it. But more destructive than all is pride; and pride is the setting at nought of God. For when one inscribes his right-doings not to God, but to himself, what else is it than a denial of God, and a setting up against God? This passion, then, which is set against God, against which the Lord arrays himself as enemy against enemy, the Lord promises through this parable to heal. For because of those that trust in themselves, and reckon not the whole to God, but for this cause also despise others, he says these things, and shows that righteousness, in other respects a thing to be marvelled at, and setting man near to God, when it takes to itself pride, casts man into the lowest places, and makes [him] a demon who hitherto passed for one equal to God. The words of the Pharisee, then, seem at the beginning to be the words of a thankful man. For, I thank you, he says, O God; but the things that follow are full of all senselessness. For he said not, You have made me to abstain from unrighteousness, from extortion; but how? I am not. He attached the right-doing to himself, and to his own strength. And the condemning of others too, how is this [the part] of a man that knows that he has from God what he has? For altogether, if he had believed that he had the good things of another by grace, he would not have despised the others, reckoning that he too is alike naked, so far as concerns his own power, but was clothed freely through mercy. For this cause the Pharisee is proud, as inscribing to his own strength the things wrought; and hence he was led on also to condemn the others. And the Lord marks also, by the [word] stood, his high-mindedness and want of humility; for of the humble-minded even that which is seen is lowly, but this man displayed haughtiness even in his posture. And if the [word] standing is said of the publican also, yet mark also what follows, that he would not lift up his eyes to heaven, so that his standing was stooping. But the [Pharisee’s] eyes too were lifted up to heaven, and were proud together with the heart. And note in the prayer of the Pharisee also an order shown to us. For first he said what he is not, and then reckoned up what he is. For having said, I am not as the many of men, such and such things, he added also the things of virtue, the fasting twice in the week, and the tithing of all that he possesses. For one ought not only to turn aside from evil, but also to do good. And first one must abstain from vice, and then set hand to virtue, even as, being about to draw clean water from a fountain that has been fouled, you first cleanse out the mire, and then draw the clean. And note this also, how he said not, I am not as the many, an extortioner, an adulterer; for he did not even endure, so much as in bare word, to attach to his own person a name that is held in ill repute in the singular, but flung these things in the plural upon the rest of men. And having said, I am not as the rest, he set against this, I fast twice in the week, that is, the second [day] of the week. For the week was called sabbath, named from the last and restful day. For ‘sabbat’ is the rest, and they called the week ‘sabbaths’ in the plural. Whence also they called the first day of the week—the Lord’s day with us—‘one of the sabbaths’; for with the Hebrews ‘one’ signifies the same as ‘first.’ And there is yet another deeper account. Against the passion of adultery, then, he boasted of the fasting; for lust comes of luxury, and he, throttling the body by fasting, was far from such passions. And the Pharisees fasted the second and the fifth [day]. And against the [words], extortioners and unjust, he set the [words], I tithe all that I possess; for I am so opposed, he says, to extortion and unrighteousness, that I give over even my own. And the tithing seems to some to be enjoined by the law simply and once; but to those that search it deeply, it is found to introduce three tithings, and this you shall learn exactly from Deuteronomy, applying your mind. These things, then, [were of] the Pharisee; but the publican, all the contrary. For he stood afar off, both in posture, and in word, and in contrition of heart being very far from him, and not only by the distance of place; for he was ashamed to lift his eyes to heaven, judging them unworthy of the sight of the heavenly things who had willed to look upon and reap the good things of earth. And he smote upon his breast, as it were striking his heart for its wicked counsels, and rousing it to a sense [of itself] as though it slept, and said nothing else than, God be merciful to me a sinner. And through all these things he went down justified rather than the other—that is, in comparison with that other. For unclean before the Lord is every one that is high in heart, and, The Lord sets himself against the proud, but gives grace to the humble. But one might marvel, how the Pharisee, putting forth a few words of high-mindedness, is condemned, but Job, having uttered very many great-sounding words, is crowned. Because, namely, the Pharisee stood, none constraining [him], uttering such vain things, and condemning others, no need pressing; but Job, when his friends were choking him, and laying on the calamity more heavily, and saying that he suffered these things because of sin, was compelled to reckon up his own right-doings, and that on behalf of the divine glory, and that the course of men toward virtue might not be cut off. For if men had been persuaded that the things Job did were sins, and that for those he suffers, they would have abstained from doing the same, and so would have become haters of strangers instead of lovers of strangers, unmerciful and unjust instead of merciful and righteous. For these were the works of Job. That many, then, might not be harmed, for this cause he reckons up his right-doings. These, then, [were] the reasons for Job; not to say that in the very words that seem to be great-speaking, all humility shines forth. For Who shall set me, he says, as in the months of former days, when God preserved me? Do you see that he attributed the whole to God, and neither condemns others, but rather [accuses] himself? And he is brought in apart [from the other]. For every one that exalts himself shall be abased by condemnation, but he that humbles himself shall be exalted, being justified by God. Be not you, then, justified by yourself, nor refer the whole to yourself, that you may be justified.

Lk. 18:15–17. And they brought to him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, and said, Suffer little children to come to me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. This [matter] of the little children also contributes toward moderate-mindedness. For through this the Lord teaches [us] to be humble-minded, and to receive all, and to despise no one. For the disciples thought it unworthy of so great a teacher that children should be brought to him. But he shows them that one ought to be so humble-minded as not even to abominate the least. And thus he teaches moderate-mindedness by the things he did, not sending [them] away, but gladly receiving the infants. And he teaches also by word, that the kingdom of the heavens belongs to those who are disposed like little children. The little child is not lifted up, despises no one, is without malice, without guile, neither puffed up at splendid things, nor cast down at grievous things, but lives in all simplicity. So that he that lives humble-mindedly and without malice, that man is to be received by God; and he that receives the kingdom of God as a little child—that is, without guile, without curious meddling, faithfully. For the curious man, ever asking the [question], How? perishes together with [his] unbelief, since he would not receive [it] simply, and without curious meddling, and moderate-mindedly. All the apostles, then, and simply all that believed on Christ, may be called little children, even as the Lord himself named the apostles: Children, have you any meat? But the wise of the Greeks, seeking wisdom in the mystery […] of God, and being unwilling to receive this without reasoning, were with reason thrust out of this kingdom. And he said not, Of these is the kingdom, but, Of such—that is, of those that have acquired by choice the guilelessness and moderate-mindedness which the children have by nature. Let us, then, receive all the things of the Church, which are the kingdom of God, without curious meddling, and faithfully, and moderate-mindedly; for the curious meddling is [the mark] of self-conceit and of [false] reputation for wisdom.

Lk. 18:18–23. And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour your father and your mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said to him, Yet do you lack one thing: sell all that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. This man seems to some to be a crafty fellow, and as it were seeking to ensnare Jesus in words. But this seems not [to be so], but rather that he was a lover of money. Since Christ also reproved him as being such. For indeed Mark says that, running up and kneeling, he besought Jesus, and that Jesus, looking on him, loved him; [yet] he was a man fond of money. And he comes to Jesus desiring to learn about eternal life, perhaps as a money-lover [seeking] this too. For nothing is so fond of life as a money-loving man. He supposed, then, that Jesus would suggest to him a way through which he should live eternally, enjoying the holding of his money. But when the Lord said that the renouncing [of possessions] is the procurer of eternal life, he goes away, as though blaming himself for the question, and Jesus for the answer. For he, indeed, for the sake of holding his money long, had need of eternal life; since, if he was to renounce his money, what need had he of eternal life, being about to live as a poor man, so it seemed to him? He comes, then, to the Lord as to a mere man and teacher. Wherefore the Lord, showing that one ought not to come to him as a bare man, said, None is good, save one, God. You called me good, he says; why then did you add the [word] Master? For it appears that you suppose me [to be] one of the many. But if this [be so], I am not good; for none of men is properly good, save one, God. So that, if you will call me good, call me good as God, but come not [to me] as to a bare man. For if you reckon me a certain common man, neither call [me] good; for in truth good, and the fountain of goodness, and the origin of very-goodness, is God. But as for us men, even if we are good, yet [we are] not so properly, but by participation, and having the good mixed and mutable. You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not bear false witness, and what follows. First the law corrects the things in which we more easily slip, then the things in which not many, nor oftentimes [slip]—such as adultery, since the fire is both natural and within; [and] killing, since anger is a great wild beast. But stealing is lighter, and into false witness one may rarely fall. Wherefore those [the law] corrects first, as [things] into which we easily slip, and which are otherwise heavier. But these—stealing, I mean, and false witness—it sets second, as both rarely deceiving, and lighter. Since the sinning against parents, even if it be a great sin, yet, as not often happening—for not so beastly are the many easily found as to be insolent toward parents, but seldom, and [only] a few—he set after these. And when the young man said that he had kept all these from his youth, the Lord sets before him as the chief point of all, possessionlessness. And behold the laws of the Christian commonwealth in very truth: Sell all that you have, he says; for if anything remain over, you are the servant of that; and distribute, not to rich kinsmen, but to the poor. And I think that the [word] Distribute has an indication of making the scattering of money with judgment, and not as it may chance. And since, together with possessionlessness, there must be present to the man all the rest of virtue also, for this cause he said, And come, follow me—that is, In all the other things too be my disciple, and follow [me] always, not to-day, and to-morrow not. But when, to a money-lover, he promised the treasure in the heavens, the ruler attended not, for he was a servant of his money; wherefore also, hearing [it], he was grieved, that he suggests to him the deprivation of his possessions, seeing he himself desired eternal life for this very cause, that he might live long and eternally in the abundance of his money. And his being grieved indicates [him to be] a man of good disposition, but not crafty. For none of the Pharisees was ever grieved, but rather they grew savage. And I am not ignorant that the great luminary of the world, golden in tongue [Chrysostom], received [it] that this young man desired the truly eternal life, and indeed loved it, but was held by the greater passion, the love of money; nevertheless what is now added is not without grace, that as a money-lover he desired eternal life.

Lk. 18:24–30. And when Jesus saw that he had become very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And those who heard it said, Then who can be saved? And he said, The things impossible with men are possible with God. Then Peter said, Look, we have left everything, and followed you. And he said to them, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or parents, or brothers, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come, eternal life. Since the rich man, hearing of the renouncing of his goods, was grieved, the Lord says, in a wondering manner, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! He said not that it is impossible for them to enter, but hardly. For it is not impossible for such to be saved. For it is possible, having parted with the money, to attain the things above. Yet this is hard; for more clinging than birdlime are riches, and hardly is he that is held by them torn away. But going on, he sets it down even as impossible; for he says, It is easier for a camel to enter through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to be saved; for it is altogether impossible for a camel to pass through the hole of a needle, whether you understand the [word] camel [as] the animal itself, or [as] a certain thick ship’s cable. If, then, for a camel to be brought through the hole of a needle is easier than for a rich man to be saved, and this is impossible, then more impossible is it for a rich man to be saved. What, then, is to be said? First, that it is truly so; for being a rich man it is impossible to be saved. For tell me not that such a one, being rich, gave his goods, and was saved; for he was not saved [while] rich, but either, having become possessionless, was saved, [or] being a steward, [was saved], and not [as] rich. For a steward is one thing, and a rich man another; for the rich man is he that keeps the riches for himself, but the steward is he that has been entrusted with them for the sake of others. So that, even if this man was saved, he was not saved [as] rich, but either, as we said, having renounced all that he had, or as a steward disposing of them well. Then consider this also, that for the rich man it is impossible to be saved, but for him that has money [it is] hard; as if he said, He that is held by his money, and serves it, and is mastered [by it], shall not be saved, but he that has the money—that is, being lord of it, and himself holding it, but not held by it—shall hardly be saved because of human weakness. For it is impossible not to misuse the things we have; for as long as we have money, the devil is diligent to trip us up, so that there is when [we] use [it] beside the rule and the law of stewardship, and it is hard to escape his snares. For this cause possessionlessness is good, and well-near untempted. And they that heard it, he says, said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things impossible with men are possible with God. For with those that have a human mind—that is, that are dragged below and desire the earthly things—it is impossible to be saved, as has been said; but with God [it is] possible—that is, when one has God for counsellor, and takes the ordinances of God, and the commandments concerning possessionlessness, [as his] teachers, and calls upon the succour from him, this shall be possible; for ours it is to will the good, but God’s to perfect [it]. And otherwise too, if, rising above all human small-mindedness about riches, we shall will to make these our friends out of the mammon of unrighteousness, we shall be saved, being escorted by them into the everlasting habitations. For it is better if we part with all; but if not with all, yet at least to make the poor partakers, and thus the impossible becomes possible. For it is impossible for him that parts not with all to be saved; nevertheless, through the love of God toward man, even the imparting in part comes to be to a proportionate profit. To these things Peter asks, Lo, we have left all; and he asks not on behalf of himself only, but to the comfort of all the poor. For lest the rich only should be of good hope, as about to obtain much, inasmuch as they despised much, while the poor should be of ill hope, as having departed from few [things], and for this cause expecting few recompenses, Peter asks, and hears, that both in the present age and in the age to come he shall have the recompenses, every one that has for God’s sake despised aught of his possessions, even though they be small. For consider not this, that they were small, but that those small things were the whole livelihood to the man; and as you [have attachment] to your many and great things, so he looked to live out [his life] in his few and small things—not to say that he that has few has the greater attachment to them; and this is plain from fathers, who, when they have one child, show the greater attachment toward this one than toward many. So also the poor man is more keenly disposed toward his one house, and toward his one field, than you toward your many. But if not, yet at least the [attachment] is equal in both; and for this cause the [despising] also [is equal]. Whence indeed even in the present age they receive manifold the recompenses, as these very apostles. For each having despised a hut, they now have most splendid temples, and fields, and revenues, and many women bound to them by warmth and faith toward them, and simply all the other things; and in [the age to come, not that] they receive bodily recompenses, but life [everlasting].

Lk. 18:31–34. Then he took the twelve aside, and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of man will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked, and insulted, and spit upon: and after scourging him they will kill him: and on the third day he will rise again. But they understood none of these things: this saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. He foretells to them the things of his passion, that he might accomplish these two things: one, to show that not unwillingly, nor as a bare man ignorant of [his] death, is he crucified, but he both foreknew, and willingly suffers; for if he willed not to suffer, he would have turned aside, as one foreknowing—for to be taken [unawares] is [the part] of those that foreknow not; and the second, to persuade them to bear easily the things that should come to pass, inasmuch as they had heard [them] beforehand, and they fell not upon them suddenly. And yet, if the things spoken of old by the prophets are to be accomplished in you, O Lord, why do you go up? For this very cause, then, that I may work salvation. So that he comes willingly. But he [said] these things; and the disciples then understood nothing; for this saying was veiled from them, most of all the saying of the resurrection; for the other things they did not recognize, such as the being delivered to the Gentiles, but most of all the [saying] of the resurrection they did not recognize at all; for neither was this in common use, nor did all who Judaized believe even the resurrection simply, and [this is] plain from the Sadducees. But you will say, If they did not recognize [it], why then did he foretell them these things? For what was the profit to them toward the comfort at the season of the cross, [they] not understanding what was said? They were profited not a little for the time after, calling to mind that these were the things which, the Lord foretelling [them], they hitherto understood not; and this is plain from many [places], and most of all from what John says: But these things understood not his disciples [at the first], yet afterward they remembered that these things were written of him. And the Comforter too, calling to their remembrance all things, placed in them a more credible witness concerning Christ. And concerning how the burial was of three days, it has been sufficiently said in the other Evangelists.

Lk. 18:35–43. And it came to pass, that as he was come near to Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: and hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passes by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, you Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, You Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought to him: and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What will you that I shall do to you? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said to him, Receive your sight: your faith has saved you. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. As a by-work of the way the Lord works the miracle upon the blind man, that not even his passing-by might be unprofitable to us [as] a teaching, and to the disciples of Christ, that through all things, and always, and everywhere we may be profitable, and that nothing of ours be idle. The blind man, then, having believed him to be the very Christ that was hoped for—for it was likely that he, as nurtured in the things of the Jews, was not ignorant that the Christ is of the seed of David—cries with a great voice, You Son of David, have mercy on me; and by saying, Have mercy on me, he shows that he had a more divine conception about him, and reckoned [him] not a bare man. And marvel me also at his firm standing in the confession, how, although many rebuked him, he held not his peace, but cried the more, for warmth was that which moved him within. Wherefore Jesus also calls him to him, as in truth worthy to draw near to him; and asks him, What will you that I shall do to you? not as ignorant, but lest he should seem to those present, that, while [the man] asked one thing, he himself gave another, and as though that man asked money, but he, as a lover of display, healed blindness; for perhaps envy would have slanderously alleged such senseless things. Wherefore, having asked, since he found him desiring to receive [his] sight, he gives this. And note the [Lord’s] freedom from boasting: Your faith, he says, has saved you; for you believed that I, the proclaimed [one], am that Son of David, the Christ, and displayed so great warmth, as not even when rebuked to hold your peace. And we learn from this, that when we ask with faith, we ask not one thing and he gives another, but those very things; so that, when, asking one thing, we receive another, it is plain that we ask not well nor faithfully; for, You ask, he says, and receive not, because you ask amiss. And note also the authority: Receive your sight. For which of the prophets ever healed thus, in so great authority, I mean? Whence indeed the word became light to the suffering man, proceeding from the true Light. And note also the good disposition of the man that was healed. For he followed Jesus, glorifying God, and became to others also an occasion of glorifying [God].

Chapter 19

Lk. 19:1–10. Then he entered Jericho and was passing through. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was; but could not because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: because he was about to pass that way. And when he came to that place, Jesus looked up, and saw him, and said to him, Zacchæus, hurry and come down; for today I must stay at your house. So he hurried and came down, and welcomed him joyfully. And when they all saw it, they grumbled, saying, He has gone in to lodge with a sinful man. But Zacchæus stood, and said to the Lord; Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor; and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I repay it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. These, the very strongest of the devil’s vessels, the Lord snatches away, and casts down his cities. For see how he made not only publicans his disciples, but even took the chief publican Zacchæus captive to salvation. That a publican is an abominable thing, and a chief publican much more so, as one that rules in wickedness, no man doubts; for to publicans their living comes from nowhere else than from the tears of the poor. Yet this chief publican is not overlooked, but is granted an abiding-place [of the Lord], and lays hold of salvation. For longing to see Jesus, and having gone up for this cause into the sycomore tree, before ever he himself beheld him, he is seen by the Lord. Thus everywhere God comes before us, if only he see us willing. And Jesus, seeing him, hastens him to come down, as being about to abide in his house. And he neglected it not; for one must not draw back when Christ commands anything; but he both came down and received him joyfully, even though the many murmured. Let us see also what fruit he bears at the entering in of Christ. The half of my goods, says he, I give to the poor. Do you see his fervour? He began not to sow sparingly, nor did he give some few things, but all his living. For even those things which he kept back, he kept back that he might have wherewith to give to them that had been wronged. And teaching us that there is no gain if a man, having money out of injustice, show mercy to others while leaving them that were wronged unrequited—see what he does even in this: he restores fourfold, if he wronged any man in anything, healing the loss to that very one who was wronged; for this is of true almsgiving; and not simply the loss, but with an addition, according to the law. For the law commanded the thief to repay fourfold. And yet, if we consider exactly, nothing at all of his money was left to him. For he gave the half of his goods to the poor, and the half was left to him; and out of these again that were left he restored fourfold to them that had been wronged by him; so that, if the chief publican’s living was out of injustice, and he restores fourfold all that he wronged, consider how he is utterly stripped bare. And hence he is found to be minded better than the law, being made a disciple of the Gospel, as having loved his neighbour above himself, and promising these things, or rather doing them. For he said not, I will give the half, and I will restore the fourfold, but, Behold, I give and I restore. For he had heard the exhortation of Solomon: Say not, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give. Christ proclaims to him salvation: To day, says he, you give, to day is salvation come to you. For in saying, To this house, he plainly shows that it was Zacchæus who received the salvation. For Zacchæus is signified by the house, since he would not have called a lifeless building a son of Abraham, but plainly the living master of the house; and he named him a son of Abraham, perhaps both as having believed and been justified by faith, and perhaps also as being great-souled concerning money and a lover of the poor, such as that patriarch was. And observe that he now said Zacchæus to be a son of Abraham, because he saw in him the likeness that comes from his manner of life. For he said not, Forsomuch as he also was a son of Abraham, but that he is so now; for formerly, when he was a chief publican and a tax-gatherer, having no likeness to the righteous man, he was not a son; but since some murmured that he lodged with a man that is a sinner, to stop their mouths he says: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. These things, then, concern the letter. But it is easy to take these things also in another way, to moral profit. For every one that rules in the wickedness of many is little in his spiritual stature, for the flesh and the spirit are opposed; and therefore he cannot see Jesus for the press, but, thronged by the passions and by the affairs of life, he cannot see Jesus working, and moving, and walking. For such a man recognizes no working that befits a Christian; for this is the walking of Jesus, that is, Christ’s doing somewhat in us. But such a man, who has never seen Jesus walking, but is insensible of every action that fits Christ, often comes through repentance to perception, and climbs up into a sycomore tree, making foolish and deadening every pleasure and sweetness—which is signified by the fig—and thus becoming higher than himself, and disposing ascents in his heart, he is seen by Jesus and sees him; and the Lord says to him, Make haste, and come down—that is, You have gone up through repentance to a higher life; come down through humility, lest high-mindedness trip you up. Make haste, be humbled. For if you are humbled, in your house I must abide; for it is necessary, says he, that I abide in the house of the humble. For upon whom shall I look, but upon the meek and quiet, and him that trembles at my words? Such a one gives also the half of his goods to the poor demons. For our goods being twofold—bodily, I mean, and of the soul—the righteous man yields all the bodily to those that are truly poor and bereft of every good, the demons; but of the goods of the soul he gives place to nothing, and in the case of Job we learned the Lord saying, Only touch not his soul. But also, if he has taken aught from any by false accusation, he repays fourfold. And by this he hints that every one who through repentance comes by the road contrary to his former wickedness, through the four virtues heals all that he formerly sinned, and thus receives salvation, and is named a son of Abraham, as himself also having gone out from his land and from the kindred of his former wickedness, and outside the house of his father—that is, having come to be outside himself, and having denied himself. For having become a house of [the Lord], and being changed, he obtains salvation. […]

Lk. 19:11–14. As they were listening to these things, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was about to appear immediately. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went to a far country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. And he called ten of his servants, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, Do business with this until I return. But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, We do not want this man to reign over us. It seems to me that these men, hearing of the kingdom of God, supposed it to be a sensible one, granted by God for the freedom of the Hebrew race; wherefore they imagined that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, would receive this kingdom. But the Lord, showing them that they reckon foolish things—for his kingdom is not sensible—and at the same time making it plain that, being God, he knows their reasonings, speaks this parable, bringing in himself as the nobleman. For though he became man, yet he remained in the height and the nobility of the Godhead; and having brought to its conclusion the mystery of the dispensation in the flesh, he went up into a far country—heaven, I mean—that he might receive a kingdom for himself, that is, that even as man he might sit at the right hand of the throne of the majesty on high, with the flesh. For as God he was ever enthroned together with the Father, but as man he then sat, when he was taken up, waiting until his enemies be put under his feet. And this shall be at the consummation, when all things, even unwilling, shall be subjected to him, having believed that the Lord Jesus Christ is to the glory of God the Father. And his citizens are the Jews that hate him. For they have seen, says he, and have hated both me and my Father—they that would not have him reign over them. Wherefore also they said to Pilate, denying his kingdom, We have no king; and again, Write not, The King of the Jews. And yet Zechariah cries, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, for your King comes to you, just, and bringing salvation; and Isaiah, Behold, a just king shall reign; and David, But I was set as king by him. The Jews therefore hated the Lord, but he gave his servants ten pounds. And his servants are they that in the Church are entrusted with ministries, said to be ten because of the perfection of the ecclesiastical governance. For the order in the Church has the complete arrangement of those that preside, and there ought to be neither more nor fewer. As, for example, we see these three things in the Church: purification, illumination, and perfecting; and three also are the ranks that have been allotted these workings: the deacons purify through catechizing and teaching, the presbyters illumine through baptism, the high priests both establish the priestly ranks and perfect them, that is, ordain. Do you see the ranks set against the workings, and neither more nor fewer—those of the presiders, I mean? To these servants, then, he distributes ten pounds—the gifts of grace, I mean, which are given to each one for that which is profitable. For every one entrusted with a presidency, even though he be unworthy, has a gift of grace from the very anointing; and this is indeed a great mystery of the love of God toward man, and of his dispensation.

Lk. 19:15–28. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called to him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, your pound has gained ten pounds. And he said to him, Well, you good servant: because you have been faithful in a very little, have you authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, your pound has made five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be you also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is your pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared you, because you are an austere man: you take up that you laid not down, and reap that you did not sow. And he says to him, Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: why then gave not you my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said to them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that has ten pounds. (And they said to him, Lord, he has ten pounds.) For I say to you, That to every one which has shall be given; and from him that has not, even that he has shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring here, and slay them before me. And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. At his returning—Christ the nobleman, both according to the human (for the Lord was descended of royal race) and according to the divine—that is, at his second coming, when he shall appear as king, coming with the angels in the glory of the Father, and every knee shall bow to him—then, then indeed, he reckons with the servants that received the gifts of grace; and there are found, the one who profited many and increased the gift tenfold, another who himself also profited, but fewer, and another who profited no one at all, but spent the time of the trading in sloth. Wherefore the one who increased tenfold what he received is set over ten cities—that is, receives rule over ten cities, that is, receives manifold recompenses. And the next according to the proportion. But he that gained nothing is condemned. Let us see also what he says: Lord, behold your pound, take it; for I kept it laid up in a napkin. When the Lord was dead a napkin was put about him, and the face of Lazarus in the tomb was wrapped about with a napkin; fittingly therefore this slothful one says that he laid up the gift in a napkin; for having made it dead and inactive, he wrought it not, neither gained aught. For I feared you, says he, that you take up that you laid not down. Such things many allege as pretexts; for not wishing to profit any, they say, Where God sowed no natural aptitude and fitness, thence seek not a harvest. Such a one God made not apt and fit for learning, and why does he require of me that man’s profit? Wherefore the Lord says: Do you teach, and put my money to the bankers—that is, to all men set before you to be profited. For every man is appointed by God as a banker, that he may trade in the great workshop of this world. And I at my coming would have exacted it, that is, required it with usury. For we must do our own part, but concerning what comes after, God will judge them that would not be profited. The gift therefore is taken away, and given to the good trader; for even though he have more, for this very cause he ought to receive more. For to him that has shall be given—that is, to him that out of trading well has become rich in many things, to him shall be given yet more. For if he increased the few things, multiplying them tenfold, plainly, multiplying the more tenfold, he will procure greater gain for the master. But from the careless and slothful one, who was not diligent to increase what he received, even that very thing which he has shall be taken away, that the master’s property be not idle, since it may be given to another and multiplied. And these things we take not only of word and teaching, but also of the moral virtues. For in these too God has given us gifts of grace: to one of fasting, to another of almsgiving, to another of meekness, to another of freedom from vanity. And if we be sober, we multiply these; but if we be slothful, and be deadened in our purpose, afterward we shall blame God, as we are wont to say, And what shall I do? If such a one be holy, God wills it, and he is holy; me he wills not, and I am not. And he was Peter, he was Paul. O foolish man, this pound makes you Peter and Paul. Work according to your power, and bring something to him that gave it, even if not as much as Peter and Paul; for you have received the same things as Peter and Paul, since he too received a pound, and you a pound; and then, not being moved at all to the working of the good, do you blame God? Therefore, being found unworthy of the gifts of grace, we are stripped of them. But those mine enemies, says he, which would not that I should reign, bring here, and slay them—he means the Jews, whom he will deliver to destruction, sending them away into the outer fire; by this, I say, they were slain by the Roman armies.

Lk. 19:29–40. And it came to pass, when he had come near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Go into the village ahead of you; as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat: untie it, and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? thus shall you say to him, Because the Lord has need of it. So those who were sent went, and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, Why are you untying the colt? And they said, The Lord has need of it. And they brought it to Jesus: and they threw their garments on the colt, and set Jesus on it. And as he went, they spread their cloaks on the road. And as he was now approaching the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. And he answered and said to them, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. Two things the Lord intimates by sitting upon the colt: the one, fulfilling the prophecy that says, Behold, your king comes, sitting upon an ass; the other, hinting to us figuratively that he shall mount upon the new, and unclean, and untamed Gentile people. For surely it was not because of the length of the way that he needed the beast; for he who went about all Galilee and Judæa on foot, how should he, in passing from Bethany to Jerusalem, need the colt, the distance being little, as all know? What I have said, then, he does mystically. Now the colt was tied and had many owners, but is loosed by the apostles, that is, by them that were sent. And this is of such a kind: Bethany is interpreted house of obedience, and Bethphage house of jaws, being a priestly place. For the jaws were given to the priests, as is written in the law. And by the jaws is signified the word of teaching, which the jaws of the soul work and grind fine. Where, then, there is a house of the word of teaching, and of the obedience toward it, there are the disciples of the Lord sent, and they loose him that was bound with the cords of sins, and with the many cares of life; and instead of his having many lords and gods, they make him have one Lord Jesus, and one God the Father. For where there is no house of obedience, nor reception of the word of teaching, no such thing comes to pass there, neither is the colt loosed. And the messengers being two hint at this, that for the bringing in of the Gentile people, and its subjection to Christ, two orders minister: prophets and apostles. And they bring him from a certain village, that we may learn that this people dwelt in much boorishness and want of teaching. For neither did any word, whether Mosaic or prophetic, ever sit upon it, but it was an untaught colt. And if, as another of the evangelists said, it was children that cried, Hosanna to the son of David, these too would hint at the same new people, in that, by believing in Jesus who appeared in the flesh of the seed of David, they send up glory to God, according to that which is written, The people that is created shall praise the Lord. And the spreading of the garments seems to signify this, that, putting off the old man, they that are worthy to hymn Jesus spread themselves under him, and subject themselves to him, that, mounting upon them, he may sanctify them, and the flesh may no longer rise up against the spirit, so that they too may be able to say, I was subjected to the Lord, and besought him. And Luke said that the whole multitude of the disciples praised God, calling disciples simply all that followed Jesus, not the twelve alone, nor the seventy, but the whole crowd that followed Jesus either because of the need of miracles, or because of being charmed for a season by the teaching; among whom it is likely that infants also were mingled, as other evangelists said. And these, being borne by God, confess him king, coming in the name of the Lord, that is, as God; and Peace, they say, in heaven, instead of, The old war which we had against God is dissolved. For there was not on earth a king who was God. But now, God coming upon earth, fittingly there is peace in heaven. And therefore glory in the highest, the angels glorifying at such a union and reconciliation, which the king and God who comes upon the colt has freely granted us. For this very thing, that being God he appears on earth, and walks in the country of us his enemies, shows that a truce has come to be between us and him. But the Pharisees murmured, both that the multitude named him king, and that they hymned him as God; for they held that the name of king ascribed to him tended to sedition, and to blasphemy of the Lord. But he says, If these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out. For not as a favour to me do these men say these things, but constrained they offer this doxology.

Lk. 19:41–44. And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, at least in this your day, the things which belong to your peace! but now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you, that your enemies shall cast a trench about you, and compass you round, and keep you in on every side, and shall lay you even with the ground, and your children within you; and they shall not leave in you one stone upon another; because you knew not the time of your visitation. He weeps over the city as one that loves mankind, for he would not destroy them that were in it because of their daring against him. He shows therefore the bowels of his mercy through his weeping. For that he had mercy on them, and thirsted for their conversion not only before the cross but also after the cross, is plain from his delivering them to the Romans only after so many years—for thirty-five years passed by. For surely for no other cause did he put off the punishment than because of the longing for their conversion. He weeps, then, over the insensibility of Jerusalem, and says: If you had known, even you, at least in this day, the things that belong to your peace—that is, if you had known now what is profitable for you, and brings peace and rest, which things are faith toward me, and abstaining from the plot against me. But now they are hid from your eyes, because for my sake, whom you set at nought, evils unbearable shall lay hold of you, and you shall suffer this and that, because you knew not the time of your visitation—that is, of my presence, when I came to visit you and to save you. You ought, then, to have known the things that belong to your peace, and to have believed in me, and you would have had peace from the Romans, and deliverance from all affliction. For indeed all they that believed in Christ became superior to the capture, so that, if all had believed, none would have been taken.

Lk. 19:45–48. And he entered the temple, and began to drive out them that sold therein, and them that bought, saying to them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but you have made it a den of thieves. And he was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes, and the leading men of the people, sought to destroy him, and could not find a way to do it: for all the people hung on his words, listening to him.

Chapter 20

Lk. 20:1–8. On one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple, and preaching the gospel, the priests and the scribes came upon him together with the elders, and spoke to him, saying, Tell us, by what authority do you these things? or who is it that gave you this authority? He answered and said to them, I too will ask you one question; and answer me: Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did you not believe him? But if we say, From men; all the people will stone us: for they are convinced that John was a prophet. So they answered that they did not know where it was from. And Jesus said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. Having entered Jerusalem in glory, the Lord makes a proof of his own authority in cleansing his Father’s house of them that made merchandise—although he had done this also at the beginning of his preaching, as John says; and now again he does it a second time, which tends also to the greater accusation of the Jews, that not even by his former boldness were they brought to soberness, but persisted in their merchandising, and called him an adversary of God who thus honoured the Father and God, even to cleansing his house of them that made merchandise. Wherefore also he brings against them Isaiah as accuser, saying, My house shall be called the house of prayer. But they senselessly ask him, By what authority do you these things? And yet it was open to them to consider that, since he brought forward a prophetic saying witnessing that the house of God is a house of prayer, not a market and a den of thieves—for covetousness and merchandising is a thievish thing—what further need was there to ask him by what authority he does these things? For it was ready to reason that God commands these things through the prophet. But they ask, By what authority do you these things? The law, they say, committed the ordering of the temple to those descended from Levi; you, not being descended from the Levitical tribe, how do you these things, and seize the priestly offices? But remember, O Jews, David saying, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. And Melchizedek is called a priest; yet Melchizedek was not a priest according to the law, nor of the Levitical tribe. For how could he be, who was so much older than Levi? And besides, why do you seek in Christ the order of the law? God is not subject to laws. He commanded, when it was the season, that the priests be of the Levitical tribe; now he transposes this law, and prefers the priesthood of Melchizedek. Wherefore also he casts out them that sold and bought the animals for sacrifice, such as sheep and doves; together with procuring also seemliness and decorum for the temple, and showing further this also, that it is no longer needful to believe that God is propitiated by the sacrifices of animals. It was, then, ready for the Lord to answer them, as has been said, and to say that the prophet—or rather God—enjoins these things; yet, that he might show them that they always resist the Holy Ghost, and that not only to Isaiah the ancient prophet, perhaps fallen into oblivion among them, but even to John who had appeared but yesterday, the contestant who was nearly fleshless, they would not believe—for this cause he asks them in return this admirable question, by which he both stops their mouths, and shows us that, if they believed not John so great a prophet, who seemed greater than himself, and bore witness concerning him, how would they have believed him answering them by what authority he does these things? For whatever he had said, they would surely have been able to slander it and spit upon it, just as they spat also upon the words of John, the more glorious among them.

Lk. 20:9–16. Then he began to tell the people this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard, and leased it out to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time. And at the proper season he sent a servant to the farmers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard: but the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant: and they beat that one too, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent a third: and they wounded this one also, and threw him out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: perhaps they will respect him when they see him. But when the farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves, saying, This is the heir: let us kill him, so that the inheritance may become ours. So they threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these farmers, and give the vineyard to others. Brief indeed is this parable, yet it teaches us many and great things: the providence of God, which he so abundantly bestowed upon—rather, displayed toward—the Hebrews; their murderousness from the beginning; that the God of both the Old and the New is one; that the Gentiles should be brought in; that the Jews should be cast off. The vineyard, then, is this Synagogue of the Jews; the husbandmen are the scribes and Pharisees, the chief men and overseers of the people; or else each one of us is himself both vineyard and husbandman, for each of us tills his own self. This vineyard, then, the lover of mankind let forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country—that is, he left them to walk as self-determining. And he sent various servants, the prophets I mean, that he might have some small gain. For of the fruit, he says, he willed to receive—not all the fruit; for what does God gain from us, save the knowledge of himself? And this too is our own gain; yet he makes our salvation and our gain his own concern. But the wicked husbandmen insulted them that were sent, beating them, together with sending them away empty—that is, they came to such a pitch of folly that they not only turned aside from the good, and gave no good fruit, but also wrought wickedness, which is worthy of greater punishment. The prophets, then, having so suffered the most dreadful things, the Son is sent. For it may be, he says, they will reverence my Son. And this he said, not as ignorant of what should be, and that they would rather treat him worse than the prophets, but saying that which ought to have come to pass; for they ought to have reverenced him. And if they did not so reverence him, but even killed him, this tends to their greater accusation, that even after God had declared that it was good so to come to pass, and to reverence him, they cast the contrary vote. And such an idiom is found in many places of Scripture, as the saying, If so be they will hearken. For neither there, being ignorant of what should be, does he say this, but that none may say that the foreknowledge of God necessarily became the cause of the disobedience; for this cause he so shapes his words. And casting the Son out of the vineyard, they killed him: it is ready, then, to say, outside Jerusalem; for outside the gate Christ suffered. But since above we took the vineyard to be the people, not Jerusalem, perhaps it is more fitting to say that the people killed him, but outside the vineyard—that is, not themselves becoming with their own hand the workers of his death, but having delivered him to Pilate and the Gentiles. Outside the vineyard, therefore, that is, outside the hands of the people, the Lord suffered; for it was not lawful for them to kill any man; yet by soldiers’ hands he died. But some understood the vineyard to be the Scripture; outside the Scriptures, then, the Lord suffered—that is, they that believed not Moses, these killed him. For if they believed Moses, and were searching the Scriptures, they would not have killed the Lord of the Scriptures. Having said these things, he adds also the sentence which he will bring forth against them, that he will let out the vineyard to others—that is, he will give to others this grace, to be called my people. And observe that they who say the Scripture to be the vineyard seem rather to hit the mark, as taking it hence from the Hebrews. And one might say boldly that all things, whether they lay in laws, or in deeds and histories…

Lk. 20:17–19. But when they heard it, they said, God forbid. And he looked at them, and said, What then is this that is written, The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. And the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour; but they feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken this parable against them. Luke, as you hear, says that the Lord said the master of the vineyard will destroy the thankless husbandmen, and will let out the vineyard to others; which the Pharisees hearing, said, God forbid. But Matthew tells it otherwise: for he says the Lord asked, What will the lord of the vineyard do to those husbandmen? and the Jews answering said, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out the vineyard to others. Is there then a contradiction? Away with the thought. For it is likely both came to pass: and according to Matthew those very men brought forth the sentence, and then, perceiving where the parable tended, and that it was spoken because of them, again said this which Luke now reports, God forbid. What then does Christ do? He adds also another testimony from David, naming himself a stone, and the builders their teachers—even as Ezekiel says, They build the wall, and daub it with untempered mortar—that is, they that speak the things that please, and conceal the faults of the people, and as it were plaster over superficially the rottenness of the people, as of some wall. And how did they reject this stone? By saying, This man is not of God. And two destructions he here speaks of: one, that of their own souls, which they themselves suffered, being made to stumble—for whoever falls upon this stone shall be broken; and another, that from the captivity which the stone brought upon them, the stone set at nought by them. For on whomever, he says, it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Thus then were the Jews ground to powder, and scattered, like chaff from one threshing-floor, that of Judæa, into all the world. And observe that first those men fell upon the stone—that is, were made to stumble—and then thus the stone fell upon them and punished them; for my sin goes before, and then thus comes the righteous punishment of God upon me. But the Jews rejected this stone; yet it was so good and choice that it was set for the head of the corner, and joined and knit together two walls, both the old things and the new. And yet they ought to have heard Isaiah saying, Sanctify him as Lord, and he shall be to you a fear, and you shall not meet him as at the stumbling of a stone, nor as at the falling of a rock. But they, even knowing that he spoke the parable because of them, take counsel against him; and had it not been for the fear of the people, they would have laid hands on him. And though the law says, You shall not slay the innocent and righteous, they disregarded it, but the wrath of men they fear, and are restrained from open assault, yet plot against him otherwise.

Lk. 20:20–26. And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him to the power and authority of the governor. And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that you say and teach rightly, neither do you accept the person of any, but teach the way of God truly: Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Cæsar, or no? But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, Why tempt you me? Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription has it? They answered and said, Cæsar’s. And he said to them, Render therefore to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace. A snare hard to escape the Pharisees prepared for the Lord, as they thought; but their own foot was caught in it. For see their malice. If he should say, they reason, that tribute must be given to Cæsar, he is to be accused before the people as subjecting the nation to bondage, it being the seed of Abraham, which had served no man; but if he should forbid the giving of tribute, again they would bring him to the governor as a seditious man. But he escapes their nooses like a roe—for so the bride named him in the Song—and teaches that to be subject bodily to him that has authority over our bodies, whether king or tyrant, in no way harms us as to pleasing God, the God of spirits, in a spiritual manner. Render, he says, to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And observe, he said not Give, but Render. It is a debt, he says; render therefore the debt. Your ruler guards you from enemies, makes your life peaceable; you owe him therefore the tribute in return for these things; and besides, that very thing which you offer—that is, the coin—you have from him himself. The king’s coin, therefore, render again to him. And in the meanwhile you have gained by dealing with it, and by using it for the needs of life; even as, of course, the things of God must also be rendered to God. He has given you mind; render it to him by working according to mind. He has given you reason; render it to him, not making yourself like the senseless beasts, but doing all things as a rational being. And simply he has given you soul and body; render all to him, and restore his image to him, walking by faith, by hope, by love. And indeed in another way also one must render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s; for each of us bears either the image of God, or that of the ruler of this world. When, therefore, we make ourselves like Cæsar, becoming sons of the devil, we bear his image, which must be rendered to him and cast away, that he may have his own, and find nothing of his own in us; for thus also the image of God may be kept unmingled in us. Wherefore Paul exhorts, As we have borne the image of the earthy, let us also bear the image of the heavenly. And elsewhere, Putting off the old man. That which here is said to render, this in Paul is to put off; and that which here is the image of Cæsar, this there is the image of the earthy—of the sinner altogether, of Adam and the old man. For the image of the earthy is nothing else than the corruption and the sin which we have, being made like to the apostate, and not to the king. The Pharisees, then, could not take hold of Jesus before the people; for that which was chiefly their study was this, to slander him before the people as enslaving the nation to the Romans, which they could not accomplish because of his exceeding wise answer.

Lk. 20:27–40. Then some of the Sadducees, which deny that there is a resurrection, came to him and questioned him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote for us, that if a man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers: and the first took a wife, and died childless. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her; and likewise all seven: and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died too. So in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? for all seven had her as wife. And Jesus answered them, The children of this age marry, and are given in marriage: but those who are considered worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: for they can no longer die: since they are like the angels; and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for to him all are alive. And some of the scribes answered and said, Teacher, you have spoken well. And they no longer dared to ask him anything. Having laid a rotten foundation for themselves, the Sadducees disbelieved the words concerning the resurrection. For supposing that there would be a bodily manner of life in the resurrection, fittingly they erred; wherefore also, slandering the doctrine of the resurrection as absurd, they fabricate this senseless tale. The Lord, then, having shaken their foundation, and shown that there is no bodily manner of life, then immediately, together with this rotten foundation and supposition, pulled down their doctrine, saying, You err, not knowing the Scriptures, but misconstruing their meaning. For the children of this world, they that beget and are begotten in this world, marry, and are given in marriage—that is, are bestowed in marriages; but the children of that world have nothing of the kind, for neither can they die any more; wherefore neither are the things of marriage there, but an angelic and divine manner of life. For here, since there is death, therefore there is marriage; and since there is marriage, therefore there is death. But there, death being abolished, what need of marriage? For marriage is a help against mortality, and a filling up of what is lacking; but where nothing is lacking, what need of that which fills up? They are equal to the angels, therefore, and sons of God. Why? Because they are sons of the resurrection. And what he says is of this kind: I called them, he says, sons of God, because nothing bodily is seen in their begetting, but all things divine; for neither does intercourse go before, nor seed, nor womb, nor conception in the resurrection, but it is God who begets our bodies by words which he knows. Since, then, it is God who works in the resurrection, fittingly they that are born again of the resurrection are called sons of God. And he brings to his reasonings also a scriptural testimony. For Moses says that God said to him out of the bush, I am the God of Abraham, and the rest. And if the patriarchs had once for all perished, and did not live with God in the hope of the resurrection, he would not have said, I am, but, I was. For this we are wont to say of things corrupted and vanished: I was the master of such a thing. But now, saying, I am, he showed that he is the Master and God of the living, and not at all of them that are utterly corrupted. For though they be dead, yet by the hope of rising again they live; even as Adam too, though he lived, was nevertheless mortal, and from that very hour in which he ate is said to die. And the Sadducees being thus put to shame, the scribes received Jesus, as the rival of the Sadducees, being pleased at their defeat.

Lk. 20:41–47. And he said to them, How is it that they say Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. David therefore calls him Lord, how then is he his son? Then, in the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples, Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets; who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these will receive greater condemnation. Being about, as it were now, to come to the passion, he proclaims his own Godhead, and not even this openly and boastfully, but very modestly. For he asks them, and, having led them into perplexity, leaves them to reason out the consequence. For David, he says, calls him Lord, and how is he his mere son? For he is indeed David’s son according to the flesh, but is also his God; whereas they thought him only this, the son of David. Wherefore he overturns this opinion of theirs, that he is the mere son of David; and he makes it plain also that he is not set against the Father, but has much concord with him, seeing that the Father subdues his enemies for him. These things, then, to the scribes. But since he sent the disciples as teachers of the world, fittingly he exhorts them not to imitate the vainglorious and ambitious mind of the Pharisees, which is simply worldly and man-pleasing. For to practise greetings in the markets is the part of them that flatter those they meet, and hunt after a reputation of good character, or set this as a pretext for the gathering of money. But also they devour widows’ houses, he says, gorging themselves, and consuming beyond what is needful; and the pretext is one of piety. For making a pretext of prayer and profit to the soul, they teach not fasting, but drunkenness and gluttony, and for this cause they shall receive, he says, greater damnation, because they not only do the evil, but also make a pretext of prayers. And their outward appearance is pious, and they make virtue a pretext for wickedness. Wherefore indeed they are the more to be condemned, as making the good itself to be slandered. For they ought to have mercy on the widows; but they enter into their houses as though to bless them through their long prayers; and the widows are constrained to spend at their coming, and so are consumed.

Chapter 21

Lk. 21:1–4. And he looked up, and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a poor widow putting in there two small coins. And he said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them: for all these have contributed to the offerings out of their abundance: but she out of her poverty has put in all the living that she had. Gaza, they say, means a treasure. There was, then, a sacred treasure, gathered by contribution from lovers of God, which they used for the maintenance and repair of the temple, and simply for the adornment of the sanctuary, and for the sustenance of the poor—even though later the priests made merchandise of this also, dividing the treasure among themselves, and using it not for the purposes to which it had been set apart from the beginning. The Lord, then, praises the widow above all the others, as having cast in of her penury her whole living. For the two obols, even though they seem little, yet are the whole living to her that is sustained by begging; for she was a poor widow. Not, therefore, looking to what is given, but to what is left behind, does the Lord render his recompenses. To the rich, then, more was left at home, who offered few and little things; but to her the whole house had been emptied, and nothing was left. Fittingly, therefore, she is also the more praiseworthy of them. And some have understood that the widow can be taken for every soul that has cast off her former husband, the old law, but is not yet worthy of the union with God the Word; and that this soul brings, by way of an earnest, the small and as yet moderate faith proportioned to her, and a good conscience. For together with faith one must bring also a good conscience, that is, an undistorted manner of life; and if one thus draws near to God, he seems to cast in more than all the rich in word and abounding in the moral lore of the Greeks.

Lk. 21:5–11. And as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which you behold, the days will come, in which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And he said, Take heed that you be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draws near: go you not therefore after them. But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he to them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and great earthquakes shall be in various places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. Fittingly the Lord now prophesies concerning Jerusalem, inasmuch as he is, as it were now, about to be crucified, that we might have these things too for a great proof that he is the true God. Whence also, when certain praised the buildings of the temple and the offerings—and I think he means those carved works, palm-trees and cherubim, for these perhaps are the offerings he speaks of—the Lord turns to none of these, but foretells their overthrow. But they thought he was speaking of the universal consummation, although he was speaking of the capture of Jerusalem by the Romans. Wherefore he too, condescending to them, lets be for the present the words concerning the capture—for he is about to interweave them with the things that come after—and now treats of the consummation, and forearms them, so that they be not led away by the false prophets that are to come before his presence. And there shall be wars and commotions; for all love being taken away, fittingly the wars and commotions shall have place; and from the wars, famines and pestilences—the one because the air is corrupted from the dead bodies, the other because the lands are not tilled. But some have understood the famines and pestilences and the other afflictions to be not only at the consummation, but also at the times of the capture. For Josephus too says that unbearable calamities came to pass because of the famine. And further, as Luke says in the Acts, there was a famine in the days of Claudius Cæsar. And indeed many fearful sights came to pass, signifying the capture of Jerusalem, as the same Josephus relates. And altogether these things can be understood as common both to the time of the consummation and to that of the capture—I mean the things concerning the commotions and the wars and the rest.

Lk. 21:12–19. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you, and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues, and into prisons, bringing you before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity for a testimony. Resolve therefore in your hearts, not to prepare beforehand what you shall answer: for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries shall be able to resist or contradict. And you shall be betrayed both by parents, and kinsfolk, and friends, and brothers; and some of you they will put to death. And you shall be hated by everyone for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall perish. By your endurance you shall gain your souls. Before all these things—those of the consummation, or also those of the capture; for, as I said, he interweaves with the words concerning the consummation those concerning the capture. They shall lay their hands on you, he says, my disciples. For even before the capture the apostles were persecuted out of Jerusalem, God ordering this also, that the dreadful things might fall only upon the crucifiers, while they themselves—the apostles, I mean—might fill the whole world with the preaching. The apostles, then, were brought before kings and before rulers, as Paul before Festus, before Agrippa, before Cæsar himself. And this came to pass for them to the glory of testimony. But since they were unlearned and ignorant men, that they might not be troubled as though they were to be required to give account before wise men, Let nothing of this, he says, be a care to you; for you shall receive from me at once both wisdom and ready speech, so that not even all the adversaries gathered together into one can withstand you, neither in wisdom—that is, in the power of the thoughts—nor in ready speech and the unstumbling of the tongue. For often a man has wisdom in his reasonings and thoughts, but, being easily disturbed before tumults, confounds the whole in the hour of public speaking. But these, the apostles I mean, were graced in both; whence the priests were astonished at Peter and John for their sudden wisdom, perceiving that they had formerly been unlearned men; and Festus said of Paul, You are mad, Paul; much learning does turn you to madness. Having said these things, and loosed their fear arising from their unlearnedness, he adds another thing necessary, and able to shake souls—namely, You shall be betrayed by friends and kinsfolk. He foretells, then, concerning this also, that it may not, coming suddenly, throw them into confusion. For this is a dreadful thing to reach the soul, as David also says, For if the enemy had reproached me, I would have borne it; but you, O man, mine equal. And again, He that did eat of my bread magnified his heel against me. Having said these things—both that they shall be hated, and that some of them shall be put to death—he adds the greatest consolation, that, There shall not an hair of your head perish. For you shall be saved, he says, and not even the least thing of you shall be destroyed, even though it seem to the many to be destroyed; only you must endure; for in your patience you shall be able to possess your souls. For the enemy comes, like some captor, attempting to snatch away your souls through the bringing on of dreadful things; but do you give patience instead of money, and possess your souls by this exchange, and you shall not lose them. And attend to the saying, Some of you shall they put to death; for you shall understand something deeper, that, They shall not put you to death whole, but, you being twofold, of soul and body, they shall not put the two to death, but of you shall put the one to death—the body, I mean—but possess you your souls through patience; which also he says elsewhere, Fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.

Lk. 21:20–27. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has drawn near. Then let those who are in Judæa flee to the mountains; and let those who are inside the city depart; and let not those who are in the countryside enter into it. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are with child, and to those who nurse infants, in those days! for there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath against this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trampled by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in bewilderment; the sea and the waves roaring; men fainting from fear and expectation of the things coming upon the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Most clearly does he now treat of the capture of Jerusalem. Whence I think the saying, But before all these, must be understood thus: that is, before the famines, and the pestilences, and the other dreadful things which are to come to pass in the time of the consummation, you the apostles shall be persecuted, and so forth. Then also the evils shall come upon Jerusalem. For since they supposed that in the time of the consummation the buildings of the temple should be overthrown, Nay, he says. For the time of the consummation shall have false prophets, and famines, and pestilences from the continual wars that are to befall because of love’s growing cold. But you, before the time of the consummation, shall be driven out, and Jerusalem shall be taken, and these stones shall be thrown down. For when you shall see the city compassed by the Roman armies, then know the desolation thereof. He sets forth tragically, then, the dreadful things which shall then beset the city. For let them, he says, that are in Judæa flee to the mountains. And let not them that are in the countries expect that the city, being walled, will guard them, but let them withdraw; and let them also that are in the midst of the city. For they are days of vengeance, that the things may be fulfilled which were written, especially in Daniel. Woe to them that are with child; for they shall not be able to flee because of the weight of the womb; and to them that give suck, because of their affection toward their infants, being able neither to leave them uncared for, nor to take them with themselves. And some say that in these things the Lord hints at the eating of children, which Josephus relates and Jeremiah prophesies. And Jerusalem, he says, shall be trodden down of the Gentiles. Thus far the things concerning the capture. Then again the things concerning the consummation. For there shall be, he says, signs in the sun, and moon, and stars. For the creation being changed, fittingly the elements are made new. And distress of nations—that is, affliction, all things mingled with perplexity; and the sea shall roar with terrible noises, and there shall be tossing and tumult, so that men faint from fear alone, and from the expectation of the things coming upon the world. See plainly that he is here speaking of the consummation. For above he said that Jerusalem is compassed and trodden down by the armies of the Gentiles, but here that the evils come upon the whole world, so that his discourse now is of the universal consummation. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And why do I say, he says, that men shall be troubled, all the creation being changed? For the very angels and the first powers shall be troubled at so great changes. And then shall they see the Son of man, even they that believed not, coming in clouds; and he shall then flash forth brighter than the sun, both himself and…

Lk. 21:28–33. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near. And he spoke to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, you see and know of your own selves that summer is now near at hand. So likewise you, when you see these things come to pass, know you that the kingdom of God is near at hand. Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. As the former presence of the Lord was for the re-elementing of our souls and for regeneration, so also the second shall be for the regeneration of our bodies. For since the souls died first, having disobeyed, but the bodies underwent death in actuality nine hundred years after the disobedience, accordingly they too are born again and bettered—the souls through the former presence, the bodies through the second. Wherefore the Lord says, When these things come to pass, look up, you that are weighed down by corruption, and as it were be set at liberty. For your redemption is at hand—that is, the perfect freedom of the two together, of soul, I mean, and body. For the preposition in apolytrosis seems to hint at this, the entire deliverance from corruption; and the body shall then receive grace from the Lord who abolishes the last enemy, death. For he abolished the principalities and the powers, and redeemed the souls. There remained death, which preys upon our bodies, which also being abolished shall be to us a cause of freedom and redemption. And the kingdom of God shall immediately be present when these things come to pass. As also the fig tree, putting forth its leaves, shows summer drawing near, so also these portents coming to pass, and the transformation of the whole, show that summer shall come—that is, the kingdom of God—coming after winter and storm as summer to the righteous, even as to the sinners it shall then be winter and storm. For these have the present age as their summer, but the age to come as their storm. Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. By generation he means not those then present, but the whole generation of the faithful. For the Scripture knows how to name a generation also from likeness of manner, as the saying, This is the generation of them that seek the Lord. For since he said that there should be commotions and wars, and changes both of elements and of affairs, lest any suppose that perhaps Christianity also shall be dissolved, Nay, he says, this generation of Christians shall not pass away. For heaven and earth shall be changed, but my words and my Gospel shall not be dissolved, but shall remain, even though all things be shaken, and the faith in me shall not fail. And he makes it plain hence that he holds the Church more precious than all the creation, seeing that the creation is changed, but of the Church of the faithful, and of his words and the Gospel, nothing shall pass away.

Lk. 21:34–36. But take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be weighed down with dissipation, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly. For it shall come like a snare upon all them that sit upon the face of the whole earth. Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. You have heard, he says, of fearful sights and commotions; but all these are sensible, and symbols of the evils that shall lay hold of sinners. But against these dreadful things a great and counteracting remedy is prayer and watchfulness. For to be ever in readiness, and in expectation of the end, this above all things will be able to help. And this shall come to you, he says, if you are sober, and your hearts be not overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life. For that day comes not with observation, but unlooked for, secretly, like a snare seizing them that take no heed. And perhaps one might examine more curiously this saying, Them that sit upon the face of the whole earth. For that day ensnares those that pass their life in carelessness and idleness; for these are they that sit, and these are they that are ensnared. But as many as are active and energetic and sober about the working of the good, and are ever moved toward the good, not sitting fast and resting in earthly things, but rising up from thence, and saying to themselves, Arise and depart, for this is not your rest, and longing for a better country—to such the day is not as a snare and a danger, but as a feast day. Wherefore one must watch, and beseech God, that we may be able to escape all the things that shall come to pass. What things? Perhaps both the famines, and the pestilences, and the other things which shall not lie so heavily upon the elect as upon the rest—rather indeed, for the elect’s sake they shall be shortened even for the rest; and perhaps also the things which shall come to pass for the sinners eternally. For those things we cannot otherwise escape, save through watchfulness and prayer. But since it suffices not for the great-souled to flee the affliction, but they must also attain some good thing, after saying, That you may be able to escape all these things, he adds, And to stand before the Son of man—which is for the Christian to hasten to receive good things and glory before the Son of man and our God. For his angels…

Lk. 21:37–38. Now during the day he was teaching in the temple; but at night he went out, and lodged on the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, to hear him. The evangelists concealed the greater part of what he taught, and especially the three; but John, though he too kept silence about the greater part, yet set forth, beyond the three, some teachings more lofty. To those gathered in the temple, then, he discoursed many and lofty things, as one may infer. For that the evangelists said few things—since they did not wish to make a display—is plain both from elsewhere in many places, and not least may be inferred from this, that, though the Lord preached nearly three years, they recorded few of his teachings; and one who said that the discourse of a single day was sufficient would not, I think, be blamed. Out of many things, then, the holy evangelists recorded for us few, giving only as it were a taste of the sweetness. And he discoursed not in one manner, but applying to each that which was fitting. Wherefore also the crowd came early to him; for grace was poured upon his lips. And by night he withdrew to the mount, showing us that one must by night, through stillness, commune with God, but by day, through condescension, profit men, and gather by night, but distribute by day what has been gathered. He himself, indeed, needed not prayer, nor gathering toward God; for he had nothing into which he might be contracted, being himself God. But these things he set down for us as a pattern, that, after the manner of wells, we may by night receive the inflowing of prayer from the spiritual veins, but by day be drawn upon by them that need profit. One, then, seeing the people at that time coming early to Jesus, so as to hear him, might say that the words of David fitted him to speak: O God, my God, early will I seek you; my soul has thirsted for you.

Chapter 22

Lk. 22:1–6. Now the feast of unleavened bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes were seeking how they might do away with him; for they feared the people. Then Satan entered into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went and conferred with the chief priests and captains, as to how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him to them away from the crowd. The scribes sought to kill him; but since the time of the Passover was at hand, and they saw a danger to themselves from this, the people being gathered together, especially because of the feast, they sought henceforth a method, how, having killed him, they might not be in danger. And Satan entered into Judas, being of the number of the twelve—that is, being even of his own household and genuine disciples; that no man might be confident in himself, but might always take heed to his own life, as having a dreadful adversary. But some have understood the saying, Being of the number of the twelve, thus, as meaning, Filling up only the apostolic number, not being a true apostle and disciple; for how is he a true disciple who steals the things cast into the bag? Thus, then, he received Satan, who entered into him, and agreed with them that sought to betray Jesus; for this is the meaning of the saying, He promised—that is, he made complete agreements and covenants. And he sought opportunity, when he might find him in the absence of the multitude, that is, alone, and might betray him to them. And by captains he here means the rulers of the buildings of the temple, or also those that had charge of good order. For the Romans set certain men over the people, that it might not be disturbed; for they were seditious. These, he says, are the captains. And perhaps they had also military commands; who, being of the priestly portion, were named captains. For being sick with love of pre-eminence, they undertook also such commands; wherefore he named them captains of the temple, perhaps taking hold of them the more pointedly.

Lk. 22:7–13. Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. And they said to him, Where will you that we prepare? And he said to them, Behold, when you are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he enters in. And you shall say to the goodman of the house, The Master says to you, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said to them: and they made ready the passover. That the Pasch, so called in Hebrew, signifies the passing-over out of Egypt, has been said by many; and simply all the things then performed in the feast have been interpreted by the saints. But now we must say what day of unleavened bread he means. By the day of unleavened bread he means the fifth, on whose evening they were to kill the passover. The Lord, then, on the fifth, perhaps in the morning, sends his disciples Peter and John—the one as loving, the other as beloved. And he sends them to another’s house. For neither had he one, nor yet his disciples; else he would have kept the passover in the house of one of the disciples. Do you see possessionlessness? And he sends them to a man unknown, that he might show that he underwent the passion also willingly. For if he had not willed it, he who persuaded the mind of this unknown man to receive them, could have persuaded also the Jews to accomplish as much as he wished. But some say that for this cause he told not the man’s name, nor made him manifest, but by a certain sign leads them to the house of the man, because of the traitor; that, not knowing the name, he might not betray the house to the Pharisees, and they coming might seize him before the supper came on, before he had delivered his spiritual mysteries. Wherefore Christ says further down, With desire I have desired to eat this passover before I suffer—that is, I made all haste, that we might escape the notice of the traitor, and might not undergo the passion prematurely, before we deliver the mysteries. And it is open to whoever will to accept this exposition. And for what cause does he keep the passover? Showing through all things, to his last breath, that he is not contrary to the law. Let us also, then, keep this passover spiritually; and let us understand by the day of unleavened bread the whole manner of life in the spiritual light, having no oldness of the former disobedience in Adam; being in which manner of life, we must take our delight in the mysteries of Jesus. These mysteries, then, shall Peter and John prepare—action and contemplation, the warmth of zeal and the peace of meekness. For the faithful man must be both warm about the working of the good, and a zealot against wickedness, and meek toward them that do wickedly; for wickedness is to be hated, not the man that does wickedly. For he is to be healed, since he suffers. And this is to do wickedly—to be troubled by the Evil One, and to suffer the wickedness. If, then, we have Peter and John preparing the supper—a good life, I mean, which is Peter; and true doctrines, which is John the Theologian—there shall meet such preparers a man, that is, then shall we find the truly human estate, that which was created after the image of him that fashioned, or rather created it, bearing a pitcher of water. The water is the grace of the Spirit, as the evangelist John teaches; the pitcher is the brittleness of the heart, easy to contrition. For he that receives spiritual grace is humble and contrite in heart; and to the humble the Lord gives grace. And he that knows himself to be earth and ashes, and says with Job, You have fashioned me of earth, he shall bear the grace of the Spirit in the easily-compunctious vessel of his heart, ready to contrition. And following such an estate, we shall come to the house of the mind, whose master, the mind, shall show us a large upper room furnished. The upper room is the lofty range of such a mind—the divine things, I mean, and the things intelligible, in which it dwells, and in which it delights. And these are furnished; for nothing is rough to them, but even the crooked things become straight to such a mind, as Solomon also said, All things are plain to them that understand, and right to them that find knowledge. And one would not err in saying this also, that the mind, even if it does a lofty thing, passing its life according to the working of the mind, yet knowledge is still spread under it, and stands somewhat lower. But knowledge is in truth lofty, and above all height is the unknowing beyond mind, when the mind no longer works, but is worked upon. But we must first work with our mind, and then thus we shall be worked upon by the grace of the Lord, taking us, as also the prophets, and setting us out of every natural working. Indeed, it is said that the burden of the Lord came upon this or that prophet. As, then, here also, this upper room being furnished, Jesus comes with his disciples, and performs the mysteries, himself coming to us, and showing us his own working, and not waiting any longer for us to come to him. And as disciples of the God-Word, all that have the Word in them, we shall keep the partaking of the Pasch, according to the saying, I will look upon the heavens, the works [of your fingers].

Lk. 22:14–20. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said to them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: for I say to you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. They ate the passover standing; how then is the Lord said to sit down? They say, then, that after eating the legal passover, they sat down henceforth, eating in the common manner certain other foods. And he says to the disciples, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; as if he said this: This is my last supper with you; wherefore it is also beloved and desired by me; for at another time I shall not feast with you; even as those that are about to go abroad offer their last greetings to their own and genuine friends more sweetly and more longingly. And in another sense: I have desired to eat this passover with you, because in it I am about to deliver to you the great mysteries, those of the New Testament. And by this he shows that he suffers willingly. For it was surely open to him, since he knew that he was to suffer, to withdraw, as also at the former times. And the saying, I will not drink of it until the kingdom of God shall come, some of the saints understood as meaning, Until I rise again. For after the resurrection, consorting with the disciples, he both ate and drank with them, as Peter also says to Cornelius, Who did eat and drink with him after the resurrection. And that the kingdom of God is the resurrection is plain. For the resurrection is the dissolution of death; and death reigned from Adam to Christ; but then, being dissolved, it gave place to the Lord of the victory and the kingdom, according to the saying, O death, where is your victory? and David, The Lord reigns; then, interpreting how he reigned, He has put on goodly apparel, the body being made incorruptible and beautified with the Godhead; and Isaiah says, This is beautiful in his robe, force with strength. And the Lord himself, after rising, says, All power is given to me. The resurrection, then, being come, which he named the kingdom of God, as having dissolved death, he drank again with the disciples, giving assurance of the resurrection, that it is not according to fantasy. But some took the kingdom of God to be the estate to come; and the Lord’s drinking with us in the age to come to be the revelation of his mysteries. For making us glad, he is made glad, and feeding us, the lover of mankind is fed, and reckons our drink and food—that is, our learning—to be his own food. He shall drink, then, at that time a certain new drink with the worthy, revealing to them ever certain new and unwonted things. And Luke seems to mention two cups; and one, he says, Take, and divide among yourselves, which one might say to be a type of the Old Testament; and another, after breaking the bread and distributing it, which he himself distributes to the disciples, which he names also of the New Testament, and says that this is renewed in his own blood. For in the Old there was blood of irrational animals, when the law was given; but now, the God-Word having become man, the blood seals to us the New Testament. And in saying, Which is given for you and shed, he shows that his body was given and his blood shed not for the apostles alone, but for the human nature. When, then, he says, Given for you, understand it instead of, For your nature, that of men. The old passover, then, was kept for the deliverance from the bondage in Egypt, and the blood of the lamb for the preservation of the firstborn; but the new Pasch is for the remission of sins, and for the preservation of the thoughts hallowed and set apart to God. And first the bread, then the cup. For first comes the laborious and hard-wrought action; for sweats go before virtue; even as the bread is not only tilled in the sweat of the face, but is also in the eating the harder to work; and then thus, after the labours, comes the gladness of the grace of God, which is the cup. For after a man has toiled in the hard-wrought virtue, then he becomes worthy of the gifts of grace, and suffers the good drunkenness of David.

Lk. 22:21–27. But, behold, the hand of him that betrays me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goes, as it was determined: but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed! And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But you shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that does serve. For whether is greater, he that sits at meat, or he that serves? is not he that sits at meat? but I am among you as he that serves. Nothing is more wretched than a hardened soul. Behold, then, the Lord—see what he says, that, The hand of him that betrays me is on the table with me; and the senseless one perceived it not. For not only that he might show that he is not ignorant of what shall come to pass does the Lord say these things, but also that he might show us both his own goodness, and the wickedness of the traitor—that he was not even ashamed to be his table-companion. Nor again did he himself cease doing his own part, and setting us a pattern, that to the end we may be diligent to gain them that offend. And the Son of man, he says, goes, not as one too weak to defend himself, but as having determined for himself death for the salvation of men. But woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. For it is best to suffer; but you—why were you found wicked, so as to be ready for the betrayal? For this cause, then, the woe is allotted to you, because you were found apt for betrayal; since the serpent also is accursed, because he ministered to the counsel of the devil. And the disciples were troubled hearing these things; and this you shall learn more amply in John. But now they are troubled not only at the suspicion of the betrayal, but out of this trouble they come also to strife, contending which of them might be the greater. And they fell into this strife consequently. For since it was likely they said to one another, You are about to betray him; and again that one to this, Nay, you; out of this they were led on to say, I am better, and, I am greater, and the like. What then does the Lord do? He stills their trouble by two examples: by one, that of the Gentiles, whom they held abominable, showing that they shall be like to these if they think such things; and by another, that of himself; for through himself he leads them to humility, showing himself serving them. For indeed then, as has been said, he distributed to them the bread and the cup. Since therefore I, who am served by all the angelic and rational nature [humble myself], are you worthy to be high-minded, and to contend about pre-eminence? And it seems to me that he mentioned this reclining and this service not even by the way, but reminding them that, If you ate of one bread, and drank of one cup, the one table makes you friends and united; why then are you minded unworthily of these things? And I served not this one and not that one, but all of you alike; be you all therefore of one and the same mind. And do you from all these things consider how imperfect the disciples still were; but see how afterward they shone. Let the Manichees be ashamed, who say that some are by nature unlearned, and that it is impossible for these to be changed.

Lk. 22:28–34. You are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint to you a kingdom, as my Father has appointed to me; that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have all of you, that he may sift you all as wheat: but I have prayed for you yourself, that your faith fail not: and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren. And he said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with you, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell you, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that you shall three times deny that you know me. Since he said, Woe to him that betrays me, and in the midst taught them that one must be moderate-minded, as he allotted the woe to the traitor, so to these on the contrary he says, But you are they which have continued with me in my temptations; wherefore I also appoint recompenses to you—that is, I covenant thus toward you, that, since my Father covenanted to me, that is, set apart for me, a kingdom, you may eat and drink at my table. And he said eat and drink, not as though there would be viands there, nor as though his kingdom were sensible. For he himself taught, in what he said to the Sadducees, that the manner of life there is angelic; and Paul also teaches that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink. Let none, then, be deceived hearing here, That you may eat and drink at my table; but let him understand that this is said by a metaphor from those honoured by the kings of the world. For the table-companions of the king seem to be first of all. This, then, he says also concerning the apostles, that they shall be honoured above all with him. So also, hearing of the sitting on thrones, understand not thrones, but honour and glory. For none of created and originated things shall sit there; but to sit belongs to the holy Trinity alone, the uncreated and king of all, God; and to the creature, as a servant, belongs to stand. And these things we say bodily—the sitting and the standing. And the word Judging means condemning, out of the twelve tribes, those that disbelieved. For no small condemnation to them of Israel that disbelieved are the apostles, being themselves also Israelites, yet having believed. Since, then, he rendered the woe to the traitor, but foretold to these that continued in their love toward him that so great honour should be theirs—lest they be lifted up as having achieved some great thing, both continuing in his love and not betraying him—Satan, he says, has desired to sift all of you, that is, to trouble, to harm, to tempt; but I have prayed. Think not, he says, that this whole achievement is your own; for the devil pressed hard, seeking to cast all of you out of my love, and to prove you traitors. And to Peter he directs these words, because he was bolder than the rest, and it was likely he would be high-minded over the things Christ promised. Wherefore, stilling him, he says, To Satan indeed there has been much zeal against you all; but I have made petition for you yourself. This he said according to the human; for as God, what need had he to make petition? I have prayed, then, he says, that your faith fail not. For though you are for a little to be shaken, yet you have stored up within you the seeds of faith. And though the spirit of him that assaults you cast off the leaves, yet the root lives, and your faith shall not fail. But do you, when you are converted, strengthen your brethren. The ready meaning is this: Since I have you as the leader of the disciples, after you have denied me, and wept, and come to repentance, strengthen the rest. For this befits you, as being after me the rock and support of the Church. But one might understand this to be said not only concerning the apostles then, that they might be supported by Peter, but also concerning all the faithful to the consummation of the age. For you, O Peter, being converted, shall become a good example to all to repentance, and none of them that believe in me shall despair, looking to you, who were an apostle, yet did deny, and again received the pre-eminence of all and the oversight of the world through repentance. Satan, then, desired to sift you, and to harm you as pure wheat, casting in the things that defile, as indeed envying you your love toward me, as is his wont. For thus he showed himself also against Job; but I have not utterly forsaken you, that your faith fail not entirely. And though I myself have prayed for you, yet do you not fall back, but, being converted—that is, having repented and wept, and fled from the denial—become to the other faithful also a pattern of repenting, and of not despairing. What then does Peter? Out of much love he is bold, and promises the things that were for the present impossible to him. But the Lord, since he saw him speaking from rashness—for he ought, having once heard the very Truth telling him that he would be tempted, no longer to gainsay—reveals to him also the form of the temptation, that it would be a denial. And hence we learn a doctrine, that a man’s purpose suffices not without the help of God; even as Peter, being forsaken for a little, though he seemed to love and to have warmth, yet, God letting him go, was tripped up by the enemy. And again the help of God suffices not, if there be not also a human purpose; even as Judas was nothing profited, though the Lord did all things to gain him; for a good will was lacking. Let us shudder, then, considering the plots of the devil, how they prevail against the more careless. For behold here Peter, though held together by God, yet, because he was for a little, by [divine] dispensation, forsaken, was carried away into denial; if then he had not been kept by God, and there had not been seeds [of faith] in him, [the devil] would have been able to cast even this one into betrayal. But thanks be to God, who forsakes not his own.

Lk. 22:35–38. And he said to them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked you any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he to them, But now, he that has a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that has none, let him sell his garment, and buy a sword. For I say to you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said to them, It is enough. At the beginning of the preaching, sending the disciples to the villages and cities, the Lord sent them without superfluity, taking nothing needful with them, careful of nothing. For they had to learn his power even in such things. For he himself, caring for them as weak, made the needful things flow to them ungrudgingly and without anxiety. But now he enjoins the contrary, not being contrary to himself, but showing them that hitherto he carried them as children, and made them anxious for nothing, but from now on they too must be minded as men, and provide for themselves. For I, he says, your father who cared for you, am now departing; from now on gird yourselves to be careful, you also, of your own affairs, and not to be wholly confident in me. For neither shall your affairs be such, easy and without toil, but you shall fall in with hunger, and thirst, and many adversaries. For these things he hints at through the purse, and the scrip, and the sword. Wherefore rise up, as those that shall hunger, and shall need food, which is hinted at through the scrip. And play the man, as those that shall fall in with many adversaries, which he intimates through the sword. And these things he says, not that they should at all gird on swords, but, as I said, hinting at the wars and the dangers, and counselling them to be prepared for all things. For lest they should think afterward that the apostles contributed nothing of their own toward virtue, but that the whole was of God, Not so, he says, shall it be. For neither do I wish to use my disciples as lifeless instruments, but I require them to bring also the things that are of themselves. Indeed you shall find the apostles, and especially Paul, achieving many things even out of human devices—and read the Acts; yet in these the help of God was not absent; and at the same time the apostles were profited toward freedom from vanity by this. For if they too, careful of nothing, awaited all things from God, and they came to pass for them, they would have been puffed up, as having received things greater than human nature. And otherwise, it is idleness of nature and corruption to devise nothing of oneself, but to expect all things—this indeed is the saying—ready-ground. For this cause he says to them, From now on bear you also a scrip—that is, Be so disposed, and careful, as those that shall hunger; and buy swords—which is, So provide for yourselves, as those that shall dash against dangers and wars. And in another way some took the buying of a sword. For he hints, they say, at the assault against him that should presently come to pass, and that murderous men were about to seize him. For since they had contended with one another about pre-eminence, It is no time, he says, for love of pre-eminence, but for dangers and slaughters. For I too, your teacher, am led away to death, and not even an honourable death; but this also shall be fulfilled in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors. Wishing, then, to hint at the robber-like assault, he mentioned a sword; and neither did he reveal it fully, lest they be troubled with some cowardice; nor was he wholly silent, lest they be confounded by the sudden assault; but rather, that, remembering these things afterward, they might marvel at him as foreknowing, and be astonished how he gave himself up to the passion for the salvation of men, and that for this cause they too might shrink from none of the painful things for the saving of some. For these enigmatic things, I think, he said for this cause, that, remembering and understanding them afterward, they might be profited; since at that time they were so senseless as to say, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he, since he saw that they understood not, says, It is enough. And yet it was not enough. For if human help was to be used against those that came robber-like, not even a hundred swords were enough; but if not this, but rather a more divine cooperation was needed, even the two were superfluous. Yet the Lord would not convict them as not understanding, but, saying, It is enough, passed it by; even as we also, when, conversing with someone, we see him not understanding what we said, say, It is well, let be—although it is not well; but, that we may not trouble him, we let it pass. And this the Lord does, when he sees the disciples not understanding what is said. For he passes by and lets be, committing to the outcome of events the understanding of the things said; as also when he said, Destroy this temple; for his disciples knew this afterward, after the resurrection. But some say it is otherwise: for the disciples having said, Behold here are two swords, he says, Since they are two, they are surely many, and suffice.

Lk. 22:39–46. And he went out, and proceeded, as was his custom, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, Pray that you enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down, and prayed, saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done. And an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and came to his disciples, he found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, Why are you sleeping? rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. After supper, not dejection, and games, and sleep wait upon the Lord, but teaching, and prayer, framing and showing these things for our sake. Woe henceforth to them that set their hand to the works of dishonourable fornication after suppers. He withdraws, then, to the mount of Olives, after teaching the disciples such things, that he might pray. For he was wont to do this in private; wherefore also he is withdrawn from the disciples. And not all the disciples, but only the three he takes—those that beheld also his glory on the mount. For since he agonizes and prays, lest these things should seem to be of cowardice, for this cause he takes these as eyewitnesses and hearers of his divine glory and of the testimony from above; that, when they see him agonizing, they may reckon this to be of the human nature. For, to give assurance that he had truly become man, he yielded to the [human] nature to do its own. He desires also, as man, and prays that the cup may pass; for man is a lover of life; by these things overturning the heresies that say he became man in fantasy. For if, even these things having come to pass, they had occasion to talk such nonsense, what would they not have said, if not even these things had come to pass? Now to wish the cup to pass is human; but to say quickly, Nevertheless not my will be done, but yours, shows that we too must be so disposed and minded, and yield to the divine will, and, though nature draws back, not be turned. Let not my will, the human, be done, but yours—which is not separated from my divine will; for the one Christ, having two natures, had also altogether two natural wills, the divine and the human, that is, two volitions. The human nature, then, willed to live; for this is natural; then, following the divine will (and this is, that all men be saved, being common to Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit), it accepted death; and thus the thing willed became one—that is, the saving death. For that the praying was of the human nature, suffering by [divine] concession the common passion of love of life, but not of the Godhead, as say the accursed Arians, is plain from his even sweating, and so coming to be in agony, that—this indeed is the proverb—drops of blood fell from him. For there is a proverb concerning those that toil exceedingly, that, He sweated blood; even as concerning those that bitterly lament, He weeps blood. This, then, the evangelist also wishing to show—that not with certain slight moistures, and as it were appearing for show’s sake, but with thick drops of sweat he was bedewed—took the clots of blood for an image of what came to pass. Hence, then, it is plain that that sweating nature and agony was the human, not the divine. Since the human nature also was permitted to suffer these things, and so suffered, that at once he might show that he appeared man not in fantasy, and at once might more mystically heal the common cowardice of human nature, consuming it in himself, and making it obedient to the divine will. And the sweats coming out of the body and falling off, one might say hint at this—the drying up, and exuding, and falling off from us of the springs of cowardice, our nature being made manly in Christ and strengthened. For if he were not hinting at this—I mean the willing to heal our human cowardice—he would not, even if he had been exceedingly cowardly and ignoble, have so sweated. And there appeared to him an angel strengthening him, and this for our comfort, that we might learn the power of prayer, that it strengthens, and, having learned it, may put it forward in dreadful straits. And at the same time the prophecy of Moses is fulfilled, spoken in the great song, And let all the sons of God be strengthened in him. But some have so curiously handled the saying, that there appeared to him an angel glorifying him, and saying, Yours, O Lord, is the strength. For you have prevailed against death and against Hades, to free the race of men. These things thus. And he, finding the disciples sleeping, at once rebukes and exhorts them to pray in temptations, so as not to be overcome by them. For this is the meaning of, That you enter not into temptation—that is, not to be swallowed up by the temptation, nor to come within its power. Or also he simply bids us pray that our affairs may be in calm, and that we fall not into any of the grievous things; for it is devilish and boastful to cast ourselves into temptations. How then does James say, Count it all joy when you fall into various temptations? And what of this? Do we say things contrary? Behold, James too said not, Cast yourselves in, but, When you fall in, fall not down, but count it all joy, and make the for-the-present unwished-for to be wished-for. For it is better not to have come into it; but since they came, why must one be uselessly grieved? Show me, then, expressly commanded the saying, Pray to fall into temptations. But you could not. And I know that the kind of temptations is twofold, and that some understand that one must pray not to enter into temptation—that is, into that which overcomes the soul, namely into the temptation of fornication, into the temptation of anger; but to count it all joy when [we fall into bodily ones]; for in so far as the outward man is corrupted, so much the inward is renewed.

Lk. 22:47–53. While he was still speaking, behold, a crowd, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, went ahead of them, and drew near to Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said to him, Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss? When those who were about him saw what would follow, they said to him, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, No more of this. And he touched his ear, and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, who had come against him, Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was daily with you in the temple, you did not lay hands on me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. Judas gave the kiss as a sign to them that came; but he pointed him out not from afar, lest they should be deceived, it being night; since also, for the sake of his not escaping notice, they came with torches and lamps. What then does the Lord? He receives this hostile kiss. And the thunderbolts forbore against the thankless and treacherous one, the Saviour teaching us forbearance of evil in such things. And he only reproaches him: Judas, do you betray with a kiss? Are you not ashamed even of the very form of the betrayal? Do you mingle the betrayal, a work of an enemy, with the greeting of a friend? And whom do you betray? The Son of man—that is, the gentle, the meek, the condescending, who for your sake became man; and that being God? And these things he said, burning for him to the last hour. Wherefore also he neither insulted him, nor said, O inhuman and most thankless one, but, Judas, calling him by his own proper name. And he would not even have reproached him, had not this too been for his bettering, if he had willed. For that he might not seem to escape notice, but, recognizing even then the Master as knowing all things, might fall down and change his mind, for this cause he did this also, and seemed to reproach. For he knew him to be incorrigible, yet he did his own part; even as also his Father does in the Old [Testament]; knowing that the Hebrews would not hearken, yet he sends the prophets; and at the same time teaching us this very thing, that we be not weary in correcting them that offend. And the disciples are zealous, and draw out swords. And whence had they these? Having killed the lamb, and come out from the table, fittingly they had them. And the warm Peter is rebuked, as having used zeal contrary to the Lord’s purpose. For the others ask, Shall we smite? but he waits not for exhortation; so everywhere was he fervent on behalf of the Teacher. And he smites the servant of the high priest, and takes off his right ear. Not by chance was this, but it was a symbol that all the high priests of that time should become servants and lose the right hearing. For if they had heard Moses, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. And Jesus restores the ear; for it befits the great power of the Word to heal them that hear amiss, and to add to them an ear for hearing. Jesus, then, works a wonder, showing through this visible miracle on the ear his forbearance of evil, and through the miracle leading them to abstain from their madness. And he says to the chief priests and captains of the temple—that is, the officers appointed to marshal the priestly exactions, or also those entrusted with the works of the building and repair of the temple, whom he names captains—he says, then, to these: Daily in the temple I taught, and you would not seize me, and now you come robber-like. But truly you attempt works of night, and your power and the work which you undertake is proper to you and to the darkness.

Lk. 22:54–62. Then they seized him, and led him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed at a distance. And when they had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard, and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. But a certain servant girl saw him sitting by the light, and looked closely at him, and said, This man was also with him. And he denied it, saying, Woman, I do not know him. And a little later another saw him, and said, You too are one of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about an hour later another insisted, saying, Certainly this man too was with him: for he is a Galilæan. And Peter said, Man, I do not know what you are talking about. And immediately, while he yet spoke, the cock crowed. And the Lord turned, and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had told him, Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times. And he went outside, and wept bitterly. Peter grew weak, according to the foretelling of Christ, and denied the Master Christ not once, but three times, and made the denial with an oath. For Matthew says that he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And so far was he held down by cowardice—being forsaken for a little because of his rashness, that, being chastened, he might be forgiving to the rest. For he was rather rash, and had he not hence been brought to soberness, he would for the most part have passed his life self-willed and unforgiving. But then he was so overwhelmed by cowardice that he did not even perceive his fall, until the Lord, turning, looked upon him. O the goodness! that, even being under condemnation, he neglected not the salvation of the disciple. Fittingly; for indeed this very condemnation was endured by him for the salvation of men. The disciple denied first, then the cock crew, and again he denied to a third time; and then the cock crew a second time again. For thus Mark records it, more minutely and exactly, having recorded these things as one that learned them from Peter; for he was also his disciple. Wherefore Luke spoke cursorily the things related by Mark, not minutely. And what Luke says is not contrary to that spoken by Mark. For the cock is wont, at each watch, to crow both twice and three times. Peter, then, was so stupefied by human weakness that not even by the cock’s voice did he come to perception, but, even after the cock crew, denied again, and again, until by your [the Lord’s] good glance he was brought to remembrance. And he went out, and wept bitterly. He went out indeed also when he first denied, as Mark says; then it was likely he came in again, lest he give the more suspicion, as being of Jesus. And again coming to perception, he thus now goes out and weeps bitterly. For that he might not be seen by those in the hall, he goes out, hiding himself from them. But some—I know not how—compose a senseless apology on behalf of Peter, saying boldly that Peter denied not, but said, I know not the man—that is, I know not a mere man, but God who became man; for they make the Lord [a mere man], and by their twisting [seek] to fit together the sequence of the narrative. But [this is absurd].

Lk. 22:63–71. Now the men who were holding Jesus mocked him, and beat him. And having blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and questioned him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that struck you? And they said many other blasphemous things against him. And when day came, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, If you are the Christ, tell us. And he said to them, If I tell you, you will not believe: and if I also ask you, you will not answer, nor let me go. From now on the Son of man will sit on the right hand of the power of God. Then they all said, Are you then the Son of God? And he said to them, You say that I am. And they said, What further need have we of testimony? for we ourselves have heard it from his own mouth. Insolent and unbridled were they that brought these things upon Jesus. For at once the devil too had to leave out not one form of wickedness, but to empty out all; that, through all, our nature being found holy, might conquer and dash him down. For since for this cause the Lord took our nature—that he might make it valiant against all the devices of the devil, and might show that even from the beginning, if Adam had been sober, he would not have been overcome—for this cause, all the forms of the devil’s wickedness being poured upon him, he endures; that we, who come after, may be confident, our nature having conquered in Christ, and may not play the coward before any of the things that seem insolent or grievous. Wherefore he is mocked, and smitten; and the Master of the prophets is jeered at as a false prophet. For the saying, Prophesy to us, who is it that smote you, tends to this, they jeering at him as a deceiver, and one fastening prophecy upon himself. And as it was day—for the things of the mockings were blasphemed by night by the drunken servants; but the senate and more honourable part ask whether he is the Christ. And he, knowing their minds, and that, if they believed not the works, which were more able to persuade, how should they believe the words, says, If I tell you, you will not believe. For if you believed my words, what need was there now of a council? And if I ask, you will not answer. For often, being asked, they kept silence, as concerning the baptism of John, and the saying, The Lord said to my Lord, and concerning the woman bowed together. Where, then, having heard, did you believe? and when, being asked, did you not keep silence? For this cause only, I say, that from now on there is for you no time of words and teaching about who I am; for if you had willed, you knew me from the signs that came to pass; but the time of judgment is from now. You shall see me, then, the Son of man, sitting on the right hand of the power of God. They ought, then, to have crouched in fear; but they, after this word, rather raged, and madly ask, Are you then the Son of God? And he, somewhat in the middle and ironically, answers, You say this, that I am. For he despised their rage, and conversed with them undismayed. And hence it is plain that the disobedient are nothing profited by the more mystical things being revealed to them, but rather receive the greater condemnation. Wherefore one must hide them from such; for this is rather of love toward man.

Chapter 23

Lk. 23:1–5. Then the whole assembly of them arose, and led him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a King. And Pilate questioned him, saying, Are you the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, You say so. Then Pilate said to the chief priests and to the crowds, I find no fault in this man. But they insisted all the more, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judæa, beginning from Galilee even to this place. They manifestly oppose the truth. For where did Jesus forbid to give tribute, when rather he commanded to render it as a debt, saying thus, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s? And how does he stir up the crowd? Is it as one undertaking kingship? But this is altogether incredible; for when the multitude wished to make him king, knowing it, he withdrew. Whence also Pilate, coming to apprehend the false accusation, confesses, I find no fault in this man. And it seems to me that this very question which he puts to Christ is for the derision of the false accusation. For he mocks the matter, saying, Are you the King of the Jews? all but saying this: You the poor, the mean, the naked, the helpless—are you accused of aspiring to kingship? And this is the part of one deriding, as we said, those that thus accused Jesus, that they feign one so mean and naked to be undertaking such a matter, which needs much money and many helpers. But they, having no other help toward the false accusation, use their voices for support, and cry out against the God-Word. For He stirs up, he says—that is, he raises in sedition the people, and not in one part only, but he began from Galilee, and came on even to this place, having gone through all Judæa. And it seems to me they mentioned Galilee not without purpose, but striking Pilate into fear. For the Galilæans were ever such, seditious, and undertaking innovations, such as also Judas the Galilæan; whom they seem to cast into Pilate’s remembrance, all but saying, This man, who gave the Romans many troubles, is such a one as that; this man must be put out of the way. Pilate, then…

Lk. 23:6–27. And when Pilate heard Galilee mentioned, he asked whether the man was a Galilæan. And as soon as he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was himself also at Jerusalem in those days. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased: for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had heard many things about him; and he hoped to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at length; but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod, with his soldiers, treated him with contempt, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a splendid robe, and sent him back to Pilate. And that same day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other: for before this they had been at enmity with one another. Then Pilate, having called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, said to them, You brought this man to me, as one who leads the people astray: and behold, having examined him before you, I have found no fault in this man touching the things whereof you accuse him: no, nor did Herod: for he sent him back to us; and behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by him. I will therefore punish him, and release him. (For he was obliged to release one to them at the feast.) But they all cried out together, saying, Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas: (who for a certain uprising made in the city, and for murder, had been thrown into prison.) Pilate therefore, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again. But they kept shouting, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said to them a third time, Why, what evil has he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore punish him, and let him go. But they pressed on with loud voices, demanding that he be crucified: and their voices, and those of the chief priests, prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. And he released to them the one thrown into prison for uprising and murder, whom they had asked for; but he handed Jesus over to their will. And as they led him away, they seized a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, coming in from the countryside, and laid the cross on him, that he might carry it behind Jesus. And a great crowd of the people followed him, and women, who also mourned and lamented him. Following Roman law, Pilate sends the Lord to Herod, the law commanding that each be judged by the ruler of his own province. Wherefore also, as a Galilæan, he sends Jesus to the ruler of Galilee. And Herod was glad at this, not as about to gain anything profitable to the soul from the sight of Jesus, but, since he heard concerning him that he is wise and a worker of wonders, he had a senseless desire, being sick himself too with love of novelty, to see this strange man, and to hear what he says. Or do not many of us now suffer such things? He desired, then, he too, to see some sign from Jesus, not that he might believe, but that he might feast his eyes; even as in the theatres we see the jugglers feigning to swallow serpents, and swords, and such things, and we marvel. For they almost thought Jesus to be some such one. And he questioned him in many words, being so disposed toward him ironically, and altogether mocking him. Wherefore also Jesus answers nothing. For he knows when one must answer, who did all things in reason, and was witnessed by David, that He will order his words in judgment. For why must one answer him that asks not for the sake of learning? and why must one cast the pearls before the swine? Rather indeed, as also we said above, it is of love toward man to keep silence in such things. For the word spoken, besides profiting nothing, is yet a cause of greater condemnation to them that give no heed. To Pilate, however, since he was more candid than Herod, he answers, though very plainly. For when that one asked, Are you the King of the Jews? what says the Lord? You say. And this has somewhat an ambiguous sense. For it can be understood that, Truly I am that which you have said; and it can be otherwise, that, I say it not, you say it, you have power even to say it. But to Herod he answers not at all, as to one altogether a mocker. For indeed truly, according to Isaiah, against the wicked seed, the lawless sons—those then, I say, the Jews—there were both exactors gleaning them, and mockers lording it over them. And that with such a mocking and ludicrous aim he desired to see Jesus, and to behold a sign from him, and with such a mind questioned him, the end showed. For having set him at nought, and mocked him, he released him; and not he alone, but also his men of war, which was beyond all insult; and arraying him in a gorgeous robe, he sent him to Pilate. But do you observe to me how everywhere, through the things he does, the devil is entangled. For he works these mockings and insults against Christ, but rather hence the truth is shown. For through the things wherewith they mock, most clearly they witness that the Lord was no seditious one and rebel. For if he were such, they would not have mocked, so great a danger being impending, and the rising of the whole nation being suspected, and that of so great a nation, and one so rejoicing in innovations. And Pilate and Herod, he says, were made friends. For that the one subject to Herod was sent by Pilate to him seemed a beginning of friendship, as Pilate not appropriating Herod’s prerogatives. But behold everywhere the devil bringing together the things that stood apart, that only he might prepare death for Christ, and forging one accord, and making the enemies friends. Are we not ashamed, then, if, while he made even his enemies at peace, that he might kill Christ, we, for our own salvation, will not keep even our friends in friendship toward us? And since he was sent back to Pilate, observe again the truth shining forth. You have brought to me, says Pilate, this man as perverting the people, and I find nothing worthy of death in him; no, nor yet Herod. Do you see? The testimony of men, and these the one a governor, the other a king, is surely true. Neither I, he says, nor king Herod found cause in him. What shall the Jews say to these things? The judges themselves witness that the man is guiltless; you that accuse have brought forward no witness; whom must one believe? Strange, how the truth conquers! Jesus is silent, and his enemies witness for him; the Jews cry out, and there is none that bears witness with their cries. But Pilate was somewhat soft, and least of all firm for the truth. For he feared the false accusation, lest he be slandered as having released the rebel. For he had not learned to say, We will not fear their fear, but the Lord himself shall be my fear. I will therefore chastise him, he says, and release him—that is, having brought him to soberness by scourges. The Romans had a necessity at the feast to release one, as a favour to the Jews. For the Jews having become subjects under treaty, they had granted them liberty to be governed according to their own customs and ordinances. And it was an ancestral custom of the Jews to ask from the ruler the condemned, even as also from Saul they asked Jonathan. And if you know not the history, go to the first book of Kingdoms, and you shall find this. And they cried out all at once, he says, saying, Away with this man. What is worse than this? The holy nation raged for murder, the Gentile Pilate turned away from the murder—things came to be upside down. Away with this man, they say, and release to us Barabbas, who, being a seditious man and a murderer, was cast into prison. And the third time Pilate releases, and the third time those men cry against Christ, that altogether by this third crying they might confirm their own blood-guiltiness; and the holy and just one they denied, as the blessed Peter says; but they asked that a murderer be granted them. For they love the like; wherefore also they become of his portion, themselves too rebelling against the Romans, and becoming causes of countless murders, and of their own destruction. And these things the Lord foretells also through Jeremiah: I have forsaken my house, I have left mine inheritance; I have given mine inheritance into the hands of enemies. My inheritance became to me as a lion in the forest; it gave forth its voice against me; therefore have I hated it. And again Hosea: Woe to them, for they have started away from me; miserable are they, for they have transgressed against me. I redeemed them, but they spoke lies against me, and their rulers shall fall by the edge of the sword for the unruliness of their tongue. Jesus, then, is led away, and first they laid the cross on him, and bearing it he went out. For none of the others deigned to bear it, since they held the wood also accursed. Then, finding one Simon a Cyrenian, they laid the cross on him, impressing the man into service, and as it were laying upon him as an affront this thing that was abominated by the rest. And this hints no small admonition. For the cross is the mortification and inactivity and immobility of the passions; for he that is crucified is nailed fast and inactive. The teacher according to Christ, then, ought first himself to take up the cross, and to nail his flesh with the fear of God, and to be made bright with freedom from passion, and then thus to lay it also upon the obedient; for Simon is interpreted obedience. And here too the saying of Isaiah is fulfilled, Whose government is upon his shoulder; for the government and kingdom of the Lord is the cross. For Paul says, He humbled himself to death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore also God has highly exalted him, and so forth. Since, then, the cross became height and glory to Jesus, fittingly it is called his government, as a ruling dignity and a symbol of rule. For as the senators have symbols of their dignities, some girdles, some mantles, so also the Lord makes the cross a symbol of his own kingdom. And if you consider, you shall find that Jesus reigns in us no otherwise than through suffering hardship. For they that live in luxury are enemies of the cross; but he can become obedient to Christ, and take up his cross—the worker of virtue, he that comes from the country, that leaves this world, which is a field, and the works in it, and presses toward the Jerusalem which is above, the free. And by the women he hints that a great multitude of the Jews shall believe in him, and many women too. And perhaps the lamenting and beating of the breast is also set for our manners; for when there is a woman, a weak soul, which through repentance mourns and beats itself, then it truly follows him, for our salvation.

Lk. 23:28–31. But Jesus turned to them and said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed. Then they shall begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things when the wood is green, what shall be done when it is dry? The women—for the sex is tearful and much-lamenting—lament, as at some dreadful thing befalling the Lord, showing their fellow-feeling, and bewailing the injustice. But he accepts it not, but rather rebukes them. For he suffered willingly; and for him that suffers willingly, and for the salvation of the whole nature, it befits not to be lamented, but to be applauded and well spoken of. For through the cross both death has been loosed, and Hades led captive. For lamentations bring comfort not to them that suffer willingly, but to them that suffer unwillingly. He rebukes them, then, as they beat their breasts over him, and exhorts them to look to the evils to come, and over those to beat themselves, when women shall boil their own children unmercifully, and the womb that bore shall again receive pitiably that which it brought forth. For if in me the Romans displayed such things—in me the green tree, the fruitful, and ever-blooming, and ever-living because of the Godhead, and nourishing all through the fruits of my teaching—in you, the people, I say, the dry tree, bereft of all life-giving righteousness, and bearing no fruit, what would they not display? For if you had some living working of the good, perhaps you would have been counted worthy of a moderate sparing at least; but now, as a dry tree, you shall be for burning and for destruction.

Lk. 23:32–38. And two other criminals were also led with him, to be put to death. And when they came to the place, which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And dividing his garments, they cast lots. And the people stood watching. And the rulers also with them sneered at him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if this is the Christ, the chosen one of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming up to him, and offering him sour wine, and saying, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. And there was also an inscription written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. The devil, wishing to contrive an evil opinion of the Lord, made robbers also to be crucified with him. But see how he was deprived even of the one robber, and rather this came to pass for the greater glory of the Lord. For the crosses of those men were not even sought after, but on the Lord’s the whole world hangs; and manifestly hence it is shown that the Lord was no lawless one, like the robbers, but the leader of all righteousness. And they lead him to the place of the Skull, where they say the forefather was buried; that where there was the fall through the tree, there also might come to be the raising through the tree. And Jesus, displaying an excess of meekness, prays for them, saying, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And indeed the sin would have been forgiven them, had they not afterward continued in their unbelief. And for what cause do they part his garments? Perhaps many of them being in need; but perhaps—which is even truer—doing this out of insult and wantonness; for what costly thing did they see in the garments? Laughing, then, and insulting, they wrought such things. For where the rulers mocked, what must one reckon concerning the common multitude? He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. This the devil said through them. For as on the pinnacle of the temple, so here too he says such things, envying the salvation through the cross, and wishing to cut it off by all devices, as he could. And the soldiers offered vinegar, as ministering forsooth to a king, for him to drink. And see another device of the devil, turning against him. For he, by three characters of letters, paraded forsooth the rebellion of Jesus, that it might escape none of the passers-by that for this cause he hangs, because he made himself a king; but this—though the cunning one understood it not, to his own hurt—was a symbol that the mightiest of nations, such as the Romans, and the wisest, such as the Greeks, and the most God-fearing, such as the race of the Hebrews, should proclaim him. And we have spoken concerning these things also in the other Gospel.

Lk. 23:39–43. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If you are Christ, save yourself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Do not you fear God, seeing you are in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man has done nothing amiss. And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, To day shall you be with me in paradise. How then do the other evangelists say that the two robbers reviled him? At the beginning it is likely both reviled him, then the one of them, being of good understanding, came to know the goodness and Godhead of Jesus from the voice which he made on behalf of those that crucified him, saying, Father, forgive them. For not only is that voice full of all love toward man, but it shows also much authority. For he said not, Lord, I beseech, forgive them, but simply thus, and with authority, Father, forgive them. From this voice, then, he that was formerly a blasphemer recognizes Jesus to be the true King, and stops also the mouth of the other robber, and says to Jesus, Remember me in your kingdom. What then the Lord? To day shall you be with me in paradise. For as man, he was on the cross; but as God, he was everywhere, both there, and in paradise, filling all things, and being nowhere circumscribed. And some will inquire: How, when the Lord says to the robber, To day shall you be with me in paradise, does Paul say, None of the saints received the promise? And some say that the Apostle declared the not receiving of the promise not concerning all the saints, but concerning those only whom he had enumerated; and he enumerated many others, but of the robber made no mention. For hear what he says: These all—referring the word demonstratively to those enumerated, with whom the robber is not reckoned. But others said that not even the robber yet attained the manner of life in paradise, but, since the promise of the Lord is unchangeable and unfailing, for this cause it is said, To day shall you be with me in paradise. For there is also such a form, they say, in the sayings of the Lord, in which he relates the things that are to be as already come to pass. As when he says, He that believes not is condemned already; and again, He that hears my words, and believes, comes not into judgment, but is passed from death to life. And others force the saying, pointing it at the word To day, that what is said may be of this kind: Truly I say to you to day; then adding, You shall be with me in paradise. But some, who seem most of all to hit the mark, expound thus: The good things promised to us are not a manner of life in paradise or a return there, but the kingdom of heaven; whence also we pray, Your kingdom come, not the sojourn in paradise. For let none say to me that paradise and the kingdom are the same. For the good things of the kingdom neither ear heard, nor eye saw, neither entered they into the heart of man; but paradise both the eye of Adam saw, and his ear heard of it; for of every tree, he says, that is in the paradise you shall eat for food. For though one tree was forbidden him, yet he beheld even this, and heard concerning it, and it entered into the heart of man; for Adam rejoiced rationally; for surely he did not pursue such labour and gladness of mere husbandry. So that Paul, he says, says nothing contrary. For the robber attained paradise, but the kingdom he attained not; but he shall attain it, when also all whom Paul enumerated. And for the present he has paradise, which is a place of spiritual rest. These things, then, many have many times said; but it is possible to say that, even if the kingdom of heaven and paradise are the same, nothing hinders that both the Lord speak truly, and Paul. For the robber is indeed in paradise, that is, the kingdom, and not he alone, but also all whom Paul reckons; yet he has not enjoyed the perfect allotment of the good things. For as the condemned are not in the palace, but kept shut up in prisons under their appointed penalties, but the honoured both enter into the palace, and for the present pass their time in it, then, when the time comes for the distribution of the royal gifts, are counted worthy of these—so also the saints, even if they enjoy not yet the perfect reward, yet for the present pass their time in these luminous, and fragrant, and royal—to speak simply—tabernacles, even if they are not yet counted worthy perfectly of the distribution of the royal gifts. So then the robber both came to be in paradise, and enjoyed not yet the perfect reward, that he might not be made perfect without us. And this I think truer than all; not to say that even the graces of the saints in their daily wonder-workings might fittingly be called a paradise. And all, as many as, being counted worthy of spiritual gifts of grace, have already received hence the earnest of the Spirit, are in paradise, even if they are not yet made perfect, and have not received the kingdom; as Paul says in the same Epistle to the Hebrews, even though they received not yet the promise. For by saying the promise, he signified the entire reward. They received not yet, then, the perfect promise, yet they are both in the kingdom and in paradise. And do you marvel at this with me, how, as some trophy-bearing king returning from victory brings with himself the choicest of the spoils, so also the Lord, having despoiled the better part of the devil’s spoils, leads it with himself, returning to the ancient fatherland of man, paradise, I mean. For not only as God, but also having taken to himself a rational and intelligent soul, was he in paradise with a soul; and through saving the robber, he fulfilled the saying, that he shall spoil the goods of the strong man.

Lk. 23:44–49. It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, he said, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this man was righteous. And all the crowds that had gathered for this spectacle, seeing what had happened, beat their breasts, and went away. And all his acquaintances, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. The Jews once sought to see a sign from heaven. Behold, then, a sign—this strange darkness; and the veil of the temple also is rent, the Lord showing that the Holy of Holies shall no longer be untrodden, but, being delivered to the Romans, shall become accessible and profane. And in another way, he shows that the veil which parted us off from the holy things in heaven is rent—that is, the enmity and the sin; for this was the great partition-wall that separated us from thence. And he shows that he was crucified not through weakness; for he who did these things was able to rend and abolish those men also. Having cried with a loud voice, he gives up the spirit. For he had power to lay down his soul, and to take it again. And this voice, and the other wonders, became to the centurion an occasion of faith. For he died not as a common man, but in a lordly manner. And he named his death a deposit, as one about to take his soul again. And by this first voice our souls were counted worthy of freedom, the devil no longer having strength against them, but they being committed to the Father. For before the death of Christ the devil had a great claim of right against the souls; but from the time when the Son committed the spirit not into Hades, but into the Father’s hands, they that were of Hades attained freedom. And that which the Lord said, that, When I am lifted up, I will draw all men to me, is now seen accomplished. For, being lifted up on the cross, he drew the robber, he drew the centurion. And some of the Jews too smote their breasts, and, blaming the crucifiers, manifestly justified Jesus. The disciples, then, fled; but the women, the supposedly abject and accursed sex, remain, and behold all these things, and enjoy first the justification and blessing from thence, even as also first of the resurrection. But do you marvel with me at the hardening of the Jews. For they that said, Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe on him, seeing greater things, believe not. For it is not equal to come down from the cross, and to darken the sun, to rend rocks, to shake a fearful earthquake, to raise the dead, to rend the veil, and to change the whole creation. So that let none any longer be perplexed why he came not down, but let him receive these things without over-curiosity, reckoning that, if he had done this also, not even so would they have believed, and nothing else than the salvation through the cross would have been cut short. For the cross is the glory of Christ, most of all. Having done, then, the greater things, those men not believing, he achieved two things at once: both he endured and accepted the cross to the end, the great trophy; and he showed them thankless in all things, and having nothing good, but mingled together with unbelief.

Lk. 23:50–56. And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a member of the council; a good man, and just: (he had not agreed to their counsel and deed;) he was of Arimathæa, a city of the Jews: who himself also awaited the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And taking it down, he wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb cut into stone, wherein no one had ever yet been laid. And it was the day of preparation, and the sabbath was about to begin. And the women also, who came with him from Galilee, followed and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Even if Joseph was formerly a hidden disciple, yet now he does a praiseworthy thing, although he was a counsellor and rich; and he dares to ask for the body of a man crucified as a rebel and seditious one, and reckoned no danger. And although wealth is cowardly, yet he both asks, and buries him honourably, and in a sepulchre hewn in stone, where no other lay; that the false accusers might not say that another body rose. And the women, even if they had faith toward the Lord, yet not such as they ought, but weak and small. For, accounting him a mere man, they prepare ointments and spices, according to the custom that prevailed among the Jews altogether for the dead. And they rest the sabbath, according to the commandment of the law.

Chapter 24

Lk. 24:1–12. Now on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared, and some others with them. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, and going in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. And as they grew afraid and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they reported all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to the apostles like nonsense, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, and stooping down he saw the linen cloths lying there alone, and went away to himself, marveling at what had happened. He names the first of the sabbaths the first of the days of the sabbath—that is, of the week—which is that called by us, from the resurrection of the Lord, the Lord’s day. On it, then, the women came to the sepulchre, bringing spices. And they came very early in the morning, which Matthew calls, In the end of the sabbath; for the deep dawn comes to the same thing as the very late hour. And they found the stone rolled away; for an angel rolled it away, as Matthew says. And as they entered, two men appear. For the one in Matthew sat upon the stone, but these two men stand within the sepulchre; for the visions are diverse. And they appear in white, because of the brightness of the resurrection. And they remind them of the things spoken by him, that it behoves—that is, it is necessary—that he be delivered into the hands of sinful men, the Romans, namely, as being Gentiles and abominable, and the third day rise again. We have spoken sufficiently concerning the resurrection, how it is of three days, in the commentary on Matthew. And returning from the sepulchre, and telling these things to the apostles, they seemed to talk idly; so naturally incredible to men seems the wonder of the resurrection. Peter, however, is not idle, even as neither is fire that has caught hold of matter; but he comes to the sepulchre, and sees the linen cloths only. And for the present he is profited first by this from his coming to the sepulchre—that he wonders, instead of mocking. For he went away, he says, to himself—that is, by himself—marveling at what had happened. For how were the linen cloths only left, and that when the body had been anointed with myrrh? And how much leisure would the thief have had, so as, leaving these wrapped up apart, to carry off the body, and that when soldiers sat by? And by Mary the mother of James understand the Theotokos; for so they named her, as seeming to be the mother of James the son of Joseph, whom they also called the little—the brother of God, I mean; for there was also a great one, one of the twelve, the son of Zebedee.

Lk. 24:13–24. And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said to them, What manner of communications are these that you have one to another, as you walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said to him, Are you only a stranger in Jerusalem, and have not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said to them, What things? And they said to him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Some say that the one of these two was Luke himself; wherefore also the evangelist concealed his own name. And these communed with one another concerning all the things that had come to pass, not believing, but as perplexed, and as astonished at extraordinary matters, and not easily able to assent to the marvel. And Jesus drew near and went with them. For, having now a spiritual and more divine body, he was no longer hindered by distance of places from being present to whom he wished. Nor were they permitted to know him from the features of the body in which the Saviour then appeared. For, as Mark says, he appeared in another form, and in other features. For no longer did he order his body by natural laws, but above nature and spiritually; whence their eyes were holden, that they should not know him. And why did he appear in another form, and were their eyes holden? That they might uncover their whole doubting mind, that they might lay bare the sore, and then thus receive the remedy; that he might appear sweet to them after much wearing; that he might teach from Moses and the prophets, and then be recognized, and they might the more believe, that his body is no longer such as to be simply visible to all, but, although that very body which suffered rose, yet it appears to whom it wills; and that they might gain from this something great, namely, to be no longer perplexed why he no longer goes about in the midst of the peoples, reckoning that after his resurrection his manner of life is more changed, and not common, nor man-befitting, but more divine; which is also a type of the resurrection to come, in which we shall live as angels and sons of God. For these reasons, then, were their eyes holden, that they should not know him; for to whom he wished, he was seen. And Cleopas even reproaches the seeming fellow-traveller. Are you only a stranger, he says?—instead of, Are you only of the inhabitants of Jerusalem that know not the things that came to pass? And others understood the word sojourn thus: Are you, he says, so alone a sojourner, and settled outside the bounds of Jerusalem, and a partaker of the things done in the midst, as not to know these things? And see how altogether small an opinion they had concerning the Lord; for they named him a man, a prophet, such as Elijah, Joshua the son of Nun, or even Moses to name; mighty in deed and word—first the deed, then the word. For no teaching word is sure, unless first the teacher show himself a doer. Be you, then, mighty in deed first, and then be diligent to have also the word. So also God will work with you. For first comes the action, then contemplation and illumination. If you cleanse not the mirror in toil and sweat, you shall not mirror the longed-for beauty. For blessed are the pure in heart—this through the works; for they shall see God—this is the end of contemplation. And one must be mighty in deed and word before God, and then before all the people. For first one must please God, then be diligent also to be blameless toward men, as far as is possible; and neither must man-pleasing be preferred, but the fear of God; nor must one live to the stumbling of the many, but provide for this too after those things; and the wise man says, Provide things honest in the sight of God, then also of men; and Paul this same thing. But we trusted, they say, that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel. As though disappointed of their hopes, they so speak: We trusted that he should both save others, and behold he saved not even himself; so ignoble and unbelieving were they. For they all but said the things that they too said who were at the cross, He saved others, himself he cannot save. Wherefore also he calls them senseless, and slow to believe; and what is this, To redeem Israel? We have said variously that those of the people, and the less exact, expected the Christ to be a saviour and redeemer of the evils that lay upon them, and of the yoke of the bondage under the Romans; and they hoped that he would reign an earthly kingdom; wherefore also they say, We trusted that he would redeem Israel also from the Gentile Romans, and this man escaped not even the unjust sentence against him. And moreover to day is the third day, and women astonished us, and so forth. These things they say as if perplexed; and the men seem to me to be in much doubt of mind, and neither greatly to disbelieve, nor greatly to believe. For to say, We trusted that it is he who should redeem Israel, shows unbelief; but to say, This is the third day, is of men who are near to remembering that he said to them, The third day I will rise. And the saying, They astonished us, shows some such thing—I mean, that their unbelief is shaken. And altogether, the words, when considered, are truly human, and have much hesitation, and as of men perplexed and at a loss because of the extraordinariness of the resurrection. And certain of those who were with us, they say, went away. He means either Peter alone, or Peter and John. And hence it is plain that the things which others relate at length—namely the coming of Peter and John to the sepulchre—he, having mentioned briefly, passed over without naming them.

Lk. 24:25–35. Then he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew near to the village to which they were going, and he acted as though he would go further. But they urged him, saying, Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in to stay with them. And it happened, as he reclined at table with them, that he took the bread and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he became invisible to them. And they said to one another, Was not our heart burning within us, as he spoke to us on the road, and as he opened to us the Scriptures? And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and those with them, saying, The Lord has indeed risen, and has appeared to Simon. And they related what had happened on the road, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. Since they were humanly disposed in their minds, and were sick with much hesitation, he calls them senseless, and slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken; for it is possible to believe both partially and wholly. For example, if one hopes that the Christ shall be for the salvation of the people, yet not for the salvation of souls, but for the restoration of the Jewish nation and its redemption, such a one believes not as much as he ought. And again, if one believes David saying, They pierced my hands and my feet, and the rest, as many things as he prophesies concerning the cross and the things on the cross, as from the person of the Lord, and receives the things concerning the passion, but reckons not the things concerning the resurrection, such as the saying, You shall not suffer your Holy One to see corruption, and, You will not leave my soul in Hades, and, Free among the dead, and, Bringing out them that are bound, and them that dwell in tombs, and such like—he has not perfect faith, but in part. But one must believe the prophets in all things, both those of dishonour, and those of glory. For Christ had to suffer this dishonour, but also to enter into his glory, this the glorious thing. But you are so senseless that, hearing Isaiah saying both—both that he was led to the slaughter, and that the Lord wills to show him light—you receive that, but reckon not this; and you believe that he is bruised, but consider not that the Lord wills to cleanse him from the stroke. But since, he says, you are senseless, or rather slow—for if they had been senseless, neither would he himself have spoken to them; but since you are slow, I will support your mind, and make it understand quickly. Wherefore also from Moses and from all the prophets he expounded to them. For the mystery of Abraham’s sacrifice—that, Isaac being let go, a ram was sacrificed—these things prefigured the things concerning the Lord, as the Lord himself says, that Abraham saw his day and was glad; and the saying, You shall see your life hanging before your eyes, shows at once both the crucifixion, by saying hanging, and the resurrection, by naming it the life. And in the rest of the prophecies the things concerning the cross and the resurrection lie scattered, and especially in the more conspicuous ones, and it is possible thence to gather these. And consider with me how, out of suffering hardship, comes the entering into glory. And he acted as though he would go further, according to the human altogether. But when he permits it, then their eyes are opened, and they recognized him. And he hints also something else, that to them that partake of the blessed bread the eyes are opened to know him. For the flesh of the Lord has great and unspeakable power. And he becomes invisible from them; for he no longer had such a body as to consort with them bodily for long, and that he might increase from this the more their longing. So then they rejoiced, so as to rise up the very hour, and return to Jerusalem—yet not at the very hour. For they rose up indeed at that hour, but returned after more, as many as it was likely for them to take, walking the distance of the sixty furlongs; in which the Master was surely also seen by Simon, in the midst, as they journeyed in their return. And their heart was burning, either by the fire of the words of the Lord—for as he expounded to them, they were inflamed, receiving his words as true; or because, as he expounded to them the Scriptures, they said, This that expounds to us is the Lord.

Lk. 24:36–44. And as they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you. But they were startled and terrified, and thought they were seeing a spirit. And he said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet—it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still could not believe for joy, and were amazed, he said to them, Do you have anything to eat here? So they gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled. The Lord, who orders all things for our salvation, stands in the midst of the disciples, willing to give assurance of the resurrection. And first, by the customary greeting of peace, he stills their trouble, and at the same time shows that he is that same teacher of theirs, who rejoiced in this address, and armed them too with it, when he sent them to the preaching. And since by this word the trouble of their soul was not stilled, he shows them from another quarter that he is the Son of God, who knows the hearts. For why, he says, do thoughts arise in your hearts? and to know hearts is confessedly of God. He adds also another thing, the handling of the hands and the feet. For you, he says, think me to be a spirit, that is, a phantom, such as many of the dead are wont to appear, especially about the tombs; but know that the spirit has neither flesh nor bones; but I have both flesh and bones, though more divine and spiritual. For the body of the Lord was not spirit, but spiritual—that is, free from all grossness, ordered by the spirit. For the body we now have is animal—that is, ordered by the soul, and quickened by the natural and animal qualities and powers. But that after the resurrection Paul named spiritual—that is, quickened and ordered by the divine Spirit, and not by the soul, transelemented in an ineffable and spiritual manner to incorruption, and kept in this. Such, then, must one understand the body of the Lord to be after the resurrection: spiritual, and subtle, and free from all grossness, and needing neither food nor anything else, even if he ate for assurance. For when he ate, he ate not according to nature, but according to dispensation, that he might show that the very body which suffered rose. According to nature, however, this was proper to the body—to enter when the doors were shut, to pass without toil from place to place. Since, then, the disciples still disbelieved, and were not persuaded even from the handling, he adds another thing also, that of eating, the things eaten being consumed by a certain divine power. For everything that is naturally eaten passes through the mouth into the draught; but these were eaten not naturally, as we said, but by dispensation. And the things then eaten seem also to have some hidden meaning. For eating a piece of a broiled fish, he hints that, having melted our nature, which swims in this briny life, by the fire of his own Godhead, and dried up all the moisture it had from the depths of the waters, or rather of the waves, he made it a divine food, working the formerly abominable into a sweet food to God. For this, he says, the honeycomb hints—the present sweetness, I mean, of our formerly rejected nature. Or also this, I think, it hints: by the broiled fish, the practical virtue, which takes away from us much moisture and grossness through the help of the coals of the solitaries and quiet ones; and the knowledge, or contemplation, through the honeycomb, since the oracles of God are sweet. And there is a honeycomb, but drone-like—that of Greek wisdom; and there is a honeycomb of the bee—that of the divine wisdom; since Christ is the bee, small indeed in greatness (for the word is concise, and weak in might; for Paul preaches not in power of word, lest he make void the cross), yet sweet to them that bring their labours to soundness of soul.

Lk. 24:45–53. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high. Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. And it happened, as he was blessing them, that he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, having worshiped him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. When he had made peace, and settled their hearts by the things he said, by the things by which he was handled, by the things he ate, giving assurance of the true resurrection of his body, then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. For unless their soul had been at leisure, how would it have known, being troubled, and not settled? For Be still, he says, and know. Wherefore also he teaches them that it was necessary that Christ so suffer—so, that is, by the cross of the tree; since through a tree came the destruction, it was necessary that through a tree also the corruption be undone, and that the Lord, passing unconquered through the pains on the tree, should abolish the pleasure that was on the tree, and then rise, he says, from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations. He speaks here concerning baptism. For in it repentance comes to pass through the confession and putting off of the former wickednesses and impieties, and there follows the remission of sins. But how shall we understand baptism to be done in the name of Christ only, when we are elsewhere taught to perform it in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost? First, then, we say this, that when we say baptism is done in the name of Christ, we say not that it must be performed in the name of Christ only, but that the baptism of Christ—that with which Christ baptized—that is, the spiritual, not the Jewish, nor such as that of John, to repentance only, but that which gives the communion of the Holy Ghost and the remission of sins, such as he himself showed, being baptized for us in the Jordan, and showing the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. Then understand the baptism in the name of Christ instead of, into the death of Christ. For as he, having died, rose the third day, so also we, being buried typically in the water, then come up incorruptible in our souls, and receiving the earnests of the incorruption of the body. And besides, the name Christ shows in itself both the Father who anointed, and the anointing, the Spirit, and the anointed Son. In the name of the Lord, remission of sins. Where henceforth are the filthy tongues of them that baptize into Montanus, and Priscilla, and Maximilla? Truly there is no such remission to them that are baptized by them, but rather an addition of sins comes upon them. These, then, perished miserably. And to all the nations the word went forth, beginning at Jerusalem. For our whole nature, being united and taken up in Christ, must no longer be divided into two parts, Hebrews and Gentiles, but the word must begin from Jerusalem and rest among the nations, making the nature one. And you, he says, are witnesses of these things—of the sufferings, of the resurrection. Then, lest they be troubled within themselves, and reckon, How shall we, unlearned men, bear witness, being sent to nations, and standing against the Jerusalemites that killed even you, Be of good cheer, he says, for this cause. For I will send presently the promise of my Father, which I spoke by Joel, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and so forth. Tarry you, then, you that are now cowardly and unmanly, until you are endued with power, not human, but heavenly. And he said not, Receive you, but, Be endued, hinting at the all-round guarding of the spiritual armour. He led them out as far as Bethany. This we shall understand to have come to pass on the fortieth day itself. For the things which these relate in epitome, understand you to come to pass in many days; as this same Luke says in the Acts, that he was seen of them forty days. For he often stood by, and stood away. And he blessed the disciples, perhaps both setting in them a guarding power until the coming of the Spirit, and perhaps also teaching us, when we go abroad, to commit those under us with blessings. And he was carried up into heaven. For of Elijah it is said, As into heaven; for he seemed as it were to be carried up into heaven; but the Saviour into heaven itself, the forerunner of all, has ascended, to appear with his holy flesh before the face of God, and to declare it enthroned together with the Father. And now is our nature in Christ worshipped by all the angelic power. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple. Do you see virtue? Not yet the Spirit, and they live spiritually. For they that were before shut up, now pass their time in the midst of the chief priests, and nothing in them is worldly; but, despising all things, may we too, becoming imitators of them, passing our time in a holy life, continually bless God. For glory and blessing of God is glory to the ages. Amen.

Commentary on the Gospel of John

Introduction

The Prologue and the Weight of Doctrine

Of the four Gospel commentaries, this is the one in which Theophylact writes most consistently as a dogmatic theologian rather than as a narrator or a moralist. John’s Gospel opens not with a genealogy or a birth but with the eternal being of the Word—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”—and Theophylact treats those opening verses as a battlefield the Church has already fought over and must never stop defending. Commenting on the second verse, he turns directly on the ancient adversaries by name: “Let Arius therefore be ashamed, and Sabellius: Arius, who calls the Son of God a creature and a thing made, let him be confounded by the “In the beginning was,” and “the Word was God”; and Sabellius, who speaks not of a trinity of persons but of a monad, by the “And the Word was with God.”” In a few lines he has set the commentary’s whole doctrinal course: against Arius, who denied the Son’s full divinity, and against Sabellius, who denied any real distinction between Father and Son, John’s own words already supply the refutation.

This is not a momentary flourish confined to the opening page. The names of Arius and Sabellius, and with them Apollinarius, who taught that the Word did not assume a complete human mind and soul, recur through the commentary wherever the text touches on the person of Christ—his eternity, his equality with the Father, the reality of his human nature. Theophylact reads John as the Evangelist the Church has always turned to first when the identity of Christ is in dispute, and he writes accordingly: patiently, but without ever letting the dogmatic stakes of a verse pass unremarked.

The Evangelist and His Gospel

Theophylact identifies the author as John the son of Zebedee, the disciple the Lord loved, who reclined at the Last Supper and stood at the foot of the cross. Tradition held that he wrote last among the four Evangelists, after the other three Gospels were already in circulation, and Theophylact reads that lateness as purposeful: where Matthew, Mark, and Luke had already given a full account of the Lord’s earthly life and human parentage, John was free to pass over that ground quickly and to dwell instead on what the others had touched more lightly, the divine glory hidden within the human life they had already described. The result is a Gospel built less around a continuous narrative of events than around a sequence of extended discourses, a handful of carefully chosen signs, and the great “I am” sayings, each of which Theophylact treats as a fresh disclosure of who Christ is.

Theophylact pays close attention, too, to the individuals John brings forward as conversation partners for the Lord—Nicodemus the teacher of Israel who comes by night and cannot at first grasp what it means to be born again, the Samaritan woman at the well who moves across a single dialogue from evasion to open confession, the man born blind whose growing clarity of speech before his interrogators mirrors his newly given sight. Theophylact reads each of these encounters as a small drama of coming to faith, deliberately set beside the hardening unbelief of the religious authorities, so that the Gospel’s repeated theme—some see and believe, others look at the same signs and see nothing—plays out concretely in one figure after another rather than only in the abstract.

Argument and Structure

After the Prologue, the commentary follows the twenty-one chapters through John’s own arrangement: the early signs and encounters, including the wedding at Cana and the conversations with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman; a series of festival discourses set against the backdrop of the Jewish feasts, culminating in the raising of Lazarus; the extended farewell discourse and high-priestly prayer given to the disciples on the night before the Passion; and the Passion and resurrection narratives themselves, closing with the risen Lord’s threefold restoration of Peter. Theophylact reads the seven signs John selects—from the water made wine to the raising of Lazarus—not as a miscellany but as a rising sequence, each one disclosing more of Christ’s power over nature, sickness, and finally death itself, until the resurrection of Lazarus stands as the last and surest sign before the Lord’s own.

How to Read This Commentary

Because so much of this Gospel turns on a single word or preposition—whether the Word was “with” God or simply “of” God, whether the Son does the Father’s will or merely repeats it—the commentary rewards a slow, attentive reading of exactly the kind Theophylact himself practices, verse by short verse, with an ear for what a given wording rules out as much as for what it affirms. A modern reader unfamiliar with Arius and Sabellius may be tempted to treat these as antiquarian disputes; Theophylact treats them as permanently live, because the questions they raised about who Christ is have never stopped being asked in some new form. It is worth noting, too, that centuries after Theophylact wrote, a Latin theologian assembling patristic testimony on this Gospel found in this commentary one of his most valued Greek sources for working out, in his own age, exactly the kind of question Theophylact had answered in his: who Christ is, and what the words of Scripture require us to confess about him.

Chapter 1

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN. THE LIFE OF JOHN. From Sophronius. John, whom Jesus greatly loved, the son of Zebedee, brother of that James who was beheaded by Herod after the Passion of the Lord, was the last of all to write a Gospel, being urged thereto by the bishops of Asia, and writing against Cerinthus and other heretics—and especially because at that time the doctrine of the Ebionites had arisen, who asserted that Christ had no existence before Mary. Whence he was constrained to speak of His divine generation. And they assign yet another reason for this writing. For having read the volumes of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he approved the style of their narratives and confirmed that they had spoken truly; but they had treated of only one year—that in which He also suffered, after the imprisonment of John the Baptist. Leaving aside, therefore, the year whose deeds had been set forth by the three, he set forth the acts of the earlier time, before John was cast into prison—as may be made plain to those who diligently read the four Gospels; which also removes the seeming discord of John with the rest. He wrote, moreover, one Epistle, whose beginning is, “That which was from the beginning,” which is approved by all churchmen and learned men. The remaining two—whose beginnings are, of the first, “The elder to the elect lady,” and of the second, “The elder to Gaius the beloved”—are said to be of John the elder, whose separate tomb is yet to be found at Ephesus. And some suppose that the two tombs are both of John the evangelist; concerning whom, when in due order we come to Papias his hearer, we shall give our account. In the fourteenth year, then, when Domitian was raising a second persecution, having been confined to the island of Patmos, he composed the Apocalypse, which Justin Martyr and Irenaeus interpreted. And when Domitian had been slain, and his acts annulled by the Senate on account of their great cruelty, under Nerva he removed to Ephesus, and remaining there until the reign of the emperor Trajan, he founded and built up all the churches of Asia; and being very aged, in the sixty-eighth year after the Passion of the Lord, he was accounted worthy of repose. THE LIFE OF JOHN THE EVANGELIST.

From the synopsis of Dorotheus, martyr and bishop of Tyre. John his brother, who also became the evangelist of the Lord, whom also the Lord loved, preached the Gospel of Christ in Asia, and was exiled by the emperor Trajan to the island of Patmos for the word of the Lord. And being there, he both wrote the holy Gospel and published it at Ephesus through Gaius the host and deacon, to whom also the apostle Paul bears witness when he says to the Romans: “Gaius mine host, and of the whole Church, greets you.” And after the death of Trajan the blessed John returns from the island, and abides at Ephesus, and lived a hundred and twenty years; and after this, while yet living, by the will of God he buried himself there. But there are some who say that this was under Domitian, the son of Vespasian.

Or rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is perfected in weakness, even as it is written, and as we believe—in weakness not of body only, but also of speech and of the wisdom that resides upon the tongue. And this is plain from many other instances, but most of all from that which is seen by grace in the case of the great Theologian and brother of Christ. For this man was the son of a fisherman, and plied the same trade as his father; and he was not only unlearned in Greek and Jewish education, but altogether unlettered, as indeed the most divine Luke also records concerning him in the Acts. For his homeland too was most lowly and obscure, a place not of letters but of the fisherman’s craft; for it was Bethsaida that brought him forth. Yet nevertheless such a man—unlettered, obscure, having nothing remarkable about him—behold of what Spirit he was deemed worthy, so that what none of the other evangelists taught us, he thundered forth. For since those others busied themselves with the bodily things of Christ, but said nothing clearer or plainer concerning His existence before the ages, there was danger lest certain men, grovelling and unable to conceive anything lofty, should suppose that Christ first came into existence when He was born of Mary, and was not begotten of the Father before the ages—which indeed Paul of Samosata suffered. For this cause the great John treats of the generation from above; and yet he did not leave the incarnation of the Word unmentioned, for he says, “And the Word became flesh.” And some say that the Orthodox also besought him to write concerning the generation from above, inasmuch as certain heretics had appeared in those days who taught that Jesus was a mere man. Whereupon the saint, it is said, having read the writings of the other evangelists, marveled at them for their narration, true in all things, and judged them to be sound, and to have said nothing to curry favor of the apostles. But the things which those did not say clearly, or wholly omitted, these he unfolded and made plain and added through his own Gospel; which also he composed while living in exile on the island of Patmos, two and thirty years after the Ascension of Christ. Now John was loved by the Lord above all the disciples, as being simple and most meek and most kindly, and as pure in heart, that is, a virgin. From which gift he was also entrusted with theology, taking his delight in the mysteries unseen by the many. For “Blessed,” He says, “are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” And he was, moreover, a kinsman of the Lord; and how, hear. Joseph, the betrothed of the all-pure Theotokos, had by a former wife seven children, four male and three female—Martha, Esther, and Salome; of which Salome, I say, this John was the son. The Lord, then, is found to be his uncle. For since Joseph was reckoned father of the Lord, and Salome was daughter of this Joseph, Salome then is reckoned sister of the Lord, so that her son John is cousin of the Lord. And it is perhaps not unfitting to unfold also the names of his mother and of the evangelist himself. The mother, called Salome, is interpreted “peaceful”; and John, “her grace.” Let every soul therefore know that peace—both toward men, and within the soul, from the passions—becomes the mother of divine grace, and gives birth to it within us. For the troubled soul, still having battles both with other men and with itself, is not likely to be deemed worthy of divine grace. And we have observed yet a more wonderful thing that befell this evangelist John. For he alone is shown to have three mothers: the natural one, Salome; the thunder (for he is a son of thunder, because of the loud-voiced greatness of the Gospel); and the Theotokos—for “Behold,” He says, “your mother.” But since these things have been said by us before the exposition, we must now begin the unfolding of the text itself.

Jn. 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In the beginning was the Word. What I said also in the introduction, this I will say again: that whereas the other evangelists narrated at large the lower generation of the Lord, His upbringing and His growth, this one runs past those things, as having been sufficiently told by his fellow-disciples, and discourses concerning the divinity of Him who for our sake became man. And yet, if you examine accurately, neither did those others thrust aside the speaking of the divinity of the Only-begotten, but made mention of it, even if not at large; nor did this one, looking to the loftier theme, altogether neglect the dispensation in the flesh; for there was one Spirit moving the souls of them all. He discourses, then, to us concerning the Son; for the Father was already known from the Old Testament. And yet neither did he pass over the Father in silence, but makes mention of Him also, while he speaks concerning the Son. He shows, therefore, the eternity of the Only-begotten in saying, “In the beginning was the Word.” For of that which is from the beginning, no time at all can be found when it was not. And whence, says one, is it plain that the “In the beginning was” signifies the same as “from the beginning”? Whence? Both from common supposition itself, and most of all from this very evangelist. For he says in one of his Epistles: “That which was from the beginning, which we have seen.” Do you see, then, how the beloved interprets himself? “Yes,” says the heretic, “but I understand the ‘in the beginning’ thus, even as it stands also in Moses: ‘In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.’ For as there the ‘in the beginning’ is not understood as though the heaven were eternal, so neither here will I understand the ‘in the beginning’ as though the Only-begotten were eternal.” Thus the heretic. But we, to this senseless objection, will say nothing else but this: O sophist of wickedness, how did you suppress that which follows? But we will say it, even if you will not. For there Moses says, “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth”; but here, “In the beginning was the Word.” What fellowship has “made” with “was”? For if here too it had been written, “In the beginning God made the Son,” I should have kept silence; but now it is, “In the beginning was”; from which I understand that the Word is eternally, and not afterward, as you prate. And for what reason did he not say, “In the beginning was the Son,” but “the Word”? Hear. Because of the weakness of the hearers, lest hearing at the very outset “Son,” we should conceive a passible and bodily generation; for this cause he called Him “Word,” that you might learn that, as the word is begotten of the mind impassibly, so also He was begotten of the Father impassibly. And in another sense too he called Him “Word,” because He announced to us the things of the Father, even as every word announces the counsels of the mind; and at the same time also that he might show Him to be co-eternal with the Father. For as it is not possible to say that the mind ever was without word, so neither was the Father and God ever without the Son. And he said “the Word” with the article. For there are also many other words of God—such as, I mean, the prophecies and the commandments; as it is said concerning the angels, that they are “mighty in strength, doing His word,” that is, His commandments. But the Word, properly so called, is a certain essence, subsisting in its own hypostasis. And the Word was with God. And here he shows more clearly that the Son is co-eternal with the Father. For lest you should think that the Father was ever without the Son, he says that the Word was with God, that is, together with God, in the bosom of the Father. For the “with” you ought to understand as “together with,” as it lies also elsewhere: “Are not his brethren and his sisters with us?”—that is, do they not dwell among us? So here too understand the “with God” as “was together with God,” in His bosom. For it is not possible that God should ever be without word, or without wisdom, or without power. For this cause we believe that, since the Son is the word and wisdom and power of the Father, He always was with God—that is, together with the Father, and with the Father. And how, says one, being a Son, is He not later than the Father? How? Learn from the material example. The radiance of the sun—is it not from the sun itself? Yes, assuredly. Is it then also later than the sun, so that the sun could ever be conceived without it? It cannot be said. For how could there even be a sun not having radiance? What therefore holds in this case, much more shall it be conceived in the case of the Father and the Son. For the Son, being the radiance of the Father, as Paul says, shall be believed always to shine forth together with the Father, and shall not be later than He. And mark for me Sabellius the Libyan also as overturned by this text. For he taught that the Father and the Son and the Spirit are one person, and that this one person at one time appeared as Father, at another as Son, at another as Spirit. These things did that son of the father of lies prate, being full of the evil spirit. But he is plainly refuted from this, I mean from the “And the Word was with God.” For most clearly the evangelist here says that the Word is one, and God—that is, the Father—is another. For since the Word was together with God, it is evident that two persons are introduced, even though there be one nature to these two. And that there is one nature, hear: And the Word was God. Do you see that the Word also is God? So that there is one nature to the Father and the Son, since there is also one divinity. Let Arius therefore be ashamed, and Sabellius: Arius, who calls the Son of God a creature and a thing made, let him be confounded by the “In the beginning was,” and “the Word was God”; and Sabellius, who speaks not of a trinity of persons but of a monad, by the “And the Word was with God.” For clearly here the great John proclaims that the Word is one and the Father another, although not one thing and another thing. For the “another and another” is said of persons, but the “another thing and another thing” of natures. For example, that I may set forth the thought more clearly: Peter and Paul are another and another, for they are two persons; but not another thing and another thing, for there is one nature to them, their humanity. So therefore also concerning the Father and the Son it must be held: another and another, for they are two persons; but not another thing and another thing, for there is one nature, the divinity.

Jn. 1:2. The same was in the beginning with God. This God the Word was never separated from God the Father. For since he had said, “And the Word was God,” lest any satanic suspicion should trouble certain men—namely, Did the Word perhaps, since He also is God, rise up against the Father, as those fabled among the Greeks, and, as it were separated from Him, become a rival god?—for this cause he says that, even though the Word is God, yet again He is with God and the Father, being together with Him and never separated. Nor is it amiss to say this also against those who Arianize: Hear, you deaf, who say that the Son of God is a work and a thing made; understand what name the evangelist has set upon the Son of God. For he called Him “Word”; but you name Him a work and a thing made. He is a Word, not a work, nor a creature. Now the word is twofold (for one is the inward word, which we possess even when not speaking—I mean the power of speech; for one asleep, and not speaking, has nonetheless the word lying within him, and has not lost the power; this, then, is the inward word; but the other is the uttered word, which we bring forth through the lips, leading into act the power of speaking that lay within). The word, then, being twofold, neither of these suits the Son of God. For the Word of God is neither uttered nor inward. For those belong to natural things and to such as we are; but the Word of the Father, being above nature, is not subjected to these lowly distinctions of our craft. So that the sophism of Porphyry the Greek falls to the ground. For he, attempting to overthrow the Gospel, used such divisions as these. If the Son of God is Word, he says, He is either uttered or inward; but He is neither this nor that; therefore neither is He Word. The evangelist, then, has already dissolved this sophism by saying that the inward and the uttered are spoken of things that are according to us, and natural; but of that which is above nature, nothing of the kind. Yet this also must be said: if this name, “Word,” were worthy of God, and were spoken of Him properly and essentially, the Greek’s difficulty would have had some force; but as it is, neither can one find any other name proper to God, nor is the “Word” itself spoken essentially and properly, but is only indicative of His having been begotten impassibly of the Father, as the word from the mind, and of His having become the messenger of the Father’s will. Wherefore why do you lay hold of the name, O wretched man? Lest, hearing of Father, and Son, and Spirit, you fall down to material things, and fashion in your mind fleshly fathers, and sons, and an airy spirit—south wind, perhaps, or north, or some other of the things that stir up the surging waves. But come, let us go on to what follows. All things were made by Him. Do not suppose a word poured into the air and dissolved, but a Maker of all things, both intelligible and sensible. But again the followers of Arius break in, saying that, as we say a door is made by the saw, as by an instrument—yet the craftsman who moves the instrument is another—so also all things were made by the Son, not as though He were the Maker, but an instrument, just as there the saw, while God the Father is the Maker, using the Son as an instrument. So that the Son, they say, is a thing made, created for this purpose, that through Him all things might be made; even as the saw is made for this purpose, that through it the works of carpentry might be wrought. These things the wicked confraternity of Arius says. But we will say to them something simple and direct. If for this purpose the Father created the Son, as you say—that He might have Him as an instrument for the completing of the creation—then the Son shall be of less honor than the creation. For as the things made by the saw, which is an instrument, are of more honor than it (for the saw came to be for their sake, not they for the saw’s sake), so also the creation shall be of more honor than the Only-begotten; for, as they themselves say, for its sake did the Father create Him; as, had not God been about to create all things, neither would He have brought forth the Only-begotten. What could be more senseless than these words? “Yes,” says one, “and why then did he not say, ‘The Word Himself made all things,’ but used this preposition, ‘by’?” How? Lest you should suspect the Son to be unbegotten and without beginning and a rival god; for this cause he said that the Father made all things by the Word. For suppose one having a son a king, and being about to build a city, to entrust to his son the building of it. As, then, he who says, “By the king’s son the city was built,” does not introduce the king’s son as a slave, but shows that this son has a father, and is not alone; so here too the evangelist, saying that all things were made by the Son, made plain that the Father used Him, so to speak, as a mediator to the creation—not as His inferior, but rather as equal in power, and as strong enough to accomplish so great a charge. And this I say to you also: that if the preposition “by” troubles you, and you seek to find in the Scripture some saying which declares that the Word Himself made all things, hear David: “You, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands.” You see how he did not say, “By you were the heavens made, and the earth founded,” but, “You have founded,” and, “They are the works of your hands.” And that David says these things concerning the Only-begotten, and not concerning the Father, you may learn both from the Apostle himself, who uses the text in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and from the psalm itself. For having said that “The Lord looked down upon the earth, to hear the groaning, and to loose those that were appointed to death, and to declare in Sion the name of the Lord,” whom else does he signify than the Son of God? For He it was who looked down upon the earth—whether this on which we move, or our nature that was formed of earth, or the flesh, according to the “Earth you are,” which also He assumed—and loosed us who were fettered with the snares of our own sins, the sons of those appointed to death, of Adam and of Eve, and declared in Sion the name of the Lord. For standing in the temple He taught concerning His Father, even as He Himself says: “I have manifested your name to men.” To whom, then, do these things belong—to the Father, or to the Son? All to the Son. For He it was who declared the name of the Father, teaching. After saying these things, then, the blessed David adds: “And you, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands.” Does he not plainly bring in the Son as Maker, and not as instrument? And if again the preposition “by” seems to you to introduce some lowering, what will you say when Paul sets it upon the Father? For he says: “God is faithful, by whom you were called to the fellowship of his Son.” Does he here make the Father an instrument? And again, “Paul an apostle by the will of God.” But these things are enough; let us return again whence we departed. All things were made by Him. Moses, treating of the visible creation, made nothing plain to us concerning the things intelligible; but the evangelist, comprehending all in one word, says, “All things were made by Him”—both the visible and the intelligible.

Jn. 1:3. And without him was not any thing made that was made. Since he had said that He created all things, lest any should suppose that He created the Holy Spirit also, he adds that “All things were made by Him.” But what “all things”? The things that came to be. As though he said: Whatever is of created nature, that came to be through the Word; but the Spirit is not of created nature. Therefore “without Him was not any thing made that was made”—which is as much as to say, of the things that have come to be, nothing came to be apart from the power of the Word.

Jn. 1:4. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Now the Pneumatomachi read the present passage thus: “And without Him was not any thing made”; then, placing a stop here, they read what follows as from another beginning: “That which was made, in Him was life”; and they interpret the passage according to their own mind, saying that here the evangelist is treating of the Spirit, namely that the Holy Spirit “was life.” These things say the followers of Macedonius, eager to show the Holy Spirit a creature, and to number Him among the things made. But we read it not so; rather, placing the stop at “that was made,” we read “In Him was life” as from another beginning. For since he had spoken concerning the work of creation, that “All things were made by Him,” he speaks thereafter also concerning providence, that He not only created, but is Himself the One who holds together the life of the things created; for “In Him was life.” I know, however, that by one of the saints this passage was read thus: “And without Him was not any thing made that was made in Him”; and then, putting a stop there, he began the next clause, “Life was”; and I think that neither is this reading mistaken, but it holds to the same right meaning. For this saint too understood it in an Orthodox manner, that without the Word not even one thing came to be of what came to be in Him. For all things, as many as have come to be and been created, came to be in Him—I mean in the Word—and apart from Him have not come to be. Then from another beginning: “Life was, and the life was the light of men.” Now the evangelist names the Lord “Life,” as holding together the life of all things, and also as being the procurer of spiritual life to all rational beings. And “Light,” not such a one as is sensible, but intelligible, illuminating the soul itself. And he did not say that He is the light of the Jews only, but of all men. For all men, inasmuch as we received mind and reason from the Word that created us, are in this respect said to be illumined by Him. For the reason given to us, by which we are also called rational, is a light guiding us to the things to be done and the things not to be done.

Jn. 1:5. And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. The Light, that is, the Word of God, shines in the darkness—that is, in death and in error. For even when He had come to be in death, He so prevailed over it that He compelled it to vomit up even those whom it had already swallowed; and in the error of the Greeks the preaching shines. And the darkness comprehended it not: for neither did death overpower Him, nor error. For unconquerable is this Light, I mean God the Word. But some have understood the “darkness” to be the flesh and this present life. So then, having come to be in the flesh and in this life, the Word shone; and the darkness—I mean the adverse power—set upon Him and pursued the Light, but found it unconquerable and unvanquished. And the flesh is called darkness, not as being such by nature—far from it!—but because of sin. For the flesh, when moved according to nature, has nothing evil whatever; but when moved contrary to nature, and made to serve sin, it both becomes and is called darkness.

Jn. 1:6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. After discoursing to us concerning the existence of God the Word before the ages, since he is about to speak also concerning the incarnation of the Word, he interposes the account of the Forerunner. And what else, indeed? John, being the Forerunner, has also the account of his own coming run before the incarnate birth of the Lord. The evangelist says, then, concerning the Forerunner, that he “was sent from God”—that is, he was dispatched from God; for the false prophets are not from God. But when you hear that he was sent from God, suppose him to say nothing of his own, nothing human, but all things divine. For this cause he is also called an angel; and the virtue of an angel is to say nothing of his own. Yet hearing “angel,” do not think that he was an angel by nature, or that he came down from heaven; but because of his work and ministry he is called an angel. For since he ministered to the preaching and announced the Lord beforehand, for this cause he was called an angel. Wherefore the evangelist also, overturning the supposition of the many—who perhaps thought that John was an angel by nature—says, “There was a man sent from God.”

Jn. 1:7. This man came as a witness, to testify concerning the light, so that all might believe through him. This man, he says, the one sent from God, came that he might bear witness concerning the Light. Then, lest any should suppose that the Only-begotten therefore had need of his witness, as being deficient, for this cause he adds that he came to bear witness concerning the Son of God—not as though He needed that man’s witness, but that all might believe through him. Did then all believe through him? No. How then does the evangelist say, “That all might believe”? How? So far as lay in him, for this cause he bore witness, that he might draw all; but if some disbelieved, he is not to be blamed. For the sun also rises for this end, that it may give light to all; but if one shut himself up in a gloomy chamber and enjoy not its ray, what is this to the sun? So here too, John was sent that all might believe; but if this did not come to pass, he is not the cause.

Jn. 1:8. He was not the Light, but came to testify concerning the Light. Since for the most part it happens that the one who bears witness is greater than the one witnessed of, lest you should think that John also, bearing witness of Christ, was greater than He, removing this wicked suspicion he says, “He was not the Light.” But one might say: May we then not call John, nor any other of the saints, “light”? We may call each of the saints a light; but “the Light,” with the article, we may not call him. For instance, if one ask you, “Is John a light?” assent; but if he ask thus, “Is John the Light?” say, No. For he is not himself the Light properly, but a light by participation, having his radiance from the true Light.

Jn. 1:9. That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world. He is about to speak concerning the incarnate dispensation of the Only-begotten—that He came to His own, that He became flesh. Therefore, lest any should suppose that before His being made flesh He was not, for this cause he leads up the understanding to the existence that is beyond all beginning, and says: The true Light was, even before being made flesh. And by this he overturns the heresy of Photinus and of Paul of Samosata, who taught that the Only-begotten then came into existence when He was born of Mary, and before this was not. Hear you also, O Arian, who deny the Son of God to be true God, what the evangelist says: “the true Light.” And you too, O Manichean, who say that we are creatures of the evil demiurge, hear that the true Light lights every man. If, then, the evil demiurge is darkness, he could not give light to any; so that we are creatures of the true Light. And how, says one, does He light every man, seeing that we behold some men darkened? So far as in Him lies, He lights all. For tell me, are not all rational? Do not all know by nature the good and its opposite? Have they not the power to conceive the Maker from the things made? So that the reason given to us, which trains us by nature, and which is also called the natural law—this might be called the light given to us by God; but if some have used the reason ill, they have darkened themselves. But some loose this difficulty thus: The Lord, they say, lights every man that comes into the world—that is, into a better order, and that is zealous to adorn his own soul, and not to leave it unadorned and unbeautiful.

Jn. 1:10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He was in the world, as God present everywhere; but also according to His providential and sustaining power He might be said to be in the world. And yet why do I say this, that He was in the world, when not even the world would have been, had not He Himself made it? On every side he shows Him to be Maker—at once checking the madness of Manes, who says that an evil demiurge brought forth the universe; and also that of Arius, who said the Son of God to be a creature; and at the same time leading every man to the confession of the Maker, that he should not serve the creatures, but worship the Creator. And “the world,” he says, “knew him not”—that is, the common multitude, that cleaves to the affairs of the world. For the name “world” signifies both this universe, as it is here said, that “the world was made by Him,” and also signifies those who are worldly-minded, as it is here said, that “the world knew Him not”—that is, the earthly men; since the saints and the prophets all recognized Him.

Jn. 1:11. He came to his own, and his own received him not. Here most plainly he enters upon the account of the incarnate dispensation, and the whole texture of the thought is such as this: The true Light was in the world without flesh, and was not recognized; then He came also to His own with flesh. And by “His own” you will understand either the whole world, or Judaea, which He chose as the portion of His inheritance, and as His lot, and as His peculiar possession. And “His own received Him not”—either the Jews, or also the rest of men, who were created by Him. And so he laments the folly of men, and marvels at the love of the Master toward man. Being His own, he says, not all received Him. For the Lord draws no man by necessity, but by judgment and free choice.

Jn. 1:12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Whether bond or free, whether children or old men, whether barbarians or Greeks—as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become children of God. And who are these? They that believe on His name. So that they who received the Word and the true Light, received and welcomed Him through faith. And for what reason did he not say that He made them children of God, but that He gave them power to become children of God? For what reason? Hear: because it does not suffice to the keeping of purity to be baptized, but there is need also of much diligence, so as to preserve unstained the image of adoption stamped in baptism. Wherefore many received indeed through baptism the grace of adoption, but, growing slothful, did not become children of God to the end. And perhaps one might say this also, that many receive Him through believing only—such as those called catechumens—but are not yet become children of God; yet they have the power, if they should will to be baptized, to be deemed worthy also of this grace, I mean of adoption. And one will say this too: that even though through baptism we receive the grace of adoption, yet the perfect we receive at the resurrection, and we hope then to receive the most complete adoption; even as Paul also says, that “we wait for the adoption.” For this cause, then, this evangelist also did not say, “As many as received Him, He made them children of God,” but, “He gave them power to become children of God”—that is, to receive this grace in the age to come. Which were born not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. He makes, as it were, a comparison of the divine and the fleshly birth, not without cause reminding us of the fleshly pangs, but in order that we, recognizing through the comparison the ignobility and lowliness of the fleshly birth, may run to the divine grace. He says, then: who were born not of bloods—that is, of the menses; for from these is the nourishment and growth of the embryo; and they say that the seed too is first turned to blood, then is moulded into flesh and the rest of the frame. But since it was likely that one should say that the birth of Isaac too was such as that whereby those born who believe in Christ—for Isaac also was not born of bloods, since the menses had failed Sarah—since therefore it was possible for some to suppose this, he adds the words that follow.

Jn. 1:13. Nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. For in the case of Isaac, even if the birth was not of bloods, yet it was of the will of man; for the husband doubtless willed that a child should be born to him of Sarah. And “of the will of the flesh,” as Samuel of Hannah. You might say, then, that Isaac was of the will of man, but Samuel of the will of the flesh—that is, of the human flesh; for this barren woman thirsted to obtain a child; or perhaps both apply to both. And if you would learn something further, hear: the union according to the flesh comes either from natural heat—for often one happens to have a warmer constitution, and is from this prone to intercourse (this, then, he named the will of the flesh)—or, through evil habit and an unchaste manner of life, the impulse to intercourse becomes uncontrollable, which he called the will of man, as being the work, not of the natural constitution, but of the man’s incontinence. Or perhaps, since at one time the woman is found prone to intercourse, at another the man, by “the will of man” he signified the lust of the man, and by “the will of the flesh,” that of the woman. And you might fittingly understand by “the will of the flesh” the desire that kindles the flesh to yielding, and by “the will of man” the consent of him who desires to the union, which is the beginning of the act. And he set down both, because many desire, yet are not immediately carried away by the desire, but master it, and do not slip into the act; whereas those who are vanquished, being first inflamed by the flesh and by the desire smouldering within it, are turned aside to the will of union. Fitly, then, the evangelist set the will of the flesh before the will of man, since the desire goes before the union by nature, and both run together of necessity at the coupling. And all these things have been said for the sake of those who often ask foolish questions; since, to speak of what is more to the point, one thought is shown through all these—I mean the setting forth of the lowliness of the fleshly birth. What more, then, have we who believe in Christ than the Israelites under the law? For they too were called sons of God. Great is the difference between us and them. For since the law in all things had a shadow of things to come, it did not even grant the Israelites to have adoption, but as in a type and figure; whereas we, having in truth received the Spirit of God through baptism, cry, “Abba, Father.” But as for them, even as their baptism was typical and shadowy, so also was their adoption, prefiguring ours. Though, then, they were called sons, yet it was in shadow, and they had not the very truth of adoption, as we now have through baptism. And the Word was made flesh. Having said that we become children of God, if we will, who believed in Christ, he adds also the cause of so great a good. For what, he says, procured for us this adoption—do you wish to learn? The Word’s becoming flesh. But when you hear that He was made flesh, do not think that He departed from His own nature and was turned into flesh; for He would not be God, if He were turned and altered; but that, remaining what He was, He became what He was not. But Apollinarius of Laodicea framed a heresy from this text; for he taught that our Lord and God did not assume the perfect nature of man—that is, a body with a rational soul—but flesh only, destitute of a rational and intellectual soul. For what need, says he, had God of a soul, having the Godhead to govern the body, even as we have the soul to direct our body? And he had, as he thought, for support the present text: “And the Word was made flesh.” For he did not say, says he, “He became man,” but “flesh.” So that He did not assume a soul having mind and reason, but flesh without mind and reason. The wretched man, then, was ignorant that the Scripture often names the whole from the part; as, being about to make mention of the whole man, it names him from a part, the soul: “Every soul that is not circumcised, let it be put to death.” For behold, instead of saying “every man,” it said the part, I mean the soul. And again it names the whole from the flesh, as when it says, “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God”; for being about to say “every man,” it used the name of the flesh. So then the evangelist also, instead of saying, “The Word became man,” said, “The Word became flesh,” naming the man from a part, the man that is composed of soul and body. And perhaps, since the flesh is most alien to the divine nature, the evangelist, wishing to declare the boundless condescension of God, made mention of the flesh, that we might be amazed at His unspeakable love toward man—that, for our salvation, He assumed what was alien and wholly strange to His nature, I mean the flesh. For the soul has a certain kinship to God, but the flesh is altogether without communion with Him. For this cause, then, I think the evangelist here used the name of the flesh alone, not as though the thing assumed were destitute of a soul, but for the fuller showing of the wonderful and awful mystery. For if the Word incarnate did not assume a human soul, our souls are yet unhealed; for that which He did not assume, neither did He sanctify. And what a mockery, that the soul, having suffered first (for it was the soul that yielded to the words of the serpent and was deceived in paradise, and then the hand too touched, following its lady and mistress the soul)—that the handmaid, the flesh, should be both assumed and sanctified and healed, but the mistress left unassumed and unhealed! But let Apollinarius perish. As for us, when we hear that the Word was made flesh, we believe that He became perfect man, the Scripture being wont to name the composite man by one part only, either flesh or soul. And by this text Nestorius also is overturned. For he said that not God Himself became man, conceived of the all-pure blood of the holy Virgin, but that the Virgin bore a man; and that this man, being graced with every kind of virtue, had the Word of God joined to him, giving him power against unclean spirits; and from this he taught two sons, one the son of the Virgin, Jesus the man, and another the Son of God joined to the man, and inseparable from him, yet by grace and relation and love, inasmuch as the man was virtuous. These things he prated, willfully deaf to the truth. For had he willed, he too would have heard this blessed evangelist saying, “The Word was made flesh.” Is he not plainly refuted here? For the Word Himself became man. He did not say, “The Word, finding a man, was joined to him,” but, “He Himself became man.” And by this Eutyches too is overturned, and Valentinus, and Manes. For these said that the Word of God appeared in semblance only. Let them hear, then, that “the Word was made flesh.” He did not say, “Flesh was imagined,” or “seemed,” but that “He became” it in truth and substance, and not in seeming and fantasy. For it is absurd and senseless to believe that the Son of God, being and being called Truth, lied as to the incarnation; for such is a fantasy—an utterly false showing. And dwelt among us. Since above he said, “The Word was made flesh,” lest any should suppose that Christ thereafter became one nature, for this cause he adds, “He dwelt among us,” that he might show the two natures, ours and that of the Word. For as the tabernacle is of one nature, and he who dwells in it of another, so also the Word, said to dwell among us—that is, in our nature—would be of another nature than ours. Let the Armenians be ashamed, who maintain one nature. We learn, then, through the “The Word was made flesh,” that the Word Himself became man, and being Son of God, became also Son of a woman, who is also properly called Theotokos, as having given birth to God in the flesh. And through the “He dwelt among us,” we are taught this, to believe two natures in the one Christ. For though He is one according to hypostasis, that is, according to person, yet He is two according to the natures; for He is God and man; and the divine nature and the human could not be one, even though they be contemplated about the one Christ.

Jn. 1:14. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Since he said, “He was made flesh,” he adds thereafter, “We beheld His glory”—being, that is, in the flesh. For if the Israelites could not look upon the face of Moses made radiant from his converse with God, much less could the apostles have contained the naked Godhead of the Only-begotten, had He not been manifested through the flesh. And we beheld a glory not such as Moses had, nor such as that with which the Cherubim and Seraphim were seen by the prophet, but such a glory as became the only-begotten Son, belonging to Him by nature from the Father. For the “as” here is not of likeness, but of confirmation and of an indisputable defining. As when, beholding a king coming forth with much glory, we say that he came forth as a king—meaning, as one truly and in reality a king—so here too we ought to understand the “as of the only-begotten” as meaning: the glory which we beheld is as that of one truly and in reality the Son. Full of grace and truth. Full of grace, inasmuch as His very word was full of grace, so to speak, even as David says, “Grace is poured into your lips,” and as the evangelist says, that “All marveled at the words of grace that proceeded out of His mouth.” And to all who had need of them He freely gave healings. And He was full of truth, inasmuch as the prophets, and Moses himself, whatever they said or did, all were types; but Christ, the things He said and did, were all full of truth, being Himself grace itself and truth itself, and supplying these to others. And where did they behold the glory? Perhaps some will suppose, on Mount Tabor. And perhaps this too is true; yet not on the mount alone, but in all the things He did and said, they beheld His glory.

Jn. 1:15. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spoke, He that comes after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. The evangelist continually brings in the witness of John—not making the Master credible from the slave, but because the multitudes had a great opinion of John; for this cause he brings in, to the witness concerning Christ, the John who was reckoned great among them, and on this account believed above all. And the word “cried” shows the great boldness of John. For not in a corner, but with much boldness he cried aloud concerning Christ. And what did he say? “This was he of whom I spoke”; for even before he saw Christ, John bore witness concerning Him. And this was assuredly the good pleasure of God, that he might not seem, in flattery of the person of Christ, to bear the kindlier witness concerning Him. Wherefore he also says, “Of whom I spoke”—that is, even before I saw Him. “He that comes after me,” namely according to the times of birth; for the Forerunner was six months before Christ according to the birth in the flesh. “Is preferred before me”—that is, became more honored and more glorious than I. Why? “Because He was before me,” according to the Godhead. But the Arians have foolishly interpreted this text. For wishing to show that the Son of God was not begotten of the Father, but came to be as one of the creatures, they say: Behold, John bears witness of Him, “He is preferred before me”—that is, He came to be before me, and was created by God as one of the things made. But they are refuted, as misunderstanding the text, by what follows. For what meaning appears in saying that “This One,” namely Christ, “is preferred before me”—that is, was created before me—“because He was before me”? For it is altogether senseless to say, “God created Him before, because He was before me.” For on the contrary he ought rather to have said, “This One is before me, because He is preferred before me”—that is, was created. So much, then, for the sayings of the Arians. But we understand in an Orthodox manner, that He who “comes after me,” according to the birth in the flesh of the Virgin, “is preferred before me”—that is, became more glorious and more honored than I, from the wonders that befell concerning Him, from the place, from the manner of His upbringing, from His wisdom. And fitly so. For He was also “before me,” according to the birth from the Father before the ages, even though He came after me according to the presence in the flesh.

Jn. 1:16. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. These too are the words of the Forerunner, speaking concerning Christ, that “We all, the prophets, have received of His fulness.” For He has not so much grace as the men inspired by the Spirit, but, being the fount of every good, and of all wisdom and prophecy, He pours it forth abundantly upon all the worthy, and in the pouring forth remains full, and is never diminished. And we received “grace for grace”—that is, the grace of the New Covenant for the grace of the old legislation. For since that Covenant had grown old and was decayed, in place of it we received the New. And how, says one, did he name the Old Covenant “grace”? Because the Jews too were by grace adopted and received. For Scripture says, “Not because you were more in number, but for your fathers’ sakes were you received.” And we likewise, confessedly by grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He explains to us how we received the greatest grace for a small grace; and he says that the law was given by Moses, God using a man as mediator, I mean Moses; but the New Covenant by Jesus Christ—which is also called grace, because God freely gave us not only the remission of sins, but also adoption. And it is called truth, inasmuch as the things which the ancients either saw or said in type, these the New Covenant proclaimed brightly. The New Covenant, then, which is called both grace and truth, used not a mere man as mediator, but the Son of God. And mark how, of the Old, he said, “It was given by Moses”; for he was a minister and servant. But of the New, he did not say, “It was given,” but, “It came to be,” that he might show the grace and the truth to have come to be by the Lord Jesus Christ, as Master, not as slave, and to have advanced to perfection. For the law was given by God through the mediation of Moses; the grace came to be—not was given—by Jesus Christ. For “came to be” is authoritative, but “was given” is servile. No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. Since he said—

Jn. 1:17. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Wishing to establish this, that “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” he says: I have said nothing incredible. For Moses neither saw God, as neither did any other, nor had he any most clear and plain account to give us concerning Him; but, being a servant, he ministered only to the service of the letter of the law. But Christ, being Son and Only-begotten, and being in the bosom of the Father, not only beholds Him, but also declares Him to all men. So that, since He is Son, and beholds the Father, as being in His bosom, fitly He gave us the grace and the truth. But one will perhaps say: How is it that here we learn that no man has seen God, while the prophet says, “I saw the Lord”? The prophet saw indeed, but not the very essence, but a certain likeness and appearance, so far as he was able to see. And another again saw in another figure, and another in another. Whence it is plain that they did not behold the very truth; for they would not have contemplated in diverse figures that which is simple and without figure. But neither do the angels behold the essence of God, even though they are said to behold the face of God; for this is indicative only of their ever contemplating God. The Son, then, alone beholds the Father, and declares Him to all men. And hearing of the Father’s bosom, suspect nothing bodily concerning God. For wishing to show the genuineness, and the inseparability, and the co-eternity of the Son with the Father, the evangelist made mention of this name.

Jn. 1:19–20. And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? And he confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, I am not the Christ. He said above that “John bears witness of Him”; then, having stated in passing what John bore witness concerning Christ—that “He is preferred before me,” and that “We all the prophets have received of His fulness”—he adds, “And this is the witness of John.” What witness? Both that which he stated above, that “He is preferred before me,” and the rest; but also what he says hereafter, that “I am not the Christ”—these too are the witness of John. The Jews, then, sent to John the better men they had—for they were priests and Levites, and these of Jerusalem—that these, as being more discerning, might persuade John by flattery to confess himself the Christ. But mark their craft: they do not ask him outright, “Are you the Christ?” but, “Who are you?” And he, knowing their malice, does not say who he was, but confesses, “I am not the Christ,” looking to their aim, and on every side drawing them on to believe that the Christ is another—the one reckoned by them mean, and of a mean father (for He was a carpenter’s son), and of a mean homeland, Nazareth, out of which they believed no good thing could be. But concerning the Forerunner himself they had a great opinion; for he was of a high-priestly father, and of an angelic life, and almost without combat. Whence it is just to marvel how, by the very things by which they thought to injure the glory of Christ, they are entangled. For they ask John as one worthy of credit, that they might have his witness as a ground for their unbelief toward Christ, should he not confess Him to be the Christ; but it turned out for them to the contrary. For this man, whom they held worthy of credit, they find bearing witness concerning Christ, and not drawing the honor to himself.

Jn. 1:21–23. And they asked him, What then? Are you Elias? And he says, I am not. Are you that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they to him, Who are you? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What do you say of yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. They expected Elias to come, being persuaded by an ancient tradition; wherefore they ask him whether he is Elias; for indeed his manner of life resembled that of Elias. He denies this also. “Are you that prophet?” He denies this too, although he was a prophet. How then does he deny it? How? Because they did not ask him, “Are you a prophet?” but, “Are you that prophet?” making the question with the article, that is, “that expected prophet of whom Moses said, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you.” John did not, then, deny that he was a prophet, but that he was that prophet, the expected one. For since they had heard Moses say that a prophet should arise, they hoped that at certain seasons this prophet should come to be. Then again they press him: “Tell us, then, who are you?” Then he answers them: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” I, he says, am he concerning whom it is written, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness.” For unless you add the “concerning whom it is written,” the construction of the saying appears strange. And of one crying what? “Make straight the way of the Lord.” I am a servant, he says, and I prepare the way for the Lord in your hearts. Make these straight, you crooked and deceitful, and make them level, that there may be made a way for the Lord Christ through you. Then he brings in Isaiah as witness. For having said great things concerning Christ—that He is Lord, and that he himself plies the work of a servant and herald—he takes refuge in the prophet. And perhaps one might interpret the “I am the voice of one crying” thus: that “I am the voice of Christ who cries”—that is, of Him who plainly proclaims the truth. For all those of the law were of weak utterance, inasmuch as the truth of the Gospel had not its season; and this was the weakness of utterance of Moses, the indistinctness and obscurity of the law. But Christ, as being Himself the truth, and having announced to us all the things of the Father, is one who cries aloud. John, then, says: I am the voice of the Word who cries, passing my life in the wilderness. Then from another beginning: “Make straight the way of the Lord.” Fitly is John called a voice, as being the Forerunner of Christ, even as the voice runs before the word. For—that I may speak more clearly—the voice is an unarticulated breath that issues from the chest; but when it is articulated by the tongue, then it becomes a word. First, then, the voice, then the word: first John, then Christ according to His presence in the flesh. And the baptism of John was unarticulated, for it had not the “in the Spirit”; but that of Christ was articulated, and had nothing of the shadowy and typical; for it was in the Spirit.

Jn. 1:24–25. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said to him, Why do you baptize then, if you are not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? Since by flattery they could not catch him, by harsher and more upbraiding words they seek to frighten him, that he might say what they wished, and confess himself the Christ. “Why do you baptize then?” they say; who gave you so great authority? And so far as may be gathered from this saying, it is shown that they reckoned the Christ to be one, and the expected prophet another. For they say: “If you are not the Christ, nor that prophet”—supposing the Christ to be one, and the prophet another, in their ignorance. For the prophet is Himself the Christ and our God. And all these things they said, as I have noted, in order that they might constrain him to confess himself the Christ; or rather—if one must speak the truer thing—out of envy of his glory they ask him. Wherefore they do not even inquire whether he is the Christ, but, “Who are you?”—as if saying, Who are you, that take in hand so great a work, to baptize and to cleanse those that make confession? For the Jews seem to me to wish that not even John should be reputed the Christ among the many, but out of grudge and envy to ask him, “Who are you?” Most accursed, then, are the Jews, who welcomed him while baptizing, but after they were baptized were thankless—truly a generation of vipers.

Jn. 1:26–27. John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there stands one among you, whom you know not; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. Behold both the meekness of the saint and his truth: his meekness, in that he speaks nothing harsh toward them, though they were insolent; his truth, in that he is a bold witness of the glory of Christ, and does not hide the glory of the Lord, procuring fame for himself, but confesses: I indeed baptize a mean baptism—for it is in water only, having not remission of sins, but preparing men beforehand to receive the spiritual baptism, which bestows the remission of sins. But there stands one among you, whom you know not; for the Lord, mingled with the multitude, was unknown, who He might be and whence. And perhaps one might say that in another way too the Lord stood in the midst of the Pharisees, but they knew Him not. For since they seemed to study the Scriptures, and in these the Lord was proclaimed, He was in their midst—that is, in their hearts—but they knew Him not, as not understanding the Scriptures, even though they had them in their hearts. Or perhaps, inasmuch as the Lord was Mediator of God and men, He stood in the midst of the Pharisees, wishing to reconcile them to God, but they knew Him not. And continually he sets down the “He that comes after me,” showing that his baptism is not perfecting, but a preparing of the way for the spiritual baptism. And the “Is preferred before me” means: more honored, more glorious, and so much so that I am not to be numbered even among the last of His servants; for to unloose the sandal is of the lowest service. And I know an interpretation that I read in one of the saints: The sandal is everywhere taken for the flesh of sinners, subject to corruption; and the latchet, or thong, for the bond of sins. John, then, among the others, those who came forth to him and confessed, had power to loose the thong of sins; for, bound with the cords of their own sins, they came forth to him; and by exhorting them to repentance, he prepared the way for them to cast off this thong altogether, and the sinful sandal. But in the case of Christ, finding no thong—that is, no bond of sin—fitly neither could he loose it. For how could he loose what he found not? For He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. And the sandal is the Lord’s presence among us; and its latchet is the manner of the incarnation, and of how the Word of God was bound together with the body. This manner, then, it is impossible to loose; for who can loose how God was bound together with the body?

Jn. 1:28. These things were done in Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. For what reason did he say, “These things were done in Bethany”? That he might show the boldness of the great herald, that not in a house, nor in a corner, but having reached the Jordan, in the midst of a multitude he proclaimed these things concerning Christ. But it must be known that the accurate copies read “in Bethabara”; for Bethany is not beyond Jordan, but somewhere near Jerusalem.

Jn. 1:29. The next day John sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. Continually the Lord comes to the Forerunner; for what cause? Surely because, having been baptized like one of the many by John, lest some should think that He was baptized as being liable to sins on a par with the rest, the Baptist, wishing to correct this supposition, says: Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. For He who is so pure as even to take away and abolish the sins of others, plainly would not have received the baptism of confession on a par with the rest. And examine the saying for me also thus: “Behold the Lamb of God” is spoken as to men longing to behold the Lamb proclaimed by Isaiah. Behold the Lamb, he says, that sought-for One—behold, that Lamb is here present. For it was likely that many, having studied the prophetic book of Isaiah, sought who the Lamb might be. John, then, points Him out. And he did not say “a lamb,” but “the Lamb.” For there are many lambs, even as there are many christs; but the true Lamb, the one prefigured by Moses and proclaimed by Isaiah, is this One. And Christ is called the Lamb “of God,” either of God as having accepted the death of Christ for our salvation, or as of God who gave Him for us to death. As we are wont to say, “This sacrifice is so-and-so’s,” meaning, So-and-so offered it; so then the Lord is called the Lamb of God, as of God the Father who, through His love toward us, gave Him to slaughter for us. And he did not say, “Who took away the sin,” but, “Who takes away”; for daily He takes away our sins, some through baptism, others through repentance. And the lambs sacrificed in the Old Covenant utterly abolished the sin of no one; but this One takes away—that is, abolishes, removes out of the midst—the sin of the whole world. And for what cause did he say not “sins,” but “sin”? Perhaps by saying “sin” he spoke universally, as we are wont to say, “Man fell away,” meaning, all humanity, from God; so then here too, saying “the sin,” he signified all sins. Or perhaps, since man, having disobeyed God, was hurled headlong into the passions, the sin of the world was disobedience, which the Lord took away out of the midst, becoming obedient to death, and healing the contrary by the contrary.

Jn. 1:30. This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who is preferred before me: for he was before me. Above, to those who came from the Pharisees, John said, “There stands one among you, whom you know not, who is preferred before me”; but now he even points Him out with the finger, and makes Him manifest to those who knew Him not. This is that One concerning whom I bore witness, he says to the Pharisees, that “He is preferred before me”—that is, more notable than I and more honored. Why? “Because He was before me.” Hear, O Arius: he did not say, “He was created before me,” but, “He was.” Hear too, O confraternity of the Samosatene, that the Lord did not begin to be from Mary, but was before the Forerunner, according to His existence before the ages. For if, as you prate, the Lord took the beginning of His being from Mary, how was He before the Forerunner? For this man plainly precedes the Lord by six months according to the birth in the flesh. And the Lord is called a man, perhaps because of the perfection of His age—for He was baptized at thirty years; perhaps also as being the man of every soul, and the Bridegroom of the Church. For “I have espoused you,” says Paul, “to present you to one husband,” namely to Christ. The Forerunner says, then: I am the bringer of the bride and the matchmaker; but after me comes the man. For I draw souls to faith in Christ; but He is the man who is to be wedded to them.

Jn. 1:31–34. And I did not know him: but that he might be revealed to Israel, for this reason I came baptizing with water. And John testified, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained upon him. And I did not know him: but he who sent me to baptize with water, he said to me, Upon whomever you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen, and have testified, that this is the Son of God. Since the Forerunner was a kinsman of the Lord—for the angel says to the Virgin, “Behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth has also conceived”—lest any should suppose that, because of the kinship, the Forerunner shows favor to the Lord and bears such witness concerning Him, for this cause he says repeatedly, “And I did not know Him,” doing away with the suspicions. But that He should be made manifest to Israel, he says, for this cause am I come baptizing. That all, he says, might be guided to faith in Him, and that He might be pointed out to the peoples, for this cause I baptize. For while I baptize, the peoples run together; and when they are gathered, Christ is made manifest to them, being preached by me, and present, He is shown to those present. For unless they had run together because of the baptism, how would the Lord have been pointed out by John? For he could not have gone about the houses and led Christ from house to house, showing Him to each. For this cause, then, he says, I am come baptizing in water, that, while the peoples run together because of the baptism, He might be made manifest by me. And from this we learn that the so-called childhood miracles of Christ are false, and composed by those who wish to mock the mystery. For if they were true, how was the Lord, while doing these things, unknown? For surely it was not likely that one working such wonders should not be renowned. But this is not so, it is not. For before He was baptized He neither did signs nor was known. But He that sent me to baptize said to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, the same is He that baptizes with the Holy Ghost. Making, as I said, his witness concerning Christ free from suspicion, John refers the witness to God and the Father. For I, he says, did not know Him, but the Father revealed Him to me at the baptism. But one might ask: If John did not know Him, how does Matthew say that he forbade Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized of you”? It is possible, then, to say this: Understand the “I did not know Him” thus, that for a long time and before the baptism he did not know Him; but at the season of the baptism, then he knew Him. Or it is possible to say otherwise, that he knew Him indeed to be the Christ, but that He Himself is the one to baptize in the Holy Spirit, this he learned then, when he saw the Spirit descending. Saying then, “And I did not know Him,” he gives us to understand that he knew not that He is the one to baptize in the Holy Spirit; but that He is above the many, this he knew. Wherefore also, according to Matthew, he forbade Him, knowing Him to be assuredly greater; but when the Spirit came down, then, recognizing Him more clearly, he proclaimed Him also to the rest. And the Spirit was seen by all that were present, and not by John only. Why then, one says, did they not believe? Because their senseless heart was darkened, since even when they saw Him working wonders they believed not. But some say that not all saw, but the more reverent. For even though the Spirit descended bodily, yet it is likely that He was not seen by all, but by the worthy; since the prophets too beheld many things in a sensible form—as Daniel, as Ezekiel—yet no other beheld these things. And I have seen, and have testified, that this is the Son of God. And where did John bear witness that He is the Son of God? For nowhere is this written; he calls Him a Lamb, but the Son of God nowhere. Whence it is reasonable to conjecture that many other things too have been omitted; for they did not write down everything.

Jn. 1:35–37. Again the next day John was standing there with two of his disciples; and looking at Jesus as he walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Because of the slothfulness of his hearers, John is compelled to say the same things, that by the very continuance of the witness he may accomplish something. And so he was not disappointed, but led two disciples to Christ. For being in truth the bringer of the bride, he did all things so as to lead human nature to the Bridegroom; wherefore Christ is silent, as the Bridegroom, but the matchmaker speaks everything. And as a bridegroom the Lord comes to the multitude; for at weddings it is not the bride who goes to the bridegroom, but he to her, even if he be a king’s son. Wherefore also the Lord, being about to wed our nature, came down to it upon the earth; and when the marriage was accomplished, He took it, being taken up to the Father’s house. Looking, then, upon Jesus, John—that is, showing with his very eyes the joy he had in Christ, and his wonder—says, Behold the Lamb! And the disciples, softened by the continual witnesses, followed Jesus, not in contempt of John, but choosing the better things of Christ.

Jn. 1:38–40. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and says to them, What seek you? They said to him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where do you dwell? He says to them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day. And it was about the tenth hour. Matthew, having narrated the baptism of the Lord, leads Him immediately up into the mountain to be tempted; but the present evangelist, leaving aside what was said by that one, narrates the things after the descent from the mountain. And the following of John’s disciples, and their coming to Christ, takes place after the descent from the mountain and the temptation; the word showing, I think, that no one ought to set himself up as a teacher unless he first himself, having gone up to the summit of virtue (for this is the mountain) and overcome every temptation, raise the trophy over the tempter. The disciples follow first, then, and only then ask Him where He dwells. For not publicly, with many present, but privately it behooved them to converse, as concerning necessary things. Or rather, neither do they ask first, but Christ Himself leads them on to ask. For He says to them, “What seek you?”—not as ignorant (for how should He who knows the hearts of men be ignorant?), but that through the question He might invite them to say what they wished. For it was likely that they both blushed and feared Him, as one borne witness to by John as above man. But marvel for me at their right disposition. For they not only followed, but also call Him Rabbi, that is, Master, and that when they had as yet heard nothing from Him. But wishing to learn something privately from Him, they ask, “Where do you dwell?” for in quiet it is more convenient to speak and to hear. And the Lord tells them not the marks of the house, but, “Come,” He says, “and see.” And this He does, at once drawing them on the more to the following, and at the same time exercising their longing, whether they would not grow weary on the way; for had they come with a cold mind, they would not have followed even to the house. But how does He elsewhere say, “The Son of man has not where to lay his head,” while here He appears to have a house? This is not contrary to that. For when He says, “He has not where to lay His head,” He does not mean that He had no lodging at all, but that He had none of His own. If, then, He abode in a house, He abode not in His own, but in another’s. And not in vain does the evangelist note the time, “It was about the tenth hour,” but that he may teach both teachers and learners that one ought not to put things off because of the season; the teacher not to defer, and say, “It is late, tomorrow you shall learn”; and the learner to know every season is one of learning, and not to defer his hearing to the morrow. And this too we learn, that they so kept their stomach unburdened and were so sober, that the time which others spend on the body’s rest, weighed down with food and unable to set hand to any earnest work, this they spent on hearing. Truly they were disciples of John the fasting one. And mark for me that Jesus turns toward those who follow Him, and shows them His own face. For unless through good practice you follow Jesus, you will not attain to the contemplation of the Lord’s face, nor will you come to His abiding-place—that is, you will not attain to the illumination of divine knowledge; for the house of Christ is light. For “He dwells,” it says, “in light unapproachable.” For how shall he who has not cleansed himself, and through cleansing followed, be illumined in knowledge?

Jn. 1:41–43. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first finds his own brother Simon, and says to him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, You are Simon the son of Jona: you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. The name of Andrew he makes known to us, but that of the other in no wise. For some say that he was John, the writer of these things; and some, that that man was not of the notable ones; and at the same time there was no gain in learning the name. But of Andrew he makes mention, both as notable, and as having brought his own brother. And mark for me his love of his brother, how he did not hide the good thing from his brother, but shares the treasure with him, and utters a voice of exceeding joy, saying, “We have found”; for, as it seems, of a long time they had longed for and studied the search. And he does not say simply “Messias,” but “the Messias,” with the article—that very One who is properly the Christ. For the one expected by them was one, even though many were called christs and sons of God. And he brought him to Jesus, not as one easy in disposition and carried along by every word, but as keen rather and warm, and apt to receive the words his brother spoke to him concerning Christ. For it is likely that Andrew discoursed more with him, and announced to him accurately the things concerning Christ, inasmuch as he had abode with Christ and been taught certain more mystical things. And if one persists in charging Peter with easiness, let him learn this also, that it is not even written that he immediately believed Andrew, but that he brought him to Jesus—which is rather the mark of a steadfast mind, and not of one carried along. For he did not simply accept Andrew’s words, but wished to see Christ also; that if he should find something worthy of account, he might follow, but if not, withdraw; so that his being brought to Jesus was a token, not of simplicity, but of carefulness. What, then, does the Lord do? From prophesying concerning him, He begins to reveal Himself to him. For since prophecies persuade men no less than signs, and perhaps even more, He prophesies concerning Peter. “For you,” He says, “are Simon the son of Jona”; then also the future: “You shall be called Cephas.” For from speaking the present, He confirms the future also. And He did not say, “I will call you Peter,” but, “You shall be called.” For He did not wish at the outset to display the tokens of His authority, since neither had they firm faith concerning Him. And for what cause does He surname this man Peter, and the sons of Zebedee, sons of thunder? That He might show that He is the same who gave the Old Covenant, and who then, as now, changed the names, calling Abram Abraham, and Sarah Sarrah. And know that Simon is interpreted “obedience,” and Jonah, “dove.” A child, then, of meekness, which is signified by the dove, is obedience; and he who has obedience becomes also Peter, being advanced through obedience to the steadfastness of the good.

Jn. 1:44–46. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and finds Philip, and says to him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Andrew, having heard the Forerunner, and Peter, having heard Andrew, followed Jesus; but Philip appears to have heard nothing, and yet immediately followed the Lord when He said to him, “Follow me.” Whence, then, was he so quickly persuaded? It is likely, then, that first the Lord’s voice wrought in his soul some sting of love. For the Savior’s voice was not spoken simply, but to the worthy it immediately set the inward parts on fire to love of Him; even as those about Cleopas say, “Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way?” And then also, because Philip had a careful heart, and continually studied the things of Moses, and ever expected the Christ, immediately when he saw Him he was persuaded; wherefore also he says, “We have found Jesus”—showing that he sought Him. And perhaps from Andrew and Peter he had learned concerning Christ. For being of the same homeland, it is likely that these, conversing with him, narrated concerning the Lord; which the evangelist too seems to hint at by saying, “Now Philip was of the city of Andrew and Peter.” And this was a small city, and rather to be called a village. Whence also it is worthy to marvel at the power of Christ, that from those bearing no fruit He chose the chief of His disciples. Nor, then, does Philip keep the good thing to himself, but imparts it also to Nathanael. And since Nathanael was learned in the law, Philip refers him to the law and the prophets; for he was exact and well-versed in the things of the law. And he calls the Lord the son of Joseph, since He was reckoned that man’s child; and he names Him from Nazareth, though properly He was from Bethlehem. For in the latter He was born, but in Nazareth He was brought up; His birth was hidden, but His upbringing was known, from Nazareth.

Jn. 1:47–49. And Nathanael said to him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip says to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and says of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael says to him, Whence do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before that Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Philip said that Christ was from Nazareth; but Nathanael, as being more exact, knew from the Scriptures that the Christ must come from Bethlehem; and for this cause he says, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” And Philip says, “Come and see,” knowing that if he should taste the words of Christ, he would not stand off. And Nathanael is praised by Christ as “an Israelite indeed,” since he said nothing for favor or for enmity. For his words were not of unbelief, but of carefulness and of a law-learned mind, which knew that the Christ comes not from Nazareth but from Bethlehem. What, then, does Nathanael? Was he puffed up by the praise? By no means; but he remains seeking to learn something more plainly and exactly; wherefore also he asks, “Whence do you know me?” And the Lord, by saying to him what no one knew—the counsel between him and Philip, as having been spoken and done in private—reveals His own Godhead. For Philip in private, with no one present, had conversed with Nathanael under the fig tree; and all these things Christ, though not present, knew; wherefore He says, “When you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” And before Philip drew near, the Lord spoke concerning Nathanael, lest any should suspect that Philip had told what concerned the fig tree and the rest, which he discoursed with Nathanael. Whence Nathanael, recognizing the Lord, confessed Him to be the Son of God. For hear what he says.

Jn. 1:49–51. Nathanael answered and says to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? you shall see greater things than these. And he says to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. Great is the power of prophecy to the drawing of some to faith, and it has power even greater than the wonders. For the wonders the demons too can counterfeit in fantasy; but the foreknowledge and foretelling of things to come no one has accurately, neither angel, nor much less the demons. Wherefore the Lord drew Nathanael, telling him both the place, and that Philip had called him, and that he is truly an Israelite. Nathanael, then, hearing these things, comes to a sense of the Lord’s majesty, so far as was then possible, and confesses Him to be the Son of God. Yet, even though he confesses Him to be the Son of God, he does so not as Peter did. For Peter confessed Him to be the Son of God as true God; wherefore he is also called blessed, and is entrusted with the Church. But Nathanael confessed Him as a mere man, adopted of God by grace because of his virtue; and this is plain from his adding, “You are the King of Israel.” Do you see that he had not yet attained to the perfect knowledge of the true Godhead of the Only-begotten? For he believes Him to be a God-beloved man, and the King of Israel. But had he confessed Him truly to be God, he would not have called Him King of Israel, but King of all; wherefore neither is he called blessed, as Peter was. Whence also the Lord, correcting him, and leading him up to conceive something worthy of His Godhead, says, “You shall see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” Do not suppose me, He says, a mere man, but Master of the angels. For He whom angels minister to could not be a mere man, but true God. And on the cross and at the ascension these things came to pass. For at the time of the Passion an angel from heaven strengthened Him; and at the tomb, an angel; and at the ascension, as Luke records. But some have understood by the fig tree the law, which has a fruit sweetening for a season, but which, by the harshness of the legal observances and the difficulty of the commandments, is as it were covered with leaves. They say, then, that the Lord beheld Nathanael—that is, looked graciously upon him—and perceived his understanding, while he was yet under the law. And do you too set your mind on this, if you are charmed by such things: that the Lord saw Nathanael under the fig tree—that is, under the law, within the law, searching out its depths. For unless he had searched out the depths of the law, the Lord would not have seen him. And know this too, that Galilee is interpreted “that which rolls down.” The Lord went forth, then, to the rolling-down region of this world—both human nature, and us who are under the fig tree, that is, under pleasurable sin (with which no little sharpness is joined, by reason of the repentance and the chastisements there); and, as one who loves mankind, He beheld and chose those who confess Him Son of God, and King of Israel, the Israel that sees God. And if we should strain our diligence, He will deem us worthy of greater sights, and we shall see the angels ascending to the height of His divine knowledge, and again descending, through their not attaining to comprehend, when the mind dwells upon the doctrines concerning the Godhead of the Only-begotten and concerning the descent into Hades.

Chapter 2

Jn. 2:1–4. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there. And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus says to him, They have no wine. Jesus says to her, Woman, what have I to do with you? mine hour is not yet come. They call the Lord to the marriage, not as having seen wonders, nor as some great one, but simply and as an acquaintance; whence the evangelist, signifying this, says, “And the mother of Jesus and His brethren were there.” As, then, they had called her and the brethren, so also they called the Lord. And the Lord comes, and does not disdain the invitation, because He looked not to His own dignity, but to our profit and benefit. For He who did not disdain to become among slaves, much more would not disdain to come to a marriage. And His mother urges Him to a work of wonder, having conceived a great opinion of His power both from the conception and from the birth. For she kept all these things in her heart, and from them reckoned that her Son could do things above man. For it was not from Jesus’ having done other wonders that the mother was led to ask Him for this; for while He was a child He worked no wonder, else He would have been notable to all. But at once the mother both remembered the witness which John bore concerning Him, and already saw disciples following Him; and from all these things she inferred the power of her Child. And He rebukes her, not without reason. For if, He says, there is no wine, those who lacked it ought to have come and asked, not you the mother. For entreaty on behalf of one’s own becomes a stumbling-block to the beholders; but when they that have the need entreat for themselves, the matter is free from suspicion. And the “Mine hour is not yet come” He says, not as being subject to the necessities of times, or as observing the hour (for how should the Maker of times and ages be such?), but because He works all things with the season that befits. Since, then, He was as yet unmarked, and unknown to the many, and had not even all His disciples, nor did those at the marriage know Him—for they would themselves have come and entreated concerning the wine—since, then, all this was so, for this cause He says, “Mine hour is not yet come”—that is, the fitting season is not at hand. But still the madness of Arius presses on, attempting to show the Lord subject to hours and seasons. Learn, then, O accursed one: if He were subject to hours, how did He afterward do the wonder? For it behooved Him, according to your reasoning, since He serves hours and seasons, and His hour was not yet come, not to be able to work a wonder; but in fact He worked it; therefore He does not serve hours. And mark for me how He does not contend with His mother to the end, nor in everything; but having rebuked her a little, He again fulfills her request, honoring her, and giving us patterns of the reverence due to parents.

Jn. 2:5–8. His mother says to the servants, Whatever he says to you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus says to them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he says to them, Draw out now, and bear to the governor of the feast. And they bare it. To the servants the mother says, “Whatever He says to you, do it”; that the request might be the greater, they coming and asking; so that it might be shown that the refusal was not of weakness, but of His not wishing to seem to run after wonder-workings for display and empty vanity. And the stone waterpots served for the purifying of the Jews. For the Jews washed themselves almost daily, and so ate; for example, if they had touched a leper, or a dead body, or had company with a woman, they washed, as being thereafter unclean. Since, then, Palestine was waterless, and it was not possible in many places to find springs, they always filled the waterpots with water, that they might not run to the rivers whenever they became unclean. He did not, then, say without purpose, “after the manner of the purifying of the Jews”; but that none of the unbelieving should suspect that some lees had remained, and then, the water being poured in and mingled, a very thin wine had been produced, he shows that those vessels had never been receptacles of wine. Could He not, then, even without the waterpots being filled with water, have created wine out of things that were not? He could indeed; but in many places He cuts short the greatness of the wonders, that they might be the more easily received; and at the same time, that He might have the servants as witnesses of the wonder, those who had poured the water into the waterpots; and further, that we might learn that He it is who turns the moisture of the vine, which is altogether water, into wine. He bids the servants, then, show the taste to the governor of the feast—not without reason, but that none should suspect that it was a gathering of drunken men, and their perception was corrupted, and that, being corrupted by drunkenness, they thought the water to be wine. That such a suspicion, then, might have no place, He entrusts the tasting to the governor of the feast, who was sober. For in such matters those entrusted with this service are especially sober, that all things may be done in order and decency at their command. But let us pray that these things may be accomplished in us also: that there may now be, as it were, a marriage—that is, a union of God with our soul, while we are yet in the Cana of Galilee, I mean in the region of this lower and rolling-down world, that at one time is rolled one way and another another. And this marriage does not take place without the presence of Christ, and of His mother, and of the disciples. For unless one believe in Christ, who was born of Mary and spoke in the apostles, how shall he be united to God? Let us see, then, what wonder the Lord works in such a marriage, and in such a union of God with the soul. He changes the water into wine, He fills our six stone waterpots. By water you might understand the watery, and fluid, and dissolute element in our life and in our doctrines; and by the six waterpots, the five senses, by which we are tripped up in our actions, and a sixth waterpot, the reasoning faculty, by which we are dangerously disposed in matters of doctrine. Our Lord Jesus Christ, then—I mean the Gospel word—healing our errors, both in the practical and in the doctrinal, that is, contemplative, part, changes the watery and easily-dissolved element in these into wine, I mean a life and a word that are bracing and gladdening; and thus our six waterpots are filled with this good drink—both the senses, that we may not stumble in the practical part, and the reasoning, that we may not stumble in matters of doctrine. And note that the stone waterpots stood there for the purifying of the Jews. Now Judas is interpreted “confession”; and he that confesses is cleansed through the five senses, by which formerly he sinned. The eye saw amiss, but again the eye weeps in confession, and so becomes a means of cleansing. The ear heard harlot-songs, but again is inclined to the words of the mouth of God; so also with the other senses. Again the reasoning stumbles in matters of doctrine, but again purges away its former wickedness, having passed over to right teaching. And they are stone waterpots, either because our frame is from the earth, or because it behooves the vessels that are to hold such wine to be firm and not easily dissolved. A stone waterpot was the reasoning of Paul, both when he persecuted (for he was zealous for the traditions of the fathers above all his contemporaries) and when he preached—for he had so great a flow of speech that he was thought to be Hermes, as being the leader of the word.

Jn. 2:9–10. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was (but the servants which drew the water knew), the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and says to him, Every man at the beginning does set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but you have kept the good wine until now. The governor of the feast asks not the servants, but the bridegroom. For what cause? By a wholly divine dispensation. For had he asked the servants, they would assuredly have disclosed the wonder, but no one would have believed them. For it was the beginning of the signs, and as yet no one had a great opinion of Christ; so that, even with the servants relating the wonder, no one would have believed. Afterward, however, when He had displayed other signs also, this too was to be believed, and little by little the servants, relating it to all, would be reckoned trustworthy. For this cause the Lord dispensed that not the servants should be asked, but the bridegroom. And He made not simply wine, but the best. For such are the wonders of Christ: far better than the things accomplished by nature. Of the water’s becoming wine, then, the witnesses are the servants who drew the water; and of its becoming best, the governor of the feast; all which things, as time went on, when proclaimed, were to be confirmed more surely to the hearers. And you may understand by the wine the Gospel word, and by the water all that went before the Gospel; for they were more watery, and did not attain to the perfection of the word. As I mean to say: the Lord gave various laws to man—one in paradise, a second under Noah, a third under Abraham, that of circumcision, a fourth through Moses, a fifth through the prophets. All these, then, compared with the exactness and power of the Gospel, are watery, if one understand them simply and according to the letter. But if, going deep with the spirit, one consider the hidden things, he will find the water become wine. For the things spoken simply and understood according to the letter by the many, being water, he who examines spiritually will assuredly find to be the best wine, drunk later, and kept by the Bridegroom Christ; since indeed the Gospel was shown in the last times.

Jn. 2:11. This was the beginning of the signs that Jesus did, in Cana of Galilee; and he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. That after the baptism the Lord began the signs, we have said before. And it seems that this of the wine was the first sign He did. For he says, “This was the beginning of the signs that Jesus did.” But one will say that, even if this is a beginning of signs, yet not of all, but of those in Cana of Galilee. For, he says, of the various wonders He did in Cana, this is the beginning. So one might say; but we, although we have much to show that it is the beginning even of all the signs (for the “he revealed his glory,” and the “his disciples believed in him,” indicate that He had done no wonder before this; for from this he revealed his glory), nevertheless do not contend whether this was first, or another. But how, then, did He manifest His glory, seeing that not many gave heed to what was done, nor did it take place before a multitude? Yet even if not then, afterward all were to hear the wonder; whence even until now it is sung, and has not been forgotten. And the “His disciples believed on Him” understand thus, that they received a fuller and firmer faith in Him; since indeed they assuredly believed before, but not so firmly.

Jn. 2:12–17. After this he went down to Capernaum—he, and his mother, and his brothers, and his disciples—and they stayed there not many days. And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting there. And having made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables; and to those selling doves he said, Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade. And his disciples remembered that it is written, Zeal for your house has consumed me. The Lord goes down to Capernaum for no other need than to settle His mother there, that He might not draw her about everywhere. For since they had come to Cana because of the marriage, the marriage being over, He brings the mother back to her house in Capernaum. And that He went down to Capernaum for this cause is plain from His neither remaining there many days, nor doing wonders in it. For those who dwelt in this city were unbelieving toward Him; wherefore elsewhere also the Lord pronounces woe upon it. And by the evangelist’s saying that the Passover was at hand, he shows that not many days before the Passover He was baptized. And going up to Jerusalem, He does a deed full of much authority. For He casts out those who sold the sheep and the oxen. And if Matthew too says that He did this, yet know that He did it not once only; but the one in Matthew He does near the Passion, and this now in John, at the beginning of the signs; wherefore here He spoke more mildly, “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” For it was as yet a beginning of the signs, and He had not yet so great boldness from the display of signs. But there, in Matthew, He says, “Make it not a den of thieves.” For plainly He named them thieves, as gaining from unjust sources. For when one prices at much what is worth little, and gathers his gain perhaps from the poor and from widows (for the most part these are they who buy and sell the necessaries), what else does he but the work of a thief, trafficking gains from the misfortunes of others? And for what cause does He cast such men out of the temple at all? Not without reason; but since He was about to heal on the Sabbath, and to loose the law, lest He should seem to be against God, He corrects from this such a supposition. For He who displayed so great a zeal for the house would not have set at nought God, the master of the house. For He cast them out not simply, but smiting with a plaited scourge, and overturning the tables, and pouring out the small change—that is, the coin of the money-changers—and undertaking a hazardous deed. He, then, who cast Himself into danger for the house of God would not have loosed the law of God as one against God, but assuredly as being Son, and having equal authority with God the Father, who also gave the law concerning the Sabbath. Wherefore He did not say, “The house of God,” but, “The house of My Father,” showing that He has authority, as Son, over all the Father’s things. And the money-changers are those who sell the small coins, that is, the nummi. For kollybos is the name among the Greeks for the small coin, which the Romans call nummus. And many of the high priests sin such things as the hucksters did then: selling the oxen in the Church—I mean, not cherishing those eminent in the teaching word, but giving them over to those who wish to do mischief; and selling the sheep, the simpler and common people, and the doves, I mean the spiritual gifts, and assigning the higher ranks to those who give more; whom the Lord casts out of the temple, judging them unworthy of the priesthood. But also, if one sells small change and coin—that is, doctrine and word—and being perhaps a teacher, does not proclaim the word unless he has gain, his table too the Lord overturns, I mean the throne of teaching, and the word which that man holds back through wickedness, not giving it to all; the Lord Jesus deposing that one from his office, and setting up another. And the disciples remembered that it is written, “Zeal for your house has consumed me”; for receiving testimonies from Scripture, they held the more firmly to the things they saw.

Jn. 2:18–22. Then answered the Jews and said to him, What sign do you show to us, seeing that you do these things? Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will you rear it up in three days? But he spoke of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. Since the Jews saw the Lord doing these things with much authority, and saying, “Make not the house of My Father a place of merchandise,” they say: Persuade us by some sign that You are the Son of God, and that You were sent thence; for whence is it plain that the Lord of this house is Your Father? And He answers them enigmatically, saying, “Destroy this temple”—meaning assuredly His own body, since in it dwelt all the Godhead of the Only-begotten. And in saying, “Destroy,” He does not urge them to bloodshed—far from it!—but, since He knew that they would do this, He without reserve hints at what was to come to pass. Let the Arians hear also how the Lord, being the dissolver of death, says, “I will raise it up.” For He did not say, “The Father will raise it,” but said, “I will raise it”—using His own power, and needing no other from without. But the Jews, supposing Him to speak of the lifeless temple, mock Him. For, they say, this temple was built in forty and six years; how do you say that You will raise it in three days? And it must be known that, when the temple was first built by Solomon, all was completed without lack in twenty years; but later, after the captivity, the Hebrews, receiving authority to build it, began to rebuild it in the reign of Cyrus; then, being hindered by those who envied them, they prolonged the building until the reign of Artaxerxes; under whom, enjoying full security, with much diligence they were able to finish the work. At which time it is also said that the Jews, while building, held in one of their two hands a spear, and in the other a builder’s tool; so greatly were they in fear, dreading their neighbors—the Idumeans, perhaps, or the Persians; for from the Persians, as I said, they had received all security. This building, then, after the captivity, they say took place in forty and six years, the Jews being hindered, and for this cause prolonging it from the reign of Cyrus until that of Artaxerxes. And it is no marvel if the Jews did not understand, when not even the disciples did. For two things especially hindered them: one, that the matter of the resurrection was hard to grasp, or rather wholly unknown to them; and another, that it is God who dwells in the body. Yet after the resurrection the disciples understood, and believed the Scripture. What Scripture? Both all that treats of the resurrection, and most plainly the “You will not leave my soul in hell,” and the “The Lord wills to cleanse him from his stroke, and to show him light.” For most manifestly these Scriptures treat of the resurrection. And Apollinarius tries from this to find advocacy for his own heresy. For, wishing to establish that the Lord’s flesh was without a soul, he says: Since the flesh is called a temple, and the temple is without a soul, therefore this flesh is without a soul. O thunderstruck and crafty man! Will you then make the Lord’s flesh wood and stones also, since of these the temple is made? And when you hear the Lord saying, “Now is my soul troubled,” and, “I have power to lay down my soul,” how do you understand these things? And if these are not said of the rational and intellectual soul, where will you place the “Into your hands I commend my spirit,” and the “You will not leave my soul in hell”?

Jn. 2:23–25. Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, at the feast, many believed in his name, seeing the signs that he did. But Jesus himself did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people, and had no need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.

Chapter 3

Jn. 3:1–2. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you have come as a teacher from God; for no one can perform these signs that you perform, unless God is with him. Some seemed to believe in the name of Jesus while He was at the feast, but their faith was not firm. For attending to Christ for a season, not as God, but as a man inspired of God, they fell away again even from this paltry faith. And that they were such is plain from what follows. For Jesus Himself, he says, did not commit Himself to them, nor entrust all His gifts to them as to men truly faithful, searching their hearts and knowing what was in them concerning Him. For it was not hidden from Him what kind of reasoning was in each man who seemed to believe. And Nicodemus too was nearly such a one. For he also believed in Jesus, and appears to speak to the Jews on the Lord’s behalf, that they ought to condemn Him only after search and examination; and after the cross he shows much care and ambition toward the burial. Yet he did not believe as he ought; but, still cleaving to the Jewish weakness, he comes to Jesus by night for fear of the Jews, and calls Him teacher, as a mere man; for such was the opinion he had of Him; wherefore he adds, “No one can perform these signs, unless God is with him.” Do you see that he comes to Jesus as to a man, a prophet, and beloved of God? What, then, does the Lord? He does not reprove him sharply, nor say, Why do you come by night to the teacher sent from God? Why do you not speak boldly? He says none of these things, but cheerfully discourses to him concerning things divine and lofty. And note that, though Christ did many wonders, the present evangelist relates none of them, either as having been told by the other evangelists, or for another reason.

Jn. 3:3. Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. What the Savior said to Nicodemus seems to have no connection with what Nicodemus had said; but to him who attends, much connection will appear. For since Nicodemus had a lowly opinion of Christ—that He is a teacher, and that God is with Him—the Lord says to him: It is reasonable that you should have such an opinion of Me. For you are not yet born from above—that is, with the spiritual birth that is of God—but are still fleshly, and the knowledge you have concerning Me is not spiritual, but psychic and human. But I tell you that both you, and any other whoever, unless you are born from above and of God, and so receive the worthy opinion concerning Me, are outside the kingdom. For the birth through baptism, working illumination in the soul, gives one to see—that is, to apprehend—the kingdom of God, that is, His only-begotten Son. For as the Son is the wisdom of God, so also He might be called the kingdom of God. And this kingdom no one can see—that is, apprehend—O Nicodemus, unless he be born of God. So that you too, since you are not yet born spiritually, do not for this cause behold Me, the kingdom of God, as you ought, but have a lowly opinion concerning Me.

Jn. 3:4–5. Nicodemus says to him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Hearing things greater than human teaching, Nicodemus is astonished, and, suffering a human passion, asks, “How can this be?”—which is a token of unbelief. For where faith is not, there is the “How is this?” and, “Why this?” Wherefore the words of Nicodemus appear ridiculous. For he conceived not of a spiritual birth, but makes mention of a bodily womb. For since he heard the “Except a man be born from above,” he supposed the “from above” to be said for “from the beginning, a second time”; so that the saying was such as this: Except a man be born from the beginning and a second time. For this cause, then, he says, “How can a man, being old, enter the second time into his mother’s womb?” For two things made him perplexed: both the spiritual birth, and the kingdom. For not even the name “kingdom of heaven” had ever been heard among the Jews. For the present, then, he is perplexed concerning the birth; wherefore Christ reveals to him more clearly the manner of the spiritual birth, saying, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit.” For man being twofold, of soul and body, has also a twofold manner of birth. For the water, visibly received, is understood to the cleansing of the body; and the Spirit, invisibly concurring, to the regeneration of the invisible soul. And if you ask, How can water give birth?—I too will ask, How can the seed, being itself watery, be moulded into a man? As, then, in the case of the bodily seed, the whole is of the grace of God, so also in baptism water is the underlying element. But the Spirit works all things, and the invocation through the prayers, and rather the presence of God. For symbols and an image of burial and resurrection are accomplished in this water. The three immersions are symbols of the three days’ burial; then the man rises up, as the Lord did, wearing a garment, and having sunk his corruption in the water.

Jn. 3:6–8. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound thereof, but can not tell whence it comes, and where it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Leading Nicodemus away from the fleshly birth, the Lord says: That which is born of the flesh is flesh; but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit—that is, spiritual is the man born through baptism; for the “spirit” you ought to understand as “spiritual.” For the baptized man does not become a divine Spirit, but, receiving in the Spirit the adoption and grace and honor, is deemed worthy to be spiritual. And seeing Nicodemus still troubled, He said, “Marvel not.” Then from a sensible example He tries to teach him. “The wind,” He says, “blows where it wishes.” From the wind, He says, learn the greater things. For the wind (for this He here calls “spirit”) blows where it wishes; and you hear the sound thereof, yet know not its course. For it is uncontrollable and unhindered, and has its impulse, whithersoever it be, by a natural authority. And the “Where it wishes it blows” He says, not as though the wind were a thing of choice and had a will, but, as I said, wishing to show the impulse that belongs to it by nature, and its unhindered power. If, then, you know not the wind, this spirit that falls under sense—how and where it blows—how do you busy yourself about the regeneration from the divine Spirit? If this wind cannot be controlled, much more shall the grace of the Holy Spirit not be brought under the laws of nature. Let Macedonius the Pneumatomachian be ashamed, and before him Eunomius: the one making the Spirit a slave, though he heard here that “the wind blows where it wishes”—much more, then, shall the Spirit have a more sovereign motion, and shall work where He wills and as He wills; and Eunomius, who first sinned in these very things, and called the Spirit a creature, and moreover spoke insolently, thus knowing not even the course and impulse of the wind.

Jn. 3:9–12. Nicodemus answered and said to him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, Are you a master of Israel, and know not these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and you receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? Nicodemus still stands upon the Jewish lowliness; for this cause he asks again, “How can these things be?” Wherefore the Lord also, showing him that he utters these things from simplicity, says: You, being a teacher of Israel—if you would remember the marvelous wonders in the Old Testament, from the moulding of man and what follows, how he was moulded, how the woman was from the rib, how the prodigies in Egypt, how the things at the Red Sea, how barren women bore children, and the like—if you would reckon these things, as a teacher of Israel, you would not disbelieve even the things I now speak. But I speak what I know, and what I have seen—that is, what I have accurately known. For the “We have seen” signifies not bodily sight, but the most accurate knowledge. But you receive not our witness—that is, mine. And these things the Lord says, not to Nicodemus, but directing them against the race of the Jews, who disbelieved to the end. If, then, I have told you earthly things, and you believe not—that is, if I have told you of the regeneration that takes place in baptism, and you received it not, but asked, “How?” (and He calls this birth earthly, as being accomplished on earth for the benefit of men on earth; for though it is heavenly according to grace and honor, yet we are baptized while on earth)—if, then, having spoken of this earthly birth, I find you unbelieving, how shall you believe when you hear of the heavenly birth, the unutterable one, by which the only-begotten Son was begotten of the Father? But some have understood the “earthly” to be the example of the wind; so that the saying is such as this: If I have given you the example from earthly things, and not even thus were you persuaded, how shall you be able to learn the higher things?

Jn. 3:13. And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven. Neither does this seem to have any connection with what precedes. But if one accurately sees the mind of the Lord, it will appear most connected with what went before. For since Nicodemus named the Lord teacher and prophet, He says: Do not suppose Me, as a prophet, to be of the earth, sent from God to teach; but suppose Me to have come down from above, as Son, and not to be of the earth. No one, then, of the prophets has ascended into heaven; but I alone am to ascend, even as I also came down. And hearing that the Son of man came down from heaven, do not suppose that the flesh came down from heaven (for this is the doctrine of Apollinarius, who taught that Christ had His body from heaven, and came through the Virgin as through a channel); but, since Christ was one hypostasis—that is, one person—composed of two natures, the names of the man are spoken of the Word, and again the things of the Word are attributed to the man. So then here also the Son of man is said to have come down from heaven, as being one person, and one hypostasis. Then, lest hearing that He came down you should think that, having come down, He is no longer in heaven, He says, “Who is in heaven.” For do not, because you have heard that I came down, suppose that I am not there also; but here I am present bodily, and there I sit together with the Father divinely.

Jn. 3:14–15. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Having spoken before of the regeneration through baptism, He speaks thereafter also of the benefit that came to us through the cross. For the cross and the death are the cause to us of the grace through baptism, seeing that, being baptized, we figure forth the death of the Lord. He does not say plainly that He is to be crucified, but makes mention of the serpent and of the Old Testament history; at once teaching us that the old things are akin to the new, and that one and the same is the lawgiver of the Old and the New Covenant—even though Marcion, and Manes, and the rest of the catalogue of such heretics, set aside the Old, saying that it is the legislation of the evil demiurge; and at the same time also instructing us, that if the Jews, looking to the bronze image of a serpent, escaped death, much more we, looking to the Crucified and believing, escape the death of the soul. And mark for me the type in relation to the truth. There, a likeness of a serpent, having the form of the beast, but not having the venom; so here also the Lord is a man, but free from the venom of sin, having come in the likeness of sinful flesh—that is, in the likeness of flesh subject to sin, yet not being flesh of sin. And there those who looked escaped a bodily death; but we escape the death of the soul: and there the one hung up healed the bites of serpents; but now Christ heals the wounds of the intelligible dragon. And hearing “be lifted up,” understand the “be hung up.” For He was hung on high, that He might sanctify the air also, who sanctified the earth by walking upon it. And understand also the “be glorified.” For truly the cross became the exaltation and glory of Christ. For in that wherein He seemed to be condemned, in that He condemned the ruler of this world. As I mean to say: Adam died justly, for he sinned; but the Lord died unjustly, for He sinned not. Until the crucifixion of the Lord, then, death justly held sway over men; but since the Lord was found sinless, what just claim had the devil over Him thereafter, that he should put Him to death? Wherefore, since He was unjustly put to death, He vanquished the one who put Him to death, and thus freed Adam also from the death justly brought upon him as a sinner. And in another way: Two things held sway over the human race—pleasure and pain; through these two, then, the Lord came, and was found unconquered. For the tempter first assailed Him on the mountain through pleasure; but finding Him in this unassailable, afterward he brought to bear his great engine, pain, that by this at least he might master His mind. And for this cause he stirred up all things against Him: the disciples to deny, the soldiers to mock, the passers-by to blaspheme, and in a word the Jews to put Him to death. But even thus he found Him unconquered. For pain could not on the cross persuade the Lord to hate those who crucified Him; nay, He loved them still, and prayed for them, saying, “Lay not this to their charge,” in that wherein He seemed to be vanquished. Thus, then, the exaltation also—

Jn. 3:16–17. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Great is the intensity of the love of God toward the world, and so great that He gave not an angel, not a prophet, but His Son, and Him the Only-begotten. For had He given an angel, the matter would not have been so small a thing. Why? Because the angel is His faithful servant and minister; but we are enemies and apostates. But now, having given His Son, what surpassing excess of love did He leave undone? Again, one having many sons, and giving one, does an exceeding great thing; but here He gave the Only-begotten. Surely, then, it is fitting to hymn His goodness. But the Arians say that He is called Only-begotten because He alone came to be and was created by God, while all other things were made by Him. To whom the answer is simple: that if He were called Only-begotten without the “Son,” your foolish invention would have some force; but now, the “Son” being said together with the “Only-begotten,” it does not allow us so to understand the Only-begotten, but as the only One begotten of the Father. And mark for me that, as above He said that the Son of man came down from heaven (although the flesh did not come down from heaven, yet, because of the one person and the one hypostasis, He attributed the things of God to the man), so here, on the contrary, He attributes the things of the man to God the Word. For He says that God gave His Son to death—although God remained impassible; but since one and the same according to hypostasis was both the Word of God and the man who underwent the sufferings, the Son is said to be given, and truly suffered in His own flesh. And what is the gain of the Son’s being given? How great and beyond human conceiving—that everyone who believes in Him might gain these two things: one, not to perish; the other, to have life, and that eternal. For the Old Testament promised to fill those who in it pleased God with length of days; but the Gospel bestows not a temporal life, but one eternal and indissoluble. And since there are two comings of Christ—one already accomplished, and one to come—He speaks concerning the former coming, that the Son was not sent to condemn the world. For if He had come for this, all would have been condemned; for all sinned, as Paul also says; but He came principally to save the world, and this was His aim; while incidentally He judges those who did not believe. The Mosaic law, however, came principally for the reproof of sin and the condemnation of transgressors. For it pardoned no one, but at once found one sinning, and at once brought the penalty. The first coming, then, had not for its aim to judge, except incidentally, those who disbelieved; for these are already judged. But the second coming will assuredly be for the judging of all, and the rendering to each according to his works.

Jn. 3:18–21. He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. What is, “He that believes on Him is not condemned”? Is it then, that even if he have an unclean life, he is not condemned? Such men, indeed, Paul says are not even genuinely faithful; for he says, “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him.” Yet here He says this, that in respect of the very believing, one is not condemned; but for his wicked works he shall give the more grievous account; yet for unbelief he is not punished, since he once believed. But he that believes not is condemned already. How? First, because this very unbelief is a condemnation. For to be outside the light is itself the greatest punishment. Then, even if he is not from now already given over to hell, yet he has gathered from now the occasions of the punishment to come; even as the murderer, though he be not yet condemned by the vote of the judge, is condemned already by the nature of the deed; and Adam too, in the day he ate of the tree, died, although he lived—but by the sentence and by the nature of the deed he was dead. Every unbeliever, then, is condemned already from now, as one assuredly to be delivered to punishment, and not even to be brought to judgment, according to the “The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment”; for the ungodly are not deemed worthy of a reckoning, even as neither is the devil. They shall not, then, rise in judgment, but in condemnation. So also in the Gospel the Lord says that the ruler of this world is judged already—not only as having himself disbelieved, but also as having made Judas a traitor, and become to others the procurer of perdition. And if the Lord, in parables, brings in those to be punished as deemed worthy of a reckoning, marvel not; first, because the things said are parables, and one ought not to take all that is said in parables as laws and canons. For in that day each man, having his conscience as an unerring judge, needs no other reproof, but goes away self-bridled. Then, the Lord brings in as deemed worthy of a reckoning, not unbelievers, but believers who are without compassion and unmerciful. But we are speaking of the ungodly and unbelievers; and one thing is the ungodly and unbeliever, and another the unmerciful and sinner. He shows here that those who did not believe are deprived of all defense. For this, He says, is the condemnation, that the light came to them, and not even thus did they run to it. For they sinned not only in this, that they did not themselves seek the light, but the worst is this, that it came to them, and yet they received it not; for this cause also they are condemned. For had the light not come, men could have alleged ignorance of the good; but since God the Word came, and gave His word to enlighten, and they received it not, they are thereafter deprived of all defense. And lest any should say that no one would prefer darkness to light, He sets down also the cause from which men came to the darkness. For their deeds, He says, were evil. For since Christianity demands not only right doctrines, but also a holy manner of life, and they wished to wallow in the mire of sin, for this cause those who do evil deeds did not wish to come to the light of Christianity, and to subject themselves to My laws. But he that does the truth—he that inclines, that is, toward a holy and God-pleasing life—runs to Christianity as to a light, that he may make the more progress in the good, and that his works may appear to be according to God. For such a one, together with believing rightly, and achieving a holy manner of life, shines before all men, and God is glorified in him. So that the cause of unbelief to the Greeks was the impurity of their life. But perhaps one will say: What then? Are there not wicked Christians, and Greeks praiseworthy in life? That there are wicked Christians, I too affirm; but that Greeks are found good, I would never say. For by nature some may be found fair and good (and this is not virtue); but from discipline and the practice of the good, none. And if some seemed good, yet they did all things for glory; and he that acts for glory, and not for the good itself, will, when he finds occasion, rejoice in the wicked desire. For if among us the threat of hell, and every other care, and the lives of countless saints, scarcely hold men in virtue, hardly will the trifling babblings and defilements among the Greeks hold those among them in the good. It were much, indeed, if they did not make them altogether wicked.

Jn. 3:22–24. After this Jesus and his disciples came into the region of Judea, and there he stayed with them, and was baptizing. Now John also was baptizing, in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and being baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. So long as the feast of the Passover lasted, Jesus was in Jerusalem; but when it was past, He went out into the land of Judaea, and tarried near the Jordan, where many ran together. He did not seek the crowded places out of empty ambition or display, but wishing to share the benefit and the good with more; since for this very cause He also went up to the feasts, that He might profit the more, both by word and by the display of wonders. And hearing that He baptized, do not suppose that He Himself baptized, but His disciples; and the work of the disciples the evangelist refers to the Teacher. For indeed, going on, this same evangelist says that Jesus baptized not, but His disciples. And you ask, For what cause did He Himself not baptize? Learn. John had said beforehand that He should baptize them in the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because it was not yet the season. If, then, He had baptized, He would either have baptized without the Spirit—and wherein then would He have differed from John?—or He would have given the Spirit before the season, which is unworthy of God who does all things in their season. And what was the season of the giving of the Spirit? That after the ascension. For it behooved that the human nature should be presented sinless to the Father in Christ Jesus; and so, God being reconciled to us, the Spirit should be sent down as a wealth and a largess. The disciples of Jesus, then, baptized, that they might bring more men to the saving teaching. And while these baptized, John too still baptizes, and ceased not, accomplishing two things at once: one, the speaking to those who came to him concerning Christ, and the bringing of them to Him; the other, the not stirring up his disciples to envy and greater contention. For had he ceased baptizing, what would his disciples not have done, being more enviously disposed toward Christ? For if, crying out a thousand times, and ever yielding the first place to Christ, he did not persuade them to run to Him, into how great envy would he not have stirred them, had he ceased baptizing? Wherefore also Christ began to preach especially then, when John was shut up, because of the envy of the Baptist’s disciples. And I think that the death of John too was for this cause permitted to come most quickly, that all the disposition of the multitude might pass over to Christ, and that they might no longer be divided in their opinions concerning both, John and Christ. The disciples of Christ, then, baptize a baptism having nothing more than the baptism of John. For both were incomplete, as being without the Spirit; yet the cause of both was one—to bring beforehand to Christ those who were baptized.

Jn. 3:25–27. Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came to John, and said to him, Rabbi, he that was with you beyond Jordan, to whom you bore witness, behold, the same baptizes, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. There arose a question about baptism, John’s disciples disputing with a certain Jew. For the Jew set forth the baptism of Christ’s disciples, while John’s disciples set forth that of their teacher. And having disputed about the purifying—that is, the baptism—they come to their teacher, and begin to nettle him, saying: Rabbi, he that was with you, who held the rank of a disciple, having broken away, baptizes. “To whom you bore witness”—that is, whom you did baptize, whom you did make illustrious, dares such things against you; and another thing too, that no one attends to you, but all to him. For all, they say, come to him, despising you. But John, wishing to frighten them, and to show that they fight against God in hindering Christ and barring Him from being glorified, says: A man can receive nothing of himself, and so forth. For unless it had been given from above, he says, the one you envy would not be increasing. So that you sin in two things at once: one, in opposing the will of God; the other, in attempting the impossible. And at the same time he gently comforts them, that it is not a man who overcomes you, but God. But we too, he says, had from above what we had, not of ourselves. And if the things of Christ are more illustrious, one ought not to marvel; for it is God who wills it.

Jn. 3:28–30. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. This joy of mine, then, is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. You yourselves, he says, know that I bore witness to Him that He is greater than I. If, then, you attend at all to my witness, learn that He is to be preferred before me, and this is my joy, that all should come to Him. For if the bride did not come to the bridegroom—that is, the people—then should I, the bringer of the bride, have grieved; but now that this has come to pass, I rejoice with joy. For I behold the Bridegroom Christ calling to the bride, the people, and teaching them. And not without purpose did he say also “who stands.” For he shows that his own work has ceased, and stands no longer in operation, and that it behooves him thereafter to stand, and only to hear Christ teaching and discoursing to the bride. For my work, he says, is accomplished, and I have delivered to Him the people. It behooves, then, that my glory decrease, but His increase. And how, then, does the glory of the Forerunner decrease? Surely as the morning star is hidden by the sun, and it seems to the many that its light is quenched, while in truth it is not quenched, but hidden by the greater; so also the Forerunner, the morning star, hidden by the intelligible Sun, is said to decrease. But Christ increases, in that little by little He manifests Himself through the wonders—not increasing by progress in virtue (far be it! for this is the raving of Nestorius), but by the manifestation and display of His Godhead. For little by little He manifested that He is God, and not all at once. My joy, then, he says, is fulfilled over the Bridegroom; for the work which I was entrusted with as bringer of the bride, I behold gone forward. The Bridegroom, then, of every soul, is the Lord; and the bridal chamber, where the union takes place, is the place of baptism, that is, the Church. And He gives an earnest to the bride—remission of sins, communion of the Holy Spirit; but the more perfect things in the age to come, when He shall initiate the worthy into things greater and loftier. And note that there is no other bridegroom but Christ alone; and all who teach are bringers of the bride, even as also the Forerunner was. For there is no other giver of good things but the Lord; and all the rest are mediators, and ministers of the good things given by the Lord.

Jn. 3:31–34. He that comes from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaks of the earth: he that comes from heaven is above all. And what he has seen and heard, that he testifies; and no man receives his testimony. He that has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure to him. The Forerunner compares himself to Christ, and says: He comes from above, from the Father, and is above all, set apart from all, and preserving the Father’s pre-eminence; but I, being of the earth, speak earthly things, mean and lowly, in comparison with the teaching of Christ. For indeed the things of the Forerunner himself were divine; but compared with the things of Christ, they have much that is lowly. He, he says, speaks what He has seen and heard—that is, what He heard from the Father, and what He has seen, that is, what He accurately knows, these He speaks and testifies. But His witness no one of those who attend not to the truth receives. And he that receives His witness—that is, His teaching—has set to his seal, that is, has shown, has confirmed, that God is true. For he that believes in the One sent from God, believes God, and thereafter seals and demonstrates that he believed Him as being true; even as, on the contrary, he that disbelieves the One sent from God shows that he is a liar, and for this cause did not believe Him, as though He lied; so that he who believes in Christ shows God to be true, by this very thing assuredly, the believing in the One sent from Him. For it is plain that he believed Him as being true, and rightly. For all the others, he says, received the working of the Spirit by measure; but to Christ Himself He gave not by measure perhaps one or two workings, but He Himself has the whole Spirit essentially. To the prophets, then, God both gives the Spirit—that is, the working of the Spirit—and gives it in measure; but to Christ He gives neither in measure, nor at all does He give; for Christ has it essentially. And when you hear that Christ speaks the things He heard from the Father, do not suppose Him to be in need of knowledge, and to learn from the Father; but, since all things, as many as the Son knows, He has all from the Father, as being consubstantial with Him, for this cause He is said to hear from the Father whatever He knows; even as, if you should see a son in all things like his father, you say that he has all from his father—that is, that he became like to no other than his father. And hearing of His being sent, understand it as a ray sent from the sun, the Father. Or do we not say thus, “The sun sent forth its rays,” and, “The sun let go its light,” instead of, “It sent it to the earth”? And nowhere do we say that the ray is of another essence, or later than the sun. So then also the Son was sent into the world by the intelligible Sun, the Father, as a radiance and a ray, and a light, and as you may, so far as is possible, call Him. And it is not unseasonable to say, the discourse having come to this point, how the Son has the Spirit, and how the Spirit is said to be of the Son. For the Apostle says, “He has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father”; and again, “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” For the Latins, taking these things amiss and misunderstanding them, say that the Spirit proceeds from the Son. But we say to them, first, this: that one thing is to be from someone, and another to be of someone; for instance, that the Spirit is the Spirit of the Son is unquestionable, and confirmed by all Scripture; but that He is from the Son no Scripture testifies, lest we introduce two causes of the Spirit, both the Father and the Son. “Yes,” they say, “but He breathed on the disciples, and said, Receive you the Holy Ghost.” O the drunken folly! If He then gave the disciples the Spirit, when He breathed, how then did He afterward say to them, “You shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, not many days hence”? And how do we believe that the descent of the Spirit took place at Pentecost, if He gave Him in the evening of the day of the resurrection? For then assuredly He breathed. But these things are a broad jest. For it is plain that He then gave them not the Holy Spirit, but one gift of the Spirit, the remitting of sins. For He immediately adds, “Whosesoever sins you remit.” But the Son has the Spirit essentially, as being consubstantial with Him, not as being energized by Him; for the prophets are energized. And the Spirit is said to be of the Son, inasmuch as the Son is truth, and power, and wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and of power and of wisdom. And in another way: believe you that the Spirit is of the Father—that is, proceeds from the Father; this shall be for you a canon of Orthodoxy.

Jn. 3:35–36. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him. Having spoken of Christ the lofty things, now again he utters the lowly, making his discourse easy to be received by the hearers. For this cause, he says, the Father loves the Son—discoursing as concerning some wonderful man—and has given all things into the hand of the Son, according to the human. And if also according to the divine, what of it? The Father has given all things to the Son by the law of nature, not of grace. For since He has His very being from the Father, fitly also He is said to have all things from the Father. The Son, then, has all things, both the things in heaven and the things on earth; for He is Master of all, even though they will it not. Yet afterward, when at the second coming every knee shall bow to Him, He shall receive the complete dominion of all; when wickedness shall no more have power, but, remaining without operation, shall show the nature of the good to have been from the beginning present in all, and holding all things together. He that believes on the Son has eternal life in Him—I mean Christ Himself, who is truly life. For in Him we live and move. But he that believes not shall not see life. For he that willingly departs from life, how shall he have it, which is Christ? As Paul also says, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also”—you who have become dead and unmoved toward wickedness—“appear in glory.” But the wrath of God abides on him. He did not say, “shall abide with him,” but, “upon him,” showing that it shall never depart from him. For lest, hearing of death, you should understand it temporal, he says that it abides upon him, upon the disobedient, and the punishment shall be everlasting. And through all these words the Baptist leads and urges all his hearers to faith in Christ. For not in vain does he say these things, but instructs both his own disciples and all the rest to envy Christ no longer, but to attend to Him as God.

Chapter 4

Jn. 4:1–4. When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (though Jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples), he left Judea and departed again into Galilee. And he had to go through Samaria. The Lover of mankind, having once for our sake become incarnate, does all things for our benefit. And now, accordingly, hearing that the Pharisees had heard of His glory, and knowing that they would be stirred to envy against Him, He withdraws into Galilee; teaching us two things thereby: one, to spare our enemies, and to try in every way not to give them occasion of offense or envy; the other, not to cast ourselves into temptations senselessly and unprofitably, but to withdraw for a season, until the madness abate. And though He was able to restrain those who envied Him, even had they rushed against Him, yet He gives way, that the dispensation of the flesh might not be thought a phantom. For if He had often passed through the midst of them, what would not the phantom-theorists have said—I mean the followers of Manes, and Valentinus, and the accursed Eutyches? And hinting at the slanderous nature of envy, the evangelist says that, though Jesus baptized not, yet the envious, wishing to nettle the Pharisees against Christ, slandered Him as baptizing. And He must needs go through Samaria. For He made the Samaritans a kind of by-work of His journey. For mark that he did not say, “He had to go away into Samaria,” but, “go through Samaria.” For He wished to cut off from the Jews every pretext of accusation, so that they could not say that, leaving them, He went over to the abominable Gentiles. For when they drove Him away, then He went to the Gentiles; and not even then principally, but as a by-work.

Jn. 4:5. So he comes to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. It is worth telling whence the Samaritans took their rise, and whence they received this name. Somor was the name of the mountain, from him who possessed it, as Isaiah also says, “The head of Samaria is Ephraim.” And those who dwelt beneath the mountain were not at first called Samaritans, but Israelites. But having offended God, they were delivered over at various times to the Assyrians. And at last the Assyrian came upon them, when they had plotted revolt, and took them, and no longer suffered them to remain in their land, suspecting a fresh revolt; but he removed them to the Babylonians and Medes, and from thence brought nations from various places, and settled them in Samaria. And these things being done, God, wishing to show the barbarians that not for weakness but for sin He had delivered up the Jews to them, sent lions upon the barbarians settled in Samaria, which destroyed them all utterly. When this was reported to the king, he sends for some of the Jewish elders in captivity, and asks what should be done, that the lions might no longer ravage the barbarians in Samaria. And they instruct him that the God of Israel watches over that place, and does not suffer to dwell there those who know not His ordinances. If, then, he cares at all for the barbarians there, let him send Jewish priests, who shall deliver to the barbarians the ordinances of God; and so shall God be propitiated. The king is persuaded of this, and sends a certain priest to deliver to the barbarians in Samaria the law of God. But they received not all the divine books, but only the five of Moses—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Yet not even completely did they depart from impiety; but at later times they departed indeed from the idols, and worshipped God. The Jews, then, returning from the captivity, were ever jealously disposed toward them, as being of Assyrian race, and they called them Samaritans from the mountain. But those called themselves descendants of Abraham and Jacob; for Abraham was a Chaldean, and Jacob was reckoned akin to them because of the well there. The Jews, then, together with all the Gentiles, abhorred them also; whence also, reproaching the Lord, they said, “You are a Samaritan.” And He Himself said to the disciples, “Into a city of the Samaritans enter you not.” And for what cause does the evangelist speak precisely concerning Jacob’s parcel of ground and the well? First, that when you hear the woman saying, “Jacob our father gave us this well,” you be not surprised. For that place was Sychem, where the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, wrought that grievous slaughter, because their sister Dinah had been violated by the ruler of the Sychemites. And then we learn this also from the evangelist’s reciting to us the things concerning the parcel of ground and the well: that the casting away of the Jews came to pass of old because of their sins; and when they had offended God, the Gentiles possessed the places; and what the patriarchs had acquired through faith in Christ, these the Jews lost through impiety. So that it is nothing new, even now, if the Gentiles have been brought into the kingdom of heaven in place of the Jews. And the parcel of ground which Jacob gave to Joseph—they, having destroyed the Sychemites and laid waste the city, the father gave to Joseph.

Jn. 4:6–8. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There comes a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus says to her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away to the city to buy meat.) By saying that the Lord was wearied with His journey, the evangelist shows us at once both His freedom from pomp and superfluity (for He did not even use beasts of burden for the journey, but went on foot, teaching us also not to need many things), and at the same time that He journeyed earnestly and not slothfully. From which we too learn to do the work of God with earnestness and care. And the “He sat thus” may signify simply and as it chanced, and that He sat not upon a throne, but thus, plainly without ceremony, resting His body upon the ground, and refreshing it beside the well. Then he brings in another cause also of His sitting beside the well—the fact that it was steady noonday. For mark, he says, it was about the sixth hour. So that, because of the heat of the hour, He needed both rest and refreshment. And in another way: that no one might accuse the Lord—how, while He charged His disciples not to go off into the way of the Gentiles, He Himself comes to the Samaritans—for this cause he says that the sitting in the place came to pass because of the weariness, and that the conversation with the woman had a reasonable occasion, namely thirst. For since He thirsted, naturally according to the human, He needed also drink. And to one seeking, the little woman holds converse—a converse of a learning-loving soul. What then was left to do? To repel the woman so eagerly disposed to learn, and thirsting to hear concerning the things wherein she was perplexed? Away with this from the love of God toward man! And mark for me from this also the unpretentiousness of the Lord. For He is left alone on the way, the disciples having gone off into the city to buy meat. For so far did they set the things of the belly in second place, that at the very hour when nearly all men also doze after their meal, these were buying meat—bread only, that is—that we too may learn to make light of the variety of dishes. And mark for me also the accuracy of the evangelist. For he did not say declaratively, “It was the sixth hour,” but, that he might not fall short of the truth, “about the sixth,” providing for the safety of his account.

Jn. 4:9–11. Then says the woman of Samaria to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water. The woman says to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then have you that living water? From His figure and dress perhaps, and the rest of His bodily disposition, and from His very speech, the Samaritan woman supposed the Lord to be a Jew; wherefore she says to Him, “How is it that you, being a Jew,” and so forth. Mark how circumspect the little woman was. For if there was need to be on guard, it behooved the Lord, not her. For she did not say, “The Samaritans have no dealings with the Jews,” but, “The Jews receive not the Samaritans.” Yet nevertheless the woman does not even thus keep silence, but, supposing the Lord to be doing an unlawful thing, she corrects what was being done contrary to the law. But Christ does not reveal Himself before the virtue of the woman is shown. For when the virtue of the little woman was shown, and that she was thus circumspect and exact, then thereafter He begins to discourse to her the loftier things. “If you knew,” He says, “the gift of God”—that is, if you did know what God bestows, and that they are eternal and incorruptible things; and did know Me also, that, being God, I can give you these things—you would have sought and received living water. And He calls the grace of the Holy Spirit “water,” both because it cleanses and supplies much refreshment to those who receive it; and water not standing still, like that in cisterns and wells, putrid and corrupted, but living, that is, gushing up, leaping up, in motion. For the grace of the Spirit makes the soul ever-moving toward the good, ever making ascents. Such living and ever-moving water Paul drank, forgetting the things behind, and reaching forth to the things before. The woman says to Him, Sir. Do you see how, at once departing from her lowly conception, she renders Him much honor, naming Him Lord? Yet she did not attain to the depth of Christ’s words, but He speaks one thing, and she understands the things concerning the water in another way.

Jn. 4:12–15. Are you greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman says to him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come here to draw. She makes Jacob her father, pressing herself into the Jewish nobility. And mark for me the understanding of the woman, how at once from the difference of the waters she reasons also to the difference of the givers. For if, she says, you will give such water, assuredly you are greater than Jacob, who gave us this present water. And the “He drank thereof himself” is a praise of the sweetness of the water. For so well pleased, she says, was the patriarch with the well, that he himself drank of it, and his children. And the “His cattle also drank” is indicative of the abundance of the water. For not only, she says, is the water sweet, and so sweet that even Jacob drank of it, but also plentiful, and so plentiful as to suffice even for the multitude of the patriarch’s flocks. And when the woman said, “Are you greater than our father?” the Lord does not say openly, “Yes, I am greater,” lest He should seem to boast, having not yet given proof of His own power; but by what He says He establishes this. For he that drinks of this water shall thirst, but he that drinks of Mine shall not thirst. So that if you admire Jacob who gave this water, much more ought you to admire Me who furnish far better water. For what I give becomes a well of water ever and ever multiplied. For the saints do not keep to the end only so much as they receive from God; but they receive seeds and beginnings of the good through grace, and they themselves spend and increase it; which the Lord signifies also by the parable of the talents, and by the innkeeper. For he that received the two talents gained other two by his working; and to the innkeeper, who received the man wounded by robbers, the Lord promises, “Whatever you spend more, I will repay you.” This, then, He hints at here also: I give water to the thirsty, but that which I give does not remain so much, but overflows, and becomes a well. The Lord gave to Paul a little water, the catechizing of Ananias; but Paul showed that little water of Ananias’s teaching to be a well, so that from Jerusalem to Illyricum reached the streams of that well. And how, then, is the woman disposed concerning these things? Still lowly (for she thinks the words are about sensible water), yet nonetheless she shows some progress. For before she was perplexed, saying, “Whence have you living water?”; but now, receiving the word without hesitation, she says, “Give me this water.” She seems, then, to be more understanding than Nicodemus. For he, hearing countless such things, said, “How can these things be?”; but she begins already to despise even the well, with her “Neither come here to draw.”

Jn. 4:16–22. Jesus says to her, Go, call your husband, and come here. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have well said, I have no husband: for you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband: in that said you truly. The woman says to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and you say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus says to her, Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship you know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. Go, call your husband. For since He saw her pressing on to receive, and constraining Him to give, He says, “Call your husband,” as if showing that he too ought to become a partaker with her of this My gift. But she, hastening at once both to escape notice and to receive, says, “I have no husband.” And the Lord, thereafter by prophecy revealing His own power, both numbers the former husbands and reproves the one now concealed. Did she then take it ill, hearing these things? Or did she leave Him and flee? By no means; but rather marveling, and persevering the more, she says, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet”; and she asks Him concerning divine doctrines, not concerning things of this life—such as health of body, or money; so philosophic and apt for virtue was her soul. But what? “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain.” She says this on account of Abraham and his company; for in that mountain they say Isaac was offered up by him in sacrifice. “And how,” she says, “do you say that one ought to worship in Jerusalem?” Do you see how she has become loftier? For she who a little before was anxious not to be troubled by thirst, now asks concerning doctrines. Wherefore Christ also, seeing her understanding, does not solve this perplexity of hers (for it was not of great moment), but reveals another and greater doctrine, which He revealed neither to Nicodemus nor to Nathanael. For the hour comes, He says, when neither in Jerusalem, nor here, shall God be worshipped. For you, He says, are eager to show the things of the Samaritans more honorable than those among the Jews; but I tell you that neither these nor those have the precedence, but there shall be another order of things, better than both. Nevertheless, even so I declare the Jews more venerable than you Samaritans. For you, He says, worship you know not what; but we Jews know. And He numbers Himself with the Jews, speaking somewhat to the woman’s supposition; for she supposed Him to be a Jewish prophet, and for this cause He says, “We worship.” And how did the Samaritans not know what they worshipped? They thought God to be enclosed in a place. Wherefore also, when they were being devoured by the lions, as was said above, they sent and reported to the king of the Assyrians that the God of the place received them not. Hence indeed they remained for a long time worshipping idols also, and not God Himself. But the Jews were freed from this supposition, and knew Him to be the God of all things, even though not all of them did. For salvation is of the Jews. This gives us a twofold meaning. For either that the good things came to the inhabited world from the Jews (for the knowing of God, and the condemning of idols, had its beginning thence, and all the other doctrines, and this very thing of worship among us Samaritans, even if not rightly, yet had its beginning from the Jews); or He names His own presence “salvation,” which came of the Jews—that one might understand by the salvation the Lord, who came of the Jews.

Jn. 4:23–24. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. Even if we Jews have more than you Samaritans in the manner of worship, yet the things of the Jews too shall thereafter have an end. For not only shall the things of the places be changed, but also the things of the manner of service; and these stand at the doors, and now are; for they will not, like the things spoken by the prophets, receive a long extension of time. And He calls “true worshippers” those who live according to His law, who do not enclose God in a place, as the Samaritans, nor serve Him with bodily service, as the Jews, but in spirit and in truth—that is, through the soul, through the purity of the mind. For since God is a Spirit—that is, incorporeal—He must be worshipped incorporeally, that is, according to the soul. For this He shows through the “in spirit”; for the soul too is spirit and incorporeal. And since many seem to worship Him according to the soul, yet have not a right opinion concerning Him, as the heretics, for this cause He added the “in truth.” For one must both worship God according to the mind, and also have a true opinion concerning Him. And perhaps one will say that He here hints at the two parts of the philosophy that is according to us—I mean practice and contemplation—through these two: through the “in spirit,” the practical part. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God put to death the deeds of the body, according to the divine Apostle; and again, “The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh”; so that He hints at the practical through the “in spirit”; and through the “in truth,” the contemplative. And these things Paul also says, when he speaks of “the unleavened bread of sincerity”—that is, of purity of life, which is of the practical—“and of truth,” which is of the contemplative; for the contemplative is occupied about the truth of doctrinal teaching. And in another way: since it was proper to the Samaritans to enclose God in a place, and to say that in this place one ought to worship, while for the Jews all things were accomplished typically and shadowily—the “in spirit” is said in contradistinction to the Samaritans, so that the saying is such as this: You Samaritans offer a kind of local worship to God; but the true worshippers shall offer no local worship; for they shall serve in spirit, that is, with the mind and the soul. But neither shall they worship after the manner of the Jews, in type and shadow, but in truth, since the Jewish customs and observances are to be dissolved. And perhaps, since the Jewish law, understood according to the letter, was a type and shadow, the “in spirit” is set in contradistinction to the letter (for the law of the letter is no longer our polity, but that of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life); and the “in truth” in contradistinction to the type and shadow. The hour comes, then, He says—or rather even now is, namely the season of My bodily presence—when the true worshippers shall, not after the manner of the Samaritans, worship in one place, but in every place according to spirit, offering the worship incorporeally (even as Paul says, “whom I serve in my spirit”), a worship not shadowy, but expressive of the things to come. For such worshippers God seeks, since He is truth—true worshippers.

Jn. 4:25–27. The woman says to him, I know that Messias comes, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus says to her, I that speak to you am he. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What do you seek? or, Why do you talk with her? Whence did the woman know that Messias comes, who is called Christ? From the Mosaic Scriptures. For we said, in our former remarks, that the Samaritans received the Pentateuch of Moses. Since, then, they received the things of Moses, from these they knew the prophecies concerning Christ, and that He is the Son of God. For the “Let us make man” shows that it was said by the Father as to the Son; and to Abraham in the tent it was the Son who discoursed; and Jacob, prophesying concerning Him, said, “A ruler shall not fail from Judah, until He come for whom it is laid up”; and Moses himself, “A prophet shall the Lord raise up to you from among your brethren, like to me; him shall you hear”; and many other things proclaim the coming of Christ. For this cause, then, the woman says, “I know that Messias comes.” And the Lord thereupon reveals Himself to her, the sequence of the discourse requiring it. For had He said immediately at the outset, “I am the Christ,” He would neither have persuaded the woman, and would have seemed to be burdensome and a boaster; but now, having little by little advanced her to the remembering of the expectation concerning Christ, He thus thereafter reveals Himself. And for what cause, to the Jews who continually asked, “Tell us if you are the Christ,” did He not reveal Himself, but to the woman He tells it? To them He says nothing, because they asked not in order to learn, but rather to slander; but to her, because she was right-minded, He reveals Himself openly. For of a simple judgment and mind, and longing to learn the truth, she asked; and this is plain from what followed. For having heard, she not only herself believed, but also netted others to faith; and everywhere the woman appears both careful and faithful. And the conversation and teaching with the woman being now completed, the disciples opportunely arrived, and marveled at His freedom from pomp, that, being so glorious and renowned among all, He endured with such great condescension to discourse with a poor woman, and a Samaritan. Yet marveling, they nevertheless dare not ask concerning what He discoursed with her; so well-instructed were they, and kept the reverence befitting disciples toward their teacher. And if anywhere they appear to speak boldly—as John when he falls upon His breast, and when, coming, they say, “Who is the greater?” and when the sons of Zebedee entreat that one may sit on the left and one on the right—yet those things they inquire as pertaining to themselves, and appearing for the present necessary to them. But here, since it did not so much concern them to seek what was in no wise necessary, for this cause they use not boldness, as having no occasion for it.

Jn. 4:28–30. So the woman left her water jar and went into the city, and says to the people, Come, see a man who told me everything I have done. Is this not the Christ? So they went out of the city and were coming to him. So greatly was the woman kindled in heart by the things spoken, that she even left her waterpot; so quickly, then, did she prefer the water of Christ to the well of Jacob. And at once she becomes an apostle, ordained by the faith that had laid hold of her heart, and she teaches a whole city, and draws it on. “Come,” she says, “see a man who told me everything I have done.” Truly, when the soul is set on fire with divine fire, it looks to nothing of the things on earth, neither to shame nor to dishonor. Behold, then, this woman too is not ashamed even to publish her own affairs, but says, “who told me everything I have done.” And yet she could have said it otherwise: “Come, see a prophet prophesying”; but not so; rather she despises her own reputation, and looks only to the proclaiming of the truth. And she does not say, “This is the Christ,” declaratively, but, “Is this not the Christ?”—wishing thereafter to take those very men as fellow-voters with her, and making the word more easily received. For had she declared, “This is the Christ,” perhaps some would have taken it ill, not receiving her verdict as that of a woman of ill report. And some have understood the five husbands of the Samaritan woman to be the five books which the Samaritan woman alone received. “And he whom you now have,” He says—that is, my word, which you now receive of me—“is not your husband”; for you are not yet joined, He says, to my teaching, the teaching of Jesus. And one might say that the Samaritan woman is reckoned also as a type of human nature. For our nature of old dwelt in a mountain—the mind full of divine grace. For before Adam sinned, he was adorned with all divine gifts. For he was even a prophet. For, raised up from his sleep, he declared concerning the moulding of the woman, and concerning the man’s relation to her. For he said, “This is now bone of my bones”; and that “For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother.” Our nature, then, was in this mountain, the lofty mind; but having offended God, it was led away captive, and the holy seed—I mean every diviner thought—the devil who took us captive led away into Babylon, that is, into the confusion of this world; and he settled in their place the barbaric reasonings, which the lions—the good reasonings that reign in us—devoured, until they persuaded them to receive the oracles of God. But not even these completely; for wickedness, having once dwelt in our mountain, I mean the mind, received indeed the things of Moses, but did not wholly become of the good, but was still under a curse. The Lord, then, having journeyed—that is, having gone through many ways and manners of dispensations for our salvation, and dealing with our life now by threats, now by stripes of evils, now by benefits, at another time by promises of good things—grew weary indeed, taking such ways to set us right; but found yet another dispensation, in which He both sat and rested, being pleased with it. What dispensation? The well of baptism, in which He benefited our nature as a kind of Samaritan woman. And this well of baptism might fitly be called the well of Jacob, that is, of the supplanter. For in this very well one supplants the devil; since the Lord also in it crushed the head of the dragon, whom He also gave for meat to the people, the Ethiopians. For in this dragon none other delight and are fed, but those darkened and black in soul, and without share in the divine light. And to this our nature five husbands were joined—the various laws given to it by God: the one in paradise, the one under Noah, the one under Abraham, the one under Moses, the one through the prophets. For Noah, after the flood, received a certain ordinance, and Abraham that of circumcision. Joined, then, to these five laws, our nature took to itself afterward a sixth, which it had not as a husband, nor was yet joined to—that of the New Covenant. But one might understand by the sixth law, which our nature had not as a husband, that of idolatry. For this law it had not given to it by God as a spouse, but as an adulteress it mingled with it. Wherefore also the prophet says, “And they committed adultery with wood”; and again, “They went a-whoring after every tree,” because of the graven images and the trees which they honored. For to such a pitch of folly was our nature hurled down, that it sacrificed even to fair trees for their beauty—to cypresses and planes, and the like. When, then, man loved this sixth adulterer, and slipped into idolatry, then the Lord, coming, frees us from it; wherefore He says, “Whom you now have.” For indeed, in the times of Christ’s coming, the wiser among the Jews too turned aside to Hellenism; and the heresy of the Pharisees, believing in fate and astrology, makes this plain. And a Samaritan woman is also every soul that is irrationally yoked to the five senses, and then takes to itself, as a kind of sixth adulterer, the most perilous error concerning doctrines; whom Jesus benefits, whether through baptism, or through the fountain of tears. For tears too might be called the well of Jacob—that is, of our mind, the supplanter of wickedness. And of this water the mind itself drinks, and the sons of the soul, anger and desire; for the tears become a cleansing to the soul.

Jn. 4:31–34. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So the disciples said to one another, Has someone brought him something to eat? Jesus says to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to finish his work. The disciples prayed the Lord—that is, besought Him—to eat, not from a rash mind, but from much tender love toward their teacher; for they saw Him wearied with the journey and the flame that pressed upon Him. But the Lord, knowing that the Samaritan woman was about to draw nearly the whole city to Him, and that the Samaritans would believe in Him, says, “I have food to eat”—that is, the salvation of men; for so do I desire this, as none of you desires sensible food. And this meat, which I have to eat, you the disciples know not. For being still gross, and not able to understand the things spoken by Me enigmatically, you know not that I call the salvation of men meat. And in another way: You know not this meat; for you know not that the Samaritans will believe Me, and will be saved. What then the disciples? They are still perplexed, “Has someone brought him something to eat?” For they dare not, because of their wonted reverence, put a question to Him. But He, though they asked not, reveals the thing spoken enigmatically, and says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me (for the will of God is the salvation of men), and to finish his work.” For the prophets and the law could not finish the work of God; for they were incomplete, showing forth types and shadows of the good things to come. But the Lord finished the work of God—I mean our salvation and renewal. And perhaps understand by the work of God the man, whom the Son of God alone perfected, having shown our nature in Himself sinless, and in every good work perfected and complete through the divine conduct in the flesh, and having conquered the world to the end. And the law too is a work of God, inasmuch as it was written with the finger of God, which the Lord alone finished. For Christ is the end of the law, as having brought to rest all the things accomplished in the law, and having translated them from the bodily service to the spiritual. And the Lord often speaks enigmatically, making His hearers more attentive, and rousing them to ask and to learn what is spoken covertly. And by naming the salvation of men meat, He teaches the disciples that they too, when they should be ordained teachers of the inhabited world, should make less account of bodily food, transferring all their desire to the saving of men. And note that the Lord received also the food offered by some. For the disciples say, “Has any man brought Him ought to eat?” And this He did, not as needing the ministry of others (for how should He who gives food to all flesh?), but that those who offered might have a reward, and might be accustomed to feed others also; and at the same time giving to all men a pattern of not being ashamed of poverty, nor reckoning a heavy thing the receiving of food from others.

Jn. 4:35–38. Say not you, There are yet four months, and then comes harvest? behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit to life eternal: that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One sows, and another reaps. I sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and you are entered into their labours. He begins now to reveal more clearly to the disciples the things foretold enigmatically. For you, He says, say—that is, you think—that the harvest, the sensible one, comes in this space of four months; but I say to you that the intelligible harvest is at hand. And these things He said because of the Samaritans now coming to Him. Lift up, then, your eyes—whether the intelligible or the sensible—and behold the multitude of the Samaritans coming, and their souls ready and eager to faith, which, like whitened fields, need the harvest. For as the ears, when they are whitened, are ready for the harvest, so these too are prepared for salvation. And he that reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit to life eternal; that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together. And what He says is this: The prophets sowed, but did not reap. Yet not for this cause are they deprived of the joy, but they rejoice with us, even if they reap not with us; which in sensible harvests is not so. For there, if it happen that one sows and another reaps, there is grief to him that reaps not. But in spiritual things, not so; rather both the prophets, having proclaimed beforehand and softened beforehand the minds of men, rejoice with us who drew the men to salvation. And the “I sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labour” the Lord says for this cause, that when He sends the disciples to the preaching, they may not be troubled, as being sent to a toilsome work. For the more toilsome part, He says, the prophets undertook, but you are sent to what is ready. And He calls it “a true saying,” a kind of proverb current among the multitude, that “One sows, and another reaps.” And mark how He speaks all things as a Master and with authority: “I sent you to reap.” Let the followers of the accursed Marcion hear, and of Manes, and such men, who alienate the Old Covenant from the New; for hence too they are refuted. For if the Old were alien, how did the apostles reap the things of the prophets? So that, since the apostles reaped the things of the Old, that Covenant was not alien from the New, but both are one. Let the followers of Arius also hear, how as Lord and with authority He sends the disciples; and He sends them that they may reap from earthly things, and gather those who cleave to them, both Greeks and Jews, and bring them into the threshing-floor—I mean the Church—in which, being threshed by the oxen, that is, the teachers, and lying under them, they are rubbed, and casting off all that is chaffy, and fleshly, and fuel for the fire, are stored as pure grains in the heavenly garner, and then become meat for God, who delights in their salvation. So Paul reaped, cutting them off from the earth, and teaching us. And some have wittily applied also to the aged the “Look on the fields,” because of the gray hairs, and the harvest of death.

Jn. 4:39–42. And from that city many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the woman’s word, when she testified, He told me everything I have done. So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his own word, and they said to the woman, We no longer believe because of your telling; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world, the Christ. For the saying of the woman the Samaritans believe, judging among themselves, as men of understanding, that the woman would not have published her own life to do another a favor, unless He whom she proclaimed were truly some great one and above the many. Wherefore also, showing their faith by their works, they besought Him to be among them altogether; for the “to stay” signifies this, to dwell completely among them. But He is not persuaded of this, and remains only two days; whence also many more of them believed because of His teaching. For the evangelist does not relate the particular wonderful words of His teaching, but gives us to understand, from the end of the matters, the power of His divine teaching. For the evangelists pass by many even of the great things, because they write not for display and ambition, but for truth. The Lord, then, being among the Samaritans, it is likely taught them some diviner things; whence, having seen no sign at all, they believe and beseech Him to remain. But the Jews, even after enjoying countless words and signs, still persecuted Him—truly, a man’s foes are they of his own household. And mark for me how far this small multitude surpassed her who taught them. For they call Him not a prophet, nor Saviour of Israel, but of the world, and with the article: “this is truly the Saviour of the world,” the one who properly and in very truth saved all. For many came to save—both the law, and the prophets, and the angels; but this One is the true Saviour.

Jn. 4:43–45. Now after the two days he went out from there and departed into Galilee; for Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honour in his own country. So when he came into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they too had gone to the feast. Having gone out from Samaria, the Lord departs into Galilee. Then, lest any should inquire and be perplexed, for what cause He was not always in Galilee, but visited it only at intervals, and that though He seemed to be of Galilee, the evangelist says that for this cause He did not abide in Galilee, because they showed Him no honor. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet is without honor in his own country. For we men are wont to despise things in familiar use, ever attending to things strange and unwonted. What then? Do we not see many honored even among their own people? Most rare, indeed, is such a thing; and if anywhere some be found honored in their own country, much more shall they be honored in a strange one; so that the honor in one’s own country, compared with that in a strange land, would be found dishonor. For envy does not suffer fellow-countrymen to render the fitting honor, but they render it diminished, reckoning the good repute of their kinsman a shame to themselves. When the Lord came, then, into Galilee, the Galilaeans believed, having seen the signs which He did at Jerusalem. Yet the Samaritans are more approved, who believed even without signs, from the word of the woman. And mark everywhere how those who seem cast off are well approved in faith—I mean the Samaritans and the Galilaeans (for these too they despised as more boorish in disposition; wherefore also they said, “A prophet has not arisen out of Galilee”)—but those reckoned elect are cast off, such as were the Jerusalemite Jews. Fitly, then, were we Gentiles also received. For in His own country, one might say in the synagogue of the Jews, the prophet Christ had no honor, even as Moses says, “A prophet shall the Lord our God raise up.”

Jn. 4:46–50. So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went to him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus to him, Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. The nobleman says to him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus says to him, Go your way; your son lives. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken to him, and he went his way. The evangelist reminds us of the wonder in Cana, where the water became wine, at once to increase the praise of the Samaritans (for the Galilaeans, he says, received Him both from the signs done at Jerusalem and from those done among themselves; but the Samaritans, from the witness of the woman alone, and from the teaching of the Lord Himself), and at the same time to show us that the nobleman also received from the wonder in Cana some good opinion concerning Christ, even if not the worthy one. And he calls him a nobleman, either as being of royal descent, or as having some dignity of office so called. Is then, one says, this man the same as the centurion in Matthew? for that one too was in Capernaum. I think, then, that he is not the same, but another. For that one even hinders Christ when He wished to come, saying, “I am not worthy that you should come under my roof”; but this one draws Jesus into his house. And that one’s child, that is, his servant, was held by a palsy; but this one’s son, by a fever. And there, having come down from the mountain, He entered Capernaum; but now, from Samaria, and not into Capernaum, but into Cana. Above all, that one was a centurion; but this one, a nobleman in dignity. The nobleman, then, asks the Lord to come down, that He may heal his son; but the Lord, taking hold of him, as having not perfect but partial faith (for his saying, “Come down ere my son die,” shows the weakness of his faith, as not believing that, even if it should befall him to die, He is able to raise him up), for these things, taking hold of him, says, “Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe”; and at the same time accusing also the other citizens, those in Capernaum. For they appear everywhere accused of much unbelief. Since, then, the nobleman was weak in mind, and pressed the Lord to come down for the healing of his child, the Saviour, showing him that even absent He could heal him, says, “Go your way; your son lives.” Accordingly He healed both the fever of the child and the unbelief of the father. And know that a wonder is one thing, and a sign another. For a wonder is what is beyond nature, such as the opening of the eyes of one born blind, and the raising of a dead man; but a sign is what is not outside nature, such as the healing of one sick. And this wonder the Lord works even now upon everyone who comes to Him. For every man is a kind of nobleman, not only as being kinsman of the King of all because of his soul, but also as himself having received a royal rule over all. And one is often found having his mind, as a son, ill with the fire of unseemly pleasures and desires. If, then, he come to Jesus, and ask Him to come down—that is, to use the condescension of His love toward man, and to forgive him his sins, before he be completely deadened by the disease of the desires (for if God should not condescend to us, but should mark our iniquities, and examine those, who thereafter shall stand?)—if, then, he come, as has been said, he shall obtain what he seeks, and shall receive back his mind whole. But mark also what the Lord says to him: “Go your way”; that is, go your way, and show an unceasing motion; for if you cease from going, your son shall assuredly die.

Jn. 4:51–54. And while he was still on his way down, his servants met him and reported, saying, Your child is alive. So he asked them the hour at which he began to improve, and they told him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at that same hour in which Jesus had said to him, Your son is alive; and he himself believed, and his whole household. This again was the second sign that Jesus did, when he had come from Judaea into Galilee. Astonished at the sudden change of the disease, the servants meet their master, bringing him the good tidings of his son’s health. For not simply and as it chanced, but suddenly was he freed from the fever, so that it might be shown that the matter was not a sequence of nature, but of the power of Christ. And learning from the servants the hour at which the child began to amend—that is, passed over to the better and more vigorous state—he believes perfectly in the Lord. For his former faith was imperfect. For do not say to me, “Nay, but he would not have come, had he not believed.” For fathers, out of love toward their children, are wont to go not only to physicians whom they trust, but also to the unskilled, wishing to leave nothing undone of what is needful. He came, then, from faith—if we are to grant even this—but a cold and imperfect faith, which one would not even call faith. But then he believed perfectly, when he also learned concerning the hour. And for what cause does the evangelist say that this was the second sign He did in Cana? That he might show the Samaritans worthy of many praises. For even, he says, when this second sign had been done, the Galilaeans had not yet attained to the height of those who had seen no sign.

Chapter 5

Jn. 5:1–4. After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of them that were sick, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatever disease he had. The feast of the Jews was, I think, that of Pentecost. And the Lord goes up at it: partly that He might not seem opposed to the Law, but might appear to keep the feast together with the multitude; and partly that He might draw the more to the teaching through signs, and especially the guileless multitude. For at the feasts there were wont to gather together both husbandmen and townsfolk and craftsmen, who on the other days are taken up with their labors. And the pool was called the Sheep Pool because the sheep for sacrifice were gathered there, and their entrails were washed there. Now the multitude held the opinion that, from the mere washing of the inwards of the victims, the water received a certain more divine power, and that for this cause the angel visited this water as a chosen one, and wrought wonders. It seems, then, that the divine Providence, making a way from afar for the Jews toward faith in Christ, ordained beforehand the marvel of this pool. For since a baptism was to be given having much power and a most mighty gift—as cleansing sins and quickening souls—God sketches the baptism beforehand among the Jews, and gives them water that cleanses defilements which are not such in strict truth but only in seeming—such as those from touching a dead body, or a leper, and other such things; and He gives also the marvel of this pool, leading them on to the reception of baptism. For an angel, going down at a certain season, troubled the water, and put a healing power into it. For surely it was not the nature of the water of itself that healed (else this would have happened continually), but the whole lay in the working of the angel. So then with us also the water of baptism is simply water, but having received the grace of the Spirit through the divine invocations, it looses the diseases of the soul; and though a man be blind, maimed in the eyes of the soul and unable to distinguish the better from the worse, though halt and unmoved toward the working of good and toward advancement to the better, though wholly withered and given up for lost and having no share of any good thing—this water heals them all. And then indeed the sickness hindered some from the healing, but now we have no hindrance to being baptized. For it is not of one only; even if all the world should come together, the grace is not lessened.

Jn. 5:5–7. Now a certain man was there who had been thirty-eight years in his infirmity. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, he says to him, Do you want to be made well? The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no one, when the water is stirred, to put me into the pool; but while I am coming, another steps down before me. Astonishing is the endurance of the paralytic. Eight and thirty years he had, and each year looking to be rid of his disease, he was waylaid, being hindered by the stronger. And yet he did not withdraw, nor despair; wherefore the Lord asks him, wishing to show us the man’s endurance—for surely He does not ask as one who is to learn. For this were not only superfluous, but even foolish, to ask whether the sick man wishes to be healed. But, as I said, that He might show us the man’s endurance, for this cause He asks. What then does that man do? With much forbearance he answers: Yea, he says, Lord, I will indeed, but I have no man able to put me into the water. He answered nothing blasphemous, he did not send Christ away as one who had asked an absurd question, he did not curse the day of his birth, as we faint-hearted do, and that when we fall into lighter diseases; but meekly and persuasively he makes his answer, and that though he did not know who it was that questioned him—but perhaps he supposed only this, that Christ might somehow help him so as to cast him into the water, and through these words he wishes to draw Him on and to move Him. Now Christ did not say, Will you? I will heal you—that He might not seem to boast.

Jn. 5:8–10. Jesus says to him, Rise, take up your bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for you to take up your bed. He bids him take up his couch, wishing to confirm the marvel that had been wrought, so that none might think it a phantasm. For he could not have borne the bed, unless his limbs had been firmly and exceedingly knit together. And He does not require faith of him before the healing, as in the case of certain others, because the sick man had not yet seen Him work a sign. For even those of whom the Lord requires faith, He requires it not before the wonders, but after working the wonders in their sight. But mark me how at one and the same time he both heard and believed. For he did not reason within himself and say: Is not this man trifling, who bids me rise that very hour? Thirty-eight years I have had, and have not obtained healing, and shall I thus suddenly rise up? Nothing of the kind, but believing he rose. And on the sabbath He heals, teaching men to understand the observances of the Law otherwise, and not to think to honor the sabbath by an idleness conceived in a bodily sense, but by abstinence from evils. Since to do good on the sabbath the Law would not have hindered, being the Law of God who does good.

Jn. 5:11–13. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said to me, Take up your bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said to you, Take up your bed, and walk? And he that was healed knew not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. One must marvel at the man’s boldness toward the Jews—how, when they pressed upon him and said, It is not lawful for you to take up your bed because of the sabbath, he himself with boldness proclaimed his benefactor: He that made me whole, He said to me—as if saying such things as these: You trifle and are beside yourselves, bidding me not to obey Him who freed me from so long and grievous a disease. But the Jews do not ask him, Who is He that made you whole? but, Who is He that said to you, Take up your bed? Thus then toward the good they willfully feigned blindness, but the seeming transgression of the sabbath they brought forward up and down. Now Jesus conveyed Himself away: first, that in His absence the testimony concerning the healing might be free of suspicion, and the man might not seem to be currying favor with Him, but to bear witness to the truth; and then, that He might not kindle the wrath of the Jews the more. For He knew that even the mere sight of the envied one casts no small spark of envy into the envious; therefore He lets the deed be examined by itself. For the accusing Jews, bringing the thing that was done to examination and to words, make it the more widely heard.

Jn. 5:14–16. After this Jesus finds him in the temple, and said to him, See, you have been made well; sin no more, so that nothing worse may happen to you. The man went away and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. And for this the Jews were persecuting Jesus, and seeking to kill him, because he was doing these things on the sabbath. From the Lord’s saying to the paralytic, See, you have been made well, sin no more, we learn first that the disease had been born to the man out of his sins; and second, that the word concerning Gehenna is true, and that the punishment is eternal. For where now are they that say, In one hour I committed fornication, and how shall I be punished without end? For behold, this man too sinned not for so many years as those in which he was being punished, but well-near a whole human lifetime he spent in the duration of the punishment. For sins are not judged by time, but by the very nature of the things wrongly done. Together with these things we learn this also: that even if we pay a grievous penalty for our former sins, yet if we again wallow in the same sins, we shall suffer things still more grievous, and that with good reason. For he who has not been bettered even by the former punishment is led to greater chastisements, as one insensible and contemptuous. And for what cause, one says, are not all thus punished? For we see many of the wicked in good bodily health, and flourishing, and faring well. But the fact that they suffer nothing here becomes for them a provision for a greater punishment there; and showing this, Paul said: When we are judged of the Lord, here, that is, we are chastened, that we should not be condemned with the world—there, plainly; for the things here are admonitions, but the things there are punishments. What then? Are all diseases from sins? Not all, but the most. For some are because of sins, as also was that of this paralytic; and in the Books of Kings too we see one falling into gout because of sin; but others are for approval and proclamation, as in the case of Job, that his virtue might be displayed; and some come also from slothfulness, such as gluttony and drunkenness. Now some, from the Lord’s saying, Sin no more, conjecture and declare that the Lord knew this paralytic would point Him out and inform against Him to the Jews, after He found him in the temple, and that for this cause He says, Sin no more. But it is not so. For the man appears to be reverent. For Jesus finds him, he says, in the temple. And yet, had he not been reverent, he would have given himself over to ease and luxury, running off home, and escaped the madness of the Jews and their cavilings; but none of these things made him depart from the temple; nay, even after recognizing Jesus, see how thankfully he proclaims Him to the Jews. For he does not say that it was Jesus who told him to take up his bed—which they wished to hear—but He that made him whole, which they could not endure to hear, making the loosing of the sabbath their charge. And if the Jews persecuted the Lord, wherein did the man sin thereby, in pointing Him out to them? For he, from a thankful mind, that he might draw others also to faith, proclaimed his healer; but if they persecuted their benefactor, theirs is the blame. And understand me the Sheep Pool to be the grace of baptism, in which the Sheep that was slain for us, Jesus the Lord, was washed, being baptized for us. And this pool has five porches. For the four virtues, and the contemplative and the active, are shown forth together in baptism. Human nature, then, like some paralytic, having all the powers of the soul relaxed, lay sick thirty and eight years. For neither was it sound in the faith in the Trinity, nor did it firmly believe that an eighth age would come—the resurrection, I mean, and the judgment of things lived. Wherefore it found no healing; for it had no man to cast it into the pool—that is, the Son of God had not yet become man, who through baptism was to heal it. But when He became man, then He healed our nature, and bade it also take up the couch—that is, to make the body light and nimble, and to raise it from the earth, not weighed down by flesh and earthly cares, but to rouse it from slothfulness toward the good, and to walk, which is to be moved toward the working of the good. And the troubling of the water of the pool signifies this, that in it the spirits of wickedness are confounded, being crushed and choked by the grace of the Holy Spirit. May it be that we too obtain the health—that is, that we be no more defiled by unhallowed reasonings.

Jn. 5:17–18. But Jesus answered them, My Father works hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. The Jews accuse Christ as one who had wrought the healing on the sabbath; but He, as being of equal honor with the Father and of the same authority, says: As God and My Father works even on the sabbath, and you accuse Him not, so neither Me. But how does the Father work hitherto, when Moses says that God rested from all His works? Will you learn how God still works? Behold the world, and consider the works of Providence—the sun rising and setting, the sea, the springs, the rivers, all the living things simply that have been created—and you may see the creation working its own works, or rather being worked and moved by the ineffable word of Providence. And assuredly Providence works its own things even on the sabbath. So then, since the Father works and even on the sabbath governs the creation, with good reason I also, He says, His Son, work. But they, wasting away with envy, sought to kill Him, not only because He loosed the sabbath, but because He also called God His Father, making Himself equal with God. For since He called Himself Son, He necessarily made Himself of equal honor with God; for every son is of the same nature with the father. Where is Arius here? Truly he is blinded concerning the light. For naming Christ the Son of the Father, he did not grant Him to have also the same nature with the Father, but confessed the Son of the uncreated Father to be a creature. And yet one ought to have taken even the Jews for teachers, who for this cause persecuted the Lord, because He called Himself the Son of God. For it was necessarily gathered that He is also equal to God; since, if the dignity of the Son were not great, and did not bring Him to equality with God, for what cause did they persecute Him?

Jn. 5:19–21. Then answered Jesus and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what things soever he does, these also does the Son likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that himself does: and he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them; even so the Son quickens whom he will. The Son can do nothing of Himself—inasmuch as He has nothing foreign to or estranged from the Father, but is in all things like the Father; and He has not another essence, that He should have also another power, and consequently another working; but since He has the same essence, He has also the same power. And for this cause He also works the same things, and cannot do any other thing than what the Father does. For He has not another power, either inferior or superior to the Father’s; but one essence, one power, one working belong to Father and Son. Yea, says the heretic, but the Father is as it were a teacher of the Son, showing Him how He ought to work. For unless the Son see the Father doing, He does nothing. I ask, then, Arius and Eunomius, who babble these things: how does the Father teach the Son? In wisdom, or not? Assuredly in wisdom. And what is the wisdom of God? Is it not the Son? Yea, assuredly. The Son, then, teaches Himself. Alas for your folly, who deliver up the Son to the Father as some child to be taught! But I, with the wisdom of God, declare that whatever the Father knows, He knows not without the Son; for He Himself is His wisdom. And whatever the Father is able to do, He is able to do not without the Son; for He Himself is His power. And that these things are true, hear: What things soever the Father does, these also does the Son likewise. If the Father with authority and power, then the Son likewise. The Son, then, is not inferior to the Father. And if it be spoken lowlily, He shows Him all things, and, He will show Him greater things, one need not marvel. For He converses with men crying out against Him and cut asunder with envy. And if He did not everywhere interweave the lowly with the lofty, what would they not have done—when, even thus, with Him uttering for the most part lowly things, they rage? For when He says, He will show Him greater things than these—since He had braced the paralytic, and is about also to raise a dead man—for this cause He says: If you marvel that I have made a paralytic whole, you shall see greater things than these. And that the word show, being lowly, was spoken by way of dispensation, that He might soothe their folly, hear what follows. For as the Father, He says, raises the dead, so also the Son quickens whom He will. The Son, then, raises even as the Father, and by this shows the unvarying sameness of the power; and by the words, Whom He will, the equality of the authority. And all these things the Arians take up against the glory of the Son, but we the Orthodox understand on behalf of it.

Jn. 5:22–24. For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honours not the Son honours not the Father which has sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life. He had shown Himself able to do good through the many signs which He wrought. But since He did not shame them, nor draw them on to honor Him as was meet, He says that the Father has given all judgment to the Son, that the fear of the judgment also might persuade them to show honor toward Him. For we men, and especially the more unreasoning, are wont to be brought to our duty rather by fear than by benefits. Now the saying, The Father has given judgment to the Son, understand thus: that He begot Him a judge—even as you hear also the saying, He has given Him life, and understand that He begot Him living. For since the Father is cause to the Son of His being, all things whatever the Son has are said to be received from the Father, as having them naturally from Him. And the judgment, then, He has from the Father in such wise as the Father has it. For lest, hearing that the Father is cause of the Son, we should think that He is cause of Him as also of the creatures, and thereby bring in a diminution of the honor, He says that there is no difference at all to the Son with respect to the Father. For He that has authority to punish and to honor as He wills can do the same things as the Father; wherefore He must be honored even as the Father. For that, He says, all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. They, then, that are of Arius, since they honor the Son as a creature, are convicted of honoring the Father also as a creature. For either they honor not the Son at all, and let them be ranked with the Jews; or, if they say they honor Him indeed, but as a creature—whereas one ought to honor Him even as the Father—they are altogether convicted of honoring the Father also as a creature. And in another way too, according to what follows: how do they honor the Father, who honor not the Son? For He adds: He that honors not the Son honors not the Father. He that honors Him not, He says, in such wise as I said—even as the Father; since if one say that the Son is indeed a creature, but surpassing all creatures, and seem to bestow upon the Son this false and vain honor, he altogether dishonors also the Father who sent Him. And the word sent He spoke, that they might not be made savage, as we said before. For He weaves His teaching wondrously, now bearing witness to lofty things of Himself, as was meet, now, because of the madness of the hostile Jews, to lowly things. For if, even after He had risen from the dead and ascended into the heavens and shown His own power through the apostles, Arius and Eunomius rose up against His glory and brought Him down to a creature—then the Jews, seeing Him walking in the flesh among publicans and harlots, and eating and drinking as one of the many, what would they not have done, if He had spoken all lofty things concerning Himself, and had not mingled also the lowly? Therefore He adds: He that hears My word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life. And by these words too He lightens their minds as they hear; for they are likely to believe in God when they hear His words. For He said not, He that believes on Me, but, On Him that sent Me. He, then, that believes on Him comes not into judgment, that is, into punishment, but lives his own life, not undergoing the death of the soul and the eternal death, even though he undergo the natural and temporary one.

Jn. 5:25–29. Truly, truly, I say to you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself; and has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation. Having said above, He that honors not the Son honors not the Father, and having uttered certain lofty things concerning Himself, that what He says might not seem to be boasting and empty noise, He gives also the demonstration through works, saying, The hour is coming; and then, that we might not suspect the time to be long, He says, And now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son—that is, now, while I am tarrying with you. And these things He says concerning those whom He was about to raise from the dead, such as the widow’s son, the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, and Lazarus. Then He adds also a reasoning demonstrative of the things said. For as the Father, He says, has life in Himself, so He gave also to the Son to have life in Himself, that He might quicken those who hear His voice. And not only has He given Him authority to quicken, but also to execute judgment, so as to punish and to take vengeance. And He continually brings the words concerning judgment into the midst, that He may bring the hearers to fear; for he that is persuaded that he shall both rise again and render to Him an account of his trespasses, will assuredly run to Him, propitiating Him, as one who is to be his judge. Marvel not, He says, that He is the Son of man. For though He is the Son of man, yet He is also God; so that He fittingly has the judgment, as the Son of God. And if He appear also as a man, marvel not. But one must know that Paul of Samosata, dogmatizing the Lord to be a mere man, thus read this passage: And He has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man; but here, putting a stop, he read from another beginning the words, Marvel not at this. But it is utterly foolish so to read; for the Father gave judgment to the Son, not because He is the Son of man, but because He is God. That man, then, not admitting to call Christ God, but Son of man, thus understood Him to be judge—not as God, but as Son of man; but we so understand as has been said. And having spoken concerning the partial resurrection—of Lazarus, I mean, and the others, who, plainly, had died of old—now He speaks concerning the universal: that the hour is coming, in which those in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God; for concerning the universal resurrection He here speaks. And since He had said above, He that believes comes not into judgment, that we might not think that faith alone suffices to salvation, He says that they shall rise—they that have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment, and they that have done good, to the resurrection of life. Faith alone, then, without works does not justify, but works also must be present; for then is there faith in the proper sense. And mark the teaching becoming twofold, through fear and through cheerfulness. For the condemnation of them that have done evil terrifies; but the resurrection of life of them that have done good exhorts through cheerfulness.

Jn. 5:30. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me. As has been said in the foregoing, these words show forth the unvarying sameness of the Son with respect to the Father—the saying, I can of mine own self do nothing, and whatever is of like sort. For nothing strange and foreign to the Father can I do; for neither have I a will other than the Father’s, nor a power. And as I hear from the Father, so I judge—that is, as the Father Himself judges, so also I. And these things He says in order to show, as we have often said, the unvarying sameness both in works, and words, and judgments. For lest some, seeing Him a man, should be offended, how He that appears a man could execute just judgment, since David said, Every man is a liar—He first said, Marvel not, because I am the Son of man; and now He says also, My judgment is just, in that I judge as I hear My Father judging. For I seek not Mine own will, but the Father’s. He that wills to ratify his own purpose might perhaps be suspected as corrupting justice; but he that looks not to his own things, what pretext could he have for not voting the just things? I, then, seek not Mine own will; for neither have I an own will; but what the Father wills, that also I.

Jn. 5:31–35. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that bears witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. You sent to John, and he bare witness to the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that you might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. Here the Lord seems to say things contrary. For in many places He appears to have borne witness to Himself, as to the Samaritan woman He said, I am the Christ; and to the blind man, and elsewhere in many places. If, then, these be false, what hope of salvation is there for us? And not this only seems a contradiction, but another no less. For going on He says, Though I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true. How, then, shall these things be reconciled, that seem to fight one with another? When He says, If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true, He speaks with respect to the opinion of the Jews. For since they were likely perhaps to say to Him, You bear witness of Yourself, and no man bearing witness of himself is worthy of credit—He says, by way of objection, I bear not witness of Myself; for according to your judgment I should not be worthy to be believed. There is another that bears witness of Me—John. But when He says, Though I bear witness, My witness is true, He speaks by way of concession, running along with the reasoning of the Jews; He says, Be it that I bear witness of Myself. Though I, then, bear witness, My witness is true; for being God, I am worthy of credit. So that the first He said by way of objection—Not I bear witness, but the Forerunner; and the second by way of counter-statement, or concession—Though I bear witness, My witness is true. Three witnesses, then, He says, I have: John, My works, My Father. And first He sets John, that none might say to Him, What then, if he bore witness to You for favor? He says, You yourselves sent to John. And assuredly you would not have sent to ask, unless you had thought him worthy of credit. So that you yourselves also bear witness that John was true. And yet I, as being God, need not human testimony—the Master that of the servant. But since you hold him more worthy of credit, and give heed to him rather than to Me, and ran to him, yet believe not even Me working wonders—for this cause I remind you of John’s testimony, and do all things, and take upon Me even what is unworthy of My Godhead, that you might be saved. A burning lamp He calls John, inasmuch as he too had his fashioning from earth, and had the light not from himself, but from the grace of the Spirit, and that for a season. For so soon as the day of the Lord appeared, that is, His teaching, the lamp was hidden. And you for a season received the things spoken by him, and rejoiced in him; then, forgetting what he said concerning Me, you remained in your former unbelief. For had you once firmly believed him, he would quickly have led you by the hand to the faith in Me.

Jn. 5:36–37. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father has given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me. And the Father himself, which has sent me, has borne witness of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you. John bore witness of Me, He says—John, who seems to you the most worthy of credit of all. But since it was likely that some slanderers would be found, who perchance would say, And what is John to us? he was currying favor with you, and for this cause bore the kindlier witness—You, He says, sent to John, and asked him, assuredly thinking him true. But I have also another witness, greater than John’s. The works which the Father has given Me—that is, has committed to Me, that I should finish them—these bear witness of Me. And He calls works the wonders, doubtless—such as the raising up of the paralytic, and the rest. But since they accused Him of doing these things on the sabbath, saying that He is not of God because He keeps not the sabbath, He shows them that He does the things approved by the Father, and that He is rather of God, in that He accomplishes the works given Him by God. For the works, He says, which the Father has given Me to finish. Since, then, the Father has given these, you are fighters against God who oppose such works. And the Father which has sent Me, He has borne witness of Me. But where has the Father borne witness of Him? Some say, as at the baptism, when He said, This is My beloved Son. But it is better, I think, to understand that through all the Scripture God bore witness of Him, both through the Law and the prophets. But you, He says, have neither heard His voice—the Father’s, I mean—nor seen His shape, but He is altogether unknown to you; because you have not His word abiding in you—that is, you know not the Scriptures that bear witness of Me, though you think you know, and boast as having been entrusted with the Oracles of God. And whence is it plain that you know not the Scriptures?

Jn. 5:38. Because whom he has sent, him you believe not. As, then, neither have you heard the voice of God (for God has no sensible voice), nor seen His shape (for He is without form and without figure), so neither have you His word—I mean the Scriptures that bear witness of Me—in yourselves.

Jn. 5:39–42. Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that you have not the love of God in you. He had said to them that the word of God—that is, the Scriptures that bear witness of Me—is not in you. Teaching, then, how they might be able to have the word of God, He says: Search the Scriptures; for in them you think you have life. And mark how He said not, You have life, but, You think; and they did think—showing that they reaped nothing thence according to truth, expecting to be saved from the mere reading, faith not being present. For those are they that bear witness of Me; but you will not come to Me, that you might have life. So that hence too we learn that they were evil of set purpose. For He said not, You cannot come, but, You will not come. Let the Manichaeans hear, that evil is not by nature, but consists in the purpose. And since He had reminded them of John’s testimony, and of the Father’s, and of that through His works, doing all these things only for their salvation—and it was likely that many would suspect that He spoke these things out of love of glory—for this cause He says, I receive not honor from men; that is, I have no need of glory; for neither have I such a nature as to need the glory from men. But you persecute Me, making the pretext that you do this for love of God. But it is not so, it is not. For I know you, that you have not the love of God in you, though up and down you put forward this pretext for persecuting Me. With good reason, then, the Jews had not the love of God, since they persecuted Love itself, the Son of God. With good reason too they had not His word abiding in them; for they refused the Word and God.

Jn. 5:43–47. I am come in my Father’s name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that comes from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom you trust. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words? I, He says, am come in the name of My Father (for everywhere He hymns the Father, and says that He is sent from Him, and can do nothing of Himself, and altogether utters many lowly things, wishing to cut off every pretext of impiety); but another shall come—the Antichrist, plainly—who is to declare that he himself alone is God. Me, then, who am come in the name of the Father—that is, who say that I am sent from the Father—you receive not, but him you will receive. And this befalls you because he will promise you the glory of this life, which you seek, wishing to receive the glory that is one of another, and spitting upon that which is from God only; whereas I promise you nothing in this life to be admired, but you see much difficulty in the things spoken by Me. For this cause, then, He says, you believe not Me; expecting to have nothing delightful and worldly from Me. And in another way too: You believe not Me, as desiring the glory that is one of another. For the rulers and teachers, themselves alone wishing to seem something among the multitude, receive me not, lest their glory be lessened; and the peoples, seeking the love of the rulers, are unwilling to run to Me, lest because of Me they fall from the honor that comes from the rulers. And since they brought forward Moses up and down, He says that he himself shall accuse you; for he wrote of Me. But where did he write of Him? In many other places (for the saying, A Prophet shall the Lord raise up to you, was concerning Christ, and many other things, some in words, some in signs and symbols—such as the wonder of the bush; for the fire is the Godhead, and the thorny bush the sinful nature, which the fire of the Godhead laying hold of, kept unconsumed, brightening it with light, and imparting to it of its own splendors, but partaking nothing of its defects); and not least this also did Moses say, contributing to the faith in Christ. For if, he says, a prophet arise working signs, and drawing away from God, believe him not—such as is the Antichrist. But if a prophet arise working signs, and leading toward God and the Father, or rather not drawing away from Him, him believe. Christ, then, who came in the name of the Father, and worked signs, but drew them not away from the worship of God, was He that was prophesied of by Moses. If, then, you believe not the writings of Moses, how shall you believe My words? He, He says, wrote, and the books are ever present before your eyes, so that, even if you forget, you may again have ready remembrance; and yet you believe not the things written; and how shall you believe My unwritten words? Why then do You say these things, O Lord, since You know that they will not believe? Though I know, He says, that they will disobey, yet I speak, that afterward they may not make the pretext, that, Had You spoken, we would have believed. And besides, those of that time, as being thankless, believed not; but for the sake of those who afterward were to profit from the words of Christ.

Chapter 6

Jn. 6:1–4. After this Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, that is, the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was working on the sick. Jesus went up into the hills, and there he sat with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. The Lord, having discoursed somewhat harshly with the Jews, since by such words He had stirred up envy and wrath in them, soothes them by His withdrawal, and departs beyond the sea of Tiberias. By “sea” he means the lake; for the gatherings of waters the divine Scripture called seas. Otherwise: He passes from place to place, testing the disposition of the multitude; for while the more sluggish remained in their own country, the more earnest followed Him. Yet observe that even those who followed did so not for the teaching, but for the bodily benefit from the miracles. For “because,” he says, “they saw the signs he was working on the sick.” But those in Matthew are better and more given to wisdom; for “they were astonished,” he says, “at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority.” And He goes up into the hills because of the sign about to take place. For He was not one fond of display or ostentation, to work wonders in the midst of cities; but, fleeing the vain glory of the many, He seeks quietness. And teaching us this, and at the same time wishing to commune with His disciples about certain mystical things, He seeks the mountain. For this was ever His custom; since he who would discourse of such things must be freed from all tumult, and seek a place pure of every disturbance. “Now the Passover,” he says, “the feast of the Jews, was near.” And yet He goes not up, but withdraws into Galilee; for He was no longer subject to the ordinances of the law, that He should keep the legal feasts. Besides, the Jewish wickedness pursuing Him, He took occasion thence, and quietly relaxes the law, showing to them that give heed that the type has ceased now that the truth is come. And observe also the “feast of the Jews.” For it was not Christ’s feast (how should it be His, who went not up to it?), but of the Jews only.

Jn. 6:5–9. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to have even a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many? Why did he say, “Jesus looked up”? That we may learn that He did not let His eyes rove here and there, but, sitting in reflection and attention and exactness, as one discoursing with His disciples about certain more divine things, at length He looked up and asks concerning the multitude, whence it shall be fed. He asks no other, but Philip. For this was he who had need of more teaching, who afterward says, “Show us the Father, and it suffices us.” Therefore He brings him into order from far off, and by the question leads him ever to remember the miracle. For had the sign simply happened, the wonder had not so appeared; but now He first compels him to confess the scarcity, that he may more exactly learn the greatness of the wonder about to be, and may not thereafter be able to cast out the memory of what was confessed. Therefore He says, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He says this to prove Philip—that is, wishing to make manifest what faith he has. For not as ignorant Himself of Philip’s mind does He ask him, but wishing to show him to the others. For the Lord Himself knew what He was about to do. Having then proved Philip whether he has faith, and finding him still humanly disposed—yea, and finding Andrew also such. For though he imagined something loftier than Philip (for, when Philip said that “two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread,” he points to five barley loaves and two small fish, having in mind perhaps also the wonders of the prophets, how Elisha wrought the sign with the loaves when Samaria came to the uttermost of destruction), yet Andrew also is convicted of having conceived nothing worthy of the Lord. For he says, “But what are they among so many?” For he thought that the Lord would perhaps increase the loaves, but that, had there been more, the increase would have been greater also—thinking altogether unsafely. For the Lord was able even out of things not existing to make loaves sufficient for the multitude; yet, lest the creation should seem alien to His wisdom, He uses the creation itself for the matter of His wonders; and taking the loaves as occasion, as a kind of material, He thus shapes the wonder. Let the Manichaeans be ashamed, who say that bread, and all things in the creation, are works of the evil god; and therefore, if one give them bread, they receive it not from his hands, but bid him cast it from afar off, and standing they curse the giver: “May he that sowed you be sown, may he that ground you be ground as to his flesh,” and such like things. Let them be ashamed, then, hearing that Christ the Son of the good God multiplied loaves. For if they were an evil creature, the good One would not have multiplied the evil—not to say that He Himself also ate bread. But one might ask you: Is this miracle of the loaves the same as that in Matthew? It is the same. And if there the disciples come to Him putting Him in mind concerning the multitude, that they may be sent away, while here Jesus Himself asks whence they shall be fed, one need not wonder. For it is likely that both took place: the disciples first reminding the Lord about sending away the multitudes, and Philip being asked by the Lord whence they shall be fed.

Jn. 6:10–13. And Jesus said, Have the people sit down. Now there was plenty of grass in that place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks, distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were seated; so likewise with the fish, as much as they wanted. When they had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, Gather up the pieces left over, so that nothing is wasted. So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. As though the table were ready, He bade them immediately sit down. And the disciples, though before unbelieving, yet readily make the men recline. Now there was grass, it being spring. For it was the passover, he says; and this was kept in the first month of spring. And the men only are numbered by the evangelist, who follows the legal custom. For Moses also numbered the people from twenty years old and upward, making no mention at all of women; the word showing that everything manly and youthful is honourable and worthy of numbering with God. And taking the loaves He gives thanks, showing that before food one ought to give thanks to God; and at the same time, since there was a multitude, for this cause He gives thanks before the multitude, that all may be persuaded that He came according to the will of God, and that He is not an adversary of God, but refers all things to the Father. For when He works signs alone, He does nothing of this kind, though He accomplishes greater things; but when He works wonders before many, then He looks up to God. And He shows that He does this not from weakness, but for the dispensation which we have spoken of, in that He does the greater things with lordly and authoritative power. And some say that He gives thanks for this cause, that He may escape the notice of the ruler of this world until the time of His passion, and that he might not henceforth suppose Him to be God, but be deceived and ensnared, and so through the cross be put to death. And the Lord allows the loaves to abound, not for display—far from it!—but that the filling of the men might not be thought a fantasy, but that it might appear to all that they were so truly satisfied as that so much remained over; and for this cause also He commands the fragments to be gathered, that seeing these they might be the more reminded of the wonder that had been done. And one must wonder not only that they abounded, but also at the exactness of the surplus, that it was neither more nor less, but He made the baskets of the remnants equal in number to the disciples; that all might bear one, and that not even Judas might be left without a portion, but might have this wonder also as a token that his Master was God, and might be profited even thereby, though by reason of his own wickedness it turned rather to his condemnation; for Him who made such surplus, from which he himself also bore a basket, this man betrayed. For not in vain did He command the apostles to bear the baskets, but that they might ever be reminded of the wonder, as those who were to be teachers of the world. For the multitude were to reap nothing great; for immediately they forgot the wonder, so senseless were they; but the disciples were to gain no common thing. And we learn from what was done not to be faint-hearted in the straits of poverty, nor to be afraid of hospitality and giving, but to believe that even if we have one loaf, He will multiply it who made so much abound from five loaves. And by allegory: when the Lord had gone forth from Jerusalem, according to that which is said in the prophets, “I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage,” then He goes away into Galilee of the nations, taking to Himself the Gentiles; and a great multitude follows Him. And He goes up into the mountain—either into the cross, that He may draw all to Himself, or into heaven, into the glory befitting God. For having been taken up into heaven, and being glorified by us as God and not as a mere man, He is said to go up into a mountain; for the lofty thought concerning Him is a mountain. And He distributes to us, who are fallen under the five senses, the rational loaves, which are themselves also five. For to each sense He gives the suitable loaf, that is, the word; as Paul also says, “I would speak five words in the church”—those, namely, that fit the five senses to correction. Yet we cannot eat up these five words whole, but they abound also. For none of us can contain the whole words of the mystery, but the apostles bear what to us more material ones is unattainable and uneatable, as in certain baskets, in their own minds. “But the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.”

Jn. 6:14–15. When the people saw the sign that Jesus had done, they said, This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world. Then Jesus, realizing that they meant to come and seize him to make him king, withdrew again to the hills by himself. Behold the gluttony of the multitude: when Jesus had done countless and more wonderful miracles, they marvelled not; and lo, for the sake of the food, “This,” they say, “is the prophet.” No longer do they charge Him with breaking the sabbath, no longer do they avenge the law; but so far do they honour Him for the loaves’ sake, that they not only proclaim Him a prophet, but think Him worthy of kingship also. But He flees, teaching us to despise worldly dignities. And He withdraws into the mountain Himself alone, taking none of the disciples, that He may prove their longing, and whether they cannot bear His absence.

Jn. 6:16–21. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and set out across the sea toward Capernaum. It had grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. A strong wind was blowing and the sea grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat, and they were afraid. But he says to them, It is I; be not afraid. Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore they were heading for. The Lord indeed goes up into the mountain alone, that, as we said, He may prove the longing of the disciples, whether they seek after Him. And they wait for Him until evening, expecting that He will come; but when He came not, they endure it not, but, pricked with longing to seek Him, they enter into the ship. For not simply, nor by chance, did the evangelist mark the time, but by this showing their vehement love, that not even evening detained them. And He suffers them to be storm-tossed, that, calm coming after the surge, they might the more rejoice at what was done, and the memory of it might be stamped unforgettably upon their hearts. And He stands by them as they are tossed, and by His word both casts out their fear, and at once makes calm upon the sea, and works a double fair weather, allaying the trouble both of their souls and of the sea. And He went not up into the ship, willing to work the wonder greater. For behold three wonders: one, He walked upon the sea; second, that He laid the waves to rest; third, that immediately He made the ship to be at the land where they went, though it was far from the land when the Lord stood by it. The Jews indeed also crossed the Red Sea, Moses leading; but he did all as a servant and by praying, while this One did it with all authority. And there, the south wind blowing, the water gave way, so as to make them pass over on dry land; but here the wonder was greater. For the sea, remaining in its own nature, so bore the Master upon its back, that the prophetic word might be fulfilled, “He that walks upon the sea as upon a pavement.” Many of us also now are in the spiritual darkness, and are in danger of being drowned in the spiritual sea; but let us receive Christ, and we shall by all means be saved from the dangers; and though oftentimes some bring fears upon us—demons or men tempting us—and through fear try to shake us, let us hear Christ crying, “Be not afraid; it is I.” And what He says is this: “The fearful things pass away, wherefore be not afraid of the things that pass away. But I am—that is, I ever abide, and as God I am He that is.” Since, then, the fearful things are temporary and not truly existent, but I am—instead of, I abide and never pass away, but truly am—betray not your faith in me for the sake of things temporary. And observe with me, how not at the beginning of the danger, but at its height, Christ appears and looses the fear. For He suffers us to come into the midst of the terrors, that, having wrestled with the affliction and been pressed, we may become more approved; and that, having moved all our own power and wisdom and found it weak, we may flee to Him alone, who is able to save out of things unlooked for. For when the human mind grows weary, then salvation from God, suddenly supervening, prepares us to fly to Him alone who saves, and not to ascribe the salvation to ourselves. And if we will receive Christ into our ship also—that is, to settle Christ in our heart—at once we shall be found in the land where we are carried. And what is this land? It is surely the land of promise, heaven, the land of the meek, and of those who are at peace from all wickedness.

Jn. 6:22–26. The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; (however there came other boats from Tiberias near to the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when came you here? Jesus answered them and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, You seek me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Jesus indeed, going on foot upon the sea, departed to the other side. But the multitudes on the morrow, seeking Him and seeing that there was one ship which had received the disciples, into which Jesus entered not, came to the thought of the wonder, and suspected that, walking on the sea, He had come to the other side. For if there had been another ship also, it had been likely to suppose that He sailed not with the disciples, but, entering into that one, crossed over. But now, there being one ship, which received the disciples alone and not the Lord, the wonder is manifest. Having thought upon these things, then, the multitudes, since they found other little ships come from the other side, embarked in those, and crossed over to Capernaum; where, finding the Lord, they fall not down before Him, nor ask to learn how He crossed, nor inquire about this sign, but thus carelessly say, “When came you here?” For they who sought to seize Him and make Him a king, finding Him, take no such counsel; but, casting out the wonder, they seek to enjoy another table such as before. Wherefore also they are reproached by the Lord. “For you seek me,” He says, “because you did eat of the loaves, and for this cause you desire me, that you may again have me as a maker of feasts.” And mark, that though convicting them, He uses not a harsh reproof. For He said not, “O slaves of the belly and gluttons,” but with meekness. For wishing to correct them, He reproves them, and at the same time, by uncovering the hidden things of their heart, He would lead them up to a greater faith. And that the reproof was for their correction is plain from what follows. For He makes to them a most profitable teaching, and says:

Jn. 6:27. Labour not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give to you: for him has God the Father sealed. “You indeed,” He says, “seek me for the loaves’ sake, as longing for this food; but you ought not to incline wholly to the belly, but rather to take thought for spiritual things, and not to spend all your care upon bodily food.” For this He called the meat that perishes. And since many of those who would live idly—and especially the Messalians—use this saying in defence of their idleness, it is needful to make the saying plain. For our Lord Jesus Christ said not this as wishing to cut off bodily labour and to thrust men into idleness. For idleness has taught every wickedness, and, if one must speak exactly, this is the meat that perishes: the will to live idly; since he that follows Christ must labour, that he may have to impart to others also; for this has its reward, the promise of the kingdom to come. How then, one says, did the Lord say that we ought not to labour for the meat that perishes? Cutting off the intensity of their zeal about food, and gently transferring them to spiritual things. “Yea,” one says, “but that Christ cuts off bodily labour is plain from His saying to Martha: Martha, you are careful and troubled; but one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part; and again, Take no thought for the morrow.” These things they who would be fed in idleness raise as a difficulty. But we, what say we? That what was said to Martha is not about work and labour and idleness, but about knowing the time, and not spending the hour of hearing upon zeal about food. Persuading her, then, not to betray in vain the time of teaching for the sake of busying herself about the belly, He says these things. And in saying “Take no thought,” not even thus does He cast out labour. For care is one thing, and labour another. For one may both labour and take no thought. Teaching us, then, not to be nailed to the things of life, nor to make provision for the morrow’s rest, but rather wishing us to labour day by day, He says, “Take no thought for the morrow,” as if He said: “Take no thought how, having laboured to-day, you shall rest to-morrow; but having each day’s food from each day’s labour, take no thought for the morrow.” And by the meat that endures He means the mystical partaking of the Lord’s flesh, which He Himself gives us, having become Son of man, whom the Father sealed—that is, declared and confirmed that He is His Son. For Christ also declared Himself by the miracles; but since He discourses to Jews, that they be not troubled, He runs up to the Father, and says that He was sealed by Him—that is, demonstrated, witnessed to. And since the Son is the image of the Father, and a seal, and an impress, understand Him to be sealed by the Father in that He is image and seal; so that what is said is of this kind: For this manifest Son of man the Father sealed—that is, preserving toward Him all natural identity.

Jn. 6:28–30. Then said they to him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent. They said therefore to him, What sign do you show then, that we may see, and believe you? what do you work? The Jews seek to learn the work of God, not that they may do it, but that they may seize occasions. Knowing, then, that they would be nothing profited, yet for the common benefit of the teaching He answers, and shows to them—or rather to all men—that this is the work of God, to believe on Him whom He sent. For faith in Him is a work truly sacred and perfect, and sanctifying those that have it. For exact faith becomes a guide to every good work, and good work preserves faith. For works without faith are dead, and faith also without works. And behold their thanklessness and senselessness: they who had seen so many and so great things ask again for a sign, and rather for that of the loaves whereby they were filled. As gluttons, then, they ask again for such a sign, one that contributes to their belly. And that this is true is plain from what follows.

Jn. 6:31–34. Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world. Then said they to him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. Not in vain did we say that, as serving the belly, they sought a sign, such as was that of the loaves. Behold, then, they make mention of the manna, and of no other wonder, whether of the things in Egypt, or of those at the Red Sea. For wishing to provoke Him, that He also might do such a sign, which could feed them carnally, they make mention of the manna through excess of gluttony. What then does the boundless wisdom of God, our Lord Jesus, answer them? “Moses gave you not the bread”—that is, the true bread Moses gave you not; but all the things that then came to pass were types of the things now coming to pass. For Moses held the type of God, the true captain of the spiritual Israelites; and that bread was a type of me, who came down from the heavens, and truly feed, and am the true bread. And He calls Himself the true bread, not as though the manna were false, but since that was a type and a shadow, and not the very truth. For properly the only-begotten Son of God, become man, is the manna, the astounding word and report. For “manna” is interpreted, “What is this?” For the Hebrews, seeing it each one heaped up before his own tent, and astonished at the unwonted and strange sight, asked one another, “What is this?” The Lord, then, become man, the Son of God, is Himself the manna that astounds all, so that each in perplexity says, “What is this? How is the Son of God also Son of man? How of two contraries one person? What is this mystery?” This bread, then, being life by nature, as Son of the living Father, does its own work; for it quickens all things. As, then, the bread from the earth holds together the weak nature of the flesh, and suffers it not to be corrupted, so also Christ, by the working of the Spirit, quickens the soul, and moreover holds together the very body to incorruption. For through Christ the resurrection from the dead has been bestowed on human nature, and the incorruption of bodies. But the Jews, still inclining toward the belly, and being wholly earth, understand the things said of sensible bread, and say, “Give us this bread.” Thus, then, being foolish, they were reproved—and that not for one day nor two. And this also springs from our love of plenty about the abundance of food.

Jn. 6:35–38. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst. But I said to you, That you also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. The Jews, as being earthly, supposing that the Lord spoke of sensible bread, and for this cause pressing on and seeking, the Lord, reproving them and showing that, so long as they suspected the food to be sensible, they ran after Him, but when they should learn that it is spiritual, they would no longer run, says, “I am the bread of life.” And He said not, “the bread of food,” but “of life.” For since all things had been deadened, the Lord quickened us through Himself, who is bread, in that we believe the leaven of the human lump to have been baked through by the fire of the Godhead. And He is bread of life, not of such common life, but of an altered life, not broken off by death. And he that believes on such bread shall never hunger, neither shall he be famished with the famine of hearing the word of God, nor thirst the spiritual thirst that comes of not having the water of baptism and the sanctification of the Spirit. For the unbaptized has thirst and much dryness, lacking the refreshing holy water; but the baptized, having the Spirit, is ever refreshed in soul by Him. And showing that faith in Him is no chance thing, but a gift of God, given by the Father to the worthy and the upright in heart, He says, “All that the Father gives me shall come to me”—that is, those shall believe on me whom the Father gives me. But you Jews, as being unworthy, are not given me by the Father; wherefore neither do you come to me, for you have not an upright heart, that God and Father, loving you, might lead you into faith in me. “Him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out”—that is, I will not destroy, but save, and prepare him to enjoy much care. For “I came down from heaven, not to do any other thing than the will of the Father.” And this He says, that they may learn that he who receives Him not is an adversary of God, opposing the will of the Father. For since they called Him an adversary of God, He turns the charge back upon them and says, if not openly, “You are the adversaries of God, who receive not Him that follows the will of the Father.” Where is Nestorius here, who says that after the resurrection Christ was made God? Do you hear not, wretched man, that He came down from heaven? And He that came down from heaven was not a mere man surely, but God. For a mere man comes not down, but, if anything, goes up into heaven, God granting this for virtue’s sake. Since, then, the Lord’s descent went before His ascent, the same both came down from heaven, as God plainly, having condescended for the incarnation; man, where He was before as God. Nestorius doted not aright, but God before the ages was made man.

Jn. 6:39–40. And this is the Father’s will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. Continually He sets down the “The Father has given me,” that He may smite their hearts, and that they may recognise that they are unworthy of the gift of God. For if the Father gives faith in Christ as some great thing, and they have it not, it is manifest that they have fallen from the gift of God. “I, then,” He says, “will not lose those whom the Father gives me”—that is, them that believe on me; but I will raise them up, which is, I will count them worthy of a glorious resurrection. For the resurrection is twofold: the one common and general, in which all sinners rise; and the other, in which the righteous alone are taken up into the air to meet the Lord, and meet the Lord with boldness. And this resurrection Paul calls the out-resurrection, because of the lifting up from the earth. For sinners indeed rise from the tombs, but rise not out of the earth into the air; for they remain below as condemned. So that the righteous both rise and rise out, caught up in clouds to meet the Lord; but the sinners rise only. And the Lord, interpreting what is the “All that the Father has given me I will not lose,” says the same thought in other words: “That every one that sees the Son and believes may have everlasting life.” For He says nothing else than what He said above. For the “All that the Father has given me” is the same with “Every one that sees the Son and believes”; and the “I will not lose” is the same with “Has everlasting life.” And He continually makes mention of the resurrection, that He may persuade men not to circumscribe God’s providence by the things seen only, but to know that there is also another state, in which without doubt they shall enjoy the rewards of virtue; and though no requital in this life now appear, not therefore to slacken the course toward virtue.

Jn. 6:41–44. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he says, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews murmured, the Lord having said, “I am the bread,” as though deceived. For so long as they thought He spoke of sensible bread, they bore it meekly, hoping that He would give them this bread and gratify their belly; but when He revealed to them that the word was not of sensible but of spiritual bread, despairing they murmur. For whence had they the power to conceive spiritual food, and life, and resurrection? They were offended, then, at Him, seeing His mother, but hearing, “I came down from heaven.” Not conceiving, then, that the same is also God, but looking to the appearance, they murmured, as though the Lord boasted, and said, “Is not this the son of Joseph?” But the Saviour Himself answers them not, “I am not the son of Joseph”; for they could not conceive the ineffable birth from the Virgin. And if their understanding contained not the birth according to the flesh, much more the eternal birth from the Father. What, then, does He answer them? “No man can come to me, except the Father draw him.” And this He says, not taking away free will—far from it!—but showing that he who is to believe has need of much working together from God. And otherwise: the Father draws those that have aptness according to their choice; but those that have made themselves unapt He draws not to faith. For as the loadstone draws not all things to which it approaches, but only iron, so also God approaches all, but draws the more apt, and those that show some kinship toward Him. The Father, then, draws and brings to the Son, and the Son raises up, and quickens, and bestows the breath and life in good things, which is the Holy Spirit. The holy Trinity, then, benefits them that believe, and not in part the Father alone, or the Son alone; but as the nature is one, so also the energy of the benefaction is one, the Father bringing, the Son quickening, the Holy Spirit becoming as breath to them that are quickened. For everything that lives has breath also. And observe the authority of the Son: “I,” He says, “will raise up.” For He said not, “My Father will raise up,” but “I.” For He speaks not lowly throughout, but there is where He uncovers also the height of His own Godhead.

Jn. 6:45–47. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to me. Not that any man has seen the Father, save he who is of God, he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, He that believes on me has everlasting life. He said above that “Whomever the Father draws, he comes to me”; and wishing to establish this, He refers the word to the prophets. “For it is written,” He says, “in the prophets, They shall be all taught of God”—all, that is, that are willing. For the Father is the common teacher, making known by revelation His Son to the worthy. For touching the hearts of the guileless and unmalicious, He reveals to them the Son, as He revealed Him to Peter also. He, then, that hears of the Father—that is, that receives the revelation of the Father, and becomes a true disciple of His—this man comes to me. And observe how with exactness He utters everything. For He said not, “He that hears of the Father, he comes to me,” but added, “and has learned.” For it suffices not to hear, but there must be present also the learning. What, then? Before this, in the Old Testament, were they not taught of God? They were indeed, but not thus. For here is the special thing, in the New, I mean, Testament. For then they learned the things of God through men; but now, the Only-begotten being incarnate, the knowledge comes from the Father Himself in the Holy Spirit; so that the prophetic word is fulfilled, “In your light” (the Father’s), that is, in the Spirit, “shall we see light,” which is the Son. Fitly, then, are we now all taught of God, who have received faith in Christ. And since He said, “He that hears of the Father, he comes to me,” that no one might suppose He speaks of a sensible father, He says, “Not that any has seen the Father, save he who is of God”; for the Son, truly being of Him, and begotten of Him, is properly the one Son, who also knows the Father.

Jn. 6:48–51. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. He compares with the manna the food given by Himself. “For I,” He says, “am the bread of life; but the manna, they that ate it died.” And not without cause did He add “in the wilderness,” but wishing to show that the manna lasted the fathers not even for long, but in the wilderness only, and went not in with them into the land of promise. But this bread is not such, but everlasting, so that they shall receive goods far greater than their fathers, if only they will. And how are not the things given by Christ greater? For though one taste of death, yet he lives through the hope of the resurrection. And here He plainly speaks of the mystical partaking of His body. For “the bread,” He says, “which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” And showing His authority, that not as a servant and less than His Father was He crucified, but willingly, He says, “I will give my flesh for the life of the world.” For though He be said to be given by the Father, yet also to have given Himself—the former, that we may learn His concord with the Father; the latter, the self-authority of the Son. And mark, that the bread which is eaten by us in the mysteries is not a figure of the Lord’s flesh, but the very flesh of the Lord. For He said not, “The bread which I will give is a figure of my flesh,” but, “is my flesh.” For this bread is transformed by ineffable words, through the mystical blessing and the visitation of the Holy Spirit, into the flesh of the Lord. And let it trouble no one that the bread is believed to be flesh. For even while the Lord walked in the flesh and took to Himself the nourishment from bread, that bread which was eaten was changed into His body, and was made like to His holy flesh, and contributed to its growth and sustenance after the manner of man. Now also, then, the bread is changed into the flesh of the Lord. And how, one says, does it not appear to us as flesh, but as bread? That we be not made to loathe the eating. For if flesh appeared, we should be ill-disposed toward the partaking; but now, the Lord condescending to our weakness, the mystical food appears to us such as is our wonted food. And He gave His flesh to death for the life of the world; for having died, He loosed death. And understand me the life of the world to be—perhaps the resurrection (for the death of the Lord wrought the general resurrection for the whole race of men); and perhaps also the life in sanctification and blessedness He names the life of the world. For though not all received the sanctification and the life in the Spirit, yet the Lord gave Himself for the world; and as far as in Him lay, the world was saved, and the whole nature was sanctified, in that it received power to conquer sin, and sin fled through the one man, our Lord Jesus Christ, as also was made manifest.

Jn. 6:52–55. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. The Jews, hearing of the eating of the Lord’s flesh, disbelieve. Wherefore also they utter the word of unbelief, the “How?” For when reasonings of unbelief enter into a soul, then the “How?” enters in along with them. Therefore He also, wishing to show that this is not impossible, but exceedingly necessary, and that it is not possible otherwise to have life, says, “Except you eat my flesh,” and what follows. Thus also Nicodemus out of unbelief said, “How can a man enter into his mother’s womb?” We, then, hearing that, except we eat the flesh of the Son, we have no life, ought in the partakings of the divine mysteries to have faith unwavering, and not to seek the “How?” For the natural man—that is, he that follows human and psychic, that is, natural, reasonings—receives not the things above nature and spiritual; even as therefore he understands not the spiritual eating of the Lord’s flesh, of which they that partake not shall be without part in eternal life, as not having received Jesus who is the true life. For it is not the flesh of a mere man that is eaten, but of God, and able to deify, as commingled with Godhead. This also is meat indeed, in that it suffices not for a little time, nor is corrupted like fluid food, but is a helper of eternal life. And likewise the drinking of the Lord’s blood is drink indeed, in that it satisfies the thirst not for a season, but keeps the drinker for ever without thirst and without want; as He said also to the Samaritan woman, “He that drinks of the water that I shall give shall not thirst.” For whoever receives the grace of the Holy Spirit through the partaking of the divine mysteries, neither hungers the spiritual famine, nor thirsts the thirst such as the unbelievers do.

Jn. 6:56–58. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever. Here we learn the mystery of the partaking. For he that eats and drinks the flesh and blood of the Lord abides in the Lord Himself, and the Lord in him. For a strange and inexpressible commingling comes to pass, so that God is in us and we in God. Do you hear not the awful hearing? We eat not a mere God (for He is intangible and incorporeal, and to be grasped neither by eyes nor by teeth), nor again the flesh of a mere man (for it could profit nothing); but since God united to Himself the flesh according to the ineffable commingling, the flesh also is life-giving—not that it has passed over into the nature of God (far from it!), but according to the likeness of red-hot iron, which both remains iron and shows the energy of the fire; so then also the flesh of the Lord, remaining flesh, is life-giving, as the flesh of God the Word. “As, then,” He says, “I live by the Father”—that is, as begotten of the Father, who is life—so also he that eats me shall live by me, being commingled, as it were transelemented into me, who am mighty to quicken. And when you hear, “I live,” think not that He lives by participation of life; for so would God be called a living creature; but it is not so. For neither is God named a living creature, nor shall life be called a created thing. And continually He turns up and down the “Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness,” to persuade the hearers that, if it was possible in forty years, without harvest and sowing, for men to be fed and for their life to be sustained, much more now will the Lord sustain our spiritual life by the better bread, His flesh, which was constituted without seed of man from the virgin earth. And everywhere He makes mention of life, and the oftener brings in this name, since nothing is so sweet to men as this thing. And you, then, can not only according to the mystical partaking eat and drink the flesh and blood of the Master, but also after another manner. For one eats the flesh when he walks by the practical life; for the flesh is hard to work, as the practical life also is toilsome; and one drinks the blood, as wine that gladdens the heart, who is contemplative; for contemplation is the more toilless, since drinking also is more toilless than eating.

Jn. 6:59–62. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said to them, Does this offend you? What and if you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? Why did He teach in the synagogue? At once wishing to catch the multitude, and at once showing that He is not contrary to the law that is read in the synagogues. And why did He bring forth such words into the midst, though about to profit none, but rather to offend many? For even His disciples, having heard, said, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” What, then, is the gain from these words? Even very much and great. For since they continually made mention of bodily food, and brought the manna forward into the midst, He, showing them that all those things were types and shadow, but the things now spoken by Him are the truth, for this cause says these things, and makes mention of spiritual food, that He may persuade them in some measure to look up from the things sensible, and to despise the types and the shadow, but to run to the truth. But they, being able to conceive nothing above sense, neither are bettered, but rather leap away and say, “This is an hard saying”—instead of “rough, unacceptable.” For how, being carnal, could one receive spiritual food, and bread coming down from heaven, and flesh eaten? And when you hear that His disciples leaped away, think not of the true disciples, but of those who followed Him in the rank of disciples, and were fashioned in appearance only as being taught by Him. For even among the disciples there were some who, as compared with the multitude, were called His disciples; for they remained with Him a longer time than the multitudes; but as examined against His true disciples, they were of no worth, having believed on Him for a season, and out of a cold, so to speak, warmth. And behold their senselessness. For when they ought to ask and learn the things they knew not, they leap away, and take nothing spiritually, but all according to the appearance. For since they heard “flesh,” they thought that He compels them to become flesh-eaters and blood-drinkers. But we that understand spiritually are not flesh-eaters, and are rather sanctified through such food. And wishing to show them that, as God, nothing of the things in their hearts escapes Him, He says, “Does this offend you? What and if you see me ascending into heaven, the manifest Son of man, where I was before as God?” For the same ascends as man, where He was before as God. And this He said, that He might lead them away from supposing Him to be the son of Joseph. For he that believed that He was in heaven before, will surely believe also that He is not the son of Joseph, but of God; and henceforth will be persuaded by the things spoken by Him. And hearing that the Son of man was in heaven before, think not that the body came down from heaven (for this is the raving of Marcellus the heresiarch and of Apollinarius); but since one and the same was Son of man and God the Word, it is so said, inasmuch as He was before in heaven as God.

Jn. 6:63–64. It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe. For Jesus knew from the start who did not believe, and who would betray him. Since, as we have often said, taking the things spoken by Christ carnally, they were offended, He says: To understand spiritually the things spoken by me, this it is that profits; but the flesh—that is, to receive them carnally—profits nothing, but becomes an occasion of offence. So indeed they, hearing carnally the things spoken by Christ, were offended. He adds, therefore, that “The words I have spoken are spirit”—that is, are spiritual, and are life, having nothing carnal, and procuring life eternal. And showing the dignity of the Godhead—I mean the revealing of the hidden things—He says to them that “Some of you do not believe.” And in saying “some,” He excepted the disciples. And the evangelist, wishing to show us that before the foundation of the world He knew all things, says that “From the start Jesus knew who did not believe,” and moreover the wickedness of the betrayer; which was a mark of God, who knows all things before they come to pass.

Jn. 6:65–67. And he said, Therefore said I to you, that no man can come to me, except it were given to him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus to the twelve, Will you also go away? Often we have said that, when you hear that the Father gives faith in the Son, think not that the Father benefits some by lot and others not—for this were of one that does injustice—but believe that the Father benefits those, and gives them the gift of faith, with whom their own choice works together. For he that is not worked together with by his own choice, neither, though taken up by God, is profited. What I mean is this: God gives to all, but some both receive, and use well that which is given, and, keeping it, show the gift of God; while others receive indeed, but, losing what is given, appear to have received nothing. When, then, the evangelist says that “Except it were given to one of the Father, he cannot come to the Son,” he says this: that he comes to the Son to whom the Father will give—that is, by whom the gift come to him from God should be kept. Many of the disciples, then, went back—that is, having cut themselves off from the Teacher, they advanced not to progress, but went backward, that is, to unbelief; for in truth he that cuts himself off from Christ goes backward, while he that, according to Paul, cleaves to the Lord ever reaches forth to the things before. And He, showing that He has need of none, nor of their service or attendance, says to them, “Will you also go away?” And why did He not rather praise the twelve, as not being carried away with the rest? At once keeping the dignity befitting a teacher, and at once showing to us also that by this manner one may rather draw men. For had He praised them, they might have suffered something human, and boasted, supposing that they did Him a favour by following. But to show that He has no need of their following was rather able to hold them, as being benefited rather than benefiting, and receiving a favour rather than giving one. And consider how prudently He spoke. For He said not, “Depart”—for this had been of one thrusting them away—but He asks, “Will you go away?” which made them lords of following or not; showing that He would not have them follow Him out of shame toward Him, but with thankfulness for the following.

Jn. 6:68–71. Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? you have the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that you are that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spoke of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. Peter, being tender-hearted and brotherly, answers in behalf of the whole choir. For he said not, “Lord, to whom shall I go?” and “I have known and believed,” but, “To whom shall we go?” and what follows. And he says that the Lord has the words of eternal life, since he had heard Him saying that “Him that believes on me I will raise up, and he shall have eternal life.” For already these had received the resurrection, and all the teaching. So that it was not the words that offended, but the inattention and sloth and thanklessness of the hearers. For these twelve also heard the same things, and yet were not offended, but remained. What, then, does Christ? Does He praise Peter, as elsewhere He did this? By no means, lest He should seem to flatter him for his remaining with Him. But what says He to Peter? “I indeed chose you twelve, yet not even you are all worthy of the choice, but one of you is a devil.” And this is to be understood in two ways. Either that, “Even now he slanders all that is mine, and accepts none of these things,” or that, “He will betray me.” For indeed such Judas showed himself, slandering the Lord to the Jews, and carrying out His mysteries to them; even as David also says of him, “He went forth, and spoke thereof together.” And the Lord says these things to Peter, correcting him. For since Peter said, “We have both known and believed,” “Think not this,” He says; “for you are not all faithful, neither have you all known me.” And observe me the Lord, how, while yet far off checking the wickedness of the betrayer and reining it back, He says these things; knowing indeed that it would profit nothing, yet doing His own part; and neither did He make him manifest, nor suffer him altogether to escape notice—the one, lest, made shameless, he should become more contentious; the other, lest he should work his daring deed without fear, as supposing himself to escape notice. And from this we learn also this, that God is not wont to make men good by necessity and force, neither does His choosing constrain our will, nor compel that which is evil to become good. But the choosing comes from God, who exhorts us to the good and spreads out before us His own goodness; while in our purpose and choice it lies to be saved and to walk worthily of the choosing, or the contrary. And marvel that the devil wars so mightily as to be able to snatch away one of the twelve—of them that raised the dead, and wrought wonders, and enjoyed the spiritual and life-giving teaching of the Lord. And where, henceforth, is there hope of salvation for us, who of our own will from youth have enslaved ourselves to wickedness? Wherefore the evangelist also, as marvelling, said the, “Being one of the twelve.” For “though,” he says, “he was of this holy choir, yet by his evil purpose he was found unworthy”; so self-changing a creature is man. And henceforth let the Manichaeans be gone. For we are not evil by nature; for else it would always have been working in him; but there was a time when he was holy. By choice, then, are the evil things chosen.

Chapter 7

Jn. 7:1–5. And Jesus walked after these things in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said to him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that your disciples also may see the works that you do. For there is no man that does any thing in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him. He withdraws because of the murderous Jews, not as fearing death; for it was in His power to walk even in the midst of them and suffer nothing. But had He always done such things, it would not have been believed that He had become man, but it would have seemed a phantasm. Wherefore now He withdraws, confirming and making sure the human nature, and putting to shame all those who say that He was incarnate in appearance—Manes, Marcion, and Basilides, and the like. And at another time again, being in the midst of them that thirst for murder and rave against Him, He remains unharmed, and shows the marks of the Godhead, putting to shame Paul of Samosata, and persuading all that He was not a mere man, but was also God. He withdraws, then, into Galilee now. For since the time of the passion was not yet come, it was vain and superfluous to dwell in the midst of His enemies, and to become to them an occasion of ever greater frenzy. “Now it was,” he says, “the feast of tabernacles.” It is worth while to speak about the feasts kept by the Jews. For there were three: one, that of the Passover, which they kept as having passed over out of Egypt, and which was the first among them; the second, Pentecost, which they kept as having been delivered from the evils in the wilderness, and having entered into the land of promise, and tasted then for the first time of the corn-fruit; wherefore also in this feast they brought sheaves as firstfruits. The third, the feast of tabernacles, which they kept as a thanksgiving for the gathering-in of the fruits in the month called September among the Romans. For then they gave thanks to the Lord, as having gathered in all the fruits. Wherefore also they pitched tents, that is, booths, and rejoiced, as living in the fields. Whence also certain of David’s psalms, bearing the inscription “For the winepresses,” some say were composed for this feast by David. For then they filled their winepresses, gathering the vintage, and giving thanks over these, and they used psalms and the other things that pertain to thanksgiving. Such is the eighth psalm. Wherefore also in it the prophet makes mention of the good things given by God to man. And these things were also a dark figure: the Passover, our passing over from unbelief to faith; Pentecost, our entrance into the Church as into another land of promise, when, namely, we also eat bread, partaking of the divine mysteries. For not at once upon believing and passing over from unbelief do we immediately also eat of the bread; but one must first be baptized, and become worthy to stand with the baptized in the Church, and then partake of the bread. And the feast of tabernacles is the resurrection, when all the fruits of our deeds are accomplished, and our tabernacles, dissolved through death, are again pitched together. There are also other more divine accounts concerning these feasts, which it is not now the time to tell; for we ever choose what is more profitable for the many. There being, then, a feast of the Jews called the feast of tabernacles, since His brethren saw Him not preparing to go up, envying Him they say, “Depart hence, and go there, that your disciples also”—that is, the multitudes that follow you—“may see the things you do.” For he speaks not of the twelve, but of those who otherwise followed Him. And His brethren—the sons of Joseph, namely—charge Him with two passions, cowardice and love of glory. Wherefore also they say, “For no man does any thing in secret”—which is of cowardice—“and himself seeks to be in open”—which is of love of glory. “If you do these things, show,” they say, “yourself to the world.” And here they darkly hint that, “Neither have we a good opinion of the things done by you. For if you do these things as good, show yourself; but if you hide them, it is manifest that, doing evil, you hide.” And why, having narrated nothing else in the five months but the sign concerning the loaves, and the discourse with them that ate, and then were thankless toward the Lord, did the evangelist leap over the rest, saying, “Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand”? For that he passed over in silence the works of five intervening months is plain from hence. For when He wrought the wonder of the loaves, it was the Passover, which was kept in the month called March among the Romans, called the first month among them; and now it is the feast of tabernacles, which is held about our September. Why, then, did the evangelist do this? Because it was not possible to recount everything. And besides, the evangelists were earnest to tell those things over which any blame or contradiction followed from the Jews. And it is worthy to marvel at their love of truth, how they are not ashamed to tell those things which seem to bring some dishonour upon the Teacher. Passing over, then, many wonders and words of the Lord, the evangelist narrates the unbelief of the brethren, and what they reproachfully cast at Him. And whence had they so great unbelief? From their purpose and from envy; for kinship is wont somehow ever to be envious. Yet consider, that having so great unbelief toward Him before the cross, when they both saw Him glorious, and bore witness to no dishonour concerning Him, the apostles afterward saw Him risen. For else they would not have received full assurance of His resurrection. […]

Jn. 7:6–8. Then Jesus said to them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hates, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go you up to this feast: I go not up yet to this feast; for my time is not yet full come. The brethren, envying the Lord, charge Him with cowardice and at the same time with boasting. But He, what says He to them? Does He speak harshly? Not so, but meekly. For He said not, “Who are you, that counsel and teach these things?” But what says He? “My time is not yet come”—that is, of the cross and of death; “but your time is always ready.” For you, He says, though you were ever with the Jews, they will not kill you, who emulate the same things as they; but me they will immediately wish to slay, if they see me come to the feast. Or this is to be understood otherwise also. For He that calls the mourners in the present world blessed utters things consequent now also, and able to pass over to all the saints. For there is not, He says, a time of feast for me, when I see all wickedness having its citizenship in the fulness of the Jews. For it is a time of lamentation and mourning, when truth is driven away, and the divine will is overborne. For these causes, then, there is for me no time of feast; but for you indeed, as having your citizenship in harmony with the Jews, and being attached to the world, it is not unsuitable to keep feast together with those like you. And you the world cannot hate—that is, they that mind the things of the world, as being, as has been said, like to them; but me it hates, because I reprove its works. For this becomes the cause of the hatred, reproof spoken with boldness. He sends, then, His brethren to the feast, showing that He constrains them not to abide with Him, if they will not. And consider, that to the two charges which they brought against Him—cowardice, I mean, and love of glory—He makes also two defences: against the cowardice, in saying, “I reprove the works of the world,” that is, of them that mind the things of the world; but I would not reprove, were I cowardly, as you suppose; and against the love of glory, in not constraining them to abide with Him. For if He were liable to the charge of love of glory, He would not have sent them away; since by the vainglorious and boastful it is rather earnestly sought to have many followers. Since, then, they reproached Him with these two things, fitly He withstood the two, showing their suspicion to be rotten. And the “My time is not yet full come” shows this, that the time of death and of the cross is not yet. For I must still live in the flesh, that I may both do more signs, and set forth more teachings, that I may prepare more multitudes to believe, and make the disciples firmer, both by the showing of more signs and by the teaching; that I may then cast myself upon them that rave against me.

Jn. 7:9–10. After saying this to them, he stayed on in Galilee. But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not openly, but as it were in secret. Why, having said to His brethren, “I go not up to the feast,” does He go up again? He said not once for all, “I go not up,” but, “Now”—that is, “With you.” In the beginning indeed He declined the going up, inasmuch as the Jews were boiling with wrath. But afterward, when the feast was about to be loosed, He goes up, when it was likely that their madness also had abated. And otherwise: He did nothing contrary to what He said. For He went up not to keep feast, but to teach; and not with the gladness which they that keep festival use, but secretly. And He is hidden, that He may confirm the human nature. For had He appeared, they would have raved against Him, wishing to kill Him. But He would not have permitted them to do this, inasmuch as the time of the passion was not yet come; but being in the midst of them, He would have escaped the passion, and would have seemed to be incarnate in phantasm; for this cause He flees and withdraws as man, dispensing His own affairs.

Jn. 7:11–13. Then the Jews were looking for him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the crowds concerning him: some said, He is good; others said, No; he deceives the people. Yet no one would speak of him openly, for fear of the Jews. Out of much hatred the Jews make not mention even of His name. For they say not, “Where is Jesus?” but, “Where is he?” so even at His bare name they were vexed. And consider me also their murderousness, how they spared not even the time of the feast, but wished to hunt Him down during it; wherefore also they sought Him; so much reverence and shame did they keep about the feasts, and such were their good deeds. And there was murmuring concerning Him among the multitudes, since there were different opinions about Him; the rulers saying that “He deceives the people,” but many saying that “He is good.” And these that said He was good were of the multitude. And that this is true is plain from the evangelist’s saying, that no one dared to speak openly for fear of the Jews; for it is manifest that they who dared not speak boldly for Him, and kept silence, fearing the Jewish rulers, were of the multitude. But also the saying “He deceives the people” is a token that they who slandered Him were of the rulers. For had they been of the multitude, they would have said, “He deceives us.” But now, saying “He deceives the people,” they show that they who say these things are not of the multitude, but of the rulers. And observe me everywhere the ruling part corrupted, but the ruled remaining incorrupt; only, because they had not a manlier judgment, but were still imperfect, they were without boldness.

Jn. 7:14–16. Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knows this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My teaching is not my own, but belongs to him who sent me. Why did He go up about the midst of the feast? That He might slacken their wrath, and at the same time that they might hear with leisure and attention the things spoken by Him, the feast no longer stopping their ears. For in the beginning of the feast it was likely that they were distracted about the things of the feast. Appearing, then, suddenly to them, all heard simply—both they that called Him good and they that called Him a deceiver: the one, to gain something and to marvel; the other, to lay hold of Him, and to seize Him as a deceiver. What He taught, the evangelist said not; but that He said certain marvellous things, by which He held them and changed their opinions into wonder, he showed by saying that “They marvelled, How knows he letters, having never learned.” Yet though they marvelled, not even thus was their judgment freed from wickedness. For they marvelled not at the teaching, nor received the things spoken, but they marvelled how He knew letters—that is, they were in perplexity, were astonished, which the envious are wont to suffer. As, for example: a man has a poor neighbour, and then perchance he often comes by a more costly garment; the envious neighbour, seeing this, says, “How is this man so costly clad, being most poor? Whence such a garment?” And he says this, not as truly marvelling, but burning with envy, and using such words for the slander of his neighbour: “Surely,” he says, “he stole the garments.” So then also the Jews: “How knows this man letters? Surely by Beelzebub.” And yet they ought rather from this to have considered that there was nothing human in Him. But since they would not confess this, He answers them, teaching them that the teaching is from the Father and God. “For nothing is mine,” He says, “nor do I speak anything of myself as an adversary of God, but whatever may be the Father’s, these are my words also.”

Jn. 7:17–18. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaks of himself seeks his own glory: but he that seeks his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Having said, “My doctrine is not mine”—that is, not contrary to God, but is the Father’s—He says that “If any man do the will of God”—that is, if any man lay claim to virtue, and serve not envy, nor be darkened by the vain envy toward me—he shall know the power of my words, whether I speak the things of the Father, or certain strange and altered things. And he also does the will of God who searches the Scriptures and the prophets. Such a one, then, is able to know concerning the Lord’s teaching, that it is from God. For the prophets bring not in the Lord as an adversary of God and speaking of Himself, but as speaking and doing all the things that seem good to God. Then He brings also another reasoning, saying, “He that speaks of himself”—that is, he that wishes to set up his own teaching—does this for no other cause than to snatch some glory to himself thereby. But if I, He says, wish not to reap my own glory, but seek the glory of him that sent me, for what cause should I wish to teach other things? I am, then, true, and there is no unrighteousness in me—that is, I snatch not a glory belonging to another; for this is unrighteousness. So that my teaching has both truth and righteousness together. For it comes not of boasting, that it should have both the false and the unjust. For the boaster both lies, in that he says concerning himself things above his worth, and does injustice, in that he snatches a glory belonging to another and nowise befitting him. But the Lord, since He sought the things of the Father, and boasted nothing concerning Himself, is altogether both true and just. And in many places we have said, and now also we say, that when the Lord appears to say certain lowly things, we must not suppose that He utters these as being less than the Father according to nature, but because He would not be thought an adversary of God, and because of the weakness of the hearers, and because He was clothed with flesh, and because He teaches us to be moderate, and to say nothing great concerning ourselves. But when He utters lofty things, and concerning His own glory, we must believe that, as being in truth equal to the Father, He utters these lofty things, because of the greatness of His own nature.

Jn. 7:19–20. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why go you about to kill me? The people answered and said, You have a devil: who goes about to kill you? It appears indeed that this which He now says preserves no connection with what went before; but to us that consider well, it is exceedingly consequent. For since they charged Him with loosing the sabbath and dissolving the law, against this He sets Himself, showing them rather to be transgressors of the law. For the law says, “You shall not kill”; but you seek to kill. So that you dissolve the law, not I. Leaving, then, the condemning of yourselves, you charge me as transgressing the law, because I healed a man on the sabbath. And the “None of you keeps the law” He said, because all to whom He spoke sought to kill Him. And observe, how He indeed discourses to them with a meek voice, but they insolently and with audacity say, “You have a devil”; for therefore they insult Him, thinking to confound and frighten Him beforehand. And He says that Moses gave the law, though He Himself was Moses’ Lord, and the giver of the law, because of the weakness and senselessness of the Jews. For how would they have borne to hear that it was not Moses who gave them the law, but that He Himself, Moses’ Master and Lord, was the giver of it?

Jn. 7:21–24. Jesus answered and said to them, I have done one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave to you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and you on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are you angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. From a certain syllogism He shows them raving against Him in vain, saying: “I have done one work on the sabbath, the raising up of the paralytic, and you all marvel for this”—instead of, “You are troubled, you are in tumult.” And yet Moses himself, that very lawgiver, loosed the sabbath, in that he commanded every soul to be circumcised on the eighth day. For it often befell that the eighth day, on which it was necessary to be circumcised, was a sabbath. So that, if the sabbath was loosed by Moses himself for circumcision’s sake, and the sabbath day hinders not a man from being circumcised, but, even though the eighth day chance to be a sabbath, the law concerning the rest of the sabbath is loosed, that the law of circumcision be not broken; if, then, these things are so, why are you angry and wroth with me, because on the sabbath I made a man whole and entire? And yet circumcision was not of Moses, but of the fathers; yet nevertheless this, though it was not of Moses, loosed the law concerning the sabbath laid down by Moses. And circumcision, though it works pain, is not hindered by the sabbath; but I, having freed a man from pain and made him whole, am I slandered? “Judge not according to the appearance”—instead of, “Vote justly and without respect of persons.” Set not Moses, who looses the sabbath through circumcision, outside of blame, and condemn me, and that for having loosed the sabbath to a man’s benefit. For that you set Moses outside of blame because of the dignity of his person is plain.

Jn. 7:25–27. Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaks boldly, and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? However we know this man whence he is: but when Christ comes, no man knows whence he is. Not simply and in vain is added the “Some of them of Jerusalem,” but that he may show that they who had most enjoyed the great signs, these were the most wretched of all. For how are they not wretched, who, having seen a great sign of His Godhead, are still corrupt in judgment? For they had a great sign, had they been willing—His speaking with boldness in the midst of them that raved against Him, and suffering nothing by them. But they would not from this sign recognise His power. And they doubt, saying, “Do the rulers indeed know that this is truly the Christ?” And not even on this opinion do they abide, but reason thus: “Of the Christ no man knows whence he comes; but this man we know whence he is; therefore this is not the Christ.” And yet behold the wickedness, how it contradicts even itself. Their rulers, when asked by Herod, say that the Christ is born in Bethlehem of Judaea; but these say that no man knows the Christ, whence he is. Do you see the contradiction of voice? And again elsewhere they say, “We know that God spoke to Moses; but as for this man, we know not whence he is.” Saw you the words of madmen? “We know,” and, “We know not.” What is equal to this madness? For they looked to one thing only, not to be persuaded. Wherefore, when it was to their advantage, they said, “We know”; and when again it was not to their advantage, they maintained, “We know not.” Of their wickedness, then, is so great a contradiction of voice. And one might inquire, whence moved do these say that “When Christ comes, no man knows whence he is”? For unless they had some testimony from the Scriptures, or sure traditions, they would not have spoken things so manifestly contrary to the scribes in Herod’s time, who said openly that “In Bethlehem of Judaea he is born”; and again to those who say that “Out of Bethlehem the village the Christ comes.” What, then, is to be said? That both spoke these things from the prophets. For both they that say He is born in Bethlehem and is of the village of David, and they that say no man knows whence He is, manifestly had the prophet Micah as witness, saying, as Matthew also says, “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, are not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of you shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.” And these again that say that no man knows the Christ, whence he comes, had the prophets as witnesses of such an opinion; and Micah himself saying that “His goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity”; which shows His going forth, that is, His generation, to be unknown. For Him that has His goings forth, that is, His generation, from the beginning and from the days of eternity, no man of men could know. For men are in time, but He is from the days of eternity and from the beginning; and how should he that is under time know the eternal? But Isaiah also says, “And his generation who shall declare?” Persuaded, then, from these things, they said that “No man knows the Christ, whence he is.” For they considered not that the Lord Jesus, being twofold, according to His birth in the flesh from the Virgin was known whence He is, that He is from Bethlehem; but according to the incorporeal and more ineffable generation from the Father before all the ages, is said to have a generation above all declaration. These men of Jerusalem, then, confess that they know the birth in the flesh, and whence it is; but the birth before the ages, according to which no man knows the Christ whence he is, they confess not. Wherefore, not reckoning that, being twofold, the one is known and the other not, they say that He is not the Christ.

Jn. 7:28–29. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, You both know me, and you know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom you know not. But I know him: for I am from him, and he has sent me. Since they said, “We know this man, whence he is,” for no other cause than wishing to show that He is of the earth, and that He is a carpenter’s son, for this cause He leads them up to heaven, saying, “You both know me, and you know whence I am”—that is, Though through wickedness you conceal it, yet you know whence I am, that I am from heaven. For since my Father is thence, it is manifest that I also am thence, and that I was sent from Him who is true. And since He is true, I also should be true, and no deceiver. For the true one would not have wished to send a deceiver and a liar. But this One that sent me, you indeed know not, but are ignorant with the ignorance that is through works. For, as Paul says, there is an ignorance in knowledge. They confess, he says, that they know God, but in works they deny Him. And you, then, the Jews, know not my Father because of your evil works and your most wicked judgment. But I know Him. For neither evil judgment, nor works displeasing to Him, hinder me from the knowledge of Him. For I am from Him—that is, of Him, not of another essence, nor alien to Him—and He has sent me. And observe here the two natures of Christ made plain: by the “I am from him,” the essence of the Godhead; and by the “And he has sent me,” the human nature; for He is called an apostle according to the human nature, even as the Son of God is also called a servant.

Jn. 7:30–31. Then they sought to seize him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. And many of the crowd believed on him, and said, When the Christ comes, will he do more signs than this man has done? The evangelist, showing that they were invisibly held back, and that He suffered willingly, and not from inability, says that “They sought to take him, and no man laid hands on him.” And the “His hour was not yet come” he said, not that He was subject to times, but that He does all things in their hour, and in the fitting and befitting season. For when He reckoned that to suffer was seasonable—namely, according to the fair and fitting time—then He yielded Himself to them that crucified Him. For He does and dispenses all things in fair and fitting seasons. For example: the law had to be given, but in the fitting season; the prophets likewise, and the Gospel. The name, then, of “hour” indicates the exactness of the wisdom and the providence of the Saviour. And many believed on Him, saying, “Will the Christ do more signs than this man has done?” And they speak concerning the wine in Cana, the nobleman’s son, the paralytic, the loaves, and simply all the other things, which not even the evangelists, because of their multitude, make mention of by name. Yet though you hear that many believed, their faith was not exact, but such as is likely to be of a common throng, shifted now this way, now that, in their opinions.

Jn. 7:32–36. The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Then said Jesus to them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go to him that sent me. You shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, there you cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, Where will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go to the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this that he said, You shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, there you cannot come? By the things over which the multitude murmured, he showed that they had a kindlier disposition, and a certain partial faith toward the Lord, and that they wished to be severed from the rulers; which the rulers perceiving, sent to seize Him, for this only, that He was believed to be Christ. And they sent, but came not themselves, fearing the multitude, lest they should make some commotion; wherefore they send the officers, withdrawing themselves from the danger that might perhaps befall, but giving up those to the wrath of the multitude; thus everywhere they looked to their own interest. But the Lord utters words full of lowliness: “Yet a little while am I with you.” Why, He says, are you earnest that I depart? Why do you persecute? Wait a little while, and even against your will I will not suffer myself to be held. And observe also the “I am with you”—that is, Though you persecute, though you drive me out, I am with you; that is, I dispense the things that are for your good, and speak the things that are to salvation. “And I go to him that sent me.” Here also He affrights them, as those about to offend Him that sent Him. For they that dishonour the sent, it is plain offend Him that sent. And in saying “I go,” He showed the willingness of His death. And showing that His end shall not be such as the common one, He says that “Where I go, there you cannot come.” For if His end were common and like to that of the many, and He were to remain in death, He would not have said, “You cannot come”; for all of us depart to the common death. Wishing, then, to show what He said—that His death is not such as the common one—He says, “Where I go, you cannot come.” And the saying “You shall seek me, and shall not find me” shows that He shall be longed for by them. And when did they seek Him? Luke said that many women bewailed Him; and it is likely that many others also suffered this; but also, when the city was being taken, that they remembered Christ and His wonders, and sought His presence. And all these things He said, wishing to draw them and to bend them down. For since the officers came, wishing to seize Him, He shows that He knows the cause of their coming, and that they wish to slay Him. Wherefore He foretells them His own death, that it is short, and that He goes to the Father. And to foretell His death was a great thing and not human. Wherefore David also says, “Lord, make me to know mine end.” And the Jews said, “Will he go to the dispersion of the Greeks?” Observe how they suffered something and were bent down toward the things spoken by Him; and this is plain from their asking, “Will he go to the dispersion of the Greeks?” For if it were not so, they would have said, “Will you depart? We pray for this, we welcome this.” But now nothing of the kind, but as though in agony lest they be deprived of Him, they seek where He is about to depart. And this is plain also from their saying that “He is about to go to the Greeks, and to teach them.” For they said not, “He is about to deceive them,” but, “to teach.” And they called the Gentiles “the dispersion,” as being scattered in every place. For the Jews of old mingled not with them, but, gathered in one place, in Palestine, they reproached the Gentiles as being everywhere scattered; which was turned back upon themselves afterward; for the Hebrews themselves have rather become a dispersion.

Jn. 7:37–38. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. The first day of the feast and the last—that is, the seventh—they named “great,” since the law also called the seventh day of the feast “a holy convocation.” Following this, then, the evangelist also names the last day “great.” Fitly, then, on the last day He discourses to the multitudes, giving them, as it were, certain provisions for the way as they were about to depart home. For to discourse to them on the intervening days, given up to luxury, was unseasonable; for neither would they have given heed. And Jesus cried, at once that He might be heard, and at once showing His boldness, and that He feared no one. What, then, says He? “He that believes on me, as the scripture has said”; for here one must place a stop, then from another beginning must read the “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” For since many believed from the signs, showing that one ought not so to believe from the signs as from the Scriptures (for the corrected faith is from the Scriptures), for this cause He says, “He that believes on me, as the scripture has said”—that is, As the Scripture witnesses concerning me, that I am Son of God, that I am Creator, that I am Lord of all, that I am Saviour of the world. For many seemed to believe, but not as the Scripture said, but as they followed their own heresies; such are all the heretics. And He said that “rivers” flow out of the belly of him that so believes, naming the heart figuratively “belly”; as David also, “And your law in the midst of my belly”—that is, of my heart. And He said that “rivers” flow, and not “a river,” of living water, hinting at the ungrudging grace and the abundance of the Spirit. For such is the Spirit: into whatever soul it enters, and in whomever it is settled, it makes it gush forth more ungrudgingly than every fountain. And one might learn how rivers flow out of the belly of him that believes according to the Scriptures, if he consider the tongue of Peter, and the rush of Paul, by whom all were swept along as by certain rivers.

Jn. 7:39. (But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) The evangelist, interpreting who are the rivers of living water, says that “This he spoke concerning the Spirit, which they that believe were about to receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet,” he says. But here one might inquire: How does the evangelist say that the Holy Ghost was not yet—given, that is? And yet the prophets spoke by the Spirit; and the apostles, how then wrought they the healings? We say, then, that the prophets spoke by the Spirit confessedly, but this grace was contracted, and withdrew from the earth. So that, though it wrought in the times of the prophets, yet then, because of the unworthiness of the people—when, I mean, Christ walked in the flesh—prophecy dwelt not in the land, nor did the grace overlook their holy things and the temple. Since, then, at that time the energy of the Spirit was not, but was about to be given, for this cause he says that “The Holy Ghost was not yet”—that is, having its citizenship among the Jews, and appearing through the energies. And the apostles wrought the wonders not in the Spirit, but in the authority of the Lord. For hear also the Gospel, what it says, that, being about to send them, He gave them authority, but not the Holy Ghost. So that whatever wonders they did, they did not by the Spirit, but by the authority and name of the Lord. But when He rose from the tomb, then He said to them, “Receive you the Holy Ghost”; and at Pentecost the Holy Ghost came upon them. And besides, even if the power of the Spirit was in the prophets, and in the apostles before the cross, yet not thus as after the ascension—abundant, namely, and ungrudging, so as to be compared even to rivers. So that fitly the evangelist said that “The Holy Ghost was not yet”—that is, not so abundantly poured out as afterward; since before the cross it was indeed, but not so abundantly. For Jesus was not yet glorified, the evangelist here naming the cross “glory.” For through the cross He cast down the tyrant, and reigned. The cross, then, not yet being fixed, nor sin being cursed, nor our nature in Christ having conquered the world, and been reconciled to God, fitly the abundant grace of the Spirit was not given. For we had first to become friends of God, which was accomplished through the cross, and then so to receive the gift of God; as also in worldly matters, one first becomes the king’s friend, then receives the gifts. Thanks, then, be to God, who lavished on us so great grace as not even on the prophets. For the prophets indeed had grace of the Spirit, but imparted it not to others; but the apostles filled tens of thousands.

Jn. 7:40–43. Many of the crowd therefore, when they heard these words, said, This truly is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Does the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the scripture said that Christ comes of the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was? So there arose a division among the people because of him. Put to shame by the boldness of His words, certain of the multitude—not of the rulers (for the rulers ever, through envy, opposed)—confess that “This is the prophet, the expected one.” Others, as being an unlearned and inconsiderate multitude, said that “He is the Christ”; not understanding that He Himself is, and that the Christ and the prophet are not one and another. But the more thankless said, “Does the Christ come out of Galilee? but out of Bethlehem and of the seed of David.” And this they said with a malignant judgment, and not like Nathanael. For he, as learned in the law and exact, said, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Wherefore also the Lord praised him, as saying this not malignantly, but according to legal exactness. But these say it deceitfully, that the Christ comes not out of Galilee. For they seem indeed to know that Jesus is of Bethlehem, though He was brought up in Galilee; but out of envy not to be willing to confess the birth from Bethlehem, but to surname Him a Galilean. But grant that they were ignorant of His being from Bethlehem; the “of the seed of David,” how did they doubt it? For was it not manifest that Mary drew her descent from David? From this, then, it is plain that they said these things malignantly. And a division arose in the multitude, not among the rulers. For the rulers were of one mind, not to receive Him as Christ.

Jn. 7:44–46. And some of them wanted to seize him; but no man laid hands on him. Then the officers went back to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said to them, Why have you not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spoke like this man. The more moderate in wickedness opposed the glory of Christ in words only; but the more shameless wished also to lay hands on Him; yet nevertheless they were invisibly fettered, the divine power holding them; and not even by this wonder were they pricked. Truly did David say concerning these, “They were divided, and were not pricked.” But the officers that were sent to bring Him—let us see what they answer to the Pharisees, as being very right-minded. For the Pharisees, who seemed to be wiser, and read the Scriptures, and saw the wonders, rave against the Lord, and ask after the manner of robbers, “Why have you not brought him?” But these, even without signs, were persuaded by the teaching alone; so well-disposed were they toward the good. And that they were caught not by signs, but by the teaching, which is the greater thing, is plain from hence. For they said not, “Never man so wrought wonders,” but, “so spoke”; so well-knit were they and quick to receive the word of salvation. And one must marvel not only at their understanding, but also at their boldness. For they cowered not before the wrath of the Pharisees, nor, as officers, drew back, and said the things pleasing to their rulers, but they bear witness to the truth. Whom all that attend upon rulers ought to imitate, and not to obey them in whatever they may unjustly command; as also came to pass in the case of Saul. For when he commanded the priests of God to be slain unlawfully, they that stood by him were not persuaded to do it.

Jn. 7:47–51. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knows not the law are cursed. Nicodemus says to them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) Does our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he does? Wherefore do the Pharisees deal with the officers not wrathfully, but meekly and gently, saying thus, “Are you also deceived?” Because they feared lest these too should be wholly severed off, and join themselves to Christ. Wherefore the more mildly and the more flatteringly they say to them, “Are you also”—you that are forsooth wiser than the rest, and abide with us that are learned in the law—“deceived?” And they try to persuade them from a token very senselessly: “For has,” say they, “any of the rulers believed on him?” And yet whose is the charge? Christ’s, or theirs that believed not? For surely those are to be condemned that believed not. And they call the multitude “cursed,” because it believed; themselves being worthy of ten thousand curses, unbelieving, and to others authors of unbelief. Why does the evangelist note concerning Nicodemus that he came by night to Jesus, and that he was one of them? That he may show them to be lying. For since they said, “Has any of the rulers believed on him?” he shows that in this also they lie. For lo, Nicodemus, being a ruler, and one of them, believed on Christ. How, then, does Nicodemus discourse with them? “Does our law,” says he, “condemn the man, except it first hear him?” He shows, then, from hence, that they neither read the law, nor did the things of the law, though they prided themselves greatly on legal matters. For if the law commands no man to be slain without judgment, but these set themselves to this before hearing, they are manifest transgressors of the law. And in saying, “And know what he does,” he intimated that there is need not of a bare hearing, but of an exceedingly exact one, so as to know what one must do, and not thus to condemn without knowledge. […]

Jn. 7:52. They answered and said to him, Are you also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee arises no prophet.

Chapter 8

Jn. 8:12. So Jesus spoke to them again: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Nicodemus having most prudently reproved the Pharisees as commanding things unlawful, they, being at a loss, used a more boorish, or rather more brutish, answer, saying, “Are you also of Galilee?” For what connection has this with the things said by Nicodemus? He said that one ought not to condemn a man without examination and judgment; they ought altogether to have answered to this, and shown that they condemn Jesus not without judgment, but lawfully, and that they sent the officers to seize Him, and do all things fittingly. But what say they? “Are you also of Galilee?” Do you see the senselessness? do you see the incoherence of their words? Then, insulting Him as unlearned, they say, “Search, and look: for out of Galilee arises no prophet”—that is, Go, learn, since until now you have not learned, that “Out of Galilee arises no prophet.” And mocking Him for unlearnedness, they say these things. But what said Nicodemus, O Pharisees? Did he say that Jesus is a prophet? He said that one ought not to slay without judgment. How, then, do you thus answer one that said such things? But Christ, since up and down they brought Galilee against Him, and disputed about Him as about one of the prophets, showing them that He is not one of the prophets, says that “I am the light”—the proper light, not a prophetic light, partial, namely, and having a small shining, but the true light, not bounded by the limits of Galilee or Palestine, but I am the light of the world, and the Master of all men; and concerning me the prophet said the, “Behold, I have set you for a light of the Gentiles.” And you shall use against Nestorius the present saying also; for He said not, “In me is the light of the world,” but, “I am the light of the world.” For He Himself, the manifest man, the same was both Son of God and light of the world; not, as Nestorius raved, that in the mere man the Son of God dwelt—far from it!—for one, as has been said, was the Son of Mary and of God. And “Whoever follows me,” He says, “will not walk in darkness”—that is, will not abide in error, but will be freed from error and from the darkness. And at the same time He darkly hints also at Nicodemus and them that are like him, as being in the light; and at the Pharisees as being in darkness, and secretly weaving their wiles.

Jn. 8:13–14. The Pharisees therefore said to him, You bear record of yourself; your record is not true. Jesus answered and said to them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and where I go; but you cannot tell whence I come, and where I go. Since He said, “I am the light of the world,” they blame Him as bearing witness concerning Himself. O the folly! He up and down drew the Scriptures that witnessed concerning Himself, and they blame Him as witnessing concerning Himself; wherefore, to their malignity He also answers them: “Be it so, I bear witness concerning myself—and yet I do not this, but have three witnesses, my Father, and the works, and the Scriptures, even as has been said above; yet let us grant that I bear witness concerning myself. Though, then, I bear witness to myself, my witness is true, because I know that I am of God, and not a mere man, but coming from above and God. How, then, shall my witness be false, who am God, and therefore worthy to be believed? For surely God is a witness worthy of belief to Himself. But also, being about to depart to God who is true, how should I lie, being about to depart to Him that is true?”

Jn. 8:15–16. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, because I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent me. “I indeed,” He says, “being God, and having come from above, bear true witness concerning myself; but you, looking only to the appearance, and because I am in the flesh, suppose me to be mere flesh, and not also God, and come from God. You judge according to the flesh”—that is, unsafely. For as he that lives in the flesh is said to live basely, so also he that judges according to the flesh would be said to judge unjustly. Then, as though one said, “If we the Jews judge unjustly, why do you not punish, why do you not condemn?” He says that “I did not come for this, that I should judge. For I judge no one now; and even if I do judge, my judgment is true.” For you would have been condemned, had I wished to judge. But now you escape the condemnation, not because I am unable to condemn you, but because it is not now the time. For to the second coming I store up your condemnation; as also elsewhere He says, that I came not to judge the world, but to save it. Since that He Himself is the judge of all, hear the unlying mouth, that the Father has given all judgment to the Son. So that when you hear, “I judge no one,” understand this said not concerning the coming to be, but the former coming. And in saying that “I am not alone, but my Father also is with me,” He showed that “Not I alone condemn you, but the Father also.” For I judge not in one way and the Father in another; but as I, so also He; and as He, so also I.

Jn. 8:17–18. It is written also in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am the one bearing witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me. Let the Arians and the Eunomians speak here, who say that the Son is not consubstantial with the Father. If He were not consubstantial, how would He have dared to say that “I am of the same authority and trustworthiness with the Father”? For as, when two men bear witness concerning something, and their witness is true, it is manifest that their trustworthiness also is one; so here too He shows His own witness to be in nothing less than that of the Father. For hear what follows, spoken with authority: “I am the one bearing witness about myself, and the Father also bears witness about me.” Do you see the equal authority, and how He makes Himself worthy of belief, even as the Father? Which He would not have dared to say, were He inferior to the Father in worth, and not equal to Him and consubstantial. For if He had wished to show some subjection and lessening, He would not have numbered Himself with the Father, and ranged His own witness with the Father’s; but, being a servant, as the heretics impiously hold, He would have looked to one of His fellow-servants, and made him a co-witness—John, I mean, or the prophets; or simply, if He wished such witnesses, He would have found ten thousand. But now, wishing to show the consubstantiality which He has with the Father, He numbers Himself with the Father. And marvel not, if elsewhere He brings forward both John, and Moses, and the prophets, as witnessing concerning Him; for He does this with a view to the supposition of the hearers; and since they set John and Moses before Him, for this cause He draws to witness those esteemed by them glorious and great. So that, since they had a great opinion concerning God the Father also (and what else but that they glorified Him as God?), He brings forward now even that very One who is God over all, as witness. And since He ranges Himself also with such a witness, the indisputable and most unlying, it is most manifest that He is of the same authority and power with the Father. And let them be ashamed who call Him a servant and in all things less than the Father.

Jn. 8:19–20. Then said they to him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You neither know me, nor my Father: if you had known me, you should have known my Father also. These words spoke Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. Since as tempting Him they asked concerning the Father, and not for the sake of learning, for this cause He vouchsafes them not even an answer, but says, “You neither know me, nor my Father”—that is, You cannot know my Father without me; so that, though you seem to honour God, yet if you believe not Him to be Father of me the true Son, you are nothing profited. Neither do you know Him as you ought to know Him, since you would have known and honoured me also; but now, since you know not me, neither honour me, neither know you Him, nor render Him honour, though you seem to. And of your not knowing me none other is to you the cause, but you yourselves. Do you hear, you that impiously subject the Son to the Father? If He were not consubstantial with the Father, how could He have said, “If you had known me, you should have known my Father also”? For if, according to you, the Son is a creature, how does he that knows the creature know also God? For surely he that knows the essence of the angel knows not also that of God. Since, then, he that knows the Son knows also the Father, the Son is therefore of the same essence with Him. “Yea,” one says, “but he that knows the creation knows also God.” By no means; for many, or rather all, both see and know the creation, but God neither does any one see nor know. And these things Jesus spoke in the treasury, in the midst of the temple, and thus He spoke with boldness. And yet, thirsting for His blood, and having Him in their hands, they dared not seize Him. Not even thus did they understand that it is the work of divine power, in truth, to be encompassed in the midst of enemies and yet preserved unharmed and unassailed, and that too while they sought Him before the Passover and lay in wait for Him. Him, then, whom, when absent, they sought, and against whom, even absent, they were savage, when they had Him in the midst of their nets, and then could not take Him, not even thus did they recognise His power. “For his hour,” he says, “was not yet come”—that is, the fitting season of His death was not yet at hand, in which He was about to give Himself. For not even then would they have prevailed against Him, had it not been the befitting time, which He Himself stored up for Himself. For the being crucified was not of weakness, but of permission. For He permitted it, when He willed; since they indeed of old longed to slay Him, but were held back by the invisible bonds of His strength. For He had to abide yet longer in the life according to the flesh, that He might become an author of more profit to men, both through the showing of more signs, and through the words of teaching. And some understand the “Where is your Father?” to be said by the Jews to the Lord thus, as for insult and reproach. For insulting Him as born of fornication, and as not knowing His Father, they say these things; or also they say this as of His reputed father Joseph being of mean estate: “Where is your Father?” as if saying, “He is obscure and of low degree.”

Jn. 8:21–24. Then said Jesus again to them, I go my way, and you shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: where I go, you cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he says, Where I go, you cannot come. And he said to them, You are from beneath; I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins. Why does He often say to them the “I go my way, and you shall seek me”? That He may shake and frighten their souls. For observe how they immediately fell into anxiety, who in perplexity said, “Will he kill himself?” though they longed to be rid of Him, and prayed that He should be taken out of the way, and somewhere even wished to slay Him; yet they imagined something so great concerning the matter as to be in perplexity about it. And He often says, “I go my way,” showing that He foreknows His own death, and that the cross is not the work of their power, but of His own will. “For I go my way,” He says; you lead me not, but I go willingly. And in saying that “You cannot come where I go,” He shows that He shall rise in glory, and shall sit at the right hand of God, but they shall die in their sins. They, then, what say they to this? “Will he kill himself?” But the Lord, taking away this their suspicion, and showing that the killing of oneself is not without condemnation, says: You, being from beneath, and able to conceive nothing divine, consequently conceive such things; but I, not being of this world—that is, minding nothing worldly and earthly—would never come to such madness as to kill myself; for this is devilish, and not divine. But here Apollinarius, laying hold of the saying, says, altogether following the Manichaeans, that “Do you see? the body of the Lord was not of this world, but from above out of heaven, as Paul also says, that The second man is the Lord from heaven.” What, then, is to be said? He must by all means be asked, how he understands the saying spoken to the apostles by the Lord, that “You are not of the world.” Was it as though their bodies also were from heaven, and not of this creation, or because they minded not the things of the world, that the Lord said this? It is altogether plain that, since they minded not the things of the world, for this cause He said this to them. So then also is to be understood the “I am not of the world”—that is, I am not as one of you that mind the things of the world; as Paul also says to certain, “You are not in the flesh”; he says not that they are bodiless, but bears witness to them of a philosophic life and of deliverance from carnal passions. What, then, says the Lord again to them? “Except you believe me,” He says, “you shall die in your sins.” For if He came for this, that He might take away the sin of the world, and it is not possible otherwise to receive remission of sins than through baptism, but it is impossible for him that has not believed to be baptized; there is then every necessity that the unbeliever die in his own sin. For he put not off the old man, because he was not baptized; and he that believes not is already judged, and so departs.

Jn. 8:25–27. Then they said to him, Who are you? And Jesus said to them, Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say and to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true; and I speak to the world what I have heard from him. They did not understand that he was speaking to them of the Father. After so long a time, after the showing of so many signs, they ask Him, “Who are you?” So senseless were they, and insolent, and mockers. But the Lord says, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.” You, He says, are unworthy even to hear at all the words from me, much less to learn who I am; for all things you say as tempting, and willing to attend to nothing of the things from me. But I was able both to reprove you, and not only to reprove, but also to punish. For these two things He hints at, in saying, “I have much to say and to judge concerning you”; by the “to say,” signifying the reproving; by the “to judge,” the condemning and sentencing. “But he who sent me,” He says, sent me not for this, that I should judge and reprove. For God sent not His Son to judge the world, but to save the world. Since, then, my Father sent me to save, and He is true, fitly I judge no man now, but only speak the things I heard from my Father—the things, namely, to salvation, not the things to reproof. And these things He said, that they might not suppose that He punishes them not as being unable; He shows, then, that not as being unable, but as not willing to punish them, He does it not, inasmuch as He came not to punish, but to save. And while He said these things, so senseless were they that they understood not, he says, that He spoke to them of His Father. And yet how much had He discoursed to them concerning the Father? But truly their foolish heart was darkened. And some understand thus the “But he who sent me is true”: “I was able even now to judge you, but I keep this for the age to come. And you disbelieve, and reckon not on the time of recompense. But though you disbelieve, yet my Father is true, who appointed a day in which it shall be recompensed to you, who also sent me to proclaim these things, and to manifest to the world His righteousness and power.”

Jn. 8:28–29. So Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing of myself; but I speak these things as my Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone, for I always do the things that please him. Since, having done many signs, He drew not these men, He discourses to them concerning the cross. “For you,” He says, “shall then seem to be in complete freedom from care, and to be rid of me, when, namely, you shall crucify me. But I say that you shall know that I am”—that is, the Christ, the Son of God, who bears and leads all things, and that I am not contrary to the Father, neither do nor speak of myself; for I have no private will separated from the Father’s. And how were they about to know Him in the cross? From the signs at that time, from the resurrection and from the capture of the city. For all these things were sufficient to manifest His strength. Both things, then, you shall know—both my strength, when you crucify me, and my concord with the Father. For the Father would not have either avenged me, delivering up your city to the Romans, or wrought signs in the cross, were I not His Son, and of one mind with Him, and not an adversary of God. Then, therefore, you shall know that whatever I teach and say are from Him, divine altogether and words of God, and not mine, but His that sent me. Then, lest they should suppose that the being sent and dispatched signifies subjection, He says that “My Father is with me.” For though He sent me as man, yet I was not separated from Him, but He is with me, as God present with God. And again bringing down the discourse to the lowlier, He says, “And he has not left me alone; for I do the things that please him.” And these lowly things He utters because of the Jews. For since they said, “He is not of God, because he keeps not the sabbath,” He says, “I do the things that please him. So that, even if I loose the sabbath, this is pleasing to Him.” And by these lowly words He Himself in nothing harmed His own glory, but wrought profit to the hearers, or rather established His glory also thereby. For they that heard Him referring all things to the Father were the more attached to Him, and believed on Him; so that the lowly things rather exalted Him. Do you see the achievements of blessed lowliness? And that these things are so, hear what follows.

Jn. 8:30–32. As he spoke these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Since I said that by the lowlier words the hearers were the more drawn, this also the evangelist notes. “For as He spoke these words,” he says, “many believed”—these lowly words, and seemingly unworthy of His glory. So that everywhere, when you hear Him saying certain small and mean things concerning Himself, be not troubled. For because of the hearers He utters these things, who could conceive nothing loftier, but immediately grew savage. And why should they not suffer this, being unable to reach the depth of the theological mystery, when even to Christians who have known His power, and have been saved through Him, the height of His glory has become unattainable? And when you hear that “many believed,” understand thus, that these believed simply, and at random, not as they ought, but as it were pleased and resting upon the lowliness of the words. And that they were not such believers—exact, namely—is plain. For He said, he says, to the Jews which believed, “If you continue in my word.” For He hints that they had believed indeed, but superficially, and for this cause would not abide in the faith. And reproving them as being thus disposed, He shows that He saw their hearts, and is God. And since some had departed, who before seemed to be His disciples, for this cause to those that now believed He says, that “Those indeed departed; but if you continue in my word and faith, you shall know the truth”—that is, Me; for I am the truth. For now you know not the truth; for not truth, but type and shadow, are all the things of the law, which you think to keep. But if you know me, who am the truth, the truth shall make you free—that is, I, namely, from your sins. For he that believes on Him that takes away the sin of the world is wholly freed from sins. As, then, to the unbelievers He said, “You shall die in your sins,” so to them that continue in the faith He promises the freedom from sins. For the things of the law freed not from sins; for they were types. But the spiritual freedom sets us free, who are no longer servants.

Jn. 8:33–36. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how do you say, You shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abides not in the house for ever: but the Son abides ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Again the boasters, looking to their reputed nobility, grow savage, saying, “We be Abraham’s seed.” And yet they ought to have been indignant at another thing, if indeed they ought to be indignant at all. For He said to them, “You shall know the truth.” They ought, then, to have said, “What? do we not now know the truth, but is all that is of the law, and our knowledge, a lie?” But of none of these things had they care, but they grieve over worldly matters, supposing such bondage and low birth to be reproached to them: “We be Abraham’s seed.” Nowhere do they make mention of their own good deeds, but run up to the fathers; wherefore also John says to them, “Begin not to say, We have Abraham to our father.” And yet they manifestly lied, saying that they had been in bondage to none. For they served, as often as they were led captive—the Egyptians, and the Babylonians, and many others. But the Lord reproves them not as lying, since He was not earnest to show them servants of men, but of sin, which is also the most grievous bondage, from which God alone can deliver. For to remit sins is of God alone. Wherefore He says, “Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin”; and you, then, are servants, inasmuch as you are sinners. Then, since it was likely that they would say, “Even if we are subject to such bondage, yet we have sacrifices, yea, priests, who shall cleanse us from our sins,” He says that “Those also are servants. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” And so those priests of yours, being themselves also servants, have no authority to remit to others sins. Which Paul also says more plainly, that “The priest is bound to offer for himself, as also for the people, since he himself also is compassed with infirmities.” “The servant,” He says, “abides not in the house”—that is, has no authority to bestow favours, inasmuch as he is not master of the house; but the Son is master of the house, and abides in the house. And by “house” He means the authority, as also elsewhere He so names the rule, saying, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” Those priests of yours, then, being servants, had no authority to remit; but I the Son, abiding in the house—in the authority, I mean, and the lordly sovereignty, and being master of the house—bestow on you freedom. For all things are mine, and I am of equal power, and of equal authority with the Father; and if I make you free, then shall you be honoured with the true freedom, whereas now you falsely ascribe to yourselves a false freedom; and you shall be in very truth free.

Jn. 8:37–38. I know that you are Abraham’s seed; but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do that which you have seen with your father. “You indeed,” He says, “make yourselves Abraham’s seed; and I too agree to this, that you preserve the fleshly kinship toward that holy man; only the kinship according to the spirit is absent from you. He was just, and loving to men, and hospitable; but you, that I may pass over the rest of your life, and examine only the manifest thing which you now do, are murderous and unloving; for you seek to kill me, and cry out against me. How, then, are you truly his sons, falling so far short of the fatherly characters? If, then, you boast of the kinship, you ought also to imitate his virtue.” Then, lest they should be able to say, “Justly we seek to kill you,” He sets down the cause: “For you rave against me,” He says, “for no other reason than because my word is loftier than your understanding, and not to be contained by you.” And yet you ought not for this to slay, but rather to deem me worthy, that I might teach you the loftiness of the doctrines, and to honour and attend me. Then, lest they should say to Him, “And with reason we hate you for your word; for you speak to us not from God, but from yourself, and for this cause neither can we contain your teaching,” He says that “I speak not of myself, but the things I have seen with my Father, these I speak; and you also do the things you have seen with your father. For I,” He says, “utter divine and heavenly things, and through these I make manifest my Father; and you also image your own father, by the things you do—the devil, namely.” And when you hear Him saying, “What I have seen I speak,” conceive not a bodily seeing, but a natural knowledge, both true and assured. For as eyes seeing soundly that which is, and true, see truly, and lie not; so I also truly speak those things which I have known with the Father.

Jn. 8:39–41. They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus says to them, If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. You do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. He indeed inscribes the devil to them as father; for He sees them to be like to him from their works. But they up and down bring forward Abraham. And continually the Lord makes mention of their murderous purpose, and leads them away from the kinship of the just one; that He may both cut off their superfluous boasting, and persuade them to set their hopes not in this vain pride over the fleshly kinship, but in the likeness according to purpose. For truly, as a physician of souls, He allays the inflammation arising from the conceit over Abraham’s kinship, by which they were hindered from coming to Christ, deeming such kinship sufficient for them to salvation. “You are not, then, children of Abraham, being murderous, and seeking to kill me.” Then, lest any say, “Justly they seek to kill you,” He says, “a man” not an adversary of God, nor establishing His own glory, but one that speaks the things He heard from the Father, and proclaims the truth. And what was this truth? Even that He is equal to the Father, and not a servant, as one of the prophets, but Son, doing nothing nor speaking anything of His own, but all the things of the Father. For these things they sought to kill Him. But they again say, “We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” Behold a senseless puffing-up. The Lord casts them even out of the kinship of Abraham; but they so boast as out of madness to make themselves sons even of God Himself. For since they heard, “Israel is my firstborn son,” they boast of the divine adoption. And yet they ought to have heard God saying again elsewhere, “I have begotten and exalted sons, but they have set me at nought.” And though the Lord was able to reprove them, that many of them were born of fornication (for Hebrew women mingled, contrary to the law, with Gentiles, and Gentile women with Jews), yet He does not this. For not this was His earnest care, but the whole was, not to leave them in their base-born conceit, but to lead them up to the spiritual nobility.

Jn. 8:42–43. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? even because you cannot hear my word. Since He cast them out of the kinship toward Abraham, they rose to the greater, making God their father. For as He reproached them that they are murderous, they, as it were pleading in their own defence that they avenge God, and for this cause take counsel against Him, say such things. Wherefore also the Lord, showing that they neither avenge God, nor are children of God by this very thing, the plotting murder against Him (as they thought), but rather set themselves against God, says that “If God were your Father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth from God”—into the world, namely, according to the coming in the flesh. For am I an adversary of God? I came from Him; so that you are enemies of Him, in warring against me. “Why do you not understand my speech,” nor perceive and conceive the things I say? For no other cause assuredly than the not being able to hear my word—that is, the not willing (for the “not being able” stands for “not willing”). For so long as envy has its citizenship in you, and a murderous mind, how shall you be able to hear the things I say?

Jn. 8:44–45. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. He said, “You cannot hear my word,” instead of, “You will not.” Then He adds also the cause, why they would not: “Because you are of your own father; of whom, I say? of the devil. For you indeed inscribe to yourselves God as father out of madness; but your works bear witness to the devil as your more genuine father; for his lusts you want to do.” And He said not, “the works,” but, “the lusts,” showing that they were very lustfully disposed toward both the lie and murder, the special evils of the devil. For he was a murderer from the beginning; so that you also, seeking to kill me, are like to him that put Adam to death. But also he does not stand in the truth, but is the father of the lie; and you, then, lying against me, and saying that I am not of God, and not standing in the truth, nor abiding in my word, are children of him that fathered the lie. For he both slandered God to men, saying to Eve, “Out of envy he forbade you the tree”; and again slandered men to God, saying of Job, “Does Job serve God for nought?” “When, therefore, he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own”—that is, men indeed using the lie use it as a thing alien to them; but the devil uses the lie as his own; for it is his offspring, and he is properly the liar, and the father of it—that is, of the lie—is he himself. For he said to Eve, “In the day you eat, you shall be as gods.” But they reaped rather death. “But because I tell the truth,” He says, “you do not believe me.” For having nothing else to charge against me but the truth alone, for this cause you rave against me, as children of the father of the lie.

Jn. 8:46–50. Which of you convinces me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God hears God’s words: you therefore hear them not, because you are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said to him, Say we not well that you are a Samaritan, and have a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and you do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeks and judges. Since they named themselves sons of God, He says that “If you are sons of God, you ought by all means to hate the sinner. If, then, you can convict me also, whom you hate, as sinning, it is plain that you justly hate; but if no one can convict me, it is manifest that for the truth’s sake you hate me.” And what truth? Even surely that He called Himself Son of God, which is wholly true. “And he that is of God hears God’s words”; so that you also, if you were children of God, would not disobey me, nor would you thirst for murder against the Son of God come from above, and uttering the things of God. The Lord, then, thus meekly; but they pass over into insults. “Say we not well,” they say, “that you are a Samaritan, and have a devil?” A Samaritan they called Him, as loosing the Jewish customs, such as that of the sabbath; for the Samaritans Judaized not exactly. And they call Him possessed, perhaps in that manner according to which they said also that He cast out the demons by the prince of the demons. For all that slandered Him as casting out the demons by Beelzebub said that He had the demon of Beelzebub, by whom He wrought the wonders. And perhaps also, inasmuch as He uncovered their thoughts and devices, they thought Him to have a demon, supposing that by demons the hidden things of their heart were recognised by Him. And when did they call Him a Samaritan? Nowhere has the evangelist said this. From this, then, it is plain that the evangelists passed over many things, and wrote not all, as elsewhere also we have noted this same thing. They, then, thus insult Him, but He with longsuffering receives the insults against Him. For when they called themselves sons of God, He vehemently reproves them, avenging the truth; but when they insult Him, He avenges not Himself, teaching us also to avenge the things against God, but to bear meekly the things against ourselves; as therefore He Himself meekly says, “I have not a devil, but I honour my Father.” And how did He honour the Father? By avenging Him, and not enduring that they, the murderous and lying, should be named sons of the true Saviour. “You, then,” He says, “because I honour my Father, insulted by you, who slander Him to be your father, for this cause dishonour me. But though I avenge not myself, and bear with being insulted, think not that this insult shall be left unavenged. For there is the Father, who shall avenge me, that am insulted for this cause, that I avenge Him, and endure not your making yourselves sons of His. There is, then, one that seeks my glory, and not only seeks, but is also able to judge and condemn those that unreasonably insult me.” For often one seeks indeed that the insult be avenged, but is not himself able to judge; but the Father both seeks the glory of the Son, and is able to judge. For this cause, then, He said, “There is one that seeks and judges.”

Jn. 8:51–52. Truly, truly, I say to you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews to him, Now we know that you have a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and you say, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. O the love to man! They insult, but He, committing the seeking and the avenging of His glory to the Father, turns to exhortation and teaching, benefiting them that insult Him. So ought we also to requite our enemies. What, then, said He to them? “If a man keep my saying”—that is, if, together with believing, he have also a pure life; for then a man truly keeps the Lord’s teaching, when he has also a pure life. Such a one, then, shall not see death, the death by which sinners die, being delivered in the age to come to immortal punishment, and falling away from the real life. And at the same time He hints to them, that “If he that keeps my word dies not, much more I. Why, then, do you thirst for murder against me, who can so little be holden by death, as rather to bestow on others the real life?” For they that believe, even if they die naturally, yet live in God. But the Jews, what say they to this? They think Him to be possessed, as saying certain strange things out of derangement. “For they that gave ear to the words of God died, Abraham and the prophets; and they that give ear to yours, shall they not die? Truly now,” they say, “we have known, fully assured and surely, that you are possessed, saying such things.”

Jn. 8:53–55. Are you greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom do you make yourself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honours me; of whom you say, that he is your God: yet you have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like to you: but I know him, and keep his saying. The senseless ones, not understanding what death the Lord said touches not them that believe on Him, utter to Him certain unreasonable and foolish things. For observe how they answer: “Are you greater than our father Abraham?” And yet thus they ought to have said: “Are you greater than God? They that heard the word of God died; and they that hear yours, shall they not die?” But not so; but what say they? Wishing to show Him even less than Abraham, “Are you greater,” they say, “than our father Abraham?” But the Lord, concerning what death He spoke, reveals not to them; but that He is better than Abraham, He persuades them, going down a little. And the “Whom do you make yourself?” they say insolently: “You that are worthy of no account, the carpenter’s son, He of Galilee, whom do you make yourself? Not the works, nor the truth, nor the Scriptures, but you—whom do you make yourself? for you snatch glory.” But the Lord: “If I honour myself, my honour is nothing,” as you suppose; but now there is another that honours me, my Father. For He honoured Him continually, both through the prophecies concerning Him, and through the witness from heaven, and through the countless and boundless wonders. “And this Father you,” He says, “say that He is your God; but neither do you recognise Him as my Father, nor as your God. For if you recognised Him as my Father, you would have honoured the Son also; but now, not honouring the Son, it is plain that you know Him not as my Father. But neither do you recognise Him as God simply; for else you would have trembled at His words as God’s; but now you so despise Him, that, though He commanded, ‘You shall not kill,’ you thirst for murder against me, and that having nothing whereof to convict me of sin. From these things, then, it is plain that you are wholly ignorant of Him. But I know Him naturally, having altogether the knowledge of Him. For such as I am, such also is the Father; since, then, I know myself, I know Him also. And if I should say, I know Him not, I shall be a liar like you. For you, boasting to know Him, lie; but I, knowing Him, if I should say I know Him not, deny the truth.” And what proof do you give of knowing Him? “Because,” He says, “I keep his word,” calling “word” His commandments. For neither do I set myself against Him, nor boast as an adversary of God, nor loose His commandments. But you, since you are caught as transgressors of His commandments, held by evil lusts, and thirsting for murder, and lustfully accomplishing the other things forbidden in the law, are manifestly known to be ignorant of Him. For if you knew Him, you would keep His word—that is, the commandments. And some understand thus the “I keep his word”—that is, For this cause I know Him, because I have in myself unaltered the word of His essence, that is, the definition; and whatever word of nature the Father has, such a word I also have; for the same is the nature, and the same the word of the essence, in the Father and in the Son; so that I know the Father, for I preserve the word of His essence unaltered. And this figure of speech is usual with the Scripture, as the, “Give us help from trouble, and vain is the salvation of man.” For here the “and” stands for “for”; so that the meaning is of this kind: “Give us help, for vain is the salvation of man.” So here also: “I know Him, and keep His word”; for the “and” stands for “for”: “For I keep His word,” He says.

Jn. 8:56–59. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. Here He establishes that He is greater than Abraham. For since they brought forward against Him, “Are you greater than our father Abraham?” He says here, “Yea, I am greater. For he rejoiced to see my day”—that is, he held it earnestly desired and prayed for and an occasion of joy, namely as being altogether for benefit, and as being a day not of some small or chance thing, but of a greater. And by “day” He means the cross. For this Abraham foretypified in the offering of Isaac, and the sacrifice of the ram. For as he bore the wood, so the Lord bore the cross; and as Isaac was let go, but the ram was sacrificed; so God remained without suffering, but in the human nature and the flesh He suffered. This day of the cross Abraham foreseeing rejoiced, as of the salvation of the world about to come. And at the same time He shows them here aliens from Abraham, since at the things over which he rejoiced these rave and are mad. And He makes plain that He comes not unwilling to the passion, since He praises him that was gladdened at the cross; for this, as has been said, is the salvation of the world. And others understand by “day” the whole time of the coming of Christ, which Abraham foreseeing rejoiced, that out of him and his seed the Saviour should arise. And perhaps not Abraham alone rejoiced, but all, as David says, “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” He, then, says these things. But they, not able to reach to the height of the things spoken, neither endure to ask and learn what day He means which Abraham saw; but rather they mock, as one uttering certain mad things. “For you are not yet fifty years old,” they say, “and have you seen Abraham?” And this they said, supposing the Lord to be near fifty, though He was then about thirty-three years old. And why said they not, “You are not yet forty years old,” but “fifty”? Superfluous indeed is such a question; for it came to them simply, and so they made mention of the fifty years. Yet some say that it was because the fiftieth year was held by them in honour—the jubilee year, I mean, in which also they freed slaves, and gave up purchased possessions, and accomplished all the other things that brought honour to God. But the Lord, what says He? “Before Abraham was, I am.” Observe, He said not, “Before Abraham was, I was,” but, “I am.” For this expression, “I am,” is more proper to God, as signifying the being continually and ever; as therefore His Father also in the Old Testament uses this: “I am that I am.” But concerning Abraham He said “was,” fitly, as of a corruptible being. For that which has come to be is also corrupted; but the “I am” shows a divine unpartaking of all corruption and an eternity. Wherefore also they, deeming the saying blasphemous (for it befits God alone), took up stones against Him; but He hides Himself again, withdrawing, that He might not die before the time. And how does He hide Himself? Not by slipping into a corner of the temple, nor by fleeing into some chamber, or bending behind a wall and a pillar, but by making Himself, by divine authority, invisible to them that plotted against Him, though He went out through the midst of them. “And so passed by”—that is, He went through simply thus and without effect for the time being. And observe me, how He indeed fulfilled all His own part. For He both sufficiently taught them, both concerning Himself and the Father, and showed the real nobility and the freedom from sins, and that the only shameful bondage is that of sin, and simply, in nothing of what was needful was He lacking; but they even stone Him. Wherefore also He leaves them, as no longer receiving correction. And he noted that these that stoned Him were the very men of whom the evangelist said that they believed on Him; so then their faith was not faith, but a certain temporary and cold disposition toward the things spoken by Christ.

Chapter 9

Jn. 9:1–2. And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? The Lord goes out of the temple, contriving some respite from the wrath of the Jews; but He turns to the healing of the blind man, by this sign softening their hardness and disobedience, even though they were nothing profited; and at the same time showing them that not in vain, nor in boast, did He say the, “Before Abraham was, I am.” For lo, He accomplishes a wonder such as no one ever before. For though some have opened the eyes of a blind man, yet not of one born blind; it is manifest, then, that as God, and being before Abraham, He accomplishes this thing never yet accomplished from eternity. And of set purpose He came to the blind man, and not he to Him. So then the disciples also, seeing Him gaze attentively upon the blind man, ask: “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The question, then, appears to be in error. For how could this man have sinned before he was born? For surely the apostles received not the Greek follies, that the soul, dwelling before the body in another world, sins, and then so pays this penalty, the descent into the body. For, being fishermen, they would not even have heard any such thing, since these are the doctrines of the philosophers. The question, then, appears senseless, but not to him that gives heed. For learn: the apostles, having heard Christ saying to the paralytic, “Behold, you are made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come to you,” when they saw the blind man, are in perplexity, and say as it were such things: “Grant that that man was paralysed for sins; but concerning this man what would you say? Did he himself sin? But it cannot be said; for he is blind from birth. But did his parents? But neither this; for a child is not punished for his father.” Not so much, then, asking, as being in perplexity, they say these things. The Lord, then, loosing their perplexity, says: “Neither did this man sin (for how, before he was born?), nor his parents.” And He says this not as freeing them from sins. For He said not simply that “His parents sinned not,” but added, “that he was born blind.” For his parents indeed sinned, but not thence was the blindness to him. For it is not just that the sins of fathers be laid upon children that do no wrong. And this God teaches through Ezekiel, saying thus: “This proverb shall no more be used, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”; and He also lays it down through Moses, “The father shall not die for the child.” But, “How, then,” one says, “is it written, Recompensing the sins of the parents upon the children to the third and fourth generation?” It is to be said, then, that first, this sentence is not general, nor spoken of all, but only of those that came out of Egypt. Then consider me also the sense of the sentence. For it says not this, that “For the things wherein the fathers sinned, the children are punished,” but that “The sins of the fathers—that is, the punishments for the sins—shall be recompensed also to their children, as having sinned in like manner.” For lest they that came out of Egypt should suppose that, even if they sinned worse than the fathers, they would not be punished with the same, He says that “It shall not be so, but the sins of the fathers—that is, the penalties—shall come upon you also, because you became not better, but committed the same, or even worse.” And if you see oftentimes even infants snatched away, ostensibly for the punishment of the parents, yet know well that out of love to man God snatches these from life beforehand, that, living, they may not become worse than their parents, and live to the hurt of their own soul or of many others. But these things the abyss of the divine judgments holds hidden with itself; and let us go on to what follows.

Jn. 9:3–5. Jesus answered, Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Behold again another perplexity. For one might inquire, How said He this? For the man was wronged, deprived of light, that the works of God might be made manifest? and was it not possible otherwise for these to be made manifest? What wrong were you wronged, O man? “Being deprived,” he says, “of light.” And what harm from being deprived of the sensible light? On the contrary, he was rather benefited. For together with the bodily sight he was also enlightened in the eyes of the soul. So that the blindness turned to good for him, since through the healing he recognised the true Sun of righteousness. The blind man, then, was not wronged, but benefited. Then know you also this, O every searcher of divine things, that the “That,” and the “In order that,” are in many places of the Scripture set not causally, but as marking the outcome; as that in David, “That you might be justified in your sayings.” For David sinned not for this, that God might be justified, but, as of outcome, David having sinned, it comes to pass that God is justified. For when God had given him so much as he was not worthy to receive, but he transgressed the commandment of God, and wrought murder upon adultery, and abused the kingdom to the setting at nought of God; what else comes to pass of outcome, than altogether the, God, being judged and contending with David, is justified, and bears off the victory, the king being condemned? Because, from whom he received the kingdom, His laws he set at nought, for this very thing, that he was king. For being a private man, he could not have so easily wrought two such evils. Do you see that the “That you might be justified” is set not causally, but according to outcome? And ten thousand such things will you find also in the Apostle, as that in the Epistle to the Romans: “For that which may be known of God is manifest among the Greeks; that they may be without excuse.” And yet not for this did God give the Greeks the knowledge, that they might be without excuse in stumbling. For He gave it that they might not stumble; then, since they stumbled, of outcome the knowledge turned for them to the being without excuse. And again: “The law entered, that the offence might abound”; and yet not for this was it given, but rather that sin might be restrained. But since they that received the law would not restrain it, the law became to them to the abounding of sin; for greater was sin reckoned to them, because, having the law, they sinned. So then here also the “That the works of God might be made manifest” is set not causally, but as marking the outcome; for it came to pass of the blind man’s being healed, that God was glorified. For as oftentimes a builder of a house works one part, but leaves another unfinished, that, if ever one disbelieve him, that he is not the builder of the part, he may, by finishing also that unfinished part, show that of the part already built he too is the craftsman; so also our God Jesus, healing the maimed members, and restoring them to the natural state, shows that He is also the Creator of the other members. And in saying, “That the glory of God might be made manifest,” He speaks concerning Himself, not concerning the Father; for the Father’s glory was manifest; His own glory had to be made manifest, and that He it is who from the beginning formed man. And no small glory altogether is it to be made manifest, that He, the man now appeared, created in the beginning, as God, the man. And that He says this concerning Himself, hear what follows. For He adds, “I must work the works of him that sent me.” I, He says, must manifest myself, and do works that can prove me doing the same things as the Father. Observe how He said not, “Such works as the Father does, I must also work,” but, “Those very things which the Father does. For I must,” He says, “work those very works which He that sent me does.” And these I must work while it is day—that is, While the present life stands, and men can believe on me; since the night comes, when no man can work—that is, believe; for He names faith “work.” In the age to come, then, no man can believe. For the present life is “day,” because we can work as in the day (even if Paul names it night, both because they that here pursue either virtue or vice are unknown, and as compared with the future light that shall shine round the righteous); but the age to come is “night,” because there no man can work, even if Paul calls it day, because of the shining-forth of the righteous, and the manifestation of the things lived by each. In the age to come, then, there is no faith, but both willing and unwilling they shall obey. “When, therefore, I am in the world, I am the light of the world”; for through the teaching and the showing of the wonders I enlighten souls. So that I must even now enlighten the souls of many, through the healing of the eyes; for since I am light, I must enlighten both sensibly and spiritually.

Jn. 9:6–7. When he had said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud from the spittle, and anointed the blind man’s eyes with the mud, and said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. Having said these things, Jesus, he says, stood not at the words, but added also the work. For He spat on the ground, and, making clay, anointed the eyes of the blind man; showing through the clay that He it is who also formed Adam from clay. For to say, “I am he that formed Adam,” seemed offensive to the hearers; but, shown through the work, it no longer gave offence; for this cause also He fashions the eyes from clay, by that manner of creation by which He also created Adam. And He not only fashioned the eyes, nor only opened them, but also bestowed the seeing; which is a token that He also breathed the soul into Adam; for, that not working, the eye, though it be perfect, could never see. And He used spittle to the recovery of sight. For since He was about to send him to Siloam, lest the wonder should be inscribed to the water of the spring, but that we might learn that the power that went forth from His mouth, it both fashioned and opened his eyes; for this cause He spat on the ground, and made clay from His mouth. Then, lest you should suppose that the wonder was of the earth, He commands him to wash, that he may altogether put off the clay. But some say that the clay was not put off, but was created into eyes. And He commands him to go to Siloam, at once that we may learn the faith of the blind man, and how obedient he was; for he reasoned not, “If it is altogether the clay, and the spittle, that supplies me the eyes, what need have I of Siloam, or of washing?” but he was persuaded by Him that commanded. And at the same time also that He might stop the mouth of the Jews’ thanklessness. For it was likely that many would behold him with the clay anointed upon his eyes, and would have given heed to him with exactness, so as not to be able to say afterward, “This is he; this is not he.” And thirdly, showing Himself not alien to the law and the Old Testament, by sending him to Siloam. And the evangelist interprets “Siloam” as “Sent,” that you may learn that Christ healed him there. For as Christ is the spiritual rock, so also Siloam—which is interpreted “Sent”—signified Christ; for He was the hidden one, unknown even to angels, who came suddenly and more astonishingly to take away all sin.

Jn. 9:8–11. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. Therefore said they to him, How were your eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said to me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. Astonished at the strangeness of the wonder, the neighbours were in doubt; and yet his going to Siloam, with his eyes anointed with clay, was for this very thing, that many might see him, and not afterward deny, as though forsooth not knowing him; yet nevertheless they still disbelieve. And not simply does the evangelist note that he was a beggar, but that he may show the unspeakable love to man of the Lord, how He condescended even to the lowly, so as to heal even beggars with much care; and that from this we also, learning, may not despise the least. And the blind man, neither ashamed of his former blindness, nor fearing the people, confesses that “I am he,” proclaiming his benefactor, and says, “A certain man, called Jesus.” He calls the Lord a man, since he as yet knew nothing concerning Him; but what he so far knew, this he confesses. And whence knew he Him, that He is Jesus? From His discourse with the disciples; for since the disciples asked the Lord concerning him, and He discoursed more to them, both that “I must work the works of him that sent me,” and that “I am the light of the world,” and such things no other taught but Jesus alone, and these words He often used—from these the blind man recognised that He is Jesus. The making of the clay, then, knowing it, he told; but the spitting no more. For the man told only what he truly knew.

Jn. 9:12–16. Then said they to him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that formerly was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said to them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keeps not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. Since the Lord, when healing and working a wonder, was wont to withdraw because of His freedom from vainglory, the blind man, being asked, “Where is he?” says, “I know not,” speaking truly altogether in this also. And they bring him to the Pharisees, that he might be deemed worthy of a sharper and bitterer questioning. And the evangelist notes that it was the sabbath, that he may show their wickedness, as snatching at pretexts against Christ, and charging Him with the breaking of the sabbath, and through this trying to overshadow the wonder; wherefore they ask him not, “How did you receive sight?” but, “How opened he your eyes?” altogether slandering the Lord, as having wrought on the sabbath, forcing the blind man himself to be reminded that He made clay on the sabbath, namely. But he, as discoursing to those who had already heard, makes mention neither of the name of Jesus, nor of what the Lord spoke to him, but only that “He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and see.” For it was likely that the Pharisees had heard beforehand from those who brought the blind man to them, slandering perhaps the Lord, and saying, “See what things Jesus does on the sabbath.” And it is worthy to behold the boldness of the blind man, how he discourses even to the Pharisees without dismay. They indeed brought him, that, struck with fear, he might deny the healing; but he the more openly cries out, “I see.” Then said some of the Pharisees—but not all, but the more abject—“This man is not of God.” But others said, “How can a man that is a sinner do such things?” Do you see the many softened by the signs? Behold these are Pharisees and rulers, yet they are abashed by the sign, and plead in defence, and there was a division among them. This division first sprang up in the multitude; for some said, “He deceives the people,” and others, “Nay.” But now it springs up among the rulers also, and lo, many of the Pharisees, severed from the rest, advocate the wonder. Yet though they were severed, they more softly stood up for Christ, and rather doubtfully and double-mindedly than firmly. For hear what they say: “How can a man that is a sinner do such things?” Do you see the softness of their opposition? Observe also the malignity of the slanderers. For they say not, “This man is not of God, because he heals on the sabbath,” but, “because he keeps not the sabbath,” up and down bringing forward not the benefit, but the loosing of the day. And mark this also, how the rulers are duller than the multitude toward the good. For lo, the multitude first were divided in their opinions, and not all were of one voice against Christ; but the rulers later suffered this praiseworthy division. For it is possible also to be divided well; as the Lord also says, “I came to send a sword upon the earth”—the discord, namely, that is altogether to good and to godliness.

Jn. 9:17–19. They say to the blind man again, What do you say of him, that he has opened your eyes? He said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who you say was born blind? how then does he now see? Who were they that asked the blind man, “What do you say of him?” They were of the part of the right-minded. For since they said, “How can a sinner do such signs?” lest they should seem to advocate in vain, they bring forward as witness him that received the benefit, as one that had perceived the power, that they might stop the mouth of the slanderers. For observe how right-mindedly they ask. For they said not, “What do you say of him, that he made clay? that he kept not the sabbath?” but they make mention of the wonder, “that he has opened your eyes”; well-near whetting the healed man to say the fitting things in behalf of Christ. For they remind him, and prick him: “that he has opened your eyes. He benefited you,” they say, “so that you ought to proclaim him.” Wherefore also the blind man confesses for the present what he could, that “He is not a sinner, but of God. For He is a prophet, though others say that He is not of God, because he keeps not the sabbath.” And yet Christ, anointing the clay with one finger, seemed to loose the sabbath; but they, loosing it with their whole hand, by leading their beasts on the sabbath to watering, seemed to be godly. The hard and disobedient, then, summon his parents, wishing to cast them into agony, and through this into a denial of their son’s blindness. For since they could not stop the right-minded mouth, they affright the parents, expecting thus to wound the wonder. They set them, then, in the midst, and with much wrath make the question, or rather with much malignity. For they said not, “Is this your son, the once blind?” but, “Whom you say”; well-near saying this: “Whom you made blind, and everywhere spread abroad the report, having altogether feigned and lied.” But, O foul Pharisees, what father would endure so to lie against his own child? And by two things they straiten them, and force them to deny their son, both by saying, “Whom you say,” and by, “How then does he now see?” Do you see that, as though they had lied in the former thing—I mean, the child’s being blind—they bring forward this latter thing, his now seeing, as a sign that he was not blind? But indeed this is true, his having been blind before.

Jn. 9:20–23. His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. But how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age; ask him—he will speak for himself. His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him to be the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, He is of age; ask him. Three questions the Pharisees brought to the parents of the blind man: whether he was their son, whether he was born blind, and how he received sight. And they confess the two—both that he is their son, and that he was blind—but the manner of the healing, being ignorant of it, they add not. And this also is altogether for the truth to be confessed more surely, that he himself who enjoyed the benefit, who is also the more worthy of belief, should bear witness to these things; as also his parents say, “He is of age.” For is he an infant, or imperfect, so as not to understand how he was healed? And such things his parents said, fearing the Pharisees; so still were they more imperfect and weaker than the child. For he, indeed, stands an undismayed witness of the truth; so was he enlightened in the eyes of the mind.

Jn. 9:24–29. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said to him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to you? how opened he your eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and you did not hear: why would you hear it again? will you also be his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, You are his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. Since the parents stirred up that their son should be asked, this the insolent ones do; and they bring him forward, not so as to ask, but so as to suggest to him to accuse his healer. For the “Give God the praise,” this signifies: “Confess,” they say, “that Jesus wrought nothing in you (for this, they hold, is the glory of God, that nothing good be witnessed to Jesus); for we know,” they say, “that he is a sinner.” How, then, did you not convict Him, when He challenged you, saying, “Which of you convinces me of sin?” But the blind man, “Whether he be a sinner,” he says, “I know not”—that is, I examine not this now, nor pronounce; but this I know clearly, that He wrought a wonder upon me. Let the deed itself, then, be considered by itself, and let it cast its vote concerning Him. Then, since again they asked him, “What did he to you?”—altogether insulting the Saviour for the anointing of the clay that took place on the sabbath—and the man perceived that they made the question not so as to learn, but so as to insult, he answers them more smartly: “I no longer,” he says, “deem you worthy even of a word; for though I have often told it, you gave no heed.” Then he brings in what was especially able to wound them: “Will you also be his disciples?” He shows, then, that he himself wishes to be His disciple; and mocking and deriding them, he gently says these things, which is of a soul bold and undismayed, and not affrighted at their madness. But they, to insult him, say: “You are his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples.” And they appear in this to be lying. For if they were Moses’ disciples, they would have been Christ’s also; as He Himself also said to them, “Had you believed Moses, you would have believed me.” And they said not, “We have heard,” but, “We know that God spoke to Moses.” And yet, though their forefathers reported it to them, they say they have exact knowledge of the things they received by hearsay; but Him whom they saw uttering divine things and from above, this man they call a deceiver.

Jn. 9:30–33. The man answered and said to them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that you know not from whence he is, and yet he has opened mine eyes. Now we know that God hears not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and does his will, him he hears. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. “You, O Jews,” he says, “reject my healer, as not knowing whence he is; but I say that for this cause he is the rather marvellous, that, being a man not of the notable among you, nor of the glorified, he can do such things, so as to be plain on every side that he is of some greater power, not needing any human help.” Then, since beforehand some of them had said, “How can a man that is a sinner do such signs?” he henceforth takes up their judgment also, and reminds them of their own words. “For we know,” he says, “all of us, that God hears not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and does his will, him he hears.” Consider me from hence, how he not only freed the Lord from sins, but also shows Him exceedingly well-pleasing to God, and doing all His things, in saying, “But if any man be a worshipper of God, and does his will.” Then, since he knew them wishing to overshadow the wonder, he, being full of much understanding, proclaims the benefit: “For if this man were not of God, he could not have wrought so great a wonder, such as none from eternity. For the eyes of blind men were perchance opened, but not of men maimed from birth, but from some affliction; but this is the strange thing, which now came to pass.” It is manifest, then, that he that accomplished so great a wonder is greater than after the manner of man. But some raise a cold and sophistical perplexity. “How,” they say, “did he say that God hears not sinners? And yet, when men pray that their sins be forgiven, He hearkens; for He is loving to man. What, then,” they say, “is this which he here says, that God hears not sinners?” One ought not even to answer to such things; yet it must be said that the “God hears not sinners” signifies this, that God gives not to sinners to work signs. For the Spirit of God will not dwell in a body subject to sins. Yet when men ask remission of sins truly and from the heart, He hearkens, not as sinners, but as penitents. For at once they ask the remission, and have passed over from the rank of sinners to that of penitents. Fitly, then, is it said, that “God hears not sinners.” For neither does He give to sinners the grace of signs. For how should He, whom, even if they ever ask anything of the kind, He hates, as appropriating things nowise befitting them? and if He hearkens to those that ask remission, He hearkens not as to sinners, but as to penitents. And observe how he said, “If any man be a worshipper of God,” and added, “and does his will.” For many are worshippers of God indeed, but do not the will of God. And both must be present, both godliness, and the fulfilling of God’s will—that is, faith and works, or, as Paul names it, faith and a good conscience; and to speak more summarily, contemplation and practice. For then truly faith lives, when it has also the God-pleasing works, from which the good conscience arises, as from evil works the evil conscience; and the works then live, when they have also faith; but, separated from one another, they are dead; as it is said, “Faith without works is dead; and works without faith.” And observe me also how the truth gives boldness to him that was nothing worth, the beggar, and convicts the great and honoured among the Jews; so great is its power, as also the shrinking and the boldlessness of falsehood.

Jn. 9:34–38. They answered and said to him, You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said to him, Do you believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said to him, You have both seen him, and it is he that talks with you. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. So long as they expected the man to say things pleasing to them, they summoned him and questioned him, and not once only; but when they knew him from his answers not minding their things, but advocating the truth, they set him at nought, as born in sins; altogether senselessly bringing his blindness against him, and supposing that, as one condemned and sentenced before his birth, he was condemned to be born blind, which has no reason; and they cast him out of the temple as a confessor of the truth, they the sons of the lie. But behold the gain: he was cast out of the temple, and immediately the Master of the temple found him; he was dishonoured, in seeming, for Christ’s sake, and was honoured by the knowledge of the Son of God. For “Jesus found him,” he says, as if of set purpose come for this, that He might comfort him, even as a steward of the games receiving an athlete that had toiled much and been crowned. And what says He? “Do you believe on the Son of God?” What is this? after so great an opposition to the Jews, after so many words, does He ask, “Do you believe?” He does this not as being ignorant, but wishing to make Himself known to the blind man. For since he had not seen Him at all, not even after the healing (for how, being dragged about by the most wicked dogs, the Jews?), for this cause He asks him now, that, on his asking, “And who is the Son of God?” He may consequently show Himself. And at the same time He shows him that He greatly values his faith, as it were saying such things: “So great a people insulted me, but I make no account of them; one thing I care for, that you should believe.” But he, “And who is he, Lord, the Son of God?” uttered a word of a longing soul. And He, “You have both seen him,” He says, “and it is he that talks with you.” He said not, “I am he that healed you, that said to you, Go, wash”; but withdrawnly at first and obscurely, “You have seen him,” He says; then more openly, “And it is he that talks with you.” And the Lord seems of set purpose to say the, “You have seen him,” that He might altogether bring him to remembrance of the healing, and that from Him he received the power of seeing. And at once he believes, and shows the work of a warm and true faith, worshipping, and confirming the word by the deed, and that he glorifies Him as God; for to God alone is worship rendered by custom. And take me this wonder as accomplished also spiritually. For blind he was—whether simply every man from birth, that is, from the being under generation (for with this altogether corruption also is yoked; for from the time we were condemned to mortality, and condemned to grow through passionate generation, from then a thick cloud and a coat of skin, as the sacred Oracles say, was poured over our spiritual eyes)—or also the people of the Gentiles. For this also is blind from birth, as the Greeks; from deifying the things under generation and corruption, being blinded, according to the, “Their foolish heart was darkened.” Such also were the magi among the Persians, who spent their life on generation and the casting of nativities. This blind man, then (whether simply every man, or the Gentile people), Jesus saw. For since he could not see the Creator, He out of bowels of mercy visited us, the dayspring from on high. And how did He see? “Passing by”—that is, not being in heaven, but having passed by in the words of emptying, and from heaven, according to the prophet, having looked down, and seen all the sons of men; and otherwise: “Passing by,” He saw the Gentile people—that is, not having come to it as His chief aim. For to the lost sheep of the house of Israel He came; then, as it were a by-work of the way, He made the visitation of the people sitting in the darkness of utter ignorance. And how does He heal the blindness? By spitting on the ground, and making clay. For who would believe that, as a drop dropping upon the earth, the Word came down upon the holy Virgin? This man shall anoint the spiritual eyes with the clay made of the spittle and the earth—that is, with the one Christ, who is of Godhead (whereof the drop and the spittle is a symbol) and of manhood (whereof the earth is a symbol, of which is the body of the Lord). Shall the healing, then, stop at believing? By no means; but he must also come to Siloam, the fount of baptism, and be baptized into the Sent, that is, Christ. For as many as were baptized spiritually, were baptized into Christ. And after one is baptized, he shall fall also into temptations. For he shall perhaps be led before kings and governors for the sake of Christ that healed him. He must, then, hold firmly, and stand on the confession unswervingly, not denying through fear, but, even if need be, becoming proscribed and cast out of the synagogue, according to the, “You shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake,” and “They shall put you out of the synagogues.” And though men cast out the confessor, being enemies to the truth, and persecute him from the things among them held sacred and honoured—wealth, I mean, and glory—Jesus will find him, and then the more, when he is dishonoured by the enemies, he shall be honoured by Christ, with the knowledge and the more exact faith. For he shall then the more worship Christ, as one appearing a man indeed, but being also Son of God. For there is not one Son of God, and another the Son of Mary (for this is the impiety of Nestorius), but one and the same Son of God and of man.

Jn. 9:39–41. And Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind. Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this, and said to him, Are we also blind? Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin: but now you say, We see; therefore your sin remains. Since the Lord saw the Pharisees rather harmed than profited by the wonder, and for this cause worthy also of greater condemnation, He says that, “as it seems, and as the matters turn out, For judgment I have come”—instead of, to greater punishment and condemnation—“that those who do not see may see, and that those who see”—such as the Pharisees—“may become blind in the eyes of the soul.” For lo, he that from birth saw not sees, both in soul and in body; but they that seem to see were blinded in mind. For two recoveries of sight He here speaks of, and two blindnesses. But the Pharisees, ever gaping after sensible things, supposing that He spoke concerning sensible blindness, “Are we also,” they say, “blind?” being ashamed of this bodily blindness only. But the Lord, wishing to show them that it is better to be blind in body and not unbelieving, says: “If you were blind, you would have no sin.” For if of necessity from nature you had been maimed, there would have been given some pardon to you sick with unbelief; but now, saying that you see, and moreover being eye-witnesses of the wonder upon the blind man, and then being sick with unbelief, you are not worthy of pardon. For your sin remains unblotted out, and you shall be the more punished, inasmuch as you come not from the wonders you see to faith. And one might also thus understand the “If you were blind, you would have no sin”: “For you,” He says, “ask concerning bodily blindness, as being ashamed of this only; but I speak concerning your spiritual blindness, that if you were blind—that is, unlearned in the Scriptures—you would not have so great sin, as sinning in ignorance; but now you say that you see, and make yourselves prudent and learned in the law, so that you are self-condemned, and have the greater sin, as sinning in knowledge.”

Chapter 10

Jn. 10:1–5. Truly, truly, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. Since He reproached them with unbelief, saying, “You are truly blind in soul,” for this very passion of unbelief, that they might not be able to say, “Not because we are blind, but as fleeing a deceiver, do we turn away,” for this henceforth He makes much discourse; and what does He? He sets down the marks of the true shepherd, and of the wolf and destroyer, and thus shows Himself to be of the good portion, making the witness from the deeds; and first He sets down the characteristics of the destroyer. For he, He says, enters not by the door—that is, by the Scriptures; for he uses not the Scriptures nor the prophets as witnesses. For in truth the Scriptures are a door; for through them we are brought to God. These suffer not the wolves to enter; for they shut out the heretics, setting us in security, and giving us judgments concerning all things we would. A thief, then, is he that enters not by the Scriptures into the fold of the sheep, so as to care for them, but climbs up some other way—that is, cutting for himself another and unwonted road, as Theudas and Judas, who before Christ deceived the people, and both corrupted and were corrupted; such also shall be the foul Antichrist. For to these the witness is not from the Scriptures. But also He hints at the scribes, who made no account of the legal commandments, but taught the commandments of men and traditions. And fitly He said the “climbing up,” which is of a thief that leaps over a fence, and does all things in a perilous way. Saw you the marks of the robber? Behold also those of the shepherd. For the shepherd enters by the Scriptures, and to him the porter opens. And by “porter” understand me either Moses (for to him were entrusted the oracles of God; and Moses opened to the Lord, having altogether spoken concerning Him, as the Lord Himself also says, that “Had you believed Moses, you would have believed me”); or the Holy Spirit is the porter. For since the Scriptures, understood and opened in the Holy Spirit, show us Christ, fitly the porter is the Holy Spirit, in whom, as the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, the Scriptures are opened, through which the Lord enters to our guardianship, and through which He is shown to be shepherd. For Moses altogether spoke concerning Him: “A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you, like to me; him shall you hear in all things”; which the Lord also confirms. And the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd. For since they up and down called Him a deceiver, and confirmed this from their own unbelief, saying, “Has any of the rulers believed on him?” the Lord shows that one must not think Him a destroyer because they disbelieve, but rather that they are cast out of the rank of the sheep. For I, He says, entering by the door, am manifestly a true shepherd; but you, that followed not, are likely not to be sheep. And whence does He lead out His own sheep, but from the midst of the unbelievers, as also the blind man from the midst of the Jews, who both heard Him and recognised Him? And He goes before the sheep, though with the bodily shepherds the contrary takes place; for they go behind. But here He shows that He will guide all to the truth, since He also sends the disciples as sheep in the midst of wolves; so much newer is the shepherding of Christ. And a stranger they will not follow, for they know not the voice of strangers. And here also He altogether hints at those about Theudas and Judas, whom the sheep followed not. For a few, being stolen away, even these after their death revolted from them; but to Christ, both living and especially having died, the whole world went after Him. And He hints also at Antichrist; for he too, having deceived for a little while, shall not have those that follow him after his destruction. For the “They will not follow” shows this, that after the death of the deceivers there shall be no one attending or following them. The door, then, is the Scriptures; and the Lord leads out the sheep to pasture through this door. And what is the pasture? The luxury and rest to come, into which the Lord leads us. And if elsewhere He names Himself also a door, one need not be troubled; for the same is both shepherd and door, according to the aspect. For when He would speak of the care concerning us, He names Himself shepherd; and when of the entrance, He names Himself door. Then, if the words of the divine Scriptures are a door, fitly might He be called a door.

Jn. 10:6–8. This parable spoke Jesus to them: but they understood not what things they were which he spoke to them. Then said Jesus to them again, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. “This parable,” he says—that is, this similitude—“Jesus spoke to them,” speaking obscurely to them, that He might make them more attentive. Since, then, He had so prepared them, He henceforth looses the obscurity, saying thus: “I am the door.” And the “All that came” He says not concerning the prophets, as the Manichaeans misconstrue. For they, wishing to show the Old Testament alien from God, and the prophets not sent from God, use this saying. For lo, they say, the Lord said that “All that came are thieves and robbers.” But He says this not concerning the prophets, but concerning Theudas and Judas, and the other seditious men. And that He speaks concerning these is plain: “For the sheep,” He says, “did not hear them.” For the sheep heard not these seditious men, but the prophets they both heard, and through them believed, as many as believed in Christ. And besides, the “The sheep heard them not” He said in praise; but nowhere does He appear praising those that disobeyed the prophets, but on the contrary reproaching and vehemently blaming them. Then attend also to the exactness of the expression. “All that came,” He says, but not, “All that were sent.” For the prophets, being sent, came; but the false prophets, such as the aforesaid seditious men, no one having sent them, came of themselves; as also God says: “I sent them not.”

Jn. 10:9. I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will go in and go out, and find pasture. He that entered, He says, by me the door, and was brought to the Father, and became His sheep, shall be saved; and not only shall be saved, but, as a lord and master, shall have much fearlessness; for this He signifies by saying, “And will go in and go out”; as the apostles also went in and out, speaking with boldness before tyrants, and going out rejoicing and unconquered. “And will find pasture,” He says—that is, much nourishment. And otherwise: since man is twofold with us, called by Paul both inner and outer, the going in would be said of him that takes care of the inner man; and the going out again, of him that mortifies the members upon the earth, and puts to death in Christ the deeds of the body. Such a one, then, shall also find pasture in the age to come, according to the, “The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall lack nothing,” and what follows.

Jn. 10:10–13. The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees: and the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep. The hireling flees, because he is an hireling, and cares not for the sheep. Since they that were led away with Theudas and Judas, and the other apostates, were slaughtered and perished, for this cause He added, saying, “The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy,” calling them and those like them thieves. “But I,” He says, “am come, that they might have life.” Those slaughtered and destroyed them that followed them; I am come, that they might live, and have something also more abundantly—the partaking of the Holy Spirit, which one must understand also as the kingdom of heaven. All, then, have life in Christ. For all shall rise and live; but the righteous have also something more abundantly, the kingdom of heaven. Then He discourses also concerning the passion, and says, that “I lay down my life for the sheep”; showing that not unwillingly, but willingly, He comes to the passion. For the “I lay down” shows this, that “No one snatches it from me, but I myself lay it down.” And He hints also at the often-mentioned seditious men. For they, He says, laid not down their life for the sheep, but abandoned those that followed them; for they were hirelings. But the Lord, contrariwise. When He was taken, He says, “If therefore you seek me, let these go their way: that the saying might be fulfilled, Of them whom you gave me have I lost none”; and that too, the Jews so assailing them, as wolves sheep; “for with swords,” he says, “and staves they came to seize him.” And it is possible here to understand by “wolf” the spiritual enemy, whom the Scripture also names a lion, and a scorpion, and a serpent, who is said to snatch a sheep, when he makes one his prey through wicked action; and to scatter, when through evil reasonings he confounds the soul; who might also fitly be called a thief, stealing through evil reasonings, killing through assent, destroying through the deed. For the reasoning of wickedness perchance assaults one—this is theft; and if the man also assent to the evil thought, then he is said to be killed by the devil; and when he also does the evil, then he is destroyed. And this perhaps is the, “The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” To this thief, then, the Lord, working the contrary, both gives the divine life, sanctifying both our reasonings, through the presence of good thoughts, and our bodies, through good actions. And He gives something also more abundantly—the being able, namely, to profit others also through the gift of teaching. This, then, is a shepherd; but they that neglect the people, and look only to the gain from the people, and not to the people’s benefit, are hirelings.

Jn. 10:14–16. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and am known by my own—as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. And from hence too you might recognise the difference of the shepherd and the hireling. For the hireling knows not the sheep; which comes of not visiting them often; for if he often visited them, he would know them. But the shepherd, such as is the Lord, knows His own sheep, as caring for them, and in turn is known by them, as being deemed worthy of His oversight, and through the familiarity recognising their guardian. And observe, that first He knows us, then so we Him; and it is not otherwise possible to know God, except we be known by Him. For first He was made akin to us in flesh, becoming man; then so we were made akin to Him, having received the gift of deification. And wishing to show that the unbelievers are unworthy to be known by God, and are not even sheep, He said, “And I know my own, and am known by my own,” according to the, “The Lord knows them that are his.” And lest any should suppose that He knew as man, He added, saying, “As the Father knows me, and I know the Father.” For so, He says, I know Him exactly, as He me. And continually He sets down the “I lay down my life for the sheep,” showing that He is not a deceiver. For to say that “I am light and life” seemed to the senseless to be of arrogance; but to say “I wish to die” has no envy, but rather shows much guardianship, if indeed He wished to give Himself for those that stoned Him. And in saying, “And I have other sheep,” He speaks concerning the Gentiles. And they are not of this fold, which is under the law; for the Gentiles were not shut in by the law. “Them also I must bring”; for they are scattered, both these and those, having no shepherds. For even the right-minded of the Jews, and the more apt for believing, were without a shepherd, and much more the Gentiles. He must, then, gather together those of the Gentiles also, as also those of the Jews. And the “must” here is not of necessity, but signifies what shall altogether come to pass. “And there will be one flock, one shepherd.” For in Christ Jesus there is neither Greek nor Jew, nor any difference; for one is the character to all, one the seal of baptism, one the shepherd, the Word of God and God. And let the Manichaeans be ashamed, that reject the Old Testament; for the same is God of both Old and New.

Jn. 10:17–21. For this reason my Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment I received from my Father. So there was again a division among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to him? Others said, These words are not of one possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? Since they called Him alien from the Father, and a deceiver, and a destroyer, not a Saviour of souls, He shows by what He says that “I am not your destroyer, but ready to receive all things for you; and if for no other reason, yet because God so loves you, that I too for this cause am loved by Him, since I die for you. How then should I deceive you, whom I know to be beloved of God, but should I not rather be earnest to die for you, as being, if for no other reason, yet for this loved the more by my Father?” And these so lowly things He says, condescending, because the hearers received Him not when He spoke the lofty things concerning Himself; since otherwise, considered, the saying will seem strange. For what? in the former time was He not loved, but now did the Father begin His love, and is the death for us the cause of it to Him? It is not so, but, as I said, condescending He says these things. And one might also say this, that since the love of God and the Father toward us was confessed, and God the Father saw also His Son showing the same kindness toward us, so as to be willing even to die for us, and preserving exactly the characters of the Father’s goodness, He loved Him fitly, not bestowing on the Son the love as a kind of reward for the death for us, but beholding in the Son the genuineness of His own essence, and as it were called to this by certain necessary and inexorable bonds of nature. For did not the Son show a work of great love toward us, dying ingloriously for us, and not only dying, but also taking His life again, that He might put death to death, and work for us immortality through the resurrection? This, then, He shows, when He says that “The Father loves me, because I die for you”—the, as it were, gladdening and rejoicing of the Father, that the Son is like Him, and preserves the characters of His love toward men. And the “No one takes my life from me” He says because of those that thirsted for murder against Him. For “you,” He says, “thirst for my blood; but know well, that against my will no one shall prevail.” And further, lest any should suppose that He dies as a servant and minister, commanded by another and yielding to him, He says: “The authority over my death I myself have, as master of death.” For this cause, then, He says, “I have power to lay down my life,” even if each of you also has power to lay down his life. For each, willing, can kill himself; but the Lord speaks not concerning such a manner, but that “Against my will no one could do this”; which in the case of men comes not to pass. For we are slain even unwilling by others; but Christ would never have suffered unwilling; wherefore, as being not otherwise subject to death, except only willingly, He has also the greater thing, the taking His life again. And this commandment He says He received from the Father, the dying for the world. “For so far,” He says, “am I not an adversary of God, that this very thing, the dying, I have been commanded by the Father.” And having first said also the lofty thing, “I have power to take my life again” (for this shows Him master of death, and again author of life), He sets down the lowly thing, “This commandment I received from my Father.” Thus wondrously He weaves both, both the not being thought less, and a servant of the Father, and the not being an adversary of God, but of equal power and at once of one counsel. So then He so profited many of the hearers by such words, that a division also arose. For some, since the words seemed to them enigmatic, thought Him possessed, as uttering senseless things; but they that understood moderately said, “These words are not of one possessed by a demon.” Then, since from the words they could not stop their mouths (for neither would the right-minded themselves have followed exactly the things spoken by the Lord, nor would they have persuaded those others), from the deeds they try to advocate for Christ, and say that “These words are not of one possessed by a demon.” And whence is this plain? From the works. “Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Since, then, the deed is divine, the words also are such. And why does Christ answer nothing to them that say He is possessed? Because they were sufficient to stop their mouths, and the more worthy of belief were they that opposed them, and pleaded in His behalf.

Jn. 10:22–26. Now it was the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me. But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. What dedication was kept at Jerusalem? Some say that on the day on which the temple was built by Solomon, on that they kept the dedication. But others say not this, but that the evangelist now means the dedication of the building of the temple after the captivity. And they kept the feast bright and public. For as though the city had recovered its proper adornment after that long captivity, they made the day of the dedication a day of joy. At this feast, then, Jesus also was present; for henceforth He frequented Judaea continually, since the passion was at the doors. For it was winter, after which winter, in the first month of spring, the Lord suffered. Wherefore also the evangelist noted the season, showing that the time of the passion was near, and for this cause the Lord frequented Jerusalem. The Jews, then, encompassed Him; and in seeming, out of some longing and love of learning, they ask Him to tell them whether He is the Christ; but in truth the question is of a meddlesome and corrupt mind. For though the works proclaimed Him to be the Christ, they sought to learn from words; which is rather of men mocking and deriding. Yet the question, full of much thanklessness and being false, shows their wickedness. “Tell us,” they say, “plainly.” And yet in many places He spoke plainly, both frequenting the feasts, and speaking nothing in secret, and naming Himself Son of God, and light, and way, and door, and bringing Moses forward as witness. Wherefore, reproving them as speaking out of an evil mind, “I told you,” He says, “often, and you do not believe.” And besides, “Why do you feign to be persuaded from a bare word? The works which I do, not as an adversary of God, but in the name of my Father, you receive not; and how will you believe a bare word? For altogether the works have a greater power to persuade than words.” Which also the more right-minded of them said: “Can a man that is a sinner do such signs?” “And for this cause,” He says, “you do not believe me, because you are not of my sheep. For I, as a good shepherd, did the things which it behoved me to do; but if you follow not, it is not I unworthy of the shepherd’s, but you unworthy of the sheep’s name.” And be you also earnest, while it is winter—the present life, I mean, that ever has tumults from the spirits of wickedness—to keep the dedication of your spiritual temple, ever becoming new, and disposing ascents in your heart. For then shall Jesus also be present with you, working together in the feast of this dedication in Solomon’s porch, in His shelter guarding you about, and making you to be at peace from the passions. For He Himself shall be the Solomon, which is interpreted “peaceable.” Whoever, then, is in His shelter, has the Lord Himself keeping feast with him. For spring is the age to come, in which no one can renew the soul.

Jn. 10:27–30. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. Since He said to them, “You are not of my sheep,” now He exhorts them to become sheep. Wherefore also He adds, saying, “My sheep hear my voice, and follow me.” Then, urging them on, He says also what they shall obtain that follow Him. For “eternal life,” He says, “I give to them, and they will never perish,” and what follows. And altogether by these words He stirs them up, and casts them into zeal and longing to follow Him also, as bestowing such things. And why does He say, “They will never perish”? Because “no one is able to snatch them out of my hand,” because “my Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,” and from His hand no one can snatch them, so that neither from my hand. For my hand and the Father’s are one. “For I and the Father are one,” according to the authority, namely, and the power; for by “hand” He means the authority and the power. I, then, and the Father are one according to the nature, and the essence, and the might. Which the Jews also perceiving, that He makes Himself consubstantial with God by these words, cast stones at Him, as making Himself the Son of God. But one might ask: How said the Lord that “No one shall snatch them out of my Father’s hand,” and yet we see many perishing? It is to be said, then, that to snatch out of the Father’s hand no one can, but to deceive many can. For by force and tyranny none has strength to drag away from God; but by deceit we are tripped up daily. And how says He, “My sheep follow me, and will never perish”? for we see that Judas perished. But for this cause he perished, because he followed not, nor remained a sheep to the end. But Christ speaks concerning those that followed Him and are sheep, that “They will never perish”; since, if one fall away from the rank of the sheep, and from following the shepherd, immediately he perishes, as befell Judas. For he too, being holy, namely, and having fallen away of his own choice, shows that men are not evil by nature, but are constituted and dissolved by their own will.

Jn. 10:31–36. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone you not; but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, make yourself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, You are gods? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say you of him, whom the Father has sanctified, and sent into the world, You blaspheme; because I said, I am the Son of God? Since He said, “I and my Father are one,” according altogether to the authority and the power, and showed that the hand of the Father and His own is one, the Jews thought the matter blasphemy, and cast stones, as though He made Himself equal to God. The Lord, then, abashing them, and showing that they have no reasonable cause for their madness against Him, but rave in vain, reminds them of the wonders wrought by Him, and “Many good works,” He says, “I have showed you; for which of these do you stone me?” But they, “For blasphemy,” they say, “we stone you, because you make yourself God.” He, then, denies not this, nor says, “I make not myself God, I am not equal to the Father,” but rather confirms their opinion, and establishes that He is God, from the things written in the law. And by “law” He means also the book of David, as also simply all the Scripture; and what He says is of this kind: “If they that received deification by grace are gods, and are not blamed, how am I justly rebuked by you, who am God by nature, whom the Father sanctified—that is, set apart to be sacrificed for the world (for the things set apart are called holy to God). For it is plain, that since the Father sanctified and set me apart to the salvation of the world, I am not equal to other gods, but the true God. For of God in truth is the work of saving, and not of a man deified by grace. If, then, those to whom the word of God came—that is, I, for I am the Word of God, and, dwelling in them, bestowed on them the adoption; if, then, those are gods, much more I should be free from all blame, calling myself God, who both am God by nature, and bestow this on others.” Let the Arians and Nestorians be ashamed from hence. For both Son of God, and God in essence and nature, is Christ, and not a creature, and to others bestows the Godhead, to whom He might come, being the Word of God, but is not Himself deified by grace. For He plainly separates Himself from those deified by grace, by the things here said, and shows that to those also He is the author of deification, being the Word of God and dwelling in them. For this He signifies by saying, “to whom the word of God came”—that is, with whom it came, in whom it dwelt. “How then do I blaspheme, saying myself Son of God? For though I bear flesh, and am of the seed of David, yet you are ignorant of the mystery, and that the carnal nature of men could not otherwise receive the converse of God, except He conversed with it through flesh, as in a veil.”

Jn. 10:37–38. If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me. But if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I am in him. “You wish,” He says, “to know the equality with the Father? From the essence you cannot know it; for it is impossible to know the essence of God; from the equality, then, and identity of the works, take the demonstration of the identity according to power; for from these shall be to you the witness of my Godhead, and you shall know and believe that I am nothing else than what the Father is. For I have the same essence, remaining Son, and differing in hypostasis. Likewise also the Father, remaining Father, and differing in hypostasis, is nothing else than the Son according to the essence, namely, and the nature. And if we differ also in the hypostases, yet the hypostases are not separated and parted, but the Father and the Son are in one another without confusion. For not as with us the father is separated from the son, and yet in nature is one; so then also with the divine hypostases; but they are in one another without confusion. Wherefore we also are called three men, as being parted in the hypostases, and not properly one; but in the case of the holy Trinity there is one God, and not three, because of the unconfused mutual indwelling of the hypostases in one another; add also the identity of counsel and the identity of will.”

Jn. 10:39–42. So they sought again to seize him, but he escaped out of their hand and went away again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John had first been baptizing, and he stayed there. And many came to him and said, John did no sign, but everything John said about this man was true. And many believed in him there. They seek to take the Lord, not enduring Him making the lofty witness concerning Himself; for they bore not with His theologizing the higher things. But He withdraws, yielding to their wrath, and through His absence preparing the passion of their wrath to cease, and withdraws even against their will, showing, what we have often said, that He would not even have been taken on the cross, had He not willingly given Himself. And where does He withdraw? Beyond Jordan, where John baptized, not without reason having withdrawn there, but reminding the many of the things that there took place, and of the things spoken by John concerning Him. And that the sojourn about the place profited many, the evangelist added, saying, “And many came to him,” and, being reminded of the place, said, he says, that “John did no sign.” And what he says is of this kind: “If we believed him that did no sign, much more this man that wrought so many wonders.” And since John bore witness concerning Christ, but did no sign, and for this cause perhaps was not thought worthy of belief, he added, saying, “But everything John said about this man was true,” no longer showing this man worthy of belief from John, but John from the things which Christ did. Wherefore, “Many,” he says, “believed there.” And the “there” shows that that place greatly profited them, since for this cause also Jesus continually leads the multitudes out into desert places, freeing them from the company of wicked men, that they may reap something great, as also in the Old Testament He appears to have done, leading them out of Egypt, and in the wilderness forming and ordering the people through giving them the law. And consider also the withdrawal of Christ as accomplished spiritually. For He withdraws from Jerusalem—that is, from the Jewish people; and removes to a place having fountains—the Church from the Gentiles, namely, which has the fountains of baptism. And lo, many come to Him, crossing the Jordan, and passing through baptism. For the “beyond Jordan” signifies this, the coming through baptism to Jesus; and one truly becomes faithful.

Chapter 11

Jn. 11:1–3. Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) So the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, the one you love is sick. John alone makes mention of this history. And he makes mention of it to teach us not to be vexed if any sickness befall the earnest and God-loving men, since Lazarus also, the friend of Christ, was sick. And this also we must not be ignorant of, that this Mary was not she that anointed the Lord with ointment, the harlot in Luke, or she in Matthew; but another, not a harlot, but grave, and God-loving, and earnest. For she was earnest about the reception of Christ, and ministered, as John himself further on bears witness; but also she is witnessed to have chosen the good part, as Luke says. And so admirable and well-known were the sisters, that Lazarus also was rather made known from them. “For Lazarus was,” he says, “of Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha.” And why do they send to call Jesus, and come not themselves, as the centurion and the nobleman? Because they greatly trusted Christ, and because they were women, and it was not seemly for them so readily to come forth from the house, and because they were held by mourning, and were busied about their brother. For that they did this not from contempt is plain from what follows; for they show much honour and reverence, and an unceasing entreaty. And the “Behold, the one you love,” they say, wishing to draw the Lord to compassion, by reminding Him of the name of friendship. And this word of the women shows also a certain faith. For so well they knew much power to be in the Lord, as to marvel that sickness laid hold of a man beloved by Him. For it is somehow a thing of wonder, the “Behold, the one you love is sick.”

Jn. 11:4–6. When Jesus heard this, he said, This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. Since He was about to abide there two days, for this cause He says that “The sickness is not to death,” though it was to death; but, as I said, wishing for the while to raise the spirits of the messengers, and giving them, as it were, a certain comfort, that they might not, pressing on, trouble Him, for this cause He says that “It is not to death.” And besides, if you consider well, neither was the sickness to death of such a kind as that whereof the many die after long time, but temporary, and lasting to four days. And since he rose on the fourth day, looking to the end of the matter, we say that the sickness was not to death, but “for the glory,” He says, “of God, that the Son of God may be glorified.” Do you see the one glory of the Father and of the Son? For having said, “for the glory of God,” He added, “That the Son of God may be glorified.” For unaltered is the glory of God—of the Father, I mean—as compared with that of the Son. The Son, therefore, is also God, as the Father, properly and truly. For of whom the glory is one, of them the essence also is one. Let the Arians, then, be ashamed from hence also. And the “That he might be glorified” understand not as causal, but of the issue and the outcome, as we have often said. For not that God might be glorified did Lazarus fall sick; but the sickness came to pass from another source, and the Lord used it to the glory of God. And He abode two days, that he might breathe out his soul; that no one might be able to say that it was a swoon, that it was a faintness, that he was in a trance, and died not. For this cause He stays so long a time, that corruption also might come to pass, and the sister might say that he stinks.

Jn. 11:7–10. Then after that says he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. His disciples say to him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone you; and do you go there again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbles not, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbles, because there is no light in him. Nowhere else did He foretell where He was about to go, but here only does He appear foretelling, since the disciples greatly feared the going into Judaea. For this cause, then, He foretells, that they might not be troubled by the suddenness, being all at once led away into a country which they feared. Since, then, they feared both for Him (for they had not yet perfect knowledge concerning Him), and the more for themselves, they say, “The Jews of late sought to stone you, and do you go there again?” But He encourages them, and says that “As he that sees the light stumbles not, but he that walks in the night stumbles; so he that does the good, and walks in luminous works, shall suffer nothing dreadful; but he that does the base shall suffer dreadful things. So that you need not fear; for we have done nothing worthy of death.” Or also otherwise: “If he that sees this light,” He says, “stumbles not, much more he that is with me, if he separate not himself from me, shall not stumble. So that you also, being with me the light, vainly fear.” And others understand by “day” the time before the passion, and by “night” the time of the passion. “You, then,” He says, “while it is day—that is, while the time of the passion is not yet come—shall not stumble; for you shall not be persecuted by the Jews, nor shall any other adversary meet you. But when the night comes—my passion, I mean—then shall you be shut up in one little chamber for fear of the Jews. And from that time you shall have afflictions, and pangs, and many stumblings and oppositions, when I the light shall no longer pass my life with you bodily, but you shall have the night of afflictions.”

Jn. 11:11–16. These things said he: and after that he says to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. However Jesus spoke of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent you may believe; nevertheless let us go to him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, to his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Since they feared Judaea, the Lord says to them: “Though the Jews sought to stone me, yet it was as discoursing with them and reproving them; but now I depart not as about to discourse, but as about to visit my friend. So that you need not fear. For I depart not on the same terms as before, that I should fear the danger from the Jews, but for the awaking of a friend.” But they, wishing to cut off the journey there, “It is enough,” they say; “If he sleep, he shall do well. Therefore we need not depart; for it is not necessary.” And yet He had for this cause added the “our friend,” that He might show His presence there necessary; but they say it is not necessary, since he is already saved by sleeping. Or rather, they say that His presence is not only not necessary, but also hurtful to the friend. “For if sleep is to him to recovery, as we think, and you are about to go, that you may awake him, you will cut off his recovery. We need not, then, go to awake him; for this is hurtful.” Since, then, He saw them still hesitating, then He says plainly that “He is dead.” And why did He not before so plainly say it, but hiddenly, naming death sleep? For many reasons: one, because of His freedom from boasting; for He would not appear a boaster, but hiddenly named the resurrection an awaking (for how would He have used this expression, had He not called death sleep?). And that this is true, the saying it hiddenly out of moderation, is plain from what follows. For having said, “He is dead,” He added not, “I go, that I may raise him.” Do you see how He would not boast of what He was about to confirm by deeds? and at the same time also teaching us not so easily to promise. For though in the case of the centurion He did this (for He said, “I will come and heal him”), yet there He said it that He might show that man’s faith. This, then, is one cause, for which He named death sleep. And another, that He might show us that every death is sleep and rest; and a third, that though to others the end of Lazarus was death, yet to Jesus Himself, who was so soon about to raise him, it was reckoned sleep. And as to us it is easy to awake one sleeping, so to Him, or rather ten thousand times more easily, to raise the dead. “And I am glad,” He says, “for your sakes, that you may now the more believe me as God, that I was not there, but being far off, foretell to you the death in Bethany, not having heard it, but, as God, foreseeing what came to pass afar off.” And some understood this thus: “I am glad for your sakes; for my not being there shall conduce to a greater faith in you. For if I had been present, I should have healed him being sick, but this had been a small wonder for the demonstration of power. But since I was absent, and death supervened, and I am about to go and raise him, you shall be the more confirmed in faith toward me, when you see me able to do this also which I have not before shown—to fit together and raise up one already dissolved, a dead man and stinking.” When the Lord had said these things, and shown His presence there necessary, Thomas, the more cowardly of the rest, “Let us go,” he says, “that we may die with him.” For the word is not of courage, but of cowardice and despondency. For, that he might cut off the other fellow-disciples, he reminds them of death, and of set purpose throws in the “that we may die,” as it were saying such things: “Let us also go, we the foolish and reckless, and taking no thought of our own salvation and life, that we may die with him.” “Grant,” he says, “that He sets no great store by His own life; do we then so play the fool?” These are the words of the coward. But behold him afterward, how for the truth, as an apostle, he was slain; so did the divine grace temper him, that the saying of Paul might be said of him also, that “Our sufficiency is of God,” and “Not I, but the grace.” And Origen says also a certain dream-interpreting thing concerning Thomas. For Thomas, he says, having heard the prophecies concerning Christ, and learned that He was about to descend with His soul into Hades, to free the souls, since he heard that “I go that I may awake Lazarus,” thought that He could not otherwise awake him—that is, free his soul—except He Himself also, laying aside the body, descended into Hades. Wherefore, as a genuine disciple of Christ, not wishing even in this to be left behind his teacher, he counsels also the other fellow-disciples, and exhorts to lay aside the body also himself, that he might descend together with Jesus, as he supposed about to lay down His soul, that He might bring up from Hades the soul of His friend. This ridiculous exposition I have set down to the shaming of those that follow Origen. For is not the exposition of the wise man simply a dream? But do you understand simply that, dispelling the darkness of their fear, he said, “Let us go to him,” as to God.

Jn. 11:17–20. So when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. Of set purpose the Lord waited for Lazarus to become of four days; then He came, that He might work the wonder unimpeachable on every side. And why does the evangelist add that Bethany was fifteen furlongs distant from Jerusalem? That he might show that fitly many of the men of Jerusalem were present; for Bethany was not far off. And they comforted the women, not as loved by Christ (for they had agreed that if any confessed Him Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue), but because of the necessity of the calamity; or as reverencing them as nobler; even those wicked men were present, whence also many of them believed. And Martha alone goes out to meet Him, and takes not her sister, since she wished to meet Him in private, and to tell the thing that had happened. Whence, since He led her to good hopes, then she goes and calls her sister. And she tells not at first her sister Mary, wishing to escape the notice of those present. For if Mary had heard that Jesus was coming, she would have risen up to meet Him, and the Jews present would have followed her, whom Martha wished not to know that Jesus was come.

Jn. 11:21–28. Then said Martha to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatever you will ask of God, God will give it you. Jesus says to her, Your brother shall rise again. Martha says to him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She says to him, Yea, Lord: I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calls for you. Martha had faith toward Christ, but not so much as she ought. Wherefore also she says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died.” For this she altogether said, as not believing that, even absent, He could, had He wished, have turned away her brother’s death; and still through what follows she shows the greater weakness of her faith. For “Whatever,” she says, “you shall ask of God, He will give you.” Do you see that she thought Him as a virtuous man and approved with God? For she said not, “Whatever you will, you shall do,” but, “Whatever you shall ask, He will give you.” But He, overturning such a suspicion of hers, “Your brother shall rise,” He says. For He said not to her, “Yea, I will ask God, and He will give me,” nor did He run together with her word, but used a middle expression; yet through what follows He makes more manifest His own authority and power, saying, “I am the resurrection and the life.” For since the woman still disbelieves, and recognised not even the “Your brother shall rise,” but conceives him to rise in the last resurrection; and she knew the last resurrection should be, both from the divine Scriptures, and especially from the continual discourses of Christ concerning the resurrection; since, then, the woman was still a woman, the Lord rouses her, and as it were awakens her deadened faith, saying more manifestly: “You say to me that whatever I ask of God He will give me; but I say to you thus openly, that I am the resurrection and the life. So that my power is not shut up by place, but, both absent and present, I am able to heal. For I am the supplier of good things, and not as another giving, but being myself the resurrection and the life, I am mighty both to raise and to quicken. And he that believes in me, though he die this natural death, shall live; and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die the death of the soul. So that be not troubled; for though your brother be dead, he shall live. And why do I speak concerning your brother? Neither shall you, if you believe in me, die, but shall be superior to the more dreadful death, the death of the soul. And He that redeems from the more dreadful, much more shall redeem from the lesser, the bodily, your dead brother.” And He asks the woman if she believes; but she, though having heard so much, yet understood not what the Lord said to her, being sick, I think, with senselessness also from her grief. For He asked one thing, and she answers another. For He asked if she believes that He is the resurrection and the life, and that he that believes in Him shall never die for ever, whether you will understand the death of the soul or the bodily; for indeed the faithful, through the hope of the resurrection, are not even said to die. But she, what answers she? “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world”; well indeed bearing witness, and truly, yet not making the answer suited to the question. Yet meanwhile she gains the staying of the vehemence of her grief, and the hindering of much mourning; and secretly she calls her sister, very prudently doing this, because of the Jews that there chanced to be present. For if they had known that she was going to meet Christ, they would have withdrawn, and so the wonder would have remained without witness. But now, thinking that Mary went to the tomb to weep there, and for this cause going away with her, they necessarily became eye-witnesses and witnesses of the wonder. And how does Martha say to Mary, “The Master calls you,” though the evangelist did not note that the Lord called her? Either, then, the Lord secretly, in the unspoken, commanded Martha to call her sister, or, accounting the very presence of Christ as a call, she says, “The Master calls you.” For how was it not due, Christ being present, that she also should come to Him? The presence of the Lord, then, demanding that of necessity she should meet Him, the evangelist calls a “calling.” “For the Master,” she says, “is come, and calls you”; and since He is present, this very presence is a calling.

Jn. 11:29–32. As soon as she heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, comforting her, when they saw Mary get up quickly and go out, followed her, saying, She is going to the tomb to weep there. So when Mary came to where Jesus was, she saw him and fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. As soon as she heard that Jesus was present, Mary delays not, but rises and comes to Him. Whence it is plain that Martha would not have anticipated her, nor have gone first, had she known that Jesus was coming. And Jesus was not yet come into the town. For He walked the more slowly, that He might not seem to cast Himself upon the wonder, but to have done it as being asked by them. And since the wonder about to be was great, and such as He had wrought but seldom, and many were to gain by it, for this cause He dispenses that many should become witnesses of the wonder. For the evangelist says that “The Jews that were with her in the house followed her.” And more warmly than her sister Martha did Mary come to Christ. For seeing Him, he says, she fell at His feet; not ashamed of the multitude, not at all suspecting that it was likely some there were ill-disposed toward Christ; but casting out every human consideration, the Master being present, and being constant in her honour toward Him, she says: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But Martha does nothing such; for neither does she fall down, but rather appears disbelieving Christ, who promised her the better things concerning her brother. And though Mary also appears to have this imperfectly, in saying, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died,” yet Christ says nothing to her, such as to her sister, because much multitude was present, and it was not the time for such words. But condescending to nature, He shows also the things proper to it.

Jn. 11:33–37. So when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he groaned in spirit and was troubled, and said, Where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews said, See how he loved him! But some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have kept this man also from dying? His nature was moved to tears, and was troubled, because of Mary weeping herself also, and those that came with her. But the Lord rebukes the passion in the spirit—that is, He chides through the spirit the confusion, and restrains it, and so asks, that the question might not be made with wailing. For since He grieved (for He was truly man, and, to confirm the human nature, He gave way to it to work its own), He both chides the flesh, and rebukes it by the power of the Holy Spirit. The flesh, then, not bearing the rebuke, is troubled, and trembles, and masters the grief. And all these things the Lord permits His nature to suffer, at once also confirming that He was truly man, and not in fantasy, and at once also teaching us, and setting bounds and measures of grief and of freedom from grief. For both the unsympathetic and tearless is brutish, and the much-weeping and lamentation-loving and over-grieved is womanish. Since, then, He shared with us flesh and blood, He partakes of the human and natural things, and shows us measures of these. And He asks, “Where have you laid him?” not as being ignorant (for how, He who, even from afar off, knew that he was dead?), but that He might not seem to cast Himself upon the wonder, wishing to learn all things from them, and to be entreated to do it, that He might free the sign from all suspicion. And since no token of the raising of Lazarus was yet shown, neither was He thus thought to come as about to raise him, but as about to mourn, they say to Him, “Lord, come and see.” But the wicked Jews again are not at all freed from their wickedness, though so great a calamity lay before their eyes; but what say they? “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have kept this man also from dying?” And slandering the wonder upon the blind man, they say these things. For when they ought to marvel at that sign, they from this death slander that also as not having happened, and forestall with accusations, not waiting for the outcome; so wholly captive were their minds to envy.

Jn. 11:38–42. Jesus therefore again groaning in himself comes to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take you away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, says to him, Lord, by this time he stinks: for he has been dead four days. Jesus says to her, Said I not to you, that, if you would believe, you should see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I knew that you hear me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that you have sent me. Why does the evangelist up and down turn the “Jesus wept,” and that “He groaned at the passion”? That we may learn that He truly clothed Himself with our nature. For since, beyond all the evangelists, he utters loftier things concerning the Lord, and theologizes certain great things, for this cause also in the bodily things he utters much lowlier things. Whence also in the mourning he says He has much of the human, from this showing the truth of the flesh, that you may learn that, though He was God, yet He was also man. For as Luke from the agony, and the clot, and the sweat, so this evangelist from the mourning gives assurance that He truly bore flesh. And why did He not, the stone lying upon it, make Lazarus to rise, but says, “Take you away the stone”? For He that moved the dead body by His voice, and ensouled one already dissolved, much more could have moved the stone by His voice. “Take away,” He says, “the stone,” that He might make them witnesses of the wonder, that they might not again say, as in the case of the blind man, “This is he; this is not he.” For to come to the place, and to take away the stone with their own hands, was sufficient to stop the mouths of the thankless, who became witnesses of the sign. And the “By this time he stinks, for he has been dead four days,” Martha said as disbelieving, supposing it impossible that her brother should rise because of the length of the days; so much is she turned downward. But Christ, reminding her of what He discoursed to her, and well-near rebuking her as forgetful, says, “Said I not to you, that, if you would believe, you should see the glory of God?” To the disciples, then, He said, “That the Son of God might be glorified, for this cause Lazarus died”; but to Martha, “The glory,” He says, “you shall see of God,” speaking concerning the Father. For the weakness of the hearers is the cause of the things spoken being spoken diversely. For since Jews stood there, it was not fitting that the Lord should say, “You shall see the glory of the Son of God”; for He would have seemed to boast concerning Himself. But now, speaking concerning the Father, He made the word more acceptable and more moderate. And why does He pray—or rather, why did He assume the form of a prayer? Hear Himself saying. For He says, “Because of the multitude which stand by I said it, that they may believe that you have sent me.” And what He says is of this kind: “That they may not think me an adversary of God, that they may not say, He is not of God; that I may show the work done according to your will.” And that this is so, and that He seems to pray not for any other need, but because of those standing by, behold the prayer: “I thank you that you have heard me.” And who ever so prayed? For before saying anything, He says, “You have heard me.” So that it is not a prayer, but a form of prayer, and a token only. And that He needs not prayer is plain from the many other things which He did without prayer. “I say to you, devil, come out of him”; and, “I will; be you clean”; and, “Your sins are forgiven you,” which is the greatest of all; and to the sea, “Be silent, be still.” That the bystanders, then, might believe that He is from above, and not an adversary of God, for this cause He prays. For if, doing these things, and on every side showing the right-mindedness toward the Father, they yet said that “He is not of God,” what would they not have said, had He done nothing such?

Jn. 11:43–46. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus says to them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Having given thanks to the Father rather than prayed (for, as has been said, He needed not prayer and the help from it, as being of equal power with the Father), He cries with a loud voice, authoritative and lordly. For He said not, “In the name of my Father, Lazarus, come forth,” nor, “Raise him, O Father,” but, as has been said, authoritatively, stopping all the mouths of those that call Him less than the Father. For what equal to this authority could there be, that, discoursing to the dead man as to one living, He says, “Lazarus, come forth”? And now also came to pass in deed the “The hour comes, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.” For lest any should suppose that He received the energy from another, He foretells this, which He was about to show by the deeds. The great voice, then, of the Saviour, that raised Lazarus, is a symbol of the great trumpet that shall sound in the common resurrection. And the Lord cried loud for this cause, that He might stop the mouths of the Greeks, who fable that the soul is in the tomb. For as though it were far off, He calls it by the cry. And as this resurrection was partial, so also the universal shall be in a moment and the twinkling of an eye. “And he that was dead came forth,” he says, “bound hand and foot.” For it seemed no less marvellous than the rising, the coming forth bound; and it was a wonder altogether for the bound to move, a wonder joined to the wonder of the rising. And He commands them to loose him, that, coming near and touching him, they might see that it is he himself. And He says, “Let him go,” because of His freedom from boasting; for He takes him not with Him, nor commands him to walk with Him, so as to make a display. The wonder being wrought, some of them that beheld believed, but others reported to the Pharisees, slandering Him altogether, as having dared a thing unholy, in commanding the buried to be dug up.

Jn. 11:47–48. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, What are we doing? For this man does many signs. If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. When they ought to be astonished and to marvel at Him that did so great wonders, the Pharisees rather take counsel to slay Him; which was the height of senselessness, that Him who overcame death in the bodies of others they thought to deliver to death, so as to overshadow His glory, and after so many wonders deem Him a mere man, saying, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs.” And what charge is this, if He does signs? One ought to believe, and worship, and no longer count Him a mere man. But behold the perversity of the Pharisees: being earnest to stir up the people, they throw in a word, as though the multitude of the Jews were about to be in danger, and to be destroyed by the Romans on suspicion of tyranny. “For if we let this man alone,” they say, “he will have much multitude drawn after him by the showing of the signs, and henceforth the Romans will suspect us all of tyranny, and will take away our cities, and destroy them.” And these things, as I said, they said out of wickedness. For lest they should seem to plot against Christ out of envy, they bring forward the common danger into the midst, stirring up the people against Christ, as one that should be the cause to them of destruction. And take me this wonder also to the inner man. For our mind is a friend to Christ; but oftentimes, overcome by the weakness of the human nature, it falls into sin, and dies a death of the soul and most pitiable, yet worthy to be pitied by Christ; for the dead one is a friend. Let, then, the sisters and kinswomen of the dead mind—flesh as Martha (for Martha is more bodily and more material), and soul as Mary (for she is graver and more devout)—come to Christ, and fall down, having also the reasonings of confession following with them, as those women had the Jews; for “Judas” is interpreted “confession.” And altogether the Lord, standing by the tomb, and commanding the hardness lying upon the memory, as a kind of stone, to be taken away, shall bring us to remembrance of the good things and remissions to come; and with a great voice, the voice of the gospel trumpet, He shall cry: “Lazarus, come forth from the world; be not buried in the distractions and passions of life”; as also to the disciples He said, “You are not of the world”; and again Paul, “Let us go forth to him without the camp”—that is, the world; and so He shall raise up from sin the dead one, on whom the bruises of wickedness stank. Who for this cause was stinking, because he was a four-days’ dead man, deadened to the four daylight and luminous virtues, and being idle and unmoved toward them. Yet though he was unmoved, and bound hand and foot, and tightened by the cords of his own sins, and shown wholly inactive, yea, and his face also covered with a napkin, so as to be able to see nothing divine, the fleshly covering standing before him; and, to speak summarily, being most wretchedly disposed both as to the practical, which is shown by the hands and feet, and as to the contemplative, which is hinted at by the covered face; even if he be thus wretchedly disposed, yet shall he hear, “Loose him,” you good angels and fellow-workers of salvation, or you priests, and give him remission of sins, so that he may go, and be moved toward the working of the good. And some understood by Martha the synagogue of the Jews, and by Mary that of the Gentiles. For that of the Jews is troubled about many things (for many are the commandments of the law and hard to work); but that of the Gentiles needs not the many commandments, but the few, on which the whole law and the prophets hang, those concerning love.

Jn. 11:49–53. And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish. He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but that he might gather into one the scattered children of God. So from that day they took counsel to kill him. Together with the other things, the dignity of the high priesthood also was corrupted among the Jews. For from the time that the offices became purchasable, they no longer officiated the whole time of their life, but year by year. Yet, though the dignity was thus corrupted, nevertheless the Holy Spirit was still present, working in those anointed. But when they laid their hands also upon Christ, then altogether the grace forsook them, and passed over to the apostles. The rest, then, in the order of counsel considered the death of Christ; but the high priest was so murderous, as with bare head and with effrontery to pronounce against Christ; nay rather, he even blames the others, as not understanding the needful thing, and being idle about the consideration of the expedient. “For you,” he says, “know nothing. You are idle,” he says, “to perceive, and reckon not that it is expedient that one die, and all the people be saved.” And this he himself indeed said out of a perverse reckoning; yet the grace of the Spirit used that mouth to the prophecy of the future, though it touched not his foul heart. Consider, then, how great is the power of the Spirit; for from a wicked mind it prepared words to come forth having a wonderful prophecy. For Christ having died, all that believed of the nation were freed from the great and eternal punishment; and He died not for the Jewish people only, but that He might gather into one the other children of God also—that is, the Gentiles. And He names the Gentiles “children of God,” either from what was to be (for since they were to become children of God, He so names them; as also elsewhere He says, “And other sheep I have,” calling these also from what was to be), or inasmuch as He is Father of all, having begotten us in a creative manner, and inasmuch as He honoured us, having created us after His own image and likeness; as also in the Acts Paul, haranguing to the Athenians, says, “For we are also his offspring.” Since, then, man is a sovereign creature, and in this likened to God, every man is called a child of God. Us, then, being thus scattered (for in many ways Satan parted men from one another and from God, preparing each to be mad against his neighbour through love of money and love of glory), Christ led into one, gathering us into one Church and one yoke, and making both them that were near and them that were far off one body; that he that sits in Rome may reckon him that is in India a proper member, and may confess all to have one head, Christ. And the “From that day they took counsel to kill Jesus” shows that from that day they properly and perfectly ratified the resolve. For before this also they were digging about the murder, but more softly, and the matter was rather an inquiry than a decision; but now it is a perfect judgment and a ratified vote. For “Of late,” he says, “they sought to kill him”; and He Himself, reproving them, says, “You seek to kill me.” Consider, then, the power of the high-priestly dignity, how it is full of the grace of the Spirit, even though they that bear it be unworthy. And honour me the high priests according to the worthiness of the grace in them, not according to their own choice. And not only Caiaphas prophesies, but also many others unworthy saw the things to come: Pharaoh the things concerning the plenty and the dearth; Nebuchadnezzar the things concerning the kingdoms and concerning Christ; and Balaam concerning Christ. Yet not if one prophesies should he be called a prophet; but if one is a prophet, he also prophesies; as neither is everyone that does something medical already also a physician, but that one only would be called a physician; as also a just man is not he that has merely once done what is just, but he that pursues justice justly, according to the saying, “That which is just shall you justly pursue.”

Jn. 11:54–57. So Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with his disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. So they looked for Jesus and said to one another as they stood in the temple, What do you think—that he will not come to the feast? Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, so that they might seize him. To the condemnation of the Jews the Lord withdraws, not out of cowardice, but at the same time also teaching us not to cast ourselves into dangers, even though they be for godliness, but, when overtaken, to stand nobly, but, not being overtaken, not to expose ourselves to voluntary danger, because of the uncertainty of the issue. And behold the senseless mind of the Jews, how not even in the time of the feast did they refrain from murderousness, but both took counsel to do murder, and went up to be purified. For they that had sinned, whether willingly or unwillingly, kept not the passover, except they were first purified according to custom, washing and fasting, and shaving themselves, and offering certain prescribed sacrifices. These, then, the excellent men that performed the purification, lay in wait for the Lord, and say, “What do you think—that he will not come to the feast?”—that is, “Of necessity he is about to fall into the snare; for the time, if nothing else, will force him to be ensnared.” O the wickedness! When the more they ought to release even the confessedly condemned because of the feast, then they lay in wait for the guiltless. But if private men only did these things, the matter would seem to be of ignorance; but now the Pharisees command that he be informed against, and seized. Well, then, does the Lord withdraw from these. For the Word of God before indeed walked openly among the Jews, being proclaimed through the prophets; but now no longer, but withdrew into the wilderness, the gathering of the Gentiles, concerning which it is said, “Many are the children of the desolate, more than of her which has an husband.” And near is Ephraim, this wilderness. And Ephraim is interpreted “fruit-bearing.” And this was the younger brother, Manasseh being the elder; and Manasseh is interpreted from “forgetfulness.” The people of the Jews, then, was the elder son of God (“For Israel is my firstborn son,” He says); but God had forgetfulness of him; and Ephraim—that is, the fruit-bearing from the Gentiles—He makes the second son, the Church that bore fruit through the Gospel.

Chapter 12

Jn. 12:1–3. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from the dead. So they made him a dinner there, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Then Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. On the tenth of the month they take the lamb that is to be sacrificed at the feast of the Passover, and from that time they begin to prepare the things needful for the feast. Accordingly, on the day six before it, which is the ninth of the month, they feast more sumptuously, and make this day a prelude of the feast. Wherefore Jesus also is entertained, having come to Bethany. And the evangelist, wishing to show a token of the true resurrection of Lazarus, says, “But Lazarus was one of those reclining at table.” For he did not, having once appeared, immediately die again, but remained a long time eating and drinking and going through the other accustomed things. And by saying that Martha served, he signified that the entertainment was in her house. And observe to me the faith of the woman, how she does not commit the service to maidservants, but performs it herself by her own hand. Paul also speaks concerning a widow woman, “if she have washed the saints’ feet.” She, then, ministers in common to all; but Mary bestows the honour upon Christ alone, since she attends to Him not as to a man, but as to God. For this cause she poured out the ointment, and wiped it with the hairs of her head, not holding such a supposition concerning Him as the many, as concerning a mere man, but as concerning a Master and Lord. And Mary might be taken, by ways of anagogy, for the divinity of the Father and Lord of all; for Mary is interpreted “lady.” The Godhead of the Father, then, which is Lady of all, anointed the feet of Jesus—that is, the flesh of the Lord assumed in the last times, or rather, I mean, of the Word—with the power of the Spirit; even as David also says, “Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness”; and the great Peter, “Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this same Jesus, whom you have crucified.” For the flesh, taken beforehand by the Word and anointed by the divine Spirit which came upon the womb of the Virgin, and having become what the Word is—that is, God—filled the world with fragrance, even as the ointment of Mary perfumed all the house. And who are the hairs that wiped the feet? Surely those that adorn the head of God and His sovereign authority—the saints. For these, being for the glory of God, would be called His adornment, who have also become partakers of the anointing of the Lord’s flesh, whom David also calls “partakers.” And Paul too says to the Corinthians, “He which establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, is God.” And everywhere we know that they who have lived according to Christ are called “christs” (anointed ones). The Christians, then, would be understood as the hairs that wiped the feet of Jesus and partook of the divine gift. The hairs are a thing dead, and they that are Christ’s are dead also; for they crucified the flesh, and mortified their members which are upon the earth, and died to the world. The hairs adorn the head and are its glory; and the glory of God is the saints, whose light shines before men, and through whom the Father is glorified, to whom even the eating and the drinking are done to the glory of God, who glorify Him also in their members. And you too, since Jesus has raised up your mind as a kind of Lazarus, and you receive Him into the house of your soul, and the risen one also feasts together with Him—anoint the feet of the Lord six days before the Passover, before the Passover of the age to come is come, while yet you pass your time in this world that was completed in six days. The feet of Christ are the Apostle, and the Gospel, and, simply to say, the commandments; for through them He walks about in us. To these commandments, then, bring ointment—the disposition compounded of diverse virtues, whereof the better is faith warm as spikenard. For unless you show a warm and earnest and virtuous relation toward the commandments, and with your mortified members, as with hairs, wipe these and take Him up to yourself, you shall not be able to make your house fragrant. The feet of the Lord are also the least brethren, through whom Christ walks to the door of each, seeking the things needful, whom do you anoint with the ointment of almsgiving. Many indeed show mercy, but for display; wherefore neither do they receive the benefit to themselves, for they have their reward here. But do you wipe with the hairs of your head, and receive the benefit into your soul, in the ruling part; and if you have anything dead and lifeless, like hairs—“for your sins,” He says, “shall you wipe away with almsgiving.”

Jn. 12:4–8. So one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who was about to betray him, said, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and kept the money box, and used to take what was put into it. So Jesus said, Leave her alone; she has kept this for the day of my burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. Being a lover of money, Judas finds fault with the manner of the honour. “Why,” says he, “did you not bring money, that I might have it to steal, but ointment?” How then does another evangelist say that all the disciples said this? It must be answered that all indeed said it, but the others not with such a purpose as this man. Yet the Lord does not reprove him, although He knew that he said this with a thievish mind; for He did not wish to put him to shame, teaching us also to be long-suffering toward such men. Nevertheless He covertly upbraids him with the betrayal, and that for love of money he was about to deliver Him up to death. Wherefore He also makes mention of the burial, smiting his senseless heart, if perchance he might be set right. And that which is added bears some such meaning. “For the poor,” He says, “you always have with you; but me you do not always have.” “In a little while,” He says, “I shall depart, when you have contrived My death. If, then, I am burdensome to you, and the honour done to Me grievous, wait a little, and you shall be rid of Me; and then it shall be known whether for the poor’s sake you have need of the selling of the ointment.” And why, if indeed he was a lover of money and a thief, did the Lord entrust to him the stewardship of the money? For this very reason, that he was a thief—that He might cut off every pretext of his. For he could not say that for love of money he betrayed Him, since he had sufficient solace from the bag; yet not even having the bag was he faithful. For he “bare,” that is, he stole, the things put therein, and was a robber of sacred things, purloining what was given for the divine need (let robbers of sacred things hear of what portion they are), and—the very head of his wickedness—afterward he betrayed the Lord. Do you see where love of money leads? To betrayal. Well, then, did Paul call it the root of all evils, as having betrayed the Lord, and as doing this same thing day by day. And some say that Judas was put in charge of the ministry of the money as being lesser than the others; for to minister about money is less than to minister about teaching, as also in the Acts the apostles say, “It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.”

Jn. 12:9–11. So a large crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, and they came, not only for Jesus’ sake, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests took counsel to kill Lazarus also, because on account of him many of the Jews were deserting and believing in Jesus. Well-disposed were these who came to the Lord, and not, like the rest, ill-disposed and raging. “For they came,” he says, “not only for Jesus’ sake, but also to see Lazarus.” For the miracle being indeed a very great one, many wished to become beholders of the risen man, perhaps expecting also to hear something from Lazarus concerning the things in Hades. But the Pharisees were so inhuman that they wished not only to slay Jesus but Lazarus also, because he had become to many a cause of salvation, drawing the more guileless to the faith by the miracle wrought upon him; so much was even to suffer good a charge in their eyes. And most of all it stung them that, the feast being at hand, all ran to Bethany, and became hearers of the miracle and eye-witnesses of the risen one.

Jn. 12:12–13. On the next day, the great crowd that had come to the feast, hearing that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! Having withdrawn for a little into the wilderness in order to quench the wrath of the murderous men, the Lord again enters with boldness, and is made manifest to all. For the time of the Passion was now at hand, and it behoved Him no longer to hide Himself, but to give Himself for the salvation of the world. For observe the sequence of the Passion: He raised Lazarus, keeping this last miracle, the greatest of all; from this many ran together and believed; from many believing, the envy grew greater; and from this came the plot and the cross. “For when the multitudes heard,” he says, “that Jesus was coming,” they met Him with glory, rendering Him, on account of the miracle of Lazarus, an honour greater than is due to a mere man. For they held Him no longer as a prophet; for what prophet did their fathers ever so honour? Whence also they said, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” And from these words we reason, first, that He is God; for “Hosanna” is interpreted “Save now,” as it lies, rendered into Greek by the Seventy, in the hundred and seventeenth Psalm: for where the Hebrew has “Hosanna,” the Greek has “O Lord, save now.” And to save belongs to God alone, and to Him it is said, “Save us, O Lord our God.” And from every side one might reason that the Scripture ascribes salvation to God alone. First, then, this they show who say the words of David concerning Christ—that He is God; then, that He is also properly God. For “he who comes,” he says, not “he who is brought”; for the one is somewhat servile, but to come is a thing of authority. And by saying “in the name of the Lord,” they show this same thing, that He is true God; for they say He comes not in the name of a servant, but of the Lord. And further they set forth that He is not a rival of God, but came in the name of the Father, even as the Lord Himself also says, “I am come in my Father’s name, and another shall come in his own name.” And they called Him King of Israel, perhaps imagining a sensible kingdom. For they expected one about to arise who should save them from the dominion of the Romans.

Jn. 12:14–16. And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written: Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming to you, seated on a donkey’s colt. His disciples did not understand this at first, but when Jesus was glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him, and that they had done these things to him. How is it that the other evangelists say the Lord told the disciples, “Loose them and bring them to me,” but John here says nothing of the kind, but simply thus, “Jesus, finding a young donkey”? And what of this? Surely they do not disagree; but those having spoken more fully, this one spoke more concisely, “Jesus, finding a young donkey.” For being loosed by the disciples and brought, He found and sat thereon. And by this He both fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah, who said, “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion: behold, your king is coming to you, seated on a donkey’s colt.” For since for the most part they that reigned in Jerusalem were unjust and grasping, the prophet says, “Fear not, Sion; for the king prophesied to you from me is not such, but meek and lowly-minded, and showing nothing boastful; and he is shown to come sitting upon an ass.” For He entered not dragging an army after Him, but borne upon an ass. And His sitting upon an ass was also a symbol of the future. For this is an unclean animal according to the law, and a symbol of the unclean people of the Gentiles, upon which sits the Word of God, Jesus, subduing this unsubdued and untaught people, as a colt, I mean the new people, whom also He leads up to the true Jerusalem, when it has become subject and bowed under Him. For did not the Lord gather together them of the Gentiles to heaven, who became His people and obeyed the preaching? And the palms perhaps signified both that He should become the conqueror of death, having raised Lazarus—for the palm was given in the games to the victors; and perhaps they showed also that He who was acclaimed was heavenly and come from on high. For alone of the other trees the palm stretches up, so to say, toward heaven itself, and flourishes on high, bearing white shoots upon its crown; but in its trunk and middle parts up to the top it is rough and hard to climb, casting forth thorns upon its branches. So then also he that presses on toward the knowledge of the Son and Word of God will find it rough and steep, journeying through the toils of virtue; but having come to the height of the knowledge, he will meet with the most radiant light of the knowledge of God and the revelation of things unspeakable, even as with the whitest shoots of the palm. And marvel to me at the evangelist, how he is not ashamed, but parades the former ignorance of the apostles. “His disciples,” he says, “did not understand this at first, but when Jesus was glorified.” And by glory he means the taking up after the cross and the Passion. Then indeed, then, they understood, by the [grace] of the Spirit. For perhaps they knew that these things were written; but that they were [fulfilled] upon Him they understood not, since they were offended at Him when He was crucified.

Jn. 12:17–19. So the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were testifying. For this reason the crowd also went to meet him, because they had heard that he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, Do you see that you are gaining nothing? Look, the world has gone after him. “The world has gone after him.” The multitude, he says, that saw the miracle upon Lazarus, was witness and herald of His power; wherefore also they that heard this sign had been wrought met Him with glory, that is, believing. For they would not, unless they had believed, have been so suddenly changed over. And the Pharisees who say, “Do you see that you are gaining nothing?” speak these things not out of wickedness; for they were not of those that plotted against the Saviour, but seem to be well-disposed, yet timid; wherefore, not daring openly to withstand those that raged against the Lord, they try from the outcome of the matter to restrain them, all but saying such things as these: “What profit is there to you from the many plots against this man? However much you plot, so much does he increase, and his glory grows. For the world, that is, the whole multitude, has gone after him. So then, since you accomplish nothing, cease from the plots, lest you transgress in vain.”

Jn. 12:20–24. Now there were some Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the feast. These came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip goes and tells Andrew; and Andrew and Philip go and tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. On account of the beauty of the temple, and the wonders told of among the Jews, many of the Greeks also went up to worship. And these were near to becoming proselytes also, that is, to coming over to Judaism. The report concerning Jesus, then, being spread abroad, they come to Philip and asked him, that they might see Jesus—that is, they made request. But he (and observe the modesty and good order) speaks to Andrew, as being before him. And Andrew does not snatch at the announcement, nor act on his own authority, but taking Philip also along with him, he thus is bold to make the announcement; so great was the good order and mutual love that prevailed among them. What then does the Lord? Since He had charged the disciples not to go into the way of the Gentiles, but now saw the Gentiles already coming to Him (for the Greeks who wished to see Him were assuredly heathen), and knew that the Jews were plotting against Him, He says, “It is time now to come to the Passion. For the hour of the cross is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. For what profit is it that the Gentiles, coming, we should not receive, but should run to the Jews who hate and persecute? Since, then, they of the Gentiles run to us, now at length is the hour of the crucifixion. Therefore I will permit the Jews to bring their counsels to an end, and will yield to them so as to crucify Me, that they may be without excuse for the time to come, when with reason I leave them as crucifiers and murderers together, and go over to the Gentiles who have already begun to come to My teaching. For it is exceedingly unjust to give nothing to the Gentiles who thirst for the word and salvation, but to wait still upon the Jews who spit out the things given and plot against their benefactor.” Then, that the disciples might not be offended that, when the Gentiles also began to come, then also He dies, He says, “This very thing, My dying, will the more increase the faith of the Gentiles. For even as the grain of wheat, when, being sown, it dies, then bears much fruit, so also My death shall bring much fruit in the faith of the Gentiles. So let no man be offended, as though the bringing in of the Gentiles were cut short by the death; but let him be persuaded by the example of the grain, that my fall in death shall become the increase of them that believe. For if this comes to pass in the grain, much more in Me. For having died and risen again, I shall the more show My power.”

Jn. 12:25–26. He who loves his life will lose it; and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Since the Lord was near the Passion, and the disciples were about to be full of dejection, for this cause He says, “So far ought you not to be dejected at My death, that, unless you also yourselves die, neither shall there be any gain to you; but every man simply, whoever loves the present life, and loves his soul—that is, does its unseemly desires, and gratifies it beyond what is fitting, and despises not death—loses it. But he who hates it—that is, who yields not to it, nor bows beneath it—will keep it for eternal life.” And wishing to show the intense aversion which one must feel toward the desires of the soul, He said, “He who hates.” For of things hated we endure neither to see the face nor to hear the voice. So, then, must one be disposed toward the irrational longings of the soul, hating them with a perfect hatred. And by saying, “He who hates his life in this world,” He shows the temporary nature of the thing. For since the command seemed murderous and harsh, He softens it by adding, “in this world.” “For I command you not,” He says, “to hate the soul to endless time; in this transitory world turn away from it when it enjoins upon you things unfitting.” And He adds the gain: “For eternal life,” He says, “will he keep it.” “You hate a thing temporary, but to ages you keep alive the divine life.” And urging them yet more to the contempt of the present life, and emboldening them against death, He says, “If anyone serves me, let him follow me”; let him be so ready for death, as I. For He means here the following that is through works. Then also the consolation: “Where I am, there will also my servant be.” And where is Christ? In the heavens. So then he that follows Him through death, and is not nailed to this world, shall be there in the heavens. For the above and the below are opposed to one another. He that loves to be below shall not be above; but he that flees the things below and the world shall be above and in the heavens. “If anyone serves me,” He says, “the Father will honor him.” He said not, “Will I honour him,” but “the Father,” showing thereby the genuineness; for as the servant of a genuine Son the true Father will deem worthy of honour; and at the same time He shows hereby that He is not a rival of God; for God and Father would not honour one who was a servant set against Him. Let us not, then, love our soul by preserving it from the dangers that are for the truth’s sake, and being unwilling to suffer hardship for the good; but if indeed we are servants of Christ, let us give it up to the dangers that are for the truth’s sake, and we shall be assuredly where Christ now is, in such a state and grace as it is given to human [nature to attain].

Jn. 12:27–28. Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name. So a voice came from heaven: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. What is this that He says? For He seems to contradict Himself. For He who above seemed to be urging men toward death, and exhorting them to hate the soul, now, He says, is troubled, being about to die; which is the part not of one urging toward death, but of one shrinking from it. But if you consider well, you will find that even His being troubled is an exhortation to despise death. For lest any should be able to say that He, being outside human passions, easily plays the philosopher concerning death, and as one beyond dangers exhorts others, He shows that He too has had experience of the human properties, and partook of our nature, although without sin. Wherefore, though disheartened and troubled as a man because of the natural love of life, yet He shrinks not from death, as being for the salvation of the world. “For it is for this cause,” He says, “that I have come to this hour, that I might take upon Me the death that is for all.” And He plainly teaches us by this, that not even we, though we be troubled, though we be in anguish, should flee the death that is for the truth’s sake. “Since I also,” He says, “am troubled (for in truth I am a man, and I allow the nature to show its own things); yet I say not to the Father, that He save Me from this hour; but what do I say? Father, glorify your name”—that is, “Be well pleased that I take upon Me the cross and the danger that is for the salvation of all.” And observe that He called dying for the truth’s sake the glory of God; wherefore also the Father says, “I have both glorified, and will glorify again.” “For both by the miracles before the cross, which you did accomplish in My name, I glorified; and again, working miracles through you in the cross itself, I will glorify; and after the burial, raising you up and sending the Spirit, I will establish yet more gloriously both My name and you.” But some have understood the “Now is my soul troubled” not as spoken of Jesus fearing death after the human manner, but, foreseeing, they say, the falling away of the embittering generation of the Jews, and grieving exceedingly over them, and sparing and caring for them, the Lover of mankind is troubled for their sake, and is smitten with sorrow. For not, they say, fearing death, since neither was He ignorant for what cause He had made His coming to us, as He Himself also says, “It is for this cause that I have come”… He exhorted, saying, “Fear not them…”

Jn. 12:29–33. The crowd standing there, hearing it, said it had thundered. Others said, An angel has spoken to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice has not come for my sake, but for yours. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show by what death he was about to die. Being grosser and more unlearned, the greater part supposed the voice to be thunder, although it was clear and articulate. For quickly they forgot the words of the voice, retaining only the sound of it. But others retained even the very words of the voice—I mean the “I have glorified, and will glorify again”—yet, not understanding what was the meaning of these words, they supposed that an angel had spoken to Him, wherefore also these things were hard for them to understand, as spoken by an angel. But Jesus says, “This voice has not come for my sake, but for yours. For I had no need to learn that the Father glorified, and will again glorify His name; but you had need to learn that I am not a rival of God, but to the glory of the name of God. For if through me the name of God is to be glorified, how am I a rival of God? For your sakes, then, the voice came, that you might know that I am to the glory of God; and if you cannot know it, yet, asking, learn what you are ignorant of.” And the “Now is the judgment of this world” seems indeed to be unconnected with what went before. For what connection has this with “I have glorified, and will glorify again”? Yet it follows altogether. For since the Father said above, “I will glorify,” the Lord shows us the manner of the glory. And what is this? That the world-ruler should be cast out and conquered, and the world judged—that is, avenged. And what He says is of this kind: “Now is the judgment and avenging of this world. For since the devil subjected the world to death, having made all men liable to sin—coming to Me, and finding no sin in Me, yet bringing Me also under death like the rest, he will be condemned by Me, and thus will I avenge the world. For grant that upon the others he brought death because of sin: what such thing did he see in Me as in the rest, that he should put Me also to death? Therefore the judgment, or avenging, of the world is now wrought by Me. For having put to death him that put all to death, and then assailed Me also, the guiltless, I shall be the avenger of all that were put to death by him; and the tyrant will be cast out, condemned through My death.” For the “will be cast out” is spoken by a metaphor from those condemned in the law-courts and thrust out of the court. And thus too shall you understand the “will be cast out,” as meaning into the outer darkness. But he shall also be outside the dominion over men, and no longer reign over them, and over their souls and mortal bodies, as before; “but I will draw all people to myself, if I am lifted up” upon the cross. For all, even they of the Gentiles, shall be drawn to the faith in Me. For since they cannot of themselves come to Me, being held by the tyrant, I, having conquered him and cast him out, and cut the sinews of his dominion over men, will draw them even against his will. Which elsewhere He also called a plundering. “For no man,” He says, “can spoil the goods of the strong man, except he first bind the strong man.” And He said the “If I am lifted up,” meaning that He was to be crucified; for this [signifies the manner of His death].

Jn. 12:34–36. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abides for ever: and how do you say, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said to them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walks in darkness knows not where he goes. While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. Thinking to confute the Lord and to stop His mouth, as though He were not the true Christ, they say, “If the Christ is immortal, but you say concerning yourself that you are about to die, how then shall we believe you to be the Christ?” But this they said maliciously. For the Scripture, which they call the law, makes mention not only of the resurrection, but also of the Passion. For Isaiah sets down both: the Passion and the death, thus saying, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter”; and the resurrection, in saying, “The Lord wills to cleanse him from his stroke, and to show him light.” And David too makes mention of the death together with the resurrection: “For you will not leave my soul in hell.” And the patriarch, blessing Judah, prophesies concerning Christ, “He lay down and slept as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp; who shall raise him up?” So that, denying the Passion and witnessing immortality to Christ, they did this with a malicious mind. “We have learned out of the law”—that is, the Scripture (for, as we have often said, all Scripture is called law)—“that Christ abides for ever.” Reasonably have you learned this; for He abides for ever, and as God abides even after the resurrection; but His Passion you have not learned—and how, when the same Scriptures, as we have shown, teach both together? “How then,” they say, “do you say that the Son of man must be lifted up?” Do you see that of the things spoken enigmatically by the Lord they understood many, even as here they understood that by “lifted up” He spoke of the cross? So then they understood many things, but, being wilfully evil, they put forward ignorance as a pretext. And consider also what they say: “How do you say that the Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?” For their word is full of malice, as though they said this: “We know not of whom you speak, and who is the Son of man; and yet we declare the truth, that he who is to be lifted up, whoever he may be, is not the Christ; for how should he be, when the Scriptures say that the Christ is immortal?” What then the Lord? Stopping their mouths, and showing that the Passion in no way hinders His abiding for ever, He says, “Yet a little while is the light with you”; for He called Himself light. “As, then, the sun’s light is not wholly destroyed, but setting rises again, so also My death is no corruption, but a setting and removal, and again I shall rise through the resurrection. So that, since the Passion in no way hinders Me from being eternal, and the Scriptures bear witness concerning the Christ that He is eternal, I therefore am the Christ, though I undergo the Passion; for I am light, and though I set, I shall rise again. Walk you, then, while you have the light”—that is, “Believe in Me.” And what time does He here mean? The time before the cross, or that after the cross, or both? “For walk,” He says, “and believe in Me, both before I am crucified, and after the cross.” For this He shows in saying, “While you have the light”—that is, “While you are able to believe in Me”; and you are able both before the cross and after these things to believe in Me, who am light. But he that walks in unbelief knows not where he goes. For how many things do the Jews now do, and know not what they do? As though He said this: “Suppose not that I speak concerning you, and say that out of hatred we oppose; for, behold, neither do we know of whom you speak”… but, as walking in darkness, they think they journey the straight road, yet suffer all the contrary, keeping Sabbath and circumcision. But not so they that have believed. They walk in light, doing all the things that hold to salvation. For they fled the shadow of the law and the darkness of the riddles, and came to the hidden light that shone forth, and became children of light—that is, of Christ. “For that you may be,” He says, “children of light”; which is, “My children.” And yet in the prologue the evangelist says that some are born of God; but here he names them children of light—that is, of Christ. Let Arius then be ashamed, and Eunomius. For there is one energy of the Father and of the Son, and from hence it is shown.

Jn. 12:37–40. These things spoke Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. For what cause did He hide Himself from them? For they took up no stone now against Him, neither blasphemed any such thing as before. For what cause did He hide Himself? Searching their hearts, He knew their wrath raging, even though they uttered nothing. He hides Himself, then, assuaging their envy. And that they believed not, but envied, the evangelist hinted, saying, “But though he had done so many miracles, they believed not on him.” For assuredly it is the work of no small wickedness, not to believe at so many signs. “So many signs,” he says, which the evangelist passed over. Jesus, then, hid Himself, assuaging their envy, and at the same time giving them time and leisure, that at their ease they might consider His words and deeds. For thus, if they had been willing, they might have come to the perception of the dignity of His Godhead. For though He foreknew their unbelief, yet nevertheless He did all that pertained to Himself, and withdrew, as has been said, giving them time for consideration. And the “They believed not on him, that the saying of Esaias might be fulfilled,” is not of cause but of outcome, as we have often said. For those men were not about to disbelieve Christ because Isaiah foretold it to them, but because they themselves were about to disbelieve, for this cause the prophet foretold it to them. And the “They could not believe, because Esaias said again concerning them,” holds the same sense. For through all these things this is what he wishes to set forth, that the Scripture is unlying, and that what Isaiah prophesied came to pass no otherwise than as he said. For lest any should be able to say, and to be perplexed, for what cause Christ came, if He knew that the Jews were not about to believe on Him, he brings in the prophets also as having announced this beforehand; and that not even Christ was ignorant of their unbelief, but nevertheless came, that they might have no pretext concerning their sin, nor be able to say, “Had he come, we should have believed.” And the “They could not believe,” understand you as meaning “they would not.” For the evil and wicked man cannot believe so long as he is such, choosing, that is to say, the evil things. And when you hear that “God has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart,” think not that He simply makes some good and some wicked—away with the thought!—but understand the abandonment by God to be the complete blinding. I mean some such thing as this: let there be one moderately wicked; God still seems to be present with him, for he is hoped to be converted. But when the man is glutted to satiety with wickedness, then God forsakes him because of his evil choice; and the man is said to live as one blind, deprived of the divine light, and walking in the darkness of sin; and henceforth the absence of the divine light seems to him a blinding, and the hardening of the heart is the deprivation of the divine word that softens the hearts of those who receive it. He, then, is blinded who in no way admits the ray of the divine word, and he is hardened who is unwilling to give ear to the word that softens the hearts; and altogether the absence of God blinds and darkens. When, then, you hear that God blinds, understand it thus, that by not being present He blinds. For if God were present, the man would not have been blinded. If the sun were [present], there would be no darkness; but now the sun makes the night. But how? By setting. So also God makes men blind by not being present with them. And He is not present because of their wickedness; and thenceforth, as blind, they sin without turning back, and stumble incurably. And let us look also at the words of Isaiah: “Lord, who has believed our report?”—instead of, “no one believed.” For the “who” in many places of Scripture stands instead of “no one.” And the prophet said this as from the person of Christ, Christ, that is, saying to the Father, “Lord, who has believed our report?”—instead of, “No one believed our word and my preaching”; which preaching he called “report” (hearing). For, “What things I have heard of my Father,” He says, “those I speak.” And “to whom has the arm been revealed?”—by “arm” he names [the power of God]: to none of the thankless [was it revealed] who slander.

Jn. 12:41–43. Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory and spoke about him. Nevertheless, even many of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. “Isaiah said these things, when he saw his glory.” Whose? The Son’s—although, so far as the context goes, the prophet seems to see the glory of the Father. “And spoke about him.” Here the evangelist says that Isaiah saw the glory of the Son; but Paul, that of the Spirit. One, then, is the glory of the Holy Trinity—that of the Father and of the Son and that of the Holy Spirit. And he says Isaiah saw this glory—that smoke which he beheld in vision, the Seraphim, the coals, the altar, the throne. Isaiah, then, saw this glory, and spoke about Him, that is, of the Son. And what spoke he of Him? The things said above: “That he has blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts.” And the evangelist notes that “Nevertheless, even many of the rulers believed in him,” showing that in this too the Pharisees lied when they said, “Have any of the rulers believed on him?” For, behold, many even of the rulers believed, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him. “For they loved the glory of men.” And this also Christ foretold to them, that “How can you believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that comes from God only?” The evangelist, then, shows them suffering this which Christ foretold to them. So then they were not rulers, but slaves, serving the uttermost slavery. From this, therefore, we learn that he is a slave and dishonoured who is a lover of glory.

Jn. 12:44–45. Jesus cried and said, He that believes on me, believes not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that sees me sees him that sent me. Jesus hid Himself for a season, giving place to the wrath of the Jews; but again He is made manifest, and cries with boldness. And showing Himself both equal to the Father and no rival of God, He says, “He that believes on me, believes not on me, but on him that sent me”—as though He said this: “Why fear you to believe on me? The faith in me passes over to my Father.” And observe also the exactness of the saying. He said not, “He that believes me,” but “he that believes on me,” which signifies the faith in God. For it is one thing to believe someone, and another to believe on someone. For he that believes someone may be understood to believe him as speaking truth; but he that believes on someone believes on him altogether as on God. Wherefore one might say that he believes the apostles; but to believe on the apostles, no longer. For this cause, then, the Lord said not, “He that believes me” (for this Paul too perhaps, and Peter, might have said, that “he that believes me”; but also the Hebrews are upbraided for not believing Moses), but He said the greater thing, “He that believes on me”; whereby He shows Himself to be God; even as also to the disciples He says, “You believe in God, believe also in me.” So then, since he that believes on Him passes the faith over to the Father, he also that disbelieves Him disbelieves the Father Himself. “And he that sees me sees him that sent me.” Is it, then, he that sees the bodily form? No. For the Father is not a body, that he who sees Christ bodily should be said to see the Father also; but understand to me here the seeing that is according to the mind; as though He said thus: “He that has comprehended my essence, so far as is possible to man, through the contemplation of the mind, has comprehended also that of the Father. He that has known me, that I am God, [has known] the Father also altogether; for I am the image of the Father.” And through all these things the consubstantiality of the Father and of the Son is shown. Let them hear who are sick with the doctrine of Arius, that he who believes on the Son believes not on Him, but on the Father; so that either the Father also is a creature, or neither is the Son. As one might say that he who draws the water of the river draws not that of the river, but that of the spring; so also he that believes on the Son believes not on the Son as on a river (for neither is the Son of another essence, nor has He anything beside the Father), but believes on the spring of the good—I mean the Father.

Jn. 12:46–47. I have come as light into the world, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. And again through this He sets forth the consubstantiality. For since the Father also throughout the Scripture is called light, for this cause He says concerning Himself also, “I have come as light into the world.” Whence Paul too names Him a radiance, showing thereby that there is nothing between the Father and the Son, but at once the Father, at once the Son, even as together with the light is the radiance. The Son, then, is light, both because He delivers from error and dissolves the spiritual darkness; and because, as the light, having appeared, makes both itself manifest and the other things visible, so also the Son, having come and appeared to us, made Himself known and the Father, and enlightened to all knowledge the hearts of those who received Him. “If anyone hears my words,” He says, “and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” And what He says is of this kind: “To the unbelieving man I am not the cause of his condemnation; for not for this came I primarily, but it came to pass as a result. For I came that I might save, and for this cause I taught. But if any disbelieve, I am not to him the cause of his condemnation, but he himself drew it upon himself.” And by what follows the saying shall be made yet clearer; and hear what comes next.

Jn. 12:48–50. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatever I speak therefore, even as the Father said to me, so I speak. “I,” He says, “judge no man, but he that believes not has one that judges him”; even as we too are wont often to say, when we are about to beat an unruly child, that it is not we that beat it, but its own carelessness and disorder; and that we do not condemn him, but our admonitions, which he obeyed not—these accuse him as disobedient. So then also the Lord: “Not I judge, but the word which I have spoken, the same shall condemn.” For why did they disbelieve? Was it as to a rival of God, and one seeking his own glory? And yet of myself I spoke not, but having said all from my Father, nowhere did I proclaim myself as minded otherwise. “For the Father which sent me gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak.” Oh, the humility of the words! Was it then, O Lord, that before the Father sent you and gave you the commandment, you knew not what you should say, but were unlearned in this commandment, which is life eternal, and knew not this life eternal—and how said you, “I am the life”? Do you see what absurdity arises, if we do not give ear well-disposed to the things spoken? Know, then, why He speaks thus humbly: it is because of the hearers, who were weak. And what does He wish to signify by these things? That He says or thinks nothing other than the Father. For as ambassadors say nothing beyond what is enjoined them, so also I myself say nothing other, nor think, nor have I taught anything beside the things that seemed good to the Father. This, then, wishing to set forth—the like-mindedness, I mean, toward the Father—He made mention of this example, of the commandment, I say. Wherefore also He adds, “What I speak therefore, even as the Father said to me, so I speak.” So that, since I said nothing from myself, what pretext will they put forward who have been disobedient? For unquestionably they shall be condemned, as having disbelieved the Father. Let the orthodox, then, conceive nothing lowly from the lowly words—namely the “I received a commandment,” and such like—but receive these in a well-disposed manner; as also this, the “I received a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak.” For being the Word of the Son, and revealing all the things in the mind of the Father, He says that He received from Him a commandment, what He should say and what He should speak. Even as our word also, if indeed we are to speak truth, says those things which the mind suggests to it, and is surely not of another essence than the mind, but altogether consubstantial. [Headings of what follows:] Concerning the basin; concerning Judas who went out to betray Christ; concerning the commandment to love one another; concerning Peter asking where the Lord goes.

Chapter 13

Jn. 13:1. Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end. The Lord knew, even before all the ages, the day and the hour of His death; but when it was now come upon Him, He does a deed full of much love toward man and condescension, and showing forth much love toward the disciples. For being about to leave them, He displays a more vehement love. For the “Having loved them, he loved them to the end” signifies this, that He left out nothing of the things which one that loves exceedingly would be likely to do. Wherefore also He does this last of all, washing the feet of the disciples, so as to heighten their longing for Him, and to lay up beforehand for them much consolation against the terrors about to come upon them, reasoning that He who so loved them as even to wash their feet would not overlook them, not even in their terrors. And He names the death of Christ a “departure,” because of the taking up that is through the resurrection. Since, then, He was about to depart out of this world, He shows His love toward His own; and He names the disciples “His own” according to the principle of intimate relationship. For according to the manner of creation all men are God’s own; whence it is said, “He came to his own, and his own received him not”; but His own are the saints according to their being intimate with Him; even as also here He called the disciples “His own,” but added “which were in the world,” since He has also others that are His own—Abraham and the patriarchs—but not in the world, for they had departed hence. These, then, His own which were in the world He loved to the end; which is, He showed forth toward them a perfect love.

Jn. 13:2–5. Now during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas, Simon’s son, Iscariot, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper and laid aside his garments; and taking a towel, he girded himself. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. Marvelling that Christ washed him who had already practised the betrayal, the evangelist says, “The devil having now put into the heart of Simon’s son”; so to the very end did He tend the traitor. And the “during supper” is not set down in vain, but that the inhumanity of Judas might be shown, that not even the fellowship of the table shamed him. Jesus, then, knowing that the Father had delivered all things into His hands—that is, that He had committed to Him the salvation of the faithful, and that it behoved Him henceforth to show them all the things that pertain to salvation, such as the washing of the disciples’ feet. For from hence humility is laid down as a law. And otherwise: Knowing that the Father had delivered all things to Him, and that He came forth from God and goes to God, His glory shall in no way be lessened by His washing the disciples’ feet. For did He snatch the glory, that He should fear to fall from it, and for this cause not deign to do anything lowly?—as the base-born suffer, who, when they have snatched glory, are altogether unwilling to bow themselves, lest they lose what they snatched and which belongs not to them. But He was King of all, and Son of God; for this is the “He came from God”—that is, from the essence of the Father—and again goes to God. So that the glory of Him who was so great was not about to be lessened by His washing the disciples. And consider to me, that if to humble oneself is the work of Him who comes forth from God and goes to God, then to boast oneself is plainly the work of him who comes forth from demons and departs to demons. And when you hear that “the Father gave to Him,” think not that any weakness of the Son is here shown, but His honour toward the Father and oneness of mind. For if the Son seems to you weak because the Father is said to deliver to Him, conceive the Father also weak, because the Son delivers to Him the kingdom, as the Apostle says. But it is not so; rather the delivering signifies the oneness of mind, and the co-operation, so to speak, and the good pleasure of the Father. And observe also the exceeding measure of the humbling. For He washes not before the supper, but after all had reclined; He alone rises, while they are at rest; and He lays aside the garments, teaching us to make ourselves unhindered and light about the service; and He girds Himself with a towel, doing all things Himself, both the washing and the wiping; and He pours the water, and this too Himself. And these things are to us laws of how we must work all things ourselves, not using other servants.

Jn. 13:6–7. Then comes he to Simon Peter: and Peter says to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I do you know not now; but you shall know hereafter. He washes not Peter first, although he bore the primacy of the disciples; but perhaps the traitor, being shameless and impudent, reclined before Peter, and had his feet washed. Whence is this plain? From hence: “He began,” it says, “to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them”; then He comes to Simon Peter. So that it is shown that He washed not Peter first. For he would not have said, “He comes to Simon Peter,” unless He had washed some other before Peter. Now of the other disciples none would have been so presumptuous as to be washed before Peter; but it is likely that the traitor dared this. For if He had begun to wash one of the other disciples, that one, whoever he was, would have hindered the Lord, and said the things which Peter also said, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” But this is not the case. He washed, then, not one of the others first, but the traitor, then Peter. And the rest, instructed by Peter, likely did not resist, but accepted such an honour brought to them by Jesus. And observe also Peter’s words, how much emphasis they have: “Do you wash my feet—with these hands, wherewith you did cleanse lepers, wherewith you did raise the dead, wherewith you did open the eyes of the blind? You who have done these and greater things, wash mine, the servant’s, the unlearned man’s—and not the hands, nor any other more honourable part, but the feet, the last of all, the most defiled member and seeming dishonourable?” And what the Lord? “What I do you know not now”—namely, that it contains much humility, and this I teach you also. After these things, however, when in My name you shall cast out demons, when you shall see Me taken up into the heavens, when from the Spirit you shall learn that I sit at the right hand of the Father, then shall you know that He who so humbled Himself as even to wash your feet, He it is that gives you such power over demons, and was taken up, and was glorified together with the Father, in no way lessened by His humbling; and so henceforth shall you also embrace humility, which rather exalts and lessens not.

Jn. 13:8–9. Peter says to him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash you not, you have no part with me. Simon Peter says to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Great was the reverence in Peter toward the Teacher, wherefore also he is exceedingly cautious and puts away such a service. For though at another time also he had been rebuked by Christ, and ought, because of that rebuke, to accept now also the Lord’s washing of him, yet, because of the great and exceeding thing now being done by Christ, he refuses, and reckons not that the Lord will perhaps again rebuke him, yet more vehemently, as disobedient. What then does Christ? He does not say to him, “I teach you humility, O Peter, and for this cause wash your feet.” For Peter would have said to Him, and would have sworn, that even without the washing of the feet he would practise humility. But what says He to him? That which He knew most of all stung his heart, this He brandishes over him, like some terror: “If I wash you not,” He says, “you have no part with me.” For since he was the one who most of all the other disciples longed to be with Christ (wherefore also he asked, “Where do you go?” and, “I will lay down my life for you,” promising it out of love), by this threat He shakes his soul. “For if I wash you not,” He says, “you have no part with me.” As, then, Peter heard this fearful threat, [as much as he was] vehement in the refusal, so much also in the consent, or rather yet more vehement, inasmuch as he gives even his head to be washed. And both were of love: both the refusal, from the exceeding honour for the Lord, and the consent, from being unwilling to be separated from Him. And do you, when you see one standing out from rashness, and saying even with an oath, “I will not do this,” then out of shame for the oath abiding by what was ill resolved, and thereby endangering either soul or body—aptly use the example of Peter, who, standing out, when he saw that the standing out led to separation from Christ, drew back from it.

Jn. 13:10–11. Jesus says to him, He that is washed needs not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and you are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, You are not all clean. Taking occasion, the Lord reproves the traitor, as having an unclean mind, and needing to wash away his wickedness and to change his counsel. “You,” He says, “being washed, have no further need of another washing; one there is that is unclean, who has need of cleansing.” But many inquire how the Lord said to the apostles, “You are clean”; for they had not yet been freed from their sins, nor yet been counted worthy of the Spirit. For still sin held sway, still the curse was in force. For not yet had the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world been slain, not yet had He been hung upon the tree who redeemed us from the curse. How then were the apostles clean? It is, then, to be said that, even if they had not been wholly freed from their sins, yet “for the word’s sake,” He says, “which I have spoken to you, you are clean”—that is, “In this respect are you clean for the present. Already you have received the light, already you have been freed from the Jewish error.” For hear how Isaiah too teaches us to wash: “Wash you, and be clean; take away the wickednesses from your souls.” So that they also, since with all guilelessness and sincerity they were with Christ, are reasonably called by the Lord washed and clean. And some have understood by the supper the knowledge, at the end of the ages, of the mystery according to Christ, which Jesus, teaching His own disciples, washes also their feet, not as having filth, but making them ready for the Gospel, according to that which is said by Isaiah, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace.” “For you,” He says, “are clean, but in respect of yourselves; but you must be sent also for the cleansing of others, which is signified by your feet being washed.” The basin, then, gives us to understand not a cleansing of the sins of the apostles (for they are witnessed to be clean), but is a symbol of their being sent forth to the preaching, conveying to others also the cleanness given them by the Word of the Master. Wherefore also Peter says, “Not my feet only, but also my head”—that is, “Send me not only to the preaching, but cleanse also my head through martyrdom.” And take these things to me as fulfilled also now. For even now a supper takes place in the divine ministry, the divine body and His blood being set forth. What then is required of each of us to do, hear: We all have within ourselves, having believed in Christ, the Word of God and the evangelical preaching. For we all have received Christ into our hearts; but we ought, in this divine supper, to raise up the Word, and to lay aside His garments which cover Him. And the garment is love of money, the garment is vainglory, the garment is envy, and each of the other passions, which, lying upon the divine Word within us, weigh Him down. These, then, must be laid aside when the Word is raised up, that, being light, He may be able to work our cleansing through repentance. For the Word, being raised up, and having laid aside every burden and worldly care, will wash our reasonings, which are His disciples and follow Him; and He will wash the feet, that is, our practical movements and our goings. And if any need another cleansing, and longs also for distinction in the teaching and contemplative life, let him say to the Lord, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head”—that is, “Cleanse not only my goings, but also my hands, that I may be able to lead others by the hand and take them to the good; and my head, that in the contemplative and theological part I may have my opinion concerning the Divine cleansed and unspotted.” Thus, then, through confession we are able to wash ourselves, that we partake not unworthily of the supper, and eat and drink judgment to ourselves.

Jn. 13:12–16. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said to them, Know you what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. No longer to Peter only, but to all, He now discourses, and sets down the cause of so great humility concerning Himself. And it is the necessity that they should become imitators of this. So then perhaps even when He said to Peter, “You shall know hereafter,” He spoke concerning this present time; “for you shall know, O Peter, hereafter, when, having taken My garments and sat down, I shall begin to teach you and to say, ‘Know you what I have done to you?’ For if I, who am witnessed by you to be Lord and Master, and not falsely so witnessed (for I am), have washed your feet (and He said not, the servants’, the unlettered and unlearned, but left this to be reasoned out), you have a most necessary debt, to wash one another’s feet—that is, to render to one another every service. For through the washing, which seems the lowest ministry, we ought to perform also the others, much more the more honourable. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you also should do”—that is, with the same earnestness. For though My deed is the greater, inasmuch as I, being Master, washed servants’ feet, but you shall wash the feet of fellow-servants; yet we see the teachers also handing on letters to children with much beauty, that the children may come at least to the inferior degree of imitation. And He necessarily exhorts the apostles to these things. For since they were about to enjoy honour, some greater, some less, that they might not exalt themselves one over another, He purges the minds of all of them. “For the servant is not greater than his lord” so long as he is a servant, “neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him” so long as he is one that is sent; but when he becomes greater, then he is neither servant nor one that is sent.

Jn. 13:17–19. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them. I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, you may believe that I am he. Lest they should say, “Why do you tell us these things as though we were ignorant? We ourselves also know the good of humility,” for this cause He says, “If you know, this alone suffices not, but then are you truly blessed, if you also do them.” Since the Jews also knew the commandments, but were not blessed, but most wretched, as not doing them. “I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen.” He reproves, and reproves not, the traitor, bringing forth the word covertly. For He wished to lead him to repentance; wherefore also, leaving aside all the other benefits which He had shown toward him, He set down this, which is most of all able to shame him: “He that eats my bread”—he that is nourished by me, that enjoys table with me—a thing which puts even enemies to shame. And He said not, “This man betrays me,” but, “Has lifted up his heel against me”—that is, “He has framed guile and deceit against me”; from a metaphor of wrestlers, who, tripping up their antagonists, by treading on their heels, throw them down. And by saying, “I speak not of you all,” that He might not spread the fear among many, He plainly cuts him off, and shows that there is one who plots against Him; wherefore He says, “He that eats my bread.” But when Jesus said, “I know whom I have chosen,” shall we say concerning Judas? Did He not choose him also? He chose him indeed, being good, as also Saul; but he was changed; for he was self-determining. And He permits each to do as he wills; for He destroys not the free will. But when Judas was changed, He rejected him, though He had before chosen him. And the “That the scripture may be fulfilled” understand thus, as also the other like sayings concerning which we have often spoken. For Judas was not constrained to betray Him in order that the words of Scripture might prove true (for this is full of all blasphemy), but that we may know that the Scripture spoke concerning this man, whom we now see having accomplished the deed. “And all these things,” He says, “I foretell concerning the traitor, that when it is come to pass you may believe that I am he”—that is, that I speak truth.

Jn. 13:20. Truly, truly, I say to you, He that receives whomever I send receives me; and he that receives me receives him that sent me. What connection have these present words with what went before? For while He was speaking concerning the traitor, He adds, “He that receives whomever I send receives me.” Yet it is a very great connection. For since He had spoken concerning His being betrayed, and discoursed of His being about to leave them, and they were henceforth about to go out, and be scattered, and suffer many terrors, He consoles them in two ways: by one, that which is from Himself. For He showed them both what He Himself was about to suffer, and what He had done to the traitor, washing his feet and choosing him as a partner of the table. For if they should call these things to mind, they will assuredly bear all the terrors easily. This, then, is one way, both through the things which He did, tending His enemy to the end, and through the things which He was about to suffer, the Lord consoling them. And another way is from His opening to them the houses of all, and promising them that all should receive them who heard their word. Do you see the connection of the present words with what went before? He was about to leave them, they were about to suffer countless evils and terrors; He consoled them by the example concerning Himself, being about to be betrayed by a disciple, yet washing him; He consoles them also by foretelling them that, even though they suffer many terrors, yet all shall receive them. “For he that receives you,” He says, “receives me, and [him that sent me]. As God Himself,” He says, “shall they honour you who are without wickedness.”

Jn. 13:21–22. When Jesus had said these things, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray me. So the disciples looked at one another, perplexed as to whom he was speaking about. The Lord, considering that the traitor is deprived of both—both of the endurance in toils and of the honour from those who receive—is troubled in spirit, that is, He is smitten in His soul with grief. And “He testified,” it says, instead of, He foretold, He bore witness beforehand, He declared. The disciples, then, doubting, looked one on another. For though each of them was conscious to himself of cleanness, and were aware of nothing wicked in their own minds, yet they held the word of the Lord more worthy of credit than their own consciences. Wherefore also they are grieved and perplexed. For the declaration was of Him who cannot lie, which they believed would assuredly come to pass. And some have understood the “one of you” thus: “One,” He says, “falling away from your choir, and going out from you, shall betray me”; even as also the “Behold, Adam is become as one of us.” For here too they took the saying more curiously. He is become, He says, “as one of us,” having fallen—that is, the devil; for as that one has fallen away, so also this one through disobedience has become “of us”—which is, has fallen away from us.

Jn. 13:23–26. Now one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to Jesus. So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who it might be that he was speaking of. So leaning back against Jesus, he said to him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it. Why, when all are in anguish, and even the chief Peter himself is trembling, does John, as though in delight, lie upon the bosom of the Lord? And further, why does he say concerning himself, “whom Jesus loved”? He lay there for these two reasons: one, because he was loved most of all the others—and a sign of love is the lying with the Lord; and the other, because he wished to show himself a stranger to the charge, through his speaking with boldness and confidence. And he witnesses concerning himself that Jesus loved him, solving a question. For lest you, hearing that Peter beckoned to him to ask, should suppose that Peter beckoned to him as to his superior, the evangelist says concerning himself, “Peter beckoned to me not as to one greater, but as to one beloved by Christ.” So that this is rather of a humble mind, not of an ostentatious one. For he does not say, “I loved Jesus”—which is witnessed of Peter—but what? “He,” he says, “loved me, having taken me to Himself out of mercy and compassions”; which the Apostle also says, “I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of God”; and again, “Having known God, or rather being known of God.” So then also the “whom Jesus loved” is not a boast, but a token of humility. And why does not Peter ask the Lord, but beckon to John? Because, from much warmth, he is found in many places rushing forward, and being rebuked; for this cause he now fears to ask, lest the Lord should again chide him as rash. And why does John fall upon the breast of Jesus thus unreservedly and without holding back? Because they conceived as yet nothing great concerning Christ, nor were they trained to render the due honour to the honourable; for they were fishermen, men unlearned in what was fitting. And the Lord permits him to fall upon the breast, dissolving his despondency, and soothing the trouble of his mind, and simply lulling his grief to sleep. For it is likely that on their faces also much dejection appeared. And not even thus, being asked, does the Lord reveal the traitor by name, but through the sop, as it were, makes him manifest, shaming the traitor, and bringing him to a sense of the table and the bread; whereof having partaken, he ought not to have betrayed and gone mad against his nourisher. “Receive,” He says, “the bread, of which you have partaken with me; come to a sense of the common table.” But he understood not, being stupefied in soul by the passion. And if you too will lie near Jesus, and fall upon His breast, and learn the mystic things from Him, be earnest to be loved by Him through a simple and good mind. For John was the most guileless, and simplest, and meekest of all; wherefore also he was loved. And you too, then, if you are such, guileless, shall be counted worthy even to lie upon the breast of Jesus (which is a symbol of the theological dignity; for the Scripture knows the oracles of the Lord to be hidden in the heart), and so shall there be revealed to you both all the mystery and the traitor of the word. For to him that has been entrusted with the grace of theology, the traitor also of the word—he, I mean, who holds opinions contrary to the right faith—becomes manifest. For the heretic who falsifies the word of truth [is shown].

Jn. 13:27–30. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus to him, That you do, do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spoke this to him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said to him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. “It was night when he went out.” Since the Lord had given the sop to Judas, if perchance, coming to a sense of the table and the bread, he might draw back from the betrayal, but Judas not even thus was bettered; then indeed, then, he became more completely Satan’s, and was henceforth delivered up to him, as incorrigible. For so long as he seemed to be one of the disciples, and a part of the holy choir, Satan had not so great an entrance to him; but when the Lord had cut him off, and separated him from the other disciples, holding him up as an example through the bread, from that time he took him as one forsaken by the Lord and set apart from the divine choir. For observe also the “Satan entered into him”—that is, he sank into the inmost parts of his heart, and possessed his soul. For before, he troubled him from without through the passion of love of money; but now he wholly mastered him, suggesting to him the betrayal. Jesus, then, says to him, “That you do, do quickly.” And this is not of one urging him to the betrayal, but, as it were, of one upbraiding him for coming to the betrayal. For in saying “Do,” He says, as it were, this: “Behold, I let you go; do what you will; I hinder not your purpose, I hold you no longer.” For before this He Himself held back the wickedness, keeping to Himself the time of the death, according as He also said, “No man takes my life from me, but I lay it down of myself.” “And this no man at the table knew.” This is worthy of inquiry, how no man knew, although, the Lord being asked who was the traitor, He said, “He to whom I shall give the sop.” It appears, then, that He said this secretly to John alone, so that none of the others heard. Since John too, falling upon the breast, asks all but into His ear, so that the traitor might not become manifest; for else Peter would perhaps have drawn his sword and slain him. Did not then even John know him? Neither did he. For he would not have expected that a disciple would proceed to so great a transgression. For that holy soul, being far from such wickedness, would not easily have suspected this even of another. None then knew, but they thought that the “Do quickly” was said concerning buying something for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor. For He took much forethought for the poor; and He who exhorted others not to have a wallet, nor money, Himself carried a bag, showing that even he who is without possessions and crucified to the world must take much care for this matter. “And it was night,” He says, “when he went out.” Neither did the evangelist note this in passing—that it was night—but that he might teach us that not even the time hindered him, but even though it was night he framed the guile. He went out, then, on the fifth day, it seems to me, in the evening, when also Satan entered into him. For on the fourth day he assailed him, namely, when the woman in Matthew poured out the ointment; and he, going away, spoke with the Jews concerning the betrayal. But on the fifth, in the evening, he entered into him—that is, possessed his heart; even as it is one thing to smite someone with a sword, and another to plunge it into the inward parts of the Saviour. “And it was night”—and perhaps also a spiritual night.

Jn. 13:31–32. Jesus says: Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and will glorify him at once. Since the reasonings of the disciples had fallen, by saying “Now the Son of Man is glorified,” He raises them up. For He persuades them not to be downcast, but rather to rejoice. For this is glory—namely, to suffer, and through the things dishonourable to procure honour for men. And otherwise: Through the miracles in the cross He was glorified—the sun darkened, the rocks rent, the veil torn, and all the other prodigies that came to pass. And how shall God glorify the Son in Himself? That is, through Himself, not through another, not through angels and archangels, nor through any other power, but through Himself; for He did all things to the glory of the Son. “At once,” then, He says, “will He glorify Him”—that is, He shall not delay, but in the cross itself, and again, having raised Him after three days, and after forty days having supplied the grace of the Spirit to the disciples. And let us look also from above at the aim of the words. “Now the Son of Man is glorified,” He says—that is, “I, teaching, working wonders—and the glory came not round about Me, but went up to God and the Father. Since, then, My glory becomes the glory of the Father, be not downcast. For the Father will again glorify Me, that He also may be glorified. For do I appropriate the glory to Myself, and it goes not up to Him? Nay, the glory is common. So that He will again glorify Me; and He will not delay, but immediately, when I suffer the dishonourable sufferings, when I seem through death to be removed out of the midst, then rather will He honour Me, then will He make it manifest through the resurrection.”

Jn. 13:33–35. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You shall seek me: and as I said to the Jews, Where I go, you cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another. Since after a little while they were about to undergo grievous things, He foretells these to them henceforth, that they may have them in remembrance and be prepared beforehand for them. And this too contributes to His glory. For that the things about to befall the disciples should be foretold by Him was no small glory of His, the disciples afterward calling to mind that the Lord foretold these things to them. And showing that He knows not now for the first time, but even long before, that they shall seek Him when they are in temptations, He says that He said this very thing to the Jews also, as knowing it long before. And by saying “Where I go,” He shows His death to be a departure and a removal to a better place, that receives not corruptible bodies. To the Jews He said, “You shall seek me, and where I go you cannot come,” brandishing fear over them; but to the disciples, kindling their longing. For we are wont, when we see any of our dearest withdrawing, to be most warmed, and the more when they depart to a place to which it is not possible for us to go. Kindling, then, their longing, He says these things. Wherefore also He added, “Little children,” that they might not suppose that He said these things to them from such a disposition as that wherewith He spoke also to the Jews, but out of love. The Jews, then, sought Him when their city was taken, and the God-sent wrath was borne against them from every side, as Josephus too testifies that these things befell them because of the death of Jesus. And the disciples, when they fled, when they were otherwise afflicted; wherefore also elsewhere, “The bridegroom shall be taken away,” He says, “and the friends of the bridechamber shall fast.” He foretells, then, the things to come both to these and to those—to the one because of unbelief, to the other because of love, and that they might not fall into the terrors unexpectedly. And since it was likely that they should fall into tumult, hearing these things, as being about to be left desolate, He consoles them, saying, “Grieve not; for I give you a strong guardian—love. For if you have this, you shall be unconquerable, being strengthened by one another.” Then, since one might have been perplexed, “How do you give a new commandment, O Lord, namely love, which we know to have been enjoined also in the Old [Testament]?”—He adds, “As I have loved you, that you also love one another.” “For as I,” He says, “freely loved you, your good deeds not having gone before, but human nature being even hostile and brought to nothing, yet I Myself laid hold of it and sanctified it; so do you also freely love one another; and even if your brother offend you, remember it not.” Do you see that this is the new commandment, to love one’s neighbour for nothing, owing him nothing? But the law said, “You shall love your friend,” commanding to repay love as a debt to a neighbour who first began. And showing that they shall not be extinguished when He has departed, but shall be conspicuous, He says, “By this shall all men know.” Do you see how He declares that they shall be recognized of all, consoling them not a little hereby? And leaving aside to characterize them by the miracles, He characterizes them by love. For many that have wrought miracles shall hear, “I know you not.” And if even the whole world was brought to the faith by the miracles, what wonder? For because the power of love was within. But if they were divided from one another, no one would have believed them thus raging against one another; worthy [thereby] of being numbered among the believers, both in heart and…

Jn. 13:36–38. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where do you go? Jesus answered him, Where I go, you can not follow me now; but you shall follow me afterwards. Peter said to him, Lord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake. Jesus answered him, Will you lay down your life for my sake? Truly, truly, I say to you, The cock shall not crow, till you have denied me three times. Peter, having become through much warmth rather rash, when he heard the Lord say, “Where I go, you cannot come,” asks, “Where do you go?”—as though saying this to Christ: “What road is this, which I shall not be able to come?” For not as wishing to learn this does he ask, but covertly he hints this, that “Even though you are about to go a road harder than all, I will follow you”; so did he love ever to be with Christ. Wherefore He too answers to his mind: “You can not follow me now; but you shall follow me afterwards.” But he is so rash as even to contradict Christ. For not content to receive good hopes, that he shall follow afterwards, he persists in his standing-out, and acts presumptuously: “Why cannot I follow you? I will lay down my life for your sake.” Observe the vehemence of longing. Since he heard the Lord say, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend,” he henceforth aspires to this degree, and to the highest love; wherefore also he promises to lay down his life for the Lord. The Saviour, then, showing him that it belongs to Himself alone, and not to any man, to promise such things with authority, says, “Before the cock crow, you shall deny me three times”—that is, now. For neither was the interval long; for it was in the dead of night that He was discoursing, and the first and second watch of the night had passed. Since, then, the much love had made Peter contentious, He accepts the love, but cuts off the contention. Wherefore also He strips him of the help from above, and trains him to recognize his weakness. For if you love, you ought to obey the beloved. “I said, You can not, and you contradict. Through the denial you shall know clearly that it is not possible for [my word] not to come to pass.” So that, caring for him, He permitted him to fall, that in the things after these, when he should take up the stewardship of the world, he might not suffer this once only, but three times. Thus the abandonment by God [brings forth] this as a very great benefit. [Headings of what follows:] Concerning Thomas, not knowing where the Lord goes. Concerning Judas Thaddaeus asking Jesus. Concerning the Paraclete.

Chapter 14

Jn. 14:1. Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. Since it was likely that they should fall into trouble, having heard concerning the chief Peter that he would deny, for this cause He consoles them, and settles the trouble of the heart. For if the chief, and one so fervent, was about, before the cock crew, three times to deny, it was likely that they expected some great calamity. Then, as though the disciples had said, “And how shall we not be troubled, being about to fall into such hardships?” He says, “Believe in God, and believe in me, and all your difficulties shall be resolved for you, and the trouble shall be settled through faith in God and in me.” For this cause also He said to them, “Let not your heart be troubled,” that they might believe Him to be God, from His knowing the things in their heart, and His perceiving the unseen trouble.

Jn. 14:2–3. There are many mansions in my Father’s house. Were it otherwise, I would have told you; for I go to make ready a place for you. And when I have gone and made ready a place for you, I will come back and receive you to myself, that you also may be where I am. The Lord said to Peter, “You shall follow me afterwards”; but that the rest might not suppose that this was given to Peter alone and not to them also, He says that “That place which received Peter shall receive you also; so that you need not be troubled about place. For there are many mansions in the house of my Father”—that is, under the authority of the Father; for by “house” understand the authority and rule. “And even if there were no mansions, I would have gone and prepared them for you. So that on both grounds you must not be troubled, whether they are ready or not. For even if they are not ready, I would with all earnestness have prepared them for you beforehand. And if for the preparing of a place for you I have gone, yet not even so would I have left you, but would have received you, that where I am, there you may be also.” Do you see words of consolation and of leading the soul? “Where I am, there shall you also be.” There is, then, no reason for you to be troubled, if indeed you are to be with me.

Jn. 14:4–6. And where I go you know, and the way you know. Thomas says to him, Lord, we know not where you go; and how can we know the way? Jesus says to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me. Since He perceived their mind seeking to learn where He goes, He gives them an opening to ask. And so He says, “Where I go you know, and the way you know,” inciting them to ask. Wherefore also Thomas says, “Lord, we know not where you go, and how can we know the way?” But this Thomas says out of much timidity, not, like Peter, longing to follow. Christ, then, showing that the following will be for them easy and ready, reveals both where He goes and what the way is. For He goes to the Father, and the way is Christ Himself. Since, then, He says, “I am the way,” “through me assuredly shall you also go up to the Father; and not only the way, but also the truth; so that it is reasonable for you to take courage, that you shall not be deceived by me. But I am also the life; so that even if you die, death shall not hinder you from coming to the Father. Take courage, then; for through me comes every man to the Father. And since I am Lord to lead you to the Father, you shall assuredly come there. For neither by any other way, save by me, is it possible to come.” And do you conceive from hence too the Son equal to Him that fathered Him. For elsewhere He says that the Father brings men to Him: “For no man,” He says, “can come to me, except the Father draw him.” But here men are said to be brought to the Father through Him. Equal, then, is the power of the Father and of the Son; for the energy also is one. When, then, you are occupied with the practical life, Christ becomes for you the way; but when you practise the contemplative, He becomes for you the truth. And since many who pursue the practical and busy themselves about contemplation have not altogether attained life (for either, pursuing virtue out of vainglory, they had their reward here, or, by conceit about doctrine, they were led astray from the straight way), for this cause to the way and the truth—to the practical, I mean, and the contemplative—there is added life. We too must both journey and theologize toward the living age, not looking to the dead praise of men.

Jn. 14:7. If you had known me, you should have known my Father also: and from henceforth you know him, and have seen him. How is it that above He said, “Where I go you know, and the way you know”—that is, Me—but here He says, “If you had known me, you should have known my Father also”? He says these things not in contradiction. For they knew the Father, but not so as they ought; for they knew Him as God, but not yet as Father. But afterward the Spirit, having come, implanted in them all knowledge. What He says, then, is of this kind: “If you had known my essence and dignity, you should have known the Father’s also. But from henceforth you have begun to know Him through me as a means, and have seen Him”—that is, with your mind, so far as is possible, you have beheld Him. “For since you have me as Lord and Master, through me you have assuredly received, so far as for the present is attainable to you, and in measure, the knowledge of the Father also; for the more perfect you have not yet received.” And otherwise: The “If you had known me, you should have known my Father also” does not show them as ignorant of Him, but what is said is of this kind: “I said to you that where I go you know—that is, to the Father—and the way you know—that is, Me. Thomas said to me, ‘We know not where you go,’ and consequently, ‘neither know we the way.’ I said to Thomas, ‘I am the way, and no man comes to the Father but by me.’ If, then, you had known me, you should have known my Father also. But indeed you know me; therefore you know my Father also. For from henceforth,” He says, “you know him, and have seen him, having seen me.”

Jn. 14:8–9. Philip says to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us. Jesus says to him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how do you say then, Show us the Father? Philip thought that he knew Christ exactly, but was ignorant of the Father; wherefore also he said, “Show us the Father, and it suffices us. For though you tell us ten thousand times, ‘If you had known me, you should have known my Father also,’ we shall not be able thus to learn the Father. Show Him to us, then, with the bodily eyes.” For Philip, hearing that the prophets also saw God, desired himself too to see Him thus bodily, not knowing that those visions of the prophets were a condescension. Christ, then, teaching Philip that it is not possible for God to be seen bodily, says, “Have I been so long time with you, and have you not known me, Philip?” Observe that He said not, “You have not seen me,” but, “You have not known me,” leading Philip away from the grovelling mind, the desiring to see the Father bodily. For knowledge, He says, is spoken of in the case of God, not bodily sight. Then He adds, “He that has seen me has seen the Father.” And what He says is of this kind: “You, O Philip, by bodily sight seek to see the Father, and think that you have already seen me; but I tell you that if you had seen me, you would have seen Him also. But now, since you have not seen Him, neither have you seen me as one ought to see; but bodily indeed you have seen me, since I bear a body also, but the divine essence you have not seen; so that neither could you see the Father’s bodily. Neither me, then, nor the Father is it possible to see bodily. For he that has seen me has seen the Father also. But indeed many seem to see me, yet see not the Father; so that neither do they see according to the divine nature, but according to the human.” And you can understand it also more clearly thus: “I am,” He says, “consubstantial with the Father. He, then, that has seen me—that is, has known me—has known the Father; for, there being one essence and nature, the knowledge also is one.” Let Arius be ashamed, hearing that he who has seen the Son—that is, has known the Godhead of the Son—has known the Father, or the Godhead of the Father. Let Sabellius also be ashamed, who says, “One hypostasis and one person of the Father and of the Son.” For, behold, the Lord divides the hypostases, and shows one person of the Father and another of the Son. For by saying, “He that has seen me,” He showed His own person; then, “has seen the Father,” behold another person. But if it were one person, He would have said no such thing, but, when Philip said, “Show us the Father,” He would have answered that “I have no Father, but I myself am Father and Son.” And altogether it is of the utmost folly to hear the Son saying, “I go to my Father,” and, “I am in the Father,” and so many other such things, and yet not to understand that the person of the Son is one, and that of the Father another, but to confound these. The Lord, then, rebukes the disciple, as one who had followed so long a time, and seen signs and works of Godhead, yet not known Him as God, that through Him he might know the Father also. And now He says, “Since you seek the Father bodily, it is plain that…”

Jn. 14:10–11. …you believe neither me nor him to be God. Do you believe not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. The Son is in the Father, inasmuch as He is seen in His essence; and the Father again in the essence of the Son; even as the king is seen in his image, and the image in the king. For the character of the image and of the king is one. And that the essence of me and of the Father is one, is plain: “For the words that I speak, I speak not of myself”—that is, “I say these things not otherwise, but as the Father would say, so I speak. For I have not anything of my own separate from the Father, but all things are common; for there is one essence, though the hypostases are distinguished.” And not only do I say the words, which are the Father’s, but also the works are divine works. For since the works are divine, and the Father is God—and I also—therefore the works are of one essence. So that whether I work, the Father works; or whether the Father work, I work. “Believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me”—that is, “You must, hearing ‘Father and Son,’ seek nothing further for the setting forth of the kinship according to essence. But if this suffices you not to show the consubstantiality and equal honour, and that the Father is seen in my essence, and I in the Father’s, then believe me for the works’ sake; for they are God’s works.”

Jn. 14:12–14. Truly, truly, I say to you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father. And whatever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. Christ, showing that He is able to do not these works only, but others much greater than these, sets them down with exaggeration. For He says not, “Greater than these can I do,” but, what was much more wonderful, “I am able to give to others also to do greater works than these.” Do you see the power of the Only-begotten, how it is so great that He gives even to others to work greater works than He Himself wrought? “Because I go to my Father”—this signifies, “Henceforth it is yours to work wonders; for I am now removing.” And interpreting to us how he that believes on Him shall be able to do great and wonderful things, He says, “Whatever you shall ask in my name.” For He shows us here the method of the working of wonders. For through asking, and prayer, and the invocation of His name, one is able to work wonders. So also the apostles: “In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.” Wherefore He said not, “Whatever you shall ask, I will entreat the Father, and He will do it,” but, “I will do it,” showing His own authority. “That the Father may be glorified in the Son.” For when the Son appears able to do great things, then is He glorified who fathered such a Son. For observe the sequence of the Father’s glory: in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ the signs were wrought; from the signs men believed the word of the apostles; and henceforth, coming to the knowledge of God, they recognized the Father, and thus He was glorified in the Son. Let them say who are sick with the doctrine of Arius: the things wrought through the apostles, did He Himself work, and the things wrought through Himself, not He, but being energized by the Father?—did He give to others power, and yet Himself have it not? And why did He say the same things a second time? For having said, “Whatever you shall ask in my name, that will I do,” then having added, “That the Father may be glorified in the Son,” He again says a second time, “Whatever you shall ask in my name, I will do it.” A second time He says this, confirming His own word, and showing that He Himself does it, and needs no power brought in from without. And all these things He says to the disciples, consoling them, and showing that He shall not perish, nor be made to vanish after death, but shall remain again in His own dignity, and shall be in the heavens. “For I go to my Father,” He says; “for I am not made to vanish, but I depart there, where the manner of life is more blessed.”

Jn. 14:15–17. If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you. Having said above, “Whatever you shall ask, I will do,” He shows now that one must ask not simply, but with love toward Him and the keeping of the commandments. For then will I do, when you so ask. And otherwise, since it was likely that they, hearing that they should be deprived of Him, should be downcast and troubled in soul, He says, “To love me is not this, to be downcast and troubled, but to obey the things said by me. For I gave you a commandment not to fear them that kill the body. So that, if you love me, you will keep this, and grieve no longer over my death. For to grieve is not the part of one keeping this commandment.” Then, since it was likely that they should say to this, “And how shall we not grieve, being about to be deprived of such consolation and comfort from you?” He says, “This shall not be; you shall not be deprived of comfort. For I will pray”—which is, I will entreat—“the Father, and He will send you another Comforter, another, as Myself.” Let Sabellius here be ashamed, who says there is one person of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. For, behold, he hears that He will send another Comforter; so that the person of the Spirit is another. Let Macedonius also be ashamed, who says that the Spirit is of another essence, and inferior to the Son. For he hears that the Spirit too is a Comforter, even as the Son also. Consubstantial, then, with the Son is the Spirit; and assuredly with the Father also; for the Father and the Son are of the same essence. And marvel not if He says, “I will pray the Father”; for not as a servant does He entreat, but in order to assure the disciples that the Spirit, the Comforter, will assuredly come upon them; for this cause He condescends to them, and says, “I will entreat the Father.” For if He had said, “I will send,” they would not so have believed; but now, making the word more credible, He says, “I will pray the Father. For even if there be need,” He says, “of entreaty and request, in every way will I be earnest that the Spirit may come upon you”; which we too are wont often to say: “I will lay down my life, that this may come to pass,” although oftentimes the work needs but little earnestness; yet nevertheless, wishing to show that we will not decline the earnestness, we so speak. And otherwise: since the Lord offered Himself as a sacrifice to the Father on our behalf, having propitiated Him through His own death as high priest, then thus the Spirit came upon us, sin being loosed and the enmity taken away; for this cause He says, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you the Comforter”—that is, “I will propitiate the Father on your behalf, and reconcile to you Him who, because of sin, was your enemy; and He will send you the Spirit, being propitiated through my death on your behalf, and reconciled to you.” And the “That he may abide with you for ever” He said, partly consoling them. For “not so temporary,” He says, “is his presence as mine, but it shall endure to the age; and not even when you die shall he depart, but shall abide with you, and make you more glorious; and with all the saints he is ever present, and the more when they die, inasmuch as they are then higher than bodily passions.” And He says “Spirit of truth” instead of, “He is the Spirit not of the Old Covenant (for that was a type and shadow), but of the New, which is truth.” For they that were under the law had the Spirit also, but in type and shadow; whereas now the Truth itself essentially came down to the disciples, so to say. And that they might not suppose that this also is about to be made flesh, as He was, He says, “The world cannot receive him. He will not,” He says, “teach you as I did; for the world cannot receive him bodily”—that is, “He will dwell in your very souls.” And otherwise: “The world cannot receive him”—that is, the common crowd, and they that mind the things of the world—“because it sees him not”—that is, because his essence is incomprehensible; for by “seeing” He here means that which is through the mind. Whence He also adds, “Neither knows him.” Do you see that by saying “sees not,” He signified “knows not”? He consoles, then, the apostles, by saying, “The world cannot receive him; but to you this is given as a choice gift, and he abides with you”; then the greater thing, that “He shall be in you.” For the “with you” signifies the help from outside, from near at hand; but the “in you,” the indwelling within and the strengthening; and it is indicative of His being God. For “I will dwell in them, and walk in them,” God says. The world, then, cannot receive the Spirit, because it knows him not; but you know him. Why? Because you are not of the world; and for this cause you are receptive of him. And he abides now with you, but he shall also be ever in you.

Jn. 14:18–20. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but you see me: because I live, you shall live also. At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. “Fear not,” He says, “because I said to you, ‘I will send another Comforter,’ supposing that you shall no longer see me; for I will not depart from you to the end. For I come, and will not leave you orphans.” Since at the beginning He called them “little children,” consistently now He says, “I will not leave you orphans.” And that they might not suppose that, as before, He is about to appear with a body both to them and to all, He says, “The world sees me no more. For you alone,” He says, “shall see me, even after the resurrection. For I live, even though I receive death, and rise again. And you also shall live”—that is, “Seeing me, you shall rejoice, and, as it were mortified, you shall come to life again at my appearing.” Or thus also: “As my death,” He says, “became to life, so also, even if you die, you shall live. Grieve not, then, either over me dying, or over yourselves. For even if you die, you shall live the life to come.” “At that day you shall know that I am in my Father”—that is, “When I am risen, you shall know that I am not severed from the Father, but have the same power. And you are in me, being kept by me; and I in you,” instead of, “I am with you, delivering you from afflictions, working the wonders through you, and simply glorifying you through all things.” And otherwise: “I am in you, as the head in the members (for the apostles are members of Christ); and you in me, as members in the head.” When, then, He rose, then He made clear to them the knowledge concerning all these things. For the grace of the Spirit, after the resurrection, instructed them in all. And when you hear, “I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you,” understand not these things alike. For the Son is in the Father as consubstantial; but in the apostles, as helper and fellow-worker; and the apostles in Him, as being helped and worked with, and cherished by Him. Since many other names also are spoken of God and of men, but are not understood alike. We too, for instance, are called gods, but not in the same way; the Son is called image and glory of the Father, and so is man, but not alike. So, then, these things also must be understood, even as also the “As the Father has sent me, even so send I you.” For ought we so simply to understand it? By no means. The Father sent the Son, who was incorporeal, then made flesh, and born of a Virgin; were the apostles too from heaven, and incorporeal, then made flesh, and each born of a virgin? Nay, it is manifest folly so to take the things of Scripture.

Jn. 14:21–22. He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas says to him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world? “How is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” As indeed we said above, through such words He restrains their despondency, teaching them that he loves Him, not who is downcast over His death—which they too suffer—but who keeps His commandments and charges, those concerning not laying claim to the present life, but laying down the soul for God and the good; all but saying this to them: “You think that you grieve over my death out of love; but I rather make the not grieving a token of love.” And that He says this is plain from what He says further on: “If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to my Father.” He, then, that loves me has my commandments, and not only has them, but also keeps them, that the thief, the devil, may not come and rob the treasure; for there is need of exact keeping, lest we lose them. And he that loves me, what reward finds he? “He shall be loved,” He says, “of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” And why said He this, “I will manifest myself to him”? Because after the resurrection He was about to appear to them with a body more godlike, that they might not suppose Him to be a spirit and a phantom; for this cause He foretells this to them, that they might not then disbelieve when they saw Him, but might call to mind that He foretold these things to them, and that because of their keeping His commandments He appears to them; and so they might be earnest always to keep these, that He might also ever appear to them. For the mystery of the resurrection being great, it would scarcely have been received by them. For this cause He smooths the way beforehand by saying that He will manifest Himself to them. Since also, when risen, He ate, that they might not think Him a phantom; and now this Judas suffered the same thing. For this Judas now mentioned supposed that, even as we see the dead in a dream, so also He would manifest Himself to them; wherefore he says, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” For out of much amazement and astonishment he says this, as if he said, “Woe to us, that you die, and, like the deceased, are about to manifest yourself to us!” For the “How is it?” [is spoken] in amazement.

Jn. 14:23–24. Jesus answered and said to him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him. He that loves me not keeps not my sayings: and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. Judas, out of much timidity, supposed that the Lord, having died, would manifest Himself to them in a dream; whence also he asks, as has been said. But the Lord, dissolving his suspicion, says that “As the Father manifests Himself, so also will I manifest myself to you. For I,” He says, “and the Father will come to him that keeps my words. I will not manifest myself to you in sleep, but, since I am about to come with the Father, even as it is fitting that the Father should manifest Himself, so shall my manifestation also be to you.” And by saying, “We will make our abode with him,” He overturns Judas’s suspicion. “For dreams,” He says, “do not abide; but I, manifesting myself, will abide with the Father; therefore my visitation shall not be dreamlike.” And He foretells to them, as I said, that He will manifest Himself, that they might not think Him a phantom, and at the same time He rouses them to keep His commandments, knowing that to those who keep them He manifests Himself, and the Father; even as, on the other hand, from him that keeps not the commandments both He and the Father stand aloof, as from one not loving. “For he that loves me not,” He says, “keeps not my words”; so that neither does he love the Father who loves not the Son; for the word of the Son is also the Father’s. He, then, that keeps not the word of the Son, that is, of the Father, even as he dishonours the Son, so also the Father. “You, then, my disciples, keep my words; for so shall you show forth your love both toward me and toward the Father.” And some say that the disciple Judas spoke not out of timidity, but out of a kindly mind, the “Why will you manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” For he wished the benefit from the manifestation to belong not to the disciples alone, but to all the world. But the Saviour shows that not all are counted worthy of such things, but they alone who keep His commandments shall become worthy both of His manifestation and of the Father’s love. For in him that keeps the commandments is God and the Father; but not as in the Son, so also in this one; for in the Son He is by nature, but in the man by relation.

Jn. 14:25–26. I have spoken these things to you while still remaining with you. But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance everything I have said to you. Since the things spoken by the Lord were obscure to the disciples, and some of them they did not even understand, and about the more part they doubted, that they might not again ask Him and say, “What commandments ought we to keep?” He frees them from troubles and confusion, saying that “The Comforter will make the obscure and hard-to-understand things well known to you. These things, then, that seem obscure to you, I have spoken being yet present with you, and while I am with you; but when I have departed, you shall be taught all things. You must not, therefore, grieve over my withdrawal, which shall be the procurer of such great goods and of such wisdom. For so long as I myself remain with you, and the Spirit comes not, you shall be able to conceive nothing great or lofty.” And continually He names Him “Comforter,” because of the afflictions that beset them, making them of good hope, as being about to be comforted by Him. And the “The Comforter shall come in my name” signifies this, that “He will teach you nothing alien from me, nor will he appropriate a glory of his own, but he will come in my name—that is, to the glory of my name, not of his own”—which they do who teach in opposition, drawing after them, to their own name, those who follow them. And some understand the “in my name” thus: a name of Christ is “Comforter” (Paraclete). “For we have,” it says, “a Comforter, Jesus Christ.” Since, then, the Spirit also, having come to the disciples, became a Comforter, soothing their griefs, He came in the name of Christ; for He too is a Comforter, even as Christ is. But Paul also named the Spirit both “Christ” and “Spirit,” in saying, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Then he adds, “But if Christ be in you.” Do you see how, having said above that the Spirit of God dwells in them, he then added, “Christ in you”? For evidently he named the Spirit “Christ.” Since, then, the Spirit is named “Christ,” thus ought you to understand it: “In my name the Father will send him”—that is, that he also shall be named “Christ.” The Holy Spirit, then, both taught and brought to remembrance: He taught such things as Christ did not tell them, as being unable to bear them; and He brought to remembrance such things as the Lord indeed spoke, but which, whether through obscurity, or through the sluggishness of their understanding, the apostles were unable to hold in memory.

Jn. 14:27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Again the apostles were in grief, hearing the Lord say, “I indeed withdraw, but the Spirit shall come.” Wherefore, seeing their heart to be in troubles, and especially because of the afflictions and wars about to come upon them, He says, “Peace I leave with you,” saying this to them: “What hurt take you from the trouble of the world, so long as you are at peace with me? For my peace is not such as the world’s, which is often for evil, and is unprofitable. But I give such peace as makes you be at peace with one another, and be one body. And this shall make you stronger than all; and though many rise up against you, you shall suffer nothing, being fenced about by oneness of soul and by peace with one another.” Then, since He again said, “I leave,” which was the word of one departing, and able to throw them into confusion, He adds, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Now the being troubled they suffered out of affection and love toward Him, as being about to be deprived of Him; but the being afraid, because of the evils about to befall them after His death. He, then, leaves neither the trouble that comes from affection, nor the fear that comes from the afflictions to come, without remedy; but…

Jn. 14:28–29. You have heard how I said to you, I go away, and come again to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go to the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, you might believe. Since the Lord saw the apostles in no way hoping for His resurrection, nor even simply knowing what it is, and for this cause exceedingly grieved and troubled, as being about to be deprived of Him, He condescends to their weakness, and says, “I told you, ‘I go away, and will come again,’ and yet you still grieve; for you trust me not, that even if I die, yet in your afflictions I will not leave you. Now, then, hearing that I go to my Father, whom you think great and greater than me, you ought to rejoice, that I depart to Him who is greater than me, and able to loose all the terrors.” Do you see the sequence of the thought, how the “For my Father is greater than I” He said for the consoling of the disciples? For since they were grieved, as though Christ would not be able to succour them, He says, “Even if I am not able, is not at least my Father, whom you think greater than me, sufficient to help you?” As also elsewhere He says, “Do you think that I cannot pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me twelve legions of angels?” For neither here does He say this as one unable; for how should He, who, merely by asking the Jews, cast them all suddenly backward? But since they held an opinion of Him as of a man, for this cause He says these things. So then also the “My Father is greater than I.” For He said this with a view to their conception, who thought Him indeed weak, but the Father able to succour them in the time of afflictions. “And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, you might believe”—that is, “So confident am I, and so far from fearing death, or grieving, that I even foretell it, and bid you rejoice, that, when it is come to pass, you may believe me. For as I knew the afflictions about to befall you, and foretelling these, lied not, so neither, having foretold the things concerning your comfort and consolation, shall I be found false; but all joyful things shall meet you.” And some understand the Father to be greater inasmuch as He is the cause of the Son. “For the Father is greater,” He says, “inasmuch as He is my cause and beginning; for of Him am I begotten.” But the being greater does not make the Father to be of another essence. For among men also, to speak by way of example, the father is greater than the son, yet not therefore of another nature. Then let the heretics say, in what respect Christ went to the Father—as God, or as man? Assuredly as man; since as God He was ever in the heavens and inseparable from the Father. According to the human, then, the Father is said to be greater than He.

Jn. 14:30–31. From now on I will not speak much with you, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me. But so that the world may know that I love the Father, even as the Father gave me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go hence. Having consoled the disciples by the things said above, He again speaks concerning His own death. “For the prince of the world comes,” He says—that is, the devil. And He calls him prince of the world, not of the creation, but of the common crowd, and of those who mind the things of the world. For he rules not heaven and earth, since else he would have overturned and confounded all things; but he rules those who give themselves over to him. For this cause also he is called prince of the darkness; and by darkness understand wicked deeds. And since it was likely that some should suspect, “Then is Christ also delivered to death because of sin?” He added for this cause, “He has nothing in me. For not being liable to death, owing nothing to the devil, but because of love toward the Father, I willingly undergo the Passion.” And continually He turns back the words concerning His death, mingling with them also the things that bring comfort, that He might make it well received by them. For they that hear that He shall die learn also that He willingly despises the devil, and that He dies because of His love toward the Father. If, then, the Passion were destructive and not saving, how should the loving Father have been well pleased with it? And how should the beloved Son have accepted it? And how shall we understand the “dying because of love toward the Father”? “The Father,” He says, “loves the world, and gives me up to death for its sake. I, then, loving the Father, am of one mind with His good pleasure and will, and I show that I love the Father, from my accepting and fulfilling the thing enjoined by Him—that is, what was well-pleasing and ratified.” Say, you Arianizers: if the Son were a servant, He would not have said, “Because of love toward the Father I die.” For the servant does the will of his lord not because he loves him, but because he is a servant and fears the punishments. But the Lord Jesus, since as one loving He does the will of God, is not a servant, nor a creature, but in truth a Son fulfilling the will of the Father. When, then, you hear, “The Father gave me commandment,” do not, because of the “gave commandment,” bring down the Lord as one commanded; but, because of the “Father,” acknowledge Him a Son consubstantial with the Father; and the “gave commandment” understand instead of, He willed, He said, He ratified, He was well pleased. “Arise, let us go hence.” [Headings of what follows:] Concerning the true vine, and the husbandman, and the branch.

Chapter 15

Jn. 15:1–3. I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you. Since, having discoursed much concerning the Passion, He had pressed down their souls, and perceived them in dread as about to be quickly taken, and out of much fear not even attending to the things spoken, He makes as though to lead them away to a hidden place where they should not be taken; and indeed He removes them from that spot where they were, that, having settled the trouble of their soul, He might deliver to them the more mystical doctrines. And He leads them, as we shall learn further on, into the garden which Judas knew; so that in appearance the matter was a withdrawal, but in truth a voluntary giving-up of Himself, withdrawing into such a place as Judas knew. What, then, mystical does He deliver to them? “I am,” He says, “the vine”—that is, the root; “and you are the branches; and my Father is the husbandman.” And about what does the Father busy Himself? About the root? “No,” He says, “but about the branches. For every branch,” He says, “that bears not fruit, he takes it away”—that is, every man who through faith has become a part of the root, and been united to the Lord, and become of one body with Him, must also bear fruit, that is, have a virtuous life; for if a man have only the bare profession of faith, but bear no fruit through the keeping of the commandments, he becomes a dead branch; for faith without works is dead. Every believer, then, seems to be in Christ, inasmuch as he believes. “For every branch in me,” He says, “if it bear not fruit, the Father takes it away”—that is, sets it outside the fellowship with the Son; but the fruit-bearing one He purges. Here we learn this, that even though one be exceedingly virtuous, he needs the care that is from God. For the fruitless cannot even be in the vine; but the fruit-bearing one the Father makes more fruitful. And understand these things as spoken also because of the afflictions of the disciples. For since afflictions seem to be a kind of pruning, such as the husbandmen speak of, the Lord shows them that through the afflictions they shall become more fruitful, even as the branches through the pruning; for the trials rather showed them stronger. Then, lest they should say, “Concerning whom do you say these things?” “You,” He says, “are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.” Observe: above He said the Father was the one purging; now again He brings in Himself as the one caring. One, then, is the energy of the Father and of the Son. “I,” He says, “have cleansed you through my teaching; you must therefore henceforth display the things that are yours”; wherefore also He adds:

Jn. 15:4–6. Abide in me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown out like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned. “I,” He says, “have cleansed you also through my word and teaching, and nothing on my part was lacking. But henceforth there must be present also the things on your part. Abide in me,” He says. For lest from fear they should be torn away from Him, He braces their soul, which had grown slack, and glues it to Himself, and henceforth holds out good hopes, that “Whatever you shall ask, you shall receive, if you abide in me.” And from the example of the branch He plainly sets before us the quality and life given by Him to those that are well-pleasing to Him. For as the branch bears fruit while it abides in the vine, and receives from it the co-operation toward living, so also you, if you abide in me through the keeping of the commandments, then shall you bring forth more fruit. But he that abides not is withered—that is, if he had anything from the root, he casts it off; if he received any spiritual grace, he is stripped of it, and is deprived of the help and life from thence. And what is the end? He is cast into the fire, and is burned. And from hence He gives them no small comfort, showing that they who plot against Him, such as Judas, shall be burned up; but they themselves, abiding in Him, shall bear fruit. For without the quality and life-giving that is from Him, they shall be able to do nothing.

Jn. 15:7–8. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you. Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples. Here the Lord interprets to us what is the “If you abide in me”—that is, “If you keep my commandments”; for the “And my words abide in you” signifies this. He seeks the cleaving that is through works. For each of those who live in a manner pleasing to God abides in the vine by his own choice, being united to it through love and the keeping of the commandments, and cleaving to it in spirit; even as, on the contrary, he that withdraws from the working of the commandments alienates himself willingly from the Lord. “And herein is my Father glorified,” He says, “in your bearing much fruit.” For the glory of God and the Father is the good repute of His disciples. For when the light of the apostles shone before men, the heavenly Father was glorified. And the fruit of the apostles is also the Gentiles, brought through their teaching to the faith, and become to the glory of God. If, then, herein the Father is glorified, in your bearing fruit, He will not neglect His own glory, but will also co-operate with you that you may bear more fruit, that He may be more glorified. “For herein,” He says, “is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and become my disciples.” Do you see how he that bears fruit, that one is in truth a disciple, and the Father is herein glorified—that is, rejoices, and accounts this His own glory?

Jn. 15:9. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you: continue you in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love. “…even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” He urges them to take courage by saying, “I have loved you, and so have I loved you, as the Father has loved me.” But this He said after a more human manner. “Continue you, then, in my love. For of this you are lords. Despise it not because you have heard, ‘I have loved you,’ but be earnest to abide in my love.” Then He teaches them how they shall be able to abide—if they keep His commandments. For, as has often been said, he it is that loves Him who keeps His commandments. And through all these things He shows that then shall they be in safety, when they display a clean life.

Jn. 15:10. Just as I have kept the commandments of my Father, and abide in his love. This too He says by way of condescension, because of the weakness of the hearers. For surely He who is the lawgiver of all was not Himself subject to commandments, nor was He unable, apart from the Father’s commandments, to pass His own life; for this is most absurd to conceive. He says this, wishing the more to console them. For since He said to them, “I love you,” and they were afterward about to wrestle with afflictions, that they might not be offended, as though His love availed them nothing, He says, “Be not troubled; since the Father loves me too, yet nevertheless gives me up to suffer for the world. As, then, the Father’s love is not lessened by my suffering, [so neither shall mine fail you], though you fall into afflictions.”

Jn. 15:11–13. These things have I spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. “These things,” He says, “have I spoken to you, that I might not cut off your joy.” For they rejoiced while they were with Him, as He worked wonders and was glorified; and indeed they rejoiced when they themselves cast out demons, as He also says, “Rejoice not that the demons are subject to you.” But since the Passion came in between, and the gloomy things cut off their joy, He says, “These comforting words have I spoken to you, that always and to the end your joy may remain undivided and full and complete. For the present things are not of grief, but of joy, even though the cross, even though shame and dishonour be added.” And since above He said, “If you keep my commandments, then shall you abide in me,” now He shows what commandments they must keep, and sets before them love. “For,” He says, “that you love one another, as I have loved you.” For He wishes us to love one another not simply and at random, but as He Himself loved us. And observe how above He spoke of the commandments in the plural, but here He says, “This is my commandment,” in the singular number. And I think it is because love is the comprehension and head of all the commandments, that it is called both commandments and commandment. And at the same time He shows us a way how we shall keep the commandments—namely, by keeping one commandment, that concerning love. And since He said, “As I have loved you, love you also one another,” He shows the measure of love and its height. “For greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. So that you also lay down your lives for one another, since I too die for you. Suppose not, then, that this my withdrawal, whereby I now withdraw from you, comes of hatred toward you; for rather it comes of love, and that more perfect.”

Jn. 15:14–15. You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you. “…for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” Up and down He turns the things concerning love, showing us through these many words that this commandment is more worthy than the others, and more deserving of earnestness. And He sets before them also a very great token of His love: “For so much,” He says, “do I love you, that I have revealed to you the things unspeakable. For the servant knows not the mysteries of his master; but you, as my friends, have been counted worthy of mysteries. For all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.” How then does He elsewhere say, “I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now”? He made known to them all things, so far as it was possible for them to hear, and so far as was at once within their capacity. And when He says, “The things that I have heard of my Father,” suppose not that the Son needs teaching, but He shows this, that He utters nothing alien, but the things of the Father, and whatever He says are His. And having said that “I make a proof of my love toward you in the making known to you the mysteries,” He adds also another token of love: “For I,” He says, “have chosen you”—that is, “Not you ran to my friendship, but I to yours, and first loved you. How then shall I forsake you for the time to come? But I have also ordained you—that is, I have planted you, that you should go—that is, that you should grow and be enlarged and spread abroad and extended, and bear fruit.” And here He plainly brings in Himself also as husbandman. For above, when He said, “You are clean through the word which I have spoken to you,” He showed Himself the one purging; but now yet more manifestly, by saying that…

Jn. 15:16. I have chosen you, and ordained you… For the husbandman, of course, chooses and sets the branches in the ground. Do you see the equality of the Father and of the Son? The Father is husbandman; the Son is now shown to be husbandman. Clothe yourself with shame, Arius, together with those who with you were flung headlong into impiety. And observe also another thing: “that whatever you shall ask of the Father, he may give it you”—that is, “I will give it you.” And yet, according to consistency, He ought to have said thus: “Whatever you shall ask of the Father, he will give it you”; but He said, “I will give it you,” because of the entire equality of power. Since the Father too, when He gives, gives in His right hand; and His right hand is the Son. And consider to me this also, that when, being planted, we bear fruit, then also, whatever we ask, He will give us; but if we bear not fruit, we shall not receive. For he that bears not fruit asks not even things profitable and beneficial to the soul, but altogether worldly and unprofitable things; wherefore neither does he receive. “For you ask,” He says, “and receive not, because you ask amiss.”

Jn. 15:17–19. These things I command you, that you love one another. If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Lest the apostles should think that the Lord, by way of reproach, brings forward to them His laying down of His life for them and His choosing of them, for this cause He says, “These things I command you, not that I may reproach, nor that I may boast as of some good deed, but that I may make your souls more steadfast in the love one toward another; for this cause I reckon up the good deeds of my love toward you. For these things I command you, that you love one another.” And since it is a grievous thing, and exceeding painful, to be persecuted and hated, He consoles them, saying, “Even if they hate you, it is nothing new; for me first they have hated. So that you ought to use the fellowship in being hated as a great comfort.” And He adds also another manner of consolation, more constraining. “For on the contrary,” He says, “you ought to grieve, if the world hated you not”—that is, the wicked men. For you would have shown, by not being hated, that you also share in the same wickedness and evil with them. But now, since the wicked hate you, rejoice. For because of your virtue they hate you; for assuredly, if you had not virtue, the world would love its own. But since I have chosen you out of the wickedness of the world, for this cause the world hates you, as not partaking in its works.

Jn. 15:20–21. Remember the word I spoke to you: The servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But all this they will do to you because of my name, since they do not know him who sent me. That which He said above, “Me first they have hated,” this He now enlarges upon, and instils into them more comfort. “For remember,” He says, “my word, that the servant is not greater than his lord; neither, then, are you greater than I. See, then, how they treated me. If they persecuted the Master, much more you the servants; and if they did not persecute, but kept my word, they will keep yours also.” But this is not the case; for neither mine nor yours will they keep. “But all these things will they do to you for my sake.” So that, if you love me, bear the things you suffer for my sake, the beloved one, as you say. And there is yet another thing toward comfort, that they insult also Him that sent me together with you. If, then, nothing else, let this be to you for consolation, that the same men are enemies both of you, and of me, and of my Father.

Jn. 15:22–25. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He that hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else has done, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this has come to pass so that the word written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me without a cause. Is it, then, justly that they do these things, and hate both me and my Father and you? Was it on account of anything said or done that they displayed such a mind? “No,” He says; “for their sin is unpardonable. For did I not come and teach? If I had not come, if I had not spoken, they might have been able to say, ‘We heard not’; but now their wickedness is without excuse.” Then, since they put forward everywhere no other pretext save that of avenging the Father (“For this man,” they said, “is not of God,” and such like), for this cause He adds, “He that hates me hates my Father also”; so that neither is this left them for a defence. “And not only did I furnish teaching, but I added also works, such as none other did”—as the miracle of the blind man, that of Lazarus, and the rest in like manner. What defence, then, have they? “The teaching that is from words I furnished; that which is from works I added”; even as Moses also enjoins us to obey him who both works signs and teaches the things that pertain to godliness. But now they have both seen such works, and nevertheless have hated both me and my Father. Then He brings in also the prophet as witness, that “They hated me without a cause.” For out of their wickedness alone, He says, was the hatred born, [and] not out of any other cause. And by “law,” as we have often said, He means not only the Mosaic, but also the books of the prophets; even as here too He named the [psalm] of David “law.” David, then, by the Holy Spirit foretold what their wickedness was about to do; and they, altogether as wicked men, fulfilled what was foretold by the prophet, and showed the prophecy to be true.

Jn. 15:26–27. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me: and you also shall bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. He said to the disciples, “They will persecute you, because they will not keep your word.” Lest, then, they should be able to say, “And henceforth, O Lord, where do you send us? how shall we be worthy of credit? who will give heed to us? who will be persuaded?”—for this cause He adds, “But when the Comforter is come, he shall testify of me. A trustworthy witness,” He says, “is that one. So that, being reproved by the Spirit that they sin without excuse, they will receive the preaching. And you also bear witness, being from the beginning with me, that both by words and by works I made them without excuse. Take courage, then; for the preaching shall not be without witness, but the Spirit also shall bear witness together with signs and wonders, and shall be a trustworthy witness; for he is the Spirit of truth. As, then, the Spirit of truth, he shall testify the things that are true; and as proceeding from the Father, he knows all things exactly; for he is from thence whence is the knowledge of all things.” And the “whom I will send” signifies His equality with Him. For elsewhere He said the Father sends the Spirit; but here, saying that He Himself sends it, He signifies nothing else than the equality. But that He might not seem to set Himself in opposition to the Father, as though sending the Spirit from an authority of His own, He added, “from the Father.” “For I send indeed, but from the Father”—that is, the Father being well-pleased and sending it forth together. For not from my own bosom do I send forth the Spirit, but from the Father it is supplied through me. And when you hear, “proceeds,” understand not the procession to be a sending, such as the ministering spirits are sent; but the procession is the natural existence of the Spirit. For if we understand not the procession thus, but as some sending that takes place outwardly, it will be uncertain concerning what spirit He speaks. For countless are the spirits sent forth to ministry for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation. But here He speaks of the “proceeding” as a choice and separate property, set apart beforehand for the one Spirit who is properly so called. We shall not, then, understand the “proceeding” as a being sent, but as having from the Father His natural existence. This Spirit, then, shall be witness of the preaching; and you too bear witness, because not from others have you heard, but you yourselves are present from the beginning. And no small witness is this, given by those who were present from the beginning; which the apostles themselves also afterward said, when haranguing, “We who did eat and drink with him.” Twofold, then, is the witness; [lest one say that] you seem to witness out of favour, yet not so [the Spirit, nor] Jesus, who foretells the things about to befall the disciples. [Headings of what follows:] Concerning the “A little while, and you shall see me.” Concerning the Father’s giving whatever they shall ask.

Chapter 16

Jn. 16:1–4. These things have I spoken to you, that you should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time comes, that whoever kills you will think that he does God service. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, you may remember that I told you of them. “I have spoken to you,” He says, “these things before they come to pass, that you be not offended afterward, when you see many disobeying, and yourselves suffering terrible things; but, reckoning that even before these things came to pass I told you of them, you may henceforth receive also the consolation that is from me, as one who will not deceive you in this either, even as neither in the foretelling of the terrors. For they shall both put you out of the synagogues, and shall set you apart from their councils, and from their assemblies of honour, and altogether from their fellowship. For they had already agreed that if any should confess Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. And not only this, your being put out of the synagogues, but expect also death, and a death of reproach; for as pests and enemies of God shall they kill you. And every one that murders you will so be in earnest about your slaughter as to think he is offering worship to God”—that is, he will reckon that he is doing a deed well-pleasing to God and pious. And He adds also a sufficient consolation. “For these things,” He says, “will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me. For my sake,” He says, “and the Father’s, are you about to suffer these things; therefore endure. For blessed are you, when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Let this beatitude be a consolation to you, when you call these things to mind. And these things have I spoken to you, that when you see the gloomy things come to pass, you may believe also concerning the rest. For you shall not be able to say that I foretold you the joyful things, wishing to deceive you; but even as, foretelling the painful things, I lied not, so neither, having spoken the joyful things, am I worthy of disbelief; and at the same time, that you be not unprepared, but ready, remembering that I told you these things, and for this cause standing nobly against the painful things.”

Jn. 16:5–7. But these things I said not to you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asks me, Where do you go? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you. Exceedingly were the apostles weighed down with grief, hearing such things about to befall them. Wherefore also the Lord says, “These things, so painful, I told you not at the beginning, not as being ignorant of them, but because I was with you, and you had me as a sufficient refuge, and all the war was kindled against me, while you yourselves were in all safety. There was no need, then, of such words at that time, words preparing you beforehand and securing you; but now, going to my Father, and being about to leave you, I foretell these things, that you may secure yourselves. And none of you asks me, ‘Where do you go?’ but by grief you are confounded, and have suffered amazement, your hearts being shaken by the expectation of the terrors. Nevertheless I tell you the truth.” See how He consoles them. “Though you grieve ten thousand times,” He says, “I tell you that which is expedient for you. For you indeed wish me to be ever present with you; but this is not expedient. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you. So that even though you wish my presence, I will not yield to you, but will rather choose what is expedient for you than the will that is hurtful to you.” So also we ought to do everywhere, to consider what is expedient both for ourselves and for the brethren, and not what is pleasant. “For if I die not for the world, and go to the Father, having given myself a sacrifice and propitiation for the sins of the world, the Comforter will not come. For how should he come, unless the enmity be loosed, sin being put to death, unless the Father be reconciled to human nature?” But here what can they say who follow Macedonius, belittling the glory of the Spirit, and calling Him a servant of the Son? How is it expedient that the Master depart, and a servant come? So that, even though you grieve, O disciples, because of my absence, yet rejoice because of the presence of the Spirit, who will benefit you in more and greater things. But how did the Lord say, “These things I said not to you at the beginning”? For indeed it is written that, having called the twelve, He said to them, “You shall be brought before governors and kings.” He said indeed, “You shall be brought before governors,” but not, “They shall so kill you, as impious men, and pests, and enemies of God.” And otherwise: there He spoke of the things to be brought upon them by the heathen, but now of the things from the Jews also. For the “They shall put you out of the synagogues” the Jews assuredly will do. And observe to me here at once both the self-determination of the Spirit and the good pleasure of the Son. For the “The Comforter will come” is of the authority of the Spirit; but the “if I depart, I will send him” [is of the Son’s good pleasure that the Comforter should come].

Jn. 16:8–11. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. The Comforter will come; and what is the gain? “He will reprove,” He says, “the world of sin,” and will show them to be sinners, because they believe not. For when they see, through the hands of the disciples, in the Spirit, signs extraordinary and wonders wrought, and not even so believe, they are worthy of condemnation, and liable to a very great sin. For now they can say, “I am the son of a carpenter, of a lowly mother,” although I work wonders also; but then their unbelief will be without excuse, the Spirit in my name accomplishing such things. Of sin, then, He will reprove them—that is, He will show them to have sinned unpardonably. “And of righteousness will he reprove, because I go to my Father”—that is, “He will show them that, being righteous, and having furnished a blameless life, I was unjustly slain by them; and a proof of this is my going to the Father; for I should not have gone up to the Father unless I were righteous. For since they slew me as a rival of God and a transgressor, the Spirit will show them,” He says, “that I am not such. For one who was a rival of God and a transgressor would not have been counted worthy of honour with God the lawgiver, and that not temporary, but eternal honour. For the ‘You see me no more’ signifies the eternity of His abiding with the Father.” “And of judgment will he reprove them, because the prince of this world is judged”—that is, “Herein again the Spirit will prove me righteous and sinless, from the world-ruler’s being condemned by me and overthrown. For since they said, ‘He has a devil,’ and ‘By Beelzebul he works wonders,’ and ‘He is a deceiver’—all these things,” He says, “shall be shown vain, the devil appearing condemned, and shown to all to have been conquered by me; which I could not have done, unless I were stronger than he, and a stranger to all sin.” And how was this shown? By the presence of the Spirit all that believe in Christ made the world-ruler a thing trodden under foot and insulted. Therefore it was shown from these things also that he had long before been condemned by Christ. The Spirit, then, reproved them that believed not, as sinners; for faith looses sins through the remission of baptism. And in them that believed the manifest energies of the Spirit appeared, but in the unbelievers they were not seen. Whence they were proved to be wicked vessels, and accursed, and unworthy of the indwelling of the Spirit. And otherwise: the Spirit reproves the unbelieving world of righteousness—that is, that he is deprived of righteousness who believes not in the righteous Jesus, who because of righteousness was taken up into the heavens. And it reproves and condemns him also as slothful, because, when Satan was crushed, not even so would he overcome him.

Jn. 16:12–15. I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it to you. All things that the Father has are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it to you. Having said above, “It is expedient for you that I go away,” He now enlarges upon this, and says, “Now indeed you cannot bear them; but when he is come, then indeed, having enjoyed his graces, you shall be guided into all truth.” And what truth does He mean, but the knowledge concerning all things? For the Lord Himself uttered nothing great concerning Himself, partly giving patterns of humility, partly also because of the weakness of the hearers, and the ill-disposition of the Jews. Nor did He openly introduce the dissolution of the legal observances, lest He should seem to all a rival of God. But when the Comforter had come, both the dignity of the Son was made clear, and the true knowledge concerning all things shone forth; and, the legal types being taken out of the midst and abolished, we were guided into the true and spiritual worship, the faith being confirmed through the signs wrought in the Spirit. Then, since He had said certain great things concerning the Spirit, lest any should suppose that the Spirit is greater than He, seeing that it will guide them into the truth, and make them capable and receptive of the many and great things which, while Christ was present, they could not bear—that this might not be supposed, He adds, “For he shall not speak of himself”—that is, “He will say nothing of his own beside my things.” For the “whatever he shall hear” signifies this, the teaching of nothing outside the things of Christ. As, then, the Lord Himself, saying concerning Himself, “Whatever I have heard of my Father I speak,” does not introduce Himself as being taught, like some infant, but means that He neither knows nor teaches anything outside the Father’s; so also concerning the Spirit. For that the Spirit needs no teaching, hear what Paul says: “For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God.” Do you see that the Holy Spirit is self-taught, even as our own spirit is? And from what follows you shall learn also, if you are well-disposed, the Godhead of the Spirit. “For the things to come,” He says, “will he show you”—that is, the things to come; which is most especially proper to God, the knowledge of things to come. For since nothing else is so longed for by human nature as the knowledge of things to come, He consoles the apostles from this also. “For so greatly,” He says, “will he benefit you, that he will give you even the greatest of all things, the foreknowledge of things to come.” And at the same time, since they were about to strip for the contests, “He,” He says, “will prepare you for the things about to befall you, that you fall not unguardedly, out of ignorance. And he will glorify me too; for in my name will he both speak all things and do all things, and will say nothing contrary; so that I shall, through the wonders wrought by him, be believed to be God, abundant grace being poured out upon you my disciples, and, after my death, my name shining the more; which is a great and indisputable glory, when he that was put to death and dishonoured shines the more after these things.” Then, since they had heard the Lord say, “One is your Master, even Christ,” lest they should suppose, “Since you yourself are the one teacher, how do you say to us that the Spirit also shall be another teacher?” He adds, “He shall receive of mine”—that is, “Out of the things which I myself know, out of my knowledge.” Or also otherwise: the “of mine”—that is, “Out of my treasure, which is the Father’s.” For since all things that the Father has are mine, and my riches, and the Comforter also shall speak from the Father, I reasonably say, “He shall receive of mine”—that is, of the treasure, and the riches, and the knowledge. And why has the Spirit given us such good things, and not the Son? First, then, we say this, that the Son made the way for the gifts of the Spirit, and is Himself the cause of such great goods. For unless He had loosed sin, how should we have been counted worthy of the Spirit? For the Spirit will not dwell in a body that is in debt to sins. So that, if the Spirit has given anything great, it had its occasions from Christ. And next, since the heretics were about to belittle the dignity of the Spirit because of his coming later, for this cause He yields to him to work the greater things in the apostles, that even against their will they may recognize the dignity of the Spirit, [equal to that] of the Son.

Jn. 16:16–18. A little while, and you shall not see me: and again, a little while, and you shall see me, because I go to the Father. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he says to us, A little while, and you shall not see me: and again, a little while, and you shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore, What is this that he says, A little while? we cannot tell what he says. Why does Christ again bring before them the things concerning His withdrawal and His death, although He ought rather to have hidden these? Exercising their understanding, and making it more proven; and for this cause He continually makes mention of the painful things, bringing them into a habituation to these, and into an expectation of them, that they might not be panic-stricken by the suddenness; and at the same time He interweaves with the painful things the things that lead the soul; even as here, having said the painful thing, “A little while, and you shall not see me,” He added also the joyful thing, “And again, a little while, and you shall see me; and that, I go to God”—who is able to help you, and I perish not, but am removed; and the separation is for a little while, but the abiding with you for the time to come is eternal. They, however, understood not; whence one might wonder how they did not recognize what He says. It seems, then, that their grief, possessing their understanding, cast out the memory of the things spoken; or that, from the obscurity of the words, the not understanding came upon them. Wherefore they think that Jesus utters certain things contrary to one another: “For if we shall see you, where do you go? But if you go, how shall we see you?” For these things seemed to them riddles.

Jn. 16:19–22. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said to them, Do you inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and you shall not see me: and again, a little while, and you shall see me? Truly, truly, I say to you, That you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail has sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And you now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man takes from you. Since He saw the disciples in no way understanding the things spoken, because of the stupefaction from grief, He fixes in them more clearly the doctrine concerning His death, that, being habituated to the words and to the things, they might bear them nobly. And so He says, “You shall weep and lament,” which belongs to the death of the cross; “but the world shall rejoice”—that is, the Jews who mind the things of the world shall rejoice, as having destroyed me their enemy. “But your sorrow shall be turned into joy”; even as, on the other hand, the joy of the Jews shall come round to grief for them, when, after the resurrection, my name is glorified. And you can understand the “joy of the world” not as that of the Jews, wherein they rejoiced when the Lord was slain, but as the salvation of the world, so that what is said is of this kind: “You indeed shall grieve, but this my Passion, over which you grieve, shall be the joy and salvation of the whole world.” Then He adds also a common example, that of the woman and the birth-pang. And this comparison the prophets also used, by the sharpness of the birth-pangs setting forth the excess of dejection. And He says some such thing: “Pangs of dejection shall seize you, but the pang becomes the cause of the birth”; and at the same time confirming also the word concerning the resurrection, and showing that to die is like coming forth from the womb into the light. “Marvel not, then, that through such great grief you are about to walk to joy; since the mother too, through the grief that is in the pang, comes to become a mother.” And He hints here also something mystical, that He Himself loosed the pangs of death, and caused a new man to be born, no longer corruptible, no longer dying; which is the Lord Himself. For observe how He said not, “She remembers no more the anguish, because a child is born to her,” but, “Because a man is born into the world.” For this He said not in vain, but wishing emphatically and covertly to intimate that He Himself is the man born, not to the Hades that travailed of Him, but to the world. For to us was born from the resurrection the new and incorruptible man, Jesus Christ our God. The example, then, of the travailing woman seek not to fit throughout to the things that befell Christ, but only so far as to show that the grief is temporary, and that the gain of the pangs is great, and that the birth of the resurrection is to life and regeneration. All the other things of the example are discordant; and reasonably; for it is a parable; and the parable, if it be preserved in all points, is no longer a parable, but the very thing itself for which the parable was made. Here too, then, we take the pangs for the grief of the apostles, and the joy for the consolation after the resurrection; and again the loosing of the pangs for the dissolving of Hades, and the birth for the resurrection of the First-begotten from the dead; not, however, Hades for the mother. For Hades rejoiced not, but the apostles rejoiced, with a joy which no man took from them. For when they were insulted, then they rejoiced, when for the name of Christ they were dishonoured. And at the same time, by saying, “Your joy no man takes from you,” [He shows that He, no longer dying] but ever living, is to them the procurer of indissoluble joy.

Jn. 16:23–24. And in that day you shall ask me nothing. Truly, truly, I say to you, Whatever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have you asked nothing in my name: ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full. “When,” He says, “I shall have risen, then, the Comforter assuredly having visited you, and guided you into all truth, you shall ask me nothing,” such as before, “Where do you go?” and, “Show us the Father.” “For you shall know all things in the Spirit”; or, “you shall ask,” instead of, “you shall entreat, you shall make request. When, therefore, having risen from the dead, I shall send you the Comforter, then you shall no longer ask me”—that is, make request, so that I should become mediator—“but my name shall suffice you to receive your requests from the Father.” He shows, then, here the power of His name, seeing that, not even being entreated, but only being named, it does such things. “Hitherto,” He says, “you have asked nothing in my name; but from now ask, and you shall altogether receive. So that it is expedient that I die, if indeed you are henceforth to obtain greater boldness with my Father. For because I am separated from you, think not that you are forsaken by me; but my name shall give you greater boldness, and your joy shall then be most full, you receiving all your requests.” And consider that he receives who asks in the name of Christ. None, then, of those who ask worldly and soul-hurting things asks in the name of Christ; wherefore neither does he receive. For the name of Christ is divine and saving; but when one asks the things that lead to the destruction of the soul, how shall we say that this man asks in the saving name?

Jn. 16:25–28. These things have I spoken to you in proverbs: but the time comes, when I shall no more speak to you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. At that day you shall ask in my name: and I say not to you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. A proverb is a saying which obliquely, and covertly, and altogether parabolically, shows some underlying thing. Since, then, the Lord had said many things to them covertly, and the thing concerning the woman and the birth was parabolic, He says, “These things have I spoken to you in proverbs; but the time comes, when no longer in proverbs, but plainly I shall show you of the Father.” For after the resurrection, having presented Himself alive, for forty days He spoke to them the more mystical and exact things concerning the Father. For before, they so thought God to be His Father as He is ours also, by grace. And again, giving them courage, that they shall receive in the temptations help from above, “In my name,” He says, “ask, and you shall receive; and so far do I assure you that the Father is your friend, that you have henceforth no further need even of my mediation. For He Himself loves you.” Then, lest they should leap away from Christ, as having no further need of Him, but being loved by the Father immediately, He says, “Therefore the Father loves you, because you have loved me. When, then, you fall away from my friendship, immediately you shall fall away also from the Father’s.” And since it consoled them exceedingly to hear that He came forth from God, and again goes to God, for this cause He continually turns it about. Whence also, [as if] inspired, what say they?

Jn. 16:29–32. His disciples said to him, Lo, now do you speak plainly, and speak no proverb. Now are we sure that you know all things, and need not that any man should ask you: by this we believe that you came forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? Behold, the hour comes, yea, is now come, that you shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. The disciples, hearing that God and the Father shall be their friend, and that they need not His mediation, as being made intimate with the Father, and that He came forth from God, say, “Now we are sure that you know all things”—that is, “You know the things that offend the heart of each, and have no need that you should learn them from any. And by this we believe that you came forth from God; for it is of God to know the hidden things of the heart.” But consider how imperfect they were, saying the “Now we are sure.” For they who had heard so many teachings say, “Now we are sure.” And Christ, showing them that they are still imperfect, and have as yet conceived nothing great concerning Him, but are still turned downward and about the earth, says, “Do you now believe?” For He, as it were, reproaches them, and upbraids the slowness of their faith. Lest they should seem to be doing Him a favour in conceiving such things concerning Him, He says, “The hour is come, that you shall be scattered, every man. For you,” He says, “think to have imagined some great thing concerning me; but I tell you that you are so imperfect, that you are about to forsake me to the enemies; and so great a cowardice shall master you, that you shall not even be able to withdraw with one another, but shall be scattered even from one another, and each shall provide for himself a refuge and safety. But I shall suffer no harm from this; for I am not alone, but have also the Father with me. So that not through weakness do I suffer, but willingly I yield to the crucifiers.” When, then, you hear the “Why have you forsaken me?” understand it not thus simply, that the Saviour was forsaken by the Father (for how does He here testify that “The Father is with me”?), but understand this to be spoken from the human nature, which was forsaken because of sins, and cast away, but in Christ reconciled and taken up to the Father.

Jn. 16:33. These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. “These things,” He says, “have I spoken to you, that you cast me not out of your understanding, neither be shaken and troubled from the steadfastness that is in my love, but be at peace in me”—that is, “Abide unshaken, receiving as trustworthy all that I said to you.” And let Arius also hear, that all these lowly things, and things that seem unworthy of the glory of the Son, were spoken because of the hearers, not that we should use them toward the doctrines. For they were spoken to the apostles by way of consolation, as showing forth His love toward them. “In the world you shall have tribulation. Not up to the terrors already spoken,” He says, “will I set your trials, but so long as you are in the world, you shall have tribulation, not now only, when I am betrayed, but also after these things; but withstand it in your reasoning. For be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world; and I having overcome, you my disciples must not be despondent, but despise it as overcome.” And how has He overcome the world? By overthrowing in wrestling the prince of the world’s passions. But indeed it is plain also from the things that came after. For all things were made subject to Him, and yielded. As, then, when Adam was overcome, the whole nature was condemned, so, when Christ overcame, the victory passed over into the whole nature, and power was granted to us in Christ Jesus to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy. For by man came death, and by man life, and the might against the devil. For if a bare God had overcome, it would have been nothing toward us. [Heading of what follows:] Concerning the prayer of Jesus to the Father on behalf of the disciples given to Him.

Chapter 17

Jn. 17:1–3. These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you: as you have given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Having said to the disciples, “You shall have tribulation,” and having exhorted them to be of good cheer, He raises them up again by the prayer, teaching us in temptations, forsaking all things, to flee to God. And besides, the thing is not even a prayer, but a converse with the Father. And if elsewhere He prays, and bends the knees, marvel not; for Christ came not only to manifest Himself, but also to school us in every virtue; and he that teaches must teach not by words only, but also by deeds. And wishing to show that not unwillingly, but willingly He comes to the passion, He says, “Father, the hour is come.” For behold, He longs for this as a thing to be welcomed, and calls the matter a glory—not His own only, but also the Father’s; which also came to pass. For not the Son only, but also the Father was glorified. For before the cross not even the Jews knew Him (for “Israel has not known me”), but after the cross the whole world ran to Him. And He shows what is the glory both of Himself and of the Father. “That all flesh should believe,” He says, “and be benefited—this is the glory of God.” For the grace shall not be confined to the Jews only, but shall be extended to the whole world. And He said this because He was about to send them to the nations. Therefore, lest they should think this to be an innovation, and against the Father’s will, He shows that authority over all flesh has been given Him by the Father. But before this He said to them, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles.” But what is “of all flesh”? For surely not all believed. And yet Christ, for His own part, was earnest to bring all to faith; but if those gave no heed, the blame is not the Teacher’s, but of them that received Him not. And when you hear the “You have given,” and “I received,” and the like, understand them to be spoken condescendingly, as we have said ten thousand times. For ever guarding against saying anything great concerning Himself, He condescends to the weakness of the hearers; and since they were offended when they heard great things about Him, He utters for the present the things within their compass; just as we also, conversing with little children, name the bread thus, and the water, and simply all other things. Since, when the Evangelist speaks concerning the Lord, hear what he says: “All things were made by him”; and, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” He that gives to others, how had He not this Himself, but received it from the Father? Then here too, in these seemingly lowly words, there is woven in something lofty also. For “that whatever you have given him”—this is of the condescension; “he should give them eternal life”—this is of the authority of the Only-begotten and of the Godhead. For it is of God to give life, and that eternal. And He called the Father “the only true God” by way of distinction from the falsely-named gods among the Greeks, not as separating Himself from the Father—away with the thought! For the Son also, being Himself true, would not be a false God, but true; just as this same Evangelist says concerning the Lord in his catholic Epistle, that “Jesus Christ, this is the true God, and eternal life.” And if the heretics insist that the Son is a false God, because the Father is said to be alone the true God, let them learn that concerning the Son the same Evangelist speaks thus, that “He was the true light.” So then, according to them, the Father is the false light; but away with it! So that even when He says “true God,” He says it distinguishing Him from the false gods; for the word “only” is added against the falsely-named gods, since He alone is the true God together with the Son.

Jn. 17:4–5. I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do. And now, O Father, glorify you me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world was. I have manifested your name to the men. Learn hence how the Father glorifies the Son—altogether in the same way as the Son also glorifies the Father. “I,” He says, “have glorified you on the earth.” With reason He added “on the earth.” For in the heavens He was glorified, worshipped by the angels; but the earth knew Him not. Since, then, the Son announced Him to all, “I have glorified you,” He says, “upon all the earth, having sown the knowledge of God, and having finished the work which you gave me.” For this is the work of the Only-begotten’s incarnation: to hallow our nature, and to cast down the world-ruler who was before being made a god, and to implant the knowledge of God in the creation. But how did He finish it, though He had not even begun? “So far,” He says, “as pertained to me, I finished it.” Or also, since He had done the greatest thing of all, and had laid for us the root of good things, having conquered the devil, and cast Himself upon death the all-devouring beast—and upon this root the fruits of the knowledge of God must of necessity follow—therefore He says, “I have finished the work.” “I have sown,” He says, “I have planted the root; the fruits shall follow.” “Glorify you me therefore also, O Father, with your own self, with the glory which I had with you before the world was.” Not yet had the nature of the flesh been glorified, neither having enjoyed incorruption, nor having shared the royal throne; and therefore He says, “Glorify me”—that is, “My human nature, this which is now dishonoured, which shall be crucified, lead you it up to the glory which I, the Word and your Son, had with you before the world was.” For He seated the human nature upon the royal throne, and it is now worshipped by all the creation. “I have manifested your name to the men.” Now He interprets what is “I have glorified you on the earth”—namely, the manifesting of your name. How then did the Son manifest it? For indeed Isaiah also says, “They shall swear by the true God.” But, as we have often said, even if it was plain, yet it was so to the Jews only, and not to all even of these; but now He speaks concerning the nations, that the name of God shall be made manifest to them, Christ having already given the seeds of the knowledge of God, through the destroying of the devil, the teacher of idolatry. And besides: even if they knew God, yet they knew Him not as Father, but only as Creator; but the Son manifested Him as Father, having made Himself known both by words and by deeds. For He that proved Himself the Son of God, plainly proved Him also to be Father.

Jn. 17:6–8. Those whom you gave me out of the world, your they were; and you gave them me; and they have kept your word. Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are of you: for the words which you gave me I have given to them; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from you, and they have believed that you did send me. Two things He wishes to establish: one, that He is not contrary to the Father; and the other, that it is His will that they should believe on the Son. Therefore He says, “Those whom you gave me, your they were.” For both these things are shown by the “You gave me.” For “I did not snatch them, but you were well pleased that they should be added to me. So that you have no contrariety, but concord and love, O Father, toward me.” And they kept your word by believing on me, and not giving heed to the Jews. For he that believes on Christ keeps the word of God—that is, the Scripture and the law; for by the Scripture is Christ proclaimed. But also otherwise: all that the Lord said to the disciples were the Father’s. For “I,” He says, “speak not of myself.” Therefore among the other things He said this also to them, “Abide in me”; and lo, they have kept it. “Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are of you.” Some read it without the “they”: “Now I have known.” But this has no reason; for with the rest it must be read, “Now have my disciples known,” He says, “that I have nothing of my own, neither am I a stranger to you, but all things whatever you have given me you have given not as bestowing them upon a creature.” For these are not things acquired by me, but they are of you—that is, belonging to me by nature, and fitting me as a Son, and as Lord of the Father’s possessions. And whence did my disciples know this? “Because the words which you gave me I have given to them”—that is, “from my words and teachings.” For ever I taught them that all things whatever I have are the Father’s. And not this only, but also that “I came forth from you, and that you did send me.” For through the whole Gospel He wished to establish this, that He is not an adversary of God, but fulfills the Father’s will.

Jn. 17:9–10. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them whom you have given me; for they are yours. And all mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I am glorified in them. “And lo, they have kept this commandment also.” For they abode, so that they kept the Father’s word; “now they have known” all things to be in them. Showing that for no other cause He says these things to the Father, but for their sake, that they may learn that He loves them, and takes forethought for them, He says, “I pray for them, and make request, not for the world. For I show altogether from this that I love them. For not only do I give mine own, but I also beseech you to keep them. Therefore not for the vulgar, and them that mind the things of the world, do I make request to you, but for them whom you have given me; for they are yours.” And lest, hearing Him say continually, “You have given me,” you should suppose that the rule and this authority were given Him but lately, and that when the Father had them, He had them not, or again that now, when He has them, the Father is deprived of authority over them—therefore He says, “And all mine are yours, and yours are mine.” “For I received not the authority now, but when they were yours, they were mine also; for all that is yours is mine. And while I have them, you also have them, and are not deprived; for all that is mine is yours.” “And I am glorified in them”—that is, “Having authority over them as Master, I am glorified in them”; even as the king’s son also, having equality of honour with the father, and the kingdom, is glorified in having as much as the father has. If then the Son were less than the Father, how would He have dared to say, “All yours are mine”? For the master indeed has all that is the servant’s, but the servant has not all that is the master’s. But here He reverses it, and the Father’s things are the Son’s, even as the Son’s things are the Father’s. The Son therefore is glorified in the things of the Father; for He has as great authority over all things as the Father.

Jn. 17:11. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Why does He say this continually, “I am no more in the world,” and, “While I was with them in the world”? For these things seem strange, if one receive them without examination. For elsewhere He promised them, “I will be with you,” and, “You shall see me”; but now He seems to say other things. It is therefore the truth to say that He uttered these things with respect to their understanding. For since it was likely they would be in anguish, as being left desolate of a helper, He shows them that He commits them to the Father, and sets Him over them as a guard, and converses with the Father, saying, “Since you call me to yourself, do you yourself keep these in your name”—that is, “by your help and power, which you have given me.” And what is the keeping? “That they may be one.” For if they have love toward one another, and fall not into faction, they shall be invincible, and nothing shall master them. And not simply, “that they may be one,” but, “as I and you,” minding the one thing, willing the one thing. For this is their safeguard, concord. Therefore, that He may comfort them, He beseeches the Father for their keeping. For if He had said, “I will keep you,” they would not so have believed; but now, from the Father’s being entreated concerning them, He leads them to good hopes. And the “I kept them in your name” He says, not as though He Himself could not otherwise, save through the name of the Father, but, as we have often said, because of the hearers being weak, and not yet imagining anything great concerning Him; for this cause He says, “By your help I kept them.” And withal He makes them of good hope, that as it was with the help of the Father, so again it belongs to Him to keep them.

Jn. 17:12–13. Those whom you gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled. And now I come to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. Great is the lowliness of the words, if one receive them worthily. For behold here what appears: “Those whom you gave me I have kept.” For He seems to charge the Father, that the Father also keep them; just as if one delivering money to another for keeping should say, “See, I lost nothing; neither do you lose any.” But all these things He says for the comfort of the disciples. “For these things,” He says, “I speak in the world for the rest, and comfort, and joy of the disciples, that they may take breath, and be free from care, as that you receive these safe, and are about to keep them, even as I also kept them, and lost none.” How then, O Lord, did you lose none? For both Judas perished, and many others went back. “For my part,” He says, “I lost none; for so far as in me lay, I was wanting in nothing, but kept them”—that is, “in every way I was earnest for their keeping; but if of themselves they leap away, this is nothing to me.” And the “that the Scripture might be fulfilled” is to say, all that foretold concerning the son of perdition. For indeed in various Psalms it is said concerning him, and in the other books of the prophets. And concerning the “that,” we have often said that the Scripture is wont to express what comes to pass by way of cause.

Jn. 17:14–16. I have given them your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Beseeching the Father for the help of the apostles, He tells also the cause for which they are worthy to obtain much care from the Father. “For because of your word,” He says, “which I have given them, they were hated. So that they would be worthy to be helped by you, who for your sake were hated by them that mind the things of the world.” For by the vulgar are these men hated, He says. “For they are not of the world”—that is, they have not a mind set upon the world, and spending all its earnestness upon it. How then does He say elsewhere, “Those whom you gave me out of the world, your they were”? There, indeed, speaking concerning the nature, that they are men, and a part of the world; but here He shows the mind and the purpose, saying, “Because they are not of the world.” And let not the “even as I am not of the world” trouble you. For surely the apostles were not so holy, and free from the passions of the world, as the Lord. For He indeed did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; but they passed not beyond the weakness of human nature. Therefore, having heard the “even as I am not of the world,” imagine not an exact non-difference of the apostles from the Lord; but only when the “even as” is said of the Father and of Him, then understand the equality. And the “I pray not that you should take them out of the world” He said, wishing to show His love toward them, and that He makes great forethought for them, in making His supplication for them with exactness. For surely He does not teach the Father concerning what He asks (for this were absurd), but, as I said, showing that He exceedingly loves the disciples, and takes forethought for them, He says these things to the Father. “I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that, while they are in the world, you should keep them from the evil.” Again therefore He repeats, “They are not of the world.” “They have need,” He says, “of much assistance. For they have nothing in common with the earth; they are become citizens of the heavens.” So that since the whole world is about to use them as strangers, do you henceforth, the heavenly One, help them as citizens of heaven. And He says such things, that they may hate the world, and not be put to shame; and “from the evil,” not concerning the deliverance from dangers only, and stedfastness; wherefore He goes on to add—

Jn. 17:17–19. Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. “Make them holy,” He says, “through the gift of the Spirit, and keep them in the uprightness of the word and of the doctrines, and instruct them, and teach them the truth.” For this is holiness, the keeping of the right doctrines. And that He speaks concerning doctrines is plain; for He interprets it, that “your word is truth, and there is no falsehood in it.” So that if you make these also to keep your word, and to be kept from the evil, they shall be sanctified in the truth. And the “Sanctify them through your truth” shows yet another thing also—that is, “Set them apart by the word and the preaching, and make them a sacrifice; let them minister to this truth, let them consecrate their own life to it.” He goes on therefore: “As you have sent me into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself”—that is, “I offer a sacrifice”—“so do you sanctify them also,” that is, “set them apart as a sacrifice of the preaching, and make them to become witnesses of the truth, even as you did send me a witness of the truth and a victim” (for all things devoted to God are called holy); “that they also, even as I, may be sanctified, and devoted to you the God,” not as the things sacrificed according to the law in a figure, but in truth. For of old the sacrifices were typical, and all the holy things were consecrated to God in a figure, shadowing forth some other spiritual thing; such as the lamb, the doves, the turtledoves, and the rest. But the souls devoted to God are sanctified in truth, and set apart and consecrated to God; even as Paul also says, “Present your members a living sacrifice, holy.” Make these souls true offerings.

Jn. 17:20–21. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. He had said, “For their sakes I sanctify myself.” Therefore, lest any should suppose that He died for the apostles alone, He goes on: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for all that believe on me through their word.” And here again He raised up the souls of the apostles, seeing they are to have many disciples. For since He had said, “I pray not for these alone,” lest the apostles should be offended, as though He gave them nothing special above the rest, He comforts them by showing that they shall be the authors of faith and salvation to many. And when He had sufficiently committed them to the Father, that He might sanctify them by faith, and make them a holy sacrifice by the truth, He speaks again concerning concord; and from the head under which He began, the love, I mean, He shuts up the discourse, and says, “That they all may be one”—that is, “That they may have peace and concord, and in us”—that is, “in the faith toward us may keep the unbroken bond.” For nothing so offends the disciples as that the teachers should be rent asunder, and not be of one mind; for how shall any consent to be persuaded by those who mind not the same things? Therefore He says, “That they also may be one in the faith toward us, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you.” Again the “as” is not of an exact equalizing. For it is not possible for us to be so united to one another as the Father to the Son; even as when He says, “Be you merciful, as your Father.” “That the world may believe that you have sent me.” For indeed from the concord of the disciples I the teacher shall be manifested, that I came forth from God. But if they fight, men will not say that they are the disciples of the peaceable One; and if I be not peaceable, they will not confess that I was sent from you. Do you see the Father as one of concord?

Jn. 17:22–23. And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that you have sent me. What glory does He say He has given? That which is through the signs, that which is through the doctrines and teachings; and yet another glory, that of concord, “that they may be one.” For this glory is greater than that from the signs. For even as we marvel at God, that there is no faction nor strife in that nature, and this is His greatest glory—so let these from hence, from concord, become illustrious. “I in them, and you in me.” Here He shows that the apostles received both Him and the Father in themselves. “For I,” He says, “am in them, and you again I have in myself, and you are in them.” But elsewhere He says that both the Father and Himself come, and make their abode, stopping the mouth of Sabellius, and intimating the two hypostases. But here, restraining the madness of Arius, He says that the Father, through Him, comes to be in the disciples, “that the world may know that you have sent me.” And He says this continually, showing that peace is able to draw men more than any sign. For as strife is a thing that dissolves, so concord is a thing that holds together.

Jn. 17:24. And have loved them, as you have loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which you have given me: for you loved me before the foundation of the world. Again here understand the “as” as it is possible for a man to be loved. Having said therefore that they shall be in safety, that they shall be holy, that many shall believe through them, that they shall enjoy much glory, He speaks now also concerning the prizes and crowns laid up for them after the departure hence. “For I will,” He says, “that where I am, they also may be.” And that you might not, hearing this, think that they are to attain the same dignity, He adds, “that they may behold my glory.” For He said not, “that they may enjoy my glory,” but “that they may behold it.” For to a man the greatest rest is to behold the Son of God; for this is glory to all the worthy; which Paul also says: “But we all, with open face beholding the glory of the Lord.” And He shows hence that He shall not then be seen by them as now He is seen, in a mean form, but in the glory which He had before the foundation of the world. “And I had this glory,” He says, “because you loved me”; for the “You loved me” lies in the midst. As therefore He said also above, “Glorify me with the glory which I had before the world was,” so now also He says that before the foundation of the world the glory of the Godhead was given Him. For the Father gave Him in truth the Godhead, as a Father gives to a Son by nature. For since He fathered Him, of necessity He that is the cause of the essence is said to be also the cause and bestower of the glory.

Jn. 17:25–26. O righteous Father, the world has not known you: but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. And I have declared to them your name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. Since concerning them that believe He had prayed such things, and had vouchsafed beforehand so many good things to them, He says now something compassionate also, and worthy of His love toward mankind. “For, righteous Father,” He says, “I indeed willed that all men should obtain such good things as I have prayed for the faithful; but they knew you not, wherefore also they shall fail of the glory and the prizes; but I have known you.” And He hints here also at the Jews, who said that they knew God, and He shows that they knew not the Father; for the Jews He often calls “world.” “And the Jews indeed say that you did not send me; but I have made known your name to these my disciples, and will make it known.” But how will He make it known? By sending to them the Spirit, which shall guide them into all the truth. “And if they learn who you are, then the love wherewith you have loved me shall be in them, and I in them.” For they shall know that I am not severed from you, but of them that are exceedingly beloved, and a genuine Son, and joined to you. And knowing this, they shall keep both the faith toward me, and the love; and thenceforth I will abide in them, being such, and acknowledging you, and honouring me as God, and keeping unshaken the faith toward me. [Headings of what follows:] Concerning the delivering up of Jesus. Concerning the Jews falling to the ground. Concerning Peter cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Concerning Jesus led away to Annas, and Caiaphas, and Pilate.

Chapter 18

Jn. 18:1–2. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley, where there was a garden, which he entered with his disciples. And Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus had often gathered there with his disciples. He said not, “When Jesus had prayed these things,” but, “When Jesus had spoken these things.” For the thing was not a prayer, but a discourse, made for the comforting of the disciples. And in the middle of the night He journeys, and crosses a river, and hastens to come to the place known to the traitor, delivering Himself up to the murderers; that He may show that willingly He comes to the passion, and that He may cut off from the Jews the labour of seeking Him. For lest they should be worn out, going about here and there and seeking Him, He goes Himself to them, and casts Himself into their hands; for He is found in the garden as it were in a prison. And lest you should think that He withdrew into the garden as hiding Himself, the Evangelist adds that “Judas also knew the place.” So that, wishing rather to manifest Himself, and not to hide Himself, He came to this place. And Judas knew the place, because Jesus often resorted there. For the Lord pursued the desert places and the workshops of stillness, and especially when He delivered some more mystical thing. But whence did Judas know that Jesus was in the garden at this hour, and supposed not rather to find Him sleeping in a house? He knew that the Lord often passed the night abroad, and for this cause then also he went forth out. And besides, he knew that especially at the season of a feast He had the custom of teaching the disciples something more lofty; and since it was then a feast, he conjectured Him to be there with the disciples.

Jn. 18:3–6. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, comes there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said to them, Whom seek you? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus says to them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said to them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. The band they persuade to work with them by money; for such is the soldiery, a thing bought with gold. And many came, fearing them that followed Jesus, and clung to Him because of His word and His wonders. And lanterns and torches they bring, lest He should escape them, hiding in the darkness. But He was so far from fleeing, that He even went forth to them, delivering Himself up. And He asks, not as needing to learn; for “He knew,” it says, “all things that should come upon him.” So that since He knew that they came against Him, He asks not as needing to learn, but wishing to show that, though present, He was not seen by them nor recognized. But He asks as a stranger; and neither from His voice do they recognize Him, neither the others, nor Judas himself. For that they knew Him not by reason of the darkness—the Evangelist has foretold that they came with lanterns. But if by reason of the darkness they knew Him not (let us grant it), yet from His voice at least they ought to have recognized Him. He asks, then, that He may show, as we said, that neither from His form nor from His voice did they recognize Him. So unspeakable, then, was His power, that they could not even crucify Him, except He willingly yielded. And this was not the only thing—the blinding of their eyes—but also the casting them backward upon their faces by a bare question only. And it would be a sign that they who came against Jesus fell, of the universal fall of the nation, which came upon them afterward, after the death of Christ; as Jeremiah also prophesied, “The house of Israel is fallen; there is none to raise it up.” All they, then, that set themselves against the word of God, fall. And the garden, from which our salvation took its beginning, would be an antitype of paradise. For having fallen in the garden of paradise, we beheld in a garden the saving passion of Christ receiving its beginning, and setting right again all that was formerly grievous.

Jn. 18:7–9. Then asked he them again, Whom seek you? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore you seek me, let these go their way: that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Of them whom you gave me have I lost none. He cast them backward upon their faces, at once showing forth His power, and that willingly He comes to the passion; and besides these things, dispensing yet another thing. For lest any should say that the Jews sinned in nothing, since He delivered Himself up to them, and made Himself manifest—therefore He shows them this sign, sufficient to beat them back. But since they continued in their wickedness even after this wonder, then at length He delivers Himself up. And see how not even to the last hour does He relax His love toward the disciples. For “if you seek me,” He says, “let these go their way: that the saying might be fulfilled which he spoke, Of them whom you gave me have I lost none.” But the Lord spoke of the loss of the soul, which none of them that had been made His disciples underwent; whereas the Evangelist took this of the bodily preservation. And it is a marvel how they did not seize the apostles also, and cut them down, especially as Peter had provoked them. Whence it is plain that the power of Him that was seized wrought this, and the declaration which He had foretold, that “none of them is lost.” This therefore the Evangelist also teaches us, that it was of the Lord’s declaration that the disciples were not cut down, saying, “That the saying might be fulfilled which he spoke, I have lost none of them”; for because of their weakness He keeps them outside of temptations. So now also He dispenses for us, if we be wise. So that whenever a temptation comes upon you, believe that, had He not known you could escape it, He would not have suffered it to come upon you, even as neither then upon the disciples.

Jn. 18:10–11. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Then Jesus said to Peter, Put up your sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it? Peter, seeing the Lord cast them backward upon their faces, and being filled with courage by the Lord’s voice when He said, “Let these go their way,” thought that it was now the season for defence, and so draws the sword, and smites the servant. But if you seek how he that was commanded to have neither scrip nor two coats had a sword—learn that he had need of it because of the lamb, and bare it even after the supper; or also, fearing the assault, he had long beforehand prepared himself for this. And if you are at a loss how he that was not even to strike a blow, but was commanded rather to be struck, prepared himself for slaughter—you shall hear that, first of all, he defended not himself, but his teacher; and then, that they were not yet perfect; for in later times behold him for me, how, suffering the uttermost, he rejoices. But now, being indignant for his teacher’s sake, he rushes even at the very head; and if you seek to learn how, not reaching even that, he cuts off at least the ear. And by this wonder again He checked the senseless Jews from their rush toward slaughter. And since the wonder concerning the ear was great, for this cause the Evangelist adds also the name of the servant, that it might be open to the readers, if they disbelieved, to seek and to examine whether it so came to pass. But the Lord restrains Peter, and threatens him (“Put up,” He says, “your sword into the sheath”), and comforts him also in saying, “The cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?” For He shows that it is not of their power, but of His own permission, that He suffers, and that He is no adversary of God, but does the will of the Father even to death. And by the saying “cup” He hints at the sweetness and the longed-for character of the death that is for the salvation of men. And do you consider for me that the cutting off of the right ear of the servant of the high priest was a symbol of their disobedience. For a hardening came upon Israel, that hearing they should not hear, because of their impiety against the Saviour, which came especially upon the chief priests; wherefore also the symbol of the taking away of the ear was about a household servant of the high priest. And the ear being set in its place again signifies the later restoration of the Israelites; for Elijah, coming, shall restore them to Christ, even as Malachi also prophesied.

Jn. 18:12–14. Then the band, with their captain, and the officers of the Jews, took Jesus and bound him, and led him first to Annas; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better for one man to die for the people. When He had done all things that were fit to beat them back, but they understood not, then at length He permitted them to lead Him away. And they both bind Him and lead Him away to Annas, as it were making a show of what had come to pass, and exulting, as having set up a great trophy. And he makes mention of the prophecy of Caiaphas, wishing to show that for the salvation of the world these things came to pass, and that so great was the excess of the truth, that even the enemies foretold these things. For lest, hearing of bonds, you should be troubled, he reminds you of the prophecy, that both the bond and the death were salvific, and that for this cause He endured these things.

Jn. 18:15–16. Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. That disciple was known to the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood outside at the door. Then that other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the woman who kept the door, and brought Peter in. Who was the other disciple? This very one that wrote it; but he hides himself for lowliness’ sake. For since he is about to relate a thing well done—that, when the others had leaped away, he himself followed—for this cause he hides himself, and sets Peter before himself. For “Simon Peter,” he says, “followed Jesus”; then he adds, “and the other disciple.” For lowliness’ sake, then, he hides himself. And this very thing, that he makes mention of himself, for this he makes mention, that we may learn that he relates the things in the court more exactly than the others, as being within. And see how he cuts short his own praise. For lest, hearing that John went in with Jesus, you should think something great concerning him, he says that he was known to the high priest. “For not as being more manly than the others did I go in,” he says, “but as being known to the high priest.” But Peter he proclaims, as having followed indeed through longing, but, through not being known, standing without. For that Peter also would have gone in, if he had been permitted, is plain. For when John went out, and bade the portress bring him in, immediately Peter went in. But why did John not bring him in himself, but committed this to the woman? Because he clave exceedingly to Christ, and followed Him, and would not be parted from Him.

Jn. 18:17–18. Then says the damsel that kept the door to Peter, Are not you also one of this man’s disciples? He says, I am not. And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself. The damsel asks Peter, not boldly, nor harshly, but even very gently. For she said not, “Are you also one of the disciples of the deceiver?” but, “of this man”—which was rather of one pitying and dealing kindly. And she said “Are not you also,” since John was within. But while the woman spoke thus mildly, he perceived none of these things, neither laid to heart the foretelling of Christ; so weak a thing is human nature, when it is forsaken of God. But some, granting an idle favour to Peter, say that Peter denied not as fearing, but because he wished ever to be with Christ and to follow Him, and knew that, if he confessed himself a disciple of Jesus, he would be parted from Him, and would no more have room to follow and to behold Him whom he longed for; and for this cause he denied, saying, “I am not.” Since the warming of himself also he did from such a purpose. For he feigned to do the things of the officers, as one of them, lest, being detected by the dejection of his countenance, he should be shut out from beholding Christ, being driven from the midst as a disciple of His.

Jn. 18:19–23. The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spoke openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, where all the Jews resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why do you ask me? ask those who heard me, what I have said to them: behold, they know what I said. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Do you answer the high priest so? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why do you smite me? The high priest asks Jesus concerning the disciples, perhaps such things as these: Where are they, and who are they, and with what aim He gathered them, and what He purposed; for he wished to convict Him as some innovator or seditious person. And concerning the doctrine he asks, what manner of thing it was—whether it did not depart from the law, and was at strife with Moses; that, finding from this an occasion, he might kill Him as a fighter against God. What then does the Lord? He answers him with respect to his suspicion. “I,” He says, “in secret have said nothing. For you suspect me to be some seditious person, secretly contriving certain plots; but I tell you that I have spoken nothing in secret”—that is, “Nothing seditious, and, as you suppose, with an innovating and crafty and hidden purpose have I spoken anything of mine own.” Since, if we understand it not thus, that the Lord said this with respect to the suspicion of the high priest, He will appear to speak falsely; for He spoke many things in secret, namely such as were loftier than the understanding of the many. And the “Why do you ask me? ask those who heard me” is not of one acting presumptuously, but of one confident in the truth of what He had said. “For ask,” He says, “the enemies, the plotters, these officers that have bound me.” For this is the indisputable proof of the truth, when one has the enemies for witnesses of what he says. “For these very officers,” He says, “are they that formerly said, Never man spoke like this man.” Having answered thus, then, He is not marvelled at, but smitten; than which what could be more insolent? And being able to shake all things together and to make them vanish, He does none of these things, but utters words able to loose all savagery. “For if,” He says, “you have wherewith to lay hold of the things said by me, prove that I spoke evil; but if you have not, why do you rage?” And so: “If I have spoken evil”—that is, “If I taught evil, when I taught in the synagogues, come forward now and bear witness concerning this evil teaching of mine, and satisfy the high priest who now asks me concerning my doctrine; but if I taught well, and was marvelled at by you the officers, why do you smite me now, whom formerly you did marvel at?” So then the officer smote the Lord, ridding himself of a great accusation. For since Jesus called them that stood by to be witnesses, saying, “Behold, these know what I said,” the officer, wishing to rid himself of the suspicion that he was of them that marvelled at Jesus, smote Him. And Christ, having said, “I have spoken nothing in secret,” reminds us of the prophecy which says, “I have not spoken in secret, neither in a dark place of the earth.”

Jn. 18:24–27. Now Annas had sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. And Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him therefore, Are you not also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, a kinsman of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, Did I not see you in the garden with him? Peter denied it again, and immediately the cock crowed. They lead Him away to Caiaphas, because they found in Him no cause, perhaps suspecting that he, being wiser, would find somewhat worthy of death against Jesus, having tripped Him up either in some answer or having caught hold of some deed. But Peter, the warm lover, was held by so great a stupor, that, when his teacher was led away, he does not even move, but still warms himself; so that, being again questioned, he denies, and not a second time only, but also a third. And why did all the Evangelists together write concerning Peter? Not as accusing their fellow disciple, but teaching us how great an evil it is not to commit the whole to God, but to be confident in oneself. And one must marvel at the Master’s love toward man, that, even bound and led away, He neglected not the disciple, but turning, looked upon Peter, as another Evangelist says, and by the look reproached him with his weakness, and stirred him up to repentance and tears. And what Peter then suffered, it is possible now also to see many of us suffering. For the word of God that is in us is bound, and is as it were taken captive, being enslaved either by grief or by pleasure. For on both sides we are bound and led away, either by the pleasant things of the world or by the grievous, forgetting God; and the reason is condemned, and unreason prevails, and the servant smites the master; for such is the insurrection of the passions. And our mind, like a certain Peter, oftentimes acts presumptuously, as though it would never deny the word; wherefore also it stands and warms itself. It stands, indeed, as not bending, nor humbling itself, but standing fast upon its presumption and abiding therein. And it is said to warm itself, as being sick with the heat and the inflation of presumption. And a damsel convicts it—some small pleasure, and effeminating—and immediately it denies the word, and is led away by unreason. But also by some grievous temptation it is convicted, even as then Peter by a servant, and so its weakness is shown forth. But let us pray that Jesus the Word of God may look upon us, and stir us up to repentance and tears, when we are gone forth without the court of the high priest that crucifies the Lord, who is the world-ruler. For when we are gone forth out of the world, which is the court of the world-ruler, then indeed, then, shall we rise to sincere repentance; even as Paul also says, “Let us go forth to him without the gate”—that is, of the world—“bearing his reproach.”

Jn. 18:28–32. Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas to the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Pilate then went out to them, and said, What accusation bring you against this man? They answered and said to him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up to you. Then said Pilate to them, Take you him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said to him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying what death he should die. They bring the Lord before many tribunals, themselves indeed thinking to dishonour Him, but the truth being rather made manifest through the many tribunals. For the Lord, coming forth blameless through all these, had an incontestable might. They lead Him, then, to the judgment hall. For they themselves had not authority to slay Him, since affairs lay under the Romans; and withal they feared lest afterward they should suffer punishment, being accused of having slain Him without trial. “And it was early,” he says, that you might learn that half the night He was questioned by Caiaphas. For before the cock crew He was led away to Caiaphas. And how He was questioned by him, this Evangelist passed by, but the others told it. And the night being thus spent, at early morning He is led away to Pilate. “And they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled.” O the folly! Murdering unjustly, they thought not to be defiled; but setting foot in a tribunal, they accounted that they defiled themselves. And what is, “that they might eat the passover”? And yet the Lord had kept it on the first day of unleavened bread. Either, then, we shall understand by “passover” the whole feast, the seven days; or that they were then to eat it on the evening of the preparation, but He delivered it a day before, keeping His own slaying for the preparation, when also the ancient passover came to pass. But Pilate, doing a more equitable thing, himself goes forth; and since he saw the Lord bound, he thought not on that account to have already conviction against Christ, but asks the cause of the bonds. And they, having nothing to say, “If he were not a malefactor,” say they, “we would not have delivered him up to you.” Do you see them everywhere shirking the proofs? Annas asked, and finding nothing, sent Him to Caiaphas. He again, having examined Him, sends Him to Pilate. Then Pilate asks, “What accusation have you against this man?” And not even here have they anything to say. Whence, since they say nothing, “Take you him,” says he. “For since you entrust the judgment to yourselves, and slay men, as though you would never do anything unjust—if he were not a malefactor, you say, you would not have delivered him up; take him yourselves, and judge him. But if you have brought him to me, and put about the matter the form of a tribunal, it is needful to speak the charges against the man. Judge him therefore yourselves; for I would not be such a judge. If then your law punishes without cause, judge you him.” But they say, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.” And this they say, knowing that the Romans condemn rebels to the cross. That the Lord, then, might be crucified, and His death be made a spectacle and held up to view, for this cause they pretend that it is not lawful for them to put to death; since how did they stone Stephen? But, as I said, wishing the Lord to be crucified, this they say; as though they had said, “It is not lawful for us to put any to death by the cross; but to have this man crucified is our longing.” “That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled,” which He spoke concerning His death—namely, that He should be lifted up, or that He should be slain not by the Jews only, but also by the Gentiles. When the Jews, then, had said, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death,” the Gentiles henceforth take Him, and crucify Him according to their custom; and so the saying of Jesus is fulfilled on both sides, both from His being delivered to the Gentiles, and from His being crucified.

Jn. 18:33–36. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said to him, Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Do you say this thing of yourself, or did others tell it you of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me: what have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate called Jesus privately, since there was a great opinion concerning Him, and he wished to learn exactly, being rid of the tumult of the Jews. He asks Him, therefore, whether He is a king; bringing into the midst that which was bruited about among all. But Christ asks him whether he says this of himself or from others—not as ignorant, but wishing to lay bare the wicked purpose of the Jews, so that they might be accused even by Pilate. Wherefore Pilate also, accordingly, brings forward His being delivered up by the Jews, and ridded himself of blame. And otherwise also: the Lord asks Pilate whether he says this of himself, or persuaded by others. For He convicts him through this, as being senseless, and judging without discernment; and as it were says such things to Pilate: “If you say this of yourself, show the signs of my rebellion; but if you were taught it by others, then make an exact examination.” But he, that he heard it from others, says not; but simply follows the verdict of the people, and, “They have delivered you,” says he, “to me.” And the “What have you done?” seems to be the word of one embittered, and now grown harsh. “Speak; what have you done?” But the Lord, by His defence that “My kingdom is not of this world,” accomplishes two things: one, He leads Pilate up to know that He is no bare man, nor of the things below, but God, and Son of God; the other, He dissolves the suspicion of tyranny. “For my kingdom is not of this world. So fear me not as a tyrant and a seditious person. For if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, that I should not be delivered up.” And here He shows also the weakness of the kingdom that is among us, that it has its strength in servants; but that which is above is self-sufficient, needing nothing. But the Manichaeans, taking from hence an occasion, say that this world is alien to the good God. “For the Son of God,” say they, “says that my kingdom is not from hence.” But, you senseless ones, learn first from the wording. For He said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” and again, “It is not from hence.” He said not, “It is not in the world,” nor, “It is not here.” For He reigns indeed in the world, and takes forethought for it, and as He wills orders all things. But His kingdom is not of the world—that is, it does not derive its constitution from below, neither is it perishable, but here indeed it holds sway, having its constitution and root from above. Moreover, He has a world that is His own.

Jn. 18:37–39. Pilate therefore said to him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate says to him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and says to them, I find in him no fault at all. But you have a custom, that I should release to you one at the passover: will you therefore that I release to you the King of the Jews? Pilate having asked the Lord whether He is a king: “I,” He says, “to this end was born”—that is, “to be a king. For I have this even from the very being begotten of the Father. For this very thing, the being begotten of a king, bears witness that I am a king.” So that even when you hear that the Father gave life to the Son, and judgment, and all other things, so understand the “He gave” as instead of “He fathered him,” so as to have life, and to judge; and naturally all these things are present to the Son from the Father. “And for this cause came I into the world, that I might say this very thing, and teach it, and persuade all, that I am King, and Master, and Lord.” And wishing through these things to draw Pilate, and to persuade him to receive the things spoken, He says, “Every one that is of the truth hears my voice. So that you also, O Pilate, if you are a child of truth, and long for it, shall hear my voice, and shall believe me to be a king—not such as they of the world, having an acquired rule, but having it by nature, and from the very being begotten of God and a king.” And He hints here also at the Jews as not being of the truth, since they will not hear His voice. And not being of the truth, they altogether forge false things against Him, and not truly is He liable to death. So then He took Pilate captive by these brief words, so that Pilate asked concerning truth, “What is it?” For it had well-near vanished from among men, and was unknown by all, who were still in unbelief. But since the question needed a season of its own, while the pressing thing was to snatch Jesus from the rush of the Jews, for this cause he goes out to them, and says, “I find in him no fault.” And this too wisely. For he said not, “Even if he has sinned, and is worthy of death, yet grant him for the feast’s sake”; but first, having ridded Him of all blame, then he asks them concerning His release. So that, if Jesus were released, no thanks should be owed them, for they had released the guiltless; but if they condemned Him, their wickedness might be shown, that they condemned the guiltless. And consider the “the King of the Jews,” what manner of meaning it has. For openly through this Pilate makes his defence, that Jesus had done no wrong, but was vainly accused by them, as desiring a kingdom. For the lieutenant of the Romans would not have released one that made himself a king, and rose up against the dominion of the Romans. So that in saying, “Shall I release the King of the Jews?” he proves Jesus altogether guiltless, and laughs the Jews to scorn, as though he said such things as these: “Whom you slanderously charge as aspiring to a kingdom, whom you call a rebel and seditious—this man I ask to release; plainly, then, as not being such.” But some understood the “To this end was I born” not as showing the eternal generation from the Father, but the later one from the Virgin. “For to this end was I made man, and born of Mary, that I might destroy the lie and the devil, having shown the divine nature reigning over all. This therefore is truth, the knowledge of me, and the salvation that is through it. For this cause, then, I came, that I might bestow both the true knowledge of God and salvation.” And it is worth examining whence the Jews, taking their start, had the custom of releasing one prisoner. First, then, it may be said that, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, they ordered most things by their own opinions, and used not the laws of God; whence they had this also in such an unreasonable custom, as men henceforth broken loose from the legal ordinances. Then, such an enactment also is found in the Scripture, from which it was likely that they, taking their start, had the custom of such releases of the condemned. For it is written concerning him that slays involuntarily—if not through enmity, nor purposing to do evil to his neighbour, one cast a vessel or a stone, and the thing falling smote him that chanced to be there, and the man died—that such a one is an involuntary slayer, and the whole congregation shall judge, and shall release him from death (for he slew not with a malicious purpose), but shall set him in the city of refuge—that is, shall punish him with exile. From this, perhaps, taking their start, as we conjecture, they had such a custom, to release one of them that were condemned upon a charge of bloodshed; and whereas this belonged to the congregation of the Jews, yet now they make the rulers lords of the releasing. [Headings of what follows:] Concerning the scourging of Christ. Concerning the crucifixion of Christ. Concerning those that stood by the cross. Concerning the request for the Lord’s body. Concerning the burial of him.

Jn. 18:40. They cried then again all, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.

Chapter 19

Jn. 19:1–7. So Pilate then took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and threw a purple robe about him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and struck him with their hands. Pilate then went out again and says to them, See, I bring him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him. So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate says to them, Behold the man! When the chief priests and the officers saw him, then, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate says to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. See through how many things the wickedness of the Jews is shown. For Barabbas, a confessed robber, they ask for, but the Lord they deliver up. Pilate therefore scourges Him, wishing for the present to appease and to slacken their wrath. For since by words he had not prevailed to deliver Him, he scourges Him, hasting to stay their madness at this point, and permits the robe and the crown to be put about Him, that so he might relax their anger; but the soldiers do all things to gratify the Jews. For since they heard Pilate saying, “Shall I release the King of the Jews?” they henceforth mock Him as a king. For surely it was not at Pilate’s urging that they did these things, who even by night had assaulted Jesus against the mind of the governor, gratifying the Jews for money’s sake. Soft, then, was Pilate, but not malignant after the manner of the Jews. For he brings forth Jesus, wishing again to quench their wrath; but they were not even thus made gentle, but cry out, “Crucify him, crucify him.” And Pilate, seeing all things done in vain, says, “Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.” And he does this, thrusting them toward a thing not permitted them, that so Jesus might be released. “For I,” he says, “who have authority to crucify, find no fault; but you who have not authority to crucify, say that this man is guilty. Take him then, and crucify him. But you have not authority? then let the man be released.” Such, then, was Pilate’s aim—more equitable, indeed, yet not firmly insistent on behalf of the truth. But they, put to shame even in this, say that “By our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” See the wickedness discordant with itself. Above, Pilate said to them, “Take you him, and judge him according to your law”; and they received not this. Now again they bring forward, “By our law he ought to die.” Above, they accused Him that He made Himself a king; now, that being convicted of falsehood, they accuse Him that He made Himself the Son of God. And what is this for a charge? If He does the works of God, what hinders Him from being the Son of God? And consider the divine dispensation, how the very things they did for the dishonour of the Lord turned out to His glory. For the more they delivered the Lord to many tribunals, that they might find fault with Him, the more the insult is turned round upon them; for from hence the matter is examined the more exactly. How often, then, did Pilate confess Him guiltless!

Jn. 19:8–11. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; and went again into the judgment hall, and says to Jesus, Whence are you? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then says Pilate to him, Do you speak not to me? do you know not that I have power to crucify you, and have power to release you? Jesus answered, You could have no power at all against me, except it were given you from above: therefore he that delivered me to you has the greater sin. Pilate, hearing a bare word only, that He is the Son of God, is afraid; but they, having seen even divine works, slay Him, for which they ought rather to have worshipped. And he asks Him, not as before, “What have you done?” but, “Who are you?” For then, since He was accused as aspiring to a kingdom, he with reason asks, “What have you done?” but now, since He is slandered as making Himself the Son of God, he asks, “Whence are you?” But Jesus keeps silence. For Pilate had learned from Him that “To this end was I born,” and, “My kingdom is not from hence”; and yet he profited nothing from these things, neither stood up on behalf of the truth, but yielded to the rush of the multitude. Wherefore the Lord, despising his questions as idly put, answers nothing. And altogether Pilate appears to be no firm man, but shaken even by the chance terrors that befell. For he both feared the Jews, and shuddered at Jesus, as the Son of God. And let us see also how he condemns himself by what he says: “I have power to crucify you, and have power to release you.” For if all lay in you, why did you not release Him whom you found guiltless? But the Lord, pulling down his arrogance, says, “You could have no power at all against me, except it were given you from above. For I die not thus simply, but I accomplish some mystical thing, and this has been foreordained from above to the common salvation.” And lest, hearing that “It is given from above,” you should think Pilate quit of all account with God, He adds, “He that delivered me to you has the greater sin.” For He shows hence that Pilate also is liable to sin, even though a less one. For not because it was given from above—that is, because it was permitted that Christ should die—are Pilate and the Jews therefore guiltless; but your purpose willed the evil, while God suffered it, and permitted this to go forth into deed. The wicked, then, are not guiltless, because God suffers their wickedness to come forth into deed; but because they both will it and work it, they are worthy of all condemnation.

Jn. 19:12–13. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar’s friend: whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour. Since the Lord struck Pilate with amazement by His words, and furnished a clear defence, that “Except I had willingly given myself, and the Father had permitted, you would have had no power against me,” and that “you too have sin, and Judas that delivered me, and the people”—for this cause Pilate sought the more to release Him. But the Jews, since, slandering Him as making Himself God, and bringing forward the law, they had been confuted (for Pilate, from this, feared the more, and wished to release Him, lest he should offend against God), again take refuge in the outward laws, and as one timorous they terrify Pilate. For when they saw him cautious, lest, condemning Jesus who was the Son of God, he should sin, they shake over him the fear of Caesar, and slandering the Lord as aspiring to tyranny, they affright Pilate, as one about to offend Caesar if he should release one rising up against him. And where was this man taken in tyranny? whence will you show this? From the purple robe? from the diadem? from the soldiers? Were not all His things mean—both garments, and food, and house—nay, He had not even a house? But, O the unmanliness of Pilate! he is endangered, thinking that, if he should overlook such a charge unexamined, he should suffer. He goes forth, indeed, as about to examine the matter (for the sitting down signified this), but, having made no examination, he delivers Him up, thinking to shame them. But how is it that Mark says it was the third hour when Christ was crucified, whereas John says the sixth? Some solve this thus: that it is a scribal error; for the gamma (Γ) signifies the third hour, and its character is such; but the so-called episemon, which signifies the sixth, has this character, ϛ. It is likely, then, that the letter gamma, through the carelessness of the copyists, the extended straight stroke being drawn out in length, passed over into the character of the episemon, and so this error came to be. And that this is likely to have happened, and that the third hour was written in John also, and not the sixth as now, is plain from hence. For when the three Evangelists—Matthew, and Mark, and Luke—say in agreement that from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour, it is manifest that our Lord was crucified before the sixth hour, before the darkness came, namely at the third hour, as Mark related, and John likewise, even though the error of the copyists changed the gamma into the character of the episemon. Some, then, solve it thus. But others say that Mark sets forth clearly and indisputably the hour of the sentence, namely of the condemnation that the Lord should be crucified. Since, then, the judges are said to crucify and to punish from the time when they bring forth the sentence, because the might of the punishment and of the death lies in their tongues—for this cause Mark says that He was crucified at the third hour, from which He brought forth the sentence. But John, since Mark had told the time of the sentence, himself told the hour in which they crucified the Lord; for consider how many things came between Pilate’s sentence concerning the cross and this hour in which the Lord went up upon the cross. Having released Barabbas, he scourged Jesus, and delivered Him altogether to be crucified—for the release of Barabbas was the condemnation of the Lord. The soldiers mock Him; and consider how much time would have been spent on the ambitious mockery. Pilate brought Him forth, and discoursed with the Jews; again going in, he examined Jesus; again going out, he discourses with the Jews. All these things were enough to consume the time from the third hour to the sixth, which things John, having set forth exactly, as one that had followed all things closely, makes mention of the sixth hour, when also he delivered Him up completely to be crucified, no longer discoursing with the Jews, nor examining Jesus, but bringing forth the most complete sentence against Him. And if any say, “Wherefore, having pronounced at the third hour, as you say, that He should be crucified, did he again wish to release Him?”—let him learn, first, that, constrained by the multitude, he set down the sentence; then, that he was warned also by the dream of his wife; for she had sent to him, saying, “Have you nothing to do with that just man.” And upon all these things, consider also John, how he said, “And it was about the sixth hour.” For he said not, “It was the sixth hour,” affirming it, but as one in some doubt and uncertainty, “about the sixth.” So that it will make no difference to you that, concerning the hour, the Evangelists appear not wholly to run together with one another, even if we should grant there to be a disagreement. For consider this: did they not all say that He was crucified? And if concerning the hour the one says it was the third, and the other about the sixth, what of it? Out of abundance it is shown that there is not even a disagreement.

Jn. 19:14–18. And he says to the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate says to them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. So then he handed him over to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led him away, and carrying his own cross he went out to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha, where they crucified him, with two others, one on either side, and Jesus in the middle. We have often said that Pilate was unmanly rather and timorous than malignant. See, then, how even now he puts about the matter the form of an examination and a tribunal, but handles the whole softly. “Behold,” he says, “your King.” For neither does he condemn Jesus, nor openly muzzle the Jews; but, somewhat covertly reproaching them as calumniators, he says, “Behold, what manner of man do you say attempted to reign over you—a mean man, forsooth, and one that would never have attempted these things; so that the accusation is false. For what has this man of a tyrant? soldiers? wealth? noble birth? Behold your King. What gain is it if you slay this man, a man unable to harm you even in the least?” These things Pilate said, yet not insistently and firmly, nor as one contending for the truth. But they, “Away, away, crucify,” say they. They press on and seek the cross, because they wished to fasten upon Christ an evil repute. For this death was the most reproachful and accursed; as it is said, “Cursed is every one that hangs upon a tree.” But they feared not that, as through a tree came the fall, so through a tree should come the setting up again. And see how they inscribe to themselves no other king but Caesar, willingly putting themselves under the Roman dominion, and shaking off the kingdom of God. Wherefore also God delivered them to the Romans, whom they called kings over themselves, having departed from the providence and oversight of God. The senseless Pilate, then, delivered Him to them, when he ought to have examined whether He truly had power to attempt a tyranny; but he yields and gives way, having handled the judgment without daring and without manliness. And bearing His cross He goes forth. For they thought it altogether forbidden even to touch the tree; for this cause they load the accursed tree upon Him the condemned and accursed one. And consider this also as accomplished according to the ancient figure. For there also Isaac, bearing the wood, went forth to be slain; so here also the Lord, having the cross, goes forth, and bears it as a soldier bears the weapon with which he overthrows his adversary. And that Isaac was a type of the Son is plain. Isaac is interpreted “laughter,” or “joy.” Who else, then, became our joy, save He who in the conception immediately gave the “Hail” through the angel to human nature? For the Virgin heard the glad tidings, and all nature received them in succession. And the father of this Isaac was Abraham, the father of many nations, who is the God of all, who is the Father both of Jews and of Gentiles; and by His good pleasure and counsel the Son bears the cross. However in the Old Testament the matter stood only at the purpose of the Father; for it was a type; but here it went forth even into deed; for it was truth. And perhaps, as there Isaac was let go, but the ram was offered, so here also the divine nature is impassible, but the human, which is also called a Lamb, as the son of Adam the wandering sheep, this is that which was offered. And how does another Evangelist say that they compelled Simon to bear the cross? Because both things came to pass. For in the beginning the Lord Himself went forth bearing it, all turning away from the tree, and not enduring even to touch it; but when they had gone forth, they met, it says, Simon coming from the country, and so laid the tree upon him. And they called the place the place of a skull. For a tradition held that Adam was buried there, that where the beginning of death was, there also its overthrow might come to pass. For it is an ecclesiastical tradition that Judaea first, after the man was cast out of paradise, received him as a dweller, for the consolation of the good things in paradise, being given to him as better and richer than all other lands; wherefore also it first received a dead man. The men of that time, then, marvelling at the dead skull, the skin having fallen away from it, laid it in a place, and from it named the place; and after the flood the report was handed down by Noah to all. Wherefore also the Lord, where the fountain of death was, there is put to death, that He might dry it up. And they crucify two others with Him, themselves indeed wishing to fasten an evil repute upon Him, as being a robber Himself also; yet even in this, unwilling, they fulfil a prophecy, namely, that “He was reckoned among the transgressors.” And consider the wisdom of God, how even this, which they did for insult to the Lord, turned out to His glory. For on the very cross He saved a robber, which is a wonder inferior to none.

Jn. 19:19–22. Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the cross. It was written: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The chief priests of the Jews then said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews, but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. Pilate writes a title also upon the cross—that is, a cause, and an inscription, and a declaration; for these things the “title” signifies. There was declared by the title whose the cross is. He writes the title, at once avenging himself on the Jews who disobeyed him, and showing their wickedness, that they rose up against their own king; and at once also making defence for the glory of Christ. For since they crucified Him with robbers, wishing to defile His name, Pilate shows that He was no robber, but their king, and this he makes plain not in one tongue, but in three. For it was likely that many Greeks, because of the feast, were mingled with the Jews, as the Evangelist above taught concerning certain Greeks who came to see Jesus. That all, then, might know, in all the tongues he set up a pillar against the madness of the Jews. But they, envying Him even crucified, say, “Write that he said it.” “For now,” say they, “it appears a common verdict of the Jews; but if it be added that he said himself that he was a king, the charge of his own rashness and arrogance appears.” But Pilate was not turned aside, but abode upon his former opinion. Wherefore also he says, “What I have written I have written.” But indeed yet another great thing is dispensed. For since the three crosses were to lie buried together in the same place, that it might not be unknown which is the Lord’s, for this cause it was dispensed that He alone should have a title and an inscription, that by such a sign He might be recognized; for the crosses of the robbers had no title. And the inscription, written in three sets of letters, hints also something loftier; it declares the Lord to be King of the practical, and the natural, and the theological philosophy. By the Roman letters the practical is figured, for the rule of the Romans is most manly and most practical in war. By the Greek, the natural, for the Greeks busied themselves about natural philosophy. By the Hebrew, the theological, for the Hebrews were entrusted with the divine knowledge. Glory, then, to Him who through the cross appeared to have such a kingdom, and conquered the world, and made smooth for us the practical way, and the knowledge, and led us within the veil, I mean to His own knowledge.

Jn. 19:23–24. So the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier, and also his coat. Now the coat was seamless, woven from the top throughout. So they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be, that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. By the very things wherein the devil works wickedness, the prophecies are fulfilled. And see the truth: three were they that were crucified, and yet upon Him alone are the words of the prophets fulfilled. And consider the exactness of the prophecy. For the prophet said not only that they parted, but also that they parted not. The other garments, then, they distributed among them, but the coat, not so; rather they committed the matter to a lot. And the “woven from the top” is not added without purpose; but some say that by it is signified, by way of allegory, that He who was crucified was not a bare man, but had also the Godhead from above. But others say that the Evangelist relates the very fashion of the little coat. For since in Palestine they weave the garments by joining two pieces of cloth, that is, two webs, using the weaving-together instead of a seam, John, declaring that such was the little coat, said that it was “woven from the top throughout”—that is, from the beginning and from above to below. And he shows hence the meanness of the things of Christ. But others say that in Palestine they weave the webs, not as among us, with the threads of the warp above and the web woven below, and so going up, but the contrary, the threads being below and the web woven above. Such, he says, was the coat of the Lord; and altogether a mystery is signified through this also. For the body of the Lord was woven from above. For the Holy Spirit came, and the power of the Highest overshadowed the Virgin. For though He took up the nature of man, which is below and fallen, yet by the grace of the Holy Spirit from above the divine flesh was framed together and compacted. The holy body of Christ, then, is undivided, though parted and distributed to the four parts of the world. For being broken in pieces among individuals, and sanctifying the soul of each together with the body, the Only-begotten through His own flesh is wholly and undividedly in all, being everywhere. For in no wise is He divided, even as Paul also cries. And since the whole is composed of four elements, we must understand by the garment of Jesus this visible and outspread creation, which the demons part among themselves, whenever they deaden the word of God that is in us, and are earnest to make us of their own portion through the affection toward worldly things. But the coat they cannot rend—the word that is in things that are, according to which all things were framed. For though ten thousand times I be deceived by the things that flow away, yet again I recognize them to be fluid, and I am not ignorant of the word and the essence of the deceitful things that flow past.

Jn. 19:25–27. These things therefore the soldiers did. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he says to his mother, Woman, behold your son! Then says he to the disciple, Behold your mother! And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. The soldiers, then, did the things of their own senselessness; but He takes thought for His mother, teaching us even to the last breath to make all forethought for them that fathered us. And see how, when there were also other women, He takes forethought for His mother alone. For we must not give heed to parents when they hinder us toward godliness; but when they hinder not, we must make all forethought for them. As therefore He Himself, since He was departing from this life, and it was likely that His mother would grieve and seek a protector, commits her protection to the disciple. And the Evangelist hides his own name, in modesty. For if he had wished to boast, he would have added also the cause for which he was beloved; for it was likely that this was some great and wonderful thing. But oh, how He honoured the disciple, making him His own brother! So good a thing is it to abide with Christ when He suffers; for He brings him into His own brotherhood. And marvel how upon the cross He does all things without trouble—taking thought for His mother, fulfilling prophecies, opening paradise to the robber; whereas before the cross He was in agony and sweat. So that those things were of the human nature, but these of the divine power. Let Marcion be ashamed, and all the others who babble that the Lord appeared in the world in fantasy; for if He was not born, neither had a mother, why does He make such forethought for her? And how is Mary the wife of Cleophas called the sister of His mother, although Joachim had no other child? Cleophas was the brother of Joseph; and Cleophas dying childless, as some say, Joseph took his wife, and fathered children to his brother, of whom is also this Mary now mentioned, called the sister of the Mother of God, that is, her kinswoman. For the Scripture is wont to call kinsfolk brethren; as Isaac also said of Rebecca, “She is my sister,” although she was his wife. So then here also she that was reckoned the daughter of Cleophas is called the sister of the Mother of God, because of the kinship. Four Marys appear in the Gospels: the first, the Mother of God, whom they also name the mother of James and Joses. For these were children of Joseph, begotten of his former wife, the wife of Cleophas; and the Mother of God becomes their mother as a stepmother, for she was reckoned the wife of Joseph. The second, the Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven devils; the third, the wife of Cleophas; and the fourth, the sister of Lazarus. The disciple, then, took Mary to his own; for to the pure one the pure one was entrusted. And see how all the men forsook the Lord, but the womankind stood by.

Jn. 19:28–30. That the Scripture might be fulfilled, he says, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. “When Jesus saw,” it says, “that all things were now accomplished”—that is, that nothing was lacking to the dispensation—so altogether of a special character was His death. For death came not upon His body before He Himself willed it; and He willed it after He had fulfilled all things; for this cause also He said, “I have power to lay down my life.” He says, then, “I thirst,” fulfilling here also a prophecy. But they do the foul thing which they were wont to do to the condemned. For the hyssop also is for this cause added, as being noxious. But some say that the reed is called hyssop; for the tuft of the reed is such. They put the spunge, then, about a reed, because the mouth of Jesus was on high, and so the prophecy was fulfilled, which says, “In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Having been given to drink, then, He said, “It is finished”—that is, “This prophecy also, with all the rest, has been accomplished; nothing is lacking, all things are finished.” And without trouble He did and endured all things; and the sequel shows this. For when all things were completed, having bowed His head (for it was not nailed), He gave up the spirit—that is, He breathed out. And yet with us the contrary comes to pass; for first we breathe out, and then bow the head. But He first bowed the head, and then breathed out. By all which it is declared that He Himself was Lord of death, and did all things by authority.

Jn. 19:31–34. The Jews therefore, since it was the day of preparation, and so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and the bodies taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, and did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. The Lord committed the spirit to God and the Father, showing that the souls of the saints no longer linger about the tombs, but run rather into the hands of the Father of all, while the souls of sinners are dragged down into the place of punishment, that is, into hades. But they who swallow the camel and strain at the gnat, having wrought so great a daring, are scrupulous about the day. “For that the bodies,” it says, “should not remain upon the cross, they besought Pilate”—that is, they entreated—“that they might be taken away.” And for what cause do they ask that the legs be broken? That, even if they should survive, they might be useless; for they were robbers. They would not, then, in the day of the feast appear as avengers and murderers. And besides, the law also so commanded, that the sun should not set upon the punishment of a man. And see how, by the very things wherein the Jews use craft, the prophecies are fulfilled; for here also two prophecies are fulfilled together, as the Evangelist says in order. The legs of Jesus, then, they brake not; yet, gratifying the Jews, they pierce Him, and blood and water come forth; and this is strange. For they attempted to insult even the dead body, but the insult turned for them into a wonder. For that blood should come forth from a dead body is marvellous; yet one calumniating might say that it is likely there was still some vital power in the body. But the water coming forth makes the wonder indisputable. And these things come to pass not without purpose, but because by these two the life of the Church is and consists: for by water we are born again, and by blood and body we are nourished. Whenever, then, you draw near to the cup of the communion of the blood of Christ, be so disposed as though drinking from the very side. And consider for me how, through the wounded side, the wound of the side—that is, of Eve—is healed. There Adam, having fallen asleep, was robbed of his rib; and here the Lord, having fallen asleep, gives His side to the soldier. And the sword of the soldier is a type of the turning sword which bars us from paradise. And since everything that turns, unless it strike against something, ceases not from its own course, the Lord, showing that He will stay that sword, sets in its place His side to the soldier’s sword; that it may be shown us that, as the soldier’s sword, pressed against the side, was stayed, so also the flaming sword shall be stayed, and no longer, threatening by its turning and affrighting the entrance, shall shut us out of paradise. Let the Armenians be ashamed, who mingle not water with the wine in the mysteries. For they believe not, as it seems, that water also came forth from the side, the more marvellous thing, but only blood; and hence too is a symbol that He who was crucified was a man.

Jn. 19:35–37. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knows that he says true, that you might believe. For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another Scripture says, They shall look on him whom they pierced. “Not from others,” he says, “have I heard, but being myself present I saw, and the witness is true.” And with reason. For he relates an insult that was done, and not some great and honourable thing, that you should suspect the account; but for this cause, he says, I am exact about these things, and bring into the midst the things that seem insulting, that you may believe them as altogether true, and not composed for favour. For he that speaks for favour rather sets down the glorious things. And since Moses seemed more worthy of credit than he, he brings him forward also as a witness. For what Moses said concerning the lamb sacrificed at the passover, “A bone of him shall not be broken,” this the Evangelist says was fulfilled in Christ. For that lamb was a type of Him; and great is the kinship of it with the truth. And there is fulfilled also another prophecy, which says, “They shall look on him whom they pierced.” For when He comes to judge, then shall they see Him in a body better and more godlike, and they that pierced Him shall recognize Him, and shall wail. And not this only, but also that to them who should disbelieve the thing dared by the enemies was a door of faith and a proof, as to Thomas. For through the side the resurrection was confirmed to him. A bone of Jesus, then, shall not be broken; but His side wells forth for us the fountains of our being and of our quickening; the water, of our being, for through it we come to be Christians; and the blood, of our life, for by it we are nourished. For the Word of God is a Lamb, whom eating from head to foot—of the head, the Godhead, for this is the head; of the feet, the flesh, for this is the lowest part. And moreover, eating reverently His inward parts also, the mysteries and hidden things, we break not the bones—that is, the harder and weightier of the thoughts. For what we are not able to understand, these we will not break—that is, we will not be earnest to understand them ill and hazardously. For when we understand soundly, then we break not, for we keep the divine things whole; but when we do violence, and admit a heretical thought, we break and shatter the firm and hard-to-master thought. Such things, then, must be burned with fire—that is, such things hard of understanding must be given to the Spirit, by whom they are wrought out and refined, as He searches all things, even the deep things of God.

Jn. 19:38–42. After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. Nicodemus also came, who had at first come to Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds in weight. They took the body of Jesus, then, and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There, because of the Jews’ day of preparation, they laid Jesus, since the sepulchre was near at hand. Why did not one of the twelve come to Pilate, but Joseph, who was perhaps of the seventy, dare such a thing? For if one should say that for fear of the Jews the disciples were hidden, this man also was held by the same fear. It may be said, then, that he was exceedingly notable, and known to Pilate because of his distinction. Whence also, thinking that the anger was quenched, since their adversary was already crucified, he comes with confidence, and makes a costly burial together with Nicodemus, both of them imagining nothing divine concerning Him, but bringing such spices as are wont especially to preserve the body for a long time, and not to suffer it speedily to be consumed; yet nevertheless they show their affection; for they bury Him not as one condemned, but costlily, as the custom of the Jews. And since they were pressed by the time (for at the ninth hour the death had come to pass; then, in the interval, while they were coming to Pilate and taking down the body, it was likely that evening overtook them, in which it was not lawful to work upon a tomb), they lay Him in the near sepulchre. For there was in the place where He was crucified a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre. And it is dispensed that the sepulchre should be near, that the disciples might be able to come, and to be beholders and witnesses of the things that came to pass; and that soldiers might be sent to keep guard, and that the talk about the theft might have room. All which things would not have so fallen out, had He been buried far off. And it was a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid, that the resurrection might not be calumniated, as though another rose and not Jesus. And otherwise also: the sepulchre was new, this being signified symbolically, that a new thing should come to pass through the burial of the Lord against death and corruption, and that we all should be renewed in Him. And consider for me also the riches of the Lord’s poverty for our sakes. For He who had no house in His life has no tomb even after death, but is laid in a stranger’s, and being naked, is wrapped about by Joseph. Even now Jesus is a dead man, deadened by them that wrong or overreach, or suffering the same by famine; nay, and naked too. For whatever the poor man suffers, Christ suffers. Do you also now imitate Joseph (for Joseph is interpreted “addition”), and add to your good; and wrap about the nakedness of Christ, that is, of the poor man. And do these things not once, but lay them in the sepulchre of your soul, and ever remember, and ever reckon, and take thought for such works. And mingle in also myrrh and aloes. For we must call to mind the bitter and astringent tribunals of the world to come. [Headings of what follows:] Concerning the resurrection of Christ. Concerning the manifestation of Christ, first to Mary Magdalene, and then to the disciples gathered together.

Chapter 20

Jn. 20:1–4. Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the sepulchre early, while it was still dark, and saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we do not know where they have laid him. Peter then went out, along with the other disciple, and they went toward the sepulchre. The two of them ran together, but the other disciple outran Peter and came first to the sepulchre. By “the first day of the week” he names what is now among us the Lord’s day. For they call the days of the week “sabbaths”; and “the first of the sabbaths” means the first of the days; for indeed all the days are one. And the one (unit), being often taken and put together, makes the many. One, then, is the first day; but taken twice it becomes the second, and three times the third, and so onward. And of the age to come such a day is a type, which age is one day, never broken off by night, nor interrupted; for God is its sun, never setting. As therefore on this day the Lord rose, having made incorruptible His corruptible body, so we also in the age to come shall receive incorruption. There comes, then, on this first—that is, first of the sabbaths, that is, of the days of the sabbath and the week—there comes Mary Magdalene. For since the sabbath had passed, and she was no longer hindered by the law, she goes from the place, wishing to find some comfort; and seeing the stone taken away, with much speed she comes to Peter and John. For the Lord rose while the stone lay upon it and the seals were on it. But since it behoved that there should be also some witnesses of the resurrection, and that they should enter into the tomb, the stone is taken away by the angel. But Mary, knowing as yet nothing concerning the resurrection, calls the thing a taking-away and a removal. Wherefore also the disciples come to the sepulchre, and behold the linen clothes lying alone, which was truly the sign of the resurrection. For neither, if any had removed the body, would they have stripped it; nor, if they had stolen it, would they have cared to wrap up the napkin and to lay it apart in one place; but simply, as it was, they would have taken the body. And for this cause the Evangelist, foretelling, said that He was buried with much myrrh, which glows the linen clothes to the body no less than lead; that when we hear that the napkin lay apart, we may not endure them that say it was stolen. For so silly was no thief, as to spend so much time over a superfluous thing, and to show so much earnestness, and not to be wary lest, while he busied himself about this, he should perhaps be caught. At what hour, then, the resurrection took place, none knows; even as also the time of the second coming is unknown. And if Matthew says that the earthquake came late in the evening, but John says that Mary came early, while it was yet dark, and saw the stone taken away, there is no disagreement. For first we say that in Matthew women came late on the sabbath, but in John women are not now mentioned (for it were superfluous, Matthew having said this, that John should say the same), but Mary Magdalene comes early. For there were different comings to the sepulchre, sometimes Mary coming with the rest of the women, sometimes she alone. Whence the Evangelists, telling the different comings, one telling one and another another, seem to disagree. First, then, we say this, that Matthew tells one coming of women, and John another, of one woman, the Magdalene. Then, the “late in the evening,” and the “early, while it was yet dark,” which another calls “very early in the morning,” bring it to the same point; so that all these seasons are about midnight. And if you ask how, the keepers sitting by, John and Peter entered into the sepulchre, and the women, the answer is plain, that when the Lord was risen, and the angel with the earthquake had stood by the tomb, the keepers departed to tell the Pharisees; and the guard being gone, the disciples had liberty to draw near.

Jn. 20:5–13. And stooping down, and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb, and sees the linen cloths lying there, and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had come first to the tomb, went in also, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went back again to their own homes. But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb, and sees two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She says to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. Consider for me the freedom from vanity of the Evangelist, how he bears witness to Peter of the exactness of the search. For though he himself came first, and saw the linen clothes lying, he busies himself no further, but awaits Peter. But Peter, the most fervent, being come within, surveyed all things exactly; and so the other, entering in after him, saw the burial-clothes lying apart, and believed—not that the Lord was risen, but that He was stolen. For he believed the word of Mary, who said, “They have taken away the Lord.” And why did he believe Mary, and not reckon that He was risen? Because as yet they knew not the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead; and for this cause they believed Mary, suspecting a theft and removal of the body. These, then, went away to themselves—that is, by themselves—having busied themselves no further. But Mary (for the female kind is full of feeling and given to tears) stands at the sepulchre and weeps. For since she had not Jesus, she looks at the place where the longed-for body had lain, from this alone finding comfort; whence also she is counted worthy of a greater vision than the disciples. For what they saw not, this she beheld—two angels, I mean. And the sight of the angels became to her the greatest comfort. For both their form was bright, and their sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, showed them to know something more, and, if asked, to be able to teach. And the saying, “Why are you weeping?” is full of much sympathy. For lest she should be troubled, as a woman, by this question they restrain her trouble, asking thus sympathetically and gently, “Woman, why are you weeping?” But she, full of feeling and at once full of love: “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she says, “therefore I weep; for I do not know where they have removed him, that going there I might embrace the body, and find some moderate comfort.” But do you understand by Peter the practical and fervent, and by John the contemplative and apt for the knowledge of divine things. Oftentimes, then, the contemplative goes before in knowledge and aptitude, while the practical falls behind; yet nevertheless by his fervour and great earnestness he overcomes the other’s acuteness, and the practical first beholds some divine mystery. And does not such a thing happen also in learning? For there too, where there are two children, the duller and more earnest outstrips by his earnestness the quickness of the other’s nature. And in spiritual things also oftentimes the practical man, and unlearned in speech, has received some thought better than the contemplative. But also every soul that has gotten the mastery over the passions is called Mary. Being purified, then, through dispassion, she beholds Jesus, God and man together. For the angels, the one at the head and the other at the feet, signify the uttermost incarnation of the Word.

Jn. 20:14–18. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus says to her, Woman, why do you weep? whom do you seek? She, supposing him to be the gardener, says to him, Sir, if you have borne him hence, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus says to her, Mary. She turned herself, and says to him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus says to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend to my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things to her. Why did Mary turn herself back? for she was conversing with the angels; what befell her, that she should turn back? It seems, then, that while she was conversing with the angels, Jesus, standing behind her, struck them with amazement, and they, beholding the Master, by their form, and their movement, and their look, showed immediately that they had seen the Lord; and the woman, seeing this, turned herself back. To the angels, then, He appeared perhaps in an awe-striking form, but to Mary no longer so, but in a mean and common form. Wherefore also she thought Him to be the gardener—of that garden, namely, in which the sepulchre was. Whence also she says, “Sir, if you have borne him hence”—that is, “If you have stolen him.” And she says not “Jesus,” but “him,” as making her speech to one that knew. “If you therefore have borne him, or taken him, and stolen him hence, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him, and remove him to another place, where he shall be magnificently buried.” For perhaps she feared lest the Jews should outrage even the dead body, and for this cause she wished to remove it to another unknown place. The woman’s mind, then, was loving, but not yet able to imagine anything lofty. Wherefore also the Lord, since she was not able of herself to conceive anything lofty, by His own voice makes Himself known to her. For having called only her name, He put into her, through this, knowledge. As to the Jews He was sometimes known, and sometimes unseen though present, so also, speaking, when He willed, then He made Himself known; even as now also, when He willed, then He made Himself known to Mary through His voice. For surely He had also before called to her, “Woman, why do you weep?” but the woman knew Him not; for Jesus willed it not. But when He willed, then through His voice He was recognized. “She turned herself, and says to him, Rabboni.” She had been speaking to Him, and saying, “Tell me where you have laid him”; and now the Evangelist says, “she turned herself.” It seems, then, that after she had said, “Where have you laid him?” she turned again to the angels, to ask perhaps why they were amazed; then Christ, calling her, both struck her by His voice, and turned her to Himself from them, and so, recognizing Him, she said, “Rabboni,” and wished to draw near to Him, and to be with Him as before, and perhaps to embrace Him as the longed-for one; but He, leading up her understanding, that she might conceive something higher concerning Him, and give heed to Him more reverently, said, “Touch me not”—that is, “Things are no longer in the same state as before, neither shall I in like manner be with you.” For though He said not this in words, yet it is so understood. “For I am about to ascend to my Father, and there I hasten. And to Him that hastens there, and no longer has such a body as to consort with man, one must give heed more reverently, and as to one greater than the common converse and touch, that is, the consorting.” And see how great a thought the Evangelist expressed concisely. For He said, “Touch me not”; then, as though one asked, “Why?” “Because,” He says, “my body shall no more be such as to be at home on the earth, but in heaven and with the angels.” Then again, as though one rejoined, “And wherefore then do you walk on the earth, having such a body?” “For I am not yet ascended,” He says, “to my Father, but am about to ascend.” For this He shows through the words that follow, saying, “Go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend to my Father.” And yet He was not about to ascend immediately, but after forty days. How then says He this? Wishing to raise up her understanding, and to persuade her that He goes into the heavens, and by this to comfort her. And saying “brethren,” He added also “your Father.” For God is our Father also, but by grace; whereas of the Lord He is Father by nature. And again, “God,” on the contrary, of us indeed by nature, but of the Lord according to the human. For He became His God, as having taken up the human nature. Mary, then, goes away, counted worthy of such words, and tells these things to the disciples; so great a good is constancy and perseverance. Persevere you also, and perhaps you too shall learn something, and shall become a teacher of the disciples of the word.

Jn. 20:19–23. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and says to them, Peace be to you. And when he had so said, he showed to them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be to you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and says to them, Receive you the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted to them; and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained. Since Mary had told these things to the disciples, and it was likely that they would either disbelieve her, or, believing, grieve that they themselves had not been counted worthy to see Him—for this cause on the same day He stands by them, thirsting indeed from hearing from the woman that He was risen, but fearing the Jews, and for this cause longing the more to see their only comfort. He stands by them, then, in the evening (that all might be gathered together), and the doors being shut, because He so rose, while the stone lay upon the tomb. And one might marvel how they thought Him not a phantom. Chiefly, then, the woman, having gone before, wrought much faith; and otherwise also, He showed them a gentle aspect, and at once by His voice calmed their tossing mind, saying, “Peace be to you”—that is, “Be not troubled.” And at once He reminds them of the word which before the cross He had spoken to them, “My peace I give to you.” And they were glad when they saw the Lord. For this also He foretold before the cross, that “I will see you, and your heart shall rejoice.” And since they had implacable war with the Jews, again He says to them, “Peace.” For as to the women He said, “Rejoice,” because the race was in sorrows, so to these He gives peace, because of the war which they had against them, and were all to have. Fittingly, then, to the women the “Rejoice,” for they were cursed to bring forth in sorrows; but to the men the “Be at peace,” because of the wars on account of the preaching. And at once He shows also the achievements of the cross; and these were the peace. Wherefore also, “Since,” He says, “through the cross peace has been achieved, I send you to the preaching.” And comforting them, and encouraging them, He says, “As my Father has sent me, even so send I you. For you take up my work; so be of good cheer, for I will be with you.” And see the authority: He said not, “Let him entreat my Father, and he will send you,” but, “I send you.” And He breathes on them, and gives them the Holy Ghost, not now bestowing on them the perfect gift of the Holy Spirit (for this He was about to give at Pentecost), but making them fit for the reception of the Spirit. For “Receive you the Holy Ghost” is instead of, “Become fit to receive the Spirit.” And one may say that He gave them a certain authority and spiritual grace, not so as to raise the dead and work powers, but so as to forgive sins. Wherefore also He added, “Whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted,” showing that He gave them this kind of spiritual gifts, namely the remission of sins; but after the ascension, the Spirit itself, coming down, lavished on them the powers both of signs and of every other gift. And it is worth inquiring why He appears to the disciples not in Galilee, but in Jerusalem; and yet Matthew and Mark say that He promised to be seen by them in Galilee; how then does He appear in Jerusalem? Some say, then: “And what of this? For He said not, ‘In Galilee only shall I be seen of you, but in Jerusalem I shall not be seen’; so that this has the accusation of a rich liberality, not of falsehood.” Then, the being seen in Galilee He promises to all the disciples, not to the twelve only, but also to the seventy; but in Jerusalem He was seen of the twelve only. There is no disagreement, then, from hence. For to some He appeared in Galilee, and to others also in Jerusalem. For, many being the appearances, some wrote these, and some those; and where two Evangelists treat of the same matter, the second fills up by way of supplement what was said deficiently by the first. And consider for me the dignity of the priests, that it is divine; for it is of God to forgive sins. So then we must honour them, as being ministers of gifts, and as the grace works through them; nor does our unworthiness annul the grace; so that we must honour them.

Jn. 20:24–29. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be to you. Then says he to Thomas, Reach here your finger, and behold my hands; and reach here your hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God. Jesus says to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Thomas was not with the disciples; for it is likely that he had not yet gathered back from the dispersion. And what is “called Didymus”? This is the interpretation of “Thomas.” For as “Cephas” is interpreted “Peter,” so also “Thomas” is said, that is, interpreted, “Didymus.” And with reason he made mention of this interpretation of the name, that he might show us that he was a doubting kind of man, and from above and from the beginning had such a character, as the name also shows. And he disbelieved the other disciples when they told the things of the Lord, not as accounting them liars, but reckoning the thing of the resurrection to be impossible; wherefore also he is called, as beyond measure over-curious. For as easy believing is of lightness, so the strong gainsaying is of rusticity and grossness. And see how he believes not even his eyes, but adds also the “Except I thrust my hand.” And whence knew he that the side had prints? Having heard it from the disciples. And why appears He not to him immediately, but after eight days? That, being catechized in the meanwhile by his fellow disciples, and hearing the same things, he might be kindled with more longing, and become more faithful for the time to come. And the Master, wishing to show that He was present even then, when Thomas was uttering the words of unbelief to his fellow disciples, awaits not to hear any such thing from him, but Himself, anticipating, fulfills what Thomas desired, for He used also his very words. And see: at first He rebukes him, as over-curious, “Reach here your hand”; but afterward He admonishes, “Be not,” He says, “faithless, but believing.” Whence it is plain that the doubt was of unbelief; and they do but vainly grant a favour to Thomas, who say that of exactness, and not lightly, he believed. For behold, the Lord calls him faithless. And see the formerly faithless one, how, from touching the side, he was shown the best of theologians. For he taught the two natures and the one hypostasis of the one Christ: in saying “My Lord,” the human nature (for among men also the “Lord” is said, as, “Sir, if you have borne him”); and in saying “My God,” the divine essence; yet that one and the same is both Lord and God. And the Lord, showing us that this is of faith, namely to receive the things not seen, says, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” And He hints here at the disciples, who, neither having seen the print of the nails, nor having felt the side, believed; and not those only, but also them that should believe thereafter. And He said this not depriving Thomas of blessedness, but comforting them that have not seen. For since many say, “Blessed are the eyes that saw the Lord,” He comforts these, that this is rather blessed, to have believed without seeing. And how was an incorruptible body shown to have prints, and became tangible to a human hand? Because all these things were a condescension. For that which entered when the doors were shut, and was so subtle and light, was freed from all grossness. That the resurrection, then, might be believed, He shows these things; and for this cause He rises having the signs of the cross and the wounds. Since also that which He ate, He ate not from necessity of body, but for the confirmation of the resurrection. As therefore before the cross, walking upon the waves, He had not a body of another nature, so now also He shows it tangible and having prints; yet He bears it about incorruptible, even though tangible and visible. For these things are shown for confirmation, but not by necessity and law of body. For everything that is eaten passes into the draught, and is changed; which after the resurrection was not so in Christ, but by a certain invisible and divine power the things eaten were consumed, being taken only for the confirmation of the resurrection. And see how, for the sake of one man, Thomas, He condescended to show Himself, that He might save one disbelieving soul. So is He mindful even of the least.

Jn. 20:30–31. Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through his name. Concerning what kind of signs does the Evangelist here speak? Of those before the cross? No, but of those after the resurrection. For he adds, “He did in the presence of his disciples”; whereas the things before the cross He did not in the presence of the disciples only, but of all. So that these of which the Evangelist now speaks are those after the resurrection. For dwelling with the disciples alone through forty days, He showed signs of the resurrection. For as before the cross He wrought signs, showing Himself to be the Son of God, so after the resurrection He wrought signs in the presence of the disciples, showing Himself to be the Son of man—that is, bearing a body, even though incorruptible, and more godlike, and no longer subject to fleshly laws. Many signs, then, of the resurrection having come to pass, these only are written; and not even these for the sake of ostentation, or of an addition to the glory of the Only-begotten, but “That you,” He says, “might believe.” And what is the gain, and to whom does it turn? Not to Christ (for what gain to Him from our believing?), but it returns to your own selves. “For that believing,” He says, “you might have life through his name.” For believing that He is risen, and lives, we win life for ourselves. For our sakes He rose and lives. But he that believes neither that He rose nor that He lives, works for himself his own deadening and corruption. [Headings of what follows:] Concerning the manifestation of Jesus after the resurrection to Peter, and to others fishing upon the sea of Tiberias. Concerning that which was said to Peter, Feed my sheep.

Chapter 21

Jn. 21:1–8. After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias, and this is how he showed himself. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples, were together. Simon Peter says to them, I am going fishing. They say to him, We will go with you too. So they went out and got into the boat at once, and that night they caught nothing. But when morning had come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus says to them, Children, have you any meat? They answered him, No. And he said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in for the great number of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, It is the Lord. Then when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girded his fisher’s coat about him (for he was naked) and threw himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits off, dragging the net full of fish. By saying, “Jesus showed himself,” the Evangelist declares that, had He not willed and Himself manifested Himself by condescension, He would not have been seen, the body being incorruptible. And why does he make mention of the place, the sea of Tiberias? Showing that they no longer feared the Jews as before, but had cast off the most part of their fear. Wherefore also they were no longer shut up together, but went even out of the house, which before they dared not, and went about everywhere, so as to go even as far as Tiberias, which, being distant from Jerusalem, is a sea of Galilee. And the disciples were fishing; for they had nothing else to do. For neither was He continually with them, nor was the Spirit yet given, nor had they been fully entrusted with the teaching; for this cause they betook themselves to their own craft. Peter, then, being most laborious, endures not to be idle, but moves fervently to the work; and the rest follow with him, because they were henceforth bound to one another. And standing by them as they laboured and were in distress, He does not immediately show Himself. For He wishes first to come with them to converse; whence also He says, “Children, have you any meat?” as though about to buy somewhat of them. And when they had denied, and at His bidding had cast on the right side and succeeded, the disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, “It is the Lord.” Again here we find the properties of the disciples shown. For John was the more keen-sighted, and Peter the more fervent. For this cause John first recognized the Lord, but Peter first came to Him. By the girding himself he showed his reverence; by casting himself into the sea he manifested his longing. For he endured not, as the others did, but came swimming, being as it were two hundred cubits from the land. The “fisher’s coat,” then, is a certain linen garment, which the Phoenician and Syrian fishers wind about themselves, being naked, or set over their clothes; to speak simply, such as painters make for them. Since, then, Peter was naked, having only the fisher’s coat about him (for this is the girding himself), the things that came to pass were not small, but great: first, the not rending of the net.

Jn. 21:9–14. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus says to them, Bring of the fish which you have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus says to them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are you? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then comes, and takes bread, and gives them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. And this too is a wonder which they now behold—the coals, I mean, and the fish, and the bread. For He no longer made them from underlying matter, as before in the wilderness from the five loaves and the two fishes He made enough for so many, but simply, out of things that were not. And when the Lord said, “Come and dine,” none examines, nor dared ask. For they no longer had the same boldness, but with silence and awe they marvelled; for they knew that it was the Lord, wherefore they asked not. But seeing His form somewhat altered, and full of much amazement, they were exceedingly astonished, and wished indeed to ask concerning it, but the awe, and the knowing that it was no other but He, restrained the question; and they only ate what He had created for them. And how created He it? With authority. For He no longer looks up to heaven, and calls upon the Father (for those things were done for condescension’s sake); but He bids them bring of the fish, that He might show that what was seen was no phantom. But here he says not that He ate with them; whereas Luke says that He was eating with them. And how He ate, it is not for us to say; for in a more marvellous manner these things came to pass, not as though the nature needed food, but the condescension being made for the proof of the resurrection. And showing that He did not continually consort with them, nor in like manner as before, He says, “This is now the third time that he showed himself.” And understand for me these things also according to contemplation. For it was night, when the darkness of idolatry held sway, before the coming of the Sun, Christ, when the prophets having toiled caught nothing. For though they seemed to enclose one nation, Israel, in the net, yet since this also was continually slipping into idolatry, they caught perhaps nothing. But when the morning of righteousness shone forth, and the apostolic net was let down—the truly right teaching, to which the law and the prophets compared are understood as the left—then indeed the net is drawn, and there are brought to Christ not only those of the nations, whom you would reckon as a hundred, but also those of Israel, who would be understood as fifty. For “when the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, then shall Israel be saved.” And the three signify the faith in the holy Trinity. For they that were enclosed, a hundred and fifty, the Gentiles, I mean, and the Jews, are not without the addition of the three; for without faith in the Trinity none is said to be enclosed. And the “Come and dine” has a hidden meaning, that after the toils a rest shall succeed for the saints, and luxury, and enjoyment. For all that was done, or said, leads to mysteries; as also the supposing Christ to be the gardener by Mary seems simple, but has somewhat hidden. For He was indeed in truth the true husbandman of paradise, in the garden of the tomb, even as in paradise, setting upright the female kind, and turning from error and ignorance her who deceived Adam the first gardener. For the turning of Mary, and the teaching her concerning the resurrection, was a token of this, that the female kind should be turned and led up.

Jn. 21:15–18. So when they had dined, Jesus says to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me more than these? He says to him, Yea, Lord; you know that I love you. He says to him, Feed my lambs. He says to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me? He says to him, Yea, Lord; you know that I love you. He says to him, Tend my sheep. He says to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus says to him, Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, When you were young, you girded yourself, and walked where you would: but when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you, and carry you where you would not. This spoke he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. Since the things of the dinner were at an end, He commits to Peter the protection of the sheep of the world; and to no other, but to him He gives it, first because he was the chosen of all, and the mouth of the whole choir; then showing that he must be of good cheer, as being now delivered from the denial. And the denial He brings not forward, neither upbraids it; but says, “If you love me, take the presidency over the brethren, and the warm love which you said you had toward me, so as to die for me, now show.” And He asks him three times, at once showing how great forethought He makes for them that believe, and that He so loves the sheep, that He makes the caring for the sheep a proof of love toward Himself; and at once also, by the threefold question and confession, He heals the threefold denial, and by words sets right the falls that came through words. Hence it has become a custom that three confessions be required of them that are to be baptized. Being asked, then, once and a second time, he called to witness Him that knows the hearts, neither acting presumptuously, nor speaking rashly, but everywhere adding the “You know.” But when he was asked a third time, Peter was troubled, lest perhaps he himself supposed that he loved, and yet loved not; since before also, supposing and strongly affirming many things, he was afterward convicted, this very thing now also he feared; wherefore also he answers reverently, “Lord, you know all things, both present and to come; you know that I love you now, as it appears to me. But whether the love shall abide also for the time to come, this too you know; I make no confident affirmation concerning myself.” And the Lord, when He had spoken to him concerning the love toward Himself, foretells to him also the martyrdom which he was to endure. And He says this, showing thereby that even this, that He asks him concerning loving, He asks not as distrusting him, but as well knowing that he loves; for how loves he not, who is even to bear witness concerning Him? But that He may the more show Peter’s love, and may teach all the rest that, if we wish to love Him, we must be earnest so to love Him, in presiding over the brethren. And how He foretells to him the martyrdom, hear: “When you were young, you girded yourself,” and the rest. “For since,” He says, “you love me, and oftentimes did promise to lay down your life in the dangers that are for me, be of good cheer; for so will I fulfil your desire, that what you suffered not when young, these things you shall suffer when grown old.” And He reminds him of his former life, declaring that the spiritual things are reversed in respect of the carnal. For in the things of this life the young man is useful, and the aged useless; but in the spiritual things, when old age comes on, then is the best valour. Stirring up, then, his longing, and rekindling it to martyrdom, He says these things. And He hints to him that he too should be crucified. For the “You shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you” signifies nothing else than the stretching out upon the cross and the bonds. And in saying, “When young,” and again, “When you shall be old,” He shows that at that time Peter was neither young nor old, but a perfect man. And how said the Lord to him, “Another shall gird you, and carry you where you would not,” and yet Peter willed the martyrdom? He willed indeed, and longed for it; but what the Lord says declares the sympathy of nature, and that unwillingly the soul is torn from the body—this being dispensed by God for our profit, that we should not slay ourselves. None, then, lays aside the body without suffering, even though he be holy. And the Evangelist, interpreting to us, as is his wont, concerning what the Lord spoke these things, says, “This spoke he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.” “For Jesus said these things to Peter,” he says, the “You shall stretch forth your hands,” and the rest, signifying that he should bear witness concerning Him. And he calls the death of Peter a glory of God. For indeed the standing firm on behalf of God even to death is a glory of God. For unless the soul had been fully assured that He is the true God, it would not have died for Him; so that the death of the saints is a confirmation of the glory of God. And one might find a difference between “lambs” and “sheep,” and between “feeding” and “tending.” For lambs are perhaps the more elementary, and sheep the more perfect. He, then, that loves Christ will take care both of the lambs and of the sheep, both feeding the lambs—that is, laying upon them the simpler oversight—and tending the sheep, which signifies the more complete. And since the more perfect also oftentimes need the gentler oversight, their overseers are bidden also to feed the sheep. For the tending already signifies a harder oversight; but the feeding, the gentler. What, then, shall we render to the Lord, who so loved us, that He characterizes even the love toward Himself by this, the caring for the sheep?

Jn. 21:19–23. And when he had spoken this, he says to him, Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrays you? Peter seeing him says to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus says to him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you? follow you me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not to him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you? He committed to Peter the protection of all the faithful. For though James received the throne of Jerusalem, yet Peter received that of all the world. And He says to him after these things, “Follow me,” showing His tender care, and that He was familiarly disposed toward him. And understand here also a following—the fulfilment in all works and words. For they that walk in the track of His manner of life, and imitate His exactness in all things, these follow Him. For the present, then, He exhorts Peter to follow Him sensibly, showing, as I said, the familiarity toward Him; for the more familiar we make our followers. And since Peter heard these things, and was counted worthy of such things, as that the world should be committed to him, and that he should be vouchsafed martyrdom, loving John exceedingly, he asks concerning him also, “And what shall this man do? Shall he not come the same way with us? Shall this man also be a partner both in the oversight of the sheep, and in the appointment thereto?” For the “Follow me” all but signifies, “Come, take the sheep, go forth into the world.” Since, then, the Lord knew that Peter cared for John, and would not be parted from him, dividing them from their unseasonable conjunction and affection, He says, “A work has been entrusted to you; this accomplish, and follow me, who lead you forth to the preaching, committing to you the whole world. But this man, if I will that he tarry here in the regions about Galilee, and not be sent forth with you, what is that to you?” And the “Till I come” some have understood thus: “Till,” He says, “I come against the Jews who crucified me, being about to smite them by the rod of the Romans, and to overthrow their city.” For they say that this apostle, sojourning almost until the dominion of Vespasian in the upper regions, preached, and abode there; and when Jerusalem was about to be taken, he removed. Since, then, they were entrusted with a great work, the preaching, they ought no longer to be conjoined, but, divided, the one to visit these regions, and the other those. And wherefore does the Evangelist make mention of the reclining upon the breast, and that he asked, “Who is he that betrays you?” Not simply, and as it chanced, but that he might show the boldness of Peter after the denial. For he that dared not before the cross ask concerning the traitor, but committed the question to another, to John, this man is now entrusted with the protection of all; and not only does he not commit his own affairs to another, but even on behalf of that very disciple who was beloved above all, he asks, and becomes as it were a mediator to the Lord. And marvel for me at the freedom from vanity of the Evangelist, how he corrects the mistaken opinion of the many, who had not understood what the Lord said concerning him, but supposed that he should not die. But this was not so; rather the Lord said “tarry,” not concerning his not dying, but concerning his not being yoked together with Peter at the season of the preaching, but abiding by himself. And the “Till I come” is to say, “Until I again be pleased to lead him also forth to the preaching. For you I now lead forth to the protection of the world, and follow you me; but let him abide here, until I come again, and lead him forth as you also.” But some understand thus: Peter, having heard that he should die for Christ, said, “And what of John? shall not he also die?” But Christ forbade not this (for every one that is born shall also die), but said, “If I will that he tarry”—that is, “live until the consummation of the world, and then bear witness concerning me.” Whence also they say that he lives, and is to be slain by Antichrist, together with Elijah, preaching Christ. And if his tomb also is shown, what of that? For living he entered into it, then was translated, as Enoch also and Elijah. The Evangelist, then, overthrows the false opinion of them that suppose that this disciple dies not, but shall be immortal. For it is indeed false that a man should be immortal. For though Enoch and Elijah died not, yet they are mortal. So then this man also died not, but shall die. The “He shall not die,” then, is to say, “shall be immortal.” But others affirm that he died; and the “If I will that he tarry,” as we interpreted above, so they understand. And we have told all the opinions; but above all, the “tarry till I come” thus seems to please, namely, that it is not concerning his life, but concerning his not being conjoined with Peter.

Jn. 21:24–25. This is the disciple who testifies about these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Why, when none of the other Evangelists bore witness to himself, does this one bear witness concerning himself? He is said to have come later to the writing, Christ having moved and stirred him up. For this cause also he makes mention continually of the love, showing the cause from which he came to the writing, and that to him, being beloved above the rest, Christ entrusted this work. “And I know,” he says, “that he says true”—that is, “Being fully assured I wrote what I wrote, as being present at all things, both the works and the words, and the sufferings, and the things after the resurrection. For I was beloved, and was not left behind. So that I speak with boldness, and concerning myself I say that I speak the truth, challenging men to examine the things that came to pass, and to scrutinize each one.” And we men are altogether wont, when we are exceedingly confident in the truth, never to deny our own testimony; which also the apostles said: “We are witnesses of the things we say, and the Spirit, which God has given to them that obey him.” And whence is it plain that “I speak true,” he says, “and do not gratify my teacher”? Even from my having passed by many things; whence it is plain that I would not have gratified him. For he that set in the midst all the reproachful things, and hid not even this, that they called Him a transgressor and one possessed of a devil, plainly would not have gratified Him. For he that gratifies does the contrary—passing by the reproachful things, he brings into the midst the glorious. And marvel not if he said that the world could not contain the books written concerning the works of Jesus; but, considering the unspeakable power of God the Word, receive faithfully what is said. For as to us speaking, so to Him, nay rather much more easily, to do whatever He willed. But some say that this was said hyperbolically, after the manner of Scripture. For it is the wont of Scripture to use hyperboles; as, “We saw cities reaching up to heaven”; and, “We saw men, and were in their sight as grasshoppers”; and such like. So then also the “the world could not contain the books that should be written.” But some understand by “world” him that minds worldly things, and by the works wrought by Jesus, His divine and mysterious works, those both in the invisible creation and in the visible, and all that pertain to the dispensation in the last times, being full of mysteries, which the worldly man cannot understand; as the “I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” But let us pray that we may never come to forgetfulness of the works and words of the Lord, but ever unroll this book of the beloved one, and search out the treasure laid up therein, both in the wonders of Jesus and in the words; that, being able to cleanse ourselves both in word and in life, we may be counted worthy also of the more unutterable works and mysteries in the day of revelation, which now, being in the world, we are not able to contain; and may be perfected in Christ Himself, who loved us, and through His beloved disciple enlightened us in the theology and the knowledge of Himself, and of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory to the ages. Amen.

Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles

Introduction

The Book and Its Place

The Acts of the Apostles is the sequel Luke the Evangelist wrote to his Gospel, carrying the story forward from the Lord’s ascension to the imprisonment of Paul in Rome roughly thirty years later. Its subject is the birth and spread of the Church: the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the first preaching in Jerusalem, the stoning of Stephen and the scattering of the believers that followed it, the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus, and the opening of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Roughly the first half follows Peter and the church in Jerusalem and Judea; the second half follows Paul, from his first missionary journeys through his arrest in Jerusalem to his voyage, shipwreck, and arrival in Rome, where the book ends. No other book of the New Testament gives so continuous a narrative of the apostolic age, and none is so often read simply as history—an account of how the message first entrusted to a handful of Galileans reached the capital of the empire within a single generation.

Theophylact’s Commentary: An Honest Debt

Here more than almost anywhere else in his New Testament work, Theophylact’s commentary is a compilation rather than a fresh exposition, and it is worth saying so plainly. Chrysostom had preached fifty-five homilies on Acts, and by Theophylact’s day a catena—a chain of patristic comment strung together verse by verse—had already gathered the substance of those homilies together with fragments of other, now largely lost, expositors of the book. Theophylact draws on that inherited material heavily, and an earlier commentator, Oecumenius, had already worked the same vein a century or so before him. What Theophylact adds is not a new reading of Acts so much as a clarified one: he prunes Chrysostom’s often expansive homiletic style down to a lean, continuous exposition that a reader can follow verse by verse without losing the thread of the narrative, and he resolves, in his own plain voice, the historical and verbal difficulties the text raises along the way.

This dependence should not be mistaken for mere copying. Chrysostom’s homilies on Acts, delivered to a Constantinopolitan congregation that (by his own frequent complaint) found the book less immediately edifying than the Gospels, are long, digressive, and rich with moral exhortation loosely tied to the verse at hand. Theophylact reorganizes this material around the sense of the text itself, cuts the digressions, and restores a shape closer to a line-by-line commentary than to a sermon. The result served Greek readers for centuries as the standard accessible guide to Acts, in a way that Chrysostom’s own homilies, valuable as they are, were not suited to be.

Argument and Recurring Concerns

Two concerns recur throughout the commentary. The first is continuity: Theophylact is at pains to show that the apostolic Church, for all the novelty of Pentecost and the admission of the Gentiles, is the fulfillment rather than the abandonment of the promises given to Israel, and he traces this continuity carefully through the sermons of Peter, Stephen, and Paul, each of which he treats almost as its own small commentary within the larger one, drawing out the argument point by point. The second is the working of divine providence through very human events—persecution that scatters the believers and so spreads the Gospel further, imprisonment that becomes an occasion for preaching before governors and kings, a shipwreck that lands Paul exactly where he needed to go. Nothing in Theophylact’s Acts happens by accident.

Certain episodes draw a fuller stop from Theophylact than the pace of the narrative elsewhere would suggest. The tongues of fire and the sudden gift of speech at Pentecost he treats at length as the promised sending of the Holy Spirit and the true beginning of the Church’s public life. The vision that leads Peter to the household of Cornelius the centurion, and the debate in Jerusalem that follows it over whether Gentile converts must first become Jews, he reads as the hinge on which the Gospel opens definitively beyond Israel—a decision he traces carefully through James’s judgment at the council and the letter that records it. And Paul’s address to the philosophers on the Areopagus in Athens, reasoning from the altar “To an Unknown God” to the God who made the world, draws from Theophylact some of his closest attention to how an apostle might speak to hearers who share none of Israel’s Scriptures—a question with obvious bearing well beyond the first century.

How to Read This Commentary

Acts moves quickly between speeches and narrative, and between Jerusalem, Antioch, Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome, so it helps to keep a sense of the larger geography and chronology in view as the commentary works through the text scene by scene. Because so much of the exposition here carries forward the mind of Chrysostom, a reader already familiar with his homilies on the Gospels or on Paul’s epistles will recognize the tone; a reader coming to Chrysostom for the first time through this volume will meet him at his most concise. Above all, the book asks to be read as Theophylact plainly intends it: not as an antiquarian record of a vanished age, but as the pattern—in the boldness of the apostles’ preaching, in the endurance of their sufferings, and in the quiet workings of providence behind both—for the Church in every age since.

Chapter 1

[1] Paul began his journeys from Damascus and came to Jerusalem; from there he went to Tarsus, and from Tarsus to Antioch, and then again to Jerusalem, and a second time to Antioch; from there, set apart together with Barnabas for the work of the apostleship, he came to Seleucia, then to Cyprus, where he first began to be called Paul; then he went on to Perga, then to Pisidian Antioch, to Iconium, to Lystra, to Derbe and Lycaonia, then to Pamphylia, then back to Perga, then to Attalia, then a third time to Syrian Antioch, a third time to Jerusalem over the question of circumcision, then a fourth time to Antioch, then a second time to Derbe and Lystra, then to Phrygia and the region of Galatia, then to Mysia, then to Troas and from there to Neapolis, then to Philippi, a city of Macedonia; then, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, he came to Thessalonica, then to Berea, to Athens, to Corinth, to Ephesus, to Caesarea, then a second time to Pisidian Antioch, then to the region of Galatia and Phrygia, then a second time to Ephesus; then, passing through Macedonia, he came a second time to Philippi, and from Philippi again to Troas, where he raised up Eutychus, who had fallen from the window. Then he came to Assos, then to Mitylene; then he put in opposite Chios; then he came to Samos and from there to Miletus, where he summoned the elders of Ephesus and spoke with them; then he went on to Cos, then to Rhodes, and from there to Patara, then to Tyre, to Ptolemais, and from there to Caesarea, from which he returned a fourth time to Jerusalem. From Jerusalem he was sent to Caesarea. And then, as a prisoner, on toward Rome. Thus from Caesarea he came to Sidon; and from there to Myra in Lycia; then to Cnidus; and from there, after suffering many hardships, he came to the island, where the viper fastened on his hand and he remained unharmed. Then he came to Syracuse; then to Rhegium in Calabria; then to Puteoli; and from there he went up to Rome on foot, the brothers coming to meet him at the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. And then, having entered Rome and taught for a sufficient time, he was afterward martyred in Rome itself, having fought there the good fight. The Romans, laying his relics in beautiful and royal buildings, keep a yearly memorial day in his honor, the third day before the Kalends of July. Even before this the blessed man had given many exhortations concerning the conduct of life and virtue, and had set forth many directions about what people ought to do; and, above all, through the very fabric of his fourteen Epistles he mapped out for humanity the whole rule of life.

The chapters of the Acts of the holy Apostles. 1. On the teaching of Christ after the resurrection, his appearance to the disciples, and the promise to them of the gift of the Holy Spirit; the manner and form of the Lord’s ascension; and his glorious second coming. 2. Peter’s discourse to the disciples concerning the death and rejection of Judas the traitor. 3. On the divine descent of the Holy Spirit upon the believers on the day of Pentecost. 4. On the healing, in Christ’s name, of the man lame from birth; and the merciful, exhortatory instruction, leading to salvation, that Peter gave on this occasion. 5. On the unanimous and universal fellowship of the believers. 6. How an angel of God brought the apostles, who had been thrown into prison, out by night, charging them to preach Jesus without hindrance. 7. On the appointment of the seven deacons. 8. The uprising and the false accusations of the Jews against Stephen; and his discourse on God’s covenant with Abraham and on the patriarchs. 9. On the persecution of the Church and the death of Stephen. 10. On Simon the magician, who believed and was baptized along with many others. 11. That the gift of the Holy Spirit is given not for silver and not to hypocrites, but to the holy through their faith. 12. That God grants salvation to the good and faithful, as is clear from the case of the eunuch. 13. On the divine call of Paul from heaven to the apostleship of Christ. 14. On Aeneas the paralytic, healed in Lydda by Peter. 15. On Cornelius—how an angel appeared to him, and what was again said from heaven to Peter concerning the calling of the Gentiles. 16. How Peter recounts to the apostles, in order, each of the things that had happened, and at that time sends Barnabas to the brothers in Antioch. 17. Agabus’s prophecy of a famine over the whole world, and the relief sent by the believers of Antioch to the brothers in Judea. 18. The slaying of the apostle James; and here also the punishment of the guards and the bitter and ruinous downfall of the impious Herod. 19. The sending of Barnabas and Saul by the divine Spirit to Cyprus, and what they did in Christ’s name to Elymas the magician. 20. Paul’s profitable teaching about Christ on the basis of the law and the prophets, with its historical and gospel character. 21. How, preaching Christ in Iconium, the apostles were driven out after many had believed. 22. On the man lame from birth healed by the apostles in Lystra, on account of which they seemed to the inhabitants to be gods come down to them; and there Paul is stoned. 23. That the converts from the Gentiles ought not to be circumcised; the deliberations and decree of the apostles. 24. On the instruction of Timothy, and on the revelation to Paul that he should go to Macedonia. 25. On the disturbance that arose in Thessalonica because of the preaching, and Paul’s flight to Berea and from there to Athens. 26. On the inscription on the altar in Athens and Paul’s wise preaching. 27. On Aquila and Priscilla, on the disbelief of Corinth, and on the favor toward them, foreknown, that was revealed to Paul. 28. On baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit given through Paul’s prayer to the believers in Ephesus, and on Paul’s healings. 29. Paul’s journey, with the death and recall to life of Eutychus through prayer in Troas, and his pastoral exhortation to the elders of Ephesus. 30. Agabus’s prophecy concerning what would befall Paul in Jerusalem. 31. James’s exhortation to Paul not to seem to forbid the Hebrews to be circumcised. 32. On the disorder stirred up against Paul in Jerusalem, and how the tribune rescued him from the crowd. 33. What Paul suffered, said, and rightly did when he came down to the council. 34. On the plot devised against Paul by the Jews, and the disclosure of it to Lysias. 35. Tertullus’s accusation against Paul, and Paul’s defense before the governor. 36. On Felix’s successor and the promotion of Festus, and the conclusion before him of Paul’s examination and appeal. 37. The arrival of Agrippa and Bernice, and the inquiry into the matters concerning Paul. 38. Paul’s voyage to Rome, full of very many and very great dangers. 39. How Paul arrived at Rome from Melita. 40. On Paul’s discussion with the Jews who were in Rome. Commentary of our father among the saints John Chrysostom on the Acts of the holy Apostles. To many this very book is not even known—neither the book itself nor the one who wrote and composed it. For this reason I judged it necessary to undertake this work, both to teach those who do not know [and not to let so great a treasure remain unknown and hidden]; for it will be able to profit us no less than the Gospels, filled as it is with such wisdom and rightness of doctrine, and especially with the things wrought by the Spirit. Let us not, then, pass it by, but examine it with all exactness; for the predictions which Christ proclaims beforehand in the Gospels we can see here having gone forth into deed, and we can see the truth shining out in the very events, and the great change for the better in the disciples, wrought in them by the Spirit; and here too we can find doctrines… […]

But the greater part of what is contained here consists of the acts of Paul, who labored more than all the rest. The reason is that the one who composed this book, the blessed Luke, was his disciple. His excellence can be seen from many sources and in many ways, but especially from the fact that he held to his teacher without separation and followed him at all times. Demas and Hermogenes, at any rate, forsook him—the one going off to Galatia, the other to Dalmatia. Hear what Paul says about him: “Only Luke is with me.” And writing to the Corinthians he says of him: “whose praise in the gospel is throughout all the churches.” And when he says that “He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve,” and “according to the gospel which you received,” he means Luke’s gospel; so that no one would err in ascribing this work to him—and when I say “to him,” I mean to Christ. And if anyone says, “Why then did he not write everything, since he was with Paul to the end?”—we would answer that even these things were sufficient for those who wished to attend to them; that he always kept to what was most pressing; and that their zeal did not lie in writing books, for they handed down much by unwritten tradition as well. Now everything set down in this book is worthy of wonder, but most of all the accommodation of the apostles, which the Spirit also prompted in them, preparing them to dwell on the word of the divine economy. For this reason, after speaking so much about him, they said little about his divinity; they discoursed more about his becoming man, his passion, his resurrection, and his ascension. For what was sought at that time was this: that it be believed that he rose and ascended into the heavens. Just as Christ himself was concerned above all to show that he had come from the Father, so this one too was concerned above all to show that he rose, was taken up, went to the Father, and came from him. For if this was not believed at first, much more—once the addition was made of the resurrection and the ascension—did the whole doctrine seem incredible to the Jews. Therefore gently and little by little he leads them up to the higher truths; and in Athens Paul even calls him simply a man, saying nothing more, and reasonably so. For if they often tried to stone Christ himself when he spoke of his equality with the Father, and on this account called him a blasphemer, they would scarcely have received this teaching from fishermen—and that after the crucifixion had taken place. And why speak of the Jews, when even the disciples themselves, hearing the higher doctrines, were often troubled and offended? For this reason he said: “I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” And if those could not bear them—those who had been with him so long, who had shared in so many secrets and seen so many miracles—how could those who came from altars and idols and sacrifices, from cats and crocodiles (for such were the objects of Greek worship), and who had only just then been torn away from their other evils, have suddenly received the lofty doctrines? And how could the Jews, who every day learned and had sounded in their ears from the law, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is one Lord, and besides him there is no other,” and who had seen him nailed to the cross—indeed had crucified and buried him, and had not even seen him risen—how, on hearing that this very man is God and equal to the Father, would they not have recoiled and broken away more than anyone? For this reason the apostles advance them gently and little by little, and make great use of the economy of accommodation, and enjoy a more abundant grace of the Spirit; and in his name they work greater works than he himself did, so that on both sides they may raise them up as they lie on the ground, and may give assurance of the word concerning the resurrection. For this above all is what this book is—a demonstration of the resurrection; for once this was believed, the rest advanced in due course. The theme, then, and the whole aim of the book, as one might say in summarizing it broadly, is this above all. But let us now listen to the prologue itself.

Acts 1:1. The former account I made concerning all things, O Theophilus, He reminds Theophilus of the Gospel, in order to display his own carefulness; for at the beginning of that work he says: “It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely from the first, to write to you in order”—and not casually, but “just as they delivered them to us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word.” He recalls that work, then, reminding Theophilus of the carefulness there; and he reminds him of the carefulness so that, holding this same carefulness in mind for the present book as well, he may give the closest attention to what is written. Hence he had no need here of any other recommendation; for one who, in writing what he had heard, proved trustworthy and was believed, all the more deserves to be believed when he sets down not what he heard from others but what he himself saw. For this reason he does not say, “The former gospel, which I preached,” but “The former account,” because he was without pretension and modest-minded, and considered the title “gospel” to be greater than himself—although the apostle adorns him with this very name, saying, “whose praise is in the gospel.” But by saying “concerning all things” he seems to contradict the evangelist John; for the one says it was not possible to write all things, while this one says he made his account “concerning all things” from the beginning until the ascension. What, then, do we say? That by “concerning all things” he means that he omitted none of the essential and pressing matters from which the divinity and truth of the preaching are apprehended; for both Luke and each of the evangelists set down in their gospels, summarily and as in an outline, with exactness, the very things by which the divinity and truth of the preaching are apprehended; and John the theologian likewise treated of all these. For they left out nothing of those things through which, on the one hand, the economy of the Word in the flesh is believed and recognized, and on the other, the majesty of his divinity shines out and is made manifest. John says that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written, if all that the Master said and did were written down in detail; and still more would it not contain them if one wished to set down in writing all the deeds and words of the Lord together with an inquiry into their meaning—for the human mind can neither grasp nor know their meanings and the causes for which the Lord acted and spoke, since all that he did in human nature he did as God; in this respect the deeds and words of Christ can neither be expressed in speech nor committed to writing. Yet I also grant that this addition is a hyperbolic figure of speech, and does not assert absolutely that the world would not contain the books that were written, if the account were fuller. One may also say that this evangelist, inasmuch as he dwelt more than the others on contemplation, truly knows all the works and deeds of the Savior—not only those he displayed in the flesh, but those he made from eternity, both without a body and with a body; and if anyone were to attempt to write of each of these—their nature, origin, differences, essence, and the rest—then, even granting it possible, the world could not contain the books that would be written. But if anyone understands “world” here not simply as the world, but as the person who lies in wickedness and minds the things of the world and of the flesh—for it is taken thus in many places of Scripture—then John rightly says that, if anyone wished to write down all the miracles wrought by Christ, such people, inclined by the multitude and greatness of the works to come rather to unbelief than to faith, could not contain what was written. And it is precisely for this reason that the evangelists in many places pass over a whole crowd of those who were healed, and skip over many of the miracles, noting only the general fact that many were freed from various diseases, that many wonders took place, and the like, without listing them; for to people incapable of understanding and deceived by error, a detailed listing of many miracles usually produced unbelief and reluctance to listen rather than faith and eagerness to listen. “which Jesus began to do and to teach”—he means the miracles and the teaching; and not this alone, but that Jesus taught by deed as well; for he did not merely urge others by word to do this or that while not doing it himself, but by the very deeds he performed he persuaded people also to imitate him and to be zealous for virtue. It should be known that Theophilus was one of the devout, of those who had been instructed by Luke in godliness. And do not wonder that for the sake of one man he took such care as to write two whole works for him; for he was a keeper of the Master’s saying which declares: “It is not the will of my Father that one of these little ones should perish.” And why, in writing to one man, Theophilus, did he not make one book, but divide the subject matter into two? For the sake of clarity, and to give the reader rest; moreover the subjects were divided by their content as well; and so he rightly divided these matters into two works.

Acts 1:2. …until the day in which, having given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up; “Having given commandment through the Spirit”—that is, having spoken spiritual words to them. There was nothing human in this, since he gave them commandment in the Spirit—just as the Master himself, speaking more humbly and by way of accommodation, said: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God…” Or, “through the Spirit,” it says, “having given commandment”—not because the Son had need of the Spirit, but because wherever the Son acts, there too the Spirit, as being of the same nature, both works and is present together. And what did he command? “Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” “Having given commandment,” it says, “he was taken up”—he did not say “he ascended,” but still speaks of him as of a man. And from this we learn that even after the resurrection he taught the disciples; but no one has recorded this period with exactness. John spent more time with him than all the others, yet no one reported all this clearly, for they were intent on other things.

Acts 1:3. to whom also he presented himself alive after his suffering, by many proofs, throughout a span of days— forty. Having spoken first about the ascension, he now speaks also about the resurrection. Since you have heard that he was taken up, lest you should think that he was taken up by others, he added: “to whom also he presented himself alive.” For if he presented himself in the greater matter, much more in the lesser. “Through forty days”—but not on every single one of the forty days, because he was not continually with them as before the resurrection, but appeared and then withdrew again, lifting up their minds and no longer allowing them to be disposed toward him in the same way as before. With great wisdom and care he established both things—that the resurrection be believed, and that he be thought from then on to be greater than a man—although these were opposed to each other. For in order that the resurrection be believed, many human things had to take place; but for the other, the contrary. Yet both came about at the fitting time; for it was through the forty days, from the resurrection until the going up into the heavens, in which he both ate and drank with them, showing that it was he himself who was crucified and buried and rose from the dead. And why did he appear not to all but to the apostles? Because to the many, who did not know the ineffable mystery, his appearance would have seemed a phantom. For if even the disciples themselves disbelieved at first and were troubled, and needed the touch of his hand and a shared table, what would the many likely have suffered? For this reason, by the signs which the apostles received grace to perform, he makes the demonstration of the resurrection indubitable and common, so that the resurrection should be made manifest not only to those then present—which would come about from sight—but also to all who came afterward.

Acts 1:4–21. being seen by them and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, “which you heard from me.” The kingdom—the Lord himself called it the Father’s, in respect of which he promised the disciples that they would drink the new cup together with him, calling “new drink” that which he drank with them after his own resurrection. And he ate new food as well, not according to the former manner in which he used to eat and drink with them before the resurrection. For then, having become like us in all things except sin, he ate and drank as we do, willingly yielding to the flesh its need to seek nourishment; and so he willingly accepted the experience of hunger. But after the resurrection he no longer ate and drank out of need, but only to assure everyone of the truth of his bodily nature—and likewise that he suffered willingly and rose in a manner befitting God. So he called “new food and drink” that extraordinary food which he ate and that extraordinary drink which he drank together with the disciples after the resurrection, that is, by sharing common salt and common fare with them. And how this was, it is not for us to say, for it came about in some rather paradoxical way—not because his nature still required food, but by an accommodation made for the demonstration of the resurrection. “And revealing to them the mysteries concerning the kingdom of God, he charged them” not to depart from Jerusalem. Why did he charge them to do this? Earlier, when they were fearful and trembling, he led them out into Galilee, so that they might hear without fear what he had to say to them, for they were ready to desert. Then, when they had heard, and had spent forty days together, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem. Why so? Because, just as no one allows soldiers who are about to fall upon a large force to go out before they have armed themselves, nor lets horses spring from the starting gate before the charioteer has mounted, so too he did not allow them to appear in the line of battle before the descent of the Spirit, lest they be easily overpowered and captured by the many. And not for this reason alone, but also because there were many there who were going to believe; and thirdly, so that no one might say that, leaving their own people, they had gone off to boast among strangers—for this reason they offer the proofs among the very people who had killed the Lord, among those who had crucified and buried him, in the very city in which the lawless deed had been dared. And when did they hear the promise? When he said: “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you”; and again, “I will ask the Father, and he will send you another Comforter.” And why did the Comforter come neither while he was present nor immediately after his departure, but after eight or nine days…

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek (Migne, PG 125) transcription begins mid-sentence at col. 489 (scan p. 245), the first page in the scanned range 245–565; the opening of Theophylact’s argumentum—Paul’s full itinerary, from Damascus to his final return to Jerusalem—falls on a page before that range and was never scanned. The passage below is restored from the parallel Russian Blagovestnik translation (Казань/Киев edition), which preserves it complete and continues into the same sentence the Greek picks up with (“…to Caesarea. And then, as a prisoner…”).

Chapter 2

And again, how is it that, if the Spirit had not yet come, He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”? One may say, then, that He said this in order to make them receptive and fully fit and sufficient for the reception of the Spirit; but they actually received it when it descended upon them. Or else He spoke of what was yet to be as though already present and at hand, as when He says, “Tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy.” It may also be put another way: that the giving of the Spirit is something varied and manifold. For one gift is purifying, another perfecting; one sanctifies, another makes men able to sanctify; one furnishes tongues, another prophecy; one works wonders, another supplies interpretation; and so on through countless others. Nothing, then, prevents us from holding that, in keeping with the varied and manifold distribution of the Spirit, they received the grace of the Holy Spirit at different times and in different ways. Yet that visitation of the Spirit which was perfect and perfecting—so that they could even perfect others—came upon the apostles at the time of Pentecost, when, appearing to them in the form of fiery tongues, it filled them with the whole of its operation. For this reason He Himself withdrew, and the Spirit came only then—and even then not at once—so that, coming to long for it, they might thus receive the grace. For had the Spirit come while He was still present, and He departed while the Spirit remained, the consolation would not have been so great. They were very loath to be parted from Him; therefore He goes up, and the Spirit does not come upon them immediately, so that, after being a little disheartened and brought into longing and need of the promise, they might receive in pure and complete measure the joy of His coming. Besides, our nature had first to appear in heaven and the reconciliation to be made complete, and only then was the Spirit to come. Observe too how great a necessity He laid upon them, by His promise, to remain in Jerusalem. For that they might not scatter again after the Ascension, He holds them all there by this expectation, as by a bond, making them hang in suspense through the better hopes set before them, because of the uncertainty of when those hopes would be fulfilled. Nor would one be wrong in saying that even then they received a certain authority and spiritual grace—not so as to raise the dead, but so as to forgive sins. Hence He added, “Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them,” and what follows, showing what kind of operation He was giving. For now He clothes them with this power, but after forty days He bestows the working of signs. Therefore He says, “You shall receive power,” and so on. “John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Having told them to wait for the promise of the Father, “which you heard from Me,” He added that “John indeed baptized with water,” and so on; and now He shows plainly the difference between Himself and John, and no longer in veiled fashion as before, as when He said, “He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” But now He says plainly, “John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit,” and He shows that they had already become greater than John, since they too were to baptize with the Holy Spirit. He did not say, “I will baptize you with the Holy Spirit,” but, “You shall be baptized,” everywhere leaving us measures and patterns of humility; for this was already clear from John’s testimony, that He Himself was the One who baptizes, for “He will baptize us with the Spirit and with fire.” But how did He say, “You shall be baptized,” when there was no water in the upper room? Because the Spirit is the more authoritative, through whom the water also works—just as He Himself is said to have been anointed, though He was nowhere anointed with oil, but received the Spirit. Moreover, one can find that they were baptized with water at various times; for with us both take place together, but then they were separated. For at the beginning the apostles were baptized with water by John, and afterward with the Holy Spirit also. Why did the Master not make clear when the Spirit would come, but only said, “not many days from now”? He says “not many,” that they might not fall into despondency; but He did not say definitely when, that they might always be watchful in expectation. Why then do you wonder if He does not tell them the day of the consummation, when even this term, so near at hand, He was unwilling—for the reason we have given—to make plain? The word “to be baptized” signifies the abundance and, as it were, the wealth of participation in the Holy Spirit, as is the case with sensible things too: one baptized in water wets the whole body of the one who simply receives water, though he is not necessarily made wet in every part. So what is now said is not contrary to the divine Gospels. For it is shown that, although it was said to the apostles after Christ’s resurrection from the dead, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” and they received it—yet there it is said that they “received the Holy Spirit,” while here, “You shall be baptized,” which signifies the outpouring and the wealth of the supply that He gave them when He ascended to the Father. For just as, though they had faith, they came saying, “Increase our faith,” so here too, to the communion of the Spirit which they already had, they received an addition of intensified participation when the Holy Spirit came upon them. “They therefore, having come together, asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ But He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set in His own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.’” When they are about to ask, they approach together, so as to prevail by their numbers; for they knew that what had been said before was the word of One who was putting them off—not in ignorance, but deferring the answer—as, “No one knows the day”; and therefore they ask again. For since they heard that they were about to receive the Spirit, they wished now, as worthy, to learn, and longed to be rid of their troubles; for they did not want to cast themselves again into the utmost dangers. They did not ask, “When?” but, “Will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”—“Is it now?” they say; so eagerly did they long for the day. It seems to me that it was not even clear to them what the kingdom was; for the Spirit was not yet teaching them. They did not say, “When is it?” but, “Will You Yourself restore it?”—so much greater were now their thoughts of Him. Therefore He too speaks with them more gently; for He no longer says that “not even the Son knows the day,” but what? “It is not for you to know times or seasons.” For it was not because He was ignorant of the conclusion of the times that He referred the knowledge to the Father, but because the question was superfluous He profitably passed it over in silence. For His aim was to check the disciples’ curiosity about this. He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, not to mark out the measure of the times. He does not tell them the time, though He had taught them things far greater—so that, as we have often said, they might be watchful, and because they suffered no harm by not knowing; since He had taught them things far greater than this: that He is the Son of God, that He is equal in honor with the Father, that He rose, that there will be a resurrection, that there will be a judgment, that He sat at the right hand of the Father. For which, tell me, is greater—to learn that He will reign, or when? Paul learned things which it is not lawful for a man to utter; and Moses learned the beginning of the world, and when and how many ages before, and he numbers the years—although the beginning is, on the whole, harder to come to know than the end. Besides, they were not even asking Him about the universal consummation, but, “Will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”—and not even this did He disclose to them; but just as there He answered so as to lead them away from supposing that their release from troubles was near—telling them rather that they would fall into many dangers—so here too, only more gently: “You shall receive power.” Then, that they might not question Him again, He was immediately taken up. And that they might not say, “Why do You put the matter off?” the Son says, “[the times] which the Father set in His own authority”—and the Father’s authority is plainly the Son’s as well; for as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will. And if, where the awesome and ineffable works must be done, the Father works with authority, much more where it is merely a matter of knowing. For it is far greater to raise the dead with the same and equal authority as the Father than to know the day. Why, then, did Christ not answer what the disciples asked, but said, “You shall receive power”? He answered, saying, “It is not for you to know,” and then He added, “but you shall receive power.” For this expression also signifies a certain coming and, so to speak, an inflowing of the Spirit. We must speak, then, against the heresy of the Phrygians, who suppose that the Paraclete was sent some two hundred years after the Ascension of Christ, in the women whom they think to be prophetesses, Priscilla and Maximilla, and in Montanus who shared their madness; for they hold that the promise, “I will send you the Paraclete,” was then fulfilled. By teaching what they did not ask—“You shall receive power”—He shows that a teacher is one who teaches not what the disciple wishes, but what is profitable to learn. “And you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Since before He had said, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans,” wishing the word to be preached first to the Jews, but now the preaching had to be poured out into the whole world, He reasonably adds, “both in Judea and Samaria,” and then, “and to the end of the earth.” The words “You shall be My witnesses” are both an exhortation and an unfailing prophecy; for they bore witness to the preaching as far as the end of the earth. “And when He had said these things, while they watched He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as He went up”—while they watched He did not rise from the tomb, but while they watched He was taken up; since here too sight did not avail for everything. For of the resurrection they saw the end but not the beginning, while of the ascension they saw the beginning but not the end. Why? Because there it was needless to see the beginning, since the risen One was Himself present, speaking, and the tomb showed that He was not there. But here there was need to learn the end as well; for the eyes did not suffice to show the height, nor to teach whether He went up into heaven itself, or stopped somewhere short of it. Therefore angels stood by and taught what could not be grasped by sight. A cloud received Him up, for the cloud is a sign of lordship and of divine power; for nowhere does any other power appear upon a cloud. Hence David also says concerning the Father, “Who makes the clouds His chariot,” and again, “God sits upon a light cloud,” and countless other passages. Nor did He do even this at random or without purpose. For the Lord, knowing that, if He went up from them invisibly, as He had also come down—or rather, as He had come down together with the Spirit—the Spirit, even when it appeared, would not be believed to be that very thing which a few days before He had promised to send them, and He would have caused Himself to be suspected of not having come from the heavens; and knowing that, neither when later He should call Paul from above, nor when from there He should send to Peter the sheet not made with hands, would it be believed that He does these things after His bodily departure—therefore He ascended while they watched. From the cloud of the Virgin He came into a cloud, and through a cloud He ascended to where He was before. But “where He was”—do not take it in a crude sense, as though, having laid aside the flesh, He has His incarnate Godhead fleshless as before; rather understand “where He was” as referring to the height of incorporeality within His embodiment, to the majesty of the fleshless state within His enfleshment, to His dignity of unchangeableness even in His enfleshed state, the dignity of His voluntary humiliation, and to His no longer associating with men visibly or dwelling among them. “And behold, two men stood by them in white clothing, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in the same manner as you saw Him going into heaven.’” They used the word demonstratively, saying, “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in the same manner as you saw Him going into heaven.” It does not say “being taken up” or “being carried,” but “going.” For if before the cross He walked upon the waters while still clothed with a passible and heavy body, let no one be perplexed if, after it had become incorruptible, He clove the air. “He shall come,” it says, not “He shall be sent.” “So shall He come”—that is, with a body, which they longed to hear—and that this same One will come again at the judgment upon a cloud. It calls them “men,” indicating the clearness of the appearance; for the angels had exactly fashioned themselves into the likeness of men, so as not to frighten them. Two men stood by, because “at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” By saying, “Why do you stand gazing into heaven?” they no longer let them linger at that place and expect to see Him again, but turned them from that spectacle back to Jerusalem, to the task and word of the preaching that lay ahead. Everywhere the angels minister to Him as to their Master—at His birth, at His resurrection, at His ascension, and before these, when He was about to sojourn in the world through the flesh. The angels appeared in such a way as it was possible for men to see them. The phrase “in white clothing” signifies either the purity of the angels, or the illumination that was to be given to the holy apostles. And again, as to “while they watched”: the Lord, knowing that men corrupted in mind would arise, saying that He was neither from heaven nor had come from there, nor, having been taken up, was taken up into heaven, but was removed to some place outside the inhabited world—among whom are also those of the heresy of Vitalius—ascended into heaven before their very eyes as they gazed. “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.” “Then”—when? When they had heard; for they would not have endured it, had not the angels deferred them to a second coming. It seems to me that these things happened on a Sabbath; for otherwise he would not have so described the distance: “from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.” For the length of the journey that the Jews were permitted to walk on the Sabbath day was fixed. Josephus also relates, in the twentieth book of the Antiquities, that it is seven stadia distant from Jerusalem. And Origen says in the fifth Stromateus that the Sabbath day’s journey was of a set measure. Rather, the holy Tabernacle and the Ark used to go before the camp by so great a distance, and pitched at that distance; and it was this distance that those who worshipped at the holy tabernacle were permitted to walk on the Sabbath—which is about a mile. “And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room, where were staying both Peter and James, and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” Well did he mention the disciples; for one had betrayed, another denied, another disbelieved. He shows that, except for the traitor, all were safe. How then does it say, “with the Mother of Jesus,” although it was said, “and from that hour the disciple took her to his own home”? It is by no means contradictory; for since the disciple himself was present, there was nothing to prevent her also being present with them. Why then does he not mention Joseph here? Because he had died. For if the brothers, who had often disbelieved before, now believed and were present, much more would he, had he still been alive, have believed and not been absent from such a gathering. And so Peter, who never anywhere showed himself a coward, rose up. “And in these days Peter, rising up in the midst of the disciples, said—and the number of names together was about a hundred and twenty—‘Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became guide to those who seized Jesus; for he was numbered with us and obtained a share in this ministry.’” “In these days,” that is, those before Pentecost, Peter rose up—as fervent, and as one entrusted by Christ with the flock, and as chief. Observe that he does everything by common consent, nothing on his own authority or by his own power. He comforts them also from the prophecy, and does not say, “David said,” but, “the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David,” and then, “concerning Judas, who became guide to those who seized Jesus.” See here too the man’s magnanimity—how, in narrating, he does not revile or say “the foul and utterly polluted one,” but simply states what happened. And he does not say that the Jews acquired it, but that Judas himself acquired it—rightly so. For he who paid the price, even if others were the buyers, would justly be reckoned the owner; for the price was his. For listen: “This man, then, acquired a field with the wages of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his entrails gushed out; and it became known to all who dwelt in Jerusalem.” He speaks of the present penalty that Judas paid, not of the one to come; for the souls of the weaker did not look so much to things future as to things present. Notice that he dwelt in his discourse not on the sin but on the punishment; for Judas did not die in the noose, but survived, being taken down before he was choked to death. And this Papias, the disciple of John, relates more clearly in the fourth book of his Exposition of the Lord’s Sayings, saying thus: “Judas walked about in this world as a great example of impiety, his flesh so bloated that he could not pass through where a wagon easily passes—not even the mere bulk of his head could pass.” For they say the eyelids of his eyes were so swollen that he could not see the light at all, and that his eyes could not be seen even by a physician’s lens, so deep had they sunk below the outer surface; and that his privy parts appeared more loathsome and larger than any indecency, and that there flowed through them the discharges and worms gathering from his whole body, to his shame, through the necessary parts alone. And after many torments and punishments, they say, he died in his own field, and the field became desolate and uninhabited until now; nor even to this day can anyone pass by that place unless he stops his nostrils with his hands, so great was the discharge that flowed out from his flesh upon the ground. This brought consolation to the apostles. And just as the entrails of Judas gushed out, so also did those of Arius the heretic, “so that that field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his habitation be made desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, ‘Let another take his office.’” Now the Jews called it by this name not for this reason, but because of Judas; and Peter turned it to this very point, bringing forward the enemies as witnesses by the name they had given. The words “Let his habitation be made desolate” are spoken of this field and of his house; and “Let another take his office” means the rank of the priesthood. “Let his habitation be made desolate.” What could be more desolate than a tomb, and a common tomb at that?—which is what that field became. “Therefore, of the men who accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” He consults them, so that the matter might not become a cause of strife and they fall into contention. Therefore at the outset of his speech he said, “Men and brethren, you must choose from among yourselves,” entrusting the decision to the multitude—at once making those chosen respected, and freeing himself from any ill-will toward others. That it had to happen he himself states, and he brings in the prophet as witness. From whom must the choice be made? From those who accompanied us the whole time; for this was a necessary requirement. He did not say, “from the worthy among us,” for thus he would have seemed to insult the rest; instead he committed the matter to the criterion of time. “To become with us a witness of His resurrection”—so that the band of disciples might not be left maimed. He says a witness of the resurrection, not of the other things. For he who showed himself trustworthy to testify that the One who ate and drank with us and was crucified is Himself risen, would be readily accepted to testify about the rest as well. For what was in question was the resurrection; for this happened in secret, while the other things were manifest. “And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two You have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’ And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” “And they put forward two.” Why not many? So that the disappointment might not be greater, nor spread among many. Fittingly, as they pray, they call Him the Knower of hearts. Then they do not say, “Choose,” but, “Show which one You have chosen,” knowing that everything is determined with God even before men’s thoughts. He everywhere calls it a “lot,” showing that the whole of the election belongs to God’s love for mankind, and reminding them of the things of old—that, just as He took the Levites for Himself by lot, so also these. Who were the men? Perhaps the seventy among the twelve, and of the rest who believed the more fervent and worthy—such as were Joseph and Matthias among them. He calls Joseph both Barsabbas and Justus, perhaps because of cases of identical names among them, but also because of a change of life; perhaps too the naming reflected his disposition. Why is it that James, who had received the bishopric in Jerusalem, does not begin the speech, but yields the address to Peter? Because he was modest; because they thought nothing in a merely human way, but looked to the common benefit; for they too, for the same reason, yield the throne to him and neither contend nor quarrel with him. “To go to his own place.” He calls his own place that which Matthias was worthily to occupy. For just as the place became alien to Judas even before he fell from it, from the time he sickened with avarice and betrayal, so it became Matthias’s own even before he occupied it, from the time his worthiness fitted him for so great a gift. Why do they make the choice rather by lots? Because they did not yet think themselves worthy to learn through some sign; nor indeed had the Spirit yet come upon them. One need not wonder that the lot prevailed so greatly; for if, where there was neither prayer nor men of note, the lot prevailed so greatly in the case of Jonah—because it proceeded from an upright purpose—much more here. And in another sense: “his own place”—each man, by what he does, procures for himself a place, good or evil. So this means that Judas went to that evil place which he built for himself by the betrayal of Jesus. For places are not by nature either good or evil for us; rather, by what we do, we raise up a place for ourselves. So too the Hebrew midwives, fearing God, built houses for themselves; and so the impious hear, “Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which you have kindled.” The word “place” has many meanings. Among other things it signifies a rank; for thus we speak of the place of a bishop, and also of a presbyter; and the same may be observed in the opposite direction, each man making by his deeds his own proper place. So a man may come to hold the place of a false teacher and false apostle, and also of a tyrant and of the other wicked. Since now Judas too, swept away by his deliberate craving for money, chose the rank of a traitor, he is rightly said to go to his own place. For having lost, through his deeds, his place among the apostles, he assigned to himself his own place. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all together with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them to utter. Why “when the day of Pentecost was fully come”? Because when the sickle had to be put to the harvest, when the fruits had to be gathered, then the sickle of the word also had to be put in; for, as it were in place of a sickle, the Holy Spirit, sharpened, flew down. And Christ says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” and elsewhere, “Look at the fields, that they are already white for harvest.” Having received the firstfruits, Christ Himself first brought them up; He Himself first put in the sickle. And why “when the day was fully come”? Because, a feast being at hand again, these things had to happen, so that those who had been present at the cross of Christ might see these things too. “Divided tongues as of fire.” For God, having suffered in the flesh the voluntary passion, and having risen from the dead, raised up with Himself us who had been dead in sin, and dissolved the power of the devil. For this reason, until Pentecost, we do not bow to the earth in prayer, chanting the victory over our enemies: “They were fettered and fell, but we have risen and are set upright.” But when the Spirit appears to us in fiery tongues, we bend the knee, unable to bear the sight, and showing that through the Spirit we have learned the perfect worship of the Trinity. For “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” The visitation of the Holy Spirit took place on the day of Pentecost for the following reason. On the day of Pentecost, under the Old Covenant, the law was given. It was fitting, then, that on the very day on which the law was given through tablets, the legislation of the Holy Spirit should be given—written not on tablets, but on hearts. On the day of Pentecost the people received the law in the wilderness of Sinai; for on the fourteenth day of the first month, reckoned by the moon, when they kept the Unleavened Bread and the mystery of the Passover, the sons of Israel went out from Egypt. From the fourteenth day count the remainder of the month, then thirty days of the second month and three of the third: that is how far Pentecost is from the feast of Unleavened Bread, that is, from the Passover. So from the fourteenth of the first month to the third of the third month there are fifty days. Therefore it says, “And it came to pass in the third month after they had gone out of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses: Go down, sanctify the people today and tomorrow”—He speaks at their new moon—“and on the third day,” it says, “the Lord will appear upon Mount Sinai.” It was fitting, then, that on the very day on which the old law was given, the grace of the Spirit should also be given. For just as the Savior, about to accomplish the holy passion, did not endure to give Himself over to that passion at any other time, but at the very time when the lamb was being slain, that He might join the truth to the type itself, so also the visitation of the Holy Spirit did not endure to be given at any other time than that at which the law was given, that it might be shown that the Holy Spirit both then gave the law and now gives the law. The law, then, was given under the Old Covenant on the fiftieth day; and after they came into the land of promise, this became for them a symbol of the feast: from the firstfruits of the new crops and from the new sheaves they offered to God; and that was a symbol of this feast. For since on the day of Pentecost a sheaf of the new fruits was gathered, and people of different sorts came together under one sky, on this very day it was to come to pass that the firstfruits from every nation of all peoples under heaven should be gathered, from different nations, into one sheaf of piety, and through the apostolic word be brought to God. The sheaf of ears prefigured this, that it might foreshadow the sheaves of souls, gathered from various lands and brought to God as one offering of firstfruits. Why did the visitation of the Spirit not take place without sensible symbols? Because if, even when this happened, they said, “They are filled with new wine,” what would they not have said had this not happened? And it was not simply a sound, but a sound from heaven, and a sudden one, that they might be the more roused. “As of a rushing mighty wind.” He means that the rush of the Spirit was great and violent, and made everyone run together and assemble there. “And it filled all the house.” The Spirit filled the whole house, that the gift given might be shown to be not partial to anyone, but for the whole fullness of the Church; for the house was a symbol of the world. As a font is of water, so this is a token of abundance and force. But the fire did not fill the house, for that would have driven them away; rather, what is more wonderful, it was divided and sat upon each one of them. Well does he say “divided,” that you may learn that this is an operation sent from the Paraclete. Well too does he say “as of fire,” and “as of a wind,” that you may not think anything sensible about the Spirit. It was not, then, simply a wind, nor simply fire, but the Holy Spirit appearing there. Observe that, when the Spirit had to be made known to John, it was fitting that it be as a dove, but to the apostles it had to be seen as fire. “And it sat upon each one of them”—that is, it remained, it rested; for “to sit” is a sign of what is firm and abiding. Upon how many did the Spirit sit—upon the twelve only, or upon the hundred and twenty? Plainly upon all. For Peter would not have simply brought forward the prophet, saying, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.” And they did not simply receive, but “were filled”—and all, he says, not the apostles only. Observe that, when they continue in prayer and supplication, when they have love, then the Spirit comes. And why did it appear in the form of fire? To show that it is of the same essence as that which appeared upon the bush in the form of fire. And it sat upon the head, and from the head the whole man was filled; for one could see above their heads a fire that did not burn, but sanctified and shone. And why did they receive the tongues not upon the mouth, but upon the head? The Spirit was not given to the tongue—that is, to the organ of nature—lest they be thought to bring forth out of their own bowels and out of their own mouth what they did not have; but, just as the waters lifted up to heaven take possession of the mountain peaks and from the heights are carried down to the valleys, so the grace of the Spirit, taking possession of the crown of the head as of a mountain, then supplied from the crown to the brain, then to the mouth and the heart, and from the head filled the whole man through and through. And why again upon the head? Because the apostles were being ordained teachers of the world; and ordination simply does not take place except upon the head. So by the tongues being above the heads is shown the form of ordination; for ordination is set above the head, as the practice has prevailed even to now. Since the visitation of the Holy Spirit is invisible, the Gospel is laid upon the head of the bishop being ordained, and when it is laid on, one must see in it nothing other than a tongue of fire resting upon the head—a tongue of fire for the sake of preaching, by virtue of the words, “I came to cast fire upon the earth.” He did not say “it was fixed” or “it settled,” but “it sat”; nor “it spread over the surface,” but “it sat above,” to show that every man who undertakes a ministry is a throne of God. “And they began to speak with other tongues.” The grace of God arranged from the beginning that the word of the apostles should be effective; for what need was there of heralds, when there were no hearers? Since, then, the firstfruits of the nations had to take their place from the very first, the writer adds, “And they began to speak with other tongues.” And why did the apostles receive the gift of tongues before the other gifts? Because they were to pass through every land; and just as at the building of the tower the one tongue was divided into many, so now the many tongues were joined together in one man, and the same man, the Spirit sounding in him, spoke in the Persian, the Roman, the Indian, and many other tongues. And the gift was called the gift of tongues, because they were able to speak at once in many languages, as the Spirit gave them to utter. For they spoke not of themselves, but uttered from the Holy Spirit, prophesying—that is, understanding and proclaiming the testimonies concerning Christ given through the holy prophets.

Acts 2:5–6. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and was confounded, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. “Devout men.” The very fact that they dwelt there, having left their own countries, was a mark of devotion—especially since they had set out from various nations and, leaving homes, kinsfolk, and relatives, settled in Jerusalem. The phrase “from every nation” is used instead of “from many nations”; for Scripture often uses “all” for “many” by way of hyperbole. So it is said, “I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh,” and, “All seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ,” and, “There is none righteous, no, not one”—signifying the many by the universal term. Then, when the sound occurred, “the multitude came together and was confounded,” that is, was troubled and amazed; for since what happened took place in a house, naturally they ran together from outside, “because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” For they knew that they were Galileans—especially the apostles, for it was upon them that they looked most—and yet they spoke those countless tongues. The multitude was confounded, and naturally; for they supposed that trouble was being brought upon them for the audacity they had committed against Christ, and their conscience shook their souls, the slaying being still fresh in hand, and everything terrified them. But this strengthened the apostles, since even from the hearers they learned the grace of the wonder; for they themselves did not know that a given utterance was, say, Parthian, but learned it from those hearers. He mentions also nations hostile to them—Cretans, Arabians, and the rest—and this was a sign that they would prevail over all; for there were many captives there. So the testimony comes from every side—from citizens, from strangers, from proselytes.

Acts 2:7–13. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how do we each hear in our own language in which we were born—Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those dwelling in Mesopotamia and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the great things of God?” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.” Everywhere, alongside virtue, wickedness. Some marveled, others mocked. Those who marveled were devout—indeed they dwelt there for this very reason, that, according to the law, they might appear three times a year in the temple. But look at the senselessness of the others: “They are filled,” they say, “with new wine”—though it was not even a season for such a thing, for it was Pentecost and the third hour; but malice shrinks from nothing. And what is worse: while those others—being Jews, being Romans, being proselytes, perhaps even some of those who had crucified Him, from almost every nation—marveled and confessed that the apostles were speaking in their tongues, there were nevertheless some found mocking. Now did the mockers understand the apostles speaking in tongues, or not? For if they did not understand, how were the apostles speaking in all tongues? But if they did understand, how did they dare to charge them with drunkenness, having close at hand the refutation—the very hearers who heard and understood that they were speaking in tongues and were not drunk? So one might be perplexed. But I assert the opposite: that if they had not understood, they would not have slandered the wonder as drunkenness; for what would anyone attempt to slander that does him no harm? Therefore Luke says “mocking”—that is, sneering and slandering. They slandered, then, as those who understood, but were displeased with what was said; for those men were telling the great things of God. How then, understanding, did they refer what was said to drunkenness? Out of great folly, out of excessive savagery. For it is the custom of many, if they are displeased with what is said, to consider the speaker possessed or raving, or to charge him with drunkenness and with not understanding what he says—though the speaker speaks soundly, and the mocker, while accusing him, nonetheless hears and understands him. And these men dared all the more to charge drunkenness because, while they themselves heard in their own language, they supposed that the others—people of all sorts of tongues—did not understand. They themselves understood what was said, but about the rest, on whose account they slandered the apostles as drunk, they supposed that they did not understand the wonder. For just as, when the Master cast out the demons, they understood and saw the wonders, yet—when they should have praised—disparaged them as done by Beelzebul, and, seeing every sickness and suffering healed, made the miracles material for envy, accusation, and murder; so now too, unable to deny the strange and supernatural gift of tongues, they nonetheless dared to disparage the wonder as drunkenness. And observe their malice. Since it was incredible that anyone should be drunk at such an hour—especially men examined amid dangers and fears—they ascribe the whole thing to the quality of the wine, saying it was “new wine.” For where there is effrontery, it seeks only to say something, no matter what, not to say anything that holds together; and so what they think they say in veiled fashion is full of much folly and madness. See how their wickedness is convicted both by the time of year and by the hour of day: at Pentecost, where would new wine come from? For “new wine” means freshly pressed wine. Again, does drunkenness give the power to speak various tongues—drunkenness, which takes away even the natural tongue one has? See the malice. But see what God contrives: had the mockery not been suspected, the Jews would have refused to come in and listen; God permitted the mockery, that the scoffing might gather many together.

Acts 2:14–15. But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day.” You saw His providence there; now observe the courage here. For if all the hearers were marveling, was it not marvelous in itself that an unlettered and ordinary man should break into speech among so many? And when they were also laughing and raving, how was this not beyond human power? But notice: immediately, from his very voice, he refutes the slander, that they are not drunk. Nor yet that they are beside themselves, like men possessed. And what does “with the eleven” mean? He put forward a common judgment and voice, and was himself the mouth of them all; and the eleven stood by, bearing witness to what was said. The phrase “he lifted up his voice”—that is, with great boldness—so that, from the very beginning, they might recognize the grace of the Spirit. For he who could not bear the question of a worthless servant girl now speaks amid murderous crowds with such boldness. Before he received the tongues, Peter, questioned by a single maidservant, was afraid and said, “I do not know the man.” There, one maidservant and great cowardice; here, a countless multitude and a voice full of boldness. He did not say, “as you mock, these are drunk,” but, “as you suppose,” speaking more gently, and not wishing deliberately, out of harshness, to show that they said this from malice, but for the time attributing to them ignorance, not a charge of wickedness, preparing for them the way to conversion. And what of this—that it is not the custom to be drunk at the third hour? But he does not dwell on this, for they themselves did not really think this of the apostles, but said so only in mockery and slander.

Acts 2:16–18. This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” Nowhere as yet the name of Christ, nor His promise, but the promise of the Father. Observe his prudence. He did not go straight on and speak at once of the things concerning Christ—that He, after being crucified, promised these things to us. For had he spoken thus, he would have overturned everything; though these things were sufficient to prove His divinity, yet they were disbelieved. And the thing sought was that they should believe; and what was disbelieved would have made them stone the apostles. Nothing else resolves perplexities than prophetic testimony. So when some perplexing question arises, do not take refuge in reasonings. For the conceptions of reasonings are both overturned and set up again; but who can dissolve the voice of God? Reasoning is dissolved; Scripture is not dissolved. He did not say, “I will pour out My Spirit,” but, “of My Spirit.” It is not the Spirit that is poured out, but the gift of the Spirit—“upon all flesh,” namely the believing, that is, upon the nations; but he does not yet reveal this to them. The phrase “upon all flesh” gives them too good hopes, and does not allow the advantage to be their own alone, thereby cutting envy off at the root. Observe how varied is the revelation of the Holy Spirit. One prophesies, having the grace of the Spirit; another, too weak to serve such a task, receives the gift of visions—as Peter at the sixth hour saw the vision, and Cornelius at the ninth hour saw the angel. What is in the heart is not called a “sight” but a “vision.” In one way a man sees a vision, as the seer says, “Go”; in another way he beholds the thing contemplated, not seeing it with the eye; in yet another way he is instructed when a dream is set before his imagination.

Acts 2:19–21. And I will show wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. By these words the prophet clearly foretells beforehand both the judgment to come, and the things concerning Jerusalem and the captivity then, and the events that would take place at the cross of Christ, and, finally, what befell the Jews through the Roman war, when a great deal of blood was shed by the Romans throughout Judea, and smoke arose as the cities and villages were burned—the Jews paying the penalty for their insolence against Christ, an insolence which not even the sun itself could bear, but withdrew its own eye, its illuminating power; and the moon changed its silvery appearance into red. This also comes to pass from the disposition of those who suffer; and indeed many such things are said to have happened in heaven at the time of the capture, as Josephus testifies. Moreover, by saying that the moon is turned to blood, the prophet indicates the excess of the slaughter. But why do these things happen at the third hour? Because the brightness of the fire is shown when the day is bright, when all are in the marketplace. The hymnographer, however, takes this saying otherwise: blood, the Incarnation; fire, the Godhead; vapor of smoke, the Holy Spirit, who came upon the Virgin and made the world fragrant; and by “the day of the Lord” he understands the day of the resurrection. But it is God who says, “I will pour out of My Spirit before the day of the Lord comes.” Say to the Jew: if there is one person and one divine name, and He speaks of Himself, why did He not say, “before My day comes”? “Do not,” He says, “because you now sin unpunished, take courage; for these are the preludes of a certain great and grievous day.” Then, having shaken and terrified their hearts by these words, He gives them room to breathe and to hold good hopes: “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”—whether slave, whether free, whether priest, whether Greek, whether Jew. “In Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female, neither slave nor free.” But he will call upon it not simply, of course; for “not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,” but with disposition, with a most excellent life. For the present he makes his message light, introducing the matter of faith—that salvation is in the calling upon Him. And the “name of the Lord” is spoken of by Christ, as Paul makes plain; but for the present he did not venture to reveal this to them.

Acts 2:22–23. Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs, which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you took and, nailing Him up by the hands of lawless men, you put to death. “But God raised Him up, having loosed the pangs of death.” This saying is no flattery; but since he had touched them sharply, he now relieves them and reminds them of their forefathers, urging them to call to mind the faith of those men and to imitate it. And again he begins from an introduction, so as not to trouble them, since he was about to remind them of Jesus. For earlier they would not have been disturbed at hearing the Prophet. And observe how he says nothing of the lofty things, but begins from what is very lowly. “The Nazarene,” he says, naming Him from His native place, which seemed to be of no account. For just as, when Christ is called the Power of God and the Wisdom of God, we understand what is said of His divinity, so when He is called a man, and one who died for our sins, we understand what is said of His flesh. For observe that He Himself at one time says, “You seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth,” and at another, “I and the Father are one.” From the former text the followers of Artemas went mad, and those of Samosata who followed them, supposing Jesus to be a mere man, because of the wording set before them. “With mighty works and wonders and signs.” To this same thought tends also what is said in the Epistle to the Romans: “who was declared the Son of God in power”; that is, who was demonstrated by His works and by the power of His miracles to be truly the Son of the Father. For there is no difference at all between saying that He was declared the Son of God in power, and saying that He was demonstrated by mighty works and wonders and signs, which God did through Him in your midst. So then God works as through a Son; for through Him, in a manner befitting God, He also made the ages. And by the words “in your midst” he calls them as witnesses of what is said: not secretly, nor in a corner. Then, falling upon their reckless deed, he tries to deliver them from it, and says: “By the determined counsel,” showing that they did not by their own strength accomplish what they dared, but that He consented to it willingly, and that it had been determined from above. Then, lest they seem again to be guiltless—for even though it was determined, nonetheless they were no less murderers—he adds: “By the hands of lawless men,” that is, either through Judas the betrayer, or through the soldiers who crucified Him. And if those who nailed Him up were lawless, then plainly so were those who slew Him; yet for the present he says this in a veiled way, so as not to cast them into despair. “Whom God raised up.” Astonishing—what a thing he dared to say in the midst of the murderers, that He had risen! And that He is said to have been raised by the Father is on account of the weakness of the hearers; for by what does the Father work? By His own Power, clearly; and the Power of the Father is Christ. Therefore He raised Himself, even though He is said to have been raised by the Father. “Having loosed the pangs of death.” He shows that death too was in travail while holding Him fast, and suffered grievously; for the Old Testament calls the pang of death a peril and a calamity. He who is in travail does not retain what is held within, nor act, but suffers and hastens to cast it forth. And he well called the resurrection a loosing of the pangs of death, as if to say: He broke and burst open the pregnant and swollen and travailing womb of death—as out of some womb in labor, I mean out of the bonds of death and the recesses of Hades, the Savior Christ rose up and came forth as from a strange birth, the resurrection. For this reason He is also named the firstborn from the dead.

Acts 2:24–28. Because it was not possible that He should be held fast by it. For David says concerning Him: “I foresaw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand, that I should not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope, because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You give Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will fill me with gladness in Your presence.” “Because it was not possible.” Athletes who are anointed are not to be caught by their adversaries; and exorcists who are anointed become untouched and unapproachable by the teeth of the serpent. So Christ, anointed mystically by His own Spirit, having grappled with death and subdued the destroyer, when the adversary drew near, shattered him. And the word “because” refers to the fact that He was found to be God begotten of God, and not subject to any change or alteration, and that He so rose as no longer to die. Then he brings forward David, who removes all human reasoning; for such a thing is prophecy. And he says: “For David says concerning Him”—not concerning himself. And again he begins from the humbler things. “For even if it has now come to pass,” he says, “yet it is ancient; and from of old God willed this and so foreordained it.” “I foresaw the Lord always before me.” He calls the Father his Lord, because He took the form of a servant. And that the Father is now said to stand at the right hand of the Son, while at another time the Son is said to sit at the right hand of the Father, signifies their equality. “Moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope.” Since Jesus, inasmuch as He accepted death, laid aside the flesh which He had taken according to the divine plan, in order to raise it up again from death, it was fitting that this flesh, being His own, rested in hope through the expectation of the resurrection. And as for “You will not abandon my soul to Hades”—even though some take it as spoken in the person of David (though they are not able to establish what they hold), nevertheless they are piously disposed in affirming that the flesh rises so as to be incorruptible and spiritual. For the flesh that is raised is, after the resurrection, a spiritual and incorruptible body. By “ways of life” he means those ways which the souls of the righteous trod, ascending with the Savior from the regions below. And as for “You will fill me with gladness in Your presence”—by the “presence” of the Lord we must understand the most God-befitting manifestation of God, and His watchful care over us, by which He visits us more perfectly.

Acts 2:29–31. Men and brothers, I may say to you with confidence concerning the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is among us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn to him with an oath that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not abandoned in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. Having completed the testimony of David, he adds: “Men and brothers.” Whenever he is about to say something great, he uses this introduction, rousing them and drawing them to himself; but where nothing was harmful, he uses great modesty. For if he had simply said, “These things were spoken by David,” he would have seemed harsh, and would rather have stirred them to anger than made them compliant. But by the great honor he pays to the blessed David he makes it readily acceptable that the prophecy was spoken concerning Christ; and his whole discourse here is arranged in this way. For having said that he “both died and was buried,” he did not say, “and he did not rise,” but, “and his tomb is among us”—which is equivalent to saying, “He did not rise.” Then not even so does he come to Christ, but again David is praised, and through the praises of him the aim advances; for he says these things precisely so that, for the sake of the honor they pay to David and his lineage, the Jews may receive the word about the resurrection of Christ—since the prophecy too would be undermined if this were not so, and the honor due to themselves would be destroyed. “God swore to him with an oath.” He did not say, “He promised,” but, “He swore,” setting forth the inviolability of the promise. “To sit upon his throne.” In many places of the divine Scripture the throne is named instead of the kingdom, as also here, and in the words, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” And “to raise up the Christ according to the flesh.” “According to the flesh,” he says; for as to His divinity, He is enthroned eternally together with the Father. But he refers everything to the Father, so that for the present they may accept what is said. But how did He sit upon the throne of David? In that He reigns over the Jews also, and much more over those who crucified Him.

Acts 2:32–36. This Jesus God raised up, of which we all are witnesses. Having therefore been exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies the footstool of Your feet.” Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified. Again he takes refuge in the Father, although it would have sufficed to say what he said before; but he knows how greatly this serves the hearers toward the acceptance of pressing truths. The word “exalted” hinted also at the ascension, and that He is in the heavens—but not even this openly as yet. Observe how, at the beginning of his discourse, he did not say that Christ had sent down the Spirit, but the Father, when he also brought forward the prophet Joel as a witness. But once he had made mention of His signs, and of what had been done against Him, and had spoken with boldness about the resurrection, then at last he says that He poured out the Spirit; so that the prophet had spoken concerning Him, “And it shall come to pass in the last days.” By “promise” he means either that which He Himself promised to us the apostles, or that which the Father promised to Him before the cross and before the passion. For since he was about to say a great and lofty thing—that Christ poured out the Spirit—he overshadows it by saying that the Father had given Him this promise; for whatever a man may say, if he does not bring his word to a useful end, he speaks in vain and to no purpose. And he shows that the cross not only did not diminish Him, but rendered Him more glorious, seeing that then He promised, according to the voice of John, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,” while now, after the cross, He has given it. “And he himself says: The Lord said to my Lord.” Here he speaks no longer with reserve, having taken courage from what has been said; but what did the Lord say to my Lord? And if David calls Him Lord, much more will they not count Him unworthy. And by the words “until I make Your enemies,” he brought fear upon them—the overthrow of their dominion. But that he might not be disbelieved, he refers it to the Father. And since he had uttered great things, he again brings his discourse down to lowly things. “Sit at My right hand.” By “Sit at My right hand” we understand the equal honor of the Son and the Father; for in the bodiless nature it is not possible to conceive of right hand or left. And who the enemies are, the Apostle makes clear, crying out: “When He shall have abolished every authority, the last enemy to be abolished is death.” “That God has made Him both Lord and Christ.” The word “made” is used instead of “appointed,” for there is no question here of His essence or His subsistence. Then he still does not depart from the lowly things. For he ought to have added, “Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that He sits at the right hand,” since this followed from what had been said; but he does not say this, but something far humbler: that “God has appointed Him both Lord and Christ”—for this is what “made” signifies. Thus must one everywhere consider those things by which benefit accrues to the hearers.

Acts 2:37–40. Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What shall we do, men and brothers?” And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call.” And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation.” You see how great a thing gentleness is—how it, more than severity, pierces and softens the hearts of men. For here too the blessed Peter reminded them of their own reckless deeds, but gently, and added nothing of punishment. They were therefore put to shame by Peter’s forbearance, in that toward those who had delivered his Master to death, and who still raged against the apostles themselves and desired to destroy them, he nonetheless spoke with fatherly care, in the place of a father and teacher. “For they were pierced to the heart,” he says: not simply persuaded, but condemning themselves. For they say, “What shall we do, brothers?”—as those who are at a loss, who are in anguish over what they have dared. And those whom they once called deceivers they now call brothers; and this not as taking liberties with them by such an appellation, but showing their affection and how greatly they had been made akin to them. For this reason the apostles too had called them by this name, at the beginning of Peter’s address. And when all had asked, again Peter answers; for they put him forward as their mouth. And he says: “Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” This does not contradict the words, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”; for the Church understands the Holy Trinity as undivided, so that, on account of the consubstantial union in three persons, the one baptized in the name of Christ is baptized into the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit being undivided in essence. For if the name of the Father were not God, and that of the Son God, and that of the Holy Spirit God, it would have been necessary to say, “In the name of God Jesus Christ,” or even, “into the Son alone.” But he says, “in the name of Jesus Christ,” knowing that the name of Jesus is God, just as is that of the Father and that of the Spirit. “And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Observe how he showed the gift of Christ and the gift of the Spirit to be one and the same gift, since their dignity is one and the same—which he had called a promise when speaking above. Then, “and to your children”; for the gift is the greater when they also have heirs of the good things. “And to all who are far off.” But if to those far off, much more to you who are near. And observe when he hinted at the calling of the Gentiles by saying, “to those far off.” When? When he found them pierced to the heart and condemning themselves. For when the soul condemns itself, it can no longer envy.

Acts 2:41–47. So those who gladly received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles, and in the fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. And all who believed were together, and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. And continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people; and the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved. Here is fulfilled the prophecy which says: “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen the like of this? Did a land come to birth in one day? Was a nation brought forth at one time, as Zion, scarcely having begun to travail, brought forth her children?” “And fear came upon every soul,” for they did not despise what was happening as though it were something accidental. For since Peter had been from the outset flowing with abundant grace, and had set forth the promises and the things to come, it was natural that they were astounded with fear; for the wonders and signs that were accomplished bore witness to what was said. For just as in the case of Christ there were first signs, then teaching, then miracles, so also now. “And all who believed were together”—not in place, but in disposition and judgment, and in their unbroken concord and love toward one another. And as for “according as anyone had need,” he does not say it simply, but with a view to good stewardship; for this is what “according as anyone had need” means. They did not act like the wise men among the Greeks, of whom some let their land lie fallow, while others cast much gold into the sea. But this was not contempt of wealth, but folly and senselessness; for the devil was eager to slander the creatures of God. To make good use of wealth is no empty thing. “And continuing daily”—not one day, or two, or three, but every day, and with one accord, as in one soul. And consider how the believing Jews did nothing else, but attended constantly at the temple; for, having become more zealous, they had greater reverence also for that holy place. And the apostles did not draw them away from there for the present, so as not to harm them. “Breaking bread from house to house.” By “house” he means the temple here also, for they ate in it. And the words “breaking bread” show their great self-control and frugality in food; for it says “they partook of food,” not “they feasted.” Thus by their faith they were transforming their very life to the better. And how did they have favor with all the people? Luke says, “having favor with all the people.” How so? By their deeds—by almsgiving, by purity of conduct. For even if the priests, out of envy and malice, set themselves against them and attacked them, yet with the people they had favor.

Chapter 3

Acts 3:1–7. Now Peter and John were going up together into the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a certain man, lame from his mother’s womb, was being carried, whom they laid every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of those who entered the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. And Peter, fixing his eyes on him together with John, said: Look at us. And he gave heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said: Silver and gold I do not have; but what I have, that I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And taking him by the right hand, he raised him up. Everywhere these two are seen to have great concord. To this one Peter makes a sign; together they came to the tomb; concerning him he speaks. Now the other signs he passes over briefly in passing, as one writing the book; but this sign he relates, the one by which all were moved. ‘They were going up into the temple.’ Why? Were they then still living in the Jewish manner? God forbid. Rather, they did this in a useful and condescending way. See how they persevered in their prayers, and at the ninth hour prayed there together. He mentions both the place and the time precisely, giving proof of the things he writes. Why then does he not give the name of the lame man? Because not even the apostles knew it; for the man was entirely unknown to them. And perhaps also so that they might not appear to be performing the healings as a favor and out of partiality, nor that any suspicion of pretense should be entertained, even by the most shameless—as though for favor’s sake some of those known to the apostles were feigning the healings supposedly done upon them. How then did they not learn his name even after the healing? Because they had no leisure to occupy themselves with things that profit nothing. But it seems to me that the multitude too did not know the man’s name, but called him simply ‘the lame man,’ from his affliction. For so notable and so well known was his disease to all, that whenever anyone heard ‘the lame man,’ even though there were perhaps others, he at once thought of that one. From where, then, did they know that he was lame from his mother’s womb? From the report of all, from the testimony of all; for all knew him from his constant sitting at the temple, and also from the healed man himself. Why then did they not bring him to be healed by Christ? Perhaps some of those who sat by the temple were unbelievers; for they did not even bring him to the apostles, though they saw them entering and saw that they had done such wonders. ‘Silver and gold I do not have.’ He did not say, ‘I do not have it here,’ as we are accustomed to say, but, ‘I have none at all.’ See how John everywhere keeps silence, while Peter speaks even on his behalf. What then? Do you overlook the suppliant because you have no silver? No; but ‘what I have, that I give,’ he says. So also did Christ, often healing by word alone, and often also by touch, where they happened to be weaker in faith, lest what was done should seem to come about of itself. ‘And taking him,’ he says, ‘he raised him up.’ This he did to make the resurrection manifest; for it was an image of the resurrection.

Acts 3:8–10. Immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened. And leaping up, he stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. And they recognized him, that it was he who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. ‘Walking and leaping’—testing himself and making fuller proof, whether he had truly been set upright; for because of the marvelous and unhoped-for nature of it, it was likely that he too was in doubt about himself. But some say that he did not even know how to walk, and for this reason made the motion of his feet as though leaping. See how he did not keep still: this partly from joy, and partly to stop their mouths, lest the thing be thought a pretense. For this reason he leaped; as one who is, as it were, scarcely yet recognized from the matter—for we use this expression of those who are barely known. And out of goodwill and affection toward them he would not part from them; perhaps giving thanks to them, and keeping them in good cheer. And the wonder takes place in the temple, for the salvation and benefit of the many.

Acts 3:11–16. Now as the healed lame man held Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. And Peter, seeing it, answered the people: Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why do you fix your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked that a murderer be granted to you; and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, this man, whom you behold and know, his name has strengthened; and the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. What does this mean, ‘as the healed lame man held Peter and John’? He was afraid of being drawn away from them; for he supposed that he had been freed from his affliction only so long as he held them and clung to them, especially because Peter, taking hold of him and raising him up, had healed him in that way. ‘In the portico.’ This portico alone was standing from the building of Solomon; for Nebuchadnezzar burned the temple, and Cyrus the Persian rebuilt it. ‘Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this?’ This address is fuller of boldness than the former one—not because in the former he was afraid to speak boldly, but because then the Jews, being mockers and insolent, could not yet have borne such a tone. Hence, when beginning that earlier speech, he draws them to attention at the very outset through his introduction, saying: ‘Let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.’ But here he no longer needs such a device, for they were not heedless; rather, since the sign had turned them all, they were full of fear and astonishment. See how he wards off the glory directed at themselves. For nothing so benefits the hearers as that the speaker should not only say nothing great about himself, but should even forbid anyone else who wishes to speak of it. And so these men, despising the glory they could have had among men, glorified themselves all the more, by showing that what had happened was not a human work but a divine one. ‘The God of our fathers has glorified his Servant Jesus.’ He still keeps to the humbler aspects, yet he sets the daring of the Jews in plain view, and does not cast it into shadow as before. And he does this all the more because he wishes to win them over; for the more he showed them to be guilty, the more this was accomplished. ‘Whom you delivered up and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.’ Two charges against the Jews: one, that Pilate, a Greek by birth, a man who had seen no sign and had known none of the prophets, wished to release Jesus; the other, that you, being Jews by descent, a people brought up among signs and instructed in the prophecies concerning Christ, did not wish to release him, when Pilate wished it. ‘You denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer.’ By saying that instead of Christ they asked for a robber, Peter made the matter fully plain; for by this it is proved that they had it in their power to release him. For if they released a robber, much more could they have released the guiltless one. But they acquitted the evildoer alone and killed the benefactor; for they killed ‘the Author of life.’ And if he is the Author of life, then, as having life in himself and as the cause of life, he raised himself, ‘of which we are witnesses.’ He no longer takes refuge in prophecy as before; but since he was already trustworthy to them, he brings forward the company of the apostles: ‘of which,’ he says, ‘we are witnesses.’ ‘His name strengthened him.’ Having said, ‘by faith in his name,’ since the man who was set upright had believed in this way, Peter corrects the statement and says, ‘his name strengthened him.’ That is: why do I say that he was strengthened by believing in his name? Even before he believed, the name alone, when invoked, had strengthened him. So great is the power it has, and such grace does it pour forth. ‘And the faith which is through him.’ And what this faith is, the one proclaimed through him, he himself interprets: ‘that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus whom you sent.’ For lest anyone should say, ‘Then, if an unbeliever invokes his name, the healing will no less go forward, even upon unbelievers, if the mere invocation of the name strengthened him’—lest anyone say this, he added, ‘and the faith which is through him.’ That is: great indeed is the name, and fearful, and it pours forth healings; but there is need also of souls worthy to be counted deserving of the grace, and of intercessors able to propitiate the Giver of healings. For if the one seeking healing is going to remain an unbeliever, the healing will not come about so simply; and the name, when invoked by unbelievers, will not work its proper effect: the sons of Sceva not only failed to benefit others but even harmed themselves. So, then, we explain it. But others have interpreted it thus: And indeed it is the same faith that wrought this; for he did not say, ‘through the name,’ but, ‘in the name.’ Yet they did not yet dare to say, ‘the faith in him’; and so that the ‘through him’ should not be wholly lowly, he added, ‘and his name strengthened him.’ And since this again was lofty and complete, he confirmed it by adding, ‘and the faith which is through him,’ mixing lowly things with lofty—assigning some to the nature of the matter, and some to the disposition and capacity of the hearers. For lowly is the saying ‘by faith in his name’ and ‘the faith which is through him’; but lofty and complete is the saying, ‘his name strengthened him,’ which, spoken baldly, would have galled the Jews, but, joined and set beside the others, became easy to accept.

Acts 3:17. And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But God what he had foretold through the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Since he had rebuked them severely, he again relaxes, giving them an opportunity for repentance; and he grants them one ground of excuse—their ignorance—and a second, that the things spoken had been foretold beforehand. But why does he not set down a scriptural testimony concerning his crucifixion? Yet even earlier he says, ‘delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you took him.’ And now he sets it forth more fully, saying:

Acts 3:18. What he foretold through the mouth of all the prophets He does not set down the testimony thus bare, because each of these prophecies was spoken together with many charges and with the punishment laid against them; as also this one: ‘And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death.’ And consoling them, he says that ‘the daring deed was not yours, but God so willed it’; while at the same time meeting their words also. For reproaching him on the cross they said: ‘If he wills him, let him save him,’ and, ‘If he is the Son of God, let him come down from the cross,’ and the like. He all but says: ‘These were idle words, O senseless ones; for if it had to be so, and all the prophets testify to this, it is plain that he did not submit through weakness, but rather through unspeakable power and surpassing authority and boundless love for mankind.’

Acts 3:19–21. Repent therefore and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out; so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus Christ, who was appointed beforehand for you, whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all things, of which God spoke through the mouth of all his holy prophets from of old. He does not speak of the sin dared at the cross, since he said above: ‘And now I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.’ And what was it that he meant there by ‘And now I know’? ‘Now I know,’ he says—that is, it is profitable to speak thus, that I may secure your salvation; or, ‘Now I know that you acted in ignorance,’ from the fact that I see many of you turning and being saved. For it is likely that he says this to those of them who had already turned and believed. But how did they act in ignorance? For to ask for a robber, to refuse to accept the one judged worthy of release, and even to wish to kill him—of what ignorance is this? Yet he spoke thus, opening to them a door of conversion; and for this reason he does not say, ‘Repent of what you dared at the cross,’ but, ‘that for now your other sins may be blotted out.’ ‘Repent therefore,’ he says, ‘that times of refreshing may come.’ And he shows here that they are about to fall into many hardships; for such a word would fit one who is going to weep and who longs for some consolation. See how he gradually advances toward his aim. In the first speech he hinted at the rest and the sitting in the heavens; but here he points also to the manifest coming, which he calls times of refreshing. For what other times of refreshing could there be than those of the resurrection? These Paul too seeks after, when he says: ‘And we who are in this tent groan, being burdened.’ But if anyone should also call the times after the capture of Jerusalem ‘times of refreshing,’ nothing hinders. For God shortened the times of their affliction and captivity for the sake of the elect, that those who believed might find refreshing and be saved from that severe distress. ‘And that he may send Jesus Christ, who was appointed for you.’ This is as if to say: it is necessary to receive him, inasmuch as he is God and ought ever to sit together with the Father. ‘Whom heaven must receive until the times.’ He shows the reason why he does not come now. ‘All things must be restored,’ he says, ‘and come to their fulfillment, and then he will come.’ But how does he say above, ‘whom heaven must receive’? Had heaven then not yet received him? Indeed it had. Why then did he not say, ‘whom heaven received’? He says this as one speaking about the former times. And the ‘until’ and the ‘as long as’ in divine Scripture are not indicative of a limit of time; for one must understand it as in the saying addressed to God, ‘until the age you are.’ This, then, is the sense of the passage: ‘Many things,’ he says, ‘the prophets foretold would come to pass, which have not yet all been fulfilled, but are still coming to pass and will come to pass until the consummation.’ For Christ, having been taken up into the heavens, remains there until the consummation of the world, and will come then with power, when at last all things have been restored which the prophets foretold; that is, when the end comes and sensible things cease, then Christ will be higher than the heavens.

Acts 3:22–26. For Moses said to the fathers: A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up for you from among our brethren, like me; him you shall hear in all things, whatever he shall say to you. And it shall be, that every soul which will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. And all the prophets too, from those that followed after, as many as spoke, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham: And in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. To you first God, having raised up his Servant Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning every one of you from your iniquities. Having said, ‘A Prophet like me’—the ‘like me’ is to be understood not of nature, but of action. Not of essence, then, but in respect of deeds; for if he had said ‘like me’ in respect of essence, not one would have arisen, but many. ‘A Prophet shall the Lord raise up for you.’ Emmanuel is named a prophet on account of his humanity, he who, in the order of Moses, is the mediator between God and men. For I would even call him Moses—Moses compared with him by way of figure, the truth set beside the shadow. For Christ is born in Bethlehem, as Moses was born in Egypt; an Israelite was that one, and this one too according to the flesh, but while Moses was of priestly race, Christ is from David through the Virgin. Pharaoh in the days of the one, Herod in the days of the other; that one slays the infants, this one destroys the infants; that one the males, and this one too the males; that one is saved through his mother, and this one too was saved through his mother and together with his mother. ‘Shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ The soul of man, being immortal, is not utterly destroyed, but falls out of some good rank in which it was formerly placed. So also Judas was destroyed from the choir of the apostles. Since, then, the soul is immortal, by its destruction we understand its coming to be outside the good things which it would have enjoyed, had it lived in a manner pleasing to God. ‘You are the sons of the prophets.’ He says ‘sons of the prophets’ to mean: do not be afraid, nor think that you must estrange yourselves from the promises. ‘You are the sons of the prophets’; so that it was to you that they spoke, and for your sake these things have come to pass. And what does ‘sons of the covenant’ mean? It stands for ‘heirs’—heirs, however, not merely newly enrolled, but as sons. He says ‘sons’ moreover to show that, so far as concerns the adoption, if you yourselves also are willing, you are heirs. For this reason he says, ‘You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant.’ ‘Jesus, whom he sent to bless you.’ For he sent him to others as well, but to you first, who crucified and killed him. And when? From the cross only? No, but also after these things, and after the resurrection. For, he says, ‘to you first, having raised him up, he sent him.’ To do what? To bless you and to save you, if indeed you yourselves also choose to turn away from your iniquities.

Chapter 4

Acts 4:1–3. While they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the morrow; for it was already evening. They had not yet drawn breath from their earlier trials when they were already mounting up into others. And see how matters are arranged. First they were all mocked together; then they enter into dangers, but not all at once. Rather, having first won esteem in the public assemblies, and after that having worked a great miracle, then at length, once they had taken courage, they lay hold of the contests, God permitting it. But consider for me the advance of the Jews in wickedness and shamelessness: in the case of Christ they sought someone to betray him, whereas here they now lay their own hands upon them, having become bolder and more shameless after the cross. ‘And with them,’ it says, ‘was also the captain of the temple’—so that once again they might fasten a public charge upon what had been done, and not prosecute it as a private matter; which everywhere, it says, they are eager to do. ‘And they put them in custody until the morrow.’ They indeed did this and kept them, wishing to soften them; but the delay of time made the apostles more courageous.

Acts 4:4. And many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. What is this? Did they not see the apostles win their case, yet bound nonetheless? How then did they believe? Do you see the manifest working of God? And indeed it had to come about that even those who already believed should be drawn from among the weaker; but Peter’s address, knit together by the divine Spirit, cast its seeds into the depth of their understanding and touched their very soul. Now those men bound the apostles in the presence of the multitude, in order to make the onlookers more cowardly as well. But the opposite came to pass. And they examine them privately, lest the hearers gain anything from their boldness.

Acts 4:5–10. And it came to pass on the morrow that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the high-priestly family. And setting them in the midst, they inquired: By what power, or in what name, have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: Rulers of the people and elders of Israel! If we are this day being examined concerning a good deed done to a sick man, by what means he has been healed—be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in him this man stands before you whole. Together with their other evils, not even the requirements of the law were observed by them. For observe the multitude of high priests—when there ought to be one for life. And here too they invest the affair with the form of a tribunal, that the apostles might be made liable to an unjust judgment. They inquired ‘by what power, or in what name.’ And yet they knew; for it was because they were vexed at their proclaiming the resurrection in Jesus that they had detained them. For what reason, then, do they ask? Expecting that the apostles, frightened by the tribunal and the multitude of judges, would deny their words; and thinking by this to set the whole matter right. For see how maliciously they ask: ‘In what name,’ he says, ‘did you do this?’ For they wished rather that the apostles should confess the work to be their own than the work of Christ’s power. But see into what straits they put them: they did not even wish the words ‘the healing of the lame man’ to be uttered. For why do they not say what it was, but say, ‘you did this’? ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel.’ Observe his wisdom; and note how, where need calls, he lays hold of them vehemently. For he named them with honorable titles; but when he came to the matter itself, he does not depart from the fitting rebuke, secretly reminding them that for such deeds they themselves had always both judged others and gone away displeased. And what he says is this: that we ought rather to be crowned for these things, and proclaimed as benefactors; but since ‘we are this day being examined… how he was healed, be it known to you all and to all the people of Israel that it is in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene’—which grieved them most of all. And this too is what Christ had said to them: ‘What you have heard in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops.’ ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene.’ Do not think, he says, that we conceal his homeland; rather we declare his homeland too. And more than this: we confess his Passion as well, and proclaim his resurrection. ‘Whom you crucified.’ He uttered also a word capable of frightening them; for what kind of blows do you think they receive by these words?

Acts 4:11–12. This is the stone which was set at nought by you builders, which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no other; for neither is there any other name given among men, by which we must be saved. This stone—that is, the one thoroughly proven—which became the head of the two peoples joined together through him into one building of the Church: that is, of the Jewish people that has believed, and of all […] of those from the Gentiles. ‘And there is salvation in no other.’ Here he utters lofty things as well. For when it was necessary to teach, they bring forward prophecies also; but when it was necessary to speak with boldness, they simply declare their meaning. For when the aim is not to set right but to display boldness, he does not hold back. For he did not now fear to wound them, as he does in other cases, ordering his words toward the salvation of the hearers. It is plain to all, he says, that this name was given not to us alone, but to all; for, he says, the Jews too believed in a resurrection, but a cold and childish one.

Acts 4:13–14. Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlettered and ordinary men, they marveled; and they recognized them, that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against it. For it is possible to be unlettered and not ordinary, and ordinary and not unlettered; but here the two ran together. Therefore they marveled, as the apostles spoke and held forth like orators. And from what did they perceive it? From the very things they were saying. For Luke does not say this without purpose, ‘they recognized them,’ but: that they had been with Jesus at the Passion; for these alone were then with him. And they had seen them at that time lowly and downcast; and this especially astonished them—the sudden change. For he who then could not withstand the questioning of a maidservant now comes into the very midst of the high priests and the Sanhedrin and speaks with boldness.

Acts 4:15–22. And having commanded them to go aside out of the Sanhedrin, they conferred with one another, saying: What shall we do to these men? For that a notable sign has been done through them is manifest to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them with threats, that they speak no more in this name to any man. And calling them, they charged them not to speak at all, nor to teach, in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them: Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. And they, having further threatened them, released them, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for all glorified God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing had been wrought was more than forty years old. Why do the priests not bring them to Pilate, but judge them themselves? Because they were ashamed and blushed at their former deeds, and feared that they might be charged on account of those things as well.

Acts 4:23–28. And being released, the apostles came to their own, and reported all that the high priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, with one accord they lifted up their voice to God and said: Master, you are God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them; who through the mouth of David your servant said by the Holy Spirit: Why did the nations rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. For of a truth they were gathered together against your holy Servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your counsel foreordained to come to pass. It is not for the sake of vainglory that they recount these things, but to display the proofs of Christ’s grace. And see how exact their prayers are. For when they were asking that the one worthy of the apostolate be shown to them, they prayed thus: ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all’ (Acts 1:24), since there was need of foreknowledge there. But since here it was necessary that the adversaries be put to silence, they cry out, ‘Master, you are God, who made the heaven and the earth.’ Now many of those who come from the heresies divide the Godhead, saying that the Maker of the world is one God and the Father of Christ another. Whence, dividing the Scripture also, they say that the Old Testament belongs to the Maker of the world and the New to the Father of Christ. And following their impious opinion, they say that these Gods are opposed to one another, as are their Scriptures, so that those who flee for refuge to the Lord are enemies of the Maker of the world and are in a better state than his men; just as, then, the men of the Maker of the world are set at variance against Christ and his teaching. For this cause the holy apostles, cutting off this heresy, establish through their prayer that he who is the Maker of the world is himself also the Father of the Savior; inasmuch as by him both Testaments have been given. ‘Who through the mouth of David your servant said: Why did the nations rage?’ As though demanding the keeping of a covenant from God, they bring the prophecy into the midst; and at the same time they console themselves that the enemies devise these things in vain.

Acts 4:29–31. And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healings, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy Servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken in which they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. ‘To do whatever your hand and your counsel foreordained.’ That is: it was not they who had the strength, but you, who committed the whole to its course and brought it to its end—you, the resourceful and wise Artificer, who used the enemies for your own will; for they came together as enemies, yet did what you willed. And what is ‘your hand’? Here it seems to me to signify power and will: that it suffices for you alone to will. For no one foreordains by power; that is, whatever you appointed. Observe, they did not say, ‘Crush them and cast them down,’ but what? ‘Look upon their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with boldness.’ ‘And when they had prayed, the place was shaken in which they were gathered together.’ This became a proof of their being heard and of God’s visitation; for sometimes this is a sign of wrath, and sometimes a token of visitation. Now the apostles prayed not to be spared the bearing of some hardship, but for the success of the preaching. But why did God shake the house? To bring fear upon those who threatened, and to raise the apostles to courage; for since it was the beginning of the preaching, a perceptible sign was needed. So the place was shaken and the more strengthened them. ‘And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit’—that is, they were rekindled, and the gracious gift was set ablaze within them.

Acts 4:32. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; and not one of them said that anything of his possessions was his own, but all things were common to them. Here ‘heart’ and ‘soul’ signify one and the same thing.

Acts 4:33. And with great power the apostles rendered the testimony of the resurrection, as men to whom it had been entrusted. He shows that they were men to whom something had been entrusted, and he speaks as of an obligation; this is what ‘they rendered the testimony’ means.

Acts 4:34. For neither was there anyone among them in need. For this reason the grace was great: that no one was in need; that is, from the great eagerness of those who gave, no one was in need. For they did not give some parts while storing up others; nor did they give all, yet as if it were their own; but all the believers were nourished as from a single household. ‘Selling them, they brought the prices.’ This shows the great worth and reverence of those who brought them: that they did not even dare to give into the hands, but laid them at the feet of the apostles, making them lords and stewards of what was brought, that it might be expended as from common goods and not as from private ones. And this both freed the givers from vainglory and afforded the receivers a twofold gladness—consoling their want, and setting them free from shame.

Acts 4:36–37. And Joses, who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which is, being interpreted, son of consolation), a Levite, a Cypriot by race, having a field of his own, sold it and brought the money, and laid it at the feet of the apostles.

Chapter 5

Acts 5:1–3. Now a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and bringing a certain portion, laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said to him, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart, that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, was it not your own, and after it was sold, was it not in your own power? Why have you laid this thing in your heart?” […] the apostles of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus […] Joses […][1]

Acts 5:4–6. “You have not lied to men, but to God.” And when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard these things. And the young men arose, wrapped him up, and carrying him out, buried him. He seems to me to be the one mentioned along with Matthias. For that man was also called Justus; but this one is Barnabas, which means “son of consolation.” And it seems to me that he received the name from his virtue. But how was he both a Levite and a Cypriot? Because the Law was now being loosed without strict observance; and from then on the Levites both migrated and engaged in trade. Now, intending to relate the matter of Ananias and Sapphira, and wishing to show that they had sinned, Luke first mentions the one who acted rightly. Though there was so great a multitude doing these things—selling their property and giving the money to the apostles—and though there were such great signs and such abundance of grace, Ananias was instructed by none of these, and brought destruction upon himself. The dreadful thing is that the sin was committed by agreement with his wife, and no one else saw what was done; from this it came over the wretched man to do as he did. Some say: if Satan filled the heart of Ananias, why did that man suffer punishment? Because he himself became the cause, having prepared himself to receive Satan’s working and to be filled by it. “While it remained, did it not remain your own?” For was there any compulsion of necessity? Did we drag you against your will? “Why have you laid this thing in your heart?” Three signs in one and the same case: to know the things done in secret; not to be ignorant of the things pondered in the mind; and third, to put to death by a mere command. Many of the careless, putting forward what happened to Ananias and Sapphira, charge the chief of the apostles with murder. But the accusation touches not Peter, but rather the Holy Spirit, who justly pronounced the sentence against them; for Peter only convicted the lie, but the Spirit, having authority over life and death, put to death those who had sinned against Him. The same must be said also concerning Sapphira: that it was not Peter who killed her; but since the transgression belonged to the two of them, the Judge condemned both alike. Therefore Peter too, not being ignorant of this, who everywhere spoke through the Holy Spirit, uttered this utterance, having received it from Him.

Acts 5:7. Now there was an interval of about three hours, and his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. And Peter said to her, “Tell me, did you sell the land for so much?”

Acts 5:8–11. “…did you sell the land for so much?” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” And immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, they buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole Church and upon all who heard these things. An interval of three hours passed; and the wife did not learn of it, nor did any of those present tell her, for they were afraid. Marveling at this, the writer set down both things: that there was an interval of about three hours, and that she came in not knowing what had happened. Notice that Peter does not summon her, but rather waits for her to come in when she wished, giving her—if she should wish—time to repent. And no one dared to tell her what had happened: this is fear of the teacher, this is obedience. “Tell me, did you sell the land for so much?” He wished to save her, for it was her husband who was the author of the sin. Therefore he gives her a respite for defense and repentance, saying, “Tell me, was it for so much?” Perhaps someone may say that he dealt bitterly with them. But what bitterness is there? If one who gathered sticks contrary to the Law was stoned, much more the temple-robber; for this money was sacred. Why did she fall at his feet? Because she stood near him. And she stood near him so that, if she should wish to repent and confess her sin, she might do so without being ashamed before the others who would otherwise have heard her confession. “They found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her.” Observe that they no longer guarded, according to the Law, against touching unclean things, but simply and without any such precaution touched the dead. Observe this too: that among their own they are severe, but among strangers they refrain from punishments—each fittingly. The latter, lest they should seem to compel men, against their will, by fear of punishment, to come to the faith; the former, so that those who had already come to the faith and been deemed worthy of heavenly teaching and spiritual grace should not be allowed to become despicable men and temple-robbers, and especially at the beginning, since this would have become a reproach to their preaching. “And great fear came upon the whole Church.” Ananias and Sapphira were punished, and others profited by it. For though there had been signs before, there was no such fear. It is true, then, that “the Lord is known when He executes judgments.”

Acts 5:12–16. By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. And of the rest no one dared to join them, but the people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women, so that they brought out the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and pallets, that at least the shadow of Peter as he passed by might overshadow some of them. The multitude also came together from the cities round about to Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those troubled by unclean spirits, who were all healed. After fear of them had arisen, he and the rest performed more signs. “And they were in Solomon’s portico.” No longer in a house, but in the temple they spent their time. Since he said “in Solomon’s portico,” lest you wonder how the crowds permitted this, he says that no one dared to approach them, but the Jewish people magnified the apostles. “They brought out the sick into the streets.” This did not happen in Christ’s time, that the sick should receive healings in the streets and from a shadow. But if “no one dared to join them,” how then does the healing take place here? Because it was the work of Him who said, “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he also will do, and greater than these he will do.” From every side their marvel kept increasing: from those who believed, from those who were healed, from those who were punished, from their boldness in preaching, and from the rest of their virtue and the care they took over their life. For what happened was not of the signs alone; but the very life and virtue of these men was great, and truly apostolic.

Acts 5:17–21. Then the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. And they laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the public prison. But an angel of the Lord by night opened the doors of the prison, and bringing them out, said, “Go, and standing in the temple, speak to the people all the words of this life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at dawn and taught. Now the high priest and those with him came and called together the council and all the senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

Acts 5:22–25. But the officers who came did not find them in the prison, and they returned and reported, saying, “We found the prison shut with all security, and the guards standing before the doors; but when we had opened, we found no one inside.” Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what this might come to. Then someone came and reported to them, “Behold, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” What is the meaning of “having risen up”? Being roused, stirred at the things that were said. Now they fall upon them more vehemently, yet they do not at once put them on trial, thinking rather to overawe them by the public guard. Observe, I pray you, how the life of the apostles was woven. First there was despondency, because of the ascension of Christ; then good cheer, because of the descent of the Spirit; again despondency, because of those who mocked them; then good cheer, because of the believers and the sign; again despondency, because of the imprisonment of Peter and John; then good cheer, because of their acquittal; and again here—good cheer from the splendor of the angel’s appearing in the prison and from the signs, but despondency from the high priest and from those who seized them. For as many as live according to God, one would find them faring thus. “An angel of the Lord by night opened the doors of the prison.” An angel brings them out, both for their own comfort and for the benefit of the Jews.

Acts 5:26–31. Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And having brought them, they set them in the council; and the high priest asked them, saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. Him God exalted with His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” “And we are His witnesses of these words, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” After they had feared God, who like nestlings was ever snatching the apostles out of their hands—and yet the security of the prison was twofold: both the seal and the men; and all of it was enough to convince them that what had happened was a divine working—they say, “Did we not command you with a command?” But what of it, even if you did command? If indeed the apostles had then been persuaded and had agreed to obey, you would now justly call them to account; but if they said then that they would not be persuaded, what account can there be now? “And you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” Still He seems to them to be a mere man. They say this, wishing, forsooth, to show that the prohibition had been necessary for them, and that it was out of regard for their own safety that they gave such orders; but rather they said it in order to exasperate the multitude against the apostles. “We must obey God rather than men.” The apostles do not answer harshly. For they were teachers; nor were they angry, but pitied them, and considered how they might deliver them from their error and their wrath. “And we are His witnesses of these words.” Of which words? That He promised forgiveness and repentance. For the resurrection was by now already confessed. That He grants forgiveness, of this we too are witnesses, and the Holy Spirit—who would never have come down, had not sins first been loosed. And observe how, while mentioning the crime, they add the forgiveness of sins, showing that what they had done deserved death, but that what they received, they received as from a benefactor. As for the expression, “Him God exalted as Leader and Savior,” they used it ascribing all to the Father, lest the Son seem to be alien to the Father. But why did the high priests and the rest not learn at once that the apostles had gone out of the prison? So that, remaining for a time in perplexity, they might the more readily understand and grasp that this was the working of divine power.

Acts 5:32. And the Holy Spirit also, whom God has given to those who obey Him. They did not say, “the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us,” but, “whom God has given to those who obey Him”—at once both showing modesty and disclosing great truths, and besides this also declaring that the Jews themselves were able to receive the Spirit. For it was for this very reason that God allowed the apostles to be led into the tribunal: that the Jews might be instructed, and the apostles themselves be trained for boldness, and all in general receive edification.

Acts 5:33–36. When they heard this, they were cut to the quick and took counsel to kill them. But a certain Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law held in honor by all the people, stood up and commanded the apostles to be put outside for a short while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be someone great, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who obeyed him were dispersed and came to nothing.” Others, on hearing, were pricked to the heart, but these were cut to the quick and took counsel to kill them. Now this Gamaliel was the teacher of Paul; and it is worthy of wonder how, being learned in the Law and possessing sound judgment, he had not yet believed—since neither had Paul. “Take heed to yourselves what you intend to do with these men.” Observe the discernment of his speech: how he at once cast them into fear, and—so as not to be suspected of sharing the views of the apostles—he converses with the Jews as with men of one mind, and does not use much vehemence, but says, “Take heed what you intend to do.” “For before these days.” He sets forth two examples, and he mentions not ancient ones but recent events, because the recent are more powerful in persuading. Therefore, hinting at these, he said, “Before these few days.” Though he knew other examples too, he was content with these two, that is, the example of Theudas and that of Judas the Galilean; for “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word is established.” He did not say by whom those men were killed, but that they were dispersed. Of Theudas, Josephus also makes mention in the nineteenth book of the Antiquities, as Eusebius says in the fourth book of the Ecclesiastical History, in these words: “While Fadus was procurator of Judea, a certain charlatan named Theudas persuaded the people to take their possessions and follow him to the river Jordan; for Theudas claimed to be a prophet, and asserted that by a command he would split the river and make it easy to cross, and he deceived many. But Fadus did not allow them to profit from their folly, but sent out a squadron of cavalry, which killed many of them and took many alive; and they cut off the head of Theudas himself and brought it to Jerusalem.”

Acts 5:37–42. After him rose up Judas the Galilean in the days of the census, and drew away a considerable people after him; he too perished, and all who obeyed him were scattered. And now I say to you, withdraw from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you be found even to be fighting against God. And they were persuaded by him; and calling the apostles, they beat them, and commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to be dishonored for the name of the Lord Jesus. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus the Christ. The Galileans seem to have risen in revolt in the times of Pilate, following the doctrines of Judas the Galilean. Now the doctrine of Judas was this: he said that no one ought to be called “lord,” even with the mouth, neither for honor’s sake nor for courtesy, and that in this way not even the reigning emperor should be so called. And many of his followers underwent the most grievous tortures for not calling Caesar “lord,” and for their teaching that no other sacrifices ought to be offered to God besides those appointed in the Law of Moses; and so they forbade the sacrifices offered for the safety of the people and the king and the Roman nation. It is likely, then, that Pilate, indignant with the Galileans over these things, gave orders that, at the very time when they were offering what they thought to be the lawful sacrifices, they themselves should be killed, so that the blood of the offerers was mingled with the sacrifices offered—as is also reported in the Gospel according to Luke. “Withdraw from these men.” Having spoken of the examples of those who were dissolved, he gives them also something to consider about themselves: that, lest while striving to destroy others, you yourselves be destroyed; for he who fights against what is pleasing to God destroys not his opponent, but himself. “For if it is of men,” he says, what need of your efforts? “But if it is of God,” then for all your efforts you will not be able to overthrow it. He did not say outright that it was of God, but neither did he say that it was of men; for had he said it was of God, the high priest and those with him would have contradicted him; and had he said it was of men, he would have delivered the apostles into their hands. By thus wisely managing his speech, he compels them to await its end. But observe: he did not say, “If you do not overthrow it, it is of God,” but, “If it is of God, it will not be overthrown.” “And they were persuaded by him.” They were persuaded because he said these things when the apostles were not present, and as one who himself shared their views. How then did they beat them, if they were persuaded? They were persuaded to desist from slaughtering them—for this they had wished, and they gave up that intention; yet they satisfied their own wrath by scourging them.

[1] Translator’s note: The commentary on the preceding lemma (Acts 4:36–37, on Barnabas, whose given name was Joses) is damaged in the source at the page break between PG cols. 583 and 585; only these words survive legibly. The sense resumes with the discussion of Barnabas at the opening of the next paragraph (“He seems to me to be the one mentioned along with Matthias…”).

Chapter 6

Acts 6:1. In these days, when the disciples were multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. Not in those very same days, but in some that came after them; for it is the custom of Scripture to speak in this way. By “Hellenists,” I think, he means those who spoke Greek. “In the daily distribution”—so the ministry to the widows was a daily affair. By “ministry” he means the work of almsgiving. The overlooking of the widows came not from any malice, but from the negligence of the many. And so, once concern for them had been brought into the open, their grief too came to an end.

Acts 6:2–7. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples to them and said: It is not fitting that we should forsake the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brothers, select from among yourselves seven men of good repute, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this need; but we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And the proposal pleased the whole assembly; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them. And the word of God grew, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; and a great company of the priests became obedient to the faith. The apostles do not choose the men themselves, but entrust the choice to the multitude, who were also to benefit from their oversight; and so the multitude both chooses and presents them. “It is not fitting that we should forsake the word of God and serve tables”—for the necessary things are to be preferred to those that are not necessary. “Men of good repute, full of the Spirit.” He calls them not simply spiritual, but full of the Spirit and of wisdom; for to bear the complaints of the widows required the greatest wisdom. “And when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them.” See how sparing of words he is: he does not say how they were ordained, but only that they were ordained with prayer. For this is what ordination is: the hand is laid upon the man, but it is God who accomplishes the whole. And what ordination did these seven receive? That of deacons? For the present, at least, they were ordained to this very thing—to minister to the believers in their need. “And the number of the disciples was multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.” He did not say this idly, but to show how great is the power of almsgiving and of this arrangement.

Acts 6:8–15. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose certain of those from the synagogue called that of the Freedmen, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated men to say: We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and against God. And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him to the council. And they set up false witnesses who said: This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and will change the customs which Moses handed down to us. And all who sat in the council, gazing at him, saw his face as it were the face of an angel. See how even among the seven there was one preeminent. For although the ordination was common to all, yet this man drew to himself a greater grace. And see how before this he did not work wonders, but only when he had become known—as one chosen and ordained—that it might be shown that grace alone does not suffice, but ordination too is needed; so that an increase of the Spirit took place, since even at the election, before the ordination, he is attested as full of the Spirit—but the gifts of the Spirit are diverse. “Then there arose certain of those from the synagogue.” By “arose” he means their exasperation and their anger. And the synagogues were of various kinds. “Disputing with Stephen.” They disputed for this reason, that they might force him to say something; and he perhaps spoke rather plainly and declared the abolition of the law—or rather he did not say it openly but hinted at it, since had he spoken plainly, these men would not have needed false witnesses. But notice that he does not take it upon himself to teach, but is forced to it by those who disputed with him. “Then they secretly instigated men to say.” The disputants do not bear witness themselves—for they would at once have been convicted of slandering Stephen out of envy—but they hire others, so that the matter might not seem to be a malicious attack; for they did not fear God in the murder they were committing, but looked to the opinion of men. “And they set up false witnesses who said.” Everywhere false witness. For they did not wish to kill him outright, but by a verdict, so that they might also injure the reputation, as they supposed, of those they were putting to death. They did not say, “he speaks,” but “he does not cease speaking.” “For we have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene”—“the Nazarene” he says by way of reproach—“will destroy this place.” This they said of Christ as well: “You who destroy this temple” (Matt. 27:40). For great was their reverence concerning the temple. And the accusation was twofold: that he would change the customs, and that he would bring in others in their place. “And all who were in the council, gazing at him, saw his face as it were the face of an angel.” God made him gracious to look upon. For since he was about to say something, in order that he might at once strike them with his appearance, God glorified his face. For there are faces full of spiritual grace, lovely to those who long for them, but awe-inspiring to their enemies.

Chapter 7

Acts 7:1–6. Then the high priest said, ‘Are these things so?’ And he said: ‘Men, brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, “Go forth from your land and from your kindred, and come into the land which I will show you.” Then he went forth from the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, after his father died, He removed him into this land, in which you now dwell. And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s step; yet He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. And God spoke thus: that his seed should be a sojourner in a strange land, and that they would enslave it and ill-treat it four hundred years. “And the nation to which they shall be in bondage I will judge,” said God.’ They themselves committed blasphemous deeds without a thought, yet charged him with words of blasphemy; and Moses was always the matter set before them, since they cared not so much for the things of God as for the ordinances of Moses. But Stephen from the very outset undermines their high opinion, and establishes that neither the temple nor the customs amount to anything, that they will not prevail over the preaching, and that God makes what is difficult and impossible into something easy and feasible. Observe, then, the indictment woven through these words: that having ever enjoyed God’s love for mankind, they repaid their Benefactor with the opposite, and that they attempt the impossible. He shows also that the promise was given before this land, before circumcision, before sacrifice, before the temple; and that they received it not according to merit, neither circumcision nor law, but the land was only the wage of obedience; and that even when circumcision had been given, the promise was not yet fulfilled, and that these things were figures. And rightly, at the beginning, does he call Him ‘the God of glory,’ since He made glorious those who were dishonored. He says also that there was as yet no temple, and Abraham was counted worthy of a divine vision; that he had Persians for his forebears and dwelt in a foreign land. Observe how he leads them away from sensible things, beginning for now from the place, since the discourse too was about a place. And if God is the God of glory, He has no need of the glory that comes from you through the temple, for He Himself is the fountain of glory and of all good things. ‘Go forth from your land and from your kindred.’ How is it that Scripture says Abraham’s father willed to go forth, while here it says that to Abraham it was said, ‘Go forth from your land’? From this we learn that it was from the vision which came to Abraham that his father too was moved and willed to go forth from the land of the Chaldeans. And through this Stephen shows that these men are not children of Abraham; for he was obedient, leaving both fatherland and kindred, while they are disobedient. ‘And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s step.’ Observe how he leads them up from the land. Why did the Lord not give it? Because it was a figure of another land; ‘and He promised to give it to him.’ Do you see that he again takes it up not without purpose? He does not say ‘He gave,’ but ‘He promised to give.’ If Abraham was a sojourner and a stranger, and after a little while was to depart, how could he possess this land? So then the inheritance is preserved for Abraham through his seed, which is Christ, when the saints also shall reign together with Him, according to that which is written: ‘When the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father,’ reigning over all the nations. ‘And to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.’ Again he hints at the power of God, which makes possible what is impracticable; for He said He would make him who was in Persia, and at so great a distance, lord of Palestine. And great here is shown both the love of God for man and the faith of Abraham; for the phrase ‘when he had no child’ shows his obedience and faith, although what was then happening persuaded him to suppose the contrary; for after he came he had not a foot’s step, nor afterward did he have it. ‘And God spoke thus, that his seed should be a sojourner in a strange land.’ Observe before how many years the promise was given, and the figure of the promise, and nowhere a sacrifice, nowhere circumcision. And through these things he shows how God allowed the Israelites to suffer evil, though He had nothing to charge against them. ‘And they shall enslave it and ill-treat it four hundred years.’ What is written in Exodus does not contradict this place. For there it is said, ‘After four hundred and thirty years the host of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt’; but here he says ‘about four hundred.’ We must bear in mind that it was not said ‘they went out when the four hundred years were fulfilled,’ but ‘after four hundred years,’ which does not exclude the remaining thirty: twenty-five years from Abraham’s seventy-fifth to his hundredth; sixty years of Isaac; ninety-one years of Jacob; one hundred and ten years of Joseph; one hundred and forty-four years in Egypt—together four hundred and thirty years. And he says, ‘and they shall ill-treat it four hundred years, and after these things they shall come out and serve Me,’ the ‘after these things’ signifying also those thirty years. ‘And the nation to which they shall be in bondage I will judge,’ said God. Nor did those who maltreated them do so unpunished; for indeed the Jews endured a bitter and heavy slavery, since the Egyptians regarded them not as slaves but as enemies and foes.

Acts 7:7–16. ‘And after these things they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’ And He gave him a covenant of circumcision; and so he begot Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt; but God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, who made him governor over Egypt and over all his house. Now there came a famine over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction; and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and called for his father Jacob and all his kindred, seventy-five souls. And Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, himself and our fathers; and they were carried over to Shechem, and laid in the tomb which Abraham bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor of Shechem. To the later ones He grants the things promised, to the earlier ones the evils. Circumcision of the foreskin was enjoined upon the fathers for this reason: since Abraham departed from the land of the Chaldeans, and to the Chaldeans—as also to the Medes and Persians—it was permitted, by their ancestral customs, to have intercourse with mothers and sisters, for this cause he is circumcised in the flesh of the foreskin, renouncing the kinship of the flesh and refusing the unlawful marriages of close kindred. But others say that circumcision was enjoined upon Abraham and his descendants for this reason: that it might be manifest that from them Christ would come according to the flesh. For we know that circumcision in the flesh, performed of old as a figure, held the image of saving baptism, signifying through the casting off of the foreskin the renunciation of birth according to the flesh, and making those circumcised sons of God. ‘And he circumcised him on the eighth day.’ First Isaac is circumcised on the eighth day, whence the Jews also are circumcised on the eighth day; but Ishmael is circumcised being thirteen years old, and therefore his descendants the Ishmaelites are circumcised likewise in the thirteenth year, as Josephus says. ‘They sold him into Egypt.’ Having nothing to charge against their brother, yet when he had come to them with food for them, they dealt evilly with him; and without knowing it they cooperated with the prophecy, becoming the cause of his welfare even against their will—though after many trials for him—having brought upon themselves great fear and unbearable shame; while Joseph, bearing it without remembrance of wrong, did nothing dreadful against them, but even nourished them in their famine and made them known to Pharaoh. ‘And he died, himself and our fathers, and they were carried over to Shechem.’ At Shechem were buried those about Abraham and the patriarchs—which was perhaps called Sychema. For Abraham himself bought it from Hamor, that he might bury Sarah there. ‘And they were laid in the tomb.’ Saying this, Stephen shows that not even to burial did Abraham become lord of the land.

Acts 7:17–28. But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, until there arose another king who knew not Joseph. He, dealing craftily with our race, ill-treated our fathers, making them cast out their infants, that they might not be kept alive. At that time Moses was born, and was fair before God; and he was nourished three months in his father’s house. And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and reared him for herself as a son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds. And when the time of forty years was fulfilled for him, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended him and avenged the one oppressed, striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers understood that God by his hand was giving them salvation; but they understood not. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling, and would have driven them to peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?’ But he who was wronging his neighbor thrust him away, saying, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us? Do you wish to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ The phrase ‘the time of the promise drew near’ is an indication that not even within the four hundred years did the people merely increase, but that the end was about to draw near—and indeed already four hundred years and more had passed in Egypt. ‘And the people grew and multiplied in Egypt.’ If that concerning Joseph is marvelous—that he was sold by his brothers and, being sold, saved them—this is more marvelous still: that the king nourished the very one destined to overthrow his rule. He who was to be put to death by the one who had condemned him to death was being educated and reared for the overthrow of the one who reared him. The phrase ‘making them cast out their infants, that they might not be kept alive’ hints that the king did not wish the destruction of the infants to be done openly. And observe that through the very things by which the devil endeavored to undo the promise of God, through these it grew; for Israel was being maltreated, yet grew and multiplied. For this reason Moses too is taken up in the royal house, and is reared and educated, and again is made a fugitive; but in his flight he is counted worthy of that vision, and is entrusted with the leadership of the people. Thus God brings it to pass that even the slave who was sold reigns there where he was a slave. And the word ‘comely’ stands for ‘well-pleasing to God.’ ‘And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up.’ The parents begot him and saw that he was beautiful, for grace flourished in him; and seeing that he was beautiful, they spared him. But fearing the decree, they hid him. Fear prevailed, and out of fear they were impelled to cast him out; yet through their inward compassion they devise a stratagem for the matter, and making an ark in imitation of the one made in Noah’s day, and calling upon the God of Noah, they cast the child upon the river with the ark, that they might both seem to obey the decree and yet secure the child. And they cast him out, but God prompts Pharaoh’s daughter, who knew nothing of it, to go out to the river; she went out knowing nothing, and found what she did not seek, and took the infant from the ark. And Moses was saved through symbols of the common salvation of the Church; for the ark was of wood, and the wood was from the water, and there was salvation for the one given up for lost; and she who took him up was no Jewess, but of the gentiles and an Egyptian. ‘And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.’ Neither Moses, nor those about Ananias and Daniel, would have learned the foreign education had not the necessity and force of their masters compelled them; for in nothing did they make use of it—unless perhaps someone should say that it was good to learn it, in order to overturn the deceits of those people. ‘And Moses avenged the one oppressed, striking down the Egyptian.’ Not yielding to wrath, nor overcome by anger, did Moses slay, but out of zeal; and that which is done out of zeal for God, even if it be a killing, is no murder. So Phinehas, having slain two with one hand, heard the word: ‘And Phinehas stood up and made atonement, and the plague was stayed.’ What Moses did was a riddle of things unknown; for this deed was a sign that God by Moses was about to slay the Egyptians and save the Israelites. And Moses supposed that his brothers understood that by his hand He was giving them salvation; and yet by the very deeds the protection was shown—what need then of understanding? But even so they did not understand. ‘And on the next day he appeared to them as they quarreled, and would have driven them to peace.’ He who had shown his anger against the Egyptian—see how with gentleness he converses: ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?’ But mark the reply: ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us?’—the very words which they later spoke to Christ. Thus it is the way of the Jews to repay good with wrong.

Acts 7:29–34. And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begot two sons. And when forty years were fulfilled, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. And Moses, seeing it, marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, there came the voice of the Lord to him: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses, becoming trembling, dared not look. And the Lord said to him, ‘Loose the sandal from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them; and now come, I will send you into Egypt.’ But not even his flight quenched the dispensation of God. For ‘when forty years were fulfilled,’ he says, ‘there appeared to him an angel of the Lord’—when he was a fugitive, when he no longer expected it, so that he had even begotten two sons. And note that he now calls the Son of God an angel, just as also a man. And He appears to him not in a temple, but in the wilderness, and not even in the wilderness itself, but in the bush. Behold, he is counted worthy also of a voice: ‘I am,’ He says, ‘the God of your fathers’—the Angel of great counsel. ‘Loose the sandal from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.’ The place is holy by the manifestation of Christ, and far more wonderful than that which was in the Holy of Holies, for there nowhere did He so appear. Then also the care of God is great, for it says: ‘I have surely seen the affliction of My people, and I have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them.’

Acts 7:35–41. This Moses, whom they denied, saying, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge?’—this one God sent as ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This one led them out, working wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘A prophet shall the Lord our God raise up for you from among your brothers, like me; Him shall you hear.’ This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; who received living oracles to give to us; to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him away, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who shall go before us; for as for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days, and offered up sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. ‘This Moses,’ he says, ‘who was in danger of perishing, who was set at nought by them, whom they refused—this one God raised up and sent by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.’ And the one whom he calls an angel, Moses plainly saw to be God and names as God. ‘This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up for you from among your brothers, like me’—set at nought like me, by those by whom he ought most of all to have been honored. Pharaoh wished to slay Moses, and he escaped; and Herod wished to slay the Master, and He was saved in Egypt. Each plotted against a child; each gave a decree; and neither decree was obeyed. ‘This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him.’ The text before us shows that men do not become better or worse by place; for those of whom the discourse speaks, being outside Egypt as to place, were in it as to their disposition, not having removed their mind from the Egyptian customs, as the Gospel also says: ‘Where your treasure is, there is your heart also.’ For many, while yet on the earth, lay up treasure in heaven, and there they have their heart; while the transgressing angels, being in heaven, set their disposition upon the things of the earth, whereupon followed their being cast down to the earth. ‘Who received living oracles.’ He calls them ‘living oracles’ of a special kind, whose meaning is made plain through ordinary words, or he means the prophecies. For the prophet says, ‘I gave them ordinances that were not good’; in contrast to those, he called these ‘living oracles.’ ‘Make for us gods.’ He did not say ‘a god,’ but ‘gods.’ ‘And they made a calf in those days.’ This David too says: ‘And they made a calf in Horeb’; and he says ‘in Horeb’ not without purpose, but that he might show the excess of their madness. For where God appeared to Moses, there these men made an idol and offered sacrifices to the idol.

Acts 7:42–48. But God turned, and gave them over to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you offer to Me slain beasts and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? And you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, the figures which you made to worship them; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’ The tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the wilderness, even as He who spoke to Moses appointed it to be made according to the figure which he had seen; which also our fathers, having received it in turn, brought in with Joshua when they took possession of the nations whom God drove out from before the face of our fathers, until the days of David; who found favor before God, and asked to find a dwelling-place for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built Him a house. Yet the Most High dwells not in houses made with hands, as the prophet says… ‘Heaven is my throne;’

Acts 7:49–50. and the earth is the footstool of my feet. What house will you build for me, says the Lord? Or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things? The expression ‘he gave them over to worship the host of heaven’ is used in the sense of ‘he allowed,’ just as in the Apostle: ‘God gave them over to a reprobate mind,’ which means ‘he allowed them to be given over.’ So he says: Since the Jews had this craving to worship the creature rather than the Creator, God, having often through the prophets forbidden such an inclination, then, when they persisted, allowed them to do as they chose. And the word ‘turned away’ is used in the sense of ‘turning away from another will’; for the will of God is one thing, and what comes to pass by his permission is another. For his will was that which he also laid down as law: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him alone shall you serve.’ But those who persisted in their impiety he allowed to remain in it; for he does not wish to be served under compulsion, lest he do violence to free will. The phrase ‘the host of heaven’ some take to mean the angels, as in ‘the word spoken through angels.’ But he speaks not of angels but of the stars, to which they offered worship: as to the calf, which stood in the place of the morning star, and to the moon, as queen of heaven; for this expression is generally used of the luminaries and stars. ‘Did you offer me slain beasts and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?’ Observe that he first brings in that they offered sacrifices to God himself, and only then to the idols; for before this there is nowhere the word ‘sacrifice,’ but only ‘commandments’ and ‘living oracles.’ And he brings forward this testimony not without purpose, but to show that there was no need of sacrifices, when he says, ‘Did you offer me slain beasts and sacrifices?’ That is: you cannot say that, because you sacrificed to God, you therefore sacrificed also to those idols; rather, you sacrificed to them first, and that in the wilderness, where I most of all watched over you. So that even if I said that the temple would be destroyed and the customs and sacrifices changed, I have said nothing new. For Moses, of whom you seem to think so highly, for forty years neither offered sacrifices nor raised a temple; nor did David either, though the land was being apportioned to us by lot; and the prophets too declare concerning these things that they are not necessary. How then do you pretend to defend Moses, whom both your fathers and you yourselves rejected? ‘And you took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan.’ The divinely-inspired Moses had gone up to the mountain to receive the law; but those of the blood of Israel rose up before Aaron, saying, ‘Make us gods.’ So they made a calf in the wilderness; and the calf was the visible idol, but he wrought many others besides. They were given over still more to the worship of the stars; for besides the calf they also took up the tabernacle of Moloch. For having made the tabernacle […] they set up an idol and called it Moloch. This is an idol of the Moabites, having a transparent stone at the top of its forehead, in the form of the morning star; and ‘Moloch’ is interpreted ‘their king,’ for so Aquila and Theodotion have rendered it. And the image of the morning star was skillfully fashioned. ‘So you took up the tabernacle of Moloch,’ that is, of your king; and what kind of king was this? ‘The star of your god Rephan,’ which is interpreted ‘darkening,’ or ‘blinding.’ So they worshipped the morning star, as rising before the gleam of the sun; but to those who worshipped it, it became Rephan, that is, a blinding, not because the star itself produced the blinding, but because the reverence offered to it became to them the cause of darkening. ‘And I will remove you beyond Babylon.’ Whereas the prophet had said, ‘I will remove you beyond Damascus,’ he said ‘beyond Babylon,’ following the Hebrew edition, or because Babylon is the boundary of the land of the Damascenes. But the Seventy said ‘beyond Damascus.’ ‘The tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the wilderness.’ This they had in order to have God as their witness; and he calls it the tabernacle of testimony, that is, of the wonders and the commandments. ‘As he that spoke to Moses had appointed.’ So the design was made on the mountain; and this tabernacle in the wilderness was portable, and not fixed in one place. Even if it was an angel who spoke to Moses on the mountain, yet he spoke to him in the person of God. And many such things are found in the divine Scripture. For he says in Exodus that an angel of the Lord said to Moses, ‘Moses, Moses, do not draw near here’; and a little later the angel says, ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham,’ and other things of this kind.

Acts 7:51–52. You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become the betrayers and murderers. ‘…you who received the law by the ordinances of angels and have not kept it.’ Why is it that, having spoken gently up to this point, here he uses harsh language? Because he saw that they paid no heed to what was said. ‘You always resist the Holy Spirit’ not only now. By this he shows that what he said was from the Holy Spirit, and especially so as he was about to die; for it is not likely that he was ignorant of this, being full of the Spirit. He used great and unhesitating boldness, and the very things he said to them were not his own, but the prophets’. ‘Always,’ he says, ‘you resist’: when God did not wish there to be sacrifices, you sacrificed; when again he wishes them, you do not sacrifice. Again, when the temple stood, you served idols; when he wishes worship without a temple, you do the opposite. He did not say, ‘you resist God,’ but ‘the Spirit’; for there is no difference at all between the Spirit and God. ‘You resist as your fathers did, so do you.’ He shows that the evil is the greater in them, as having come down upon them from of old; so Christ also did, since they prided themselves greatly on their fathers. ‘Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?’ If your fathers killed those who foretold him, it is no wonder that I too, who proclaim the One foretold, should be killed by you who pride yourselves so greatly on your fathers. ‘Concerning the coming of the Righteous One.’ He says ‘the Righteous One,’ showing that they killed him unjustly; for if he is righteous, then those who killed him are exceedingly unjust. He calls him righteous, a thing which not even they could deny. Nowhere did they accuse him as unrighteous; for how could they accuse one who had not even a roof? But he charges them with two crimes, murder and betrayal; for ‘betrayers and murderers,’ he says, ‘you have become.’

Acts 7:53. You who received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept it. that is, the law ordained by angels, or delivered through the One who appeared in the bush. And he shows that they both disobeyed and continue to disobey God, the angels, the prophets, and the Spirit.

Acts 7:54–56. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and gnashed their teeth at him. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said: Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. ‘…standing at the right hand of God.’ If they wished to kill him, why did they not kill him at once? Because they wished to attach to their audacity a plausible pretext; for the insult he had done them was no plausible pretext for putting him to death. And besides, what they took to be an insult to themselves was not his own insult at all, but the prophet’s accusation against them. At the same time they did not wish it to be thought that they were killing him on account of what touched themselves personally, as had happened also at the condemning of Christ to death, but as though they were killing him for impiety. For they were not content to defile themselves with murder, but were eager and took pains also to injure the honor of the one they were killing; for they feared that, if they killed him on account of the personal insult to them, he might come to be held in greater honor. ‘And Jesus standing at the right hand of God.’ The standing signifies what is firm and immovable; and besides, this was acceptable even to them, for they already

Acts 7:57–59. accepted him, for the time being, as standing. Then, crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord. And casting him out of the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he called upon God and said: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. ‘And kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice: Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge. And having said this, he fell asleep.’ What they do in the case of Christ, this also they do here: just as he had said, ‘You shall see the Son of God seated at the right hand,’ and they, calling the matter blasphemy, rushed upon him, so it is here also. But there they tore their garments, while here they stopped their ears. ‘And casting him out of the city, they stoned him’: not even allowing him to finish his speech, they stoned him. And yet, if he was lying, they ought to have let him go as a madman; but if he was speaking the truth, they ought rather to have marveled. And casting him out of the city they kill him, as they had done in the case of Christ. ‘And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man.’ He calls ‘witnesses’ those whom the Jews had suborned to bear false witness against him. And by this he hints at two things: that even those who seemed to be witnesses were the more ready for the murder, seeing that they laid aside their garments too, so as to be light and unhindered for the stoning; and that he who was afterward to be the herald of the world was himself then taking part in the murder, so divine and marvelous and more than human was the change that came over him. And the words ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’ were those of one teaching and showing them that he does not perish. ‘And they stoned Stephen.’ Since justification comes through faith in Christ, and in him human nature was enriched with freedom from guilt and granted us a new right, by virtue of which our souls no longer run down to Hades as before, but are sent into the hands of the living God, knowing this the holy Stephen said, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And the blessed Peter also writes: ‘Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him as to a faithful Creator.’

Acts 7:60. And kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice: Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge. He does not simply pray, he says, but with earnestness; for up to this point God allowed his soul to remain in the body. Observe the voice and the surpassing measure of his forbearance under suffering. From this he shows that even the former things which he said to them did not spring from any anger, but were meant to confound them, to rebuke and to admonish them. And Saul was consenting to his killing.

Chapter 8

Acts 8:1–4. And there was in that day a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the Church, entering into the houses, and dragging off men and women he handed them over to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. The apostles themselves, he says, were not scattered, but remained in Jerusalem. For where the war is fiercer, there the chief champions must stand in array and be at hand to others as an example of courage and boldness. ‘And devout men buried Stephen.’ If they were devout, how did they make lamentation? Because they were not yet perfect; and besides, who would not have mourned, being deprived of such teaching and such protection and such signs, and seeing that gentle man lying dead, stoned to death? ‘But Saul was ravaging the Church.’ Great was his madness, both that he acted alone and that he leapt upon the houses; for he had given his soul for the law.

Acts 8:5–8. Philip went down to a city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the crowds with one accord gave heed to the things spoken by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who had them; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city. This was not the apostle Philip who is reckoned among the twelve, but one of the seven chosen for the ministry of the widows; this is he who also baptized the eunuch and catechized Simon. And hear Luke himself saying that, when Stephen had been slain, a great persecution arose against the Church, and all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. So that it is clear that the apostle Philip remained in Jerusalem with the other apostles. This too serves as proof that Philip baptized those who were made disciples in Samaria, while Peter and John the apostles, coming down from Jerusalem to them, bestowed the grace of the Spirit. For if this man had been one of the apostles, he would have had the authority to give the Spirit; but he baptizes only as a disciple, while the apostles perfect the grace, to whom the authority of such giving was granted. Others say that Philip did not bring down the Spirit upon those baptized because he was only a deacon, put forward by those around Stephen, and did not have the rank of presbyter or bishop, as the disciples of the Lord did. And that he was a deacon, Paul testifies in the Canons, not only concerning him but also concerning Ananias, who baptized Paul himself. Being a deacon, he baptized, first because of the scarcity of presbyters in Samaria; for it is permitted in case of necessity for a deacon also to baptize, when there is no presbyter, as the Spirit itself taught, urging him to draw near to the eunuch. It should be noted that after baptism, by the laying on of hands, through prayer, the Holy Spirit comes upon those baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Therefore even to this day this order is kept in the same way.

Acts 8:9–21. Now a certain man named Simon had previously been in the city practicing magic and amazing the nation of Samaria, claiming that he himself was someone great. To him they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying: This man is the great power of God. And they gave heed to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip, who preached the good news concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. And Simon himself also believed; and being baptized he continued with Philip, and beholding the powers and signs that were done, he was amazed. Now when the apostles who were in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who, coming down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them; they had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. But Simon, seeing that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, brought them money, saying: Give me also this authority, that on whomever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him: Your silver be with you to destruction, because you thought to acquire the gift of God with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. See another temptation also, that of Simon. He says that they even thought him a great power, so deceived were they by time and by his magic, until Philip, coming upon them, freed them from their error. For Simon used to say to the Jews, ‘I am the Father,’ and to the Samaritans, ‘I am the Christ.’ ‘And Simon himself also believed’—not for the sake of faith, but in order that he too might work signs. How then did that man seem to work signs? He produced illusions; and perhaps he also bound those who were possessed; and as he supposed his own power to be a kind of craft, so he supposed the apostles’ power too to be of some craft. Therefore he also offered money; and in order that he might not be driven away, again for this reason he kept close to Philip.

Acts 8:22–25. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to God, that perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. And Simon answered and said: Pray you to the Lord for me, that none of the things you have spoken may come upon me. So they, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. The word ‘Repent,’ spoken to Simon, would be superfluous if he were evil by his very constitution, according to the myths of the heretics. For they say that a man, being evil by nature, is not capable of any change of will. But it is not in vain that it is said, ‘Repent therefore’—for he too then is free—‘and pray to God, that perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.’ He said this as though pardon would not have been granted him even if he had wept and repented. But this kind of expression was customary also with the prophets; and besides, Peter foresaw that he would not turn to repentance. For this reason he says, ‘whether it shall be forgiven you.’ For the words ‘Pray you to the Lord for me’ he spoke not out of repentance and conversion, but only for form’s sake; since, where is his mourning? where the self-condemnation and the confession? ‘For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.’ These are words full of anger. Yet he does not punish him, lest his faith should thereafter seem to be of necessity and fear, and the matter should appear harsh. ‘So they, when they had testified and spoken the word of God, returned to Jerusalem.’ Perhaps they return because of Simon, that they might not be deceived, that they might thenceforth be secure. And note that they do not go to Samaria of their own initiative, but being driven there by persecution, which also happened in the case of Christ.

Acts 8:26–33. And an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying: Arise and go toward the south, to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza; this road is desert. And he arose and went; and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch, a court official of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip: Go near and join yourself to this chariot. And Philip, running up, heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said: Do you then understand what you are reading? And he said: How could I, unless someone guides me? And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: ‘As a sheep He was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so He does not open His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away. And His generation, who shall declare it?’ ‘His life is taken from the earth.’ It seems to me that this Philip was one of the seven. For one would not go from Jerusalem toward the south, but toward the north; whereas from Samaria, where Philip, one of the seven, was staying and teaching at that time, the road runs toward the south. ‘That goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza; this road is desert.’ This the angel said so that Philip should not fear the rising up of the Jews. ‘And he arose and went.’ Note his obedience. He did not ask and say, ‘Why?’ but together with the command he arose and went. ‘Who had come to Jerusalem to worship.’ One may marvel at this eunuch’s love of wisdom on many counts: that, dwelling in Ethiopia and being steward of the royal treasures, he nonetheless went up to worship in Jerusalem. Women ruled that Ethiopia, of whom Candace by succession was one, whose treasurer the eunuch was. Note that, though it was not a feast, he nonetheless went up; that he came from a city given over to superstition; that on the road he was reading, and Isaiah at that, the loftiest of the prophets; and that, though he did not even understand what he read, he was so devoted to knowledge. ‘Do you then understand what you are reading?’ He asks admirably; for he neither flatters nor praises, nor again disparages his ignorance, but asks so as to instill greater longing, at the same time showing that a great treasure lay within. And the eunuch does not conceal his state, but says, ‘How could I?’ Then he asks to be taught. ‘As a sheep He was led to the slaughter.’ Very plain is the meaning of these words. For sheep are carried off to be shorn at the proper times, and the shepherds bring the shearing knives upon them, and yet, though they suffer, they do not leap upon those who do this; so also Christ, being reviled, did not revile in return. ‘In His humiliation His judgment was taken away.’ This signifies the lawless judgment passed upon Him while the truth was hidden. ‘And His generation, who shall declare it?’ That is, His high dignity revealed after the resurrection, the proof of which is what was accomplished in the work of the divine economy. Who shall be able to express in words, when it comes to mind: Who and of what kind is He, even the only-begotten Son begotten of God, who endured all these things? ‘For His life is taken from the earth’—meaning that His life is lifted up and is higher than the things on earth; that is, the conduct or existence of the Only-begotten, when He is contemplated apart from the flesh and is no longer as one among us.

Acts 8:34–40. And the eunuch answered Philip and said: I pray you, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of some other? And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him Jesus. And as they went along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch says: Behold, water; what hinders me from being baptized? And Philip said: If you believe with all your heart, it is permitted. And he answered and said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more; for he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus; and passing through, he preached the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea. ‘I pray you, of whom…?’ This shows his knowing that the prophets speak in one way and about another matter, or about themselves in another person; for his question reveals this, the question of one very observant. ‘Behold, water; what hinders me from being baptized?’ See how all is providentially ordered. First he reads and does not understand; then he reads the very testimony where the passion was, and the resurrection, and the gift; then he asks. It is interpreted to him in order, Philip taking his starting points from the prophecy; and becoming winged with eagerness, he presses on in due course to baptism. He did not say, ‘Baptize me,’ but, ‘What hinders?’ showing in the question his great desire for baptism. ‘And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away.’ The Spirit takes him up, making what happened more wondrous, and at the same time gladdening Philip, that he was counted worthy of such things as the prophets were, like Habakkuk. And it was the Spirit, and not an angel, that took him up, as before; since the vision of the angel was then granted to the more bodily, but that of the Spirit to the more spiritual. And he is caught away from the eunuch to good purpose; for the eunuch would have asked to go away with him, and Philip would have grieved him by refusing, the time not yet calling for it. Thus all things were done in a divine manner. And the Spirit set him at Azotus, where henceforth he also had to preach the gospel.

Chapter 9

Acts 9:1–2. But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. He sets forth Paul’s frenzy against the faithful and against the Church, showing that he was carried away by an impure zeal; for what Christ had said was fulfilled in him: ‘Those who kill you will think they are offering service to God’ (John 16:2). For he did not act as the other Jews did. By no means! That he acted out of zeal is clear from the fact that he went even to the outlying cities, whereas the others would not have troubled themselves even about those in Jerusalem; for they cared about one thing only, to enjoy honors. He goes to Damascus because it was a great and royal city, and he feared that it might be won over beforehand by the preaching. He does not approach the magistrate and make his request, but the high priest, because he was concerned to do everything lawfully. ‘So that if he found any of the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.’ What is ‘of the Way’? Perhaps those who had believed called themselves so, because theirs alone was the faith by which we are carried up to heaven. Or else Paul then called them ‘of the Way,’ perhaps to belittle and disparage them; for they were accustomed to call a dishonorable person ‘a man off the street.’ He did not seek authority to punish them on the spot, but leads them to Jerusalem, because he wished to act with greater authority.

Acts 9:3–5. And as he journeyed, he drew near to Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you persecute.’ ‘…It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And trembling and astonished he said, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and enter,’ and so forth.

Acts 9:6–9. ‘…But arise and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. And Saul rose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. And leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. The vision does not take place in the city, but on the road, in quiet, because the multitude would not have believed but would even have mocked, since even there those who heard the voice said it was thunder. But Paul was trustworthy in reporting what concerned himself. So neither in Jerusalem nor in Damascus, but along the road the light flashes around him, so that others might not be able to recount what happened to him in other ways, but that he himself, being trustworthy, might recount it, he who both saw the vision and underwent the suffering. This indeed he says also when defending himself before Agrippa. ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ Christ does not say to him, ‘Believe!’ but charges him, saying, ‘Why do you persecute me?’, as if to say, ‘What small or great wrong have you suffered from me, that you do this to me?’ ‘I am Jesus, whom you persecute’, that is, ‘Do not think your war is against men, but against me, your Lord.’ But why did this not happen from the beginning? So that it might be shown that Christ truly rose. For he who was driving him on and disbelieving his resurrection, and so madly persecuting the faithful, how did he come to believe, unless the power of the resurrection was great? And why not immediately after the resurrection? So that the war against it might be shown more clearly, and his conversion appear the more divine. ‘And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, seeing no one.’ The light flashes around all those with him too, so that they might witness to the vision; but it does not blind all, only Paul, lest the suffering be thought common and as if by chance, but that it might be seen as truly of divine energy and providence. And why did those with him not believe? So that they might be trustworthy witnesses to what concerned Paul. For if they had believed, they would have seemed to be witnessing out of favor. And whose voice did those with Paul hear? Paul’s own, as he answered; but the heavenly voice he alone heard. Therefore here it says, ‘The men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice’, Paul’s, that is, ‘but seeing no one’ to whom he was answering. And further on Paul himself says, ‘Those who were with me saw the light and became afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me.’ ‘And when his eyes were opened, he saw no one.’ Paul’s eyes suffered, because an excess of light is wont to strike them; for the eyes too have their measure. It is said also that an excess of sound makes people deaf and senseless. ‘And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.’ Why did he do this? Because he greatly condemned himself for the persecution of the Church, and was deeply grieved, and prayed and besought God that it might be forgiven him.

Acts 9:10–16. Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ And he said, ‘Behold, I am here, Lord.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go to the street called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.’ And Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for this man is a chosen vessel of mine, to bear my name before nations and kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’ Why is Ananias, not being among the more notable and distinguished disciples, entrusted with the instruction and healing of Paul, who was to become so great? Because Paul was not to be led to the faith through men, but through Christ himself; for Ananias indeed baptized and healed him, but taught him nothing. And that he was not among the very eminent is clear from his timidity and fear, which are shown in his words. For he so trembled at Paul’s persecution that, merely hearing his name from the Lord, he was astounded and became terrified; and he did not even attend to what was said next, namely that he prays, that he had seen a vision, that he is blind, and that Ananias is sent to him as a benefactor and savior. ‘And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias’, for he could not see in waking sight, since he was blind. ‘And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all.’ How was this known to them? It was natural that, being in fear, they should inquire and learn what was being decreed against them. And see how great the fear was; for he could not bear even to hear the name before saying, ‘I am afraid he may carry me off to Jerusalem.’ ‘Go, for this man is a chosen vessel of mine.’ Not only, he says, will he be a believer, but also a teacher, and he will use great boldness ‘before nations and kings,’ and will stand against the Jews. By these words the Lord encourages Ananias, and at the same time shames him, as if to say: ‘If that man will do everything for me, raging and murderous as he was, do you not even wish to baptize him?’ And he says this, ‘a chosen vessel,’ and ‘he will bear my name,’ because Ananias, hearing that Paul was blind, rejoiced and all but says this through his words: ‘It is well; leave him blinded; why do you bid me open his eyes? That he may bind again? Or that he may punish us again?’ ‘Not only,’ he says, ‘will he do nothing dreadful, but he will also suffer much for me.’ And rightly does the word show him to be a chosen vessel, in that wickedness is not natural; for we choose what is approved.

Acts 9:17–19. And Ananias departed and entered into the house, and laying his hands on him, said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord, he who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me, that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once, and rose and was baptized. And taking food, he was strengthened. And Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some days. See the obedience, greater after the fear. Thus Ananias’s words were not those of one disbelieving, but of one fearful and trembling. ‘Brother Saul, the Lord, he who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me.’ At once he makes him his own by the name of the Lord; and yet Christ had not said to him, ‘I appeared to him,’ but Ananias learned it from the Spirit; and indeed Christ had not appeared in person, yet he did appear through deeds and energy. ‘He who appeared to you,’ he says; he did not say, ‘He who blinded you,’ avoiding reproach. ‘He has sent me,’ he says: ‘The deed is not mine; I am a servant of grace.’ Thus they knew to claim nothing as their own. ‘And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales.’ Scales fall off, showing both the severity of the inflammation and that the healing was beyond doubt. ‘And rising, he was baptized, and taking food, he was strengthened.’ For he had grown weak, from the journey, from fear, from hunger, and from despondency. And note that he did not consent to partake of food until he had obtained the great gifts.

Acts 9:20–22. And immediately he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. And all who heard were amazed and said, ‘Is this not the one who in Jerusalem ravaged those who call on this name, and has come here for this, to bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul was strengthened all the more, and confounded the Jews dwelling in Damascus, proving that this is the Christ. ‘…is the Son.’ Not that he rose, nor that he lives, but what? At once he carefully establishes the doctrine, that he is the Son of God; at once he was a teacher. For he was not ashamed of the change, in the very matters in which he had been distinguished. ‘But Saul was strengthened all the more, and confounded the Jews.’ For being learned in the law, he silenced them. They thought they had been rid of such disputation when they were rid of Stephen; and they found another more vehement than Stephen. The word ‘proving’ means teaching and interpreting from the Scriptures which they themselves knew.

Acts 9:23–25. And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, so as to kill him. But the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket. And when Saul came… Paul, coming to Jerusalem, tried to join himself to the disciples; and they all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple. Again the Jews come to their stronger device, no longer seeking false accusers and false witnesses, but setting out by themselves to murder. For when they saw the matter growing, they do not even convene a tribunal. ‘And the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket.’ See Paul saved not by grace but by human wisdom, so that you may learn that the man’s virtue shines even apart from miracles. ‘And when Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join himself to the disciples.’ Having escaped the danger, he not only does not flee, but went where he had inflamed them more greatly. And consider now that he even sought out the disciples, so wholly was he kindled and filled with the preaching; and the fact that he had come to Christ later than the others made him the more eager. For ‘he,’ it says, ‘to whom much is forgiven will love much.’ It is worth being perplexed how in the Epistle to the Galatians he says, ‘I did not go up to Jerusalem, but to Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus; and after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter; and another of the apostles I did not see, except James the brother of the Lord’, while here it says that he came to Jerusalem, and that Barnabas brought him to the apostles. Either, then, he means there that ‘I did not go up’ so as to submit my teaching for approval; or, if not this, one may conjecture that the plot in Damascus did not happen immediately after he believed, but after he had come up from Arabia three years later; and thus his going up to Jerusalem took place. He himself, then, did not go to the apostles, but tried to join himself to the disciples, being both teacher and disciple. Or else he does not mention this journey but passes it over; for the historian abridges much and brings together many seasons. ‘He tried,’ it says, ‘to join himself’, not boldly, but cautiously he drew near to them.

Acts 9:26. And they all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple. The disciples indeed feared him, while the apostles did not believe; for it was truly incredible to human reasoning that such a fierce persecutor should have been changed into a preacher.

Acts 9:27–31. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and related to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. And he was with them, going in and out in Jerusalem, and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. He spoke also and disputed with the Hellenists; but they attempted to kill him. When the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So the churches throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. That Barnabas was a gentle and mild man is shown both from this and from what he did afterward. Perhaps he also knew Paul beforehand, being his friend. To which apostles did he bring him? Perhaps to Peter and James, whom Paul himself in the Epistle to the Galatians says he saw. And note that Paul does not go to the apostles, as one modest about himself, but he himself goes to the disciples, as being a disciple; while Barnabas brings him also to the apostles and relates how he had spoken boldly. ‘He spoke also and disputed with the Hellenists’, that is, with the Jews who spoke Greek. For those others, the deep-rooted Hebrews, could not even bear to look at him; rather they even attempted to kill him. ‘And when the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea.’ Afraid of what had happened in Stephen’s case, they bring him safely to Caesarea, and then likewise to Tarsus, that he might both teach and be in safety, as in his own homeland; for the Jews did not rage against the others as against him. For the other apostles they even respected, since their fury against them had been worn down by time, and since these had often stood before the people and been admired by the multitude. ‘So the churches throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace.’ He is about to say that Peter went down from there; so that you might not think he did this out of fear, he first said that the churches had peace; for when the war was at its height, the apostles remained in Jerusalem, but when peace prevailed they went out preaching in the other places too.

Acts 9:32–33. Now it happened that Peter, as he traveled through all the regions, came down also to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, who for eight years had been lying on a bed, for he was paralyzed.

Acts 9:34–35. And Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you; arise and make your bed.’ And immediately he rose. And all who dwelt in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Why did he not wait for the man’s faith, nor ask whether he wished to be healed? Above all, the miracle was done for the encouragement of many; for it says, ‘And all who dwelt in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.’ And besides, they had not yet here furnished proofs of their own power. So it was not even fitting to require faith of them; since they did not require it of the lame man either. Just as Christ, when beginning his miracles, did not require faith, so neither did these. For in Jerusalem faith in them naturally came earlier; so that, it says, ‘as Peter came by, his shadow at least might fall on some of them’; for many miracles took place there, but here he is only now setting foot.

Acts 9:36–43. Now in Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which, when translated, means ‘Dorcas’ (Gazelle). She was full of good works and acts of charity that she did. And it happened in those days that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent to him, urging him not to delay in coming to them. And Peter rose and went with them; and when he arrived, they led him into the upper room, and all the widows stood by him weeping and showing the tunics and garments that Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and kneeling down he prayed, and turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. And giving her his hand, he raised her up; and calling the saints and the widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And it happened that he stayed many days in Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner. ‘…named Tabitha.’ He gives her name, showing that she was true to her name, so watchful and vigilant, like a gazelle. For often names are given providentially. ‘She fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in the upper room’, that is, they did for her everything that is done for the dead. And the disciples in Joppa sent, ‘urging him not to delay in coming to them.’ Note both the guilelessness of the others and the humility of Peter. They do not come themselves, but through two men summon him for the healing, and he comes. And why did they not summon him before she died? They thought it unworthy to trouble the disciples for such things and to distract them and hinder the preaching; therefore it says that it was near. ‘And all the widows stood by him weeping and showing the tunics and garments that Dorcas had made while she was with them.’ The phrase ‘while she was with them’ shows her great humility, that she was with them and lived with them and associated with them all as one of them, not as we do now. ‘But Peter put them all outside, and kneeling down he prayed.’ Why does he put them all outside? So as not to be moved by their tears nor disturbed. ‘Kneeling down’, he makes intense prayer; then he supports her; then little by little her life and strength are brought back. ‘Calling the saints and the widows’, to the one group he presented her alive for comfort, to the other for protection. And note Peter’s freedom from pride: having wrought so great a deed, he lodges neither with her nor with any other notable person, but with Simon a tanner, neither shaming the lowly nor giving the great occasion to be exalted.

Chapter 10

Acts 10:1–8. There was in Caesarea a certain man named Cornelius, a centurion of the cohort called the Italian, devout and fearing God with all his household, who gave many alms to the people and prayed to God continually. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God who came in to him and said to him, ‘Cornelius!’ And he, gazing at him and becoming afraid, said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ He said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa and summon Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.’ And when the angel who spoke to Cornelius had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. This man is not a Jew, nor one of those under the Law; yet he had already anticipated our way of life. Two men of rank now come to believe: the treasurer of the Ethiopian queen, and this man. ‘Devout and fearing God with all his household.’ Let us listen, all of us who neglect our own households; this man cared even for his soldiers. ‘A centurion of the cohort called the Italian.’ It was a great cohort, he says, called the Italian. A ‘cohort’ is what we now call a ‘Numerus.’ He makes the man known and conspicuous so that no one may say that the narrative of the Scriptures is false. One should know that a cohort consists of two hundred soldiers, and a guard-detachment of sixty. ‘About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God who came in to him.’ He sees the angel for the assurance of Peter; or rather, not for his own sake, but for the sake of the others who were weaker. At the ninth hour, when he had set aside his cares and was in quiet and compunction. Since the Eye of truth and the great Judge saw that great works, lacking faith, are dead, He sends an angel to confer worth upon the works, so as to crown with faith those who strive well. From the vision fear arose in him, but measured fear, only enough to turn his attention; then the words dissolved the fear. ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.’ See where almsgiving advances: to the heaven of heaven, and it stands beside the very royal throne. Notice the angel too: first he lifts up and raises his mind on high, and only then says what he says: ‘Now send men to Joppa and summon Simon who is called Peter; he is lodging with a certain Simon, a tanner.’ So that they might not go to someone else, he indicates the man not only by his surname but also by his location: ‘whose house is by the sea.’ The apostles sought out places withdrawn from the cities, being lovers of solitude and quiet. For what if it should happen that there was another Simon as well? Here is the sign: this one lives by the sea. He did not say why, so as not to overwhelm him with joy. ‘Having called two of his servants and a devout soldier.’ You see, he does not say this casually, that those who waited on him were such men. ‘And having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.’ Notice the absence of arrogance. For he did not say, ‘Call Peter for me,’ but in order also to persuade him he related everything. For he did not think it right to summon him on the strength of his rank. This is why he related everything.

Acts 10:9–16. On the next day, as they were on their journey and drawing near to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. And he became hungry and wished to eat; but while they were preparing it, a trance fell upon him. And he beholds heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending to him, like a great sheet, bound at its four corners and let down upon the earth, in which were all the four-footed beasts of the earth and the wild beasts and the creeping things and the birds of heaven. And a voice came to him: ‘Rise, Peter, kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.’ And a voice came to him again, a second time: ‘What God has cleansed, do not you call common.’ This happened three times, and the vessel was taken up again into heaven. See how the Spirit draws the times together, and makes this come to pass neither too soon nor too late. ‘Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour’—that is, privately and in quiet, as in an upper room. ‘A trance fell upon him, and he beholds heaven opened.’ The trance signifies both the amazement at the wonder and the passing outside of the things of sense, being led on to spiritual things. So a kind of spiritual vision came to him. ‘And a certain vessel descending to him, like a sheet.’ Peter, the leader of the apostles, had need of a divine revelation concerning the Gentiles. For he did not know that, with respect to faith, there is no distinction between circumcision and uncircumcision; nor did he yet clearly know that the Lord had said the Gentiles were to be made disciples through the worship that is according to faith, until His ineffable counsel manifested the mystery through a revelation, persuading him both by the example of the sheet and by the grace of the Holy Spirit given also to the Gentiles according to faith, that in Christ there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. ‘Bound at its four corners and let down upon the earth.’ The four corners signify the four elements; the vessel that appeared signifies the grosser world, and the various animals are symbols of the condition of human beings. This man was a supreme symbol of the whole inhabited world, for he had nothing in common with the Jews; all would have accused Peter as a transgressor. So it is arranged by the Spirit that he might have a defense against those who accused him, namely, that he even contradicted; for they were obliged to keep the Law strictly. So, that they might not accuse him, this is arranged. Perhaps it was while kneeling that he saw the vision. And the event was divine: that he saw from above and was in a trance, and that a voice sounded from there, and that he confessed three times that the animals there were unclean, and that it came from above and was drawn back up there—a great proof of cleanness. So this happens for the sake of those to whom he was going to recount it; since he himself had heard, ‘Do not go in the way of the Gentiles.’ For if even Paul had need of circumcision and sacrifice, much more then, at the beginning of the preaching, when they were very weak. Yet Peter did not declare all things common and unclean, but only those which the Law called common and unclean. But God, delivering the character of His holy Church, told him to consider nothing common; for to him all things are clean that are received with thanksgiving and the blessing of God. But even if the riddle concerned the calling of the Gentiles—that he should not consider those in uncircumcision common or unclean—nevertheless Peter’s word referred not to human beings but to the things forbidden in the Law. That the kinds of animals are taken to represent the characters of human beings was taught from Peter’s vision, since in the vessel let down from heaven there was every kind of animal: creeping things, birds, and four-footed beasts. For the word hinted that those about to be brought to the faith from various sins are these, likened either to four-footed beasts because of their brutishness, or to creeping things because of their venom, or to birds because of their lightness and instability. And the serpents are interpreted figuratively of the Sadducees and Pharisees; the fox, of Herod; lustful horses, of the sensual; sheep, of the more guileless among people; goats, of the unsociable and ungiving; hedgehogs, of the rich, of whom the Lord said that with their own thorns they choke the word and make it unfruitful. ‘And a voice came to him again, a second time: What God has cleansed, do not you call common.’ The voice seems to be spoken to him, but the whole is said to the Jews. For if the teacher is rebuked, much more are they.

Acts 10:17–18. Now while Peter was perplexed within himself as to what the vision he had seen might mean, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having inquired for the house of Simon, stood at the gate. And calling out, they asked whether Simon who is called Peter was lodging there. While Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him: ‘Behold, men are seeking you. But rise, go down and go with them, doubting nothing, because I have sent them.’ What might the vision be? The earth is the sheet; the beasts in it, those from the Gentiles; the ‘Kill and eat,’ that these too must approach; and that this happened three times, baptism. So the truth of the vision shows him the mystery of the Trinity, just as faith in the Trinity establishes the true worship of God. ‘And behold, the men sent by Cornelius.’ Opportunely the men come, resolving the perplexity. For Christ also let Joseph first be troubled, and then sent the angel; for the soul readily receives the resolution when it has first been in perplexity. And his perplexity neither lasted long nor arose before this, but at the very time when they were asking whether he was lodging there.

Acts 10:19. He is lodging here. And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him: ‘Behold, men are seeking you.’ And again this is a defense of Peter before the disciples, that they might learn that he had hesitated, and was taught not to make distinctions. For listen:

Acts 10:20. ‘Go, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.’ Great is the authority of the Spirit; for what God does, the Holy Spirit does. For the angel said, ‘Your prayers and your alms,’ to show that he was sent from there; but the Spirit does not speak so, but says, ‘I have sent them.’ One must therefore obey the Spirit.

Acts 10:21–23. Then Peter, going down to the men who had been sent by Cornelius, said to them, ‘Behold, I am the one you seek; what is the reason for which you have come?’ And they said, ‘Cornelius a centurion, a righteous man and one fearing God, well attested by the whole nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you.’ So he called them in and gave them lodging. And on the next day Peter went out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along with him. And on the next day he entered Caesarea. ‘Behold, I am he.’ First he confessed that he himself was the one they sought, and then he inquires the reason—so that, if it should press him at once, he might go out with them; but if not, that he might lodge them in the house. And those who were sent speak his praises, so as to persuade that an angel had appeared to him. The beginning of the calling of the Gentiles comes from a devout man, shown worthy by his works. For even though this happened, still they are scandalized; if this had not been so, what would not have come about? And the phrase, ‘to summon you to his house’—he did not send out of contempt, he says, but because he was so commanded; do not, then, despise it. So Peter rightly first treats the men kindly, since they were weary, and makes them his own. And that some from Joppa went with him was providential, so that they might afterward be witnesses, when Peter would need to make his defense.

Acts 10:24–27. Now Cornelius was awaiting them, having called together his kinsmen and close friends. And when Peter was entering, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, did obeisance. But Peter raised him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I myself am also a man.’ And conversing with him, he went in, and finds many gathered together. The man was distinguished, and lived in a distinguished city. ‘Having called together his kinsmen.’ This indeed belongs to a thoroughly devout friend: in such good things to make his close friends partakers of all. They are rightly called close friends, those in whom he always confided, since the struggle of caring for so many subordinates was his. And both friends and kinsmen seem to me to have been fed at his table. See how he believed that Peter would surely come—because the angel appeared to him not in sleep, but while he was awake and by day. ‘But Peter raised him up, saying, Stand up; I myself am also a man’—by this teaching the others as well, and giving thanks to God, displaying his own humility. And see, before all else he teaches them this: to imagine nothing great about themselves.

Acts 10:28–33. And he said to them, ‘You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to associate with or to approach a foreigner; but God has shown me not to call any person common or unclean. Therefore, when summoned, I came without objection. So I ask, for what reason did you summon me?’ And Cornelius said, ‘Four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour praying in my house; and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing, and says, “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon who is surnamed Peter; he is lodging in the house of Simon a tanner by the sea, who when he comes will speak to you.” So at once I sent to you, and you have done well to come. Now therefore we are all present before God, to hear all that has been commanded you by God.’ ‘You know how unlawful it is.’ At once he speaks of God’s love for mankind, and shows that God granted them great things; he both utters great things and is modest. For he did not say, ‘Men, we have come to you, though we deem it unworthy to associate with anyone,’ but what? ‘You know that God commanded this—that it is unlawful to associate with or to approach a foreigner; and God has shown me not to call any person common or unclean.’ It is to be noted that the same God permitted the Christian people to call no person common or unclean, but to be with them, since they have hopes of believing, above all, in Christ. ‘So I ask, for what reason did you summon me?’ Peter had already heard the whole matter, even from the soldiers, but he wishes them first to confess and to make themselves accountable to the faith. ‘At the ninth hour,’ he says, ‘praying.’ What does this mean? It seems to me that this man had appointed for himself the times of a most exact life, and on certain days; for this reason he said, ‘Four days ago.’ See how powerful prayer is! When he advanced in piety, then the angel appeared to him—that is one day; the day the men sent by Cornelius departed, one; the day they came, one; and the fourth appears, about the third hour after which he had prayed. ‘And behold, a man stood before me.’ He does not say ‘an angel,’ but ‘a man’; so free is he from pride. See the awakened mind; see how worthy he was of all these things. ‘Now therefore we are all present before God.’ He did not say ‘before man,’ but ‘before God.’ So one must attend to the servants of God.

Acts 10:34–38. Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God is not a respecter of persons, but in every nation the one who fears Him and works righteousness is acceptable to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all. You know the thing that happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.’

Acts 10:39–43. And we are witnesses of all that He did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom they also killed, hanging Him on a tree. Him God raised on the third day, and granted that He become manifest—not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen beforehand by God, to us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is He who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name. The phrase ‘In truth I perceive’ means: He examines not the quality of persons, but the difference of deeds. And by what he says he plainly signifies that the God whom Cornelius feared—of whom he had been instructed through the Law and the prophets, for whose sake he also did his alms—this God is in truth God; but he lacked the knowledge of the Son. See how he restrains his mind. ‘In every nation,’ he says, so that the Gentiles might not seem to be in the rank of the rejected. ‘Working righteousness.’ ‘Righteousness’ is put for ‘every virtue.’ He did not say, ‘In every nation the one who works righteousness is saved,’ but ‘is acceptable’—that is, worthy to be received. ‘The word which He sent to the sons of Israel.’ He gives the sons of Israel the preference. He says these things also on account of those present, in order to persuade them. ‘How God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit’—according to His humanity, evidently. For since He emptied Himself and partook of blood and flesh like us, the things He has by nature as God He is said to receive according to His humanity. For He receives not for Himself, but for us, as in a first-fruits through Himself; or rather, inasmuch as He is God the Word, these were His own. The phrase ‘healing all who were oppressed by the devil’ shows the many diabolical maimings and distortions of bodies brought about by him. ‘Whom they also killed, hanging Him on a tree.’ Again he speaks of the lowly things: when he had shown that He was sent from God, then he said that He was killed. So that you might imagine nothing absurd, you see them nowhere hiding the cross, but along with the rest setting forth also its manner: ‘Whom they also killed,’ he says, ‘hanging Him on a tree.’ ‘But to witnesses chosen beforehand.’ And yet He Himself chose them. But this too he ascribes to God, by saying ‘chosen beforehand’—‘who ate and drank with Him.’ See from what he confirms the resurrection. Why, when He had risen, did He not work a sign, but ate and drank? Because the resurrection was a great sign; and of this nothing is so convincing as the eating and drinking. ‘And to testify.’ To testify, he says, plainly, so that they might not fall into ignorance. ‘To Him all the prophets bear witness.’ Whatever prophets spoke about the forgiveness of sins, they said that sins are forgiven in this Jesus. So also Isaiah, bringing in His person, says: ‘I am He who blots out your transgressions, and your iniquities I will not remember.’ Yet he did not say that He is the Son of God, but what frightened them more, the timely preparation drawn from the prophets—for those held great glory. And when he had shaken them with fear, then he brings in the concession, spoken not by himself but by the prophets; and the fearful part is from himself, but the gentle part from the prophets.

Acts 10:44–48. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were hearing the word. And the believers from the circumcision who had come with Peter were astonished, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out also upon the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and magnifying God. Then Peter answered: ‘Can anyone forbid the water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Chapter 11

Acts 11:1. Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. Behold the dispensation of God. He did not allow the word to be completed, nor baptism to come about at Peter’s command; but since he saw that their mind was wonderful, and the beginning of teaching had already been made, and they believed that baptism is altogether the remission of sins, then the Spirit came upon them. And they also spoke in tongues, which astonished those who had gathered together—God by this providentially preparing a great defense for Peter. Can the water hinder these from being baptized? And what need was there of water, once the Holy Spirit had fallen upon them? I will therefore state it, uncovering for us the hidden mystery. Divine symbols are accomplished in baptism: burial and death, and resurrection and life. As it is easy for us to be baptized and to rise up again, so it is easy for God to bury the old man and to bring forth the new. And this comes to pass so that you may learn that all things there are fulfilled by the power of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; and that what is said is no mere conjecture, listen to Paul saying, ‘We were buried with him through baptism into death’; and again, ‘Our old man was crucified with him’; and again, ‘We have become planted together in the likeness of his death.’

Acts 11:2–10. And when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, saying, ‘You went in to men who were uncircumcised and ate with them.’ But Peter began and explained the matter to them in order, saying: ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain vessel descending, like a great sheet let down by four corners from heaven, and it came as far as me. Looking intently into it, I observed and saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the creeping things, and the birds of heaven. And I heard a voice saying to me, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat.” But I said, “By no means, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But the voice answered me a second time from heaven, “What God has cleansed, you must not call common.” This happened three times, and again everything was drawn up into heaven.’ You see the zeal they had for the law. They did not defer to Peter’s dignity, nor to the signs that had occurred, nor to how great an achievement it was that the word had been received; but they contended over those small matters. It was those of the circumcision who contended, not the apostles—far from it. They do not say, ‘Why did you preach?’ but, ‘Why did you eat?’ Peter, however, did not take his stand on that trivial point, but on the great one: ‘If they received the Spirit,’ he says, ‘how was it possible not to impart this to them?’ Through his defense he shows that he himself was in no way the cause, but that God was the cause everywhere, upon whom he cast everything. ‘For he,’ he says, ‘showed the vessel; I objected. And again he spoke; and not even then did I obey. The Spirit commanded me to go; having gone, I did not rush, nor did I baptize at once; but again God accomplished everything. And I heard also a voice saying to me.’ It would have been enough even of itself, to behold the sheet, to persuade him; yet a voice was added as well: ‘Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But I said, By no means, Lord.’ You see, he says, that I did my part. And this is his defense against what those men said, that ‘You went in and ate with them.’ He defends himself, and does not think fit to invoke the dignity of a teacher; for the more gently he speaks, the more he soothes them. […]

Acts 11:11–18. And behold, at that very moment three men stood at the house in which I was, sent from Caesarea to me. And the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. These six brethren also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying to him, ‘Send men to Joppa and call for Simon who is surnamed Peter, who will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift as he gave to us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they fell silent and glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.’ ‘These six brethren also went with me.’ Nothing is more humble than when he brings forward the testimony of the brethren. He does not mention what the angel said to Cornelius, ‘Your prayers and your alms’; nor does he recount the man’s uprightness; nor does he say that it was because the Spirit sent him, because God commanded, calling him from there through the angel; but he relies on the latter point, and it was in itself an indisputable proof. He is not content with what has been said, but also recalls the word of the Lord, ‘You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ‘Nothing newer has happened,’ he says, ‘but only what he foretold.’ But, one might say, it was not necessary to baptize—yet the baptism was completed. And he does not say, ‘I commanded them to be baptized,’ but shows that he himself did nothing. ‘What we have received,’ he says, ‘they too received.’ ‘If then God gave them the same gift as he gave to us’—in order to stop their mouths, he added, ‘the same gift.’ ‘He does not allow them,’ he says, ‘to have less, if to those who believed he gave the equal gift.’ And he does not say, ‘as to you,’ but, ‘as to us.’ Why do you take it amiss when we call them partakers? ‘And who was I, that I could withstand God?’ Against his accusers he defends himself very pointedly and weightily: ‘I could not,’ he says, ‘prevent this.’ By these words they were humbled and fell silent. You see that everything came about through Peter’s address to the people, when he had well reported what had happened? From this point the door was thereafter opened to the Gentiles.

Acts 11:19–26. Now those who were scattered by the affliction that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except only the Jews. But some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, on entering Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report concerning them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with purpose of heart; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a considerable crowd was added to the Lord. Then Barnabas went out to Tarsus to seek Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for a whole year they were gathered together in the church and taught a considerable crowd. And that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. The persecution proved no small achievement; for to those who love God all things work together for good. For when Stephen was killed, when Paul was twice in danger, when the apostles were scourged, then the Gentiles were received—which Paul also says: ‘It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you; but since you thrust it away and judge yourselves unworthy, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.’ ‘They spoke to the Hellenists.’ He calls them Hellenists, perhaps because they did not know Hebrew, so they called them Greeks. The phrase ‘The hand of the Lord was with them’ indicates that they were working signs. You see why even now the necessity of signs arose? That they might believe. ‘And they sent Barnabas out to go as far as Antioch.’ Why do they not write to Paul, but send Barnabas? They did not yet know the man’s virtue. ‘For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.’ It is not one and the same thing that God is good and that a man is good. For God is good in essence, being the principle and fountain of all good things; but the man is good not in essence, but by the acquisition of virtue. ‘Then Barnabas went out to Tarsus to seek Saul.’ The man was very kind, and frank, and forgiving. He sought, it says, the athlete, the commander. ‘And it came about that for a whole year they were gathered together in the church and taught a considerable crowd.’ No small praise for the city, that before all the others it enjoyed his mouth for so long a time. ‘That the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.’ This too was Paul’s achievement, to raise it to such a height, the name itself being like a sign. Where three thousand believed, where five thousand, where so great a multitude, nothing of this kind occurred; rather, men heard of those ‘of the Way’; but here for the first time they were deemed worthy of such a name. And it is to be noted that for this reason especially Antioch was deemed worthy of a ruling throne, since there first they were called Christians.

Acts 11:27–30. Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them, named Agabus, stood up and signified through the Spirit that a great famine was about to come over all the world, which also happened under Claudius Caesar. And the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea; which also they did, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. ‘Prophets.’ And how does Christ say that ‘the law and the prophets were until John’? He speaks of those prophets who proclaimed his coming beforehand. ‘He signified through the Spirit.’ Lest they should think that the famine occurred because Christianity had entered, the Holy Spirit foretells it; for Christ too foretold it. Not that it had to happen from the beginning by some decree fixed from of old, but because of the evils done to the holy apostles; and as these persisted, a great famine comes about, indicating to the Jews the evils that were to come. ‘And the disciples, each according to his ability.’ See, for them even the famine becomes a cause of salvation, an occasion for almsgiving. And see them at once believing and at once bearing fruit—not only to those near, but also to those far off. ‘Sending it to the elders.’ From this it appears that the apostles also had the dignity of elders; but they also held the rank of deacons and bishops.

Chapter 12

Acts 12:1–5. About that time King Herod laid his hands on some who belonged to the Church, to do them harm. He put to death James the brother of John with the sword. And when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also (these were the days of Unleavened Bread). And having arrested him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer was being made to God by the Church on his behalf. ‘About that time.’ What time? The time under Claudius Caesar. For Gaius, emperor of the Romans, appointed Agrippa king of Judea, banishing Herod to Lugdunum in Gaul together with Herodias. This is the Herod under whom John suffered, as Josephus and Eusebius record. So the discrepancy in the name here—saying Herod instead of Agrippa—arose either through a scribal error, or it is stated because of his having two names. Note that James was the first of the twelve disciples to bear witness as a martyr. ‘To harm some from the Church.’ Observe that faithful men, and the body composed of them, are called the Church. ‘And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.’ So that no one might say that the apostles boldly and fearlessly face death only because God snatches them away, for this reason God permits even the foremost—Stephen and James—to be killed, thereby persuading the very murderers that not even these things remove the apostles or hinder them. Murder was pleasing to them, and unjust murder served their unfitting passions; whereas their impulse ought to have been cut off, Herod inflamed it further, like one who is an executioner of the sick rather than their physician, though he had countless examples in both his grandfather and his father Herod. ‘Now these were the days of Unleavened Bread. And having seized him, he put him in prison.’ Again the excessive scrupulousness of the Jews: they did not forbid the killing, but they would not do such things at such a season. ‘Handing him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him.’ This came both from anger and from fear. And the more careful the guard, the more wonderful the display of God’s power. And this was for the sake of Peter, who was held in high esteem. ‘But earnest prayer was being made to God by the Church on his behalf.’ Hear how they were disposed toward their teachers: they did not riot, they were not thrown into confusion, but they turned to prayer, the true ally.

Acts 12:6–10. When Herod was about to bring him out, that very night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door were keeping the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by, and a light shone in the cell; and striking Peter on the side, he woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said to him, ‘Gird yourself and put on your sandals.’ He did so. And he says to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ And going out he followed him, and did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. Passing through the first guard and the second, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them of its own accord. And going out, they went on through one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ‘Peter was sleeping.’ Peter was not in anguish or in fear, but on the very night on which he was to be brought out, he slept, casting everything upon the Lord. Observe also how strict the guard was: the guards were sleeping along with him. But why did a light shine? So that Peter might both see and hear the angel, and not suppose it to be an apparition. And the word ‘quickly’ was so that he should not be sluggish. But the angel also struck him, so deeply was he sleeping. And the phrase ‘striking him on the side’ is not the act of one causing a disturbance, but of one urging him not to delay. ‘Gird yourself and put on your sandals.’ How was Peter acting contrary to the command that said, ‘Do not acquire gold or silver, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a belt, nor a staff,’ he himself having a belt and garments and sandals? And yet at that time he ought to have been unshod, for the great need of these things is in winter. But Paul too, writing to Timothy to come before winter, charges him, ‘When you come, bring the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus’; for no one can say that he did not have another that he wore. They did not oppose the command of Christ—far from it!—but rather they followed it closely. For those commands were temporary, and not for all time; and Luke says that Christ said this to the disciples: ‘When I sent you out without purse and bag and sandals and belt, did you lack anything? They said, Nothing. He said to them, But now, let whoever has a purse take it, and likewise a bag.’ So at that time he gave that command wishing to show his power. For tell me, what importance was there in having only one tunic? What then? If it had to be washed, was he to go about naked, or sit at home? And what if a severe frost set in or cold gripped the body—was he to waste away and not speak? For their bodies were not made of adamant. ‘And he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.’ This was natural, because of the exceeding extraordinariness of what was happening; for an excess of signs astounds the one who beholds. Peter thought he was seeing a vision, though he himself was girding and putting on his sandals; what else could he have felt but amazement?

Acts 12:11–18. And Peter, when he came to himself, said, ‘Now I know truly that the Lord sent his angel and delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.’ And realizing this, Peter came to the house of Mary the mother of John who was called Mark, where many were gathered together and praying. And when Peter knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. And recognizing Peter’s voice, out of joy she did not open the gate, but running in she announced that Peter was standing before the gate. But they said to her, ‘You are out of your mind.’ Yet she insisted that it was so. And they said, ‘It is his angel.’ But Peter continued knocking. And when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. And motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison; and he said, ‘Report these things to James and the brothers.’ And going out, he went to another place. Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. ‘Now I know truly.’ Now I have come to know, he says, not before. The angel wished the joy to come upon him all at once, and that he should grasp what had happened only after his deliverance. ‘And realizing this.’ What does ‘realizing’ mean? That he ought not simply to depart, but to repay his benefactor. This John was perhaps not the one who was always with them. For this reason the writer added his distinguishing mark, for he said, ‘who was called Mark.’ Perhaps this is Mark the Evangelist, through whom, they say, Peter preached the gospel; for the Gospel of Mark is said to be Peter’s. The account is plausible from the fact that both Peter and the rest stayed with him for a considerable time. ‘Out of joy she did not open.’ Observe the reverence of the girl: ‘out of joy,’ it says, ‘she did not open.’ And this happened well, lest the others, astounded at suddenly seeing him, should disbelieve—since even when this did happen, they shook their heads in disbelief; and that she might bring the good news, she hurried. ‘And they said, It is his angel.’ This is true, that each person has an angel. For an angel attends every one who believes in the Lord, unless we ever drive him away by our evil deeds. For just as smoke drives away bees and a foul odor drives off doves, so the sin that is full of tears and foul-smelling drives away the angel of our life. But they expected this from the circumstance. For he says, ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ And where Christ is, there of necessity are also archangels and the other powers. ‘And he said, Report these things to James and the brothers.’ How free from vainglory he is! For he did not say, ‘Make these things known to all everywhere,’ but, ‘to the brothers.’ ‘And going out, he went to another place.’ For he did not tempt God, nor did he cast himself into temptations. The angel did not tell him this; but by withdrawing him in silence and bringing him out by night, he gave him leave to depart, since those apostles also, when they were commanded, did so: ‘Go in,’ he says, ‘and speak in the temple to the people.’

Acts 12:19–20. And Herod, when he had sought him and not found him, examined the guards and ordered them to be led away to execution. And going down from Judea to Caesarea, he stayed there. Now Herod was furious with the Tyrians and Sidonians. But they came to him with one accord, and having won over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country was fed from the king’s country. ‘He ordered them to be led away.’ It was possible for God to deliver those men also along with Peter; but if the angel had led the soldiers out together with Peter, the matter would have been thought a flight. Rather, what grieved Herod was that he had been mocked—just as his grandfather, deceived by the Magi, was all the more made to gnash with rage and to be a laughingstock. ‘Now Herod was furious with the Tyrians and Sidonians.’ It is no small thing that Luke mentions this history—how immediately justice came upon him and overtook him.

Acts 12:21–24. …wearing royal apparel, and sitting on the tribunal, he made a public address to them. And the people cried out, ‘The voice of a god, and not of a man!’ But immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give the glory to God; and being eaten by worms, he expired. But the word of God grew and multiplied. ‘Wearing royal apparel.’ Josephus says that Herod, having put on a robe made entirely of silver, of such marvelous weave, came forward into the theater at the break of day; there, when the first rays of the sun fell upon it, the silver, lit up, glittered marvelously, flashing something fearful and, to those who gazed intently at him, dreadful. And at once the flatterers proclaimed him a god, adding, ‘Be gracious; even if until now we feared you as a man, yet from now on we confess you to be greater than human nature.’ Observe what flatterers those men were; observe also the high mind of the apostles. For the one whom a whole nation thus courted, these men spurned. And indeed, if those men, he says, shouted, what is that to Herod? It is that he accepted the cry, that he thought himself worthy of the flattery. And it is chiefly through this that those who flatter rashly are instructed. Both, then, were deserving of punishment; but since it is not the time of judgment, the one most culpable is punished. And if this man, hearing ‘The voice of a god, and not of a man,’ though he himself had said nothing, suffered such things, how much more would Christ have suffered, if he had not himself been God—Christ who continually said, ‘These words are not mine,’ and, ‘Angels minister to me.’

Acts 12:25. And Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, having fulfilled their ministry, taking with them also John who was surnamed Mark.

Chapter 13

Acts 13:1. Now there were in Antioch, in the church there, certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who is called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. He mentions Barnabas first, for Paul was not yet illustrious; he had not yet worked any sign. It should be noted that both Paul and Barnabas were ranked among the prophets. ‘Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch.’ See, it is each one’s character, and not upbringing from childhood, that saves. For look how Herod was utterly wicked, while his foster-brother Manaen was so transformed that he was even counted worthy of the gift of prophecy.

Acts 13:2–8. As they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, after fasting and praying and laying their hands on them, they sent them off. So these, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they had John as their assistant. Passing through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a false prophet, a Jew, named Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a prudent man. He summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. What does ‘as they were ministering’ mean? That is, as they were preaching. And ‘set apart for Me for the work’ stands for ‘for the apostleship.’ By whom is he ordained? By Lucius and Manaen, or rather by the Spirit; and he is ordained so as to preach with authority. How then does he himself say, ‘not from men, nor through man’? In the sense that no man called him or brought him to it. They did not ordain the deacons casually, but with prior fasting and prayer. And they laid their hands on them, so that from this one may infer that, through the laying-on of hands that followed, they passed beyond the rank of deacon. They do not linger in Seleucia, knowing that from the neighboring city it could reap much benefit; but they hasten on to what is pressing. ‘He, the proconsul, summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.’ The wonder in the proconsul is that, though he had already been taken beforehand by that man’s magic, he wished to hear the apostles. But observe the magician too: when they preached to others, he was not greatly vexed; but when they came to the proconsul, then he was.

Acts 13:9–11. But Saul, who is also Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and fixing his gaze on him, said: O you who are full of all deceit and all villainy, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the straight ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.

Acts 13:12. Immediately a mist and darkness fell upon him, and going about he sought for someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, astonished at the teaching of the Lord. ‘Saul, who is also Paul.’ Here his name is changed together with the ordination. He was renamed so that in this too he might be no less than the apostles; rather, the special distinction that the chief of the disciples possessed, this too he would acquire, and would take as a basis for even greater intimacy. ‘Full of all deceit.’ Lacking in nothing, he says. He spoke well: ‘all deceit,’ for he was a dissembler. He calls him ‘son of the devil’ because he was doing the devil’s work. You are not warring against us, he says, nor fighting us, but you pervert the straight ways of the Lord. ‘And you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.’ By the very sign by which he himself had been brought to faith, he wished to bring this man too. So it was not a punishment but a healing. For he all but said: It is not I who do this, but the hand of God. And the ‘for a time’ was not the word of one punishing, but of one converting. For if it had been the word of one punishing, he would have made him blind forever; but as it is, not so, but only ‘for a time.’ That he might win the proconsul, he says ‘for a time,’ setting a limit for his mind to hold within itself the recovery of the light, as it changes his manner for the better. ‘And going about he sought for someone to lead him.’ This is proof of the blindness, the seeking for guides. It was fitting that the one who had been heralded for his magic should be schooled by this punishment, just as the magicians too were schooled by the boils.

Acts 13:13–15. Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. But John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. And they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia, and entering the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying: Men and brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak. ‘But John.’ John, who is called Mark, had been traveling with them on the evangelical course from Palestine as far as Perga in Pamphylia. Then, when the apostles pressed on with their course vigorously and armed themselves with an unbending soul for the contests, Mark, as a man who had grown faint and was not strong enough for so great a course, and for the contests and dangers and battles that rose up in every city, renounced the apostles’ course and returned to Palestine, not denying Christ, but declining the long road as too heavy for him. Later Paul and Barnabas returned, laden with the fruits of piety, bringing the good news to the church in Jerusalem of the conversion and repentance of the Gentiles. So when all were praising Paul and Barnabas for their achievements, Mark was grieved and stricken in soul; and perhaps he thought: If I had been a companion of the apostles, I too would now have been a sharer in the praises; and he resolved to go out with the apostles to the preaching. ‘And they came to Perga in Pamphylia.’ Again they run up to Perga, for they were hastening to the metropolis, Antioch. ‘And entering the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they sat down.’ They entered the synagogues in Jewish dress, so as not to be opposed or driven out; and in this way they accomplished everything.

Acts 13:16–24. Paul stood up and, motioning with his hand, said: Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people chose our fathers and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm he brought them out of it. And for about forty years’ time he sustained them in the wilderness. And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. And after this, for about four hundred and fifty years, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And having removed him, he raised up for them David as king, of whom he also testified, saying: I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will. Of this man’s seed, according to promise, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, when John had already proclaimed, before his coming, a baptism of repentance to Israel. ‘And Paul stood up.’ Here Paul preaches for the first time, and see his discernment: where the word had already been sown, he passes by; but where no one had preached, he lingers, as he himself says when he writes, being ambitious to preach the gospel not where Christ had already been named. Observe too that Barnabas yields to Paul, just as John everywhere yields to Peter, though Barnabas was the more venerable; yet they looked to the common benefit. ‘The God of this people chose our fathers.’ Going back to the beginning, he shows the benefits of God to be great, just as Stephen does. ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart.’ It must be noted that these words do not stand in this exact wording in the book of Kingdoms; there they were only spoken prophetically by the divine Samuel to Saul: ‘The Lord will seek out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord will appoint him to be ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.’ From this Paul composed the statement, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart.’ As for the saying, ‘Men and brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak’—this came about because it was the custom of the Jews on the Sabbaths to read the law of Moses and the prophets, and after the reading to address the people and expound what was read. Therefore these men invite Paul’s company to speak in the synagogue. ‘Of this man’s seed, according to promise, God brought salvation to Israel.’ The name of David was especially dear to the Jews; for this reason it is said that a king reigns from his offspring. ‘When John had proclaimed before his coming.’ By ‘coming’ he means the incarnation.

Acts 13:25–37. And as John was finishing his course, he said: Whom do you suppose me to be? I am not he; but behold, there comes one after me, the sandal of whose feet I am not worthy to loose. Men and brothers, sons of the race of Abraham, and those among you who fear God: to you the word of this salvation has been sent. For the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their rulers, not recognizing him and not understanding the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And finding in him no cause worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him put to death. And when they had accomplished all that was written concerning him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. He appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses before the people. And we bring you the good news that the promise made to the fathers God has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm: You are my Son; today I have begotten you. And that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: I will give you the holy and sure mercies of David. Therefore he also says in another place: You will not allow your Holy One to see corruption. For David, after serving his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep and was gathered to his fathers and saw corruption; but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. John bears witness not simply; rather, while all were attributing the glory to him, he himself repels it. For it is not the same thing to decline this honor when no one offers it and when many present it. ‘Men and brothers, sons of the race of Abraham.’ Here he points to the Jewish nobility. ‘And their rulers, not recognizing him.’ He quietly makes a defense on their behalf: they crucified him, he says, not knowing who he was; for the sin was one of ignorance. ‘And finding no cause worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him put to death.’ He said that the manner of death was eagerly sought by them. He brings Pilate into the midst, so that on the one hand the passion may become well known from the tribunal, and on the other that they may be the more accused, having handed him over to a man of another race. And he did not say ‘they petitioned,’ but ‘they asked.’ They obtained a favor, he says, since Pilate was unwilling. Which Peter states more clearly: ‘When he had decided to release him.’ ‘But God raised him from the dead.’ Let it not trouble you that Jesus is said to have been raised by God. For if Jesus is none other than the Word made flesh, and this Word is the power of the Father, through which he works all things—according to the saying, ‘Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God’—then he will be understood to have raised himself, even when he is said to be raised by the Father, to whom, as the timeless beginning and cause, all things are referred. Since he himself also says: ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ ‘…to those who came up with him to Jerusalem, for many days, who are his witnesses before the people’—which they could never have been, had they not been confirmed by divine power. ‘For us, the children of the fathers, by raising up Jesus.’ The brothers of the God-killers take the name ‘Jesus’ as the name of the man. Since, then, he had said earlier that the Word was laid in a tomb, lest anyone suppose that he had called the Word fleshless, he again calls him Jesus, nowhere admitting any division in the incarnate Word after the union. ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’ Understand these words with reference to the incarnation of Christ, which had a temporal visitation. For ‘today’ and ‘tomorrow’ are indicative of days; whereas timelessly he is begotten of the Father, as even the children of the heretics confess. ‘You will not give your Holy One to see corruption.’ He lies, then, who says that he confesses the body of God and Savior Christ to be passible, that is, receptive of sufferings, and at the same time calls it, even before the resurrection, incorruptible, that is, impassible and immortal. For it is plain that the body possessed incorruption, in respect of its sinlessness, from the very time of the incarnation. ‘But he whom God raised did not see corruption,’ having made the tomb a place of incorruption. For Christ, raised from it, has truly risen as the leader of incorruption; that we too, rising up from our tombs at the hoped-for resurrection, may go to meet him as he comes a second time in the clouds with glory.

Acts 13:38–41. Therefore let it be known to you, men and brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you; and from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses, by this man everyone who believes is justified. Beware, therefore, lest there come upon you what is spoken in the prophets: Behold, you despisers, and marvel, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work that you would never believe, even if someone were to tell it to you. Observe how he draws the word away from present things, from the seed according to promise. He did not bring forward a testimony by which they were to be persuaded that forgiveness of sins comes through him; that was beyond dispute. ‘Behold, you despisers, and marvel.’ When the prophet Habakkuk cried out, God answers to those who do wrong concerning the calamities that will come upon them and the things destined to happen. And it was a matter of great astonishment, how Israel—numbered among the children of God, named the firstborn, and for whose sake Egypt perished—was handed over to the Babylonians, and not only to their sword, but indeed also to captivity, and slavery, and all detestable things. ‘Which you would never believe.’ So great and so vast, he says, is its magnitude, that it would even be disbelieved if someone were to announce it to you.

Acts 13:42–48. As they were going out of the synagogue of the Jews, the Gentiles begged that these words might be spoken to them on the next Sabbath. And when the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the coming Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with envy, and contradicted the things spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly and said: It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you; but since you thrust it away, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: I have set you for a light of the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the end of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord; and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. You have seen Paul’s discernment. He instilled in them a desire for a second hearing, having spoken certain seeds and not unfolding them, so as to make them dependent on him and attach them to himself, and not make them more careless by flinging everything at once into their souls. For he said that forgiveness of sins is announced to us; but how, he did not make clear. Nor did he baptize them at once, because it was not the time. And ‘the next Sabbath’ stands for ‘the coming one,’ as he makes clear below. ‘But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with envy.’ So great is the tyranny of malice; for many waste away and perish when they see others held in honor. Such people contend not only with their brother but even with the will of God. ‘But since you thrust it away.’ Lest anyone think the saying ‘you do not judge yourselves worthy of eternal life’ to be a mark of their reverence, for this reason he first said, ‘you thrust it away,’ and only then, ‘we turn to the Gentiles.’ He did not say, ‘we abandon you,’ but speaks in such a way that it remains possible, he says, to turn here again. ‘I have set you for a light of the Gentiles,’ that is, for the knowledge that leads to salvation; and not simply of the Gentiles, but of all. ‘As many as were appointed to eternal life.’ Appointed, but not by necessity. ‘For those whom he foreknew,’ he says, ‘he also predestined.’ Now the race of the Lord according to the flesh—the whole nature of mankind is common to it; but his own and near kin is Israel. Since, then, he came to Israel but enlightened the Gentiles through the apostles, ‘I have given you,’ he says, ‘to these because of the promise made to their fathers; and I will enlighten the Gentiles through you, and to all people I will grant salvation’ (for this is what ‘to the end of the earth’ means), ‘and I will put an end to the covenants made with their fathers.’ For what is ‘covenant’ the others translated as ‘compact.’ ‘And as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.’ By foreknowledge those appointed to life—that is, set apart—believed, yet by their own judgment and choice. For the foreknowledge of God does not destroy the freedom of our will. Paul, predestined before the foundation of the world, by the foreknowledge of God, to be a chosen vessel, did not obtain this from his mother’s womb, nor in his youth, but after the advance of time, when he had come to knowledge of what is noble and good.

Acts 13:49–50. And the word of the Lord was spread throughout the whole region. But the Jews stirred up the devout women and the men of standing and the leading men of the city, and raised a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and cast them out of their borders. But they shook off against them the dust of their feet and went to Iconium; and the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. The phrase ‘the word was spread’ stands for ‘was distributed.’ ‘But the Jews’—they did not stop at envy, but added deeds as well. By ‘devout women’ he means not the faithful women, but the Greek or Jewish ones; and by ‘of standing,’ the wealthy. Do you see to what shame they brought the women? In imitation of the demon who is the author of evil, they are eager, through women, to shut off from men the way of salvation, just as he, through Eve, shut off paradise from men. But they…

Acts 13:51. shook off against them the dust of their feet. They did not do this without reason, but because they had been driven out by them.

Acts 13:52. And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. The teachers were being persecuted, and they themselves rejoiced; this was a mark of the power of the Gospel. For the suffering of a teacher does not cut off boldness, but makes the disciple more eager.

Chapter 14

Acts 14:1–3. Now it happened that in Iconium they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews and spoke in such a way that a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up and embittered the souls of the Gentiles against the brothers. So they stayed there a considerable time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through their hands. “They entered together.” They did not become more fearful, but again went into the synagogues, taking away any excuse the Jews might have. And it was natural that they should converse with the Greeks as well as with the Jews. “But the unbelieving Jews stirred up and embittered the souls of the Gentiles against the brothers.” They stirred up the Gentiles too, not being content to rise up only themselves. Yet the apostles did not leave that place, for they were not being driven out but only opposed. “So they stayed there a considerable time, speaking boldly.” The boldness came from the apostles’ own eagerness; but the believing of those who heard came from the signs, though the boldness also contributed something to it.

Acts 14:4–7. But the multitude of the city was divided, and some were with the Jews and others with the apostles. And when there arose a rush of both Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, to insult and stone them, they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; and there they preached the gospel. “But the multitude of the city was divided.” This was what Christ spoke of: “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34). “Becoming aware of it, the apostles fled.” There is nothing strange in the saints fleeing from those who are about to plot against them, and judging it better to withdraw from a conflict which, according to the testimony already cited, they regarded as not permitted to them.

Acts 14:8–12. And a certain man in Lystra, powerless in his feet, sat there, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking; and Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice: “To you I say, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, stand upright on your feet.” And at once he leaped up and began to walk. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in Lycaonian: “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” And they called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes, because he was the leader of the speaking. “He said with a loud voice.” Why with a loud voice? So that the crowds might believe. And by the words, “looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed,” it seems to me that Paul looked into the man’s very soul; for to attend to what Paul was saying belonged only to a philosophic soul. “And he leaped up and walked.” That the lame man leaped up is proof of a complete healing. “And when the crowds saw what Paul had done.” Notice, on the one hand, the simplicity of the Gentiles, and on the other, the malice of the Jews. The former honored the apostles as gods; the latter persecuted them as destroyers. “And they called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes.” You see how it was the custom of the Greeks to make gods out of men. Learn the origin of idolatry, so that you may have an answer when people ask where idolatry came from. In this very way the Greeks made gods even of the apostles, out of men. And the devil from the very beginning strove in like manner to bring this impiety into the world, saying, “You shall be as gods” (Gen. 3:5). And since he did not succeed then, ever since he keeps attempting it even now, everywhere striving to introduce polytheism.

Acts 14:13–18. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple stood before their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and, together with the crowds, wanted to offer sacrifice. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed into the crowd, crying out and saying: “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them; who in past generations allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, doing good, giving us rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” And saying these things, they barely restrained the crowds from sacrificing to them. “Tearing their garments.” See how they are everywhere pure of vainglory: not only do they not seek it, but they even fend it off when it is offered to them; just as Peter also said, “Why do you look intently at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?” (Acts 3:12). These apostles say the same thing, but they do it with vehemence: they tore their garments and rushed in. “We also are men of like nature with you.” We are men, they say, but greater than these idols, for these are dead. You see how customary it was among the Greeks to make gods out of men. Indeed, in those who recorded the ancient histories you will find that Zeus, being a man, made himself a god, declaring that he was a god; just as many of the Roman and Macedonian kings were called divine. Therefore there is no ground for disbelieving the old accounts of this, that some peoples were deceived and named certain men gods—just as these men were deceived about Barnabas and Paul. And the inhabitants of Samaria called Simon the magician the great power of God. Because Paul said, “In the name of Jesus, rise and stand upright,” they supposed him to be a god and not a servant of God. “Tearing their garments.” It was a custom among the Jews to tear their garments at blasphemies against God. So when Christ said that he was the Son of God, Caiaphas tore his garment, saying that Christ had blasphemed against God. Since, then, what was now happening was in a way a kind of blasphemy, the apostles too did the same, still following Jewish traditions. But the custom is rejected, since it was not an ordinance of the law. And indeed God said to the Jews when they acted in this way: “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments” (Joel 2:12–13). “Who in past generations allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.” He said “allowed,” but why he allowed it the apostle does not yet say, for the present he dwells on what is most pressing, and nowhere yet mentions the name of Christ. “Yet he did not leave himself without witness”—he says this because in every generation God accomplished such works as guide people to righteousness. Not forcing free will, the Lord allowed all people to walk according to their own judgment; but he himself continually worked those things through which they, being rational beings, could come to know their Creator. And the apostle calls even the yearly rains his witnesses.

Acts 14:19–25. Then Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds and stoned Paul, they dragged him outside the city, supposing him to be dead. But when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and entered the city; and on the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe. And after they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and teaching that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained presbyters for them in each church, they prayed with fasting and committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. And passing through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia; and having spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

Acts 14:26–27. And from there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had now fulfilled. And when they had arrived and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. Look at the frenzy of the Jews: they made their way into a people that had shown such honor to the apostles, and persuaded them to stone Paul. They dragged him outside the city because they were afraid; and besides, they were aiming only to undermine the preaching. But do you see Paul’s burning zeal? After being thrown out of the city, he came back again into that very same city, to show that if anywhere, in such circumstances, he did withdraw, it was because he had to sow the word of God and because he should not inflame their wrath. “And that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” See: without toil and hardship no one is justified. For this reason the Lord called the gate that leads to the kingdom narrow and pressed (see Matt. 7:13)—that is, full of constraints. Yet it is not every tribulation or affliction one happens to meet that leads into the kingdom of heaven, but the affliction borne for faith in God. “Having ordained presbyters for them, they prayed with fasting.” They taught the disciples to fast even in the midst of trials; and the ordinations too were accompanied by fasting. But in Cyprus they did not appoint presbyters, nor in Samaria, since Samaria was near Jerusalem and the apostles, and in Antioch itself the word of God was already strong; whereas here the newly believing, and especially those from among the Gentiles who needed instruction, required much support. But notice that Paul and Barnabas held the rank of bishops, since they ordained not only deacons but also presbyters. “When they had arrived” (in Antioch) “and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them.” The apostle did not say, “all that they had done,” but “all that God had done with them.” And it seems to me he means the trials. “God opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” By the opening of a door he means the teaching which the Gentiles received through the apostles.

Acts 14:28. And they remained there no little time with the disciples. Since the city was large, there was need of teachers there.

Chapter 15

Acts 15:1. And some who came down from Judea were teaching the brothers: Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.

Acts 15:2–4. And when there arose no small dissension and dispute by Paul and Barnabas against them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem about this question. And so, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers. And when they came to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. Do you see the trials, from within and from without? They did not speak simply of circumcision, but [said] that you can be saved [only thus]; the opposite was the case, that by being circumcised believers could not be saved. Yet Paul did not say: Why is this? Am I not trustworthy after so many signs? But he was persuaded to go up for their sake. And how, in the Epistle to the Galatians, does he say, “Neither did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, nor did I confer”? Because, first, he did not go up of himself, but was sent by others; and second, he came not to learn, but to persuade others. For he himself from the beginning held this opinion, which the apostles afterward ratified, that one ought not to be circumcised. But since he did not yet seem trustworthy to them, and they were attending rather to those in Jerusalem, he went up—not to learn anything more himself, but to persuade the gainsayers that those in Jerusalem also voted in agreement with these men.

Acts 15:5–12. But certain of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed rose up, saying that it was necessary to circumcise them and to charge them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter. And after much disputing, Peter rose up and said to them: Men and brothers, you know that in the early days God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us; and he made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you tempt God, to lay a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But through the grace of the Lord Jesus we believe that we shall be saved, even as they. Then all the multitude kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they recounted what signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. …certain of the sect of the Pharisees. It was not the believers from among the Gentiles, but those from among the Jews, who demanded that the believers be circumcised and observe the other carnal things of the law; and the disciples, though they too were of the circumcision, did not accept these men who held to the things of the old law. For they sought not to establish their own will, but the common good. “The apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter.” Here again one may infer that the apostles held some higher rank above the elders; for which reason he did not include them with the elders under a single common name for all. “Men and brothers, you know.” Behold Peter, to whom these matters had been granted from above, and who even until now still Judaized. “You,” he says, “know.” Perhaps there were present both those who had once blamed him over Cornelius, and those who had entered with him; and so he brings them forward as witnesses. What does “he chose among us” mean? It means “in Palestine,” or “in your presence.” And by saying “by my mouth” he shows that God spoke through him, and that there was nothing human in it. “And God who knows the heart bore them witness.” He directs them to the spiritual testimony. “Now therefore why do you tempt God, to lay a yoke upon the neck of the disciples?” There is no difference among the faithful, whether they are Jews or Greeks, where faith makes a purification of the sins that go out from the heart. And this purification takes the place of circumcision: instead of the circumcision in the flesh, the circumcision in the spirit is given, which by faith in Christ purifies even hidden sins. What does “you tempt God” mean? As though he were not able, he says, to save by faith; that is: Why do you disbelieve God? For to bring in the law is a mark of unbelief. The law was admittedly burdensome to those in Israel; the disciples confessed this, and the Savior himself taught us this, saying: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He calls those under the law the laboring and heavy laden; and he named himself meek, a quality the law did not possess. Like to this is: “By grace you are saved.” So formerly the law saved those who kept all the things spoken in the law; but now the grace of the Lord saves through faith, even without the keeping of the law.

Acts 15:13–22. And after they had kept silence, James answered, saying: Men and brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written: After this I will return and rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen; and I will rebuild its ruins and set it up, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the nations upon whom my name has been called, says the Lord, who does all these things. Known to God from eternity are all his works. Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who turn to God, but write to them that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas surnamed Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, writing by their hand thus: “James answered, saying.” He was bishop there, and so he also speaks last. Observe his discernment too, confirming his word both from a recent and from the ancient prophets. “Simeon has related.” This is the Simeon who in Luke prophesied: “Now you let your servant depart in peace, Master.” “To take from the Gentiles a people for his name.” He did not choose them simply, but for his name, that is, for his glory. “And with this agree the words of the prophets.” By his time Simeon was well known, but he did not carry authority, because he was not an ancient man. So James brings forward an ancient prophecy: “After this I will return and rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen,” and so forth. For it had indeed fallen an incurable fall. What then? Was Jerusalem raised up again? Was it not rather the more overthrown? What raising, then, does the prophecy speak of? The one after Babylon, when it regained its dignity. “Therefore I judge that we should not trouble them”—that is, not overturn the matter. For if God called them, while these added observances overturn the calling, then we are warring against God. And it is with authority that he says, “I judge.” “But write to them that they abstain from the pollutions of idols,” and so forth. For these things, though bodily, are nevertheless necessary to guard against; since they wrought great evils, he restrained them especially from these. “For Moses from ancient generations,” and so forth. Even before the Savior’s coming, Moses was read every Sabbath in the synagogues alone; but after his coming he is not forbidden to be read in the churches of Christ as well. And this is shown from the words, “for until this very day, whenever Moses is read.” For if the Old Testament writings were not read in the churches, the apostle would not have written so confidently to the Galatians: “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?”

Acts 15:23–25. The apostles and the elders and the brothers, to the brothers from among the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting. Since we have heard that some who went out from us troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying that you must be circumcised and keep the law—to whom we gave no such command—it seemed good to us, having come together with one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have given over their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have sent Judas and Silas, who will themselves also announce the same things by word of mouth. “It seemed good to us, having come together with one accord.” Because all these things seem good, and because they write them after careful consideration. It is to be noted that neither James nor Peter dared, apart from the whole Church, to lay down a decree concerning circumcision, although they judged it to be good; nor again did all of them act on their own authority, unless they were persuaded that this seemed good also to the Holy Spirit. And lest the sending of those men should seem to be a reproach against Paul and Barnabas, observe the praises given them: “men,” he says,

Acts 15:26–29. who have given over their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication. Keeping yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

Acts 15:30–38. So the men, being dismissed, came to Antioch, and gathering the multitude they delivered the letter. And when they had read it, they rejoiced at the consolation. And Judas and Silas, being themselves also prophets, exhorted the brothers with much speech and strengthened them. And after they had spent some time, they were dismissed in peace by the brothers to the apostles. And Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching, with many others also, the word of the Lord. And after some days Paul said to Barnabas: Let us return and visit our brothers in every city in which we have preached the word of the Lord, to see how they are. And Barnabas was minded to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought it best not to take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work to which they had been sent. “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit.” So that they should not think it a human matter. And the word “to us” is added so that they might be taught that they too accept this, even being of the circumcision. “Except these necessary things.” He shows that nothing is lacking to them, but that this is enough. And by “to abstain from what is strangled” he forbids murder. “And gathering the multitude, they delivered the letter.” This is a consolation of teachers: the progress of those they have taught. “Returning, let us visit them.” It is to be noted that it is the work of leaders to look after those whom they have enlightened, to test whether they are sound in the faith, or whether they limp and need to be set right.

Acts 15:39–41. And so there arose a sharp contention, so that they parted from one another; and Barnabas, taking Mark, sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brothers to the grace of God. And he passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Chapter 16

Acts 16:1–2. He came down to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go out with him.

Acts 16:3. And taking him, he circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. And so there arose a sharp contention. Between Paul and Barnabas there arose a certain pettiness of spirit, the one party honoring justice and the other something like injustice, yet each of them serving the aim of piety. The cause of this pettiness was as follows. Mark had been traveling with them on the evangelical course from Palestine as far as Perga in Pamphylia. Then, when the apostles were keeping up a vigorous pace, Mark, being human, grew sluggish, and renouncing the apostles’ course, turned back to Palestine, not denying Christ, but begging off from the long road as burdensome. So Paul and Barnabas returned, full of the fruits of piety, proclaiming to the Church in Jerusalem the conversion and repentance of the Gentiles. So when everyone was praising them for their good deeds, Mark was grieved and stung in his soul; for he reflected, ‘If I had been a sharer in the labors, I would also have become a sharer in the praises.’ So he wished to run together with them again. Barnabas then received him, since he had repented; but Paul contended that the one who had not gone with them to the work of the Lord ought not to be taken along. So the dissension was not one of injustice, but of justice and pettiness of spirit. Paul sought what was just; Barnabas, what was loving. So though they were at variance in judgment, they were in agreement in piety; and they parted not in faith, nor in disposition, but through human pettiness of spirit. And it became a providential dispensation. For when they separated, Barnabas, taking Mark, went out on his own course. And Paul’s strictness benefited Mark, for he was eager to cover his former negligence with zeal. Paul charged in the Churches that Mark should not be received, not to grieve him, but to make him more diligent; and when he saw that Mark had anticipated this with zeal and had made his defense through his later deeds, he begins to commend him, and says: ‘Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, greets you, concerning whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, receive him.’ And among the prophets too we find this, differing judgments and characters: for example, Elijah was severe, Moses was gentle. So also here Paul is the more vehement. But see how even so he is reasonable: ‘He asked,’ it says; for he was not angry, but was exhorting. What then? Did they part as enemies? God forbid. For you see that after this Barnabas enjoys much praise from Paul in the Epistles. It seems to me that the separation came about also by mutual consent, and that they said to one another, ‘Since I wish one thing and you do not wish it, so that we may not quarrel, let us by agreement divide the regions between us,’ so that they did this entirely yielding to one another. And these things are written for our example, that we may not fall; for it is not possible, being human, not to be provoked; but having been provoked, one must change. And this quarrel greatly benefited Mark. For Paul’s fearsomeness turned him back, and Barnabas’s kindness kept him from being left behind any longer. So they quarrel, but the gain arrives at one and the same end. For seeing Paul choosing to withdraw, he was greatly afraid and condemned himself; and seeing Barnabas thus holding fast to him, he greatly loved him; and the disciple was set right through the teachers’ quarrel, so far was he from being scandalized. ‘And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the Churches.’ He does not go to other cities before visiting those that had received the word. Let us also do this: let us instruct the first ones first, that these may not become a hindrance to those who come after. ‘And behold, a disciple was there named Timothy,’ attested ‘by the Jews,’ it says. And it should be noted that the Jews had so despised the law that they were given in marriage to Greeks and married Greek women. ‘And taking him, he circumcised him because of the Jews.’ Paul’s understanding deserves to be marveled at: he who had fought so much concerning circumcision, and had stirred up everything over this until he prevailed, circumcised his disciple. And he not only does not forbid others, but does this very thing himself. So in everything he looked to what was beneficial, and did nothing without purpose. And the marvel is that he even took him along. ‘Because of the Jews,’ he says, ‘who were in those places.’ For they would not have endured to hear the word from an uncircumcised man. And what then? See the achievement: he circumcised him in order to abolish circumcision, not establishing circumcision, but wishing to accomplish a very great thing, pleasing to all the apostles together. For up and down the Jews slandered him, as everywhere overturning the law and teaching those from the Gentiles apostasy from it, and they were very hostilely disposed toward him. So since he found Timothy, a disciple from the Greeks, suitable for his service, and wished to have him as a fellow-traveler, then because of those who impiously reviled him he circumcised him, wishing through such an arrangement to draw them to himself. For if Timothy were uncircumcised, being a teacher, all would have leaped away from him. For if such great accusation arose against him over Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed Paul had brought into the temple (and this man was of the Greeks), what would he have suffered if he had with him as a teacher Timothy, an uncircumcised man? And see him also purified, in the judgment of his fellow-apostles, and in the temple announcing the fulfillment of the purification. And he did everything for the sake of the salvation of the Jews. Some indeed say that Peter too played the part of a Jew. And these things harmed the apostles not at all; but it became for the Jews an occasion of salvation and a beginning of faith in Christ, that they had such teachers, who, as they supposed, kept the law.

Acts 16:4–12. And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which had been decided by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So the Churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily. And going through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia, they came down to Mysia and tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not allow them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And in the night a vision appeared to Paul: a man of Macedonia was standing, beseeching him and saying, ‘Come over into Macedonia and help us.’ And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out into Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. So setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we stayed in that city some days. ‘They delivered to them the decrees to keep.’ By ‘decrees’ he means not the mysteries of the incarnate dispensation, but to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication, which look to the establishment of a rightly ordered life. ‘Having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.’ Why they were forbidden, he does not say; but that they were forbidden, he said, teaching us only to obey and not to inquire, and showing that they did many things in a human way as well. In Asia and Bithynia the Spirit forbids the apostles to speak the word, foreknowing that the heresy of the Pneumatomachi, the Spirit-fighters, would gain mastery over the inhabitants there. And in the night the vision was given. A man of Macedonia appeared to Paul, and the rest. No longer through an angel, as with Philip and as with Cornelius, but he appears through a vision; in this, henceforth in a more human manner. For where it is easy to be persuaded, it happens thus; but where there is much resistance, it happens in a more divine way. It should be noted that in these cities Luke was with Paul, from which he also includes his own person, saying, ‘We sought,’ ‘we ran a straight course,’ ‘we went out.’

Acts 16:13–15. And on the day of the Sabbath we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made. And sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to attend to the things spoken by Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.’ And she constrained us. ‘By the river.’ Rather, since there was no synagogue there because of their scarcity, the supposedly God-fearing gathered secretly by the river outside the city. For they prayed not only where there was a synagogue, but also outside, as though setting apart a certain place, inasmuch as the Jews were rather carnal, and on the Sabbath day, when a crowd too was likely to gather. ‘If you have judged me faithful to the Lord.’ See a wise woman: first she testified to this very thing, that God had called her. See also her freedom from vanity: this was a lowly woman, and by trade a seller of purple, it says, that is, one selling purple-dyed goods. And the historian is not ashamed of her occupation. She did not say, ‘If you have judged me a great woman,’ or ‘a pious one,’ but ‘faithful to the Lord.’ If to the Lord, much more to you. She did not simply beseech, but left them to be masters of the decision, even though she strongly constrained them.

Acts 16:16–18. Now it happened, as we were going to prayer, that a certain servant girl, having a spirit of divination, met us, who brought her masters much profit by soothsaying. She followed Paul and us, crying out, saying, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.’ And this she did for many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour.

Acts 16:19–21. And when her masters saw that the hope of their profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the rulers. And bringing them to the magistrates, they said, ‘These men, being Jews, are throwing our city into confusion, and proclaim customs which it is not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or to observe.’ ‘Having a spirit of Python.’ Who is this demon? A god, it says, Python, so called from the place. And he wished to cast them into temptations. And otherwise, this Pythia is said to have been a certain woman who sat upon the tripod of Apollo, parting her legs; then thus an evil spirit, rising up from below and entering through her generative parts, would fill the woman with madness; and she, loosing her hair, would then fall into a frenzy and let foam come out of her mouth, and thus becoming as in drunkenness, would utter the words of madness. […] ‘These men are servants of the Most High God.’ O foul one! If you know that they proclaim the way of salvation, why do you not stand away from them? ‘But Paul, being grieved,’ that is, being moved and stung; and he silenced her though she spoke the truth, teaching us not to admit demons even when they pretend to advocate for the truth, but to wall off against them every road of error, and to stop our hearing against everything that comes from them. For if Paul had accepted its testimony, he would have deceived many of the faithful. So at first he did not accept it, but spat it out, not wishing to throw himself upon the signs; but when it persisted, then he commanded it to come out. So the demon acted maliciously, but he prudently. ‘And when her masters saw that the hope of their profit was gone.’ Everywhere money is the cause of evils. They wanted the girl to be possessed by a demon, so as to make money. See that they pay attention not even to the demon, but look to one thing, the love of money. He said, ‘They are servants of the Most High God’; but they say, ‘They are throwing our city into confusion.’ He said, ‘They proclaim to us the way of salvation’; these say, ‘They deliver to the people customs which it is not lawful to receive.’

Acts 16:22–28. And the crowd rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their garments and ordered them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them securely. He, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. And about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were loosed. And the jailer, being awakened and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.’

Acts 16:29–34. Then he called for lights and sprang in, and trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas. And bringing them out, he said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke to him the word of the Lord, and to all those in his house. And taking them at that hour of the night, he washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, immediately. And bringing them up into his house, he set a table before them, and rejoiced with his whole household, having believed in God. ‘And the crowd rose up together against them.’ Paul worked the miracles and the teaching, but Silas too shares in the dangers. Know that demons too know that Jesus the crucified is the Most High God. Being therefore His servant, Paul affirmed, saying, ‘Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.’ ‘And suddenly there was a great earthquake.’ An earthquake came, so as to awaken that man; and the doors were opened, so as to make him marvel at what had happened. But the prisoners did not see these things, or else they would all have fled. And lest the earthquake should seem to have happened of itself, there followed also the opening of the doors, bearing witness to him. ‘Believe on the Lord, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ Not even when he was in the prison does Paul keep quiet; but even there he drew the jailer to himself, working this beautiful captivity. ‘And taking them at that hour of the night, he washed their stripes.’ He indeed washed them from their stripes, but he himself was washed from his sins. ‘And he rejoiced with his whole household, having believed in God.’

Acts 16:35–38. And yet there was nothing received, but only words and good hopes. And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, ‘Release those men.’ And the jailer reported these words to Paul: ‘The magistrates have sent that you be released; now therefore go out and depart in peace.’ But Paul said to them, ‘They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they cast us out secretly? No indeed; but let them come themselves and bring us out.’ And the officers reported these words to the magistrates. And they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans.

Acts 16:39–40. And they came and besought them, and bringing them out, asked them to leave the city. And going out of the prison, they entered the house of Lydia; and seeing the brothers, they exhorted them, and departed. ‘But Paul said to them.’ Even though the magistrates had given notice, Paul does not go out; but both for the sake of Lydia and the others, he frightens them, lest they should be thought to have been released because someone had asked it. And he brought a charge against them, that they had beaten Romans, and uncondemned men, and publicly. Do you see how they contrived many things in a merely human way? And he said these things lest he should seem to be released as a condemned man and as one who had sinned. And this jailer is the same Stephanas whom Paul mentions in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, saying, ‘I baptized also the household of Stephanas.’ ‘And going out of the prison, they entered the house of Lydia; and seeing the brothers, they exhorted them, and departed.’ For it was not right to leave their hostess in struggle and anxiety; and they would not consent to depart, even though urged on by the magistrates, unless they entered to the humble woman and the others whom they called brothers. How great was their freedom from vanity and their love!

Chapter 17

Acts 17:1–7. Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went in to them, and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, opening and setting forth that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, and that “This is the Christ, Jesus, whom I proclaim to you.” And some of them were persuaded and joined themselves to Paul and Silas, both a great multitude of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews who did not believe took along certain wicked men from the marketplace, and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the people. But not finding them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers before the city rulers, crying out that “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them; and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

Acts 17:8–9. And they troubled the crowd and the city rulers who heard these things. And when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. “Passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia.” They pass by the small cities and hasten on to the greater ones, since from these the word was to spread to the neighboring towns. “They came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.” Although he had said, “We turn to the Gentiles,” yet he did not abandon these, for he had great longing for them. “He reasoned from the Scriptures, setting forth that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead.” Above all he proclaims the Passion, for he knew this to be the source of salvation. “A great multitude of the devout Greeks.” By devout Greeks he means those who, though of the Jews, spoke Greek, or else he means the proselytes from among the Greeks who kept the law and so belonged to the Jews. He calls them devout because they observed the law. “And they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” Their fathers too accused Jesus in just this way, saying that He called Himself king. But those at least had a somewhat plausible, if deceptive, pretext, because the one accused was still alive; yet what escape from their lie did these men have, when they declared that the apostles proclaimed Jesus as king—one who, according to them, had died, and whom the kings of the earth had no longer any cause to fear, since they saw that He no longer appeared at all?

Acts 17:10–15. And the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and on arriving they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and not a few of the honorable Greek women and men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there too, stirring up and troubling the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away, to go as it were toward the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained there. And those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy that they should come to him as quickly as possible, they departed. “More noble,” that is, more reasonable. As for “examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so”—they searched not as unbelievers (for they had already believed), but as those who had no share in the tradition of the prophets; and indeed by this they became all the more faithful, searching the Scriptures and finding that the matters concerning the Lord’s incarnate dispensation agreed with the words of the ancient prophets. “Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away as far as Athens.” They withdrew by a providential arrangement, not out of cowardice; for otherwise they would have ceased preaching, and not rather have provoked their enemies further. But from this two things resulted: both the anger of those men was quenched, and the preaching was extended further. They send Paul alone, for they feared for him especially, lest he suffer something, since he was the chief. Thus grace did not work for them everywhere, but left them also to themselves—now rousing them, now casting them into anxiety.

Acts 17:16–21. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred within him as he beheld the city full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace daily with those he met. And certain of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign deities,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. And taking hold of him, they brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which is spoken by you? For you bring certain strange things to our ears; we wish therefore to know what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners staying there spent their time in nothing else but telling or hearing something newer. “His spirit was stirred within him.” By “was stirred” he does not here mean anger; for the gift of grace is far from anger and indignation. What then is “was stirred”? He was roused; he could not bear it, but was consumed within. “Certain of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him.” The Epicureans are those who say that all things exist without providence; and aiming his discourse chiefly against them, Paul says, “He Himself gives to all life and breath, having appointed determined times and the boundaries of their habitation,” thus showing the providence of God. The philosophers did not laugh at him as he spoke in this way, for they did not understand any of what was said. For how could they—some saying that God is a body, others that blessedness is pleasure? “And some said, What does this babbler wish to say?” A ‘babbler’ (spermologos) they call a most worthless little bird that is accustomed to gather up the seeds scattered at the crossroads; with this name, raising an empty eyebrow over their broad tongue and thinking great things of themselves, they likened Paul. For “they call the wise base,” says the writer of Proverbs. Since, then, the spermologos is a small bird, fit neither for food nor for delight, they used to call worthless people ‘spermologoi.’ “Others said, He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign deities.” For they supposed the resurrection too to be some god, since they were accustomed to worship female deities as well; for they called their gods ‘daimonia.’ “They brought him to the Areopagus”—not that they might learn from him, but that they might punish him, where the trials for murder were held. It was called the Areopagus because Ares there, as they say, paid the penalty for adultery. ‘Pagos’ means a high place, for that court stood upon a hill. It should be noted that, although they spent their time in speaking and hearing, they nevertheless reckoned those things to be strange which they had never heard before; and besides, had he preached that a man had been crucified, what was said would not have been strange; but since he said that God had been crucified and raised, he was indeed speaking strange things.

Acts 17:22–28. And Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are exceedingly religious. For as I passed through and beheld your objects of worship, I found also an altar on which was inscribed: To an Unknown God. Him, therefore, whom you worship without knowing, this One I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, He, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is He served by human hands as though needing anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things. And He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having appointed determined times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel after Him and find Him, though indeed He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also certain of your own poets have said: For we are also His offspring.”

Acts 17:29. … being the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine is like gold or silver or stone, shaped by the art and imagination of man. “That you are exceedingly religious.” One who is ‘deisidaimon’ is one who fears the daimonia, who deifies everything—wood and stone and spirit. He seems to be praising them. By “more religious” he means rather “more reverent”; and he said this on account of the altar. The altar had been set up by them for the following reason. A war once broke out for the Athenians against their enemies; faring badly, they withdrew. And since it was their custom to hold games in honor of the daimones, one of the daimones appeared and said that he had never yet received any honor from them, and that, being angry with them, he had been the cause of this defeat. So they built a temple to him; and, as if guarding against suffering the same thing again at some other time should they pass over some god unknown to them, they set up that altar with the inscription, “To an Unknown God,” meaning by this: If there is any other god unknown to us, let this altar be raised in his honor, that he may be merciful to us, even though, being unknown, he is not worshiped. And the whole inscription of the altar was: “To the gods of Asia and Europe and Libya; to the unknown and foreign god.” “For as I passed through and beheld your objects of worship.” He found in the city not a divine book but an altar standing; and from the inscription of the altar he tore the altar down. For what else was he to do? The Greeks were all impious. If he reasoned with them from the Gospels, they would laugh; if from the prophets, they would not believe. So from the enemy’s own weapons he overcame them; and this is what he means: “I became to those without law as one without law.” He saw the altar and turned its writing to his own purpose—or rather, he transferred its meaning. “It was inscribed,” he says, “on the altar: To an Unknown God.” And who was this other unknown God but Christ? What then? Did the Athenians write this on account of Christ? If they wrote it for Christ’s sake, the achievement of Paul would be no great wonder. But they wrote it with another intent, while he had the power to turn it to another meaning. It is necessary to say why they wrote, “To an Unknown God.” Those people had many gods, both native and foreign. Of these, some they had received from their mothers, others from the neighboring nations. Since, then, they had not received them all from the beginning, but these had been introduced little by little—some in the time of their fathers, some of their grandfathers, some in their own generation—they came together and said: “Just as we did not know these gods and afterward came to know them, so it may be that there is yet another who is unknown, and who, though being God, is not known by us, and on this account remains unnoticed, neglected and unworshiped.” So they set up an altar and inscribed: “To an Unknown God,” saying by this writing that: “If there is yet some other God unknown to us, him also we will worship.” See the excess of their fear of the daimones. Therefore Paul said: “In all things I perceive that you are exceedingly religious,” that is, more reverent: for you worship not only the daimones known to you, but also those not yet made known to you. And having taken their thought captive, he directed their mind’s gaze toward Christ. “For Him whom you worship without knowing, this One I proclaim to you.” The Athenians were about to bring this charge against Paul: “You bring in a strange teaching, you introduce a God whom we do not know.” Wishing therefore to free himself from suspicion and to show that he was not preaching a new God, but the One whom they themselves had already honored beforehand by their worship, he says: “You have anticipated me; your worship has outrun my preaching, for I proclaim to you that God whom you worship without knowing.” “The God who made the world and all things in it.” He uttered a single word and overthrew all the positions of the philosophers. For the Epicureans assert that all things arose of themselves and from atoms; but he says that the world and all that is in it is the work of God. “He does not dwell in temples made with hands.” Lest they suppose the God preached by him to be one of the many, Paul completes his statement: “He does not dwell in temples made with hands,” but in the human soul. What then? Did He not dwell in the temple at Jerusalem? Indeed He did not dwell there, but He worked there. How then was He served by human hands among the Jews? Not by hands, but by the mind, since He did not seek those outward things, having no need of them: “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?” and what follows. “Not needing anything, He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things.” Two proofs of divinity: that He Himself needs nothing, and that He provides all things to all. And here too Paul shows that God is not the begetter of the soul, but its Creator. “Having appointed determined times.” He appointed that men should seek God, yet He did not appoint this forever, but for determined times—showing that even without seeking they found Him. And since, when they did seek Him, they did not find Him, he shows that the Lord is as plainly evident as some object examined in an open place; for heaven is not here while absent elsewhere, nor present at one time and not at another. So that at every time and in every region it is possible to find Him; thus He so ordered it that one is hindered neither by place nor by time. For this very fact especially worked upon the hearers—that heaven is everywhere and stands fixed for all times. The Lord is so near to us, the apostle says, that without Him it is impossible to live. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” He proves the nearness of the Lord by a sensible example: it is impossible, he says, not to know that the air is poured out everywhere and is not only near each one of us but even within us. That we have received life from God, that we act and do not perish—all this he calls God’s providence and care for us. “As also certain of your own poets have said.” One wise man, Aratus, said of Zeus: “For we are also his offspring”; but the apostle says it of the Creator, not affirming that the Creator and Zeus are one and the same—God forbid!—but applying the expression properly to the Creator; just as he called the altar His (the Creator’s), and not that of the one whom the Athenians worshiped. He called us the offspring of God, that is, His nearest kinsmen, since from our race God was pleased to be born on earth. He did not say, “You ought not to think the Divine like gold or silver or stone,” but used a more humble turn of phrase: “We ought not.” And see how he introduced the incorporeal; for the mind, when it suspects a body, also supposes distance.

Acts 17:30–34. Therefore the times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent; because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has ordained, having given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead. And hearing of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again concerning this.” And so Paul went out from their midst. But certain men joined themselves to him and believed, among whom was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. “Therefore the times of ignorance.” He does not speak of those who have died, but of those to whom he now gives the command: as for the things He did not speak of, He overlooked them. Nor does he say, “You willingly committed evil,” but, “You were ignorant.” He gives the command, then, not demanding their punishment as though they deserved it, but now calling them to repentance. “Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world.” Of necessity, he says, He will hold a judgment over all deeds and all thoughts by a Man whom He has ordained to be judge of the living and the dead; and this is the Lord who became man. But hearing great and lofty truths, they did not even answer, but mocked the resurrection. “For the natural man,” it says, “does not receive the things of the Spirit of God.” “And so Paul went out from their midst.” How “so”? Having persuaded some, and being mocked by others. “But certain men believed, among whom was also Dionysius the Areopagite.” The court of the Areopagus stood outside the city. The Areopagites judged concerning all wrongs and lawless deeds. For this reason they drag Paul, as a proclaimer of foreign deities, before the council of the Areopagus; but the divine Dionysius, who at that time belonged among the Areopagites as a judge, rendered to the truth, by right of his office, an unappealable verdict; and bidding farewell to the foolish solemnity of the assembly of the Areopagites, he laid hold of illumination by the light of truth. For although the Romans then held power, they nevertheless left Athens and Lacedaemon autonomous; and so even among the Athenians the government was still conducted according to the Areopagites. Thus the doctrines of salvation are accomplished through Paul; and Dionysius is instructed, as a disciple by his teacher, by the great Hierotheus.

Chapter 18

After these things Paul, having departed from Athens, came to Corinth. And finding a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy, and Priscilla his wife—because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome—he came to them; and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by trade they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks. But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them: Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from now on I will go to the Gentiles. He came to Corinth. He was led by the Spirit to Corinth, where he had to remain. For the Athenians, though they were lovers of novel discourse, nevertheless paid no heed. For they were not earnest about this, but only to always have something to say. So it seemed sufficient to Paul to cast down the seeds there. For under Nero Paul was perfected, but under Claudius the war against the Jews was being kindled, and they were being driven from Rome as pestilent persons. Therefore it is providentially arranged that he be led there as a prisoner, so that he might not be driven out as a Jew. “And because Aquila was of the same trade, he stayed with him and worked.” He remains because he found a suitable lodging. For it was more suitable for him than many royal palaces, just as for the athlete the wrestling-arena is more useful than soft couches, and for the warrior an iron sword is needed, not a golden one. “He shook out his garments and said to them.” So as to frighten them not by word only, but also by deed. “Your blood be upon your own heads.” The saying is obscure. I think he says this: Everyone who apostatizes from Christ, who is life, seems to kill himself, passing from life to death, in a manner pouring out his own blood through the slaughter which he brings upon himself. So this is what he says: Since by unbelief you slay yourselves, you yourselves will pay the penalty for this very thing, while I am innocent. From this one may say that he who slays himself is punished by God as a murderer.

Acts 18:7–11. And departing from there, he came into the house of a certain man named Justus, who worshiped God, whose house adjoined the synagogue. And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul in a vision by night: Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one will set upon you to harm you, because I have many people in this city. And he stayed a year and six months, teaching among them the word of God. “…whose house adjoined.” So that from this also he had zeal, from the nearness. “And Crispus the ruler of the synagogue believed in the Lord.” This is that Crispus, he says, about whom he says: I baptized no one except Crispus and Gaius. “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not be silent.” What he especially needed, this the Lord tells him afterward. For nothing so grieved Paul as those who refused to believe.

Acts 18:12–18. Now while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, saying: This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews: If indeed there were some wrong or wicked crime, O Jews, I would reasonably have borne with you; but if it is a question about a word and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; for I do not wish to be a judge of these matters. And he drove them away from the judgment seat. And all the Greeks seized Sosthenes the ruler of the synagogue and beat him before the judgment seat; and none of these things mattered to Gallio. And Paul, having stayed yet many days, took leave of the brothers and sailed away to Syria—and with him Priscilla and Aquila—having shorn his head at Cenchreae, for he had a vow. “The Jews rose up with one accord.” How then did they attack him? someone might ask. By suddenly seizing him. And yet they prevailed nothing, but brought him to the proconsul. But he walled off the court against them. He seems to me to have been a fair-minded man. “And seizing Sosthenes.” As for their beating Sosthenes: either they beat him because he too, like Crispus the ruler of the synagogue, was rather attached to Paul; or they had been driven to such madness that, having failed of their purpose, they beat Sosthenes instead of Paul; or they beat him because they wished to murder Paul and Sosthenes prevented them. And acting impiously in the very presence of the ruler, they beat Sosthenes, saying this: If whoever wishes does what he wishes, and there is no law any longer, then behold, we too beat this man. But the proconsul did not take notice of them, but let them beat one another; since if they had done this against some other person and not against themselves, he would surely have brought them to their senses. “And there sailed with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head at Cenchreae.” Since it seemed to the Jews that he taught apostasy from the law, and many were scandalized at him and did not receive his preaching, for this reason both here and in the temple at Jerusalem he does this with a high purpose; and this is the very thing he said: I became to those under the law as under the law, that I might gain those under the law. “For he had a vow.” By vow he means the promise. For he had promised to cut off his hair, so that he might no longer practice the things of worldly men as a worldly man, but, living according to God, might remain devoted to the Church. And Aquila too by vow cut off his hair. For those who wished to live in a godly way did this; but it was also an ancient custom among the Jews. And so it is fitting that both monks and the canonical women shear their hair.

Acts 18:19–21. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. And when they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, but took leave of them, saying: I must by all means keep the coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, if God wills. “If God wills.” “And he left them there.” He left these two in Ephesus, fittingly, as teachers; for having been with him so long a time, they had learned much. As for “I will return again to you”—Paul, being a prophet and seeing that he was to return, promised to return again. And lest anyone out of rashness do the same thing, improperly promising to do this or that, he taught us to promise nothing concerning the future without saying “if God wills.” For no one knows what the coming day will bring forth. Foolish, then, is the one who does not qualify his promise with “if the Lord wills.” For if anyone promises confidently that he will certainly do it, he will often hear these words: “Fool, this night your soul will be required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

Acts 18:22–23. And he set sail from Ephesus, and going down to Caesarea, he went up and greeted the Church, and went down to Antioch. And having spent some time there, he departed, going through the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. It was always Paul’s custom to visit the faithful and strengthen them, so that if he found them grown weak, he might lighten their burdens by his teacher’s word of admonition.

Acts 18:24–25. Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, being mighty in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in the Spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. There are some who affirm that this Apollos is the Apollos who was bishop of the Corinthians, about whom Paul writes: “Concerning Apollos our brother, I strongly urged him”; and also: “I planted, Apollos watered.” And if this is true, consider: either the man had two names, or else one of the names was afterward changed into the other.

Acts 18:26–28. Knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. And when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him to themselves and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he intended to go into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to receive him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed, through grace. For he powerfully refuted the Jews publicly, showing through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. If this man knew only the baptism of John, how is he fervent in the Spirit? For the Spirit was not given in this way. And if those after him needed the baptism of Christ, much more would he himself have needed it. What then is to be said? It seems to me that this man was one of those baptized together with the apostles; or, if not this, then what happened in the case of Cornelius happened also in his. And besides, John’s baptism had only an exhortation to repentance, but did not at the same time bring cleansing from sin; so that this is the difference between John’s baptism and that of the faithful: that the baptism of the faithful grants forgiveness of sins, since the believer is baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and is washed from his former errors. But if those baptized by John did not have the Holy Spirit, how did Apollos, baptized only into John’s baptism, burn with the Spirit? Yet even so, even if he burned with the Spirit, he did not have the Holy Spirit, for he neither spoke in tongues nor prophesied. It is one thing to be fervent in the Spirit, and another to have the Holy Spirit. He who has the Holy Spirit has it dwelling in him, and the Spirit itself speaks to him from within, as it spoke to the apostles, now forbidding them to speak the word, now commanding them. But he who is fervent in the Spirit acts by illumination and exhortation from without, being guided by the Spirit; for from sensible things one must infer the invisible. “He powerfully refuted the Jews publicly.” Now to refute them “publicly” showed boldness; to do so powerfully manifested power; and to do so “demonstrating from the Scriptures” showed his knowledge. For neither does boldness accomplish anything when there is no power, nor power when there is no boldness.

Chapter 19

Acts 19:1–5. Now it happened, while Apollos was in Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus; and finding certain disciples, he said to them: Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said to him: We have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. And he said to them: Into what then were you baptized? They said: Into John’s baptism. Then Paul said: John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Christ Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. They said, ‘We have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ These men, among the ‘certain disciples,’ differed greatly from the rest, since they did not even know whether there is a Holy Spirit. That they did not even believe in Christ is clear from the saying, ‘in the One coming after him, that they should believe.’ And he did not say that John’s baptism is nothing, but that it is incomplete. How did these men, being in Ephesus, have John’s baptism? Perhaps they had traveled to Jerusalem at that time and returned, without even gaining knowledge of Jesus. He does not say to them, ‘Do you believe in Jesus?’ But what does he say? ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ He knew that they did not have the Spirit, but he wishes to put it this way so that, learning what they are deprived of, they might ask for it themselves.

Acts 19:6–7. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. And in all they were about twelve men. They did not see the Spirit, for He is invisible; but the gift gave a certain perceptible proof of that working. One spoke in the tongue of the Persians, another in that of the Romans, and another in some other tongue; and by this the outward sign was made plain, that it was the Spirit in him that was speaking.

Acts 19:8. And entering the synagogue, he spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading about the things of the kingdom of God. What does ‘he spoke boldly’ mean? He had set himself in array against dangers; or he reasoned more openly, not veiling the doctrines. Observe how everywhere he pushes his way into the synagogues, and so goes out again. For everywhere he wished to take occasions from them.

Acts 19:9–10. But when some were hardened and would not believe, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of a certain Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. ‘Speaking evil of the way.’ Either he calls Christ ‘the way,’ who is indeed called the way; or by ‘the way’ he means the true faith proclaimed through Paul. And the words ‘he separated the disciples’ teach those who have believed in the Son of God to separate themselves from those who blaspheme Him.

Acts 19:11–12. And God worked no ordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his skin there were brought to the sick handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. ‘There were brought from his skin handkerchiefs.’ They did not only touch them while he was wearing them, but they also took them and laid them on the sick. But observe the Jewish hardness of heart: though they saw the garments of Christ’s disciples working such things, they paid no heed. For the signs done through the handkerchiefs and aprons, and through the shadows of the disciples, are greater than those Jesus Himself did. Handkerchiefs and aprons are both of linen; only the handkerchiefs are placed on the head, while the aprons are held in the hands by those who cannot wear oraria, such as those who wear consular robes, for wiping away the moisture of the face, such as sweat, spittle, tears, and the rest.

Acts 19:13. Then some of the wandering Jewish exorcists undertook to name over those who had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying: We adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. These men were not willing to believe, yet by the name they wished to cast out demons. For the wording shows that they were adjuring the unclean spirits by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ not as believers in Jesus, but as men putting Him to the test. The word ‘undertook’ shows this: that they had no confidence, yet laid on their hands in order to attain their aim. For this reason, a little later, they paid the penalty for their rashness.

Acts 19:14–17. There were seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, who did this. But the evil spirit answered and said: Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you? And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped upon them, and overpowering them, prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the Jews and Greeks who dwelt in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. The sons of Sceva did this secretly, but their weakness is paraded before all. And it is worth marveling how the demon did not cooperate with the deceit of the exorcists, but exposed them and laid their pretense open. It seems to me that he was greatly enraged, just as someone who, when pressed in the utmost dangers by some pitiful and wretched creature, wishes to vent all his anger upon that creature.

Acts 19:18. And many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and declaring their deeds. Every believer ought to tell his own sins, and by reproving himself to renounce doing the same things again, that he may become righteous, according to what is said: ‘Declare your sins first, that you may be justified’; and the saying, ‘The righteous man is his own accuser in the opening of his speech.’

Acts 19:19–21. And a good number of those who had practiced curious arts brought their books together and burned them before all; and they counted up the prices of them, and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed. Now when these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem, after passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying: After I have been there, I must also see Rome. ‘They burned them before all,’ knowing that there was no further profit in them. So given over to idols and to sorcery were the Ephesians that they fashioned the books of sorcery at great cost, as though they contained the best things in life. Having believed in Christ, they did not sell these books but burned them: first, so that no one might be infected by their soul-destroying plague; and then, so that they might not gain anything from such a source. For just as it is forbidden to bring to God the price of a dog, or the gain from harlotry, so neither did they judge it righteous that the silver from this source should be laid at the apostles’ feet.

Acts 19:22. And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed for a time in Asia. He sent the disciples into Macedonia to announce his coming and to make the Macedonians more eager to see him. And with good reason he lingers in Asia; for there was the tyranny of the philosophers.

Acts 19:23–24. Now about that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no small gain to the craftsmen. ‘Silver shrines.’ Perhaps small caskets. Observe how everywhere idolatry is upheld for the sake of money. And this Demetrius too acted for money’s sake: not because their impiety was in danger, but because his gain was being lost, since the cause that sustained the idolatry was being taken away. For Demetrius knew that he was deceiving men by making for them silver temples and silver gods, and he feared lest his fraud be exposed by the true teaching of Paul. He feared also lest the temple of Artemis in Ephesus should be utterly destroyed; and so he foretold the destruction of the temple, which indeed came to pass.

Acts 19:25–27. He gathered these together, along with the workmen of like occupation, and said: Men, you know that from this business comes our prosperity. And you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, saying that those made by hands are not gods. And this threatens us, not only that our trade may fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted for nothing, and her majesty be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. ‘That from this business.’ He set the danger before them, that ‘From this craft we are in danger of falling into famine.’ And yet the very things he said were able to lead them to true reverence. For if, he says, this man has such power as to turn away everyone, and the things of the gods are in danger, one ought to consider how great his God must be. But everywhere he steers his argument back to the craft. ‘He has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd’—not by force; that is how one ought to persuade. And it is enough merely to say, ‘They are not gods.’ If, then, the impiety is so easily refuted, it ought long ago to have been condemned; but if it is strong, it cannot be so quickly uprooted.

Acts 19:28–29. And when they heard this, and became full of wrath, they cried out, saying: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! And the whole city was filled with confusion; and with one accord they rushed into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s traveling companions. ‘And became full of wrath.’ The wrath arose when they heard about Artemis, and about their gain. For such are the ways of the rabble: to be carried away and inflamed by any chance thing. They had gods throughout the city, and were so disposed that by their shout they sought to recover reverence for them and to undo what had happened, as though fearing lest their object of worship be extinguished; and so they cried out without ceasing.

Acts 19:30–32. But when Paul wished to go in to the people, the disciples would not let him. And some also of the rulers of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him and begged him not to venture into the theater. So some cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the greater part did not know why they had come together. They would not let him give himself up to a disorderly crowd—so dearly did all the faithful love him. And Paul yields to them, for he was not ambitious for honor. ‘And the greater part did not know why they had come together.’ For such is the nature of a crowd: it simply rushes this way and that, like fire fallen into wood.

Acts 19:33–34. And out of the crowd they put forward Alexander, the Jews thrusting him forward. And Alexander, beckoning with his hand, wished to make a defense to the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, one voice arose from them all, as for about two hours they cried: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Why did Alexander wish to make a defense? Was he himself accused? No—but so as to find an opportunity, and to give the whole affair another turn

Acts 19:35–36. and to overturn matters, and to draw off the wrath of the people. And the town clerk, having quieted the crowd, said: Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great goddess Artemis and of the image fallen from Zeus? Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be calm and to do nothing rash. Well and with reproof does the clerk make his defense; and he did not say, ‘Who is there who does not know Artemis?’ but, ‘who does not know your city.’ Why then do you contend as though over things uncertain? For they wished to make reverence their pretext. ‘Temple-keeper’ (neokoros) stands for ‘temple-servant.’ For ‘korema’ means a sweeping, from which also comes ‘neokoros,’ the one who sweeps, that is, cleans the temple. And by ‘that which fell from Zeus’ (Diopetes) he means either the rounded temple of Zeus, or he calls ‘Diopetes’ the image of Athena, that is, the Palladium, which they supposed had been hurled down from above by Zeus and not made by men—as the Greeks fabled—to astound the more simple-minded.

Acts 19:37–39. For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. If then Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls: let them bring charges against one another. But if you seek anything further about other matters, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.

Acts 19:40–41. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting on account of today’s events, there being no cause by which we shall be able to give account of this concourse. And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. Gently he rebukes them, showing that they had acted rashly, and that one ought not to convene a common assembly on account of private complaints. For ‘the courts are open’ (literally, ‘the agoraioi are held’) refers to a class of lowly judges in Asia, the agoraioi, who judged the poor and common people. For this reason they were rather called agoraioi, just as there are advocates (ekdikoi) in certain cities. For the proconsuls attended to the suits of the rich, or to criminal cases. The pleaders, too, are called agoraioi, named from ‘agoreuein,’ that is, to speak publicly before the people.

Chapter 20

Acts 20:1–6. After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, and having embraced them, departed to go into Macedonia. And when he had passed through those regions and had exhorted them with much discourse, he came into Greece, where he stayed three months. And when a plot was laid against him by the Jews, as he was about to set sail for Syria, he resolved to return through Macedonia. There accompanied him as far as Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. These, going on ahead, waited for us at Troas. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and in five days came to them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. “And having exhorted them with much discourse.” For much exhortation was needed after the disturbance.

Acts 20:7–8. And on the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the next day; and he prolonged his speech until midnight. And there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. “And on the first day of the week.” It was then Pentecost and the Lord’s Day. “Until midnight.” Nor was he silent through the night; rather he discoursed all the more then, since it was a time of quiet. Observe also how he discoursed at length even at the very time of supper.

Acts 20:9. And a certain young man named Eutychus, sitting in the window, sank into a deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed at length, being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. The devil disturbed the feast by overcoming the listener with sleep. He sat at the window in the dead of night—so great was his desire to hear; and the marvelous thing is that, being young, he was not slothful. Even as he was being overcome by sleep he did not leave, nor did he fear the danger of falling. For he did not nod off from laziness, but from the necessity of nature.

Acts 20:10–13. And Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, Do not be troubled, for his life is in him. And when he had gone up again, and had broken bread and eaten, and had talked a long while, even until daybreak, so he departed. And they brought the boy in alive, and were comforted not a little. But we went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending there to take Paul aboard. “For his life is in him.” He did not say, “He will rise; I will raise him up.” Observe his freedom from pride and his comforting manner.

Acts 20:14–15. For so he had arranged it, intending himself to go on foot. And when he met with us at Assos, we took him aboard and came to Mitylene. Sailing from there, the next day we arrived opposite Chios; on the day after we touched at Samos, and having stayed at Trogyllium, the following day we came to Miletus. “Intending himself to go on foot.” Assigning to them the easier course, while choosing for himself the more toilsome one, he went on foot; at the same time managing many things, and training them to be parted from him.

Acts 20:16. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. You see that, even though he desired and hastened, he often did not attain his aim—so that we might not suppose that he was above human nature. For those holy and great men shared the same nature with us, but not the same purpose of will; and for this reason they had great grace.

Acts 20:17–21. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them: You know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, in what manner I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with many tears, and amid the trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was profitable, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus. “With all humility.” Not simply “humility,” but “with all humility”; for there are many kinds of humility: in word, in deed, toward rulers, toward subjects. “He called for the elders of the church.” Since the usage escapes many—especially that of the New Testament, which calls bishops “elders” (presbyters) and elders “bishops”—this too is to be noted, both from here and from the Epistle to Titus, and further from the Epistle to the Philippians; and we might also learn the same, if by inference, from the First Epistle to Timothy. From the Acts, then, one may be convinced of this. For it is written thus: “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church”; and he did not say “the bishops.” Then he adds: “in which the Holy Spirit has made you bishops, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God.” And from the Epistle to Titus: “And you shall appoint elders in each city,” he says, “as I directed you.” And from the Epistle to the Philippians: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.” “That I kept back nothing that was profitable, so as not to declare it to you.” For there was indeed something that it was not necessary to learn. For just as to hide certain things is a mark of envy, so to tell them everything is a mark of folly. For this reason he added, “that was profitable.”

Acts 20:22–24. And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there; except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I take account of none of these things, nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. “I, bound in the Spirit.” At “bound” a comma must be placed, so that the sense may be this: I go to Jerusalem, being a prisoner, having foreknown through the Spirit the things that are to be. Then, lest anyone should suppose a bond or a compulsion, and in order to show that he goes willingly, he says that in every city bonds and afflictions await him. And it is to be noted that the prophets do not know all things, but only as much as the Holy Spirit suggests to them. For Paul, having foretold as a prophet all the things that were to befall him, and concerning the false-believers and heretics that would arise among them, said that he was ignorant of one thing—namely, what the end of all this would be. For the Lord, having revealed everything to him, hid that one thing alone from him: what would become of him after the bonds and afflictions; so that he might not be lifted up—knowing that he would certainly meet with this—and fall through pride. Rather, the Spirit left it uncertain, so that, fearing the weakness of the flesh, he might pray to God to be delivered from trials. And as to “that bonds and afflictions await me”: “That there will be trials, I know; but of what kind, I do not know”—which was the harder thing. “Why then do you go, if bonds and afflictions await you?” “For this reason: that I may be bound for Christ’s sake, that I may die for Him.”

Acts 20:25–27. And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all; for I did not shrink from declaring to you all the counsel of God. “I am clean from the blood of all.” “I am clean,” he says, “from the blood of all,” even if you, having nodded off, should die by the slayer of souls; for I have fulfilled the part of a teacher. “For I did not shrink from declaring to you.” So then, he who does not speak is guilty of the blood—that is, of the slaughter. And while he seems to be defending himself, he is in fact putting them in fear.

Acts 20:28. Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God, which He purchased with His own blood. “Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all.” For neither does setting others aright alone bring gain (“For I fear,” he says, “lest, having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified”), nor does caring for oneself alone; for such a man is self-loving, and seeks his own, and is equal to the one who buried his talent. Not that our own salvation is more honorable than that of the flock, but because when we take heed to ourselves, then the flock also profits. “In which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” “You have your ordination from the Spirit,” he says. And it is to be noted that those whom he earlier called elders, here he calls overseers (bishops): either because the elders too have the obligation to oversee the rational flocks of the Church—lest anyone be weak in faith, lest anyone hunger or thirst, or need reproof and correction, according to the saying, “Reprove, rebuke, exhort”—or else here he is calling the bishops “bishops.” “Which He purchased with His own blood.” “The danger,” he says, “is not over small matters, seeing that He did not spare even His own blood.” For in order to reconcile enemies He poured out even His blood; and can you not hold fast those who have already become friends?

Acts 20:29–31. For I know this, that after my departure grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men shall arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease to admonish each one of you with tears. The evil is twofold: both that he himself will not be present, and that others will attack—and, what is harder, “from among your own selves.” Grievous it is when the war is one of kinsmen. “To draw away the disciples after them.” For the aim of heretics is eager not to win a people for the Lord, but for themselves, that they may boast in themselves, the name of the heretics being attached to those they have drawn away, so that these may be named from them—as the Manichaeans from Manes, the Arians from Arius, and the other kinds of heresies. This is what it means to “draw away the disciples after them.” For this reason, restraining their zeal beforehand, Paul rebukes and silences those who said, “I am of Paul,” “I of Apollos.”

Acts 20:32–34. And now I commend you, brothers, to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine ministered to my needs and to those who were with me. He ends his exhortation with prayer. For since he had greatly frightened them, lest he should overwhelm them, observe the consolation. “And now,” he says, “I commend you to God and to the word of His grace”—that is, to His grace itself. “Of silver… gold.” He did not say, “I did not take,” but, “I did not even covet.” And greater still is what follows: “You yourselves know that these hands of mine ministered to my needs and to those who were with me.” For the true almsgiving is to give to the needy out of one’s own labors. And observe how this man labored with diligence, discoursing night and day.

Acts 20:35. In all things I have shown you that, by thus laboring, we ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” You cannot take refuge in ignorance. I have shown you by my deeds that one must labor thus, and remember this word of the Lord Jesus. But where did He say it? Perhaps the apostles handed it down unwritten, or it is clear by inference. One degree is to cast away one’s own goods; a second, to provide for oneself; a third, to provide for others also; a fourth, to refuse to take even when one preaches and has the right to take. Yet he did not say that to take is an evil, but that it is better not to take.

Acts 20:36–38. And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping among them all; and falling on Paul’s neck, they kissed him, sorrowing most of all over the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship. It is to be noted that one who takes his leave ought to make prayer and to kneel down with all who are present, and only then depart. Their disposition is shown by the saying, “falling on his neck”: embracing him as in a last embrace, and having drawn from his discourse a great love and affection for him.

Chapter 21

Acts 21:1–3. And when it came to pass that we set sail, having torn ourselves away from them, we ran a straight course and came to Cos, and on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. And finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. And having come in sight of Cyprus, and leaving it on the left, we sailed to Syria and put in at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. He shows the force of it by saying, “having torn ourselves away from them”—and rightly so; for once they had been torn away, it was no longer possible for them to put out to sea. What does “running a straight course” mean? It stands for: We passed by; we did not linger in other places. “And finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia.” Perhaps that ship was lying there at Patara; and not finding one departing for Caesarea, but one bound for Phoenicia, they went off on it; and they left Cyprus and Syria aside. For the phrase “leaving it on the left” is not added without purpose, but to show that they were not even eager to come near to Syria.

Acts 21:4–7. And having found disciples, we stayed there seven days. These, through the Spirit, told Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. And when it came to pass that we had completed the days, we departed and went on our way, while they all, with their wives and children, escorted us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the shore, we prayed. And having embraced one another, we went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes. And we, having completed the voyage, came down from Tyre to Ptolemais, and having greeted the brothers, we stayed one day with them. “These told Paul through the Spirit.” If, then, the Spirit was commanding, why did he refuse? That is, they knew it through the Spirit; for they did not make the exhortation itself through the Spirit. For they did not simply foretell to him the terrible things, but said that he ought not to go up, sparing him. And “to complete” stands for “to fulfill”; for after fulfilling the appointed days—that is, the Feast of Unleavened Bread—they departed from Tyre. Consider for me all the days after the Unleavened Bread: they came to Tyre in five days; then there they spent seven days. In all, twelve.

Acts 21:8–9. And on the next day those around Paul departed and came to Caesarea; and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. Now he had four virgin daughters who prophesied. These were the daughters of Philip the deacon. Note that the daughters who prophesied were virgins, and that they practiced this rather out of piety, so that they were even deemed worthy of prophecy. And if it were not something worthy of zeal, the writer would not have added that they were virgins.

Acts 21:10–11. And while we remained many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, and taking Paul’s belt, and binding his own feet and hands, he said: Thus says the Holy Spirit: The man whose belt this is, so shall the Jews bind in Jerusalem and deliver into the hands of the Gentiles. This was that Agabus who long before had foretold the famine. The hard thing is that “they will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.” Notice that as soon as he heard he was to suffer countless terrible things, then he presses on the more. And Agabus did not say that they would bind Paul, lest he seem to be speaking by prearrangement, but, “the man whose belt this is.”

Acts 21:12–14. And when we heard these things, both we and those of that place begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered: What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, saying: The will of the Lord be done. “What are you doing, weeping?” The others were weeping; but he was comforting them, grieving over their tears, while not suffering over his own trials. “I weep for you,” he says, “not over the sufferings; for I am willing even to die for them.” And since they could not persuade him, they fell silent; for they understood that it was God’s will. It should be noted, then, that one must turn away those who hinder someone from doing something noble, even though they weep. For such a tear made Paul himself weep too and dissolved his firmness. Therefore he shakes them off.

Acts 21:15–19. And after these days, having made our preparations, we went up to Jerusalem. And some of the disciples from Caesarea came with us, bringing us to one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge. And when we came to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. And on the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. And having greeted them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. “Having made our preparations” means: having taken the things needed for the journey. “On the following day Paul went in with us to James.” This was the bishop of Jerusalem; this was the brother of the Lord, a great and admirable man. He relates to them the things concerning the Gentiles, not out of vainglory, but wishing to display God’s love for mankind. “Through his ministry,” that is, through the preaching of the gospel word.

Acts 21:20–22. And when they heard, they glorified God and said to him: You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law. And they have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. What then is it? Surely a multitude must come together, for they will hear that you have come. Do this, therefore, which we tell you. “How many myriads of Jews there are.” These myriads are from among those who cried out, “His blood be upon us and upon our children”; yet nevertheless the Lover of mankind received both them and their children and deemed them worthy of countless good things. “And they have been informed about you.” He did not say “they heard,” but rather they so believed and were taught.

Acts 21:23–24. We have four men who have a vow upon themselves. Take them and purify yourself with them, and pay the expense for them, that they may shave their heads, and all may know that the things of which they were informed about you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the law. “Having a vow upon themselves.” There are many kinds of promise. For some promised sacrifices, others money, others themselves; others, for a stated number of days, not to drink wine nor to cut their hair. Of this last kind were these men too; for “vow” here means the promise. For the hairs are a symbol of mortification, since they are dead and do not receive the sensation of pain. “Take them and purify yourself with them.” That is, provide yourself the sacrifices that are offered for them according to the law, so that you may dissolve the suspicion. “Make your defense by deed,” he says, “not by word.” “That they may shave their heads, and all may know that the things of which they were informed about you are nothing.” It was the custom for those who had a vow to shave their heads after being purified, and so for seven days to make an offering for themselves. Aquila and Priscilla did something of this kind, so that it was clear they cut their hair as worshippers of God.

Acts 21:25. But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we have written, having decided that they should observe no such thing, except to keep themselves from what is sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication. “Just as we,” he says, “enjoined those, although we preach to Jews, so you also, preaching to the Gentiles, work together with us. For the matter is a condescension; do not be afraid.”

Acts 21:26. Then Paul, taking the men, on the next day, having purified himself with them, entered into the temple, announcing the completion of the days of purification, until the offering should be presented for each one of them. Paul shaved himself and performed all the Jewish rites—not because his judgment was overthrown (since the matter would have been wicked), but because love condescends. And “announcing the completion of the days of purification” means proclaiming it; he himself was the one making it known about himself.

Acts 21:27–29. And when the seven days were about to be completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out: Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place; and moreover he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed Paul had brought into the temple. Notice God’s dispensation: after some had been persuaded, the others, fearing that the rest too might be persuaded, then set upon Paul. Their restless character is evident everywhere.

Acts 21:30–34. And the whole city was stirred, and there was a running together of the people; and seizing Paul, they dragged him outside the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. And while they were seeking to kill him, word came up to the commander of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down upon them; and they, seeing the commander and the soldiers, stopped beating Paul. Then the commander, drawing near, took hold of him and ordered him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he might be and what he had done. Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another; and being unable, because of the uproar, to learn anything certain, he ordered him to be brought to the barracks. “They dragged him outside the temple.” For they wanted to do away with him; and for this reason they dragged him out, so as to do it with greater impunity.

Acts 21:35–38. And when he came onto the steps, it happened that he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd; for the multitude of the people followed, crying out: Away with him! And as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he says to the commander: May I say something to you? And he said: Do you know Greek? Are you not then that Egyptian who before these days raised a revolt and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Sicarii? What does “Away with him” mean? That is what they say according to the Roman custom: “Put him among the standards”; or, “Away with him,” meaning, “Take him from among the living.” For it was the custom of the Jews to utter this cry against the righteous, as they did also against the Lord: “Away with him,” meaning, “Take him from among the living.” “Are you not then the Egyptian?” There had appeared a certain Egyptian, an innovator and revolutionary, a deceiver and a sorcerer. And the devil hoped through this man to cast a shadow, and to make both Christ and the apostles partakers in the crimes committed by that man’s followers. “Men of the Sicarii.” Among the Jews there are three principal sects: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. These practice a more reverent way of life, being loving toward one another and self-controlled; therefore they are also called Essenes, that is, holy ones; but others called them Sicarii, that is, zealots.

Acts 21:39. And Paul said: I am indeed a man, a Jew, a Tarsian of Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city; I beg you, allow me to speak to the people. “I am indeed a man, a Jew.” For by nature we Christians are Jews, as those who confess the true faith, which is what the name Judah signifies. Since the commander had said, “Are you the Egyptian?” he at once led him away from that suspicion. Then, lest the commander suppose that he was a Jew by descent, he afterward declares his faith. What then? Did he deny it? Far from it! For he was both a Jew and a Christian. And “allow me to speak to the people” is the greatest proof that he was guilty of nothing, in that he was so ready for a defense and wished to make his case before the people of the Jews.

Acts 21:40. And when he had given permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people; and when there was a great silence, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:

Chapter 22

Acts 22:1–2. Men, brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now make before you. And when they heard that he addressed them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more quiet. And he says: He spoke from the steps. And from this position there was great ease, since he addressed the people while standing on high, and bound at that. What is equal to this spectacle, to see Paul bound with two chains and addressing the people? How was he not thrown into confusion, seeing so great a populace set in hostility against him? ‘Men, brothers and fathers.’ The word ‘fathers’ is to give honor; the word ‘brothers’ is a mark of kinship. Notice that his speech is both free of flattery and full of gentleness. For he did not say ‘Masters’ or ‘Lords,’ but ‘Brothers,’ which they most longed for. ‘I am no stranger to you,’ he says, ‘nor am I against you.’ ‘And when they heard… in the Hebrew tongue.’ You see how the sameness of speech won them over; for they had a certain reverence toward that language.

Acts 22:3–4. I am a man, a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering up to prison both men and women, as the high priest also bears me witness, and all the council of the elders. He prepares the way for his discourse, beginning thus: ‘I am,’ he says, ‘a man, a Jew’—which they most of all desired to hear. But that they might not again suppose he meant the nation rather than the religion, he adds: ‘brought up in this city.’ He shows his great diligence concerning the worship of God; seeing that, leaving so great a homeland lying so far off, he chose to be brought up here for the sake of the law. He did not simply say ‘with Gamaliel,’ but ‘at the feet,’ indicating his perseverance, his constant attendance, his diligence in listening, his great reverence toward the man. ‘Taught according to the strictness of the ancestral law’—not simply ‘of the law,’ but ‘of the ancestral.’ What then? If you knew the law exactly, do you not defend it, nor love it? ‘Zealous,’ he says. And since he had spoken great praises of himself, he makes the discourse common to all: ‘As you all are this day.’ Notice how many witnesses he brings forward: the council of elders, the high priest, those in the city. Up to this point he had them as witnesses; but the rest of his account is without witnesses.

Acts 22:5–8. From whom also I received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring those who were there bound to Jerusalem to be punished. And it happened, as I journeyed and drew near to Damascus about noon, that suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you persecute.’ For lest you think the affair was a matter of anger, he shows that he did it all out of zeal, not out of vainglory.

Acts 22:9–13. Those who were with me saw the light and became afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about all that is appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came into Damascus. And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well attested by all the Jews dwelling in Damascus, came to me, and standing by said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And in that same hour I looked up at him. ‘They saw the light.’ This happened fittingly, for he alone had to be counted worthy of that voice. For since the duller sort are persuaded rather through sight, those men saw the light and became afraid; yet the light did not work upon them so much as upon him. For it even blinded his eyes, and through the things befalling him it granted to them also to see, if they were willing. But it seems to me that they did not believe, by a divine dispensation, so that they might be trustworthy witnesses. ‘Being led by the hand by those with me, I came to Damascus.’ Well is the city added, so that they might recognize that he had been a persecutor. And he weaves the testimony both through persons and through facts, both his own and others’: the priests, the elders, his fellow travelers; facts bear witness to facts, not the person only. But there is Ananias, an outsider; then the fact itself, the recovery of sight.

Acts 22:14. And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you beforehand to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.’ Well did he say, ‘of our fathers,’ to show that they were not Jews but estranged from the law, and were not acting out of zeal. ‘And to see the Righteous One.’ For now he says only this much: that if he is righteous, then these men are guilty.

Acts 22:15–18. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now, why do you delay? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it happened, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and go quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not accept your testimony concerning me.’ ‘That you will be a witness for him.’ For this reason: because you will not betray the sight and the hearing. ‘What you have seen and heard,’ he says. Through both of the senses he confirms him. ‘You will be a witness,’ he says, ‘to all men’—not to your own people only, but also to strangers. For this is what witnesses are: they convince not those who already know, but those who do not know. And this is a great prophecy; and see how it has come to fulfillment. For to all men he became a witness through what he did, through what he suffered, through what he said.

Acts 22:19–22. And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I was imprisoning and beating in the synagogues those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was shed, I myself was standing by and consenting to his killing, and guarding the garments of those who slew him.’ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ And they listened to him up to this word; then they lifted up their voice, saying, ‘Away with such a man from the earth, for it is not fitting that he should live!’ Why did he say, ‘They themselves know’? He said it not contradicting Christ, but wishing to understand a thing so beyond expectation. But Christ did not explain it to him; he only told him to depart. ‘And when the blood of Stephen was shed,’ and what follows. He reminded them of a cruel murder; for at that time Stephen had rebuked them in this very matter, and they could not bear it.

Acts 22:23–29. And as they were crying out and throwing off their garments and casting dust into the air, the tribune commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering that he be examined by scourging, so that he might learn for what cause they so cried out against him. But as they stretched him out with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion standing by, ‘Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?’ When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and reported it, saying, ‘Take care what you are about to do; for this man is a Roman.’ Then the tribune came and said to him, ‘Tell me, are you a Roman?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ The tribune answered, ‘I acquired this citizenship for a large sum.’ And Paul said, ‘But I was even born one.’ Immediately, then, those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the tribune also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman and that he had bound him. ‘So that he might learn for what cause.’ And yet he ought to have learned it from those who were crying out, and asked whether they suspected him of any of the things alleged; but he simply gratifies the authorities and acts to please them. For he was not seeking how he might act justly, but how he might quell their anger, unjust though it was. ‘A man who is a Roman.’ Paul did not lie in saying ‘a Roman.’ For the sake of patronage his father had purchased this title with money, since those deemed worthy to be called by this name enjoyed great honor at that time. And he says this so that, if scourged, he might not become an object of contempt. For if they had scourged him, they would have given the matter another turn and killed him; but as it is, even if for no other reason, yet for this very one, they not only did not scourge him but even released him. Two charges Paul lays against the act of punishing him: one, that it was without trial; the other, that they meant to punish a Roman; and for this reason he cast them into still greater fear. ‘And Paul said, I was even born one.’ Notice that his father too was a Roman. For before Paul was born, Cilicia had already come under the Romans, and so his father, as having come under their power, had necessarily to be a Roman. And meanwhile, according to the prophecy, Paul was bound in Jerusalem, and the prophetic word came to pass. What, then, comes of this? Having loosed him, the tribune brought him down to the Jews. So it was no falsehood; for the tribune was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, that is, a man of distinguished rank.

Acts 22:30. On the next day, wishing to know for certain why he was being accused by the Jews, he loosed him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and all their council to assemble; and bringing Paul down, he set him before them. And Paul, looking intently at the council, said, ‘Men, brothers, I have lived in all good conscience before God up to this day.’ And the high priest Ananias commanded those standing by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, ‘God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall; for do you sit judging me according to the law, and yet, contrary to the law, command me to be struck?’ And those standing by said, ‘Do you revile the high priest of God?’ Paul said, ‘I did not know, brothers, that he is high priest; for it is written, You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’

Chapter 23

Paul, looking intently at the council. He no longer addresses the multitude, nor the people. And as for the words, I have lived in all good conscience before God to this day, that is, I am not conscious of having wronged you in anything, nor of doing anything that deserves these bonds.

Acts 23:3–5. You sit to judge me according to the law, and yet, transgressing the law, you order me to be struck?—that is, being yourself liable and, as it were, deserving ten thousand blows. Do you revile God’s high priest? I did not know that he was high priest How then did you say, ‘You sit to judge me according to the law’? But he feigns ignorance—an ignorance that does no harm, but rather builds up. Yet I am fully persuaded that he genuinely did not know that the man was high priest, since he had returned only after a long absence, had not associated with the Jews, and saw him in the midst of many others. For the high priest was no longer recognizable among so many and various people. He calls him a whitewashed wall because, although his outward appearance was splendid—as one who vindicated the law and judged by the law—his mind was filled with lawlessness; and so Paul exposes the mere outward guise of his external disposition.

Acts 23:6–7. When Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council: Men and brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged. And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

Acts 23:8. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge both. ‘I am a Pharisee.’ Again he speaks in a human manner, yet everywhere he enjoys grace. Nor does he lie here either, for he was a Pharisee by descent. Since those men were unwilling to state why they were judging him, he is at last compelled to declare it himself: ‘Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged.’ And from their own accusation and slander he commends himself. The Sadducees, being rather crude, perhaps did not even know God; hence they do not believe that any resurrection takes place. ‘But the Pharisees acknowledge both.’ Yet there are three things; how then does he say ‘both’? But spirit and angel are one, he says; and the word ‘both’ is used even of three. For one must not judge the writings of unlettered men and fishermen by the precise correctness of outward learning. From this, heresies are born.

Acts 23:9–10. And there arose a great clamor; and the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended, saying: We find nothing evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God. And as the dissension grew great, the tribune, fearing that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered the troops to go down and seize him from among them and bring him into the barracks. ‘But if a spirit has spoken to him.’ Something is lacking to complete the thought, so that it should read thus: ‘But if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him’ the contrivance of his speech, that he might escape the plot—it is unclear, he says. Or the phrase is to be taken as spoken by the Pharisees: ‘But if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him’—that is, See, in speaking about the resurrection he is plainly one who has been instructed in the doctrine of the resurrection, whether through the Holy Spirit or through an angel. ‘The tribune, fearing.’ He is afraid that Paul might be torn to pieces, since Paul had said that he was a Roman, and the matter was not without danger. And so the troops seize him as their own, I suppose.

Acts 23:11–13. On the following night the Lord stood by him and said: Take courage, Paul; for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so must you also bear witness in Rome. When it was day, some of the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse, declaring that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who made this plot. ‘The Lord stood by him.’ Since the Lord always gives comfort in afflictions; yet before Paul fell into danger He did not appear to him (for He trains us also in the midst of dangers); and after appearing, He again leaves him to be saved by human means.

Acts 23:14–15. We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. Now therefore you, together with the council, notify the tribune to bring him down to you tomorrow, as though you intended to examine his case more closely. And we, before he comes near, are ready to kill him. ‘They bound themselves under a curse.’ That is, they declared themselves to be outside the faith in God if they did not carry out what they had resolved. So whether they broke their promise—as indeed they did—they are accursed; or whether they had succeeded in murdering Paul, again, as murderers, they made themselves accursed, or rather God made them so.

Acts 23:16–24. Now when the son of Paul’s sister heard of the ambush, he came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions and said: Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to report to him. So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said: The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, since he has something to tell you. The tribune took him by the hand and, withdrawing privately, asked: What is it that you have to report to me? He said: The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they intended to inquire more closely about him. But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor to drink until they have killed him; and now they are ready, awaiting your consent. So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him to tell no one that he had disclosed these things to him. And calling two of the centurions, he said: Prepare two hundred soldiers to proceed as far as Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, from the third hour of the night. And provide mounts, so that they might set Paul on them and bring him safely through to Felix the governor. ‘Now when the son of Paul’s sister heard of the ambush.’ This belonged to God’s providence—that they did not realize he would overhear. Again Paul is saved by human foresight. And Paul lets no one learn of it, not even the centurion, so that the matter might not become known. It is no fault in Paul that he feared dangers, but rather a weakness of nature (for he was a man), and a credit to his resolve, that, even while dreading death and blows, he did nothing unworthy of himself out of this fear.

Acts 23:25–35. He wrote a letter in this form: Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, when I came up with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman. And wishing to know the charge for which they accused him, I brought him down to their council. I found him to be accused concerning questions of their law, but to have no charge against him deserving death or imprisonment. And when it was disclosed to me that a plot was about to be made against the man by the Jews, I sent him to you at once, charging his accusers also to state before you the matters against him. Farewell. So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. On the next day they let the horsemen go on with him and returned to the barracks. They entered Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and presented Paul also to him. When the governor had read it and asked from what province he was, and learned that he was from Cilicia, he said: I will hear you when your accusers also arrive. ‘But having no charge deserving death.’ See here too a letter that contains a defense on his behalf and an accusation against those men. And see how, by the verdict of those outside the faith, Paul is declared innocent—as Christ also was by Pilate. ‘And he ordered him to be kept under guard in Herod’s praetorium.’ It is noteworthy that there was a praetorium of Herod in Caesarea.

Chapter 24

Acts 24:1–4. And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with certain elders and a certain orator named Tertullus, who laid information before the governor against Paul. And when he had been called, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight excellent measures are accomplished for this nation, in every way and everywhere we accept it, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. But, so as not to detain you too long, I beg you in your clemency to hear us briefly. In the praetorium of Herod. It should be noted that the praetorium of Herod is in Caesarea. “Who laid information before the governor against Paul.” Again something is wanting in the wording to complete the sense, which should run thus: certain men presented a written indictment against Paul. “Since through you we enjoy much peace.” See how from the very outset he wins over the judge with praises, and how he wants to hand Paul over as an innovator and a fomenter of sedition.

Acts 24:5–9. For having found this man a plague, and one who stirs up sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, who also attempted to profane the temple; whom also we seized, and wished to judge according to our own law. But Lysias the tribune came and with great violence took him out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come before you; from whom you yourself, by examining him, can learn of all these things of which we accuse him. And the Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that these things were so. This matter of the Nazarenes seemed to be a reproach, and from this too they slandered him; for Nazareth was a paltry place. Tertullus calls the Nazarenes heretics, as though this also were a sect among the Jews. Now Tertullus was a Greek; this is precisely why he acted as orator, that is, pleaded the case against Paul.

Acts 24:10–15. When the governor had signaled him to speak, Paul answered: Knowing that for many years you have been a just judge to this nation, I make my defense concerning myself the more cheerfully. For you can ascertain that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem. And they did not find me in the temple disputing with anyone, or stirring up a crowd, nor in the synagogues, nor throughout the city; nor can they now prove to you the things of which they accuse me. But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, so do I serve the God of my fathers, believing all things that are written in the law and the prophets, having hope toward God—which they themselves also accept—that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. So far am I, he says, from stirring up seditions, that I went up to worship. He dwells on this point, since it was a strong one. “So do I serve, believing in God and Father.” After the calling to be an apostle of Christ, by saying that he serves the ancestral God, he shows that the God of the Old and of the New is one and the same. And by “the Way” he means the faith, that is, the tradition.

Acts 24:16–21. And in this I myself also strive always to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings. In the midst of which they found me purified in the temple, not with a crowd, nor with tumult. But there were certain Jews from Asia, who ought to have been present before you and to accuse me, if they had anything against me. Or let these men themselves say what wrong they found in me when I stood before the council, except for this one thing that I cried out, standing among them: that concerning the resurrection of the dead I am judged by you this day. “I strive to have a conscience without offense.” This is perfect virtue: when we neither give occasions of stumbling to men, and at the same time are zealous to be without offense before God. “Let these men themselves say what wrong they found in me.” In the council, not in private, but when an examination had taken place. And that I speak the truth, those who accuse me bear witness to this. It is a token of his unquestionable rectitude not to flee his accusers, but to be ready to give an answer to all. For indeed from the first they were vexed at this, that I preached the resurrection; for once this was demonstrated, the things concerning Christ were easily introduced as well—that He rose.

Acts 24:22–23. And when Felix heard these things, he deferred them, knowing more accurately the things concerning the Way, and said: When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will determine your case. And he commanded the centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have some liberty, and to forbid none of his own people to serve him or come to him. “He deferred them.” He deliberately put it off, not because he needed to learn, but to put off the Jews and to give relief to Paul; he did not wish to punish him on their account. “Knowing more accurately the things concerning the Way, and said.” Felix knew the faith accurately, having been instructed in the things concerning Christ out of the Old Testament; and out of human favor he did not release Paul, as Scripture says further on: “wishing to do the Jews a favor” (v. 27). Perhaps too he was hoping to receive money from him. And Felix knew the things concerning Christ as having a Jewish wife, from whom he continually heard them.

Acts 24:24–27. And after some days, Felix came with Drusilla his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned about righteousness, and self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became afraid and answered: For the present, go your way; when I find a convenient time, I will call for you. He also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, so that he might release him; therefore he sent for him the more often and conversed with him. But when two years were completed, Felix received as his successor Porcius Festus. And wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul bound.

Chapter 25

Acts 25:1–5. Now when Festus had come into the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. And the high priest and the leading men of the Jews informed him against Paul, and they urged him, asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem—laying an ambush to kill him along the way. But Festus answered that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to set out there shortly. “Therefore,” he said, “let those among you who are able go down with me, and if there is anything wrong in this man, let them accuse him.” “With Drusilla his wife.” Contrary to the law she was joined, being a Jewess, to a Gentile; or perhaps she was a Jewess, but having married him she became a Gentile. Therefore she also gave up her own faith for him, persuading her husband too to become a transgressor. “Felix being afraid.” So great was the power of the words that they even frightened the ruler. Therefore, sending for him more frequently, he conversed with him. Do you see how the things written hold to the truth? He sent for him continually—not admiring him, nor praising what was said, nor wishing to believe, but expecting, it says, that money would be given him.

Acts 25:6–12. And when he had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; and the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. When he had appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around, bringing many and grievous charges against Paul which they could not prove, while he said in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned in anything.” But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?” But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you also know very well. For if I am a wrongdoer and have done anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if there is nothing in the things of which these men accuse me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.” Then Festus, having conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go.” “Neither against the law.” Behold a clear testimony that Paul kept himself blameless in all things—neither against God, nor the law, nor against any man, nor against me. “Having sinned against the temple”—that is, he never insulted the stone buildings of the Jews, though he knew and proclaimed that God does not dwell in temples made with hands; but neither did he dare to insult a priest, in his consciousness of being a Jew, even though he no longer obeyed the Jewish high priests. And the words “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat” mean: I wish to go away to Rome to the king and there be judged. “I make my appeal to you,” he says.

Acts 25:13–15. Now when some days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. And as they spent many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, concerning whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the high priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for a sentence against him.” “King Agrippa.” Either Agrippa held the rank of king in the provinces, and for this reason was styled king; or perhaps he was himself king of the eastern parts, while Nero ruled the western parts and resided in Rome. For the name “Caesar” in Latin means “king,” since by a common name all the kings of the Romans are called Caesars insofar as they are kings—yet these are not their proper names. I have said this so that no one, from the identity of this general name with a proper name, should suppose that under one and the same emperor both our Lord was born and Paul died. For the Lord was born, as the chronology shows, under Caesar Augustus, and died thirty-three years later under Tiberius Augustus; but Paul died under Nero, thirty-four years after the death of the Lord. And indeed Herod too, like Agrippa, held the rank of king; therefore he also was called king.

Acts 25:16–18. To whom I answered that it is not the custom of the Romans to give up any man to destruction before the accused has his accusers face to face and receives opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge. So when they had come together here, without making any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought. When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such things as I supposed. “That it is not the custom of the Romans.” So then Pilate, by giving up Jesus to the Jews, was clearly acting from a murderous soul; inasmuch as he both disregarded the judgment of God and trampled on the law of the Romans, in order that, by handing over innocent blood to death, he might please the murderers—even though he was liable to be judged for this lawlessness by the king of the Romans, by whom he had been sent to rule the borders of Jerusalem. “When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge.” And indeed they did bring charges, but they did not prove them. For the plot and the audacity made this suspected; but the examination found nothing of the kind.

Acts 25:19–24. But they had certain questions against him about their own religion, and about a certain Jesus who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Being at a loss as to the inquiry concerning this, I asked whether he wished to go to Jerusalem and there be judged of these things. But when Paul appealed to be kept for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept until I might send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I myself would also like to hear the man.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.” So on the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and had entered the auditorium together with the commanders and the principal men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in. And Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all you men present with us, you see this man, concerning whom the whole multitude of the Jews petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, crying out that he ought not to live any longer.” “And about a certain Jesus.” Fittingly he says “a certain Jesus,” being a man in authority who took no thought of Him. The inquiry into these matters went beyond the ears of a judge. “For the decision of Augustus.” He calls the king “Augustus” by a loose use of the term, as he also does “Caesar,” whom he likewise calls “lord.”

Acts 25:25–27. But I, having found that he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he himself appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. Concerning whom I have nothing certain to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, when the examination has taken place, I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to signify the charges against him. “That he had done nothing worthy of death.” In the end the judge himself bears witness to him that he was guiltless; yet he did not release him—the Lord having so arranged it, that he might appeal (and those who appeal must of necessity be sent to Rome), and that the prophecy spoken by him might be fulfilled, namely, “I must see Rome also” (Acts 19:21). And observe how Paul, having put off everything—both parents and those who raised him—comes to Rome pure from every wicked suspicion.

Chapter 26

Agrippa said to Paul: You are permitted to speak for yourself. Then Paul, stretching out his hand, made his defense: Concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I count myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today, especially since you are acquainted with all the customs and disputed questions among the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation in Jerusalem, all the Jews know; they have known me long ago, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand on trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain; and for this hope, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. Why is it judged incredible among you that God raises the dead? “I count myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you.” He said this not to flatter him—far from it—but wishing to gain something by his gentleness. And in part he did win over even the judge, he who until then was reckoned to be the one on trial; for in the presence of all Agrippa said: “In a little you persuade me to become a Christian.” “Especially since you are acquainted with all the customs and disputed questions among the Jews.” Now if he had had something on his conscience, he would have had reason to be afraid, being judged before one who knew everything; but not to decline such a judge, one who knew exactly all that had happened, is the mark of a clear conscience. “All the Jews know me, having known me from long ago.” That is to say, they know the truth, but they are unwilling to testify to it, lying and sinning of their own deliberate will. “According to the strictest sect I lived a Pharisee.” It should be noted that the Pharisees too are heretics, and that they examine the Scriptures more exactly than the other Jewish sects. He said “exactly,” but not “truly”; for they did not have the true knowledge of the Scriptures. Diligence, then, examines minutely and reasons things out; yet it does not for all that necessarily come to know what is real, but there are times when a man even deceives his own mind.

Acts 26:9–11. I myself, then, thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth; which I also did in Jerusalem, and I shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And throughout all the synagogues I often punished them and tried to force them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I pursued them even to foreign cities. “I thought to myself.” I supposed, he says, by my own judgment that it had to be done this way. “And being exceedingly enraged.” For driven mad by the working of the devil and of the demons, they did many absurd things like men possessed; or perhaps I raged even more than they, since I did the evil willingly.

Acts 26:12–18. And as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday along the road I saw, O king, a light from heaven, surpassing the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those journeying with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew tongue: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And I said: Who are you, Lord? And he said: I am Jesus, whom you persecute. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things you have seen and of those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from the people and from the nations, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in me. “Surpassing the brightness of the sun.” Bringing forward something more brilliant than the things perceived by the senses, and being unable to liken the light of Jesus to that sunlight, he says—so as to convey the appearance in a way that human hearing can receive it—that this light far surpasses the light of the sun.

Acts 26:19–20. King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but I proclaimed first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and to the nations, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance. “I was not disobedient.” By these things I was persuaded, he says; by this vision he drew me to himself, and so persuaded me not to delay. A vision is the pure contemplation that surpasses man; and this no one in the flesh can see, unless his eyes are opened by a power beyond man’s.

Acts 26:21–23. For these things the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. Having therefore obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying to small and great, saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer, and that, being first of the resurrection of the dead, he would proclaim light to the people and to the nations. “Saying nothing beyond what the prophets said.” That the prophets spoke concerning the suffering of Christ, it is superfluous to state what is already evident; but that Moses did so is clear from his saying, as in the person of Judah: “Like a lion he crouched down and slept, and like a lion’s whelp; who shall rouse him?” (Gen. 49:9). For he plainly signifies the death and resurrection of Christ; and indeed the suffering too, in what he says again: “You shall see your life hanging before your eyes” (Deut. 28:66). “And first of the resurrection of the dead.” For he was the first to rise, and dies no more. For those who were raised through him, or through his disciples, died again, awaiting the universal resurrection to come.

Acts 26:24–26. As he was making his defense, Festus said with a loud voice: You are mad, Paul; your great learning is driving you to madness. But he said: I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I am uttering words of truth and sound mind. For the king knows about these things, before whom also I speak boldly; for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him. “You are mad, Paul.” Since Paul was continually directing his speech to the king, Festus—as though somewhat stung, and seeing his boldness—said this out of vexation and anger. But Paul teaches the reason why he had turned his speech toward the king.

Acts 26:27–32. For this thing was not done in a corner. Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you believe. And Agrippa said to Paul: In a little you persuade me to become a Christian. And Paul said: I would pray to God that, whether in little or in much, not only you but also all who hear me today might become such as I am—except for these bonds. And when he had said this, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and those seated with them. And withdrawing, they spoke to one another, saying that this man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds. And Agrippa said to Festus: This man could have been set free, if he had not appealed to Caesar. “For the king knows about these things.” Here he speaks of the cross and of the resurrection—that the teaching of it has gone out into all the world. He says this to show that Agrippa knew everything, and all but says to the others as well: “You too ought to have known these things.” For this is the force of what is added: “For this was not done in a corner.” “I would pray to God, both in little and in much.” Although it was indeed worthy of glory, he said this with an eye to their supposition, and so too the words “except for these bonds.” What are you saying, blessed Paul—“apart from these bonds”? And what boldness is left to you, if you are ashamed of these and flee from them, and that before so great an assembly? Do you not everywhere in your Epistles boast of them, and call yourself a prisoner, and everywhere carry your chain about as a diadem? What then has happened now, that you pray to be rid of the bonds? It is not I myself who pray to be rid of them, he says, nor am I ashamed of them, but I am condescending to their weakness; for they cannot yet receive my boast. And I have learned from my Master not to put a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment (Mk. 2:21). For this reason I spoke thus.

Chapter 27

Acts 27:1–3. When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan cohort. Embarking on a ship of Adramyttium that was about to sail to the places along Asia, we put to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him to go to his friends and to receive their care. “Aristarchus being with us.” Aristarchus is present rightly and usefully, and accompanies him for some distance, since he is to report in Macedonia all that concerns Paul. As for, “Julius treating Paul kindly”: for it was only natural to support him, worn down as he was by the chains, by fear, and by being led and carried about. And observe how the writer does not even conceal this—that Paul needed to be cared for.

Acts 27:4–8. Putting to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And having sailed across the sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came down to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and put us on board it. Sailing slowly for many days, and having barely come off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. And coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasaea. “An Alexandrian ship,” he says, “sailing to Italy.” It is likely that these too set off for Asia to report what had happened to Paul, just as Aristarchus did for Macedonia.

Acts 27:9–10. When much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast had already gone by, Paul advised them, saying: Men, I perceive that this voyage will be with hardship and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. “The Fast had already gone by.” I take it that he here means the Fast of the Jews. For he set out long after Pentecost, so that he reached the regions of Crete almost at the very onset of winter. But that he might not seem to be prophesying, but rather to be speaking from conjecture, he says, “I perceive”; for they would not have accepted it at once, even had he said it as a prophet.

Acts 27:11–13. But the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the shipowner than by what Paul said. And because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority gave counsel to put to sea from there too, in hopes that they might somehow reach Phoenix and winter there, a harbor of Crete looking toward the southwest and the northwest. And when a south wind blew gently, supposing they had gained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed close along Crete. “He was more persuaded by the shipowner.” The evangelist says that the centurion did this thinking that one ought rather to listen to those experienced in sailing than to a passenger inexperienced in seamanship. So then it was an error of judgment, not of fortune.

Acts 27:14–17. But not long after, a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon struck down from it. And when the ship was caught up and could not face the wind, we gave way and were driven along. Running under the lee of a small island called Clauda, we were barely able to secure the ship’s boat. After hoisting it up, they used supports, undergirding the ship, and, fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sail and so were driven along. One must not demand strict literal precision of Scripture. For “to face,” properly speaking, fits a person and not a ship.

Acts 27:18–21. And as we were violently storm-tossed, the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard, and on the third day with our own hands we threw out the ship’s tackle. And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm lay upon us, all hope of our being saved was at last taken away. And after long abstinence from food, Paul then stood in their midst and said: Men, you ought to have listened to me and not put to sea from Crete, and so have spared yourselves this injury and loss. That is, the sails. For when the wind is fierce this is done, since the stern is being battered.

Acts 27:22. And now I urge you to take courage; for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

Acts 27:23–33. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve, saying: Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar, and behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you. Therefore take courage, men; for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. But we must run aground on some island. When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that some land was drawing near them. And taking soundings they found twenty fathoms; and going a little farther and sounding again, they found fifteen fathoms. Fearing lest we should run aground on rocky places, they cast four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. And when the sailors were trying to flee from the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea, under pretext of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers: Unless these men remain in the ship, you cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and let it fall away. And while the day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take food, saying: This is the fourteenth day that you continue waiting without food, having taken nothing. “And now I urge you to take courage.” After so great a storm, he does not address them by way of reproach, but wishing that for the future at least he might be believed; and he sets forth what has happened as a witness to the truth of what he is going to say. And he foretells two things: that the ship will be lost, but those aboard will be saved, and that they must run aground on an island—things that came not of conjecture but of prophecy. “Behold, God has granted you all who sail with you.” See: were it not for Paul, all in the ship would have perished. So that what Homer said is false. Homer says that it is impossible to escape the appointed fate, which at one’s very birth fixes the hour of a person’s death. But behold: if all had been fated to perish, then by ordinary reckoning Paul too should have perished, having stayed so many days at sea without food. Indeed, the false saying declared: “Fate no man has escaped, neither the brave” (that is, the valiant) “nor the coward.” But Scripture says the very opposite, namely: “A righteous man is delivered from trouble, and the wicked falls into it in his stead” (Prov. 11:8). So then God granted the lives to Paul, while the ship perished with all that was in it. Thus the impious are saved this time for the sake of the righteous man. Yet there is also a time when the impious one perishes before his hour through his own wickedness, as Ecclesiastes says: “Do not be greatly impious, and do not be foolish; why should you die before your time?” (7:17). “Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat.” By God’s design Paul is at first disbelieved, so that after the test of events he might be believed—which indeed happened. Observe, then, how the centurion trusts Paul, so far as to let the boat be lost; but the sailors did not yet believe, and only later are persuaded, for this sort of men is hard to convince.

Acts 27:34–39. Therefore I urge you to take some food; this is for your preservation, for not a hair will fall from the head of any of you. And having said this, and taken bread, he gave thanks to God before them all, and breaking it, began to eat. Then all became cheerful and themselves also took food. We were in all on the ship two hundred and seventy-six souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing the wheat into the sea. When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay with a beach, onto which they planned, if they could, to drive the ship. That Paul began to eat was so that he might not perish of hunger; and that he gave thanks to God was for what had happened. “And taking bread, he gave thanks to God.” The order of the Eucharist teaches us to say the same thing: “We give you thanks, O God, that you have counted us worthy to live until now, though we remained without food. Therefore, sending up glory to you, we break the bread to partake of nourishment.”

Acts 27:40–44. And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the lashings of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the shore. But falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the bow, having stuck fast, remained immovable, while the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim out and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and ordered those who could swim to throw themselves overboard first and get to land, and the rest to follow, some on planks and some on various pieces from the ship. And so it came about that all were brought safely to land. They loosened the lashings when day had come; and the ship is broken up in the daytime, so that those aboard might not be undone by fear, and that they might also see the prophecy fulfilled in deed. It should be noted that one person kills another by his own will, fate not preventing the murder from happening. For behold, having resolved to do it, the soldiers came to the deed of murder of their own accord; and having heard the centurion, again of their own will they desisted. They could have refused to obey him, since they were many and strong; but the will and self-determined choice both does what it wishes and does not do what it does not wish.

Chapter 28

…having been brought safely from the ship, …then they learned that the island is called Melite. The natives showed us no ordinary kindness; for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because of the rain that had come on and because of the cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. And when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another: Surely this man is a murderer, whom, though he has been brought safe from the sea, Justice has not permitted to live. But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. While Paul was gathering brushwood, the viper that fastened on him inflicted no injury, because the holy man was a fulfiller of the faith. For when the serpent sank its teeth into the Apostle’s hand and did not find there the softness of sin, it leaped away at once and cast itself into the fire, as though seeking punishment for itself.

Acts 28:4. …the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another: …as though exacting justice upon itself. We, however, are afraid of wild beasts, because we do not possess the full armor of virtue. ‘They said to one another.’ Notice how natural judgment is well-articulated even among barbarians: they do not condemn outright, but speak among themselves with a sense of respect and compassion.

Acts 28:6. But they were expecting that he would swell up, or suddenly fall down dead; yet when they had waited a long time and saw nothing untoward happen to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. ‘Swell up’—that is, to burst, to be torn apart. ‘And when they had waited a long time.’ The sign did not occur at once, but the people lingered over some time; thus there was no deception or sleight of hand. ‘And they said that he was a god,’ since they had the custom of regarding everyone who did something extraordinary as a god—just as in old times they named as gods those who, whether by extraordinary strength performed greater feats than their contemporaries, such as Heracles, or who by magic amazed the onlookers, such as Simon in Samaria.

Acts 28:7–10. Now in the region around that place were estates belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It happened that the father of Publius was lying sick with fever and dysentery; Paul went in to him, and after praying and laying his hands on him, healed him. After this had happened, the rest also on the island who had diseases came and were cured; and they honored us with many honors, and when we set sail they provided us with what we needed. Publius was hospitable; for though he knew nothing about them, but was moved only by their misfortune, he took pity on them and received and cared for two hundred and eighty souls, reckoning this as gain for himself. ‘The father of Publius was confined with dysentery and fever.’ Dysentery, a disease hard to cure, having received healing through Paul, led many to faith in Christ.

Acts 28:11–14. After three months we put to sea in a ship of Alexandria that had wintered at the island, with the figurehead of the Dioscuri. And putting in at Syracuse, we stayed three days. From there we sailed around and arrived at And after one day, when a south wind sprang up, we came on the second day to Puteoli. There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them seven days; and so we came to Rome. ‘With the figurehead of the Dioscuri.’ For it was always somewhat the custom, especially on the ships of the Alexandrians, to have such paintings at the prow, on the right and on the left. And since it was likely, idolatry prevailing at that time, that the Dioscuri were painted on the ship, it follows accordingly that the shipowner was a foreigner and an idolater—as Isaiah somewhere says: ‘They shall fly in the ships of foreigners, plundering the sea together.’

Acts 28:15–16. And from there the brothers, when they heard about us, came out to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. On seeing them, Paul gave thanks to God and took courage. And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the commander of the camp. ‘As far as the Forum of Appius.’ This signifies certain places before Rome: the one having, as is likely, some statue of Appius, and called a ‘forum’ from that—just as even now the statues of emperors are called fora. And that of the Taverns hints at the use of certain inns or shops, so named in the Roman tongue.

Acts 28:17–18. But Paul was permitted to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. And it happened after three days that Paul called together the leading men of the Jews. When they had come together, he said to them: Men and brothers, although I have done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, I was delivered a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, wished to release me, because there was no cause of death in me. ‘Paul took courage.’ Although he had performed so many signs, yet he received an added encouragement from the very sight of the brothers. And from this we learn that he was both comforted in a human way and also affected by the opposite. ‘But to Paul it was permitted.’ Paul was now held in such respect that he was even allowed to stay by himself. For if even before this they had treated him kindly, much more so now. ‘With the soldier who guarded him’—so that it should not even be possible for him to undergo any plot. Thus they were not guarding him, but rather guarding against anything unpleasant happening to him.

Acts 28:19–20. But since the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. For this reason, then, I have called you, to see you and to speak with you; for it is on account of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain. Since Paul knew that it was altogether improper to be brought to trial at all, and especially before an unbeliever, he defends himself on both counts: namely, that he had not acted against what is lawful, but on the contrary had been falsely accused and charged by the Jews; and that he had not appealed to Caesar of his own will, but because they themselves had given the occasion for it, in that they did not see fit either to judge him by the law of the Church or to submit to the lawful decisions of the authorities. The authorities wished to release him; but they did not release him, because the Jews objected. What then? Did you appeal to Caesar in order to accuse them? No, he says, but in order to escape the danger. ‘For it is on account of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.’ That is, there was one hope of salvation left to the Jews from the Scriptures—Christ; and by preaching Him, I came into this condition of bonds.

Acts 28:21. And they said to him: We have neither received letters about you from Judea, nor has any of the brothers who came reported or said anything bad about you. But we think it right to hear from you what you think. Before Paul arrived in Rome, the Jews had been instructed not to receive the preaching about Christ—and not only the Jews of Rome, but all the Jews throughout the earth. And whence is this known? In the writings of the ancients we find that the priests, scribes, and elders dwelling in Jerusalem, drafting letters, sent them out into all the nations to the Jews everywhere, slandering the teaching of Christ as foreign to God, and urging by their letters that it should not be received. This very thing the prophecy of Isaiah seems also to signify: ‘Woe to the land, with the wings of ships, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, sending hostages over the sea and letters of papyrus upon the water.’ By this it is signified that even beyond the land of the Ethiopians and the ends of the earth the noise of the wickedness of those dwelling in Judea went forth, by means as it were of flying ships; and their apostles, carrying letters of papyrus, sailing over the waters and traversing the sea, ran through all the earth, slandering the word about our Savior. And even now it is the custom among the Jews to call ‘apostles’ those who carry the circular letters from their rulers. And the following part of the prophecy—‘go, swift messengers, to a strong and patient nation’—is spoken of the disciples of our Savior, whom, because they are evangelists to all people, it called ‘swift angels,’ in contrast to the Jewish apostles it had mentioned.

Acts 28:22–24. For concerning this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against. And having appointed him a day, many more came to him at his lodging; to whom he expounded, testifying to the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus, from both the law of Moses and the prophets, from morning until evening. And some were persuaded by what was said, but others did not believe. The Jews call faith in Christ a ‘sect.’ But behold, even the Jews testify that Christ has been preached everywhere, even if not all accept the preaching, but some Jews, or even Greeks, speak against it.

Acts 28:25. And being in disagreement with one another, they began to depart, after Paul had spoken one word: Rightly did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying: Notice how they do not now weave plots against him. For in Judea they were as if in a position of tyranny; but here, even when reviled by him, they dare to say nothing in reply. For matters concerning him were no longer entrusted to their authority. ‘Rightly did the Holy Spirit speak.’ Here Paul deals a decisive blow to those who say that the Holy Spirit is a servant of the Father, because he calls the Holy Spirit the Lord who sits ‘upon a throne high and exalted,’ whom Isaiah saw; for the Holy Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the Son, and shares equal authority with them.

Acts 28:26–28. Go to this people and say: By hearing you will hear, and will not understand; and seeing you will see, and will not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have heard with difficulty, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I should heal them. Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the nations; they also will hear.

Acts 28:29. And when he had said these things, the Jews departed, having much dispute among themselves. They did this, he says, stopping their ears and closing their eyes, ‘lest they should turn and I should heal them’—by which he indicates their intensified wickedness and their eager turning away. And he says this, drawing them on and provoking them, and showing that if they turn, He will heal them. ‘For the heart of this people has grown dull.’ This is not said as though God—who wishes all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth—were striving that they should not see, as though begrudging that they should hear; rather, we are accustomed to speak in this way of people who withdraw and do not wish to hear the word of salvation. Such a person flees and turns away his hearing, fearing lest he should hear a word that would convert him and hold him back from his evil.

Acts 28:30–31. And Paul remained two whole years in his own rented dwelling, and welcomed all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. Not like that man of Sinope [Diogenes], who was wrapped in rags and lived in a jar—who needlessly astonished many but benefited no one. Paul did none of these things, for he had no regard for vainglory. On the contrary, he clothed himself with all decorum, dwelt continually in a house, and displayed all exactness in the rest of his virtue—the very exactness which the Cynic despised, living licentiously and behaving shamefully in public, and dragged about by his madness for glory. For if anyone should seek the reason for his dwelling in the jar, he would find no other reason than vainglory alone. But Paul even paid rent for the dwelling in which he stayed in Rome.

Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans

Introduction

The Weightiest of the Commentaries

Paul was not the first of the apostles to write—Thessalonians, the two Corinthian letters, and Galatians all precede Romans—yet Romans stands first in the collection all the same, because Scripture, Theophylact notes in the short Argument that opens his exposition, orders its books by weight and not by date, “as one who has a debt to be a minister of Christ, and as to those who preside over the world.” The observation sets the tone for what follows. Of all the epistles Theophylact expounds, Romans receives the most sustained and doctrinally exacting treatment, tracking the closest argument Paul ever wrote across all sixteen of its chapters.

The commentary stands in unusually close relation to a single predecessor. Saint John Chrysostom had preached thirty-two homilies on Romans in Antioch some seven centuries earlier, and Theophylact draws on them at nearly every verse, compressing sermons that could run to several thousand words apiece into a phrase or two of running comment. He is not a mere abridger—he selects, sharpens, and on occasion quietly corrects the emphasis he inherits—but the debt is open and constant, and a reader who knows Chrysostom’s homilies will recognize their working even where Theophylact gives them in a single sentence.

Argument and Structure

Theophylact does not impose the elaborate architecture that some readers of Romans have found in it—he does not, for instance, mark off a formal doctrinal half from a formal moral half with the precision some interpreters give the letter. He instead follows Paul phrase by phrase, chapter by chapter, from the salutation and the announcement that the Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” in chapter one, through the indictment of Gentile and Jew alike under sin, the free gift of righteousness through faith illustrated from Abraham, the new life given in baptism, and the struggle and deliverance of chapters seven and eight, to the practical exhortations of chapters twelve through fifteen and the roll of personal greetings that closes the letter. What a reader gains is not a scheme imposed from outside but the sense of walking the argument at the Apostle’s own pace, with a guide who pauses exactly where the Greek itself poses a difficulty.

Chapters Nine Through Eleven: Foreknowledge and Election

Nowhere is Theophylact’s care more evident than in his handling of the three chapters where Paul wrestles with the unbelief of Israel. His interpretive key is set earlier, at the end of chapter eight, where he glosses “whom he foreknew, he also foreordained” by insisting that the order of the two words matters: “the foreknowledge is first, then the foreordination,” for calling alone does not suffice—“there is need also of the choice.” God’s foreordaining will answers to what his foreknowledge already sees in those who are called; it does not stand behind it as an unconditioned decree.

He carries that key into the two hardest images of chapter nine. Facing the potter who shapes one vessel for honor and another for dishonor from the same lump of clay, Theophylact is explicit that Paul intends the figure to teach silence and trust before God’s dispensations, “not that he might do away with our free will, nor that he might show us to be idle and unmoved”—the same lump yields different vessels because of “the use of those who handle them,” not because the clay itself is predetermined to one end or the other. And when Paul turns, in chapter eleven, to the wild olive grafted in among the natural branches, Theophylact reads the unbelief of Israel as neither final nor arbitrary: those cut off “if they abide not in unbelief, shall be grafted in again, for God is able to graft them in again.” Election, on this reading, runs together with human response rather than overriding it—the patristic account that the Eastern commentators before and after Theophylact held in common, and that gives his treatment of these chapters their settled, unanxious tone.

How to Read This Commentary

Because Theophylact comments lemma by lemma—quoting a short run of Paul’s own words and then unfolding it before moving to the next—the commentary rewards a reader who keeps the text of Romans open alongside it rather than reading the exposition as a continuous essay on its own. The compression that lets him cover the whole epistle in a single volume also means that a difficulty raised in one verse is sometimes answered several verses later, once Paul’s own argument supplies the resolution; patience with that rhythm is repaid. Readers new to Paul’s most demanding letter will find in Theophylact a guide who never loses sight of the ordinary believer for the sake of the argument, and who treats even the driest grammatical question as, in the end, a door into how the Apostle wants his hearers to live.

Chapter 1

Argument of the Epistle to the Romans. The continual reading of the divine Scriptures leads to the knowledge of them; for he who said, Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you, is no liar. Let us therefore learn the mysteries of the Epistles of the blessed Paul also, by reading them continually and with care; for he surpassed all the rest in the word of teaching. And with reason; for since he labored more than all, he drew to himself also a more abundant grace of the Spirit. And this is plain not only from the Epistles, but also from the Acts. For he was thought to be Hermes by the unbelievers, because he took the lead in speaking. Now there lies before us First to the Romans, not because this was the first written; for before it are the two to the Corinthians, and before these again the one to the Thessalonians, in which, praising them, he hints at the ministration sent to Jerusalem; but the one to the Galatians also is earlier than this to the Romans. Of the other Epistles, however, this to the Romans, I say, is the earlier. How then is it ranked first? Because with Scripture such an order is not necessary. For indeed the twelve prophets too, not being successive to one another in their times, but standing far apart from one another, are nevertheless placed successively in the order of the books. And Paul writes to the Romans, as one who has a debt to be a minister of Christ, and as to those who preside over the world. For he who benefits the head surely benefits the body well.

Rom. 1:1. Paul. Neither Moses, nor many of those after him, nor even the evangelists, set their names before their writings. But this blessed man, everywhere in the Epistles, sets his own name before them; because those wrote to such as were present, whereas he sent his letters from afar, and with reason fulfilled the law of the epistolary character. In the one to the Hebrews, however, he does not do this. For since they were ill-disposed toward him, lest, hearing the name at once, they should start away, he hides it in the preamble. And for what cause was he called Paul instead of Saul? That he might not in this respect be inferior to the chief of the apostles, who was surnamed Cephas, which is interpreted Peter, and to the sons of Zebedee, who were named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder.

Rom. 1:1. A servant. There are many modes of servitude. That from creation, according to which, All things are your servants; that from faith, according to which it is said, That you obeyed to that form of teaching to which you were delivered; that from manner of life, according to which Moses also was a servant of God. According to all these modes, then, Paul is a servant.

Rom. 1:1. Of Jesus Christ. He puts forward the names of the dispensation, running up from the things below to the things above. For indeed after the incarnation he is Jesus and Christ. For he was anointed, not with oil at all, but with the Holy Spirit, which is altogether more lordly than oil. And that there is an anointing even apart from oil, in the Spirit alone, hear: Touch not my anointed ones; for the word is about those before the law, when there was not even a name for the anointing with oil.

Rom. 1:1. Called. A word of humility; for it shows that he did not himself find by seeking, but came when he was called.

Rom. 1:1. An apostle. This he set down by way of distinction from the other called ones. For all the faithful indeed are called; but those only as far as to believe, whereas I, he says, was also entrusted with the apostleship, which Christ too had been entrusted with, being sent forth from the Fa—[1]

Rom. 1:1. Separated to the Gospel of God. That is, allotted to the ministry of the Gospel. And in another sense too, the word Separated [stands] instead of, Foreordained to this; as God also says to Jeremiah, Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you. And Paul himself elsewhere says, When God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb, was pleased— And not in vain does he say that I am called, and that I am Separated to the Gospel. But since his discourse was toward boasters, he makes himself worthy of credit, as being from God. And it is called Gospel, not only on account of the good things that have come to pass, but also on account of those to come. And he comforts the hearer immediately through the name. For it contains nothing gloomy, such as the things of the prophets, but treasures of countless good things. And this Gospel is God’s—that is, the Father’s—both as bestowed by him, and as making him known. For even if it was known in the Old [Testament], yet [it was] to the Jews only; and not even to these as Father; but afterward, through the Gospel, it was revealed to the whole world, together with the Son.

Rom. 1:2. Which he promised beforehand through his prophets. Since they slandered the preaching as new, he shows it to be older even than the Greeks, and prefigured in the prophets; and in the very words, the name of the Gospel is found in David, as the saying, The Lord shall give a word to those who proclaim good tidings, with great power; and in Isaiah, How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good tidings of peace.

Rom. 1:2. In holy Scriptures. For the prophets did not only speak, but also wrote, and figured [these things] forth by deeds; as Abraham through Isaac, and Moses through the serpent, and through the stretching out of his hands, and through the slaying of the lamb. For indeed, whenever God is about to bring some great things to pass, he proclaims them beforehand many years in advance. If, then, he also says, Many prophets desired to see the things which you behold, and saw them not, The flesh itself, he means, they saw not, and the signs themselves before their eyes.

Rom. 1:3. Concerning his Son, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. Here he plainly declares the two generations: in saying, Concerning his Son, that is, of God, the generation above; and in adding, Of the seed of David, the one below; and by adding also, According to the flesh, he showed that there is a generation of the same one according to the Spirit. The Gospel, then, is not concerning a mere man; for it is concerning the Son of God; but neither concerning a mere God; for it is concerning him who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh—the same being both, both Son of God and son of David. And let Nestorius henceforth be ashamed. And this one too makes mention of his generation according to the flesh, as do the three Evangelists, that from this he might lead the hearers by the hand to the generation above. For indeed the Lord himself was first seen as man, and then known as God.

Rom. 1:4. Who was declared the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. He said above that the Gospel is concerning his Son; now, then, he establishes how he was known to be Son of God, and says: who was declared, that is, marked out, demonstrated, confirmed, adjudged. For a marking-out is a judgment, and a vote, and a verdict. For all marked him out and voted him to be Son of God. Whence? With power, that is, from the power of the signs which he wrought. But also according to the Spirit of holiness, that is, from the Spirit, through whom he sanctified those who believed; for to bestow such things belongs to God. But also by the resurrection from the dead; for he was the first, and alone raised himself. And from the resurrection, then, he was declared and shown forth to be Son of God; for this too is a great thing, and he himself says, When you have lifted me up from the earth, then you shall know that I am he.

Rom. 1:5. Through whom we received grace and apostleship to obedience of faith. Behold his thankfulness. Nothing, he says, is ours, but we received all things through the Son. And indeed it was through the Spirit that they received the apostleship and the grace. For he, he says, shall guide you; and the Spirit says, Separate me Paul and Barnabas; and, Through the Spirit is given the word of wisdom. And what of this? The things of the Spirit are the Son’s, and the reverse. Grace, he says, we received, and apostleship, that is, We did not ourselves achieve the becoming apostles, but this is from the grace above. But the persuading also is of grace; for the going about and preaching belongs to the apostles, but the persuading of the hearers belongs wholly to God. To obedience of faith. Not to word-battles and questionings, or arguments, were we sent, he says, but to obedience of faith; that, he says, those who are taught may obey, believing without gainsaying.

Rom. 1:5. Among all the nations, for the sake of his name. And among all the nations we received grace—not I alone, but the rest of the apostles too. For Paul did not go about to all the nations; unless one should say that, even if not while living, yet at least after his death, he goes about to all the nations through the Epistles. [This was] that they who hear might believe concerning the name of Christ, not concerning his essence. For it was the name of Christ that also wrought the signs. And this has need of faith; for neither is even this comprehensible by reasoning. And mark the gift of the Gospel, given not to one nation, as the Old [Testament], but to all.

Rom. 1:6. Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ. Here he takes down their haughtiness. For you who seem to rule have no more than the other nations; but as to the others, so also to you, we preach; do not, then, vaunt yourselves. And in another sense too: For you also are called, having been taken beforehand by grace, not having come forward of yourselves.

Rom. 1:7. To all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints. Not to all in Rome simply, but to the beloved of God. Whence is it plain that they are beloved? From the sanctification; and he calls all the faithful saints. Again, he added Called, putting them in remembrance of the benefaction, and showing that, even if you were of consuls and prefects, yet God [set] you in the same calling as the common sort also, loving you alike. Since, then, you both were loved, and were called, and were counted worthy of the like things with the meaner sort, be not lifted up.

Rom. 1:7. Grace to you and peace. The Lord also commanded the apostles to speak this word first, the word of peace, on entering into the houses. For no small war did he dissolve, which sin had brought forth for us against God; and this peace is not from our own labors, but from the divine grace; first, then, the grace, and then the peace. These two good things, then, he prays may remain continual and unmoved, so that, when we sin again, another war be not rekindled.

Rom. 1:7. From God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, how much grace prevailed, which is from the divine love! For we, the enemies and dishonored, gained God as Father. From God the Father, then, and our Lord Jesus Christ, may the grace and the peace be sure to you; from those who both gave these things, and are able to keep them.

Rom. 1:8. First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed in the whole world. A preamble befitting the soul of Paul, through which we too are taught to give thanks; and not for our own good things only, but also for those of our neighbors; for this is love. And he gives thanks, not over certain earthly and perishing things, but because the Romans believed. And in saying, To my God, he showed the disposition which he has, making the common God his own, as the prophets also did. And God himself does this, naming himself the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, that he might show forth his love toward them. And he says that he gives thanks through Jesus Christ; for he is also our mediator of the thanksgiving toward the Father, not only having taught us to give thanks, but also bringing our thanksgiving to the Father. And for what cause does he give thanks? Because the faith of the Romans is proclaimed in the whole world. He bears them two witnesses: both that they believed, and that [they did so] with such boldness that their faith is proclaimed in the whole world; and that through them all are profited, being kindled into zeal and imitation of the imperial city. And although Peter had preached in Rome, yet, accounting his things his own, he gives thanks for the faith of Peter’s disciples; so free was he from envy.

Rom. 1:9. For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I mention you always in my prayers. Since he had not yet seen them, but was about to say, I ever remember you, he calls as witness him who knows the hearts. And behold his tender affection, if indeed he always remembered men who had not even been seen by him. And where? In his prayers, and that without ceasing. And I serve God, that is, I am his servant; in my spirit, that is, not a fleshly service, but a spiritual one. For the pagan service is both fleshly and erring; and the Jewish, unerring indeed, but this too bodily; whereas the service according to Christ is both true and spiritual; which the Lord also says to the Samaritan woman, that The true worshippers shall worship in spirit and in truth. And since there are many modes of service (for one serves and is servant to God by ordering his own affairs alone; another by caring for strangers, and presiding over widows, as in the case of Stephen; another in the ministry of the word), Paul says this, that I serve him in the Gospel of the Son. And yet he said above that the Gospel is the Father’s; but [there is] nothing new; for the things of the Father are the Son’s, and the things of the Son are the Father’s. And he says this, showing that such care on their behalf is necessary for him. For he who is entrusted with the service of the Gospel is under necessity to care for all who receive the word.

Rom. 1:10. asking that somehow, by God’s will, I might now at last succeed in coming to you. Now he adds also on what account he makes mention of them: For the sake of Coming, he says, to you. And see how he both longed for them, and hastened to see them; yet not contrary to what seemed good to God. But we either love no one, or, whenever we do love at some time, we do this contrary to what seems good to God. But Paul made his continual praying that he might see them from a vehement love; while his yielding to the nod of God he showed from much reverence. And let us too, when we fail in our asking, not be vexed. For we are not better than Paul, who also besought the Lord three times concerning the thorn, and did not obtain; for this was the thing expedient.

Rom. 1:11. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift. Others are sent on long journeys for the sake of other things, but I, he says, that I may impart something to you. And he says this in modesty; for he did not say, That I may teach, but, That I may impart what I received. And this is a small and measured thing. For everything is a gift which teachers display to the profit of their hearers. For even if it seems an achievement, yet our achievements too are gifts, because they have need of the inclination from above.

Rom. 1:11–12. That you may be established; that is, that I may be comforted together with you, through the mutual faith both of you and me. Secretly he showed that they had need of much setting right. But since this too was very burdensome (for they would have said, What do you say? Are we shaken? Are we carried about? And have we need of you to be established?), he adds: That is, that I may be comforted together with you. And what he says is of this sort: You have endured many afflictions; I have desired, then, to see you, that I may give some comfort; or rather, that I myself may also receive comfort; for the gain is common. For just as those who were then faithful, being in captivity, had need of the gathering together with one another, and were greatly consoled. What then? Did Paul too have need of the alliance from them? Away with it—he, the pillar of the Church! But lest he make his discourse vehement, and strike them, as we said, for this cause he said that he himself also had need of the comfort from them. But if anyone here says that the comfort is the gladness over the increase of the faith of the Romans, and that Paul had need of this, he would say well; which is plain also from his saying, through the mutual faith both of you and me; so that the meaning is of this sort: And I indeed, seeing your faith, shall be comforted and gladdened; and you, by the faith in me, shall be established, being consoled in the things wherein perhaps, through faint-heartedness, you are shaken. But he does not say these things openly, but manages his discourse, as has been said.

Rom. 1:13. But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that often I purposed to come to you, and was hindered hitherto. Since above he said, I pray to come to you, and it was likely that some would suspect, You pray and desire to comfort and to be comforted—what is it that hinders you from coming?—he added that I was hindered from coming by God. And see how he does not busy himself about why he was hindered, but yields to the Master’s commands, teaching us too not to busy ourselves about the things which God does. He shows, then, to the Romans that it was not through sloth, or contempt, that he did not come. For I am so encompassed with longing for you that not even when hindered did I desist, but again and again I attempted to come, on account of my vehement love toward you.

Rom. 1:13. That I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the nations. Since the city was renowned, and all flocked to it, on account of the wonders in it and its glory, lest one suppose that Paul desired the sight of them for the same cause, he says: For this reason I desired to come, that I might have some fruit. And he also resolves the other thought; for perhaps one might have said, For this reason you were hindered, because you wished not to come according to God. He says, then, that I wished to have fruit. And he did not say, That I might catechize, that I might teach; but, in modesty, That I might have some fruit; just as also above, That I might impart a gift. And, restraining them also, he says, Even as among the rest of the nations. For do not, because you reign, suppose yourselves to be better than the rest of the nations; for you stand in equal rank.

Rom. 1:14–15. I am debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish; so, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you also that are at Rome. And this too is of modesty. For I, he says, bestow nothing, but fulfill a Master’s injunction, and you ought to give thanks to God; for he is the benefactor, while I am a debtor, and have an unavoidable obligation to preach; which he said also to the Corinthians, Woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel. I am ready, then, to preach to you, even if dangers are foreseen; so am I disposed in my zeal on behalf of Christ.

Rom. 1:16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Since the Romans were exceedingly attached to the glory of the world, and he was about to preach Jesus, who endured all the things of dishonor, and it was likely that they would be ashamed of such a seeming Saviour; for this reason he says, I am not ashamed; teaching them for the present not to be ashamed, since indeed he himself not only was not ashamed, but even gloried and boasted in the crucified one. And at the same time, since they vaunted themselves on wisdom, I, he says, am coming to preach a cross, and am not ashamed on this account; For it is the power of God to salvation. There is also a power to chastisement—God showed his power to the Egyptians, chastising them. There is also a power to destruction, as, Fear him who is able to destroy in Gehenna. That, then, which I, Paul, preach, contains not chastisement and destruction, but salvation. And to whom? To every one that believes. For the Gospel is not simply to salvation to all, but to those who receive it.

Rom. 1:16. to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The word First here is an honor of rank, not an abounding of grace; for the Jew has no more in receiving a greater righteousness, but is honored in receiving it first; it is, then, an honor of word only.

Rom. 1:17. For the righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Having said that the Gospel is to salvation, he tells also how this is, namely, that the righteousness of God saves us; for it is not ours. For what righteousness had we, wrapped up in works and corrupted? But he himself justified us, not from works, but from faith, which ought to advance to faith, more and greater. For it does not suffice to have believed at first, but from the introductory faith we must ascend to the more perfect faith, the unshaken and sure foundation; according to which the apostles also said to the Lord, Add to us faith. And he confirms what he says—I mean, that we were justified from faith—from the saying of Habakkuk: For the just, he says, shall live by faith. For since that which God bestowed on our behalf surpasses human reasonings, with reason we have need of faith; so that if we begin to busy ourselves about it, we have lost the whole.

Rom. 1:18. For the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Having begun from the kindlier things, and having said that the righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel, he now tells also the things able to terrify; for he knows that the greater number are drawn to virtue by fear. So God too, after the kingdom, speaks concerning Gehenna. And the prophets set down the good things, then the evil; because those are of the foregoing purpose of God, but these of our own sloth. And consider the sequence of the discourse: The Lord came, he says, bringing you righteousness and remission; if you receive it not, then the wrath of God is revealed from heaven—namely, at the second coming. For even now we have a taste of his wrath, but to correction; whereas then, to chastisement only. And now we seem for the most part to be wronged by men; but then, the chastisement from God will be manifest. Against all ungodliness. The true service and piety is one; but ungodliness is manifold; therefore he said, All ungodliness, as there being many ways of it. And unrighteousness of men. Ungodliness is one thing, and unrighteousness another; for the one is against God, but unrighteousness against men; and the one is a sin of the contemplative part, the other of the practical. And many also are the ways of this; for one wrongs his neighbor both in goods, and in wife, and in glory. And some say that he has set down unrighteousness also concerning doctrines. And what is, who hold the truth in unrighteousness? Hear: The truth, that is, the knowledge concerning God, was implanted in men from the beginning. This truth and knowledge the Greeks held in unrighteousness—that is, they wronged it, so far as in them lay, attaching the glory of God to idols. Just as one who has received money to spend on the glory of the king, if he spend it on robbers and harlots, would be said to have wronged the glory of the king. So also the Greeks held it in unrighteousness—that is, they unjustly covered over and darkened the glory of God, and the knowledge, not using it to that which befitted it.

Rom. 1:19–20. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God showed it to them. For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made, are clearly seen, both his eternal power and divinity; so that they are without excuse; because, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful. He said above that the Greeks wronged the knowledge of God, using it ill. Whence, then, is it plain that they had knowledge? He now says, Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them. Then he establishes this also, saying that, From the good order of the creatures the Creator is proclaimed; as David also says, The heavens declare the glory of God. And what that which may be known of God is, you may learn thus: Of God, one part is unknowable, such as his essence; and another knowable, such as all the things about the essence—that is, the goodness, the wisdom, the power, the divinity, that is, the majesty; which Paul also calls his invisible things, understood indeed by the things that are made. To the Greeks, then, he showed all that may be known of him, that is, all the things about his essence, which to the senses of the eyes are invisible, but comprehensible to the mind, through the good order in the things that are made. But some say that the invisible things are the angels; not happily, I think. And one of the Fathers said that the eternal power is the Son, and the divinity the Spirit.

Rom. 1:20. So that they are without excuse. This came to pass by way of result. For God did not make these things for this end, that those might be without excuse, but by way of result this came about. Give heed, then, to this peculiarity of Scripture, and you will not stumble; for many such things are said everywhere, which must be loosed thus, as being assigned a cause from the result; as David says, That I have done evil before you, that you might be justified in your sayings and overcome. And it appears absurd, but it is not. For he says that, Having been benefited by you, Lord, beyond all hope, I sinned against you, and from this it comes about that you, pleading your case against me, prevail. By way of result, then, God is justified, we being ungrateful for the things given by him, and having nothing to plead in defense. And you Greeks too became without excuse, because, knowing God through the creation, you glorified him not worthily, nor were thankful, as to a Creator and Maker; but attached his honor to idols.

Rom. 1:21–22. But they became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools. He sets down the cause through which they fell into such folly. For they committed the whole, he says, to their reasonings; and wishing to comprehend in a figure him who is figureless, and in a body him who is bodiless, they were proved vain, their reasonings being unable to reach to the end. And he calls their heart senseless, because of their unwillingness to comprehend the whole by faith. And whence were they led astray into turning the whole over to their reasonings? From supposing themselves to be wise; wherefore also they became fools. For what is more senseless than to worship stones and wood?

Rom. 1:23. And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts, and of creeping things. He who changes what he has, changes it for another thing. They too, then, had the knowledge, but betrayed it, and wished to have some other thing beside what they had, and fell out of what they had as well. And they attached the glory of the incorruptible God, not even to a man, but to an image of corruptible man, and to what is worse than this, and were carried down to creeping things, and another to the images of these; so brilliantly did they go mad. For the knowledge which they ought to have had concerning him who incomparably surpasses all, this they attached to that which is incomparably meaner than all. And the glory of God is to be known as Maker, as provider, and the other things befitting him. And who were these that sinned? The most philosophic, the Egyptians; for these tended the images of creeping things.

Rom. 1:24–25. Therefore God also gave them up, in the lusts of their hearts, to uncleanness, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves; who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature beside the Creator, who is blessed to the ages. Amen. The word Gave up [stands] instead of, He let alone, he released; just as a physician helping the sick man, then seeing him disorderly about his regimen, and disobedient to him, gives him up to be the more sick—that is, releases him and lets him alone, so that, using his own will, he is not recovered from the disease. But some understood God gave up thus, instead of, the insolence and drunken outrage against God [gave them up]; just as we say that money ruined such a one; and yet it was not the money that ruined him, but the misuse of it; and, The kingdom destroyed Saul, or Solomon, instead of, The misuse of the kingdom. They were given up, then, through their own wickedness, to uncleanness, so that they had no need of others to outrage them, but they outraged themselves; for such are the unclean passions. Whence came it that they were given over to uncleanness? From the insolence against God. For he who is unwilling to know God is forthwith corrupted also in his life; as David also says, The fool said, There is no God; then, They are corrupt, and become abominable in their doings. They changed, then, the things truly belonging to God, and attached them to the false gods. The word They worshipped [stands] instead of, they honored; and And served, instead of, and they offered the servitude through works. For this is the service—the honor through action. And he did not say it simply, but Beside the Creator, heightening the charge from the comparison. But he, he says, is blessed to the ages, that is, he was nothing harmed by being outraged by them; but is blessed to the ages, surely and securely; for this is the Amen.

Rom. 1:26–27. For this cause God gave them up to passions of dishonor. For even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. Again he names the abandonment of God a giving-up, come to pass for this cause, because they served the creature. As, then, in the doctrines concerning God, having left the guidance from the creation, they were corrupted, so also in their life they became abominable, leaving the pleasure according to nature (which is both easier and more pleasant), and slipping away to that against nature (which is both harder and more unpleasant). For to change means this, that they left what they had, and chose other things. He sets forth, then, nature also, which they transgressed, as a great accuser of both sexes. For having spoken concealedly of the women something shameful, and not even fit to be uttered, he says also of the men, that They burned one toward another, declaring their frenzy and madness. And he did not say, Working desire, but Unseemliness, showing that they put nature to shame. And since he said that In their lust they burned, lest you suppose that the disease was of desire only, They themselves, he says, wrought it—that is, they made diligence about the uncleanness, setting it up as a work, and receiving the wage of the apostasy from God, and of the error of idols, in the very same unseemliness, and having their chastisement in the very pleasure itself, as being against nature and full of uncleanness. And Paul says this, as one not yet able to persuade them that there is a Gehenna. For believe, he says, that the very unclean deed is a chastisement to them, if indeed you disbelieve the words concerning Gehenna.

Rom. 1:28. And even as they did not approve to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do the things that are not fitting. Behold, a third time he made mention of the same thought, and used the same word, saying Gave up. And everywhere he says that the cause of the abandonment of God is the ungodliness of men, as indeed also now. Even as they did not approve to have God in knowledge, he gave them up to the passions. The insolence against God, he says, is not of ignorance, but of study. For he did not say, Even as they knew not God, but Even as they did not approve, that is, they judged not to have God in knowledge, and, having him, chose ungodliness. The faults, then, are not of the flesh, as certain of the heretics say, but of the corrupted judgment. Those, then, first disapproved of the knowing of God, and then God let them be carried down to a reprobate mind. For the turning away of God, and the abandonment, is named a giving-up in Scripture. And certain of the saints used a graceful example, through which the saying God gave them up is explained. Just as, they say, if one shut his eyes, unwilling to see the sun, and then fall into a pit, we say, The sun, not being seen, cast such a one into the pit; not that the sun, being angered, cast the man into the pit, but because it did not lighten his eyes (and the not lightening, whence? From him who shut his eyes); so also God gave them up to passions of dishonor—how? By not being recognized by men. And the not being recognized, whence? From those who did not approve, nor wish to recognize him.

Rom. 1:29. filled with all wrongdoing. Behold, all the marks of intensity. For he says they were filled with all unrighteousness, having reached the very last measure of all wickedness. Then he tells also the kinds of unrighteousness.

Rom. 1:29. Fornication. Simply all uncleanness he comprehended under the name of fornication.

Rom. 1:29. Wickedness. The plotting against one’s neighbor.

Rom. 1:29. Covetousness. The desire of goods.

Rom. 1:29. Malice. The bearing of grudges.

Rom. 1:29. Full of envy, murder. Always murder comes from envy. For Abel too, being envied, was slain; and Joseph—or rather, it was only intended against him.

Rom. 1:29. Of strife, of deceit. From envy come both strife and deceit, to the harm of him who is envied.

Rom. 1:29. Of malignity. Of the wickedness hidden in the depth, and feigning kindness.

Rom. 1:30. Whisperers. Those who slander secretly.

Rom. 1:30. Backbiters. Those who do so openly.

Rom. 1:30. Haters of God. Those who hate God, or also are hated by God.

Rom. 1:30. Insolent, proud, boasters. He ascended to the citadel of evils, pride. For even one who does a good thing destroys it by being lifted up; how much more when he also does evil things? For he cannot repent. Moreover, know that pride is contempt of God, but boastfulness, of men; from which is begotten insolence. For he who despises men insults and tramples on all; whence also in order boastfulness is by nature prior to insolence; even if, then, insolence appears to us prior, it is because its mother is boastfulness.

Rom. 1:30. Inventors of evil things. For they were not content with the former evils; and this is not of sudden seizure, but of study and diligence.

Rom. 1:30. Disobedient to parents. Fighting, he says, against nature itself.

Rom. 1:31. Without understanding. With reason. For those who are disobedient to parents, of what else would they have understanding?

Rom. 1:31. Covenant-breakers. That is, Those who abide not by what is agreed upon; which is, faithless.

Rom. 1:31. Implacable, without natural affection, unmerciful. The root of all evils is this, the cooling of love. For hence comes the making of no truce with anyone, the loving of no one, the showing of mercy to none; which Christ also said, When iniquity is multiplied, love shall wax cold. And yet nature glues us to one another, as the animals; but they understood not.

Rom. 1:32. Who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they who do such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but also consent with them that do them. He showed that from the unwillingness to know God they were filled with all wickedness; he now shows that they are not even worthy of pardon. For they have not this to plead, that We were ignorant of the good; for they know the ordinance of God. Willingly, then, they do it, and what is worse than this, they consent with them that do it—that is, they lend their strength to the evil; which must be an incurable disease.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek column breaks off here mid-word (ἀποστα-), the sentence continuing onto the next column with “sent forth from the Father.”

Chapter 2

Rom. 2:1. Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are that judge; for in that wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you, the judge, do the same things. Since we men have inconstant judgments, and at one time plead for evil, at another sit as judges of others’ affairs, condemning those like ourselves; he had spoken before concerning those who consent with the wicked; now he makes his discourse concerning judging. And he says, Wherefore also you are without excuse; that is, Because you know the ordinance of God, that the base are worthy of chastisement, you are without excuse, who judge those who do things like yourself. And here he seems to address himself to rulers, and especially the Romans, who presided over the world; for judging belongs to rulers. Yet these things suit every man also. For how can he judge, even if he have no throne? Condemning the adulterer, then, he says, you condemn yourself, being yourself also an adulterer.

Rom. 2:2. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that do such things. Lest one say, I for the present escaped, and was not chastised though being such, although I chastised the adulterer; he says, terrifying him, that it is not so with God. For here one is chastised, and another escapes, doing the same things; but there it is not so; for the judgment of God is according to truth against the base.

Rom. 2:3–6. And do you reckon this, O man, who judge them that do such things, and do the same, that you shall escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, and forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But after your hardness and impenitent heart you treasure up to yourself wrath in the day of wrath, and of revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his works. He said above that the recompense of the error, of the creature-worship, was given to the base in the very things wherein they wantoned; for this sufficed instead of chastisement; but now he further reveals the chastisement also. For there is, he says, another chastisement also, O man; for you shall not escape that judgment; since indeed you escaped not your own; for by that wherein you condemned the other, you sentenced yourself. But if, because you are not yet chastised, you despise the riches of the goodness, this very thing is to greater chastisement. For longsuffering is, to those who use it to correction, saving; but to those who spend it to the increase of sin, it is an occasion of greater punishment—not through its own nature, but through their hardness. You treasure up, he says, to yourself wrath. Not God, but you yourself to yourself. Whence? From your unyielding heart, estranged from the good. For when you bend neither to this kindness nor to fear, what is harder than you? And having said a day of wrath, he added also of revelation and of the righteous judgment of God; with reason, lest you suppose that the judgment is according to wrath. For there comes a revelation of all things. So that the recompense is according to the worth of the things revealed; and for this reason also it is a righteous judgment; for here, because the works are hidden together, the right does not always prevail; but there the righteous judgment follows upon the revelation. And mark this passage, as helping you toward the saying, I will harden the heart of Pharaoh; for Paul all but paraphrases it there.

Rom. 2:7. To them, indeed, who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life. Having said that the Lord will render to every man, he began from the recompense of the good things, making his discourse more cheerful; and in saying, To them who by patience in well-doing, he declares these two things: one, that one must not give way, nor be slothful, but endure to the end in the good; the other, that one must not trust to faith alone; for there is need also of good work. And in saying Incorruption, he opens the doors concerning the resurrection. Then, since we all rise, but not all to the same things, but some to glory and some to chastisement; for this reason he said both glory and honor. The whole discourse, then, is of this sort: God, he says, will render eternal life to those who seek the coming glory and honor, and ever ponder this, and moreover the incorruption—in the resurrection, that is. And how is the coming glory, and honor, and incorruption sought? By patience in well-doing. For he who endures in the good work, and stands firmly against every temptation, this man truly seeks both the glory and the honor, and the incorruption—that is, the enjoyment of incorruptible good things in the incorruptible body.

Rom. 2:8–9. But to them that are of contention, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath; and tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that works evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. Contention is the term for strife and unreasoning opposition. To them, then, that are of contention, he says, that is, the contentious. And he shows here that they became wicked not from ignorance, but from contentiousness; whence also they are unpardonable. But to disobey the truth, and not to obey unrighteousness, is a sin of free choice. For he did not say, those being forced, being tyrannized, but obeying. And see how he said that God will render eternal life, but the gloomy things no longer so. For indignation, he says, and wrath, and tribulation; he did not say that it shall be rendered by God, but left it to be thus, perishing of itself, so that the shall be is understood. For to make alive is proper to God; but the chastisement comes upon us from our own sloth. And in saying every soul of man, he restrains the conceit of the Romans. For even if one be a king, he shall not escape the penalty, working evil—that is, persisting in it, and not repenting. For he did not say, Working, but Working out, that is, making a study of the evil. And since the Jew enjoyed more teaching, he would be worthy also of greater punishment. For the mighty shall be mightily examined, and the prudent who labor much shall be sternly chastised.

Rom. 2:10–11. But glory, honor, and peace to every one that works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For there is no respect of persons with God. The Apostle’s aim is to show in what follows that circumcision profits nothing, nor does uncircumcision harm, and thereafter to bring in that faith justifies the man. Having this aim, then, he now prefigures the things of the Jews. And mark his wisdom: He shows the things before the coming of Christ, and that the world was filled with wickedness, and that both the Jew first and the Greek were liable to chastisement. Having taken it as confessed that the Greek shall be chastised for the evil things, from this he establishes that he shall also be honored for the good. And if honor and dishonor come upon men from their works, then the law is henceforth superfluous, and circumcision; and not only superfluous, but also the procurer of greater chastisement to the Jew. For if the Greek, who is able not to be profited by the judgment and the natural law, is condemned, much more the Jew, who together with these received also the instruction from the law. Since, then, you have learned the aim, follow now the wording also. By Greeks here he means not the idolaters, but those who fear God, who obey the natural law, and are pious without a law; such as Melchizedek, such as Job, the Ninevites, such as Cornelius afterward; and likewise by Jews, those before the coming of Christ. For being eager to show that circumcision profits nothing, he runs back to the earlier times, and shows that there was no difference between a God-fearing Greek and a good-working Jew. And if before the coming of Christ, when the things of the Jews flourished the more, the Jew had nothing more, much more is it so when the law has ceased. And he wishes these things, that he may cast down the conceit of the Jews, who do not receive those from the nations. Glory, he says, and honor, and peace. The good things of the world ever have wars and tumults, being pursued and plotted against; even if no one war from without, he himself who has these is ever troubled by reasonings. But the glory that is with God, and the honor, have peace, through being unplotted-against, and through the freedom from trouble in the reasonings. And since it was incredible that the Greek should be honored, having heard neither law nor prophets, he establishes this from God’s being no respecter of persons. For he does not scrutinize persons, but examines deeds, he says. Since the Greek does not differ from the Jew in his works, nothing hinders him from being equally honored. Boast not, O Jew, against him of the nations, after the ceasing of the law; seeing that, when the things of the Jews flourished, the Greek who did the good was of equal honor with you.

Rom. 2:12–13. For as many as sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and as many as sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. He showed above that the Greek also is honored equally with the Jew; now he shows that in the chastisement the condemnation is heavier for the Jew. For the Greeks, he says, sinned without law—that is, without the instruction from the law; wherefore also they shall perish without law—that is, they shall be chastised more lightly, not having the law accusing them; for Without law is, without the condemnation of that law. But the Jew sinned in the law—that is, with the instruction from the law; wherefore also he shall be judged in the law—that is, condemned, the law lying upon him more vehemently, and accusing, and making the condemnation. How then do you say, O Jew, that I have no need of grace, as being justified from the law? For behold, you were shown to be in no way profited by the law. So that you have need of the grace of Christ rather than the Greek, as not having been justified before God from the mere hearing of the law. For among men, the hearers of the law can appear venerable; but with God, not so; but the doers of the law are justified.

Rom. 2:14–15. For when the nations, which have not the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, having not the law, are a law to themselves; who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness. In the things wherein he establishes his case against the Jews, he handles the discourse so prudently that he seems to say nothing against the law. For as though exalting and magnifying the law, he says that those who have not the law, but do the things of the law by nature—that is, obeying the reasonings that are from nature—are something marvelous; because they heard not the law, and yet fulfilled the law, not in letters, but having engraved the works in their hearts, using the conscience and the natural reasonings instead of a law for a testimony of the good. He speaks here of three laws: the written, the natural, the one in the works. The nations which have not the law: which? The written. By nature do the things of the law: which? The law through the works. These, having not the law: which? The written. Are a law to themselves: how? By using the natural law. Who show the work of the law: of which? Of the law through the deeds. And mark his wisdom, how he did not strike the Jews as the sequence of the discourse demanded; for altogether, in consequence, he ought to have said thus: For when the nations, without law, do by nature the things of the law, they are much better than those taught from the law. But he did not say it, but more cheerfully, that They are a law to themselves. And he declares from these things that even in the earlier times, and before the giving of the law, the nature of men enjoyed all providence. And he stops the mouths of those who say: Why ever did not Christ, coming from the beginning, teach the knowledge of the good? For he says that he implanted the knowledge of the good and the evil in all from the beginning; but since he saw that nothing so leads them, at the last he himself came.

Rom. 2:15–16. Their thoughts the while accusing one another, or else excusing them; in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my Gospel, through Jesus Christ. Read this from another beginning; for he now makes his discourse concerning how all men in common shall be judged. For our thoughts stand, some accusing, some excusing; and man has no need of an accuser or an advocate at that tribunal. And heightening the fear, he did not say, the sins, but The secrets. For men sit as judges of the manifest things only; but God shall judge, he says, through Jesus Christ, the Son. For the Father judges no man, but has given all judgment to the Son. Or you may arrange the Through Jesus Christ thus: According to my Gospel, which was entrusted to me through Jesus Christ. And mark here, that the Gospel preaches nothing strange, but the things which nature, taking the lead, taught—that is, this judgment and chastisement; the Gospel also bears witness to them.

Rom. 2:17–18. But if you are called a Jew, and rest in the law, and make your boast in God, and know the will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law. Having said that to the Greek who does the good things nothing is lacking toward being saved, he now enumerates also the venerable things of the Jews, in which those vaunted themselves over the Gentiles, and first this; for it was very venerable, as now the name Christian. And he did not say, You are a Jew, but You are called; for the true Jew is he who confesses. For Judah is interpreted confession. And rest in the law. Instead of, You are not one going about and learning what you must do, but you have the law teaching you all things easily. You make your boast in God, as being loved by him, and honored above other men. But it is of madness to use the love of God to contempt of those of one’s own kind. And you know the will, that is, of God. And you approve the things that are excellent. That is, You judge what must be done, and what must not be done. And by the things that are excellent one must understand the things fitting for each, that is, the things expedient.

Rom. 2:19–20. And are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Above, indeed, he said that the hearing of the law profits nothing, unless practice be added. For not the hearers, he says, of the law are just before God, but the doers. But now he says the greater thing, that Even if you are a teacher, but do not the things of the law, not only are you nothing profited, but you are even the more chastised. For since they especially prided themselves on this, on the teacher’s dignity, hence especially he shows them ridiculous. For when you say, you are a guide of the blind, a teacher of babes, and the rest, he recounts their conceit. For thus they called themselves, guides, a light, and instructors; but the proselytes from the nations, those in darkness, and babes, and foolish. And you have the form of knowledge and of the truth, not in deeds and achievements, but in the law, trusting to it as an image of virtue; just as if one, having a royal image, should himself paint nothing according to it, but those who have been entrusted with it, even without looking to it, should imitate it with truth. Every teacher paints and forms the knowledge of the good, and the truth, in the souls of the disciples. But if he also practices it, he is perfect; but if not, such are those now reproached by the Apostle. But some understood form as the counterfeit image of knowledge. For you have not the true knowledge, he says, and piety, but a certain counterfeit and besmeared one.

Rom. 2:21–24. You therefore who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You that preach a man should not steal, do you steal? You that say a man should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You that abhor idols, do you commit sacrilege? You who make your boast in the law, through breaking the law do you dishonor God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the nations through you, as it is written. He makes his discourse by way of question, putting to shame those who boast in teaching. And by sacrilege he means the carrying off of the things dedicated to the idols. For even if they abhorred the idols, yet nevertheless, being tyrannized by avarice, they laid hold of the idol-offerings for shameful gain. Then he adds the heavier charge, saying: You boast in the law, as being honored by God on account of the law; through breaking the law do you dishonor God? For there are three charges here: one, that they dishonor; second, that they dishonor the God who honored them; and third, that through the very law by which they were honored, through this they dishonor him, transgressing it. Then, lest he seem to accuse of himself, he brings the prophet Isaiah as their accuser, making the charge double. For not only do they themselves outrage God, but they also prepare others to this; and not only the things of the law which they teach, but also the contrary things—to blaspheme God; which is contrary to the law. For those who see them corrupted say: Ought God to have loved these? Then is God, who recognizes such men, true?

Rom. 2:25. For circumcision indeed profits, if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision is become uncircumcision. Since they had a great opinion concerning circumcision, he did not say immediately from the outset that circumcision is superfluous and senseless; but in word he accepts it, while in fact he abolishes it, and says: I confess that circumcision profits, but when you also keep the law; but if not, It profits not—lest he seem to outrage it; but he strips the Jew of it, saying, Your circumcision is become uncircumcision. He shows him to be uncircumcised in heart. For he speaks of two circumcisions and two uncircumcisions: the one according to the appearance, the other according to the thing understood; as, there is a circumcision according to the appearance, the one according to the flesh, when one is circumcised in the flesh; and there is a circumcision according to the spirit, the casting off of the fleshly passions. Again, there is one in uncircumcision according to the flesh, when one is uncircumcised in the flesh; and there is an uncircumcision according to the spirit, when one, having a heathen soul, has cut off none of the passions. Paul says, then, that When you are circumcised in the flesh, but do nothing of the things of the law, you are uncircumcised and unclean according to the spirit; but he who is uncircumcised according to the flesh, if he do the things of the law, is circumcised according to the spirit, having stripped off the things of the flesh. Which also he says through what follows:

Rom. 2:26. If therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned for circumcision? He does not say that uncircumcision conquers circumcision; for this would be grievous; but that It shall be reckoned for circumcision. So that the true circumcision, the one worthy of the name, is the good deed, and likewise uncircumcision the wicked deed. And mark how he did not say, When the uncircumcision keeps the law; for it was likely that someone might say to him: How is it possible for the law to be kept by the uncircumcised? For this very thing, the being uncircumcised, is a transgression of the law. But how did he say it? The ordinances of the law, that is, the things that seem to justify through the working of them. For circumcision was not a working, but a suffering, the one circumcised being passive. So that neither is circumcision an ordinance; and likewise the cutting away and removal of the passions, unless these be called a true and good deed of the law. For it was given as a sign, to the recognizing of the Jews by the Gentiles.

Rom. 2:27–29. And shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge you, who through the letter and circumcision are a breaker of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward, in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Here he plainly shows that he speaks of two uncircumcisions, both that from nature, and that from free choice; which is, as has been said, when one has none of the fleshly passions stripped off; and of two circumcisions, the one according to the flesh, and the one in the spirit of the heart. He says, then, that The uncircumcision which is by nature, having the circumcision of the passions, by fulfilling the law—that is, the ordinances of the law, as said above—shall judge, instead of, shall condemn, not the circumcision (for this would be grievous), but you, who seem indeed to be circumcised, so far as concerns the flesh, but are uncircumcised in heart, inasmuch as you are a breaker of the ordinances of the law. He does not, then, dishonor circumcision (for rather he seems to honor it), but him who outrages it, as a breaker. Then, since he established these things, he plainly defines also who is the true Jew, and shows that they do all things for display. For he is not a Jew, he says, who is one outwardly, but he who is one inwardly; he who fulfills nothing merely bodily, but understands spiritually both the Sabbaths, and the sacrifices, and the purifications. And in saying Circumcision of the heart in the spirit, he makes a way beforehand for the polity of the Church, and brings in faith. For this too is in heart and spirit, and has its praise from God, who tries the hearts, not judging according to the flesh. And the conclusion gathered from all these things is this, that everywhere there is need of a good life. And when you hear uncircumcision, that is, Greek, understand not the idolater, but the God-fearing and virtuous man, who does not observe the things about the law, as has been said above.

Chapter 3

Rom. 3:1–3. What then is the advantage of the Jew? Or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way. For first of all, because they were entrusted with the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God of none effect? God forbid. Since he had cast out all the things of the law, by saying, For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, he thereupon, seeing a certain objection arising, takes his stand against it. And what is the objection? If these things, he says, profit nothing, for what cause was the nation chosen? He resolves it, then, according to his own wisdom; for in word indeed he says that the profit of the Jew is great. But in establishing this, he brings forward not the good deeds of the Jews, but the gracious gifts of God. For he did not say that the Jews greatly abound because they accomplished this and that, but that they were entrusted with the oracles of God—which is a benefaction of God, and not a merit of theirs. And what is the meaning of they were entrusted? Instead of, They received, were put in charge, were deemed worthy by God to receive oracles brought down from above. But in saying these things he seems indeed to be pleading on their behalf; yet nevertheless he again brings forward into the midst another charge against them, and shows that they disbelieved the divine words, by which they had been honored. Yet this charge also he brings in as from another, as though such a one were saying: And what is the profit that they received the oracles? For indeed they disbelieved. And he seems to resolve this objection also, making his defense not on their behalf, but on behalf of God. For if they disbelieved, what is this to God? Shall their unbelief make of none effect the faith of God—that is, the entrusting of the oracles and the benefaction? For so far is God from being harmed by their unbelief, that he is rather the more glorified as a lover of mankind, when he is seen to be a benefactor even of the one who is about to dishonor him. You see how he made them accountable from the very things in which they prided themselves—namely, from their receiving the law.

Rom. 3:4. Let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written: That you might be justified in your words, and might overcome when you are judged. He said above that some disbelieved; then, since not some, but all are seen to have disbelieved, handling the discourse most wisely, that he might not seem burdensome, he sets down as a hypothesis that which had come to pass in truth, and says: Let us grant that all disbelieved; and what of this? Even hence is God justified. That is to say: If there should be a judgment and an examination both of the things done by him for the Jews, and of the things done by them toward him, the victory will be with God; even as David also says. And the words Let God be true stand instead of, Let him be made manifest, let him be demonstrated.

Rom. 3:5–6. But if our unrighteousness serves to establish the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust to inflict wrath? (I speak in human terms.) By no means! Otherwise how could God judge the world? He brings in an objection of this sort, as of certain men saying: If God, having shown us kindness, and then being treated thanklessly by us, appears the more righteous, and overcomes, as one who out of much love for mankind does good to the unworthy—why then does he inflict wrath, that is, punish us, who have become to him the cause of justification and of victory? This indeed is the objection; and he resolves it most wisely and adroitly: And yet, he says, in that he punishes you, for this very reason you are not to him the cause of the victory; for it is unrighteous that the cause of the victory should be punished by the victor. But assuredly God is not unrighteous; for how shall he judge the world, if he himself acts unrighteously? It remains, then, that since he both punishes you, and is not unrighteous, you have not become to him the cause of the victory by your having sinned; for it was possible for him to overcome by another also, even if you were not shown to be wicked. And the words I speak as a man have such a meaning as this: I indeed, he says, make such a defense on behalf of God according to human reasoning—that is, as far as is possible for a man to reason as one who pleads a cause. For whatever God does has certain unspeakable reasons, and is above human reasonings, having no need of any defense from us.

Rom. 3:7–8. For if the truth of God has abounded through my lie to his glory, why am I yet also judged as a sinner? And not rather (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say) Let us do evil, that good may come? Whose condemnation is just. And again he takes up the same thing, in order to make it clearer. For if God appeared righteous and true out of the things in which I transgressed, why then am I judged, having contributed to the glory of God? For I am not worthy of condemnation, but rather of crowns. But if this be true, then also what the Greeks say concerning us will be true. For indeed the Greeks, hearing Paul say that where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, made a mockery of this, and said that the Christians say: Let us do evil, that good may come, and let us sin much, that grace may abound. This, then, the Greeks said, slandering and deriding us; and it comes to pass even now, if we admit that God appears good out of my wickedness and thanklessness. But assuredly this is not so; for it is the word of the Greeks, who are ever lying. Whose condemnation is just—that is, who shall justly be punished. Neither, then, do I become to God the cause of justification out of my sinning. For I am judged as a sinner; but I would not be judged, if I had sinned to the glory of God.

Rom. 3:9–18. What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have before charged both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does kindness, there is not so much as one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Having said above that there is something of advantage to the Jews, because they were on the whole entrusted with and put in charge of the law, now he shows that they have nothing of advantage, so far as it comes from their own deeds. For not having kept the things with which they were entrusted, they are rather the more condemned. So that they had indeed something of advantage in that they were chosen by God; but since by their own deeds they dishonored the God who honored and chose them, not only do they have nothing of advantage, but they are even the more condemned. He says, then, as in the person of the Jews: What then? Are we better than they? Instead of, Have we anything more, and are we better off, and do we Jews stand in good repute, as having received the law and circumcision? Not at all; instead of, By no means. For the Jews also sinned equally with the Greeks, that I may say nothing more. And whence is it plain? From the prophets, both David and Isaiah. For David said the words from There is none righteous, no, not one, as far as whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; and of Isaiah is the saying, Their feet are swift, as far as, The way of peace they have not known. Then again the words of David. He brings forward, then, the most renowned of the prophets as accusers of them, and shows their verdict to be of one voice. But after the words of Isaiah, he again adds those of David; for Isaiah, having lived earlier, discourses concerning the Jews; which David also does concerning the same. And whoever turns aside from the good, immediately becomes unprofitable. For wickedness is nothing else than a turning aside of the motions that work toward the good; whence also, leading the man out into that which is contrary to nature, it makes him unprofitable. For nature makes no use of him, just as it makes no use of the sick man for his proper works. And destruction and misery is sin; for nothing so crushes the soul as does sin, by reason of its trackless wandering. For virtue, as a thing natural and good to us, makes us be borne along smoothly and evenly; but wickedness, as a thing contrary to nature, makes us be borne now upward, now downward, appearing in falls and in excesses; and on this account making our motion difficult and laborious for us—I mean the punishments that come after these things. And by the way of peace you will understand the manner of life that is according to God; for this is the way of freedom from disturbance. For take, he says, my yoke, and you shall find rest; and this is the way also of the true peace of Christ.

Rom. 3:19–20. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God; because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Lest the Jews should say that These things were not spoken concerning us, he says that Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law. For what necessity is there, he says, that the law given to you should be spoken against others? And he calls “law” the Old Testament, not only the Mosaic writings; just as now also he named the words of Isaiah, and the words of the Psalms, “law.” And the words, That every mouth may be stopped, indicate the boastfulness of the Jews, and the irresistible rush of their tongue. The prophet, then, stopped this, as it were a stream rushing along. And he does not say this, that They sinned in order that their mouth might be stopped, but that for this reason they were reproved by the prophets, that they might not sin in ignorance, and boast. And not the Jews only, but also all the world may become guilty before God, that is, condemned, without boldness of speech, not being justified out of their own works, but standing in need of another’s help—namely, of the grace of Christ. So that, O Jew, why do you boast in the law, where indeed you are equally guilty with the rest of the world, not being justified by the works of the law?

Rom. 3:20–21. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Cease, O Jew, from the law; know that this is to you the cause of greater punishment. For it made known to you your sin; and to one who sins with knowledge the punishment is greater. This came to pass through your own slothfulness; for not fleeing from the sin made known to you, you rather drew the punishment upon yourself. How then shall you be delivered from the punishment? If you receive the righteousness of God, that which is apart from the law. For God justifies us, even though we have no works; for he is God, who is able to do all things. And well did he say, Has been made manifest, that he might show that it had been hidden, though existing of old. And by saying, Being witnessed by the law and the prophets, he makes plain the same thing, that it is not recent; but both the law of Moses, and the prophets, spoke concerning it; so that it is also worthy to be received. For even if it is apart from the law, yet nevertheless it pleases the law itself that we should be justified through it.

Rom. 3:22–24. that is, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all and upon all who believe—for there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And this righteousness, he says—that is, the justification by which God justifies us—comes to all through faith; for by bringing in faith, we are all justified, both Jews and Greeks. For there is no distinction. Nor, because the Jew received the law, is he preferred to the Greek. For he too sinned, inasmuch as from the law he had only the knowledge of sin, and not also the escape from it. And even if he did not sin in the same manner as the Greek, yet he is in like manner deprived of the glory, having altogether offended God; and he who offends reaps shame, not glory. But do not despair; for all are justified freely by the grace of God—which grace comes to pass through the redemption, that is, through the perfect freedom which Christ wrought. For he, having given himself as a ransom, justified us.

Rom. 3:25–26. Whom God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness, on account of the passing over of the sins done formerly, in the forbearance of God; for a demonstration of his righteousness at the present time, that he might be just, and the justifier of him who is of the faith of Jesus. God justified us, he says, through the propitiation—that is, through the cross and the blood of Christ. But lest you should say that he is an innovator, and speaks new and strange things, For a demonstration, he says, of his righteousness he did this, because he also remitted the sins of those who had stumbled both before the law and under the law, being long-suffering toward them, that he might preserve men to this end—their being justified through the blood of Christ. And in doing this, he was shown to be righteous in remitting these things—that is, that he who does such things is just, and demonstrates a just righteousness. For he did not unrighteously remit the sins, as one might say, if he had simply remitted them; but now he remitted them justly, his Son having interceded, and having propitiated the Father. So that he is just, and justifies those who believe.

Rom. 3:27. Where then is boasting? It is shut out. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Since we said that God justifies freely, he adds this, that the boasting of the Jew is shut out, whether from the law or from circumcision. By what law, then? By what power? By that of Moses? No; but by the law of faith—which is, By faith. And he calls faith a law, since it too holds the rank of a law; because, just as the law commands and guides, so also faith leads as a tutor.

Rom. 3:28. For we reckon that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Bringing the discourse to its completion, he says: For this reason justification is not of works, but of faith; that no one may boast in himself, but may have his boasting in God. For he said, Not the law of works—that is, the Mosaic law—not the natural law; for if it were the natural law, it would be unreasonable; because if men do not know that they sin, neither are they blamed. The works, then, of the written law are shut out. For He who does these things shall live in them; for this is what the Mosaic law said: Not so, he says, but by the law of faith, which justifies by grace, and not of works. Behold, he calls faith also a law, on account of the name being held in honor among the Jews. Henceforth, then, O Jew, boast in faith, which is able to justify you.

Rom. 3:28–30. Therefore we reckon that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also; since there is one God, who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. Since he showed that justification is in the blood of Christ, and not in the works of the law, he sums up the discourse, and says that From all that has been said we conclude that every man is justified by faith. And be not troubled, O Jew, as though the matter were forsooth absurd. For God is not partial, so as to save you only, but not every man. And here he puts the Jews to shame the more cuttingly, as fighting against God, if indeed they will not admit that the Gentiles are saved through faith. For they do not believe that he is alike the God of all, and provides for all equally. He is one, then—that is, the same God both of Jews and of Gentiles—who both justifies the circumcised, not out of the law, but out of faith, and receives the uncircumcised who is mediated through faith. And having made mention of circumcision and uncircumcision, he calls to mind the things said a little before, in which he showed that neither does circumcision profit, when works are absent, nor does uncircumcision in and of itself do harm. Both, then, have need of faith.

Rom. 3:31. Do we then make the law of none effect through faith? God forbid; but we establish the law. Since the abolishing of the law through faith troubled the Jews, he heals this through his great wisdom, saying that faith establishes the law. For that which the law willed—that is, to justify a man—but had not strength to accomplish, this faith perfects; for together with anyone’s believing, he is justified. It does not, therefore, make the law of none effect, but establishes it. And by this word he shows it to be lying prostrate; for that which is prostrate has need of being made to stand.

Chapter 4

Rom. 4:1–3. What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has whereof to boast, but not before God. For what says the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness. Having sufficiently established that all have need of faith, he shows this the more greatly by means of Abraham also, inasmuch as he was held in honor among the Jews; and he says that not even this man, who accomplished so many and such great things, was justified by works, but by faith. And he calls him father according to the flesh, casting them out from the kinship that is according to the Spirit; or rather, laying upon them also a necessity of imitating him in all things. If indeed he was justified by works, he has whereof to boast, but not before God—that is, he has wherein to boast, as one who accomplished it out of his own labors; which is not before God, nor does it run back to him. But he who is justified by faith bears his boasting before God, boasting in God, as one saved by his grace and beloved of him. But moreover the believer boasts also in another way, as having glorified God by his believing him, that he is able to do the things that are impossible. He has, therefore, the boasting and the boldness before God, as holding the true opinion concerning him—he who believes him to be able to do all things.

Rom. 4:4–8. Now to him that works the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt. But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness; even as David also declares the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin. He who works, he says, receives a reward, as a debt rendered to him in return for his labor; and he who believes, even though he works not, yet nevertheless he too brings in faith, which is a great thing. For to be fully assured that God is able, not only to free from unrighteousness the man who has lived in ungodliness, but also to make him righteous, is in truth a great thing. Wherefore also to the believer his faith is reckoned for righteousness—that is, God accepts this faith, not that he may give him a reward, but that he may justify him. So that he too brings in something, namely faith. Having shown, then, from Abraham, that righteousness, or justification, is of faith, and that David blesses the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin, there too he shows the surpassing greatness. For if blessed is he who has received remission, who has been shown grace, much more is he who has received faith, and has been justified out of it. For do not be slothful, and say that he receives the remission according to grace; for the one who is called blessed indeed had this; yet David would not have blessed him, had he not seen him enjoying much glory. For the blessing is a great thing, and greater than righteousness itself, the summit of all the good things that come to us from God.

Rom. 4:9–10. Is this blessing, then, upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. If the blessedness, he says, befits him to whom the Lord will not reckon sin—that is, the one justified—and Abraham was justified, was he then assuredly uncircumcised, or circumcised? Uncircumcised, assuredly. The blessedness, then, falls upon the uncircumcision—that is, it pertains rather to it than to the circumcision.

Rom. 4:11–12. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had in his uncircumcision; that he might be the father of all those who believe through uncircumcision, that righteousness might be reckoned to them also; and the father of circumcision to those who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham, which he had in his uncircumcision. He resolves an objection that arises; for perhaps someone might say: If Abraham was justified being uncircumcised, for what cause was he circumcised? He says, then, that He received the sign of circumcision, instead of a seal that seals and proclaims that he was justified out of faith—the faith which he displayed beforehand, being uncircumcised. So that, since these two things are observed concerning Abraham, uncircumcision and circumcision, through the uncircumcision he is shown to be the father of the uncircumcised. But of which? Of those who believe in like manner with him, so that to them also their faith may be reckoned for righteousness—that is, to their becoming righteous. And through the circumcision he is again shown to be the father of the circumcision, that is, of the circumcised. But he is father not to those only who have the circumcision, but also to those who walk in the steps of his faith, which was in uncircumcision. Thus, then, must it be read: And the father of circumcision, not to those who are likened to him out of circumcision only, but also to those who walk in the steps of the faith—that is, to those who believe in like manner with him, to the resurrection of dead bodies. For he too, being old and dead, believed that God was yet able to show his seed to be life-giving, and to give him a son. The whole sense, then, is of this kind: Abraham, being uncircumcised, believed and was justified, so as to be the father of the uncircumcised faithful. Again he received the circumcision, a seal and sign of the faith that was in his uncircumcision, so as to be the father of those out of circumcision—namely, of those who also walk in the steps of the faith which he had while yet uncircumcised. So that, this faith being absent, in vain do they pride themselves on the circumcision; just as if one should display a purse having only a seal, with nothing laid up within; the Jew, then, is a purse sealed with the circumcision, but not having the faith, of which circumcision is the seal.

Rom. 4:13–14. For the promise to Abraham and to his seed, that he should be the heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect. He showed that righteousness is not of the law, but of faith; now he shows that the promise also to Abraham was not from the law, but from the justifying faith. And what was the promise? “That he should be the heir of the world”—that is, that in him all the nations of the world should be blessed. For if the law, he says, gave the inheritance, “faith is made void”—that is, it is found to be an empty and useless thing. For who would yet take thought for faith, if the law gave the promise? But this is not so. For Abraham inherited the promise, not through the law (for where then was the law?), but through faith, as it is written: And Abraham believed God.

Rom. 4:15. For the law works wrath; for where there is no law, neither is there transgression. Now he establishes that through the law the promise is made of none effect; for he says: Transgression follows the law; and the law, being transgressed, “works wrath,” and brings in condemnation and punishment. He, then, who is liable to punishment, how is he worthy to inherit?

Rom. 4:16–17. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be according to grace, to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that which is of the law only, but also to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made you), before him whom he believed, even God. Since the law works wrath, for this reason Abraham is said to be justified and to inherit of faith, he says, that all things might be according to grace. “And to what does grace contribute?” “To the end that the promise might be sure.” For does grace have transgression, as the law does, so that the things given should be unsure? But since grace is the whole, and the mercy of God, with reason the things given are sure “to all the seed”—that is, to all who believe; not only to those of the law, that is, the circumcised, but also to the uncircumcised, who are the seed of Abraham, begotten to him out of faith. So that he who has not faith is not even the seed of Abraham, who is the father of us all, that is, of the faithful, “as it is written, A father of many nations have I made you, before him whom he believed, even God.” The sense is of this kind: Abraham is the father of all before God—instead of, in like manner with God. For just as in that respect God is the father of all, so also is he, not according to fleshly kinship, but according to the appropriation of faith. And he added the words, “Whom he believed,” that he might show that he received, as a recompense of his faith, the being father of all. So that, if you do not admit, O Jew, that he is the father of us all, you have lessened his honor, which God gave him.

Rom. 4:17. Who quickens the dead, and calls the things that are not as though they were. What he said above, this he says now also, that Abraham believed that God was able, not only to quicken a dead body, such as his own was, but also to make it life-giving. For this reason he says now, “Who quickens the dead.” And the words “Who calls the things that are not as though they were,” he added for this cause, that he might show that it is not impossible to God to make the children of Abraham, who were not, to be his children. And he did not say, Who brings into being the things that are not, but, “Who calls.” For just as it is easy for us to call the things that are, so for him it is easy to give subsistence to the things that are not.

Rom. 4:18. who, against hope, believed in hope, so that he became the father of many nations. Do not suppose, he says, that Abraham was honored without cause. For how could he who “against hope”—the human hope—believed “in hope”—the divine—“that he should become the father of many nations,” not of the Ishmaelites (for those are of him not according to faith, but according to nature), but of those who are like him according to faith?

Rom. 4:19–22. According to that which was spoken: So shall your seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Having said that “Against human hope he believed in the divine hope,” now he establishes this and says, that it was indeed spoken to him, that Your seed shall be as the stars of heaven, and as the sand. And he, “being not weak in faith,” but having it strong, looked not to his own body, now dead with time, nor to the twofold deadness of Sarah’s womb (for it was dead both from age and from barrenness); neither did he stagger—instead of, he did not waver or draw back or doubt—“but was strengthened in faith.” And mark how he shows the believer to have need of much power. For many made light of faith, as a thing without labor; but they magnified works, as having sweat, and requiring power. The believer too, then, he says, has need of a great and mighty soul, that he may beat back the reasonings of unbelief; just as Abraham also was strengthened in faith. How? “Giving glory to God”; not believing, he says, human reasonings, but having thought things worthy of the glory of God, and being fully persuaded that he is able to do the things that are impossible; for this is the glory of God. Therefore he who believes not, but is over-curious, does not glorify God. And since Abraham was not fully a hundred years old, for this reason he said with restraint, “Being a hundred years old.”

Rom. 4:23–25. And therefore it was reckoned to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was reckoned to him; but for our sake also, to whom it shall be reckoned, who believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Since he said many and great things concerning Abraham, lest anyone should say, And what are these things to us? he says, that It was written for our sake also, and to us faith shall be reckoned for justification, if only we have this, believing on him that raised up Jesus. But if you hesitate, asking how you can be justified, call to mind Jesus, who blotted out all your sins—who also died, not for his own sin, but for the sin of the world. And since, having no sin, he died, so also he rose again. For how was the sinless one to be held fast by Hades? He died, then, and rose again, that he might both free us from sins, and make us righteous. Just as Abraham, then, believed that his own body, being dead, should be made to live; so do you also believe that Jesus died and rose again, and it shall be reckoned to you also for righteousness, even as to the forefather.

Chapter 5

Rom. 5:1–2. Being justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have had access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Here he discourses concerning manner of life. For since he had said great things concerning faith, but had made light of works, lest we should grow slothful, he says—showing also concerning life: Since faith has justified us, let us no longer sin, but “Let us have peace with God,” through living in a manner well-pleasing to him. And how shall this come to pass? “Through our Lord Jesus Christ.” For he who justified us while we were sinners will also work together with us to our being kept in his righteousness; for through him also we have had the access; and he who brought near those who were afar off, much more will he hold fast those who have come near. And he brought us near to this grace. How? In faith—that is, having brought in faith. And what is the grace? The attainment of all the good things that come to us through baptism. “Wherein we stand,” having the sure and unchangeable thing. For the divine good things stand fast, never falling away. And not only do we have these things which we have received, surely, but we also seek to receive others; for “We rejoice,” he says, “in the hope” of the good things to be given us hereafter; which, being to the glory of God, will of necessity be given, even if for our sakes, yet that he himself at least may be glorified.

Rom. 5:3–5. And not only so, but we glory also in tribulations; knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope makes not ashamed. Not only, he says, do we glory in the good things to come, but, what is greater, also in the tribulations now present with us. For do not be troubled, he says, that we are afflicted; for this very thing is the boast of the Christian. And how? Because tribulation works patience; and patience works the thing tried to be approved; and the man, having become approved, and being confident in his good conscience, that he was afflicted for God’s sake, hopes for the recompenses for such tribulations. And such hope falls not away, nor puts to shame the one who hoped. For human hopes, not coming to pass, put to shame those who hoped; but in the divine hopes there is nothing of the kind. For he who gives the good things is immortal and good; and we who are about to receive them, even if we die, shall live; and henceforth there is nothing to hinder our hopes from coming to pass.

Rom. 5:5. Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given to us. He gives assurance of the things to come from the love which God has already shown toward us. For he says all but this: Do not disbelieve that the hope which is in the divine things falls not away. For he who so loved us as to make us sons of God, without labor, even now already, through the Holy Spirit—how shall he not give crowns after the labors? The love of God, then, is shed abroad in our hearts—instead of, it appears lavish and rich, since we have in our hearts the Spirit which he gave us.

Rom. 5:6–9. For while we were yet weak, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commends his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. He said that the love of God is shown to be shed abroad in our hearts through the Spirit, which we have in them, given by him; and he still further shows the greatness of the love from Christ’s dying for us while we were weak—that is, sinners (for sin is weakness, just as righteousness is health); and not only while we were sinners, but also “ungodly,” which is worse, although for a righteous man one will scarcely die. It is, then, of a surpassing love, to die for sinners and the ungodly. And the words “In due time” mean, in the fitting and foreordained time; for when it was opportune, then he died. Since, then, he died for love’s sake, and through his death justified us, much more will he henceforth save us from wrath, whom he has already justified. For he gave the greater thing, to justify; and will he not save from wrath? And to those saved from wrath he will also give the good things, by reason of his great love.

Rom. 5:10. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. He seems to say the same things; yet the reflections, being made by way of comparison, are different. For above he set down our being sinners, and, taking up afterward our being justified, he said by way of comparison, that having justified us while we were sinners through his death, much more, being justified, will he save us. But now, taking up the death of Christ and his life, he again brings forth the thought by way of comparison, saying thus: Then we were reconciled through his blood and death; but now we shall be saved by his life. For he who spared not his own Son, but gave him up to die for our reconciliation, how shall he not now, much more, save us by his life?

Rom. 5:11. And not only so, but we also glory in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Not only were we saved, he says, but we also glory in God for this very thing, that, being ungodly, we were saved, and that then, through the blood of the Only-begotten. And we glory through the Lord Jesus Christ; for he himself is to us the cause of the glorying, who is also the cause of the reconciliation.

Rom. 5:12. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men, because all sinned. Having said that the Lord Jesus justified us, he runs back up to the root of the evil, sin and death; and he shows that these two things entered into the world through one man, Adam—namely, sin and death; and that again they were destroyed through one man, Christ. And what is the meaning of “In that all sinned”? That is, in Adam all sinned. For when he fell, even those who did not eat of the tree became, from him, mortal, as though they too had stumbled, because that one stumbled.

Rom. 5:13–14. For until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression, who is the type of him that was to come. He has it for his aim to show that even those who did not eat of the tree, nor sinned in like manner with Adam, yet nevertheless, on account of his sin, were reckoned as though they too had sinned, and died. He establishes this, then, thus: Sin prevailed until the giving of the law—that is, even before the law. What, then, was this sin? Was it the one from the transgression of the law? And how should there be such a sin, there being no law? For sin is then reckoned, when there is a law; and men, transgressing it, are of necessity said to sin. But assuredly “death reigned until Moses”—that is, even before the law was given; so that there was a sin through which death reigned. And it would not have reigned, had there not been some sin establishing it. Since, then, it was shown that there was as yet no sin from the transgression of the law, it remains that this was the sin of Adam, through which death reigned even over those who had not sinned, so far as in them lay (for not having received the law, nor transgressed it, neither are they said to have sinned); yet nevertheless having sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression, and having become partakers with him in the stumbling, as with a forefather; who is the type of Christ. For just as the old Adam made all liable by his own stumbling, although they had not stumbled, so also Christ justified all, although they had not done things worthy of justification. For this reason “he is the type of him that was to come”—that is, of Christ.

Rom. 5:15–16. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of the one the many died, much more the grace of God, and the gift in the grace of the one man Jesus Christ, abounded to the many. And not as it was through one that sinned, so is the gift. For the judgment was of one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences to justification. Not only so much, he says, did Christ profit, as Adam harmed. For if sin had so much strength that, one having stumbled, all who were of him, although they had not stumbled, were condemned, much more shall the grace of God and the Father—and not of him only, but also of his Son—abound lavishly, flowing to the many. And will not the gift of God be as great as the condemnation through the one that sinned? “For the judgment”—that is, the easily-condemned sin—flowing “of one,” Adam, “to condemnation”—that is, to death, or also to more sins—ever came to those who were of him, so that men were held fast in many sins and in death. “But the free gift is of many offences to justification”—that is, grace took away not that one sin only, but also the sins that came in after it. For having given release of all the offences after the transgression, it became to us to justification.

Rom. 5:17–18. For if by the one offence death reigned through the one, much more they who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by one offence judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by one righteous act the free gift came upon all men to justification of life. If the eating of the tree by one man made death to reign, much more shall we, who have received the abundance and lavishness of grace, and have been justified, live and reign through the one Jesus Christ, whose brethren we are, and have become members of his body, and, as a body to a head, so are united to him. For we received no simple and single-formed good thing, so as to be in want as regards the things to come; but the good things are to us an abundance of grace; just as if one owing much, and cast into prison together with wife and children, should then not only be freed from the prison and the debt, but should also receive ten thousand talents, and being brought into the royal courts, should be counted worthy of high honor, and become a son of the king. Summing up the thought, then, he says: “Therefore as by one offence the curse came upon all men” (that which he called above “judgment,” this he now calls “offence,” that is, the sin of Adam), “so also through the righteous act of the one, Christ,” grace came upon all men, giving them both justification instead of sin, and life instead of death.

Rom. 5:19. For as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous. It is not a tautology, as it seems; but having said above, “As by one offence, so also by one righteous act,” he now interprets what was the offence of the one, and says, that it was the disobedience, through which “the many were made sinners”—that is, liable to punishment, and condemned to death; and what is the righteous act of the one, that is, of Christ; and he says, that it was the obedience to death, even the death of the cross; through which obedience, death being crushed, we were freed from its condemnation.

Rom. 5:20. Now the law came in alongside, so that the trespass might increase; but where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more. Since he had shown that all were condemned from Adam, but saved from Christ, and it was likely that someone should be perplexed and say: What then did the law accomplish in so many years, if indeed Christ justified us? he says, that “The law entered in”—instead of, it was given for a season, not as the principal thing, nor properly; and having entered in, it made the offence more. For it gave many commandments, all of which, as men transgressed them, the offence abounded. And the word “That,” here, is not a logical cause, but is from the outcome. For the law was given so as to lessen and destroy sin; but it turned out the contrary, on account of the slothfulness of men, not the nature of the law. And since sin abounded through the law, through Christ the grace of God did much more abound, not only freeing from sins, but also justifying, and making heavenly, and adopting to God. Wherefore he did not say, It abounded, but, “It did much more abound,” declaring its unstinting fulness.

Rom. 5:21. That as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign through righteousness to eternal life. Having said that grace did much more abound, he shows also the reasonableness of the matter, that we may not disbelieve, and says, that Sin was in the rank of a king; but death was a soldier armed under it. If, then, sin reigned over us, having death as a kind of soldier, much more shall grace reign in us, bringing in righteousness, which is destructive of sin, and, through destroying sin, destroying together with it death also, and bringing in eternal life. As it were, then, a battle-array was set, and sin had death for its soldier, but grace had righteousness. Righteousness, then, slew the queen, sin, and with her death also; and thereafter eternal life was brought in.

Chapter 6

Rom. 6:1–2. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we still live therein? Since he had said that “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,” perhaps someone might say, that Let us not henceforth cease from sinning, that grace may be shown the greater; this, then, he resolves, saying by way of denial, “God forbid.” Which he is accustomed to do in the case of things exceedingly and confessedly absurd. Then he also sets down a reasoning, that We died to sin; having become dead to it through baptism, so as no longer to obey it; how then shall we still live in it, so as to have a relation toward it, and to obey it? From this we learn that every believer is indeed put to death toward sin through baptism; but having grown slothful, he raises himself up again, and quickens himself toward it anew, so as to be mingled with it; just as the earnest man ever preserves this deadness for himself, and, though it command ten thousand times, he, as one dead, obeys not.

Rom. 6:3–4. Or are you ignorant that as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death; that, as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. He establishes how we died to sin, and says, that Through baptism. For we were baptized into the death of Christ—that is, to our own dying also, even as he died. For as the cross and the tomb were to Christ, so also is baptism to us, even if not in the same things. For he indeed died in the flesh, and rose again; but we, dying to sin, rise again by virtue; that, as Christ rose from the dead in the flesh through the glory of the Father—that is, through his own divinity (for the Son is the glory of the Father)—so we also should rise to another resurrection, the new manner of life. For when the fornicator becomes chaste, behold death and resurrection, wickedness having died and virtue having risen and living in the man.

Rom. 6:5–6. For if we have become planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also of his resurrection; knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that henceforth we should not serve sin. He did not say that We have shared in the likeness of his death, but, “We have become planted together,” hinting by the name of the planting at the fruit that comes from it. For the body of the Lord, planted in the earth, bore the fruit of salvation. But since we indeed are buried in water, but he in the earth; and we indeed to sin, but he in body; for this reason he did not say, “In death,” but, “In the likeness of death.” And we shall therefore be partakers of the resurrection also, ourselves too inheriting eternal life, through displaying the resurrection that is in good works. “For our old man, that is, wickedness, was crucified with him”—that is, was buried in baptism, in like manner with the body of Christ—“that the body of sin might be done away”—that is, either the wickedness composed of various parts, and being as it were one body, or also our sinning body. But he adds, “That henceforth we should not serve sin.” For I wish it, he says, to be dead, not that it should be utterly destroyed, but that it should not have dominion.

Rom. 6:7. For he that is dead is justified from sin. He says this concerning every man, that just as “he that is dead is justified from sin”—that is, is released, is set free—so you also, having been baptized, and put to death toward sin, remain dead.

Rom. 6:8–11. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death has no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died to sin once; but in that he lives, he lives to God. So also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. He seems to say the same thing over again, but it is not so. For above he was speaking concerning our needing ever to remain dead to sin; but now, concerning our needing ever to have within ourselves the resurrection of the manner of life that is according to God. For if we died with Christ through baptism, we believe that we have also the resurrection that is in newness of life ever present with us. For indeed Christ, being raised, ever lives, dying no more. And he says that also: “In that he died, he died to sin”—that is, on account of our sin, and not as being himself liable to death. “But in that he lives, he lives to God”—that is, by the divine power. For he lives ever in the power of God the Father. And since Christ does not die a second time, neither do we have a second death through another baptism. Let us remain, therefore, in the former things—that is, in the death of sin, and the resurrection of the life that is according to God. And this shall come to pass for us “In Christ Jesus”—that is, in the alliance of him. For he who raised us when we were dead, much more will preserve us, being alive, in the life.

Rom. 6:12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Showing that we are not held fast by wickedness through force and necessity, but willingly, he did not say, Let it not tyrannize, but, “Let it not reign”; for kingship is a rule over the willing. And by saying, “In your mortal body,” he showed these two things: one, that neither are the pleasures of the body lasting (for it is mortal), so that one ought not to gratify it in these things; nor do its labors abide, so that one ought not to flee from things grievous, and from the struggles against the pleasures. And secondly, that he reminds us that mortality is from sin. No longer, then, serve it, which brings in death. And how does sin reign? If we obey it in the lusts of the body. So that it is not the body that harms by nature, but the obeying of sin. And mark the grace of Christ, how Adam indeed sinned, although he had not a mortal body; but we, in a mortal body, get the better of sin.

Rom. 6:13. Neither present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin; but present yourselves to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Where are the Manichaeans, who say that the body is by nature evil? For it is an instrument; and the instrument is midway between virtue and wickedness. To the soldier the sword is an instrument on behalf of the citizens; to the robber, the sword is an instrument against the citizens. “Present not your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin.” For he who sins does unrighteousness often indeed also to his neighbor, but always to himself. “But present yourselves to God,” considering what lies between God and sin, and under which it is better to be ranged and to be ruled—whether by sin, which puts to death, or by God, who makes alive. And in saying, “your members instruments of righteousness,” he shows at once, what was also said above, that the body is not evil, if indeed it can become an instrument of righteousness; and at the same time, that a war is also at hand, and that one must be under God as general, and lay down the weapons on behalf of the soul.

Rom. 6:14. For sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under law, but under grace. Our body, he says, before the coming of Christ, was easily overcome by sin. For neither was there the Spirit present to help, nor baptism able to put to death. Even though the law dictated the things to be done, it had no strength; but when Christ came, the wrestlings became easier; wherefore also the contests are greater, as a greater help has been given to us. Sin, then, shall not have dominion over us, unless we exceedingly bow ourselves down. For there is not a law that only commands, and gives no help, but grace, which both remits the former sins, and secures us against those to come.

Rom. 6:15–16. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are whom you obey—whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness? Everywhere he suspects these objections, and for this reason he brings them forward and resolves them, as he does this one also, saying, “God forbid!” Then he shows that it is easy for us not to sin. For consider which is better: to be servants of sin, willingly drawing it upon ourselves (for this he indicates by the word, “You present”), and to gain death—that is, the immortal punishment (for the sin of Adam brought forth a bodily death, and one that is dissolved; but the sin that is now hands the man over to eternal death, that is, to punishment)—or to obey God, and to gain righteousness, and the good things that come from it.

Rom. 6:17. But thanks be to God, that whereas you were servants of sin, you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. “Thanks be to God.” For it is not of human strength, our being freed from those evils, but of the divine; wherefore we ought also to give thanks. And you were not compelled, but willingly, in heart, you obeyed. So do not run back again to the worse, from which you willingly took your stand. And showing that, even if they themselves came forward, yet nevertheless the whole is of the grace of God, he added the word, “You were delivered”—that is, You were guided by God to the form of the doctrine. And what is the form of the doctrine? To live rightly, and with the best manner of life.

Rom. 6:18–19. Being then made free from sin, you became servants to righteousness. I speak after the manner of men, because of the weakness of your flesh. For as you presented your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity to iniquity, even so now present your members servants to righteousness to holiness. With these two things you were benefited by God: both the being freed from so great a shame, and the being made servants to righteousness—which is to enjoy much glory. And being about to say, “As much as you served sin, serve God,” he says beforehand, “I speak after the manner of men”—that is, A mean, lowly thing, proportioned to your weakness. For one ought indeed to display a measure of servitude to God many times greater than that to sin; but yet, on account of the weakness, render even an equal measure. And mark how most plainly he made clear our willing servitude, by saying, “For as you presented your members servants.” For you yourselves, he says, taking yourselves captive, presented yourselves as subjects to uncleanness—that is, to adultery, fornication, unspeakable deeds; and why do I speak of uncleanness only? to all iniquity, making the discourse more universal. And the words, “To iniquity,” mean, to the working of yet more iniquity. For not, when you had committed some sin, did you stand still at it, but you had it as fuel to the working of yet more iniquity. With an equal measure, therefore, present your members servants to righteousness—that is, to all virtue, so as to live in chastity and holiness, instead of the former uncleanness.

Rom. 6:20–21. For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. When you lived in wickedness, he says, being released from righteousness, not subjected to it, nor willing to serve it at all, but being free from it. Therefore now also, serving righteousness, be not at all subjected to sin. And yet, what fruit did you reap from uncleanness? Nothing, but shame; and why do I speak of shame? death; “For the end of those things is death”—bodily indeed often, but assuredly of the soul. But from death indeed you have been freed through the grace of Christ; while the shame profitably yet remains; for now you are ashamed at these things.

Rom. 6:22–23. But now, being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Of the works of sin the fruit is shame; of righteousness the fruit is holiness, and purity, and chastity. The end of those is death; the end of this, eternal life. “For the wages of sin is death.” Wages is the name for the ration given to soldiers by the king. To you, then, while you served it, sin gave, he says, as wages and as recompense of the servitude, death. “But the gift of God”—he did not say, The recompense that is from God, but, “The gift.” For you received not a requital and a return for labors, but all these things came to pass by grace; for in Christ he wrought these things.

Chapter 7

Rom. 7:1–3. Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to them that know the law), that the law has dominion over a man for as long a time as he lives? For the woman that is under a husband is bound by law to the living husband; but if the husband die, she is loosed from the law of the husband. So then if, while the husband lives, she be joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if the husband die, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be joined to another man. Having let go of the moral, he passes over to the doctrinal, and shows that they ought no longer to be under the law. For the law, he says, which you also know, has dominion over a man for as long a time as he lives. For to the dead it no longer gives ordinances. So that you also have died to it, and henceforth it no longer has dominion over you. In the beginning, then, he thus hinted this; but next he says the same thing in another way—that, when the husband is dead, the woman has authority to be joined to another. Therefore here too the law is like a husband, and you are like a woman. Then it were consequent to say: So then, brethren, the law has no dominion over you; for it is dead. But he did not so speak, lest he strike the Jews, but he brings in the woman as having died—that is, themselves—so that they enjoy a double freedom. For if, when the husband is dead, she is set free from the authority of the law, much more is she freed when she herself also appears to have died.

Rom. 7:4. So that, my brethren, you also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you should be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit to God. If you have become dead, he says, you are not under the law. For if, when the husband is dead, the woman is not accountable, much more is she, having herself died, set free from the yoke of the law. And mark the wisdom, how he shows that the law itself wills the departing from it. You were set free, then, you also, from the law through the body of Christ, who was crucified on our behalf. For that body was made dead for this cause, that you might die indeed to the law, but come to be under another, namely him who died on our behalf, and then also rose. For the law, having died, lives no more; but Christ, having died, lives. So that you have no authority to depart from him who lives. And what is the gain? That we should bring forth fruit to God, that is, that out of this conjunction with Christ we might bear children to God, namely good deeds.

Rom. 7:5. For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, which were through the law, wrought in our members, to bring forth fruit to death. Showing that the law contributed nothing to us toward fleeing the carnal passions, but only made these manifest. When we were, he says, in the carnal life and in wicked deeds, the passions of sins, which were made manifest and known through the law, were wrought by the soul in our members. He did not say that the members wrought the wickedness, lest he give place to accuse the flesh. For the soul is like a certain harper, and the members a harp. When, therefore, the harper strikes badly, the harp sounds badly. Being then under the law, since we could not flee the passions, we begot wicked deeds to death.

Rom. 7:6. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to that wherein we were held, so that we serve in newness of Spirit, and not in oldness of letter. He did not say that the law was abolished, lest he strike the Jews, but, We were delivered—we ourselves—from the law; which is, We were loosed, set free, having died, and become dead and immovable toward that thing wherein we were held, which was sin; for in it, as in a certain bond, we were held. And we died toward this, that we might serve—God, namely—in newness of Spirit, and not in oldness of letter. For of old virtue was hard to accomplish, inasmuch as Adam, in the mortal body, had taken on many natural defects; but now, by the grace of Christ in baptism, our nature was strengthened through the Spirit, which made us new and young, and freed us from the oldness and weakness of the letter. Wherefore, even under the law, virginity was rare, but now in the Church there are thousands of those who walk uprightly therein; and the like also in the contempt of death.

Rom. 7:7. What shall we say then? That the law is sin? God forbid; but I did not know sin, except through the law. For I had not known lust, except the law had said: You shall not covet. Having said many things which seemed to bring a slander against the law—such as, Sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under law, but under grace; and, But the law entered in, that the offence might abound; and, a little before, that The passions of sins, which were through the law; and, Oldness of letter;—he heals this suspicion, bringing in as it were an objection, in a deliberative manner, and saying: What shall we say then concerning the law? That it is sin? Then, resolving this, first by way of denial, as he is wont to speak concerning things exceedingly absurd, and then also setting forth reasonings: It is not sin, he says, but a discloser of sin; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet. And how then came the flood to pass? How were the Sodomites burned, if even before the law lust was not known to be evil? It was known indeed, but not the intensified lust, nor so exactly and with the testimony from the law. For formerly it was discerned by the natural law alone, but afterward through the written law, becoming the occasion of greater punishment—yet not by reason of the teaching of the law, but by reason of the heedlessness of those who gave no attention; which he also makes plain through what follows.

Rom. 7:8. But sin, taking occasion through the commandment, wrought in me all manner of lust; for without the law sin is dead. He did not say that the law wrought the lust, but sin (which is, according to Chrysostom, the heedless and corrupted choice), or the devil (for this some understood to be sin), or the love of pleasure and the impulse toward the worse, used the teaching of the law toward the contrary. For just as, if some physician should forbid cold water to one in a fever, and the sick man should the more desire it, the physician would not be blamed; for it belongs to the physician to forbid, and to the sick man not to be persuaded; so also the law taught, that it might lead away from lust; but the sin-loving choice increased the lust, and wrought not one lust, but all manner of lust, working the evil with intensity. For when one is hindered, then the more is he inflamed. And then also sin appeared, when the law was transgressed. For without the law, sin is dead; that is, it is not reckoned to be. But when there is a law that prescribes what is due, sin lives—that is, it subsists and seems sin, since those who transgress the law stumble knowingly.

Rom. 7:9. I was once alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life, and I died. Before Moses, he says, I was alive without the law; and I was not even greatly condemned (and in his own person he speaks of human nature); but when the commandment came, sin appeared as sin. For those of former times, even if they sinned, yet they did not know it. And this too is a good thing of the law, that it made men know that they sin. And the word, I died, you shall understand in two ways, both in the sense of, I sinned, and in the sense of, I became liable to a more vehement chastisement; which is no charge against the law, but against him who gives no heed to it. As for example: a man was sick, and did not even know that he was sick; then a physician came, and taught him that he is sick, and that he must abstain from a certain food, as increasing the sickness. But he did not hearken, and then he died.

Rom. 7:10–11. And the commandment, which was to life, this I found to be to death. For sin, taking occasion through the commandment, deceived me, and through it slew me. He did not say that the commandment became death to me, but It was found, thus interpreting the strange and paradoxical nature of the absurdity. For its aim led to life, and for this it was given. But if death came out of it, the charge is not against it. For sin—that is, the impulse toward the worse, and the corrupted and sin-loving mind, or rather, to speak more properly, pleasure—deceived me, and slew me through the commandment. For had the commandment not been there to point out sin, I would neither have reckoned myself as doing it as sin, nor have been liable to chastisement. For the word, It slew, one must understand in both senses, both of the sinning and of the being chastised, just as above the word, I died, was also said. The whole conclusion, then, of the apostolic thought is of this kind: When there is no law, sin is not reckoned; but when the law has come and is transgressed, sin appeared and revived. So that through the commandment, when transgressed, sin—that is, the manifestation and subsistence of sin—comes to subsist, though formerly it did not subsist nor was reckoned, in that there was no law. The law, then, in itself was not the cause of sin; nor yet had it strength to redeem from it. So that we had need of grace, because of the law’s want of strength.

Rom. 7:12. So that the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Behold, here most manifestly he stopped the mouths of the Marcionites, and Manichaeans, and Simonians, and all who slander the Old Testament. For he plainly proclaims the law holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. And law differs from commandment as the more universal from the more particular. For of the law some things are doctrines, and some commandments. The doctrines, then, of the law are holy, and the commandments concerning deeds are holy, and just, and good. So that they are ordinances of the good and just God, even though the aforesaid heretics blaspheme, saying that the law is of the evil god.

Rom. 7:13. Did then that which is good become death to me? God forbid! But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me through that which is good. The law, he says, did not become death to me, but sin slew me, that it might appear how great an evil it is, and that, even when it was being healed by the law, it became worse. And by sin, as we said above, you shall understand both the pleasure-loving mind, and the impulse toward sinning, and now also the devil, and the very deed itself, which draws one down through pleasure. Thanks, then, be to Christ, who delivered us from so great an evil.

Rom. 7:13. That sin might become exceeding sinful through the commandment. The word, That it might become, stands for, that it might appear how great a destruction sin is; just as also the word, But let God be true, stands for, let him appear. And this was shown through the commandment; for it used the commandment to death; just as a disease also, when through the physician’s remedies it becomes worse, might be said to disclose its own malignity through the physician’s art, as being in no way benefited by it.

Rom. 7:14. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin. Since he said that already through the commandment sin appeared, lest you suppose the law to be the cause of this, he makes his defense on its behalf, putting forth a common verdict, and saying: We know that the law is spiritual. For this is acknowledged, he says, and known to all, that the law is so far from being the cause of sin that it is even a teacher of virtue, and an enemy of vice; for this is the meaning of spiritual. Whence then came sin to be, if the teacher is so admirable? From the heedlessness and weakness of the disciples. For I, he says, am carnal, that is, the whole of human nature, both that before the law and that under the law, had all the throng of passions brought in upon it. For not only did we become mortal through the transgression of Adam, but nature also received the passions, being sold under sin, and become a slave, so that it could in no way lift up its head.

Rom. 7:15. For that which I work, I know not. For he does not here speak of an utter ignorance. For if they sinned in ignorance, how were they thereafter chastised? But what does he say? I am darkened, I am carried away, I know not how sin carries me away. So that the words, I know not, show not an ignorance of what must be done, but a perplexity, and a plot, and a deceit, and a being carried away. And all these things he says concerning the men before the coming of Christ, even though he has set down his own person.

Rom. 7:15. For what I would, that I do not. That is, For what the men of that time would, that they did not do. But he does not bring in necessity, nor force, through such words. But what does he say? In the sense of, What I did not approve, what I did not accept, what I did not love, that I did; for he adds next:

Rom. 7:15. But what I hate, that I do. Do you see that he brings in neither force nor necessity? For he would have added, But what I am compelled to, that I do. But now he did not so speak, but, What I hate. So that the words, What I would not, you shall understand as they have been taken. How then came the evil things to be? By a being carried away, by a weakness which they had from the transgression of Adam. And this weakness the law had no strength to heal, though it prescribed what must be done; but Christ, having come, healed it. This, then, is the aim of the Apostle throughout, both in what he has said and in what he is about to say: to show that human nature suffered incurably, and was healed by no other than by Christ.

Rom. 7:16. But if what I would not, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good. So that the law too is good; which is plain from the fact that I myself also know by nature what must be done, and am not corrupted in my judgment, even though I pursue vice.

Rom. 7:17–18. But now it is no longer I that work it, but sin that dwells in me. And I know that there dwells in me, that is, in my flesh, no good thing. He did not say that the flesh works it, but sin, that is, the tyranny of sin which carries me away. So that why do they babble who accuse the flesh and the workmanship of God? And how, they say, does he speak? that There dwells in me, that is, in my flesh, no good thing? Hear how he says this. Man is composed of two things, soul and flesh; and of these the soul has the dominion in all things, while the flesh is a slave. There dwells not, then, in the flesh the good? That is, it does not lie in the flesh’s authority, but in the soul’s. Whatever, then, the soul chooses, that the flesh does. As if one should say that the good playing is not in the harp, but in the harper. For he does not slander the harp, but shows the superiority of the craftsman over the instrument.

Rom. 7:18–20. For to will is present with me; but to work that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do. But if I do that which I would not, it is no longer I that work it, but sin that dwells in me. In saying, I find not, he disclosed the insolence and the plotting of sin; for he frees both the substance of the soul and the substance of the flesh from blame, and transfers the whole to the wicked deed and choice. For in saying, What I would not, he frees the soul from blame; and in saying, It is no longer I that work it, he keeps the flesh unslandered. Who then works the evil? Sin, which is, as Chrysostom says, the wicked and sin-loving choice. And this is not a workmanship of God, but a movement of our own. For will simply is a work of God; but such-and-such a will is our own, and of our judgment. And it has been said above what sin is: the tyranny of sin which carries away our mind through pleasure.

Rom. 7:21. I find then the law, that, to me who would do good, evil is present with me. What is said is obscure, as being defective; for it ought to have been said thus: I find then the law agreeing with me, who would indeed do the good, but do it not, because evil is present with me. And what he means is of this kind: The knowledge of the good I had from the beginning laid up together with me; and I find also the law agreeing with me and approving, and I would indeed do it, except that I am hindered, and the evil is present with me—that is, The doing of the evil is not done away from me. Yet the blessed John, after interpreting it, as has been said, as defective, hints that it may also be understood otherwise; namely, I find then the law to be not for any other, but for me who would do the good. For the law is a law only for him who would do the good, willing the same things as it. Which is plain also through what follows.

Rom. 7:22–23. For I delight in the law of God according to the inner man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and taking me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. I knew the good even before this; but finding it laid down in writing, I praise the law, and consent to it after the inward man, that is, after my mind. But I see another law, that is, sin; which he called a law, because those who are deceived are persuaded by it, and cannot leave it, as though it were a certain irresistible law. This, then, wars against the law of my mind, that is, against the natural law (and what above he named the inward man, this he plainly names mind), and it conquers; or rather it brings me into captivity, conquering both the natural and the written law. How does it bring into captivity? By the law of sin, that is, by its power, by its tyranny. And he did not say, By the impulse of the flesh, or by nature, but, By the law of sin, which has gained the mastery of my members. And this is no slander of the flesh. For just as a robber, if he seize a palace and dwell in it, this is no slander of the house; so here too, if sin dwell in our members, the flesh is not on that account wicked; for it was tyrannized over. And some say that there are here four laws: one, that of God, which teaches us what is due; a second, that which wars against it, which is the one that enters in upon us by the working of the devil; a third, the law of the mind, that is, the natural; a fourth, the one that is in the members, that is, the sin-loving choice and the disposition toward evil, hardened in us through habit.

Rom. 7:24. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? The natural law did not suffice, the written law had no strength, but the tyranny of sin conquered them both. Whence then is there hope of salvation? Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? that is, from the body that is subject to death. For since it became passible from the transgression, and thereafter easily assailable by sin, it was over—[1] [But someone will say: And since the flesh was easily assailable by sin, why were the first sinners chastised? Because such things were enjoined upon them as they were able to accomplish even while sin held sway.]

Rom. 7:25. I give thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Since he was at a loss, and found no other to deliver him, of necessity he found Christ. Wherefore he also gives thanks to God and the Father, through Jesus our Lord, that is, Christ being the cause of the thanksgiving. For he, he says, accomplished what the law could not; he delivered me from the weakness of the body, strengthening it, so that it is no longer tyrannized over by sin. But just as, having become mortal through the transgression of Adam, it was set as an easy prey to sin; so, through his obedience, when he was crucified and then rose again, it received the rose-gardens of incorruption, and stands nobly against sin.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek breaks off mid-word here (κατ-); the bracketed objection-and-answer that follows is an editorial supplement supplied in the printed edition.

Chapter 8

Rom. 7:25–8:1. So then, I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but with my flesh the law of sin. There is, then, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The word, I serve, stands for, I served; for he calls to mind the former things. For being about to say, There is therefore now no condemnation, and what follows, and to make plain the unspeakable grace of Christ, he calls to mind how we were formerly, and that we understood the good, but with the flesh, that is, with the weakness of the flesh, we fell under the law of sin. But now there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, that is, to those counted worthy of baptism. And since many sin even after baptism, he added: To them who walk not after the flesh; showing that the whole matter is of our own heedlessness. For it is possible now, and easy, not to walk after the flesh, which was then exceeding hard. And we must not only abstain from walking after the flesh, but there must also be present the after the Spirit. For it is not the abstaining from vice that crowns, but the partaking of virtue and of spiritual works.

Rom. 8:2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and of death. By the law of the Spirit he calls the Holy Spirit, just as also by the law of sin he calls sin. And he calls this a law of life, by contrast with the law of sin, which procured death also. For the grace of God put to death both sin and death; and, having made the contest light for us, thus brought us in to the wrestlings. And the wicked tongues dared to call here the Mosaic law a law of sin; which the Apostle nowhere so named, but holy and spiritual. And if they say it is spiritual—the Mosaic also being such—wherein then does it differ from the law of the Spirit? Very greatly. For that of Moses was given by the Spirit only; but this also supplied the Spirit.

Rom. 8:3. For what the law was powerless to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh. He made mention of the Spirit, and now he makes mention also of the Physician, and of the Son, teaching the Trinity. And he seems indeed to speak against the law, but it is not so. For he did not say, The wickedness of the law, wherein it did mischief, but The impotence, wherein it was weak. And how was it weak? Through the flesh, that is, through the carnal mind. And the whole sense of what the Apostle was saying is here uncovered. For he says, as we also said above, that the law indeed taught, but had no strength to conquer the more carnal mind. The Father, then, sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, that is, having flesh like in substance to ours, the sinful flesh, yet sinless. For because he made mention of sin, therefore he added the word likeness. For he did not take other flesh, but this very flesh, and having taken it, he sanctified and crowned it, condemning sin in the flesh which he assumed, and showing that the flesh is not by nature sinful. The like, then, was done by Christ as if one, seeing a woman beaten in the marketplace, should say that he was her son, being himself a king’s son, and so should rescue her from those who beat her. And the words, And for sin, can be understood also more simply, in the sense of, The Father sent the Son concerning sin, that is, for the sake of subduing sin. But the very great John, making this plain, said that Christ convicted sin, which had sinned greatly. For so long as sin put sinners to death, it brought their end upon them according to the law of justice. But when, finding a sinless body, that of the Lord, it put it to death, it was condemned as having done wrong and sinned. God, therefore, sent his Son both to show sin unjust and sinful, and to condemn it justly, that the devil might not be able to say that, as one stronger, Christ conquered me.

Rom. 8:4. so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Lest anyone say: And what is it to me, if Christ conquered in the flesh which he assumed? for this cause he says these things, that, It is rather most of all to you. For the righteousness of the law—that is, the end, the aim (for it had as its aim the justifying of man)—is fulfilled, he says, in us. For what the law willed indeed, but was weak to do, this Christ did for our sakes; and to him belonged the struggle, but we enjoyed the victory. Wherefore we shall not sin, if we walk not after the flesh, that is, if we be not carnally minded; or rather, this is not enough, the not being carnally minded, but there must be present in us, as has also been said above, a spiritual mind also. Wherefore he added: But after the Spirit. For, Turn away from evil, and not only this, but also do good. For let us not, because we have heard that Christ bestowed the victory upon us, sink down altogether; but we must guard the grace of the laver. For most excellently is the wrestling easier for us now than before.

Rom. 8:5. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who are according to the Spirit, on the things of the Spirit. They who have given themselves, he says, to the immoderate slavery of the flesh, ever mind the things of the flesh, thinking round about nothing divine; but they who have wholly submitted themselves to the Spirit both mind and do all things spiritual.

Rom. 8:6. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. By the mind of the flesh he names the grosser understanding, calling it from the worse part. For the flesh in itself has not a mind of its own, but the gross and material understanding is a mind of the flesh, which one might also call a mind that has minded carnal things; just as also the mind of the Spirit is the understanding that minds the things of the Spirit; which begets life, by contrast with the death which the carnal understanding begets; and also peace, by contrast with what follows. For he adds:

Rom. 8:7. Because the mind set on the flesh is enmity toward God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can it be. The spiritual understanding begets peace; but the carnal, enmity against God. So then it does not lift up hands against God, he says, but, not being subject to his law, it is said to be enmity to God. And be not troubled at hearing the words, Neither indeed can be, but understand what is said as it ought to be. For the mind of the flesh cannot, so long as it remains such, be subject to God; as if one should say, The harlot cannot be chaste. For he did not say, It shall not be able, but, It cannot now, while it remains carnal. Since how would countless men simply have become good out of wicked, if the change were impossible? So also in the Gospel the Lord said: A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit; in the sense of, so long as it is corrupt. Let us not, then, be carnally minded, but minded of the Spirit, that we may have peace; ours being the Spirit, through whom all the things in the law that are hard to accomplish are made easier for us.

Rom. 8:8–9. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. That is, They that have the carnal mind cannot please God, so long as they are such. For not the substance of the flesh, but the gross and carnal life, and that which makes the whole man flesh, he so names; as also in the Old Testament: My Spirit shall not abide in these men, because they are flesh. And the words, But you are not in the flesh, are of this kind: He said, You are not enslaved to the carnal life, but to the spiritual. And why did he not say, But you are not in sins? That you may learn that Christ not only quenched the tyranny of sin, but also made the flesh lighter and more spiritual. For just as iron, brought into contact with fire, becomes fire; so also the flesh of those who have received the Spirit through baptism becomes wholly spiritual.

Rom. 8:9. if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. The word, If so be, he sets down not as doubting, but rather as strongly confirming, in the sense of, Since indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, therefore you are in the Spirit.

Rom. 8:9. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. He did not say, But if you have not the Spirit of Christ, because of the harshness of the saying, but, If any man have not the Spirit, indefinitely then, he is none of Christ’s; and with reason. For the seal is the Spirit. So that he who has not the seal is not of the Master who is signified by that seal.

Rom. 8:10. But if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. He comforts them by saying, And if Christ be in you. This some understood to mean Christ; but it is not so, he says; rather the Apostle shows this, that he who has the Spirit has Christ himself also; for where one hypostasis of the Holy Trinity is, there are the rest also. And what shall come to pass, if Christ be in us? That the body is dead, as toward sin. But the Holy Spirit in you is life, that is, not only does it live of itself, but it can also impart life. And the Spirit is life because of righteousness; that is, because we were justified by God; and that righteousness, that justification, is kept in us; and while this is kept, sin is not; and sin not being, neither is death; and thereafter all is life, both in the present age, when we live according to God (for this is life properly, when we are dead toward sin), and in the age to come, the indissoluble life.

Rom. 8:11. But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Again he moves the discourse concerning the resurrection, and says: Be not troubled that you are clothed about with a dead body; for you have the Spirit of God who raised Christ from the dead; and just as he raised him, so also will he assuredly raise you, or rather quicken you. For they too that have not the Spirit shall rise, but to chastisement; and they of the Spirit, to life. For this reason the Apostle did not say, He shall raise the body, but, He shall quicken it, because of the Spirit dwelling in you. He did not say, That dwelt, but, That dwells, that which abides to the end. For God will not endure, seeing his Spirit in you, to fail to bring you into his bridal-chamber; just as, if you have not the Spirit, you shall utterly perish, even though you rise. Put to death, then, the body, that the Spirit may dwell in you, and that through it life may be given you.

Rom. 8:12. So then, brothers, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. Having shown how much the spiritual life profits, that it makes Christ to dwell within, and quickens the mortal bodies, he thereafter brings in the exhortation, and shows that we are not debtors to the flesh, but to the Spirit, evidently. For the things of God came to us by grace; but our own things are a debt, and are demanded inexorably. And interpreting in what sense he said, To the flesh, lest you take this of the nature of the flesh, he added the words, To live after the flesh. For I do not take away the care for the flesh (for we owe it much, to nourish it, to cherish it), but the eagerness that leads toward sin. For he lives after the flesh who makes the flesh lord of our life, and mistress of the soul.

Rom. 8:13. For if you live after the flesh, you shall die; but if you through the Spirit do put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live. By death he means indeed the immortal chastisement in Gehenna; but he also calls the very life here, in wicked deeds, a death; just as, on the other side, if through the spiritual life we put to death the wicked deeds of the body, we shall live both to the indissoluble life and now to the life in virtue. For he that is dead to the world, that man lives. And mark how he did not say, Put to death the body (for this were murder), but, The deeds of the body, and these plainly the wicked ones. For it is not the seeing simply, and the hearing (which are natural works of the body), but the using of these badly.

Rom. 8:14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. He promised above, that, You shall live, if you put to death the wicked deeds. Now he sets down a greater crown and a fuller reward than the former, the divine adoption. Wherefore he did not say, As many as live by the Spirit of God, but, As many as are led, that is, governed and guided; making the Spirit lord both of the soul and of the flesh. For even if you receive baptism, and become a son of God through baptism, yet if you be not led by the Spirit, you have lost the gift. For we all indeed receive the Spirit through the laver; but the being led throughout our whole life, this is demanded of us as our own. Wherefore he did not say, As many as received the Spirit, these are the sons of God, but, As many as are led by the Spirit of God.

Rom. 8:15. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption. He said that they are sons of God who are led by the Spirit; then, since the Jews also partook of the adoption—For I have begotten sons and exalted them, and, Israel is my firstborn son—he shows how great is the distance between our adoption and that of the Jews; and he says that they received a spirit of bondage, so calling the letter of the law, as being given indeed by the Spirit, but rather fitting for slaves. For indeed the punishments too were at hand and bodily—stonings, and burnings, and threats, when, The sword shall devour you; and because of these great was the fear before the eyes. And again the rewards were earthly, and the promises were of the good things of the earth, and the commands were petty and servile. So that they, even if they were called sons, yet were so as slaves; but we, as noble and free. For our rewards too are heavenly, and the kingdom of the heavens; and our chastisements are not stonings, and such things from the priests, but it suffices to be cast out from the mystic table as a son. And our commands are divine, and fitting for the nobly born: Look not with passion; Do not swear; Part with what you have. And they are accomplished not by fear of chastisement, but by desire of the Spirit and by love; and this is plain from the fact that many even surpass many of the commands. And there the Spirit was not; but here the grace of him is rich.

Rom. 8:15. Wherein we cry: Abba, Father. He set down the Hebrew word, which is an utterance of genuine children toward a father. What then? Did not those of old also call God Father? For the God, he says, that begot you, you have forsaken; and again, One God created us; and, One Father of us all. But even if these things were said concerning them, yet no one is found in prayer calling God Father, as now we all do after baptism. And besides, even if some of them ever did so call him, yet it was out of their own understanding; but the faithful, out of a spiritual working.

Rom. 8:16. For the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God. We indeed cry; but the Holy Spirit bears witness to this our calling. How? Through the gifts which he gave us. For when you heal one who is sick, or raise the dead, this is a confirmation that you are a child of God, and that from your Father you have received the power. But many of us have not those gifts; nevertheless, to him who diligently entreats God, and longs after the heavenly things, the soul perceives the adoption of the Spirit.

Rom. 8:17. And if children, then heirs; heirs indeed of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. And we inherit great things; for heirs of God. And what an inheritance is this, which surpasses all conception! Yet a greater honor still we have than this: For we are joint-heirs with Christ.

Rom. 8:17. if indeed we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. Lest anyone say: How are we joint-heirs, being afflicted and driven about? If you suffer with him in the affliction, plainly you shall also be glorified together with him.

Rom. 8:18. For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is about to be revealed to us. Since he said, We suffer with him, lest the faithful be troubled at the name of suffering, he comforts them: Be not afraid; for the sufferings of this present time are not worthy, that is, they are small, when awaited, compared with the glory which shall be revealed. He did not say, The relief that shall be, but, The glory; which is both relief and glory. And by saying, To be revealed, he shows that the glory already exists, hidden; but not given now, that we may learn to endure; since, were it given here, no one would despise the present life, looking to the future.

Rom. 8:19. For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the revelation of the sons of God. Wishing to show how great a glory we shall obtain, he says that the creation itself also shall be changed for the better; and if the creation, much more we. The sense, then, of what is said is of this kind. But what the prophets do, bringing in the rivers clapping their hands, and the mountains leaping, and investing inanimate and insensible things with the faces of living and sentient beings, this he too does, and says that the whole creation has an earnest expectation, that is, a great expectation, that it too shall be changed for the better, and waits for the revelation of the glory of us the sons of God. For then it too shall be glorified with incorruption, when we also are. Whatever, then, you hear said concerning the creation, as concerning a living thing, deem it to be said by way of personification.

Rom. 8:20–21. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected it; in hope, that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. To vanity, that is, to corruption, the creation was made subject, in the sense of, It became corruptible because of you, the man. For since you took a mortal and passible body, therefore the earth too brought forth thorns and thistles, and the heaven, growing old, has need of change. How then did it become corruptible because of another? Because it subsisted wholly on account of man. And the words, Not willingly, signify this, in the sense of, The whole came to pass of the providence of God, and is no achievement of the creation’s own; for it was for your profit, that, seeing its corruption, you might despise it, and look toward heaven. And when you hear the words, In hope, deem it to be said by way of personification, and all the like. And so the creation itself also shall be set free, not you alone; but also that which is set apart from you, the soulless and insensible, when it too partakes of the good things; and it shall no longer be corruptible, but shall follow you. And just as, when you became corruptible, it became corruptible; so, when you are made incorruptible, it too shall be made incorruptible. If, then, the creation suffered because of us, you too ought, suffering for God’s sake, to endure; and if it hopes to be glorified, much more ought you. For just as a father arrays the servants for the glory of his sons; so also God arrays the creation for our glory.

Rom. 8:22–23. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. Through these words he constrains the hearer to despise the present things, as though saying: Do not become worse than the creation, nor make your home in the present things; but rather even groan, that you do not yet possess the glory to come. For if the creation groans, much more we. And this he himself adds, that, We also ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, that is, having tasted of the things to come, groan, because we do not yet possess them. For from the spiritual gifts which we received (for these are the firstfruits), we infer also the things to come. Then, lest he give the heretics occasion to say that, because the world is evil, therefore we groan, he says that, Waiting for the adoption. And how do we who have already been adopted again wait for another? Yes, he says, I speak of an adoption, not that through baptism (for this we have already received), but the perfect glory in the incorruption of the body. For this is the perfect redemption, the liberty and deliverance from death and from the passions, when we shall no longer be turned back from adoption into the bondage of sin.

Rom. 8:24–25. For by hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for it? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Since he was speaking concerning things to come, which are disbelieved by the many, he says: Do not you, the faithful, disbelieve what I say; for from the things which you have already received, believe also concerning the things to come. And just as, having brought in nothing before save faith alone, you received great things from God; so now also use faith toward the hope concerning the things to come. For hope is then truly hope, when it is concerning things not seen. For what a man sees, why does he also hope for it? Let us not, then, seek all things here. For with patience we wait for the things to come. And when you hear of patience, understand that struggles and sweats are signified. For the Christian ought to endure, waiting for the things not seen; and he is persuaded through faith.

Rom. 8:26. And likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities. He made mention of patience; encouraging, then, the hearer, he says that, The Spirit also helps us. So that be not weary in hoping and enduring; for the Spirit helps you, who bring in hope and patience alone.

Rom. 8:26. For what we should pray for as we ought, we know not. He shows how the Spirit helps our infirmities, and says that, We are so infirm, that we do not even know what we ought to pray for; all of us simply, and I, Paul. For he himself also prayed concerning the thorn, and concerning going to Rome; and Moses concerning seeing Palestine; and Jeremiah on behalf of the Jews; being ignorant of what was fitting. And these things Paul now says, since it was likely that the faithful in Rome, being persecuted and afflicted, asked for relief, and not receiving it, were offended. He shows, then, that one knows not how to ask for what is profitable. You ought, then, to endure; but the Spirit alone knows what is profitable for you. Wherefore he adds:

Rom. 8:26. But the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Just as of old God gave many and various gifts to those who were baptized, which also were called spirits, and one had the gift of prophecy, another of wisdom, another some other thing; so also he gave a gift of prayer, and it too was called a spirit. For since, being ignorant of many of the things profitable to us, we ask for the things not profitable, there came a gift of prayer upon some one of those of that time, and he both stood asking for the common profit, and taught the others to ask. By the Spirit, then, here he calls the gift, and the soul that receives the gift of prayer, and intercedes with God and groans. For with much compunction that spiritual man stood, and with many groanings; whose symbol even now is the deacon, who makes the more extended and earnest supplications on behalf of all.

Rom. 8:27. And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God. Not as though God were ignorant, he says, does the man stand asking. For he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, that is, of the spiritual man; that he asks the things which seem good to God, on behalf of the faithful in the Church; for these are the saints. And this comes to pass, that we may learn to ask according to God, that is, the things pleasing to God. Since, then, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf, grieve not, you who are afflicted.

Rom. 8:28. And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Both the things said before—that The creation was made subject to vanity, and that it shall be made incorruptible; and again the words, What we should pray for we know not—were certain exhortations to those in Rome who were ill-treated, as we noted; but the things now are most manifest. For to them that love God, all things, even the things that seem grievous and afflicting, work together for good. He did not say that nothing grievous befalls them that love God, but that it comes upon them indeed, yet God uses the grievous things to the profit of those ill-treated. Then, since this seemed past belief, he confirms it from the things gone by, saying: To the called according to purpose. For he called you, he says, when you were far off, and made you his own; and how much more, when you are called, will he not lay hold of you? And a man becomes called according to purpose, that is, according to his own choice. For the calling does not suffice (else all would have been saved; for all were called), but there is need also of the choice.

Rom. 8:29–30. For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whom he foreordained, them he also called. God foreknows those worthy of the calling, and then thus foreordains. Now the foreknowledge is first, then the foreordination. And by foreordination understand the unchangeable good will of God. He foreknew, then, that Paul is worthy of the calling of the Gospel, and so he foreordained, that is, unchangeably determined, and fixed it, to call him. He makes them, then, conformed to the image of his Son, whom he foreknows as worthy. For what the Only-begotten is by nature, this they have become by grace, being styled sons of God and heirs. And he is the firstborn among many brethren according to the dispensation; for according to the Godhead he is Only-begotten. For since the flesh that was assumed was anointed by the presence of the whole of him who anoints, and became the firstfruits of us, the condemned nature being sanctified in Christ, with reason he is firstborn, and we are styled his brethren.

Rom. 8:30. And those he called, these he also justified. Having, through the regeneration of the laver, set them free from their sins, and made them just.

Rom. 8:30. And those he justified, these he also glorified. Having counted them worthy of the adoption, and given them the other gifts.

Rom. 8:31. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Do you see that here he most evidently makes plain that he is making his discourse toward those who are afflicted? For such things are as if to say: If we were counted worthy of so many good things while we were enemies, after being justified and glorified, how much more? And God being for us, who is against us? For though the whole world rise up, the wisdom of God will turn the uprising to our salvation and glory.

Rom. 8:32. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? I pass over, he says, the other things which I said before, that he justified, that he glorified. But consider this, that His own, that is, the Only-begotten, the beloved, him who is by nature of him (for there are also adopted sons of him through baptism)—him, then, he spared not, but delivered him up for us; and that, for all, that is, for the noble, the ignoble, the lowly, the glorious; and not simply, but he delivered him up to slaughter; and shall he not now freely give us all things? For he that gave the Master, shall he not give the possessions? So that, since he gives not, it is not profitable, and for this reason he gives not. Do not, then, vehemently long for ease, you who are afflicted for Christ’s sake; for if it be profitable, you shall receive it.

Rom. 8:33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Since, along with the other trials, the faithful were also reproached by the Jews, as fickle, and as having suddenly fallen away into Christianity, he says that, God chose you, and who is he that lays anything to your charge in the election of God? If a craftsman choose something, no one blames him; and when God has chosen, who is he that brings a charge?

Rom. 8:34. It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again from the dead. He did not say, It is God that forgave the sins, but what was much greater, It is God that justifies. Let us not, then, fear either those who tempt, or those who reproach. For God chose us, and made us just; and he that died for us, yea rather is risen again, is Christ the Son of God; who then is he that condemns those counted worthy of so great a glory?

Rom. 8:34. Who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. The words, He makes intercession for us, he said, that he might show the love of Christ toward us; for, even when he had fulfilled the things of the bodily dispensation, he did not break off his loving disposition toward us, but is an ambassador on our behalf; for this is the meaning of He makes intercession. For this word surely brings in no diminution of the glory of the Only-begotten. For having first said, Who is at the right hand of God (which is indicative of his majesty), he therefore added the words, He makes intercession; signifying nothing else through this, than, as has been said, his love toward us; since concerning the Father also it has been said, As though God did beseech you through us. Was, then, the glory of God on this account diminished, because he beseeches? Nay, this is altogether indicative of his unspeakable care for us. And some understood the words, He makes intercession for us, thus: that inasmuch as he bears the body, and did not lay it aside, as the Manichaeans rave, for this reason there is an embassy and intercession toward the Father. For the Father, beholding it, is reminded of the love toward men, for which his Son bore the body, and inclines to compassion and mercy. And these things Paul says, as I have often said, comforting the afflicted, and showing them that the Spirit too makes intercession for us, and the Father spared not his own Son for our sakes, but also justified us and glorified us, and the Son makes intercession for us. And thereafter we ought not to be faint-hearted and cast down.

Rom. 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of God? Tribulation, or distress, or famine, or persecution, or peril, or nakedness, or sword? After showing the unspeakable love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit toward us, as though become inspired, he says: Who shall separate us from the love of God? For him who was so loved, and counted worthy of so great a providence, there is nothing that shall be able to part. And by the name of tribulation, and of distress, he comprehended all the things that can do hurt, even though he did not enumerate these severally.

Rom. 8:36. As it is written: For your sake we are put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep for slaughter. Lest the being afflicted and straitened should seem to be a matter of abandonment, he brings forward also the prophet proclaiming these things beforehand, and pointing to it as the greatest consolation, that to suffer for God, or rather to be killed all the day long, which comes to pass by the choice; for by nature this is impossible. And this being killed is to be sacrificed to God; for this he hints by saying, As sheep for the slaughter. And that, just as those resist not the one who slays them, so neither do we.

Rom. 8:37. But in all these things we more than conquer through him that loved us. Having said, We are killed, he sets down also the consolation, lest anyone, minded in human fashion, should give up; and he says, not that, We conquer, but, We more than conquer; that is, with all ease, without sweats and toils, and in these very things through which we are plotted against. For this is the most perfect victory, when, being driven about, we prevail over those who persecute us. And disbelieve not; for it is God that fights along with us; nay, he also loved us. So that it is no marvel, if we more than conquer in the midst of the terrors.

Rom. 8:38–39. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither powers nor things present nor things to come, neither height nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. First he said that God loved us; then thus he sets down his own love toward God, that he might not seem to say anything great concerning himself. He says, then, that, We so depend upon the love toward God, that not only shall the terrors allotted to this life be unable to remove us from it, but, even if some tyrant should threaten the death to come that is in chastisement, or should promise the indissoluble life, endeavoring to make us depart from God. And why do I speak to you of kings and tyrants? Not even angels, nor all the powers above, shall be able to turn us aside; nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, that is, the things in the heavens, nor depth, that is, the things in the earth, nor glory, nor inglory. And some understand by height the kingdom of the heavens, and by depth the failure of it. But even if there were another creature, as great as the visible and the intelligible, it would not remove me from that love. And he said this, not as though the angels separated men from Christ, but setting down the discourse by way of supposition, and wishing out of abundance to show the surpassing greatness of the love of God; not that which the Hebrews say they have, but the love that is in Christ Jesus. For the Jews too say that they love God, but not in Christ Jesus; for they have not the faith toward Christ.

Chapter 9

Rom. 9:1–2. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not (my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit), that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. Having spoken before this of the faith in Christ, he had shown that not all who are of Abraham are his seed. And lest he should seem to say these things out of passion, he anticipates this, and speaks the kinder things concerning the Hebrews, doing away with this suspicion, and confesses that he loves them beyond measure. And that he may not be disbelieved, he says, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. And he brings forward three witnesses—Christ, his own conscience, and the Holy Spirit—and says that I have great sorrow, eating away my heart, on behalf of the Hebrews, because they have come to be outside of grace; for this is what he is about to say.

Rom. 9:3. For I myself could wish to be accursed from Christ, on behalf of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Learn first what the anathema is: a separation, an estrangement. For just as no one dares to touch the votive offering that is dedicated to God, so neither the thing accursed—yet in another manner. For the sacred offering no one dares draw near to, for honor’s sake, as being laid up for God; but from the accursed thing all separate themselves, as from a thing unhallowed and estranged from God. What, then, is it that Paul says? For he seems to say things contrary to what was spoken above. For then he said that No one shall separate us from the love of God; but now he says that he prays to be separated from Christ. He seems, then, to say contrary things, but it is not so; for this also he says on behalf of the love of God. For since all accused God, that the Hebrews—who had been counted worthy of the adoption, and glorified, and named the forefathers of Christ—he had cast out and dishonored, while he brought in instead those who had never acknowledged him, those of the nations; and they murmured against Providence, and blasphemed, as though these things were done unjustly, and as though God had deceived their forefathers, to whom also he had promised the gifts: Paul, grieving and stung on behalf of the glory of God, prayed to be himself accursed, so that those might be saved, and the blasphemy against God be undone. You see, then, that for the love toward God he prays, if it be possible, to be separated from the choir that is about Christ—not from his love, but from his glory, and from that enjoyment; just as fathers also often separate themselves from their sons, that the sons may be glorified—not separating themselves from the love of their children, but themselves willing to be without honor, that those may be in good repute. I myself, then, he says, who have set right ten thousand things, who have loved God beyond nature, pray, on behalf of the glory of God, to fall away from the glory of Christ. And this is not to fall away, but rather to attain. And the words, On behalf of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, show forth his inmost affection, and how he is set on fire on their behalf.

Rom. 9:4–5. Who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed to the ages. Amen. He praises and magnifies them here, that, as I said, he may not seem to speak out of passion. And gently he also hints that God indeed willed them to be saved; and this is plain from the things in which he counted them worthy of adoption and glory, and from the things he promised to the fathers, and the other excellent things he gave them, and that he was well pleased that Christ should be born of them; but they thrust away the benefaction. Wherefore also, struck with amazement at the love of God, he refers the thanksgiving to the Only-begotten, and says, Who is over all, God blessed. For even if others, he says, blaspheme, as though the receiving of the nations were not done with good reason, yet we who know the mysteries of Christ know that he is worthy to be glorified. And from this, moreover, Arius is put to shame, since Paul proclaims Christ to be God over all.

Rom. 9:6. Not as though the word of God has fallen to the ground. I indeed, he says, am set on fire, because God is blasphemed, and for this reason I would wish that all might be saved; yet even if not all are saved, God has not thereby lied in the things he promised to the fathers, nor has his word fallen through. For what he promised, that also he did—even though the blasphemers say that he promised to some and gave to others. For hear what follows.

Rom. 9:6–7. For they are not all Israel, who are of Israel; neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children. What God promised, he says, that also he did. For he said, To you and to your seed will I give it. Let us see, then, what manner of thing the seed is. For not all who are of Abraham are simply, on that account, his seed; neither are those who are of Israel, on that account, Israelites; but those who were begotten after the manner of Isaac, and those who are worthy of the virtue of Israel, through which he saw God. For he did not say, Those who are of Jacob, but, Those who are of Israel, making mention of the honored name. If, then, you learn who are begotten after the manner of Isaac, then you will find the promise undeceiving; for to these were given the things promised. So that God is not worthy to be blasphemed. For what he said, he did, even though some do not understand it.

Rom. 9:8–9. But, In Isaac shall your seed be called. That is, they who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise: At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. Not I, he says, interpret to you what the true seed of Abraham is, but the Old Testament, which said, In Isaac shall your seed be called. So that as many as were born after the manner of Isaac, that is, of promise, these are truly the children of Abraham, or rather of God. For the whole was of the divine word. For neither was Isaac begotten by law and power of nature, but according to the power of promise: For at this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. The word of God, then, fashioned Isaac and fathered him. So also indeed with us, the children of God: in the font, as in a womb, divine words are spoken over us, and those words refashion us; for being baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we are begotten. And just as there he promised the birth of Isaac, and then afterward fulfilled it, so also our birth he promised through the prophets, and after these things he brought it to completion; so that the words, In Isaac shall your seed be called, are thus to be understood, as meaning, Those are the seed of Abraham who were begotten after the manner of the birth of Isaac, that is, through the divine word. The word of God, then, has not fallen through, but to the true seed, that is, to the believers of the nations, who became children of God, as Isaac also was, inasmuch as these too are of promise, he has given what he undertook. But if the Jews should say that the words, In Isaac shall your seed be called, signify this—that those born of Isaac are counted to Abraham for seed—then the Idumaeans also, and all those, ought to be reckoned the seed of Abraham. For their forefather Esau was a son of Isaac. But now they are not only not reckoned sons of Abraham, but are also exceedingly estranged, and are named of another race.

Rom. 9:10. And not only this, but Rebecca also, having conceived by one, even by our father Isaac. He showed that, though there were many and diverse children of Abraham, Isaac was called the seed; so that those also who are born like him are the seed. And now, then, he says that Not only in the case of Isaac may you see this, but, what is greater, also in the case of brethren of the same father and the same mother, and twins, even Esau and Jacob. For neither did these enjoy the same things, but the one was chosen, and the other was hated. So that do not demand reasons, why he chose those of the nations, and made them the seed of Abraham, or rather a divine seed, but thrust away the Hebrews.

Rom. 9:11–13. For though they were not yet born, and had done nothing good or bad—so that God’s purpose according to election might stand, not from works but from him who calls—it was said to her, The elder will serve the younger; as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. It is necessary for us to state beforehand the sense of the things that are about to be said at length by the Apostle. For since many were saying, Wherefore were the nations preferred before the Hebrews (for no one could say that it was for virtue’s sake, since all sinned)—the Apostle gathers together many perplexing things, to us indeed incomprehensible, but comprehensible to God alone; and he shows first, in the two twin brethren, that not for virtue was the chosen one chosen, nor for wickedness was the hated one hated (for they had done no good or evil, being still in the womb of their mother); but by the divine foreknowledge, that is, by the foreknowledge, the one was chosen and loved, and the other was hated; even as the prophet also says, Jacob have I loved, but him have I hated; that the whole may be of God, and of his purpose and foreknowledge. And why do I speak of these? Nay, the Israelites also all made the calf, and some were chastised, but some not. And Pharaoh was indeed hard in truth; but so were many others also. How then is he alone chastised? You see that these things are incomprehensible to men, but comprehensible to God alone. So, then, both the election of the nations and the casting away of the Hebrews seem to us beyond reason, but to God are most just. This is the sense of the whole passage.

Rom. 9:14. What then shall we say? Is there injustice with God? By no means! Therefore neither in our case—of the nations and of the Jews—is God unjust.

Rom. 9:15. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. He adds, as has been said above, yet another testimony from the Old Testament, showing that God alone knows those who are worthy either of honor or of chastisement. For though all alike sinned, when they made the calf, nevertheless God has mercy on some, but delivers others to the Levites for slaughter. And not even Moses, great as he was, knows the cause; and do you demand causes, why those of the nations were preferred, and that being sinners? And yet Paul could have told the cause, which he told elsewhere, namely, that the Israelites supposed to be justified of works, but these of faith and grace; yet he does not say it now, out of abundance stopping the mouths of the curious, and persuading them to make no reckoning of the things of God.

Rom. 9:16. So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. Isaac indeed willed to bless Esau; and Esau ran into the field, that, having taken game, he might be blessed. But God, by a righteous judgment, made Jacob, as being altogether worthy, to obtain the blessing. The Apostle seems here to do away with free will; but it is not so. But just as in the case of a house we say that the whole is the craftsman’s—though it needs both material and those who work together with him; yet nevertheless, since the end is his, we say that the whole is his—so also in the case of God we say that the whole is God’s, though God has need also of our readiness; but since he it is who brings to completion, and he who crowns, and he who condemns, we say that the whole is God’s.

Rom. 9:17. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this same purpose have I raised you up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Just as in the case of those who made the calf, he says, some were saved, but some chastised, God alone knowing those worthy either of salvation or of chastisement, so also Pharaoh alone—though many others also became wicked—tasted of the wrath of God; for to this very end have I raised you up, he says, O Pharaoh, that is, I brought you into the midst, that through you my power might be made manifest, and that many might be brought low, my name being declared, as of one righteous and powerful, throughout all the earth.

Rom. 9:18. So then he has mercy on whom he wills, and whom he wills he hardens. He brings in the conclusion, and declares that one ought not to demand a reckoning of God. For whom he wills he has mercy on, as on the Israelites who made the calf; and whom he wills he hardens, as Pharaoh. But what is the meaning of He hardens? For it seems absurd. Just as the sun hardens the clay, so also God is said to harden the clay heart of Pharaoh. How? By his longsuffering; for being longsuffering toward him, he wrought him the harder; just as if one has a wicked servant, and treats him kindly, he renders him the more wicked—not as though himself teaching him the wickedness, but as the other uses the longsuffering for the increase of his wickedness, despising it, as it were.

Rom. 9:19. You will say then to me, Why does he yet find fault? For who has resisted his will? He is eager throughout, as I have often said, to show that to God alone are known these dispensations and these judgments; and from every side he gathers together many perplexities, and does not bring in the solutions, that, having straitened the hearer, he may show that these things are incomprehensible and inconceivable. What, then, he says here is of this sort. He brings in an objection, then, and a perplexity, that, If he hardens whom he wills, why does he yet find fault with him that stumbles? For who was able to withstand his will? He willed, and hardened, and with reason did the hardened one stumble; how then does he find fault with him, and chastise him? This objection, indeed, is brought in for the sake of showing that these things are perplexing, and comprehensible to him alone; wherefore neither does he himself solve it, but stops the mouth of him that is perplexed, saying:

Rom. 9:20. Rather, O man, who are you to answer back to God? You see how he checks the unseasonable curiosity, and lays a bridle upon it, teaching us to know what God is, and what man. Who are you? A judge with him of the principle? A judge with him of what ought to be done, or not? For to examine that thus it was fitting, and not thus it was fitting, belongs to one who answers back, and sets himself against God. But one ought not to do this, but to be persuaded of the things that come to pass, however they come to pass.

Rom. 9:20–21. Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus? Or has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel to honor, and another to dishonor? Paul used this illustration, not that he might do away with our free will, nor that he might show us to be idle and unmoved; but teaching how one ought to be persuaded by God, and to display an intense silence and obedience. For just as, he says, the potter, of the same lump, makes what he wills, and none of the vessels answers back to him, so also do you, with regard to this One, who, of the same race of men, chastises some and honors others, be not over-curious, but only worship, and imitate the clay; and just as that follows the hand of the potter, so do you also follow the mind of him that dispenses. But know, O reader, that just as in the case of the vessels, it is not the lump that makes some honorable and some dishonorable (for it is one and the same), but the use of those who handle them, so also in the case of men, it is not nature that makes some worthy of chastisement and some of crowns (for it is one), but the will.

Rom. 9:22–24. But if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make known his power, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction; and that he might make known the riches of his glory upon the vessels of mercy, which he had before prepared to glory; even us, whom he also called, not only of the Jews, but also of the nations. Having stopped the mouths of those who undertake to busy themselves, now he brings in the solution; and what he says is of this sort: A vessel of wrath was Pharaoh, that is, a man kindling the wrath of God by his own hardness. This man God endured, that is, bore with, suffered; for he counted him worthy of much longsuffering. But that man used this longsuffering for hardness, and became a vessel of wrath fit for display, fitted to destruction, that is, made complete by himself and from himself. For there lacked nothing of the things that destroyed him, but he made complete all things that bore him toward destruction. And the word, Endured, stands for, brought into the midst, so that—since he was not bettered through the longsuffering—he might punish him, and show his own power toward the bettering of others; just as, then, having chastised this man, who became a vessel of wrath out of his own choice, he showed his own power, so, having had mercy on those of the nations who had sinned much, because they made themselves worthy of mercy, he made known the riches of his glory. And he did not say, Of his loving-kindness, but, Of his glory; for this is the perfect glory of God, to have mercy. And the word, Which he had before prepared, stands for, which he foreknew. And he did not say that he saved all those of the nations, but, Of the nations, that is, some. So that be not offended, O Jew; for behold, even in the case of the nations, some are had mercy on, but some not.

Rom. 9:25–26. As he says also in Hosea, I will call that which was not my people, my people; and her that was not beloved, beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there shall they be called the sons of the living God. Lest the Jews should say, You deal falsely with us, Paul, in saying such things, he brings forward Hosea also, crying aloud and saying, I will call that which was not my people, my people. For who was the not-people? The nations. And who was she that was not beloved? Their Church. But nevertheless they became both a people, and beloved, and—what is greater—sons of the living God. And if anyone should say that this was spoken concerning the Jews, who were thankless, and then taken in, this is nothing. For if it holds of those, what hindered it from going forward also to the nations?

Rom. 9:27–28. But Isaiah cries concerning Israel, Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved. For he is finishing the account, and cutting it short in righteousness; because a short account will the Lord make upon the earth. He was not content with Hosea, but brings forward Isaiah also as a witness, crying aloud, that is, proclaiming with boldness, and not drawing back, that not all who are of Israel shall be saved, but the worthy; for this is, The remnant, that is, the election; whom God left, and set apart, as being worthy, plainly. And in saying, As the sand of the sea, he puts them in remembrance of the old promise, of which they made themselves unworthy. Be not troubled, then, as though the promise had been belied, seeing that all the prophets proclaim beforehand that not all are worthy of salvation. Now he shows how the remnant shall be saved, and says that there is no need of toils and roundabout ways, and of the misery that is in the works of the law; but God, he says, finishing and cutting short the word of faith upon all the earth, will make this in righteousness, that is, so as to justify those who receive it. For if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. This is the shortened account, the brief words of faith.

Rom. 9:29. And as Isaiah said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we should have been as Sodom, and been made like to Gomorrah. Having said that the remnant shall be saved, now he interprets what this is, and says that, What God left us is a choice seed and a leaven. For instead of, He chose out, he has set down, He left.

Rom. 9:30–31. What shall we say then? That the nations, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, following after the law of righteousness, did not attain to the law of righteousness. Here he brings in the clearest solution, showing whence the nations were taken in, but the Israelites thrust away; and he says that the nations, holding fast the righteousness which is of faith, were truly justified; but the Israelites, following after and seeking the law of righteousness, that is, the one of works, did not attain to being justified. For the law which is of works could not justify.

Rom. 9:32. Why? Because they pursued it not by faith, but as if by works. You ask, whence the Israelites failed of being justified, though striving much? Learn that they sought to be justified not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. But by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. And mark how he did not say, By works, but, As it were by works; that he might show that not truly, nor did they give heed to the works, but as in hypocrisy.

Rom. 9:32–33. For they stumbled at the stone of stumbling; as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and whoever believes on him shall not be put to shame. He who stumbles, stumbles from gaping after other things, and not giving heed to the things before him. And the Jews, then, from gaping after the law, stumbled at Christ, that is, disbelieved. And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, Christ was named from the end and the outcome of those who disbelieved. For he in himself was set as a foundation and a sure ground; for he says, Whoever believes on him shall not be put to shame, whether Greek or Jew. So that it is faith which works the whole and justifies, not works.

Chapter 10

Rom. 10:1. Brethren, the good pleasure of my heart, and my prayer to God for Israel, is to salvation. Since he is about to lay hold of them, he smooths the way beforehand, that they may not suppose that he speaks the things he is about to say out of enmity; and he says that The good pleasure, that is, my will, and my vehement desire—and not only this, but also my prayer—is on your behalf; not that you may only be delivered from chastisement, but that you may also be saved. How, then, could I be hostilely disposed toward you, for whose salvation I pray?

Rom. 10:2–3. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God. He seems indeed to show them favor from the outset, softening them. For in saying, They have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge, he shows them worthy rather of mercy, not of chastisement. For they are zealous, he says, on behalf of the law that was given by God; only their zeal is not according to knowledge, since they will not know that this law has been brought to an end and abolished. Going on lower down, however, he shows their contentiousness and their love of rule. For seeking to establish their own righteousness, that is, the one which is of the law, the one wrought out of their own works and toils—which also has fallen, and cannot stand—they neither established this, nor submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. Which is a sign of arrogance, and of a mind that loves rule, or rather is senseless: to seek ever to set up what cannot be set up, and in this to wear oneself out in vain. But the righteousness of God is the one which is of faith; for it has no toils of ours, but the whole is a free gift of God.

Rom. 10:4. For Christ is the end of the law to righteousness to everyone that believes. Since he had altogether named righteousness that which is in the law, lest those of the Hebrews who had believed should say, We have therefore transgressed, in forsaking this righteousness; and again, lest those still disbelieving should be able to say, Since righteousness is altogether in the law, even if we have not now fulfilled it, yet assuredly at some time we shall fulfill it—he says, doing away with both these things, that Christ is the end of the law. For what the law indeed willed, but did not bring to completion, this Christ brought to completion, namely, the justifying of man. So that say not, you who have believed of the Hebrews, that you have transgressed, but rather you have seen the will of the law fulfilled in you through the faith in Christ. Neither again, you Jew who have not yet believed, hope that righteousness shall be brought to completion for you through the law; for Christ is the perfecter of this. So that if you mean to have righteousness, receive Christ through faith, and you shall have the whole.

Rom. 10:5. For Moses writes of the righteousness which is of the law, That the man who does those things shall live by them. He gives assurance of what he said, that what the law did not bring to completion, this Christ fulfilled; and he says that Moses says man is justified through the works; but the works no one was found to have fulfilled. So that by the law it is not possible to be justified.

Rom. 10:6–10. But the righteousness which is of faith speaks thus: Say not in your heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down) or, Who shall descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up again from the dead). But what does it say? The word is near you, in your heart, and in your mouth; that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. Since you have heard that the works of the law cannot justify a man, learn how in Christ we are justified without toil and easily; for he seeks faith from the heart, and confession from the mouth. But it is necessary to make clear the saying more broadly, the words, Who shall ascend into heaven? and, Who shall descend into the abyss? They were taken by the Apostle from Moses, understood according to his great wisdom. For Moses indeed, so far as the letter goes, says this: The commandment of God lies before your eyes, O Jew; and you need neither to ascend into heaven, that you may find it, nor to descend into the abyss, that you may receive it, nor to cross to the regions beyond the sea; but it is near you, in your mouth, and in your understanding. For God showed you all things through the law. Moses, then, according to the letter, seems to say these things thus; but the Apostle took them to Christ; that is, Doubt not, neither say in your understanding, How did Christ come down from the heavens, and become incarnate? or, How, having died, did he rise from the abyss, that is, from the lowest regions? But believe that he came down, being made flesh, and again, having been buried, ascended, being risen; for God raised him. So that even from the dignity of him that raised him, you can easily believe. What, then, is easier than this, when you have salvation in your mouth? But lest, on account of its being easy, the matter of faith should seem worthy of contempt, he shows that against faith too are set the reasonings of unbelief, and that one must stand nobly against these. For say not, he says, in your heart this and that; that is, Conceive not at all any thought of doubt.

Rom. 10:10. For with the heart it is believed to righteousness; but with the mouth confession is made to salvation. The heart too has need of the mouth. For what profit is it to believe in the soul, but not to confess before men? For the faith which is according to the understanding justifies; but the complete salvation lies in the confession. For then faith shines forth, and the more are profited. The mouth, however, has need also of the heart. For many indeed confess Christ with the mouth in hypocrisy; but their heart is far off from him.

Rom. 10:11–13. For the Scripture says, Whoever believes on him shall not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord of all is rich to all that call upon him. For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He said that With the heart it is believed, and with the mouth confession is made; and he brings forward from the Scripture testimonies both of faith and of confession, and of the calling upon. For by saying, Whoever believes, he made plain the faith, through which being justified one shall not be put to shame; and by, If he shall call upon, the confession, which works salvation. Everyone, then, whether Jew or Greek, is acceptable with God. For the same Lord of all is rich to all that call upon him; that is, having his riches in these, in those that call upon him; as if one should say, The king is rich in gold and silver. So that, since he has for riches those who believe, despair not, as having sinned things past pardon; for he will receive you, that he may make you a part of his own riches.

Rom. 10:14–15. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without someone preaching? And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of peace, who bring good news of good things! He said above, Whoever shall call upon him shall be saved; and now at length he accuses the Jews, as not having called upon him. But why did they not call upon him? Because they did not believe. And why did they not believe? Was it not because they did not hear? And yet they did hear. Then an objection: And how could they hear without a preacher? Then again a solution: And yet men preached, and many were sent to them. And whence is it plain that these are the very ones sent? At this point, then, he brings in the prophet, saying, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things! For the apostles preached nothing else in their words, save the unspeakable good things, and the peace that came to pass between God and men. So that the not-believing is the charge of those men, who did not receive the preachers.

Rom. 10:16. But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? Since he said that those who preached the gospel were attested by the prophet as being from God, lest anyone should say, And yet, if they were from God, all ought to have obeyed them, he says that truly not all obeyed the Gospel; but nothing from this touches the truth; for this very thing Isaiah says many years before: Who has believed our report? For the word, Who? stands here for, Few; that is, Few believed our report.

Rom. 10:17. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. This indeed holds to the sequence of what went before, and he brings it in as a kind of conclusion to the things that were said; but he also hints at yet another thing. For since the Jews at every season sought signs, and the very sight of the resurrection, he says that Faith comes by hearing. And more than hearing one ought not to seek anything else. For it is not a hearing of words simply spoken, but of words of God. So that if you seek words, as being from God, believe also the words, as spoken from God.

Rom. 10:18. But I say, Have they not heard? Yea truly, their sound went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. As though someone had said, And what is this to these men, if those who preached the gospel were sent, but these heard not at all? he says that The whole world heard, and did these not hear, among whom the apostles spent so long a time, and from among whom they were? And how could that be reasonable?

Rom. 10:19. But I say, Did not Israel know? Again another objection: If the apostles preached, but these did not understand, are they then not worthy of pardon? Then he brings in also the solution of this.

Rom. 10:19. First Moses says, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no nation; by a nation without understanding will I anger you. Even if from nowhere else, he says, yet at least from the honor with which those of the nations were honored, they ought to have understood. For when they saw the idolaters suddenly counted worthy of so many good things, they ought, being provoked to jealousy, to have considered that, This is the nation concerning which Moses spoke. For not only the greatness of the honor was sufficient to cast them into jealousy, but also that those who were honored were so worthless as not even to be reckoned a nation. For by them that are no nation, he says, I will provoke you to jealousy, by a nation without understanding. For what was more without understanding than the Greeks, who gaped after wood and stones?

Rom. 10:20. But Isaiah is very bold, and says, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest to them that asked not after me. Having said that First Moses says, he tells also of another prophet, saying the same things both more plainly and more clearly. For Isaiah, he says, is very bold, and says; that is, he dared to speak the truth naked, and to be in peril, rather than to be silent. I was found, he says, of those of the nations, of them that sought me not, nor asked after me; for whom Moses named a nation without understanding, these Isaiah names men not seeking, nor asking after him, as plainly unlearned and haters of the word. From all these things, then, the Jews ought to have understood, how they themselves were thrust away, but others received.

Rom. 10:21. But to Israel he says, All the day long have I stretched forth my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people. Lest they should be able to say, To the nations you were found, but with us you would not deign to speak, he says, All the day long, that is, all the time, have I stretched forth my hands, so as to draw you to myself; but you showed yourselves a disobedient and gainsaying people. Yours, then, is the charge, not mine. For I stretched forth my hands, and besought; but you did not obey. So that it is plain that those of Israel both heard and knew; but they would not obey.

Chapter 11

Rom. 11:1–2. I say then, Has God cast away his people whom he foreknew? God forbid! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew. Having called them a disobedient people, he is now in perplexity, that, Surely, then, since they became a disobedient people, the promises have not fallen away? And he says, God forbid! For he has not cast away his people whom he foreknew; that is, whom he foreknew to be fit toward receiving the faith. For I also am an Israelite. Then, lest they should say to him, And what are you? he adds further, He has not cast away his people; as if to say, There are others too, those three thousand, and the five thousand, and the ten thousands, who of the people believed, as the Acts of the Apostles make plain.

Rom. 11:5–6. And if by grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. Out of abundance he shows those of the Hebrews who disbelieved to be without excuse. For you cannot say, he says, that God demands works and toils, but the whole is of grace. Why, then, will you not be saved, when the good thing lies so toil-free before you? Know that those who were willing were saved, who also are the people of God. God, then, has not cast away his people, the people worthy of salvation. But if we please him of works, then grace no longer has any passage; since, if grace has passage, the work thereupon is gone, and is no longer a work. For where grace is, work is not sought; and where work is, grace is not.

Rom. 11:7. What then? That which Israel seeks after, this it obtained not; but the election obtained it. Having shown what grace is, that it is the gift of God apart from works, he says further that the Israelites, seeking to be justified, obtained it not, as seeking it badly, and of works, which is impossible. But the election, that is, the elect, obtained it. And by this word he makes manifest the greatness of the good things, and that the whole is of the grace of God. For we too in common speech say, So-and-so obtained it, meaning, He found an unlooked-for find.

Rom. 11:8. And the rest were hardened (as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear) to this present day. He brings forward Isaiah as a witness of the hardening, that he may not seem to speak things of his own. And the words, God gave, stand for, He left them to have a spirit of stupor, he permitted, he let them be. And by stupor he means the abiding and unalterable disposition of the soul toward evils. For to be stupefied is to be fixed somewhere and nailed fast. The incurable, then, and unalterable quality of their mind he named stupor. For though they had eyes, so as to see the wonders, and ears, to hear the teaching of the Lord, they used none of these toward what they ought. And not only in the time of Christ, but also in the time of the apostles; For to this present day, he says.

Rom. 11:9–10. And David says, Let their table become a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling-block, and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always. Being unalterable, he says, in their wickedness, they shall be chastised with the uttermost things. For their table, that is, all their good things and their luxury, shall be changed into the contrary; and let them be ensnared, and taken, becoming an easy prey to all, and ever having stumbling-blocks and offenses in their life. And showing that they suffer these things on account of sins, he said the words, To a recompense. But their eyes also were darkened, both the spiritual altogether, and the bodily too, from their calamities. And their back was bent down; for they serve the Romans an unending servitude; for this is the word, Bow down, as those who shall unceasingly receive this servitude.

Rom. 11:11. I say then: Did they stumble so as to fall? By no means. Having sufficiently laid hold of them, now he contrives for them a consolation, and asks, Have they stumbled that they should fall? that is, Have they then sinned incurably? God forbid! For they have indeed stumbled, that is, struck against, but not that they should fall utterly, never able to be set upright; for they shall also be saved at the time of the consummation, as he will say further on.

Rom. 11:11. But rather through their fall salvation is come to the nations, to provoke them to jealousy. Two things he wishes to set right by what he now says: both to console the Jews, and to put down the conceit of the nations; and he says that salvation came to the nations, these having struck against and disbelieved. For the sequence indeed required that these should be saved first, then those of the nations; but since these were disobedient, those were called; and in the Gospels this is in many places made plain. And those of the nations were saved to provoke them to jealousy, that is, that the honor of the nations, stinging these, might at least persuade them out of contentiousness to draw near.

Rom. 11:12. But if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the nations, how much more their fullness? If, when they struck against, he says, they became the occasion of salvation to so many, and in their being cast away those were taken in, and their failure became the riches of the nations, How much more their fullness, that is, when they shall all be saved, having turned again? And these things he says, showing them favor, and consoling them. For not because the Israelites stumbled, on this account would the nations have been saved, had they not had faith.

Rom. 11:23–24. And they also, if they abide not in unbelief, shall be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? If you, the man of the nations, he says, being evil by nature, and having fathers like to a wild olive, were cut off from them through faith, and were grafted contrary to nature into the good olive, namely into the patriarchs, how much more shall the Jew, having by nature the good, by being taken up again into his own olive, that is, the fathers? And when you hear Paul saying, According to nature, understand the likely and the consistent; as, for instance, it was likely that the child of holy Abraham should be holy; just as again, Contrary to nature, stands for, the unlikely and the inconsistent, that the child of the abominable Greek should become holy.

Rom. 11:25–26. For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery (lest you should be wise in your own conceits), that hardness in part is come upon Israel, until the fullness of the nations be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved. By mystery he here means the unknown and unspeakable thing. And what is this? That the unbelief of the Hebrews is not entire, but the hardening is in part. For many believed, whom God foreknew, as has been said above, and again are to believe. For the Israelites were hardened, until all the foreknown of the nations be saved; and then all Israel shall be saved, having believed, plainly.

Rom. 11:26–27. As it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant to them, when I shall take away their sins. Again he brings in Isaiah, crying aloud that There shall come out of Zion he who is able to save, and shall cleanse the sins of the Israelites. And when shall these things be? When I shall take away their sins; that is, When I shall count them worthy of the remission that is through baptism; so that, since they have not yet obtained this (for they are hardened), this is to come to pass at a later time.

Rom. 11:33. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Having reckoned up the dispensations of God, those from the time the world was framed, how through contraries he dispenses contraries, and through some who are disobedient sets forth others who are obedient, he was struck with amazement; being assured that he who thus dispenses our affairs will assuredly dispense also concerning the coming salvation of the Jews. By riches, then, he names the goodness, at whose depth he alone is amazed, being ignorant of how great it is; for it belongs to riches thus to make the unworthy so well provided. And not only at the goodness, but together with the goodness he is amazed also at the wisdom, through which he interweaves our affairs, and made wise the unlearned nations; and at the knowledge, through which he knows what is profitable for each. And he did not say that his judgments are incomprehensible, but, Unsearchable, that is, in no way admitting search. And his ways, that is, his dispensations, not only cannot be found out, but cannot even be searched out at all, nor can a trace of them appear.

Rom. 11:34–35. For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been his counselor? or who has first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? He alone, he says, knows his own things, and no other. And being wise, he was not made wise by another counselor, but he himself became, and is, sufficient to himself. But he is also the fountain of all good things, and whatever he gives, he gives not as owing a recompense, but on account of his own goodness. For who has first given to him, that is, to God, that it should be recompensed to him? that is, that the benefaction from God should be reckoned as a recompense made to him?

Rom. 11:36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory to the ages. Amen. He himself is the fountain of all things; for this is, Of him; and the maker of all things; for this is, Through him; and the upholder of all things; for this is, To him. For all things have their beginning of him, and were made through him, and to him, as upon some firm-set foundation, they stand and are held together, being turned toward him. It is the custom of Paul, whenever he says some great thing, to close the discourse in thanksgiving; which indeed he does now also. For since he was struck with amazement at the goodness, and the wisdom, and the knowledge, and the dispensations of God, he thereupon glorifies him; teaching us also this, to give thanks for the great good things, and to glorify him both by words and by manner of life.

Chapter 12

Rom. 12:1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. Since he has dwelt sufficiently on the doctrinal discourse, he now goes forward also to the ethical. And since he showed the unspeakable dispensation and goodness of God toward us, he beseeches by the mercies of God, that is, putting forward these very mercies as mediators, that, standing in awe of them, we may show forth nothing unworthy of them. And what does he beseech? That we present our bodies, that is, that we give them over to warfare. For thus is common speech accustomed to say: The general presented the ranks for battle. Or also, as to God the King, we owe to present our members approved and chosen; for such are those who stand before the king. But let us present these also a living sacrifice. For when we have put these to death, then we live according to the spirit. The Jewish sacrifice, then, is not well-pleasing to God. For who, he says, has required these things at your hands? But the sacrifice of the faithful, the reasonable service, is exceedingly sought after by God. For offer to God a sacrifice of praise; and, A sacrifice of praise shall glorify me. And reasonable service is not only that which is offered to God through word, but also the manner of life that is according to Christ, when no irrational passion holds sway within us, but reason governs all things; and each man becomes, as it were, a high priest of himself, slaying the wickednesses within, and ever seeming to stand before God, and at every deed and word so trembling, as the high priest, when he stands before the divine altar.

Rom. 12:2. And be not conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. He lays down for us a way, through which we shall be able to set right the reasonable service; which is, if we be not conformed to this age. For it has nothing settled and firm, but all things are for a season, and have only a fashion, not any substance or abiding essence. Be not, then, he says, made like, you also, to this age, which has no substance; that is, Mind not the things of it; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that is, ever renew yourself. Have you sinned? You have made your soul old. Be renewed again. Have you set right some small thing? Be eager to set right also a greater, and you have become new, ever being transformed to the better. And mark how, in the case of the world, he named a fashion, on account of its being easily dissolved and for a season; but in the case of virtue, a form, as having a natural beauty, and needing none of the outward fashions and adornments. For the world is fashioned, that it may steal us away; but virtue displays its own form without fashioning. We ought, then, ever to be transformed according to virtue, being renewed both from evil to good, and from the lesser virtue to the greater.

Rom. 12:2. That you may prove what is the good, and well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. Having said, Be renewed, ever becoming new, he now says also wherein the renewing of the mind is profitable; and he says that That you may prove, that is, discern, what is the will of God. For he who has his mind grown old knows not the will of God; which is to live in humility, and poverty, and mourning, and the other things which he ordained. But he who has been renewed in the spirit, this man knows what is the will of God—not such as the Jews knew, holding fast the law. For the law indeed was a will of God, but not well-pleasing, nor perfect. For it was not given as primary, but was conceded on account of their weakness. But perfect and well-pleasing is the New Covenant.

Rom. 12:4–5. For just as in one body we have many members, but the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. By the illustration of the body and the members he pulls down the great swelling of haughtiness. For just as the body is one, but has diverse members, working diverse offices, so also the faithful, we are one body in Christ, being framed together as in a head, and every one members one of another; not the small only of the great, but also the great of the small. Be not, then, lifted up one against another; for you have need, as the members also, one of another.

Rom. 12:6–8. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us: whether prophecy, according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, in our ministering; or he that teaches, in teaching; or he that exhorts, in exhortation; he that gives, in simplicity; he that rules, in diligence; he that shows mercy, in cheerfulness. He did not say, Having greater and lesser, but, Differing; that he might put down those who are lifted up; and by the very name—for he did not say, Achievements, but, Gifts. For it is a gift of God, he says, not your own achievement, that which you received; and it is grace which gave you this. That he may put down, then, those who are lifted up, he says that these things are given of God, and names them gifts; but that he may rouse the slothful, he again shows that we too contribute something toward the receiving of the gifts; and he says that To prophecy, according to the proportion of faith. For even though it is grace, yet it is not poured out simply, but as great a vessel of faith as it finds brought to it, so much does it pour in. And first he made mention of prophecy, perhaps doing this indifferently, but perhaps also because some happened to be lifted up over this. He says, then: If anyone has received a ministry, let him abide in the ministry, and let him not seek anything more, neither be lifted up over another, but let him abide content with what he received. And by simplicity he means liberality; one ought, then, to give with liberality. For no virtue abides a virtue, when it is not done in the becoming manner. He, then, that exhorts, he says, let him abide in exhortation, pursuing the work, and not being lifted up over another.

Rom. 12:9–10. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhorring that which is evil. Cleaving to that which is good. In brotherly love be tenderly affectioned one to another. He shows how all the things aforesaid may be set right, and says: Let love be without hypocrisy. For then is it love, and all things shall easily be set right. He spoke concerning love. But since there is a love that is hurtful, as that of those who agree together in robberies, and of such persons, for this reason he says, Abhorring that which is evil; hating it from the soul. For the Ab- shows an intense hatred, and the hatred from the heart. For since there are many who do not indeed do evils, yet nevertheless have the desire of them, he says that he requires the hatred from the heart toward wickedness. The fleeing from evil is not enough, but there must also be present the working of virtue; wherefore he said, Cleaving to that which is good; that is, having toward it a loving disposition. I have exhorted you, he says, to love, and with reason; for you are brethren, begotten in one font.

Rom. 12:14. Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not. After teaching concerning brotherly love and the love toward one’s own, he now also ordains how we are to be disposed toward enemies. He did not say, Bear no malice, nor avenge yourselves, but what is far greater, Bless. And he added also the words, Curse not; that we may not do both this and that. For he that blesses those who persecute him for Christ’s sake shows that he rejoices in suffering on behalf of him whom he loves; but he that curses shows that he rejoices not; and from this, that neither does he love him for whose sake he is persecuted.

Rom. 12:19–21. Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will recompense, says the Lord. Therefore if your enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing you shall heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Give place, he says, to the wrath of God against him that wrongs you. For if you avenge yourselves, he will not proceed against him; but if you let it go, God will avenge more bitterly. And he brings in also the testimony, confirming the divine word. He requires of us here a greater wisdom. For why do I say, he says, that one must be at peace? Nay, I enjoin also to do good. And the words, You shall heap coals of fire upon his head, he said, running along with the faintheartedness of him that has been wronged; for nothing is so sweet as to see an enemy chastised; for it is as though he says such things as these: Do you wish to avenge yourself on your enemy? Do him good, and then you have avenged yourself more bitterly. Here he hints at this, that we ought not to feed our enemies with such a mind, that we may bring upon them a greater chastisement; for this is, Be not overcome of evil; that is, Do not this with a malicious purpose, neither imitate the evildoer (for this is a defeat), but be eager rather, in your well-doing, to overcome him, and to change him from his wickedness. What, then, he said above, he said toward the consolation of faintheartedness; but now he has introduced the more perfect thing.

Chapter 13

Rom. 13:1. Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. Since he had sufficiently set in order the manners of his hearers, and had taught them to be kindly even toward enemies, he introduces this exhortation also; teaching every soul—even if one be a priest, even a monk, even an apostle—to be subject to the rulers. For this subjection does not overthrow piety. And the Apostle exhorts this, showing that the Gospel does not teach apostasy, nor disobedience, but rather right-mindedness and ready obedience.

Rom. 13:1–2. For there is no power but from God; and the powers that be are ordained by God. So that he who sets himself against the power resists the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves judgment. What do you say? Has every ruler been appointed by God? I do not say this, he says, nor is my discourse now concerning the rulers individually, but concerning the thing itself. For that there should be governments, and that some should rule and others be ruled, and that all things should not be confounded up and down, I declare to be the work of God’s wisdom. For he did not say, There is no ruler, but, “There is no power except from God.” So that he discourses concerning the thing itself, that is, government. Just as also when a certain wise man says, By the Lord is a woman fitted to a man; he does not mean this, that he himself joins each man who comes together with a woman, but that he himself made marriage. All powers, then, are justly ordained by God, whichever you may consider—whether that of father toward son, or that of husband toward wife, or all the rest. And lest the faithful be able to say, You debase us, who are about to enjoy the kingdom of the heavens, by subjecting us to rulers—he shows that he who is subject to the governments is subject to God; or rather he sets down the more fearful thing, that he who does not obey these sets himself against God, who ordained the governments; and he who resists shall be punished both by God and by men. For this he hints at, saying, “They that resist shall receive to themselves judgment.”

Rom. 13:3–7. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will you then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and you shall have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God, an avenger for wrath upon him that does evil. Therefore it is necessary to be subject, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For it is for this reason that you also pay tribute. For they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour. Why do you dread and shudder? For he does not rebuke you when you do well, nor is he fearful to you who are diligent for virtue; but if you do good, rather the ruler sits as one that praises you. He cooperates, he says, with the will of God; for instance, God counsels you concerning temperance through the Gospel, and the ruler says the same things through the laws. God exhorts not to be covetous, nor to plunder; and that one sits as a judge over these matters. So that he is a fellow-worker with us to good deeds, if we give heed to him. So that it is not the ruler who makes the fear, but our own wickedness, on account of which also the sword of the ruler is active—that is, the punitive power. For not in vain has the ruler girded on the blade, but that he may punish, frightening the wicked thereto. It is necessary, he says, to be subject, not only that you may not make trial of the wrath both of God and of the ruler, as disobedient, and be punished unbearably, but also that you may not seem to be void of conscience and thankless toward your benefactor. For rulers greatly benefit the cities. You bear witness, he says, that you are benefited by the ruler, and you pay him a wage; for it is plain that this is as of one who provides for you. A debt, he says, is laid inescapably upon you—right-mindedness toward the rulers. Render therefore what you owe to all who have been entrusted with the various governments. For fear is twofold: the one, which they that err fear, from an evil conscience, which the Apostle above forbade; the other, which they that love have toward those whom they love—that is, the surpassing honor, as it is said: There is no want to them that fear him; and, The fear of the Lord endures for ever and ever. For here he intimates reverence.

Rom. 13:8–10. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law. For this, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Love works no ill to his neighbour: love therefore is the fulfilling of the law. The other debts, he says, render; but never wish to render love fully paid, but ever hold it as a continual debt. For do not, because today you have displayed a loving disposition toward your neighbor, suppose that you have discharged the debt, and on this account overlook him tomorrow; but continually deem that you owe love to your neighbor. He that loves his neighbor fulfils the whole law. So that henceforth he has a debt to love him, seeing that he is so greatly benefited by him and by the love toward him, as to fulfill the whole law. He did not say, It is fulfilled, but, “It is comprehended”—that is, in brief and short compass the whole of the commandments is completed. For indeed love is both the beginning and the end of virtue. He shows both forms of virtue to be present in love: both the abstaining from evils, in saying, “It works no ill,” and the working of good things, in saying, “Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law.” For it sets fully right in us the whole virtue that is shown forth through the law.

Rom. 13:11–14. And do this, knowing the time: that the hour has already come for us to wake from sleep. For our salvation is now nearer than when we first believed. The night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk becomingly, as in the day—not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in quarreling and envy; but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. You ought, he says, to make much of love, and through it of all the other virtues also; and because of the time, since the resurrection is near, the judgment is near, and we must awake from the sleep of slothfulness, and be ready for the works worthy of the resurrection. Since it was likely that at the beginning of the faith they were more earnest, and then, as time went on, grew cold, he says that Now we draw nearer to the age to come. For he named this “salvation” from the kindlier name; for to sinners it is not salvation, but destruction. This is it: the night is near its end. And he calls the present age night, because the servants are in darkness, and because the lives of each are covered over; and the age to come day, both because of the light of the righteous, and because the hidden things of all are then made manifest. But in the Gospel the present is called day, because one must work in this; and night the age to come, because then no one works. He called the deeds of sin “works,” as having much toil and difficulty, and ten thousand dangers, even in the present age; and “armour of light” the works of virtue; for they render orderly the one who possesses them; for they are armour, and make him to shine, since they are of light. And in saying, “Let us cast off,” and, “Let us put on,” he showed the easiness of both—both the fleeing from wicked deeds, and the inclining toward virtue. Having stripped us of the wicked garments, he then adorns us, no longer clothing us with armour of light, but—what is far more awesome—giving us the Master himself as a garment. For he that is clothed with him has the whole of virtue. He does not forbid the providing for the flesh, but the “to lusts.” Care for the flesh, he says, to health, but not to wantonness. For it would no longer be provision, when you kindle the flame, or when you make the furnace grievous. Seek one thing only, how you may keep the flesh in health; but beyond that busy yourself with nothing, so as to kindle its lusts, but spend all your diligence upon spiritual things.

Chapter 14

Rom. 14:1. Welcome the one who is weak in faith. Many of those of the Jews who had believed kept even after the faith the observance of foods, and abstained from swine’s flesh, not yet daring wholly to depart from the law. Then, so as not to be easily detected as abstaining from swine’s flesh alone, they abstained from all flesh whatever, and ate herbs. Others again were more perfect, who, observing nothing, reproached those who observed. Paul therefore feared lest the more perfect, rebuking unseasonably, and not in the fitting manner, should unsettle the more imperfect from the faith in Christ; wherefore he also handles the matter wisely, caring for each party. For neither did he dare to say to those who rebuked, that they did ill, lest he confirm the imperfect in their observance; nor again, that they did well, lest he make them more vehement accusers; but he makes the exhortation measured. And he seems indeed to rebuke the strong; but the whole of it he empties out upon the weaker in his discourse toward these. Forthwith, at any rate, having said, Him that is weak, he showed him to be sick. And in saying, Receive you, he shows him to need much care; which is a sign of the uttermost weakness.

Rom. 14:1. Not to doubtful disputations. That is, not making distinctions over the weakness, and being troubled, and disturbed with many reasonings, but deeming the weak one worthy of all healing.

Rom. 14:2. For one believes that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eats herbs. He compares the perfect and the imperfect, and says that the perfect, being confident in the faith, eats all things indifferently; but the more imperfect, inasmuch as he is weak, eats herbs. So that he is worthy of being healed, not of being struck at.

Rom. 14:3. Let not him that eats despise him that eats not; and let not him that eats not judge him that eats: for God has received him. Those who ate all things, as more perfect, set at nought those who did not eat, as of little faith and still Judaizing. Again, those who did not eat condemned those who ate all things, as gluttons. And since many of these also were of the Gentiles, he says that God has received him; that is, he displayed his unspeakable grace toward him. Why then do you dispute with him concerning the law, whom Christ has justified?

Rom. 14:4. Who are you that judge another man’s servant? to his own master he stands or falls. He says this toward the perfect, leading him away from condemning, as also from despising; for the more perfect did both, and set at nought, and condemned the more imperfect. And he touches the imperfect also. For not because he does things worthy of not being judged, on this account do I bid you not to judge, but because he is another’s servant—that is, not yours, but God’s. And though he be weak, yet he has not fallen from being a servant; he is not therefore to be despaired of. And again, comforting him, he did not say that he falls, but, He stands or falls; and whether the one or the other, it pertains to the master—what the loss is when he falls, and the wealth when he stands.

Rom. 14:4. And he will stand, for God is able to make him stand. In saying, He shall be holden up, he indicates him to be still wavering, and so much so as to need only one to make him stand; which we say of those who are utterly despaired of.

Rom. 14:5. One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike. There were some fasting, or also abstaining from swine’s flesh on certain stated days; and others eating at all times, who also condemned those who fasted. Concerning these, then, he says that one judges in one way, another in another, and the matter is indifferent. The brethren ought not, therefore, to be struck at on this account. And these things he condescends to grant them, on account of the newness of their faith.

Rom. 14:5. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. When the discourse is about doctrines, we must not be persuaded by our own mind, but hold fast the things we received, even if an angel from the heavens should preach other things. But where the discourse is about foods and fasting, and such things, and those who err concerning these are newly planted, and in need of condescension—here something of the strictness must be conceded.

Rom. 14:6. He that regards the day, regards it to the Lord; and he that regards not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it. He that observes the day, he says, observes it on account of the Lord, as being reverent; and he that observes not, on account of the Lord, as having been already perfected in Christ, and become superior to the legal observances.

Rom. 14:6. And he that eats, eats to the Lord (for he gives God thanks); and he that eats not, to the Lord he eats not, and gives God thanks. One thing only we seek, he says, that the matter be done on account of God, and that they give thanks to God, both he that eats not and he that eats; for being so done, it is blameless. And these things, as I said, he says on account of their being newly planted. Since indeed he gently strikes the Judaizers, in saying, He that eats not gives God thanks. For how could he give thanks, while still clinging to the law? So that he that eats alone gives thanks.

Rom. 14:7–8. For none of us lives to himself, and no man dies to himself. For whether we live, we live to the Lord; and whether we die, we die to the Lord. We have a Master, he says, who cares for us, who reckons our life as wealth, and death as loss. For we do not live, or die, to ourselves alone, but also to the Lord. And here he calls “life” the life in faith, and “death” the falling away from the faith. So that this Master will by no means suffer those who seem to be weak to die as to the faith, and to fall away from it.

Rom. 14:8. So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. From the death according to faith he passes over to the natural; for concerning this he now discourses. That even if we live the natural life, we are the Lord’s; and if we die the natural death, we belong to him.

Rom. 14:9. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living. And let this also persuade you, he says, that he cares for the setting-right of the weak. For he that poured out his blood, and submitted to die, that he might be Lord of us, how would he not care for those who have become his servants? Just as we are wont to say: How will such a one not care for the servant for whom he laid down so great a price? And if he cares, he says, for the dead, much more for the living. And he says these things, putting the Judaizer to shame, and persuading him to call to mind how he still gives heed to the law, being thankless toward Christ who died on his behalf.

Rom. 14:10. But why do you judge your brother? or why do you also set at nought your brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. You that eat not, why do you judge your brother that eats, as a glutton, because he eats? And you that eat, why do you set at nought your brother, as of little faith? He is a brother; you ought not to set at nought your own member. For are you about to give account on his behalf? He himself shall stand before the judgment seat, and he himself shall render the reckonings. Do you see how, in the things which he discourses toward the more perfect, he frightens the Judaizer, as one about to render reckonings at the fearful judgment seat?

Rom. 14:11–12. For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will confess to God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. That we shall be judged as servants by a master, he says, the prophet testifies. For he showed the intense subjection by saying, Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue—both of those before the law, and of those under the law—shall confess; instead of, shall give account of the things done. To whom? Not to the law, but to Christ. So that what part have you still in the law?

Rom. 14:13. Let us therefore no longer judge one another, but rather resolve this: not to put a stumbling block or a snare in a brother’s way. Both of you, he says, dissolve the contentiousness toward one another; and neither do you that eat all things put a stumblingblock before the imperfect, as one rebuking vehemently; nor do you that eat not all things put an occasion to fall before your brother, as one observing. For both these things, the stumblingblock and the occasion to fall, fit both persons in turn.

Rom. 14:14. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to the one who reckons something to be unclean, to that one it is unclean. After he had taught that one must not rebuke the weak, he henceforth lays down doctrine concerning foods, teaching the weaker not to fear, nor to tremble at these as unclean; and he says: I know, and am persuaded, not by human reasonings, but in the Lord Jesus, that is, having learned from him, and from thence been assured, that there is nothing unclean of itself; that is, in its own nature nothing is unclean, but it comes to be so from the choice of him that partakes. To that one alone, then, is it both common and unclean, and not to all.

Rom. 14:15. But if your brother be grieved with your meat, now walk you no longer according to love. Here he discourses toward the more perfect, teaching that even if ten thousand times the foods are not unclean by nature, you nevertheless ought to abstain from swine’s flesh, if indeed you would keep love, so that your brother be not grieved, being made to stumble. And he adds next:

Rom. 14:15. Destroy not him with your meat, for whom Christ died. On account of meat, he says, you destroy and overthrow your brother, who is so greatly prized by Christ, as that he died on his behalf. For seeing you eat swine’s flesh, out of contentiousness toward that one, he becomes the more obstinate, and so will be in danger, departing from Christ, of being wholly nailed fast to the law.

Rom. 14:16. Do not let, then, your good be spoken of as evil. That is, You have perfection in the faith (for this he names “good”); do not, then, use your perfection ill, nor make it to be evil spoken of. For if you, from being perfect, corrupt the imperfect, you have made the good which you had to be slandered. And you may understand as “good” also our doctrine, which he wishes not to be blasphemed by the unbelievers, who see the divisions, and the occasions of stumbling concerning foods.

Rom. 14:17. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, For are we approved by these? for if you eat, he says, does this bring you into the kingdom? And mocking them as priding themselves greatly on this, he added also “drink.”

Rom. 14:17. but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Into the kingdom of God righteousness brings us—that is, virtue as a whole, the blameless life—and peace toward one’s brother, not contentiousness; and the joy that is from concord, not the grief that is from rebuke. And since there is peace and joy even over wicked things, he added, in the Holy Ghost. For I speak, he says, concerning the peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. And the all-great Chrysostom expounded yet more deeply for what cause Paul made mention of righteousness. For, that he might show, he says, that he who abstains not from swine’s flesh wrongs his brother in respect of that very salvation which Christ, by dying, procured for him. So that, on the contrary, he who abstains for his brother’s sake pursues righteousness, which procures the kingdom.

Rom. 14:18. For he that in these things serves Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. He hints here that it was out of vainglory that the more perfect rebuked the weaker; and he says, that If you wish to be admired by men, you shall be admired not so much from your perfection as from your peaceableness and the rest. For in these things it is possible both to serve Christ, and to be well-pleasing to God—not in eating swine’s flesh indifferently.

Rom. 14:19. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and what builds up one another. The things of peace, he said, toward the more imperfect; for that one was he that was not at peace. The things of edification, toward the more perfect, that he cast not down his brother, making him to stumble; or rather he has made these common, by saying, of the things toward one another. And having made mention first of peace, then of edification, he showed that without peace it is not easy to build up.

Rom. 14:20. Do not, for the sake of food, tear down the work of God. By the work of God he means the salvation of the brother. Destroy not, then, this which God procured for him, and that for the sake of foods—being unwilling, that is to say, to abstain from swine’s flesh in order to gain him.

Rom. 14:20. All things indeed are clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat in a way that causes stumbling. Having much rebuked the more perfect, he feared lest the weak be confirmed in his evil supposition. For this reason, then, he lays down doctrine again and says, that all things are pure, but it is evil for him that eats with an evil conscience and is made to stumble. For the imperfect, deeming swine’s flesh unclean, and then being compelled to taste of it, is the rather harmed. So that he must first learn from you, that all things are pure.

Rom. 14:21. It is good not to eat meat, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything by which your brother stumbles, or is tripped up, or is weakened. You indeed, he says, compel your brother to eat the things in which he has no confidence; but I say that you too ought to abstain from everything that makes your brother to stumble; not because it is evil (for all things are pure), but because it gives offence. And in saying, He is offended, he showed him to be blind; for such are they that are offended. And he stumbles as one light-minded; and he is made weak as one of little faith. And through all these things he draws on the stronger to the help of the brother, as one who is in all things weak.

Rom. 14:22. Have you faith? have it to yourself before God. Here he hints that it was also as one vainglorious that the more perfect displayed his own perfection. He says, then: Do you wish to show me that in the faith concerning foods you are perfect, believing all things to be good and pure? Show it not to me, but the conscience suffices, and God, to whom you show these things.

Rom. 14:22. Happy is he that condemns not himself in that thing which he allows. Even if no man see it, you suffice of yourself to being happy, if you condemn not yourself, nor your conscience find fault with you in a matter which you have allowed, that is, chosen. And understand these things concerning the present subject only, that of foods.

Rom. 14:23. And he that doubts is condemned if he eat, because he eats not of faith. But he that wavers, he says, and eats not with confidence, is condemned. Why? Not because the food was unclean, but because he believed not that it is pure, but laid hold of the food as of something unclean.

Rom. 14:23. For whatever is not of faith is sin. For when one is not confident, nor believes that the food is pure, but tastes of it with an evil conscience, he has altogether sinned.

Rom. 16:25–27. Now to him that is able to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, both by the Scriptures and the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith, to God only wise, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever. Amen. After the exhortation he is ever wont to pray; which here also he does, praying on behalf of the more imperfect; and not only instructing by word, but also bringing in the alliance that is from God. And the sequence of the construction is of this sort: Now to him that is able to stablish you, through Jesus Christ, be glory for ever. Amen. For the word “to whom,” the relative, lies superfluous, having been taken up because the discourse needs a resumption. To him that is able to stablish you that are imperfect, you that are wavering: how? According to my gospel, that is, That you may hold fast the things I teach. And my gospel, and the preaching of Christ, are one. For the doctrines are not ours, but his are the laws.

Rom. 16:25. According to the revelation of the mystery. A sign of greatest honor, that we should become partakers of mysteries—of a thing of old foreordained, but now made manifest through the prophetic Scriptures. So that why do you fear, you that are weak, lest you depart from the law by eating swine’s flesh? For behold, all the Scriptures proclaim this mystery, which brings in the indifference of foods. But it is also according to the commandment of the everlasting God. One must not, therefore, set oneself against God, but believe and obey. For faith needs obedience, not officious curiosity. But also all the nations so believe; for it was made known to all. How then will you still hold to the law? To God only wise, he said, to the exclusion of angels and of us, not of the Son—away with the thought. For the Son is the wisdom of the Father. To him, then, be the glory, who made manifest the mystery, not to the law, to which you still attend, you that observe foods. And the words, Through Jesus Christ, can, as was said above, be construed: To him that is able to stablish you, through Jesus Christ; and can also be taken thus: Made known to all the nations through Jesus Christ. For he himself made the mystery known to the nations, who sent the disciples to make disciples of all the nations.

Chapter 15

Rom. 15:1. Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, After the prayer he again exhorts, and softens the more perfect, both by ranking himself with them, and by calling them strong. And he did not say simply, The weak, but, The infirmities of the weak, doubling the expression, that he might draw them on to greater pity.

Rom. 15:1. and not please ourselves. Having said that we ought to bear, he taught how this might come to be: namely, if we seek not our own things only.

Rom. 15:2. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, for building him up. That is, Let him do that which pleases his neighbor, and let him be a servant to his brother, but to the good. And lest the perfect should say, Behold, I too draw him to the good, he added, To edification. For now what you do, even if it be good, nevertheless, inasmuch as it is not done seasonably, is to dissolution. For the unseasonable rebuke does not build up.

Rom. 15:3. For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. Bringing Christ into the midst, he gives him to us as an example. For it was possible for him not to be reproached, nor to suffer the things he suffered, if indeed he had wished to please himself—that is, to seek his own; but he willed it not, but, submitting to suffer, had an evil repute among the many, being deemed to be weak, and as a deceiver and a malefactor. For others, they say, he saved; himself he cannot save. The reproaches, then, of them that reproached the Father in the Old Testament, fell on me the Son, and nothing strange befell.

Rom. 15:4. For whatever was written beforehand was written for our instruction, so that through the patience and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. These things, he says, were written formerly, that we might imitate them. And here he also exhorts them to the patient endurance of trials, and says: That, being strengthened by the Scriptures, we may endure, and enduring, may show in ourselves all hope living and firm. For he that endures, that one seems to have hope of the good things to come; just as he that is without endurance has fallen from hope.

Rom. 15:5. Now may the God of patience and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus. He shows that, together with the Scriptures, God gives the patience and the consolation. Wherefore he also names him the God of patience and consolation, as the giver and cause of these. He prays, then, that it be given by him to be likeminded one toward another. For this is the mark of true love, that what one thinks concerning himself, this he should think also concerning his neighbor. And since there is a love according to the world, he added, according to Christ Jesus; that is, That you may think those things which please Christ Jesus.

Rom. 15:6. That you may with one accord and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. What is the gain of being likeminded? The glorifying of God, not only with one mouth, but also with one soul (for this is what with one accord signifies). Here one must place a stop, then begin afresh and read: And the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if you should also read it conjoined, so that the same Christ has both a God and a Father, neither is this absurd. For he is God of Christ, according to the human nature; and Father, according to the Godhead.

Rom. 15:7. Therefore welcome one another, as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. Again he holds to the same matter, and sets forth Christ as an example, that we should receive one another; for it is to the glory of God that we be united—this above all glorifies him. For in this, he says, shall they know that you have sent me, if they be one; just as the being at variance makes him to be blasphemed. For the Greeks, seeing Christians in dissension, accuse the faith.

Rom. 15:8. Now I say that Christ Jesus became a servant of the circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the fathers. He holds to the same matter, showing that Christ pleased not himself, but submitted to all things on our behalf, and persuading the Gentiles not to exalt themselves over those of the Jews who had believed. For the Jews were saved on account of the promise to the fathers; but the Gentiles by mercy alone and loving-kindness. And what he says is of this sort: There was a promise to Abraham, that his seed should inherit the world; but all those of Abraham became liable to punishment, when they transgressed the law, and on this account unworthy of the promise. Christ, then, came, and fulfilled the law, both submitting to the other things, and to circumcision. Having fulfilled the law, then, and being circumcised, and become the seed of Abraham, he loosed the wrath of God, and made us fit to receive the promises. For this cause, then, he took upon him circumcision, that he might make the promises of God true, not that he might establish the law. What then, O Judaizer, do you still hold of the law, on account of which you were in danger of falling from the promises?

Rom. 15:9. And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. Those of the Jews, even though they were unworthy, yet had promises; but you, the Gentile, were saved from loving-kindness alone. Wherefore you above all would be worthy to glorify God. And the glory of God is your being united to one another, your bearing the weak.

Rom. 15:9–12. As it is written, For this cause I will confess to you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name. And again he says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people. And again: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; and laud him, all you peoples. And again Isaiah says: There will be the root of Jesse, the one who rises to rule the nations; in him the nations will hope. All these testimonies he brought forward, showing that the Gentiles must be united to those of the Jews, and be likeminded; restraining those of the Jews, that they exalt not themselves against those of the Gentiles (for the prophets all call these); and again persuading those of the Gentiles to be lowly, by showing them to owe more to God, as having also received more grace. For being no people, they were united to the people. And the words, I will confess to you among the Gentiles, are said in the person of Christ, instead of, I will sing, O Father, among the Gentiles. And the words, There shall be a root of Jesse, instead of, From the root of Jesse shall spring up he that rises to reign over the Gentiles, that is, Christ.

Rom. 15:13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit. He prays for them that those of the Jews may be filled with all joy (for these were despondent, being rebuked); and with peace, those of the Gentiles; for these seemed to be hostilely disposed toward those who still clung to the law; or rather, both of both. And how might this come to pass? In believing. And wherein will faith help us? To abounding in hope; for he that believes the things to come, and is not vexed at things present, this man abounds in hope, hoping for the things to come, and enduring all the temporal hardships. And wherein will hope help us? To the acquiring of the power of the Holy Spirit; which in turn will make our hope more powerful. For hope procures for us the power of the Spirit; and again, by the Holy Spirit it becomes mightier in us.

Rom. 15:14. And I myself am convinced, my brothers, concerning you, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to instruct one another. Since in many places he made the discourse rather harsh, he henceforth heals it. And he did not say, I have heard, but, I am persuaded, that is, I myself also, even I who rebuke and accuse you, am assured that you are full of goodness, that is, of a good and brother-loving mind; or also he calls the whole of virtue “goodness.” And he did not say, You have goodness, but, You are full. And since there is no profit in having goodness, but not knowing how one must use it, for this cause he added, Filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish others; not only to learn, but rather also to teach.

Rom. 15:15. Nevertheless I have written the more boldly to you, brethren, in some sort, as putting you in mind. The Romans were in dignity, and had much inflammation; wherefore he heals them in saying, I have ventured. For he very much abases himself before these by this word. And not even with this is he content, but he added, In some sort; that is, gently, and in few words; and not as teaching, but, As putting in mind, that is, calling somewhat to remembrance.

Rom. 15:16. Because of the grace that is given to me of God, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God. Making the discourse more humble, he says, that I have not snatched the honor for myself, but God enjoined this, having set me apart to it; not as worthy, but according to grace. And to what was the grace given me? To my being a minister and priest of the Gospel. Blame me not, then, if I discourse with you; for this is my priesthood, the proclaiming of the Gospel. I have the word as a sword; you are the sacrifice. And who would blame the priest for bringing the sword upon those set apart for sacrifice?

Rom. 15:16. so that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Not that I might be glorified, on this account did I write to you; but that you also, with the other [Gentiles], might be saved, and so the offering up of the Gentiles might be wholly acceptable, as of all bearing fruit to God. Being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, that is, in a [pure] spiritual manner of life. For not faith alone sanctifies, but also life. For having believed and been baptized, we receive the Spirit; but unless we have a good life also, the grace of the Spirit is quenched. And he restrains the high thoughts of the Romans, that they disdain not to have as a teacher him that brings all the nations to God.

Rom. 15:17. I have therefore whereof I may glory through Christ Jesus in those things which pertain to God. Having abased himself exceedingly, now again he raises the discourse, that he seem not contemptible; and he says, that I have whereof to glory, not in myself, nor in my own diligence, but in the grace of Christ. And wherein do I glory? In the things pertaining to God; that is, not in chance things, but in spiritual things.

Rom. 15:18–19. For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God. Since he said, I am a minister of the Gospel to all the nations, he says, I boast not, nor do I vaunt myself in any of the things I did not do; or rather, it was not I who wrought, but Christ wrought, using me as an instrument. For whether I utter anything, speaking and discoursing wisely concerning the heavenly things, or whether I work, pursuing the divine manner of life, or also accomplish wonders, all is Christ’s. And a sign differs from a wonder in this, that the sign is spoken of among the things according to nature, yet coming to pass in a new fashion (as in the matter of Peter’s mother-in-law, sick of a fever, being immediately healed. For here the being cured of the fever is according to nature; but then it came to pass in a new fashion; for so quickly, at the very touch); but the wonder, among the things not according to nature; as the man blind from birth being healed. And since signs and wonders come to pass oftentimes also by the working of demons, he added, By the power of the Spirit of God. And the dignity of the Spirit is shown from hence, if indeed it can do so many things.

Rom. 15:19. So that from Jerusalem, and round about to Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Do you wish, he says, to receive a proof of the things I say? Behold the multitude of my disciples; for from Jerusalem to Illyricum, which is the farthest part of what is now named Bulgaria. And he did not say, I preached, but, I have fulfilled the Gospel; that he might show that his word was not without effect, but accomplished its end. And lest, hearing, From Jerusalem to Illyricum, you should suppose that he came straight along the highway, he says, that And round about; that is, And the nations toward the north and toward the south I passed through with the word.

Rom. 15:20. and thus making it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I might not build on another man’s foundation. Not only did I preach to so many and persuade them, but neither did I go away to men who had somehow heard the name of Christ; so far am I from casting myself upon the disciples of others, and doing this for glory’s sake. Therefore neither did I write to you as longing for glory from you, but as fulfilling a ministry. And by “another man’s foundation” he means the teaching of the Apostles; not that they were strangers, nor that they preached other things, but according to the reckoning of the reward. For the reward of the things labored at by those men was another’s, and pertained not to Paul.

Rom. 15:21. but as it is written: Those to whom it was not announced concerning him will see, and those who have not heard will understand. Here he shows a prophecy fulfilled; and the toil and the sweat is altogether the greater, when one chooses to teach the most unlearned; and it was toward this that Paul himself hastened.

Rom. 15:22. For which cause also I was much hindered from coming to you. At the beginning of the Epistle he said, that I was hindered hitherto; and here he sets down also the cause for which he was hindered, that On account of running about everywhere preaching, for this cause I was much hindered; that is, oftentimes attempting and desiring it, I was nevertheless ever hindered.

Rom. 15:23–24. But now, having no more room to work in these regions, and having longed for many years to come to you, whenever I journey to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope to see you as I pass through, and to be sent on my way there by you, once I have first been filled, in some measure, by your company. I was hindered, he says, on account of my wishing to preach; but now, since there is no more work for me in these places, for this cause I both write to you, and come to you, not for any other thing, such as for love of glory. Then, lest they say to him, that On account of your having no work there, you make us a mere by-work, he adds, that I have had a desire these many years; this longing I am eager to fulfill. And lest again they be puffed up, as though he longed for them, who indeed might seem greater than the others, he adds, Whenever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you. And lest again they say, He makes us a by-work of his journey, he added, And to be brought on my way thitherward by you; that is, You yourselves, seeing the necessity pressing me to visit those others also, are about to bring me on my way. So that not as despising you, but of necessity, will I pass you by. And since this still grieved them the more, he heals it, saying, If first I be somewhat filled with you. For he shows himself to long for their love, and that vehemently; wherefore neither did he say, That I may see, but, That I may be filled, imitating the words of parents. And somewhat, he said; that is, No time can fill me, nor work in me a satiety of your company. It is therefore a thing to be cherished by me, if in part I be filled with you.

Rom. 15:25–26. But now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. He promised above to pass through to them; but since he was about to delay, lest he seem to mock them, he tells also the cause for which he delays, and says, that I go to Jerusalem, ministering to the saints. He did not say, Carrying alms, but, Ministering; that we might learn how great a thing is that which is done, and by whom it is done, and that it is great. And by this he also urges the Romans to almsgiving. For in saying, that It pleased Macedonia and Achaia, and what follows, he instills in them a zeal to imitate these. And It pleased, instead of, They willed, judged it good, to send a certain contribution. And everywhere he calls almsgiving “contribution,” as the gain being common both to those who give and those who receive. And a certain, he said, instead of, a small one, lest he seem to reproach the Romans, as niggardly and unfellowly. And the poor of the saints, that is, of the faithful. So that they are doubly worthy to be pitied, on account of poverty and on account of virtue.

Rom. 15:26–27. For it has pleased them; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in carnal things. Nothing new, he says, if it pleased them to communicate with the saints; for they are their debtors. And how? Of the Jews was Christ, for their sake he came, thence the apostles, the prophets, all the good things. Of all these, then, the whole world became partaker. They owe, then, in turn to impart to them of carnal good things, those of the Gentiles; so that you also ought. And he did not say, To communicate, but, To minister; for he set them in the rank of deacons. And he did not say, In their carnal things. For the spiritual things he said to be the Jews’; but the carnal things, no longer the Gentiles’. For money is common to all, and not of those that have it alone.

Rom. 15:28. When, then, I have completed this, and sealed to them this fruit, That is, as having deposited it as in royal treasuries, as having stored it down in an inviolable and safe place; for such are the things that are sealed. And the fruit, he said, showing that the givers rather are the gainers.

Rom. 15:28. I will go on by way of you to Spain. Again he makes mention of Spain, showing that the journey there is necessary for him, and that it is not as despising them that he passes by Rome.

Rom. 15:29. And I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ’s gospel. That is, I shall see you flourishing in all good things according to the Gospel. For he calls “the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel” all the good things worthy of the blessing, that is, of the praise that is according to the Gospel. And you may also understand “blessing” as almsgiving, so that his meaning is, that I shall find you perfect in almsgiving and loving-kindness. And these things he says, anticipating them, that, being put to shame by the praises, they may be eager to be seen to be such.

Rom. 15:30. Now I urge you, brothers, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, Nowhere does he deem himself worthy of credit, but ever takes mediators to himself; as indeed now also Christ and the Spirit. Of the Father, however, he makes no mention, that you may learn that not even when he makes mention of the Father alone does he set aside the Son and the Spirit. And the love of the Spirit, he said. For just as the Father and the Son loved the world, so also the Spirit.

Rom. 15:30. That you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. Greatest humility, that he says he needs their prayer.

Rom. 15:31. that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, He did not say, That I may grapple with, and conquer them, but, That I may be delivered, fulfilling the divine law, which bids us pray not to fall into temptation. And at the same time he shows that it is necessary to minister to those who are in the midst of so many unbelievers (from whom he himself also prays to be delivered), and who are moreover in danger of perishing by famine.

Rom. 15:31. and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, That is, that they may receive with eagerness the things given. And from hence it is plain, that it is not enough to give alms, unless they be also received. For when one comes of necessity, when from injustice, when toward vainglory, all is gone, and the fruit from these is made to vanish.

Rom. 15:32. That I may come to you with joy by the will of God. For this cause, he says, I pray to be delivered, that I may quickly see you, and with gladness, dragging along no despondency from thence.

Rom. 15:32. and that I may be refreshed together with you. He did not say, I will teach you, and catechize you, but, Be refreshed together; that is, You to me by reason of the teaching, and I to you by reason of the increase of your faith. And he shows by this word, that, having struggles and toils, both he and they have need of refreshment.

Rom. 15:33. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. This is everywhere his custom, to make a prayer and to add it to the exhortation.

Chapter 16

Rom. 16:1. I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the Church which is at Cenchreae. Since she was the one conveying the Epistle, he commends her to them. And he dignifies her, both by mentioning her first, and by naming her sister (which is a great rank), and by showing her to be a deaconess.

Rom. 16:2. That you may receive her in the Lord worthily of the saints. That is, For the Lord’s sake honor her. For he who receives one for the Lord’s sake honors even the lowly greatly; and if she be also holy, much more. Wherefore he added, Worthily of the saints, that is, as one ought to receive the saints.

Rom. 16:2. And that you assist her in whatever matter she may have need of you. That is, That you contribute the things from you, and stretch forth a hand. For he did not say, That you may be rid of her.

Rom. 16:2. For she also has been a helper of many, and of myself. First he praised, then he set the exhortation in the middle; then again the encomia, on either side fastening tight the exhortation to honor her. For a helper, he says, she has been of many, and of myself—the herald of the whole world, who suffered so many things.

Rom. 16:3. Salute Priscilla and Aquila my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus. They labored together with me, he says, in the word and the teaching, and became partakers of toils and dangers. But some understood these fellow-workers as being tentmakers also, even as he himself was.

Rom. 16:4. Who for my life laid down their own neck. These were perfected martyrs; for indeed under Nero the dangers were past numbering.

Rom. 16:4. it is not I alone who thank them, but all the Gentile churches as well. Here he hints at their hospitality. For lest he should seem to speak in flattery, he brings forward also many other witnesses.

Rom. 16:5. And the Church that is in their house. So well-approved were these, that they made their whole household faithful; for these he named a Church; but also on account of their hospitality. For where there is much reverence and virtue, that house is a Church. Let those who are in marriage hear, that they are not thereby hindered toward virtue.

Rom. 16:5. Salute Epaenetus my beloved, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ. A great thing it is to be Paul’s beloved—his who knew how to love with judgment, and not for favor. And he calls him firstfruits, either because he first believed, becoming a beginning and an entrance into the faith for the whole nation; or because he displayed greater reverence; wherefore he said, Who is the firstfruits to Christ; that is, not in worldly affairs, but in the things according to Christ.

Rom. 16:6. Salute Mary, who bestowed much labor on us. From the sweats on behalf of the truth he adorns the woman. For not only, he says, did she labor for herself, watching and lying upon the ground; but, what is greater, also for us, fulfilling the rank of the apostles. How then does he say, I suffer not a woman to teach? He forbids her not the word of teaching, but the presidency in the midst, and the throne upon the tribunal; for the teaching that is done privately he even greatly accepts. For thus also a woman teaches her own husband and her children, and Priscilla catechized Apollos. And he did not say, She taught much, but, She labored; that he might show that she ministered both through money, and through other ways.

Rom. 16:7. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsfolk and my fellow prisoners, who are notable among the apostles, and who were in Christ before me. To be Paul’s kinsmen is not so great an encomium as to be fellow-prisoners. For indeed they suffered things harder than captives, being driven and harried. And to be apostles is a great thing; and this, Junia being a woman; but to be of note, much more. And they became of note from their works. And Paul is not ashamed to say, They believed in Christ before me, praising them, that they leaped forward and seized the good beforehand.

Rom. 16:8. Salute Amplias my beloved in the Lord. If to be loved by a king is a great thing, how much more to be loved by Paul, who loved on account of virtue and according to God?

Rom. 16:9. And Urban our fellow-worker in Christ. This encomium is greater than that one; or rather, this is both the cause of that and comprehensive of it. For he who is a fellow-worker is also beloved.

Rom. 16:9. And Stachys my beloved. Him too he crowns from the same things.

Rom. 16:10. Salute Apelles the approved in Christ. That is, the irreproachable, the blameless in all things. But some say that this was spoken in contradistinction to a certain Apelles who was disapproved.

Rom. 16:10. Salute them that are of the household of Aristobulus. Perhaps they were not as the first; wherefore he did not even mention them by name.

Rom. 16:11. Salute Herodion my kinsman. Salute them that are of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. That is, faithful.

Rom. 16:12. Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Concerning Mary he said above, Who labored much; but concerning these, that they are at labor throughout, and laboring still.[1]

Rom. 16:12. Salute the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord. This one is greater, both because she labored much, and because she is beloved. Thus he names each one according to desert, both making them more eager, and stirring up others to zeal.

Rom. 16:13. Salute Rufus the elect in the Lord, and his mother and mine. A double good, both that the son is irreproachable, and the mother. For he would not simply have said, His mother and mine, unless he bore much witness to the virtue of the woman.

Rom. 16:14. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren that are with them. Look not at this, that he set these down without encomia, but at this, that, being inferior to all, yet he deemed them worthy of his greeting; or rather, to these too he attached an encomium, calling them brethren.

Rom. 16:15. Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints that are with them. Great is the encomium for these also; for he called them saints.

Rom. 16:16. Salute one another with a holy kiss. Lest contentions arise, through some being greeted thus and others thus, and some with more encomia and others with fewer, he again blends them together with the holy kiss; that neither the great despise the lesser, nor the small envy the greater, the holy kiss soothing and equalizing all things.

Rom. 16:16. The churches of Christ greet you. Not only did he himself unite them, but he also sends through to them the greeting from the Churches in a unifying manner. For in common, he says, he greets them all, not this one and that one. And he addressed so many in this Epistle, which he did not do in any other, because he had not yet seen the Romans. Since, then, many of his acquaintances had fled for refuge into this city, with reason, mentioning them by name, he commends them through his letter.

Rom. 16:17. Now I beseech you, brethren, to mark them that cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. Again he exhorts, and not as a counselor, but as a suppliant, and with much honor; for he calls them brethren. And showing the craftiness of those who do despite, he said, Mark, that is, scrutinize them with exactness. First the divisions, then the offenses. For as long as the body was united, the offenses have no entrance; and these are heresies. Contrary to the doctrine, he says, which you have learned. He did not say, Which we taught, but, Which you learned, forestalling them, and showing them already persuaded, and having accepted it, and therefore bound to abide in the things they already received. The divisions, then, and the offenses, that is, the heresies, are brought in by those who lay down doctrines contrary to the apostolic teaching.

Rom. 16:17–18. Turn away from them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. Leap away, he says, from them. For if out of ignorance, or out of error, they did these things, one ought to set them right; but since they sin knowingly, flee. And he hints at those of the Jews, whom especially he said to slander as gluttons; for the whole race is of this kind. And all the heresies are from serving the passions and the belly. Are you not ashamed, then, making belly-slaves your teachers, you brother of Christ? And mark, that he who serves the belly serves not Christ.

Rom. 16:18. And by good words and fair speech they deceive the hearts of the simple. They plot, he says, through flattery; for this is good words and fair speech, when the words are of friendship, but the mind is full of guile. And he did not say, They deceive you, but, The hearts of the simple, that is, of the more guileless.

Rom. 16:19. For your obedience is come abroad to all. I am glad therefore on your behalf. It is the more guileless, he says, whom they prey upon, and not you.[2]For your obedience, that is, the compliance, which comes of much meekness, is come abroad to all. And not I alone bear witness to this, but also the whole world. I am glad therefore on your behalf, who were not deceived.

Rom. 16:19. I would have you wise to that which is good, and simple to that which is evil. He hints that even of them there were certain being deceived. And directly he speaks the saying of the Lord: Be wise as the serpents, and innocent as the doves. For he wishes them to be wise, that is, prudent, to that which is good, that is, to their own salvation and profit; but simple to that which is evil, that is, to the not doing of evil to others. For the guileless harms no one.

Rom. 16:20. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. Since there were divisions, he calls upon the giver of peace, that he may put an end to the offenses. And he says not, Shall subject, but what was much greater, Shall bruise; and those not only the workers of the offense, but also the very leader of them. And this also comforts them. For he added, Shortly. And the word, Shall bruise, is both a prayer and a prophecy. For it inclines toward the time to come.

Rom. 16:20. Our Lord Jesus Christ’s grace remain with you. He reminded them also of the grace, that from the things they had already received, they might become more eager toward faith concerning the things to come also. For if he saved them while they were enemies, much more now will he bruise Satan. And see, that he sets down neither works without prayer, nor prayer without works. For after bearing witness to their obedience, then he prayed; showing that we, not only of old, but also now, even if we be approved, have need of the grace of God.

Rom. 16:21. Timothy my fellow-worker salutes you. For he works together with him in the Gospel. And it is a great encomium to do the same things as Paul.

Rom. 16:21. as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen. This Jason is celebrated in the Acts, as having most bravely faced danger.

Rom. 16:22. I Tertius, who wrote the Epistle, salute you. A great thing, to have penned it. And he writes this, not that he might praise himself, but that he might be the more loved by them, as having ministered in the writing addressed to them.

Rom. 16:23. Gaius mine host, and of the whole Church, salutes you. That is, my host. And great is the praise, that he entertained the whole Church, and Paul himself; who would not have been entertained by him, had he not found him worthy.

Rom. 16:23. Erastus the chamberlain of the city salutes you, and Quartus a brother. That is, the treasurer of the city of Corinth; that you may know that neither wealth, nor rank hinders any one from coming to the upright way of life.

Rom. 16:24. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Both the foundation, that is, the beginning of the Epistle, he laid from hence, having said, Grace to you and peace; and the course now, that is, the end, he sets upon this same thing, praying that the grace of God may ever be present with them all. For this belongs to a teacher, to profit the disciples not only by word, but also by prayer.

But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. This also guards us, who hope not at all from works to find a place of salvation, but place all our hope upon the divine grace and upon the mercy; and through it may we become superior to the snares of Satan, they being bruised under our feet in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory to the ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek of this last clause (ὅτι κοπιᾷν εἶναι δι᾽ ὅλου, καὶ κοπιᾷν) is elliptical and appears corrupt in the printed text; the sense is that, unlike Mary’s single notice, these are praised for laboring continually.

[2] Translator’s note: The verb here (ἐλεάζουσι) is uncertain in the printed text; the sense required is that the deceivers take in the simpler sort.

Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians

Introduction

A Wealthy City, and a Church in Disorder

Theophylact’s Argument to First Corinthians opens not with Paul but with the city itself: Corinth, he writes, “abounded in wealth, and in wisdom, and in the other advantages,” and it was there, by his account, that Christ appeared to Paul and told him not to be silent, “for I have much people in this city.” Where a city thrives the devil works differently than where it suffers, and Theophylact traces the disorders of the young church to exactly that success: factions gathering around rival teachers who could afford to patronize them, a case of gross immorality tolerated and even admired for its display of sophistication, believers suing one another before pagan judges, some despising the weak in the matter of food offered to idols, and “others thought great things of themselves over the spiritual gifts.” The letter Paul writes to answer all of this is, on Theophylact’s reading, the most varied and the most occasional of the Pauline epistles—a running response to a genuine mess, handled one problem at a time.

The Method of a Lemma Commentary

Because the letter itself moves from topic to topic, Theophylact’s exposition follows suit rather than imposing an outline of its own. He proceeds by lemma: a short run of Paul’s own words is set down, and Theophylact unfolds it—a sentence, sometimes only a clause—before moving to the next. Where Chrysostom had given the Corinthians forty-four homilies, several of them ranging widely before returning to the text, Theophylact keeps to the verse in front of him, drawing on Chrysostom’s substance while giving it a much tighter compass. The result reads less like a treatise than like a patient teacher looking over a student’s shoulder, answering each difficulty as it arises rather than building toward one.

This close-quarters method suits a letter that is itself close-quarters. Paul does not develop a single argument across sixteen chapters, as he does in Romans; he answers a letter he had received from the Corinthians and reports he had heard from the household of Chloe, taking up marriage, food offered to idols, order in worship, the resurrection, and much else in turn. Theophylact’s commentary, following him topic by topic, gives the reader the same experience Paul’s first audience had: a series of concrete answers to concrete troubles, each one bearing on the life of a particular congregation rather than on doctrine considered in the abstract.

Two Passages Above the Rest: The Supper and the Resurrection

Two moments in the letter draw from Theophylact his most careful attention. The first is Paul’s correction of the disorders at the Lord’s Supper in chapter eleven. Theophylact reads the warning against eating and drinking “unworthily” as bearing directly on what is received: the one who approaches carelessly is guilty “not because of the nature of the mysteries—for these are life-giving—but because of the unworthiness of the one approaching,” and to fail to discern “the body of the Lord” is to fail to consider the greatness of what is actually set before the communicant. The sicknesses and untimely deaths among the Corinthians that Paul mentions are read as the real, present consequence of that carelessness—a passage taken with full seriousness about what is on the table, not as figure or memorial only.

The second is the long argument for the resurrection of the dead in chapter fifteen, which Theophylact calls “the chief point of our faith,” since if there is no resurrection Christ himself was not raised, and the whole of the Gospel collapses with it. He notes that the Corinthians’ difficulty here was a Greek difficulty—“the Greek-minded sages would have accepted anything rather than the resurrection”—and follows Paul as he grounds the hope not in speculation but in what the Corinthians “already believed,” the resurrection of Christ himself, before turning to the nature of the body that is to be raised. Together these two chapters give the commentary its theological center of gravity, set within a letter that otherwise moves briskly from one practical matter to the next.

How to Read This Commentary

A reader coming to First Corinthians for the first time will find it easiest to read a topic of Paul’s letter through in full before turning to Theophylact’s comment on it, since the commentary’s strength is in the particular rather than the panoramic. Because Theophylact so often explains a puzzling turn of phrase by supplying the situation behind it—who exactly is being addressed, what custom or complaint lies behind a given verse—the commentary rewards a reader willing to slow down at exactly the points where the letter itself seems most occasional and least like formal doctrine. It is there, more than anywhere else in Paul’s correspondence, that Theophylact’s patient, verse-by-verse method earns its keep.

Chapter 1

Argument of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Corinth is a city of Greece; and at that time it abounded in wealth, and in wisdom, and in the other advantages. In this city Paul suffered many things. For Christ, appearing to him there, said, Be not silent, but speak, for I have much people in this city. The devil, therefore, seeing so great and populous a city laid hold of by the truth, divides the people; and some became self-appointed teachers, while of the multitude … [those] who were able to serve them for patronage.[1] And thus, vying with one another in ambition, they administered the Church. This, then, was grievous. And there was another thing: that a certain man, having consorted with his own stepmother, not only was not rebuked by the others, but even drew a following and was puffed up over the outward wisdom. And yet another thing again: out of fear of those supposedly more perfect, some out of gluttony were eating things sacrificed to idols, and reclining in the temples, were harming many. And others, quarrelling with one another over money, went to law before those outside the Church. And others, eating by themselves in the assemblies, did not share with those in need. And still others thought great things of themselves over the spiritual gifts.

He writes back, then, in turn, not only concerning the things about which they had written, but also concerning the things about which they had not written, having learned all with exactness. Since, then, the greatest of all the rest was that there were schisms in the Church, and this was begotten of high-mindedness, he first pulls down the high-mindedness; wherefore he thus begins.

1 Cor. 1:1. Paul, a called apostle. Observe the prologue, which at once lays hold of the false teachers.

1 Cor. 1:1. Of Jesus Christ. Christ is the teacher; how then do you enroll men as teachers for yourselves?

1 Cor. 1:1. By the will of God. Because he did not say, “It was because we were worthy,” but, He willed it, and so he saved and called. So that now also he wills me to be your apostle; and how is it that you want other teachers? Are you then without responsibility? And note the διά (“through”) set with reference to the Father.

1 Cor. 1:1. And Sosthenes the brother. Out of modesty he joins to himself one far inferior; and this for the shaming of the high-minded Corinthians, who looked down upon all.

1 Cor. 1:2. To the Church of God which is in Corinth. Not of this man or of that, but “of God.” How then do you have men as patrons? And if you are indeed a Church, you ought by all means to be united. For the very name of “Church” is indicative of union.

1 Cor. 1:2. To those sanctified in Christ Jesus. Not in any man, but in Christ were you sanctified—through baptism, that is, and not through wisdom or wealth, on which you pride yourselves.

1 Cor. 1:2. Called saints. Even the very believing was not your own, but, being called by God, you thus obeyed and believed. So that faith too has its beginning from God. For had he not called, you would not have believed.

1 Cor. 1:2. With all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not to you Corinthians alone, he says, may grace and peace be, but also to “all who call upon the name of Christ,” not of this man or of that.

1 Cor. 1:2. In every place, both theirs and ours. He makes mention of the believers in every place, that he may show that all the faithful are one Church, wherever they may be. And how is it that you, being in one city, are divided? And a second time he added “ours.” For having said “of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and inserting in the middle “in every place,” he again took it up and said, “both our Lord and theirs,” that he might show him to be the common Master. But some understand it thus: “in every place, both theirs and ours”—that is, In which we also are, and they.

1 Cor. 1:3. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. From God are grace and peace. Both formerly, when, being at war against him, through his grace we were brought to peace; and now too I ever pray that these may be present to you from God, that you may fall away neither from his grace nor from peace, as men rising in faction against one another. How then do you assign yourselves to men, and seek from them grace and approval, as from teachers?

1 Cor. 1:3. And of the Lord Jesus Christ. For the things which the Father gives, these the Son also gives. For this is indicative of the equality in both.

1 Cor. 1:4. I give thanks. He trains us to be thankful; and in every Epistle, but more seasonably now, he employs thanksgiving. For thanksgiving is made over grace; and grace is no debt, nor a recompense. And this pulls down the conceit of the Corinthians.

1 Cor. 1:4. To my God. Out of much love he makes the common God of all his own.

1 Cor. 1:4. Always concerning you, for the grace of God. Through this he trains the Corinthians to be themselves always thankful to God, and not [to credit] their own achievements. “For the grace of God,” he says, not for your works, do I give thanks.

1 Cor. 1:4. Which was given you in Christ Jesus. That is, through Christ Jesus, not through this man or that. So then, why do you give heed to men?

1 Cor. 1:5. That in everything you were enriched in him. Again, instead of, through him. When, therefore, there is both wealth, and the wealth of God, and that in everything, and through the Only-begotten himself, how is it that you, being unthankful, enroll men as teachers for yourselves?

1 Cor. 1:5. In all speech and all knowledge. There is speech without knowledge, as when one utters vain things devoid of meaning; and there is knowledge without speech, when one understands lofty things but has no faculty of interpretation. But for both to run together is to be able both to understand and to speak.

1 Cor. 1:6. Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. The “even as” stands for “through which.” Through the speech, he says, and the knowledge, in which you were enriched, the testimony was confirmed in you—that is, the testimony of Christ. For not through the outward wisdom did you receive the preaching, but through the signs and the gifts of which you were counted worthy.

1 Cor. 1:7. So that you come behind in no gift. If they had the gifts unfailing, how does he later call them carnal? It may be said, then, that they were neither all spiritual nor all carnal; and so the things he now says, he says to the spiritual, while those things [he says] to the carnal. Or, that in the beginning it was likely they obtained all the gifts, but later grew slothful and lived according to the flesh.

1 Cor. 1:7. Awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here he strikes fear into them, reminding them of the second coming of Christ. For if Christ is to be revealed, how is it that you have other patrons? And he shows also that, along with the gifts, there is need of the rest of virtue too. For in that day the gifts profit no one, unless he have also a virtuous life. And by saying “revelation” he makes it plain that even now he is present, but hidden; and then he will be revealed.

1 Cor. 1:8. Who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. In saying “will confirm,” he shows them to be wavering; and in saying “blameless,” he shows them to be subject now to charges. And he is many times mindful here of the Lord Jesus Christ, as often as in no other Epistle. So that through this he reminds the Corinthians by whom they were saved, and by whose name they are called. For they are Christians from Christ, and not from the name of any other man.

1 Cor. 1:9. Faithful is God, by whom you were called to the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. That is, true is God. And if true, he called us to the fellowship of his Son—that is, so as to glorify us together with the Son in his kingdom; it is plain that he will fulfill what he promised. And you were called, he says; you did not come forward of yourselves. How then are you high-minded, as over your own works? And note here, more clearly, the “by whom” set with reference to the Father.

1 Cor. 1:10. Now I exhort you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since he is about to discourse with them rather sharply, taking it beforehand, he says he exhortes them through Christ; that is, It is not I who suffice for the entreaty, but I take along with me the name of the Lord, from whom you are called Christians; yet, having insulted this name, you have chosen to be called from men. Let this, then, put you to shame.

1 Cor. 1:10. That you all say the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you. What is it that I exhort? That you, he says, may all be in agreement, and not be divided. For that which is divided seems indeed to become many instead of one, yet neither did it become many (for what use is there in many fragments?), and it has destroyed the one. Most forcibly, then, he called schisms the things being done among them.

1 Cor. 1:10. But that you be fitly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Since he had said above, “That you all say the same thing,” lest they should suppose the concord to be only as far as words, he adds that it is also “in the same mind”—that is, That you may also think the same things. And since many agree in this matter but not in that, on this account he added “fitly joined together”—that is, perfect, in agreement in all matters. And since many are united as to their thoughts but stand apart as to their judgment (for when we have the same faith, but are not knit together in love, we think the same things, yet stand apart in judgment), on this account, having said “in the same mind,” he added, “and in the same judgment”; that they may stand apart neither in faith nor in judgment.

1 Cor. 1:11. For it was declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe. That they might not deny it, nor that he might set them at war with these, he brings forward those whom he called upon as witnesses; and lest he himself should seem to be inventing, he adduces testimony for them. And he did not say “by Chloe,” but “by those of Chloe”—that is, by those of the household of Chloe. Now there was in Corinth a woman so named, Chloe. And he still names them brethren; for if the sin be manifest, nothing hinders his still calling them brethren. But he did not tell them who they were that had spoken, but set forth the whole household, that he might not set them at war with those persons.

1 Cor. 1:11. that there are quarrels among you. He reports the matter from those there, using the milder word “contentions.” But when he speaks from his own term, he calls them schisms, which is far worse than contention.

1 Cor. 1:12. Now I say this, that each of you says: I am of Paul, and I of Apollos. He does not say a part [of you], but each of you. Yet they were not saying this; rather, he himself thus shapes the discourse, that he may show that, if to say “of Paul” makes them liable, much more to say “of others.”

1 Cor. 1:12. And I of Cephas. Not exalting himself above Peter by placing him later, but rather honoring him the more; just as indeed he has placed Christ too last. For in matters not fit to be set first, he made mention of his own person.

1 Cor. 1:12. And I of Christ. He does not bring this charge, that they say “And I of Christ,” but that not all say this. Rather, he set down this also of himself, wishing to make the accusation weightier, and to show that even Christ was assigned to one party, even if they were not doing this.

1 Cor. 1:13. Is Christ divided? Have you cut Christ in pieces? Have you parted his body? The word is full of indignation. But some understood “Is Christ divided?” thus: Did he distribute among men the Church that was divided, that, taking one portion, he should give the others to them?

1 Cor. 1:13. It wasn’t Paul who was crucified for you, was it? He does away with the absurdity being done among them, and makes mention of his own name, that he might not seem out of envy to make mention of others’ names. And he did not say, Did Paul fashion you, or make you? but, what is far greater, declaring his ineffable love for man, he brings the cross into the midst. And he did not say, Did Paul die? but, “Was he crucified?”—showing the seeming dishonor of the death.

1 Cor. 1:13. Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? I too baptized many, he says, but into the name of Christ. And he says this since this also became a cause of schism, namely, to be called after those who baptized. Yet this is not what is in question, who it was that baptized, but into whose name he baptizes; for it is he that forgives the sins, not the one baptizing.

1 Cor. 1:14. I give thanks to God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius. Why do you think great things, he says, over baptizing, when I rather give thanks that I did not do this? And he says these things not to overthrow the power of baptism, but their arrogance, which they had over it. For baptism is a great thing, but to baptize is not great.

1 Cor. 1:15. Lest anyone should say that I baptized into my own name. Not that they were saying this concerning those men, but, I fear, he says, lest the disease should advance to this. For if, when imperfect men baptized, a heresy arose, perhaps, had I the herald baptized, some might with show of reason have ascribed the baptism to me.

1 Cor. 1:16. I also baptized the household of Stephanas. All those in his house, that is. And he was a great man in Corinth, and most notable.

1 Cor. 1:16. Beyond that, I don’t know whether I baptized anyone else. So little, he says, is baptizing a matter of eagerness to me, that I do not even remember whether I baptized any other. How then do you exalt yourselves over this?

1 Cor. 1:17. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. For the more laborious task, and the one needing a soul of iron, was the preaching of the gospel. For to win over a man, and to remove him from doctrines firmly fixed, and that amid dangers, [belongs] to a great and noble soul. But to receive one ready and to baptize him would belong to anyone holding the priesthood. And if he was not sent to baptize, how did he baptize at all? He was not sent for this as his chief charge; yet he was not hindered from doing it. For he was sent for the greater work, but from the lesser he was not hindered. “Not in wisdom of speech”—that is, in eloquence and fine phrasing—lest the cross, or rather the preaching concerning the cross, be made empty and suffer diminishment. For this is the “be made empty”—that is, be found useless and void. For if the apostles had preached in wisdom of speech, some might have said that they persuaded through the plausibility of their words, and not through the power of what was preached; and this too would have been an emptying and a harm to the Crucified. But now, having preached in plain manner, they show the power of the Crucified to have wrought the whole. And the cross is wholly made empty in this way: suppose you should dispute with a Greek concerning some one of the divine things that surpass comprehension; if, then, I should undertake to demonstrate these to him from syllogisms and the outward wisdom, I shall be powerless—for no reasoning can establish them—and so my weakness will appear to be the weakness of the preaching, and thenceforth the cross is made empty, appearing as something vain and void.

1 Cor. 1:18. For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness. Since there were certain unbelievers in Corinth who mocked the cross and said: It is truly folly to preach a crucified God. For if he were God, he would have defended himself when crucified; but he who could not thrust off death, how could he rise from the dead?—it was likely that the faithful would set themselves against these by their own wisdom. He says, therefore: Be not astonished. For to those who are perishing the things given by God for salvation seem foolishness. And by “word of the cross” he means the preaching of the cross—that is, of Christ crucified.

1 Cor. 1:18. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. To us, he says, who have not perished but are being saved, it is the power of God. But the cross displays also wisdom: power, in that by death it loosed death—for it is an abundance of power to conquer while falling; and wisdom, in that by this very means it saved those who had perished.

1 Cor. 1:19. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent I will set at nought. Having called the unbelieving wise men “those who perish,” he establishes this from Scripture. For it said, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise”—of those outside—that is, I will show it to be profitless, which is no part of wisdom; and the understanding of those who seem to understand and perceive, I will set at nought.

1 Cor. 1:20. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? He spoke the words of Scripture; now, then, he brings also the proof from facts. And he convicts the Greeks in saying “Where is the wise?”—that is, the philosopher; and the Jews in saying “Where is the scribe?” And he named “disputers” those who entrust all things to reasonings and inquiries. For none of these saved us, but the fishermen drew us out of error. And “God made foolish the wisdom” stands for, He showed it to be inoperative.

1 Cor. 1:21. For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom knew not God, that is, those who [pursue] the things of the world (seeking, that is, through the wisdom that lies in eloquence), it pleased God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. The Greeks might indeed have had as teacher the wisdom of God, contemplated, that is, in the creatures; but they knew not God through the wisdom that lies in diction. There is no need, then, of such wisdom.

1 Cor. 1:22–23. Since both the Jews ask for a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we [preach] Christ crucified. Paul wishes to show that through contraries God wrought the contrary effects; and he says: Whenever I say to the Jew, Believe, at once he seeks signs; but we preach Christ crucified, which is so far from being a display of signs that it is even [a display] of weakness, so far as appears; and yet by this seeming weakness he is led on to faith. Again: the Greeks seek wisdom from us, but to them too we preach the cross, which in both respects seems to be folly; yet thus too they are persuaded. The Jews, he says, have the Crucified as a stumbling-block; while the Greeks deride the mystery as folly, because it is by faith alone that the crucifixion of God is apprehended, and because it is not adorned with fine phrasing.

1 Cor. 1:24. but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. To the unbelieving Jews, he says, Christ is a stumbling-block; and to the unbelieving Greeks he seems folly, because the things they seek they do not find in him. But to the called Jews and the called Greeks—that is, to those called by God—Christ is found to be both. For what do you seek, O Jew? Signs? Behold, Christ is the power of God. And you, what do you say, O Greek? You seek wisdom? You have Christ, who is the wisdom of the Father.

1 Cor. 1:25. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. He names the cross “foolish,” as it seems thus; yet it is wiser than men. For the philosophers busied themselves about cold and profitless things; but the cross saved the world. And it seems weak too, as Christ was crucified out of weakness; but it is stronger than men, not only because, though countless men wished to quench this name, it rather flourishes, but also because through the seeming weak the strong devil was bound. And you may understand these things also thus: that in the case of God the supremely-wise is called unwise, that is, foolish; and the supremely-strong, weak; just as his super-luminous brightness too is called darkness and gloom.

1 Cor. 1:26. For behold your calling, brethren, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. Examine, he says, and search out those called to the faith, and you will find that not many are wise according to the flesh—that is, according to appearance. But he did not say that no one is wise, but, “not many.” For there were wise men also in the faith, as the Areopagite, as the proconsul, and others not now known by name. And mighty men also and noble believed. On this account, then, he said of all, “Not many.” So then, behold the power of the preaching, how it taught such unlettered men doctrines so wise, and how the outward wisdom is shown to be a useless thing.

1 Cor. 1:27–28. But God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame the wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the strong. For it is a shame to the Greeks, when they see the craftsman in the marketplace philosophizing beyond them, and the weak man putting to shame those in positions of power.

1 Cor. 1:28. And God chose the base things of the world and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are. Those who are reckoned to be nothing, these he names “the things that are not”; and “the things that are,” those who seem to be something. That he might therefore show these to be idle and useless, he chose those others. For this is the greatest shame to the renowned, that he made the despised to shine, and the renowned to fail.

1 Cor. 1:29. That no flesh should boast before God. For this reason, he says, God did these things: that he might lay low the conceit and arrogance of those who mind the things of the world, and persuade them to refer all things to him, and not to boast before him. How then do you, O Corinthians, exalt yourselves over this?

1 Cor. 1:30. But of him are you in Christ Jesus. Do not understand the “of him” to be said concerning the bringing into being, but concerning the bringing into well-being. And what he says is of this kind: You became children of God, and are of him, having become his sons in Christ—that is, through Christ. And since he said, “He chose the base things,” he shows that they are more noble than all.

1 Cor. 1:30. Who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That is, He made us prudent, and righteous, and holy, and free. For this is redemption, the recall from captivity. And just as, having chosen the base, he made them noble, setting them as sons of God, so also [he made] the foolish wise, having become to us wisdom. Why then did he not say that he made us wise, but “He was made to us wisdom”? To display the loftiness of the gift. And having said great things concerning the Son, he adds the “from God,” that no one may suppose [the Son to be unoriginate], but may run up to the cause, the Father. And observe the order: first he made them wise, having freed them from error and taught them the knowledge of God; and then righteous, having granted forgiveness of sins; then having also sanctified them through the Holy Spirit; and thus he wrought a complete deliverance from all evils, and made us free, and consecrated to himself.

1 Cor. 1:31. That, as it is written: He that boasts, let him boast in the Lord. All these things, he says, came to pass, that no one might reckon himself to be something, nor boast in himself, or in any other, but in God, who bestowed such things on us. How then are you puffed up both over yourselves and over men as teachers?

[1] Translator’s note: A short lacuna stands here in the Migne text; the sense is that the people attached themselves to various self-appointed teachers who could afford them protection.

Chapter 2

1 Cor. 2:1. And I, when I came to you, brethren, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. Not only, he says, were the disciples of the gospel chosen as unlearned and lowborn, but I myself also, the herald of the gospel, came not with prepared words and human wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God—that is, the death of Christ. Observe, then, that the herald too is unlearned and a plain man, and the thing preached is death and a cross; and yet it conquered. It is plain, therefore, that there is an ineffable power which makes these things to be thus. But what? Even if Paul had wished, could he have been [a man] of wisdom? He himself could not, for he was truly a plain man; but Christ could, who bestowed greater things on him, yet it was not expedient for the preaching. For Christ is the more glorified, conquering through the plainness of Paul, than if he had conquered through wisdom and speech.

1 Cor. 2:2. For I judged not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Both Christ, he says, willed this, that I should be a plain man; and I myself judged this very thing good, to know nothing of the outward wisdom, save only that Jesus Christ was crucified, and to preach him to you.

1 Cor. 2:3. And I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. Not only, he says, did I come to you mean in respect of speech, but I also spent my time among you in weakness, and fear, and trembling—that is, persecuted, and tried, and assailed by countless fears. For he too, as a man, feared the dangers, or rather even trembled. Whence his praise is the greater, that, being of the same nature with us, he surpassed it by his resolve. And he says these things, showing the power of Christ, that, though there were so many hindrances, yet it prevailed; and it cast down the haughtiness of the Corinthians, who trusted in wisdom, and wealth, and power.

1 Cor. 2:4. And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. My preaching, he says, was not made clever with outward plausibility and eloquence, but in demonstration of the Spirit—that is, having as its demonstration the Holy Spirit itself; partly, perhaps, because in some unspeakable way it wrought faith in the hearers through the gracing of the word; and partly because he also performed signs and wonders. “And of power”—that is, of the signs. For the greatest demonstration to faith is to see the dead raised. And since powers are wrought deceitfully even by demons, having first said “of the Spirit,” he then added “of power,” showing that the things done were spiritual. And you may take the “of power” also in another way. For since he said, I came not in wisdom, but also in weakness, with reference to the wisdom he said “in demonstration of the Spirit,” and with reference to the “in weakness,” the “of power”—that is, Though persecuted and beaten, yet I was shown to be the more powerful; which is itself the greatest demonstration of the word.

1 Cor. 2:5. That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. By “wisdom of men” he means plausibility and eloquence; and by “power of God,” both the strengthening of the weak and persecuted, and the display of signs, which indeed established your faith, O Corinthians—not plausibility and eloquence, but the power of God.

1 Cor. 2:6. Yet we speak wisdom among the perfect; but a wisdom not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nought. He named the preaching “folly” above, even as the Greeks too named it; but since he demonstrated through facts that this is the true wisdom, thenceforth he takes courage to name the preaching concerning Christ “wisdom” also; for it is of the greatest wisdom to bring death to nought by death. And by “the perfect” he means the faithful; for these are perfect, who have despised all things and soared toward heaven. And by “wisdom of this age” he names the outward wisdom, as temporary and dissolved together with this age. And by “rulers of this age” [he means] not demons, as some have understood, but the wise, and the writers, and the orators, who became also popular leaders and rulers. And as being themselves temporary, he names them “of this age,” and “coming to nought”—that is, ceasing, and not enduring forever.

1 Cor. 2:7. But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom. He calls the preaching according to Christ a “mystery”; for though it is a preaching, yet it is also a mystery, inasmuch as not even the angels knew it before it came to pass, and inasmuch as, seeing one thing, we understand another. For I see a cross and a passion, and I understand power; I hear of a servant, and I worship a Master. And this wisdom is hidden, from the unbelievers wholly, but from the faithful not wholly. For we see now as in a mirror.

1 Cor. 2:7. Which God foreordained before the ages to our glory. He said “foreordained,” that he might show the love of God toward us. For we are the more loved by those who are prepared long beforehand to do us good; thus God too, before the ages, foreordained the salvation through the cross, which is the greatest wisdom. And “to our glory,” inasmuch as he made us partakers of it. For it is the glory of a servant to share with his Master in a hidden mystery.

1 Cor. 2:8. Which none of the rulers of this age has known. By “rulers” he now means Pilate and Herod. And if you should say also the chief priests and scribes, you would not err. And “of this age,” because of the temporariness of their rule, as has been said above.

1 Cor. 2:8. For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. If they had known the hidden wisdom, and the mysteries of the divine economy—such as the things concerning the incarnation of God, the things concerning the cross, the things concerning the calling and adoption of the nations, the things concerning the regeneration and sonship, and the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven [they would not have crucified him]. But the chief priests too, had they known that their city would be taken and they themselves led away captive, would not have crucified him. And here he named Christ “Lord of glory”; for since the cross seemed to be a dishonor, he shows that nothing was harmed in respect of glory by the cross, but rather he was the more glorified.

1 Cor. 2:9. But as it is written: The “came to pass” is wanting; for in many places the Apostle uses the elliptical form.

1 Cor. 2:9. Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, the things which God prepared for those who love him. But what did God prepare for those who love him? The knowledge of Christ, and the salvation of the incarnation. For these things neither human eye saw, nor human ear heard, nor did human heart conceive. For the prophets did not see with human eyes, nor hear with human ears, nor, using a human mind, understand the things concerning Christ; but all these things were divine to them. For the Lord, he says, added to me an ear, a spiritual one, that is; and the rest likewise. But where is this passage written? Perhaps it is likely that it was indeed written thus in these very words, and that the book is now not to be found; or perhaps the most wise Paul paraphrased into this form the passage, They to whom it was not told concerning him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.

1 Cor. 2:10. But to us God revealed them through his Spirit. As though someone had said: If it entered not into the heart of man, how have you learned it? he says, “God revealed it to us through the Spirit,” not through human wisdom. For this could not see the mysteries of God.

1 Cor. 2:10–11. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the things of a man, save the spirit of the man that is in him? So also the things of God none knows, save the Spirit of God. So great, he says, was the mystery, and so hidden, that we could not have learned it from another, had not the Spirit taught us, who knows even the depths of God. For “searches” is not indicative of ignorance, but of exact comprehension; just as it is said of the Father also, “He who searches the hearts,” instead of, he who knows their depths. And in another sense, as taking delight in the contemplation of the mysteries of God, the Spirit is said to search them. And he shows also through what follows the exact knowledge of the Spirit. For as the human spirit knows the things in the man, so also, he says, the Spirit of God [knows] the things of God. And we learn from this that the Spirit is not of another essence than the Father, just as neither is that of the man of another [essence] than himself.

1 Cor. 2:12. Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God. By “spirit of the world” he named human wisdom; this we did not receive, lest it should make our preaching empty and useless. “But the Spirit which is of God”—that is, the consubstantial with God, that which is of his essence—this we had as teacher.

1 Cor. 2:12. That we might know the things that are freely given us by God. The Spirit, he says, is light, and we received this light, that we might see the things hitherto veiled, being illumined by it. What things? The things freely given by God—that is, the things concerning the economy of Christ: how he died for us, how he made us sons of God, how he seated us at the right hand of the Father in himself. So that those who have not the Spirit cannot see.

1 Cor. 2:13. Which things also we speak, not in words taught of human wisdom, but in [words] taught of the Holy Spirit. By so much, he says, are we wiser than the wise men among the Greeks, as those were taught by men, while we speak the things we speak, having been taught by the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor. 2:13. interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual terms. That is, If certain spiritual questions arise, we compare them—that is, we resolve them by means of certain other spiritual notions or histories. For example, that Christ rose is a question. This, then, being a spiritual question, is compared and resolved out of another spiritual thing—that is, the history concerning Jonah. And that a virgin gave birth, this too is a question, and it is resolved from the barrenness of Sarah, of Rebecca, of Elizabeth, who conceived not by natural sequence, so far at least as the power of each womb was concerned; and from the fact that Eve came to be from Adam without seed, and from other things contemplated in the first bringing into being. And you may understand “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” also thus, instead of, comparing and resolving the spiritual things for spiritual men; for these alone are able to contain such things.

1 Cor. 2:14. But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him. The natural man is he who gives all to the reasonings of the soul, and does not think he has need of the help from above, nor is willing to receive anything by faith, but reckons all things folly that do not admit of demonstration. Him, then, who supposes that all things come to pass by natural sequence, and holds that nothing comes to pass above nature, he calls “natural”—that is, [governed by] nature. For the soul is occupied about the economy of nature. And just as the eyes of the body, though most beautiful and most useful, have not strength to see without light, so also the soul, fashioned to be receptive of the Holy Spirit, cannot without him behold the divine things.

1 Cor. 2:14. And he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned. That is, he does not consider that the things spoken need faith, and that it is not possible to grasp them by reasonings. For this is the “they are spiritually discerned,” instead of, they have their resolution through faith and the Spirit.

1 Cor. 2:15. But the spiritual man discerns indeed all things, yet he himself is discerned of no one. The spiritual man, he says, knows all things: both the things here, that they are temporary; and the things there, that they are abiding; and the things of the faithful, that they will obtain salvation; and the things of the unbelievers, that they will be punished. Wherefore he also convicts these. He himself, however, is discerned by none of these—that is, convicted; just as he that sees both beholds his own things and the things of those who see not, while they see neither their own things nor his.

1 Cor. 2:16. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? The spiritual mind he names “the mind of the Lord.” And the “instruct” stands for, set right. Since, then, he had said before that the spiritual man is discerned of no one, he now says that I said this with reason: “For who has known the mind of the Lord, who shall instruct him”—that is, set him right? For if no one can know the mind of the Lord, which the spiritual man has, much less [can he] teach and set it right.

1 Cor. 2:16. But we have the mind of the Lord. Marvel not, he says, that I called the spiritual man “the mind of the Lord,” and his mind [the mind of the Lord]; for we all have the mind of Christ—that is, All things that we know, Christ revealed to us; and the mind which we have concerning the divine things is Christ’s—that is, The knowledge which we have concerning the spiritual things of the faith, we have from Christ; so that with reason we are discerned of no one. But some have named “the mind of Christ” the Father, others the Spirit also.

Chapter 3

1 Cor. 3:1. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal. He cast down their conceit over the outward wisdom, that they might not be able to say, We pride ourselves not over that, but over the spiritual; now he shows that they have not the perfect even in our wisdom, but are still imperfect; and he says, You have not yet heard any of the more perfect things. And well did he say “I could not,” lest he should seem out of envy not to tell them the more perfect things. For because you are still occupied about carnal things, I could not speak [to you] as to perfect men. And how, being carnal, did they perform signs? There were such men also, which has been said at the outset. And besides, it is possible both to do signs and to be carnal, as those who cast out demons by the name of Christ. For signs come to pass for the benefit of others; wherefore they are often wrought even through the unworthy.

1 Cor. 3:2. As to babes in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, and not meat. For you were not yet able, nay, neither even now are you able; for you are still carnal. So far as concerns the things of Christ, he says, you are babes; wherefore “milk”—that is, the simpler teaching—“I gave you to drink, and not meat” did I offer you—that is, the more perfect teaching. Why? Because you were not able. And pulling down their haughtiness, he says: “Neither even now are you able; for you still mind the things of the flesh.” Do you see that for this reason they cannot, because they will not be spiritual, but carnal?

1 Cor. 3:3. For where there is among you jealousy and strife and divisions, are you not carnal, and walk according to man? The things he said before, he said all toward the rulers who exalted themselves over wisdom and noble birth; but now at last he strips himself for action against the ruled, and says: With reason do I name you carnal, where there is among you jealousy, and strife, and divisions. For he might have charged them also concerning fornication and many other faults; but since the pressing matter was the divisions and strifes, of these he makes mention. And everywhere he joins jealousy to strife. For jealousy is the father of strife; and this begets the divisions. Having these things, then, do you not walk according to man?—that is, Do you not mind carnal and human and earthly things?

1 Cor. 3:4. For when one says, I am of Paul, and another, I of Apollos, are you not carnal? By the name of Paul and Apollos he hints at those among them who were renowned and teachers.

1 Cor. 3:5. What then is Paul, and what Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed? Under his own name and that of Apollos he accomplishes what he wishes. For he establishes [the point]: If we are nothing, what would one say concerning the teachers among you? We are ministers, he says, not the very root and fountain of good things; for this is Christ. Be not exalted, then, because we ministered to you the things from God. For the whole belongs to him, the bestower of good things. And he did not say, We are evangelists, but “ministers.” For the former belongs to word only; but to minister has works also.

1 Cor. 3:5. To each as the Lord gave. Not even this small thing of the ministry, he says, have we from ourselves, but this too we received from the Lord, one in one measure, another in another.

1 Cor. 3:6. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. I, he says, first sowed the preaching; and Apollos, by his own teaching, watered; yet God increased you.

1 Cor. 3:7. So then, neither is he that plants anything, nor he that waters, but God that gives the increase. Observe how he makes inoffensive the setting-at-nought of the wise and rich who presided in Corinth, having set at nought himself and Apollos, so far as appears, and having taught that one must give heed to God alone, and refer to him all the good things that befall.

1 Cor. 3:8. Now he that plants and he that waters are one. So far as concerns not being able to do anything without God, they are one. How then are you exalted against one another, being one?

1 Cor. 3:8. But each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. Since it was likely that those who had labored more about the faith would become more slothful on hearing that all are one, he at once sets this right, saying that “They are one,” so far as concerns not being able to do anything without the God who gives the increase; for so far as concerns the recompense, each shall have his reward according to his own labor. And he did not say, According to his own work, but, “According to the labor”; for what if one accomplished no work, but labored?

1 Cor. 3:9. For we are God’s fellow-workers. Those who teach, he says, are God’s fellow-workers, cooperating with the purpose of God, who wills to save; not being themselves the agents of salvation, or the givers of it. Neither, then, are they worthy to be despised—for we are God’s fellow-workers; nor to be exalted—for God’s is the whole.

1 Cor. 3:9. You are God’s husbandry, God’s building. Having said above, “I planted,” he keeps to the figure, and calls them husbandry. If, then, you are husbandry and a building, you ought to be called from the Master, not from the husbandmen or the builders. As husbandry, then, you ought to be fenced by one fence, that of concord; and as a building, to be united, and not torn apart.

1 Cor. 3:10. According to the grace of God which was given me, as a wise master-builder I laid a foundation. He calls himself a wise master-builder, not exalting himself, but wishing to show what this is, the part of a wise master-builder, namely, to lay such a foundation—that is, Christ; and that he said this not in exaltation of himself is plain from this. For he says, “According to the grace of God.” For it is not my achievement to have become wise, but the grace of God.

1 Cor. 3:10. But another builds upon it; and let each take heed how he builds upon it. Since he had discoursed to them concerning union, he now discourses to them concerning conduct, calling each man’s deeds a “building-upon.”

1 Cor. 3:11. For other foundation can no one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. No one can, so long as he remains a wise master-builder; since, when one is not a wise master-builder, he is able to lay [another], and from the first the heresies [arise]. Among you Corinthians, then, since the one foundation is Christ, you also ought to build upon this, not the things of strife and jealousy, but the works of virtue.

1 Cor. 3:12. If anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, each man’s work shall be made manifest. After we have received the foundation of the faith, we each build upon it—some good deeds, which differ, being greater and lesser; for example, virginity, as gold; honorable marriage, as silver; voluntary poverty, as precious stones; almsgiving in wealth, as some other of the less precious things. And others of us build evil deeds, which themselves too have their gradations; so that hay and stubble are the name for those readier to be burned—I mean, uncleanness, idolatry, covetousness; and wood, the less such; for example, drunkenness, scurrility, and the like. And perhaps some will say the contrary: wood, the things mentioned first; and hay and stubble, these latter.

1 Cor. 3:13. For the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and of what sort each man’s work is, the fire shall prove. By “the day” he means the day of judgment; and “in fire” he says that the works are revealed—that is, made manifest, of what nature they are, whether gold, or the contrary.

1 Cor. 3:14–15. If any man’s work abide which he built upon it, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned up, he shall suffer loss. If you have silver or gold, your work shall by all means abide, and you shall receive a reward; but if hay and the like, your work shall not bear the rush of the fire (for this is the “shall be burned up”), but shall be proved to be evil. For just as, if one with golden armor should pass through a river of fire, he passes through unharmed; but if he should pass through having hay, not only did he gain nothing, but he even destroys himself; so is it also with works. So that faith does not profit without good works. For behold, here the foundation was Christ, yet the works that are not according to Christ are said to be worthy of being burned up.

1 Cor. 3:15. But he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. Not as the works, so also shall he himself perish, passing into nothing, but he shall be saved—that is, preserved, so as to be burned in the fire. For we too are accustomed to say of wood that is not burned up nor easily reduced to ashes, that it is “preserved” in the fire, so that the burning becomes more lasting. The sinner, then, suffers loss, in that he labored over such things, from which he perished, casting down all his labors upon things that have no substance and are not (for all evil is non-being); just as if one, paying a great price, should buy something dead, as though living. He himself, however—the sinner, that is—is saved, that is, is kept whole, undergoing eternal punishments.

1 Cor. 3:16. Know you not that you are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? And observe how reprovingly he uses the discourse. For from the grace given us, that is, the indwelling of the Spirit, he puts the fornicator to shame, even though he has not plainly set forth the person, but makes the discourse in common. And if we are a temple of God, since the Spirit dwells in us, then the Spirit is God.

1 Cor. 3:17. If any man destroys the temple of God, him shall God destroy. That is, shall bring to nought. And this he says not as one cursing, but as one foretelling what shall be.

1 Cor. 3:17. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Therefore the fornicator cannot be holy, since he has destroyed his being a temple, the Spirit that sanctified him having departed. And which is the temple? You, plainly, if you remain pure.

1 Cor. 3:18. Let no one deceive himself. Thinking that the matter stands otherwise, and not as I have said.

1 Cor. 3:18. If any among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. Having hinted at a few things concerning the fornicator, he again makes his discourse against those who exalted themselves over the outward wisdom, and says: “Let him who seems to be wise among you become a fool”—instead of, let him hold the outward wisdom in dishonor, that he may gain the divine. For just as poverty according to God is wealth, and dishonor likewise glory, so also folly according to God is wisdom. And observe, he did not say, Let him put away wisdom, but, what is far greater, “Let him become a fool”—that is, conceiving nothing of himself, not trusting to his own reasonings, but following God like a beast of burden, and believing all the things of God.

1 Cor. 3:19. For the wisdom of this world is folly before God. For not only does it contribute nothing toward the true wisdom, but it rather hinders, inasmuch as out of self-conceit it disdains to learn, and on this account ever keeps him who uses it in ignorance; whence as fools they are tripped up by God.

1 Cor. 3:19. For it is written: He that takes the wise in their own craftiness. He brings forward a testimony, how human wisdom is foolishness with God, and says that God catches the wise as fools—that is, he subdues them with their own weapons. For though they be crafty and wise, they are convicted as fools and senseless. For example: those men supposed they had no need of God, but conceived all things of themselves; God showed them, by the very facts, that their cleverness and craftiness profited them nothing, but that they most of all have need of God, even those who seem to have no need. So that in their craftiness, in which they thought to know all things, they were found to know nothing, but to be more boorish than fishermen and cobblers in the things needful.

1 Cor. 3:20. And again: The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain. If, then, the Lord knows the reasonings, that they are vain, inasmuch as they grasp nothing of the needful and saving things, how is it that you, O Corinthians, know the things contrary to God, and court these men as profitable?

1 Cor. 3:21–22. So then let no one boast in men; for all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas. These things he seems indeed to say toward the ruled; but he strikes the rulers, saying that one ought not to boast at all, neither over the outward wisdom—for it is folly—nor over the spiritual gifts; for they are God’s, and are given for the sake of the ruled. For this is what he means by, “For all things are yours”—that is, Why do your teachers exalt themselves, and you puff them up and lift them on high? For have they anything of their own? Nay, the things they have are yours, given them for your benefit, and they rather owe thanks to you. And again he made mention of himself and of Peter, for the sake of inoffensiveness, and that he might show: If we received the gifts for your sakes, and for your sakes have been put forward as teachers, much more ought your present teachers not, as over their own achievements, to exalt themselves over the gifts, which are good things belonging to another.

1 Cor. 3:22. Whether world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. And the life, he says, of the teachers is for your sakes, that you may be benefited by being taught; and their death is for your sakes; for it is on your behalf that they are in danger, and for your salvation. Or also otherwise: That the death of Adam too is for your sakes, that you may be brought to sobriety; and that of Christ, that you may be saved; and, simply, the whole world is for your sakes, that through it you may be guided to the Creator, and may use its corruptibility as a teacher to the longing for the incorruptible things. And the things present are yours—that is, the good things which God already bestows here on those who believe; and the things to come have been prepared for your sakes.

1 Cor. 3:23. All things are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. Not as we are Christ’s, so also is Christ God’s. For we are Christ’s as his work and handiwork; but Christ is God’s as a Son pre-eternal, and as having the Father for his cause. So that, though the word is one, the meaning is diverse; since neither are all things ours in the same way as we are Christ’s. For we are servants of Christ and his handiwork; but all things are not our servants, nor our handiwork. So that you do not well, assigning yourselves to men, and that when you are Christ’s.

Chapter 4

1 Cor. 4:1. So let a man account us, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Since we teachers are servants, why do you, forsaking the Master, name yourselves after us the servants? And by naming the apostles and teachers stewards of mysteries, he showed that one must not dispense the word to all without discernment, but to those to whom one ought, and when one ought, and as one ought; and besides, since they are mysteries, they ought not to be uncovered to all—for this is not the mark of a prudent steward.

1 Cor. 4:2. Now what is further sought in stewards is that a man be found faithful. That is, that he may not appropriate the Master’s goods to himself, that he may not handle the affairs as a master, but administer them as belonging to another and to the Master—not saying that the Master’s things are his own, but, on the contrary, that his own things are the Master’s.

1 Cor. 4:3. But to me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man’s day. Such a sickness was prevalent in Corinth. For those who were divided over their teachers, sitting as judges presiding, mocked and cast out men pious and beloved of God on account of their lack of learning, while they approved men laden with countless evils on account of their eloquence, rashly casting such votes: This man is better than that, and this one inferior to that, and that one better than this, and that one than this. Since, then, Paul had said that in stewards it is sought that one be found faithful, and he seemed to give them an opening to judge each man’s life—and this made the dissensions greater—lest they suffer this, he restrains them from judging, and says, “But to me it is a very small thing”; as if to say, I count it the greatest dishonor to be judged by you at all. Then, lest he wound them as men despised, he added, “Or by man’s day”—that is, or by any other man of repute and exalted; for Scripture is wont to name a man’s loftiness his “day.” But let no one charge Paul with arrogance; for these things he does not say truly concerning himself, since he did not judge himself at all; but, that they might not judge others, he sets right in his own person what he wishes.

1 Cor. 4:3–4. But neither do I judge myself; for I am conscious of nothing against myself; yet I am not thereby justified; but he who judges me is the Lord. Do not think, he says, that in making light of you, or of all other men, I disdain to be judged; but neither do I deem myself sufficient for such exactness. For I am not conscious to myself of any fault, inasmuch as I am unable to judge rightly and exactly. “Yet I am not thereby justified”—that is, Not as though I were clean from sin. For it is likely that some things have been sinned by me, but that I am ignorant of them; and the Lord alone is he who judges exactly and surely. And from this consider for me how great is the exactness of the judgment to come.

1 Cor. 4:5. So then, do not pronounce judgment before the time, until the Lord comes. Do you see that Paul said these things that others might not be judged by the Corinthians, and not for his own sake? For such was Paul, ever taking upon his own person the things of others, and in himself teaching what he means to teach.

1 Cor. 4:5. Who will also bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. Now, he says, wicked deeds are hidden (for these are “the hidden things of darkness”), and often a man seems to be something, while he is profane and corrupt. But then God will uncover all things, yea, and will make manifest also the counsels of the hearts. For example: Here someone praises another; behold, the deed is good, but perhaps the counsel is corrupt—for it may be that he does this not with a good aim. Again, someone reproves another, as it seems, but not so as to set him right, but so as to parade his brother’s faults. And countless such counsels of hearts will then be made manifest.

1 Cor. 4:5. Then shall each man have his praise from God. It would have followed to say, Either punishment or praise; but he laid up the saying in the more auspicious form.

1 Cor. 4:6. But these things, my brethren, I have transferred in a figure to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you may learn not to be minded above that which is written. “These things”—both what was said above concerning the dissensions, and what was said immediately concerning those who condemn others. “That,” he says, through our person, “you may learn not to be minded above that which is written.” For Scripture says, concerning not being lifted up: He who wishes to be first, let him be last of all; and, He who humbles himself shall be exalted; and countless such things. And concerning not judging: Judge not, that you be not judged.

1 Cor. 4:6. That none of you be puffed up for the one against the other. This he says to the people. For he varies the teaching, and at one time directs his words to the disciples, at another to the teachers and the rulers, as indeed also now. For they were puffed up over their teachers. For example, he who had this man for teacher was high-minded against that disciple, being puffed up on behalf of his own teacher against the other teacher. And well did he name the thing a “puffing up,” as it were a swelling and a tumor, by a metaphor from a body swollen by some evil humor or wind.

1 Cor. 4:7. For who distinguishes you? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you had not received it? Again he directs his words to the teachers, and says: Who distinguished you and voted you worthy to be praised? A man? But human judgment errs. But grant that you do have something worthy of praise; this is not yours, but belongs to the giver; and you received it, you did not achieve it. And if you did receive it, how, then, are you lifted up as though you had not received it, but as having this of yourself and from your own labors? For he who has received ought not to be lifted up over what he received; for it belongs to another.

1 Cor. 4:8. Already you are filled, already you are rich. These are the words of one bearing them heavily. So quickly, he says, do you need nothing? Are you in want of nothing? But already you are sated, having in a little time arrived at perfection, and received all the wealth both of knowledge and of the gifts of grace? And yet perfection is in the world to come; but you, it seems, already have it; for your boasting shows this, that you have arrived at perfection itself. And these things he says, showing that they are imperfect, if indeed they are so disposed.

1 Cor. 4:8. Without us you have reigned. And these things also he says with the same temper, showing their want of conscience, that, Having been deemed worthy of gifts so great, you do not wish to take us, who labored, as partakers.

1 Cor. 4:8. And would that you did reign, that we also might reign together with you. Would, he says, that you reigned—that is, that you had attained perfection. Then, lest the saying should seem to be irony, he adds, “That we also might reign together with you”—that is, that we might attain the same good things. For your glory is mine; since to every teacher the perfecting of his disciples is a thing longed for.

1 Cor. 4:9. For I think that God has set forth us the apostles last, as men appointed to death. He speaks words of one grieving, or rather of one putting them to shame. For as I see, he says, from the things you do, we the apostles have been shown forth by God last of all, and appointed to death—that is, condemned men, prepared to be put to death. For from the fact that you have already reigned, I conjecture that we, thereafter, have been condemned to be last, and as condemned men; we the apostles, that is, we who have suffered so much for Christ.

1 Cor. 4:9. For we have become a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. That is, We suffer not in one place, but everywhere on earth; and not men only behold us (for the things that happen are not so paltry), but angels also. For great are our wrestlings, so as to be worthy even of angelic beholding. For we wrestle not against men only, but also against the powers of the wicked angels.

1 Cor. 4:10. We are fools for Christ’s sake; but you are wise in Christ. Again this also he says by way of shaming. For since the apostles were beaten and despised for Christ’s sake, while those men were honored and reckoned wise, and boasted that these things were in Christ—How, he says, is it possible for contraries to come together in those who are of the same mind? It is necessary, then, either that we are not minded according to Christ, or that you are. But surely it is absurd that the apostles of Christ should not be minded according to Christ; you, therefore, are they who err.

1 Cor. 4:10. We are weak, but you are strong; you are honored, but we are without honor. That is, We are driven, persecuted; but you enjoy security. For everywhere he calls the trials “weakness.” And you indeed are honored and noble; but we are in dishonor. All these things he says bearing them heavily. For the sense is such: How is it likely that we should suffer ill, while you enjoy security and are amid good things? So that it is plain that you are not amid good things, but rather are now ill and unworthily of the apostles. You ought not, then, to be lifted up over these things.

1 Cor. 4:11. Even to the present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked. Why, he says, do I speak of the old things? Look at the things of now: how you indeed live luxuriously, but we…

1 Cor. 4:11. And are buffeted. That is, are beaten. And this is against those who are puffed up.

1 Cor. 4:11. And have no fixed abode. That is, We are driven, we flee. And this is against those who are rich.

1 Cor. 4:12. And we toil, working with our own hands. These things he says, putting to shame those who, for the sake of gain and profit, undertake and dare to preach.

1 Cor. 4:12–13. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being slandered, we entreat. And the greatest of all, he says, is that we are not even vexed at these things. And whence is this plain? From the fact that we requite even those who do such things to us with the contrary. For we speak well of those who revile us, and those who bear themselves somewhat more harshly (for this is slander, the harsher assault), these too we entreat, addressing them with the gentler and softer word, and requiting them with the contraries. For this is “entreaty,” the discourse that soothes. On this account the Christians seem to be fools, because they do these things.

1 Cor. 4:13. We have become as the offscourings of the world, the refuse of all, even until now. What is the “offscouring”? That which is called a wiping-off. When one wipes off something filthy, that wiping-off is called the offscouring. And the “refuse” itself signifies the same; for “to wipe round” means to sponge off all around. He says, then, that We are worthy to be cast off, and to be reckoned as an abomination, not to you alone, but to the whole world, and to all men; and not for a season, but until now. And see what manner of man the Christian must be, and that he ought to strive until the end.

1 Cor. 4:14. I write these things not to shame you, but as admonishing you as my beloved children. Not putting you to shame, he says, nor with a wicked and hateful mind do I say these things, but as children; and not simply children, but beloved. Pardon me if anything burdensome has been said; for these things come of love. And he did not say, I rebuke, but, “I admonish.” And who would not bear with a father admonishing?

1 Cor. 4:15. For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet you have not many fathers. What then? they say; do not the others love us? Not so, he says, as I do. For they indeed are tutors, but I am a father; just as, then, in the case of children, the father is one, but the tutors are perhaps many—and compared with the affection of the one, the father, I say, their disposition falls far short—so also in our case, he says. And see how he added “in Christ” in the case of the tutors, that he might not altogether wound them; but he gave to them the more laborious part (for such is the tutor), while he reserved for himself the surpassing measure of love.

1 Cor. 4:15. For in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel, I begot you. Establishing how he is a father, he says that, By the help of Christ I begot you through the Gospel. For I do not, as do the many among you, reckon the deed to myself, but to Christ. And he did not say, I taught, but, “I begot,” displaying his love by the name of nature, and showing that these are his most intimate and most genuine disciples, as he declares everywhere in the Epistle.

1 Cor. 4:16. I exhort you, therefore, become imitators of me. Imitate me, he says, in all things, being lifted up neither over wisdom nor over wealth, nor standing apart from the brethren; but knowing both wisdom and wealth to be the love toward Christ and the brethren. And see his tender affection, how he exhortes, he does not command. And it belongs to great boldness to set oneself forth as a pattern.

1 Cor. 4:17. For this cause I sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved child. Because, he says, I care for you as for children, I sent to you Timothy. For I myself wished to come, that I might set you in order; but since it was not possible, I sent this man, who is my beloved child. And this he said, that he might at once show how much he loves them, if indeed he was willing to be parted from him for their sakes; and at the same time, that he might become worthy of reverence to them.

1 Cor. 4:17. And faithful in the Lord. That is, not in matters of mere reflection, but in the things that are according to Christ. So that in the things concerning you also he will minister faithfully.

1 Cor. 4:17. Who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every Church. He did not say, He will teach, lest they be vexed (for Timothy was young), but, “He will remind.” The things you know, he says, these he will renew in you. And by “ways” he means the dispensations in the preaching, the canons, the customs, the divine laws; how one is to walk, that is, not puffed up as you are, not bringing in divisions and schisms. And he said “which are in Christ”—that is, those which have nothing human, but all according to Christ, or also those which are accomplished by the help of Christ. And he will show you, even as I teach in every Church. For I said nothing new to you, but all bear me witness of these things. So that you should be ashamed, having fallen away from our ways beyond all the other Churches.

1 Cor. 4:18. But as though I were not coming to you, some are puffed up. Since he had said, “I sent Timothy,” lest they should become the more careless, he says that, Even if I do not come now—and on this account my absence has puffed up some—nevertheless I will come. And he shows their understanding to be childish. For it is the mark of children, when the teacher is absent, to be disorderly. And who were they that were puffed up? Those about the fornicator, who was both wise and rich; and simply all who were lifted up over such things, and who, as though there were no Paul to reprove them, were high-minded.

1 Cor. 4:19. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills. This saying is of one repressing them and preparing them to be sober. And well did he add, “If the Lord will.” For all things are led by his nod.

1 Cor. 4:19–20. And I will know not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. Since they were confident in their eloquence and set Paul at naught as an unlettered man, he says that, I will see, not your eloquence—for there is no need of this—but power, the power that is in signs. For the kingdom of God was preached and confirmed not through elegant speech, but through signs, which came to pass by the power of the Spirit.

1 Cor. 4:21. What will you? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love, and a spirit of meekness? By “rod” he means the chastisement, the punishment. He says, then, that, You are lords of my coming either in this way or in that; if you are careless, I will come and chastise, as I did Elymas; but if you are sober, I will use the spirit of meekness. For there is in him an inclination both to severity and to punishment, but he names it from the kindlier qualities; just as we call God compassionate and merciful, and not a chastiser, although he is this also.

Chapter 5

1 Cor. 5:1. It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. He makes the charge common to all, that they may not be careless as though the offense were another’s, but may be zealous to set this right as a common reproach. And he did not say, It is dared, but, “It is actually reported.” But if even the report of it is forbidden, how much more the daring of it? And further, “among you,” who have been counted worthy of the spiritual mysteries. And, heightening the charge, he says, Such as not even among the Gentiles. And he did not say, It is done, but, “It is not even named, that one should have his father’s wife.” He did not say, A stepmother, but, “His father’s wife,” so as to strike the more opportunely by the mention of the father. And he used the more decorous word, “have,” being ashamed of the name of fornication.

1 Cor. 5:2. And you are puffed up. Over the teaching that came from that man; for he was wise. And see his wisdom: nowhere does he deem that man worthy of a word, as dishonored, and not even worthy to be brought into the midst; but with the others he converses as concerning a common charge.

1 Cor. 5:2. And have you not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from your midst? You ought, he says, to have mourned, because the calumny went forth into the common reproach of the Church; you ought to have prayed and wept, as over a sickness and a plague. “That he might be taken away from among you”—that is, cut off as a common harm. And not even here does he make mention of his name, but said, “He who has done this deed.”

1 Cor. 5:3. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged, as though present. See his indignation. He does not even allow them to await his coming, nor to wait for him, and then to bind the man, but he hastens to lay hold of him as a plague, before it be spread into the whole body of the Church. “But present in spirit,” he said, urging them to the sentence, and striking fear into them, as one who knew the things that would there be judged, and would not be ignorant—through the Spirit, that is, through the gift of discernment—of whatever they should do; and saying also that “I have already judged, as though present,” he does not allow them to think anything else. For I, he says, have brought forth the sentence, and nothing else must be done.

1 Cor. 5:4. Him who has so wrought this thing, when you are gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and my spirit. Lest he should seem self-willed, he then takes them also as partakers. “For when you are gathered together,” he says, “in the name of Christ”—that is, That the gathering may take place not according to human partiality, but according to God; that Christ himself may gather you, for whose sake also you come together. And he set over them his own spirit also, that they might not deem the man worthy of pardon, but might judge rightly, as though he too were present.

1 Cor. 5:4–5. With the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one to Satan; that is, to give authority; to hand him over to the devil; or because, Together with you also, he casts the vote against him. And well did he not say, To give him up, but, “To deliver,” opening to him a little the doors of repentance. And again he does not make mention of the name, but says, “Such a one.”

1 Cor. 5:5. for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus. That is, that he may waste him away in sickness. For since the desires come from bodily luxury, he wills that the body be chastised, that the spirit—that is, the soul—may be saved; not because this alone is saved, but because, as a thing agreed upon, when this is saved, the body too shall be saved. But some say that “spirit” means the gift of grace, that it may be kept safe for him and not depart, as from an impious man; and this belongs rather to one caring for him than punishing him. And well did he make mention of that day, that those men also, being afraid, might apply the cure, and that he too might likewise receive it. And he sets a limit for the devil, just as also in the case of Job, to lay hold of the body, but not also of the soul.

1 Cor. 5:6. Your boasting is not good. He hints that they themselves did not allow him to repent, boasting over him. For this man too was one of the wise among them.

1 Cor. 5:6. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? I care, he says, for you also, not for him alone. For the evil, if neglected, can corrupt the rest of the body of the Church also. For just as the leaven, being little, leavens the whole lump and changes it to itself, so also the sin of this man will draw many to itself.

1 Cor. 5:7. Purge out, therefore, the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. That is, Cast out this fornicator, or rather others also who are evil. For by “old leaven” he means all wickedness. And he did not say, Cleanse, but, “Purge out”—that is, Cleanse with exactness, that you may be a new lump and unmingled with wickedness. “As you are,” instead of, As it befits you to be, without leaven—that is, without the old wickedness, which is sour and biting by its admixture.

1 Cor. 5:7. For our Passover, Christ, was sacrificed for us. Since he had made mention of unleavened bread, and these were eaten at the Passover, having allegorized what the unleavened things are—namely, the disposition unmingled with wickedness—he now allegorizes the Passover also, and says that Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for us. We ought, then, to procure the unleavened things—that is, purity from all wickedness.

1 Cor. 5:8. So then let us celebrate the feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, He shows that all time is a season of feast for Christians, on account of the surpassing greatness of the good things given to them. For on this account the Son of God became man, and was sacrificed, that he might make you keep feast—not with the leaven of the old Adam, nor in a life full of malice, or rather, what is worse, of wickedness. For evil is everyone who does evil; but wicked is he who does it also with a most profound and deceitful mind.

1 Cor. 5:8. but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. That is, in a sincere—that is, pure—life, in contradistinction to malice; and a true—that is, unfeigned, guileless—life, in contradistinction to wickedness. Or you may understand “truth” in contradistinction to the old types, which were not truth. For he wishes the Christian to be superior even to the things in the Old Covenant that were in types. Or by “sincerity” understand the purity that comes through action, and by “truth,” contemplation.

1 Cor. 5:9. I wrote to you in the Epistle not to mingle with fornicators. In what Epistle? In this very one. For since he had said above, “Purge out the old leaven,” hinting, as has been shown, at the fornicator—through which was signified the not mingling with fornicators—perhaps they might have supposed that one must separate from all fornicators, even those among the Greeks. He therefore explains concerning what sort he gave the charge.

1 Cor. 5:10. And not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or the covetous, or the rapacious, or idolaters; since then you would need to go out of the world. The word “altogether” he has set down as concerning a thing agreed upon. And the construction of the saying is this: And I did not altogether forbid mingling with the fornicators of this world—that is, those of the Greeks; since you would have to seek another inhabited world. For how is it possible, in the same city, when the Greeks are more numerous, not to mingle with such men?

1 Cor. 5:11. But now I have written to you not to mingle, if any man called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or rapacious; with such a one not even to eat. Do you see that there was not one fornicator only, but others also, and in various wickednesses? And how, being a brother, can he be an idolater? Just as happened once in the case of the Samaritans, who were half-religious; so also among these, some were attached to the idols in some measure. And at the same time he lays beforehand the foundation of the discourse concerning those who eat things offered to idols. And well did he say, “Called a brother.” For he has only the name of a brother, but is not so in truth, but is like one liable to the things enumerated. And the phrase “or a fornicator” can be understood both as a disjunctive conjunction, like the things that follow; and it can also be understood as a verb, instead of, If any man called a brother be—that is, exist as—a fornicator, and the rest, with such a one not even to eat, that, knowing himself to be an abomination on account of his wickedness, he may abstain from it.

1 Cor. 5:12. For what have I to do with judging those outside? By “those outside” he names the Greeks; and by “those within,” the Christians. I have no concern, he says, with those outside; for this very thing—they are outside my laws. It is superfluous, therefore, to set the ordinances of God before those outside the fold of Christ; for whatever the law says, it says to those within the law.

1 Cor. 5:12–13. Do you not judge those within? But those outside, God judges. Some place a stop at the “not”; then, from another beginning, they read without a question: “Those within you judge.” For having said above, “What have I to do with judging those outside?” he added “not,” instead of, It is not for me to judge them. But others read it conjointly and as a question: “Do you not judge those within?”—instead of, Ought you not to judge the Christians? But those outside, God, the more terrible judge, will take in hand. So that, if those within are judged among you, they will escape the more terrible judgment of God.

1 Cor. 5:13. And you shall put away the wicked man from among yourselves. He made mention of a saying lying in the Old Testament, that he might show that even from of old it seemed good to the Lawgiver that the wicked should be cut off. And the phrase “from among yourselves” shows that the putting away of the wicked is rather for their own benefit.

Chapter 6

1 Cor. 6:1. Does any one of you, having a dispute with his brother, dare to go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Many, having lawsuits over money, were judged before the Greek judges, as being learned in the law. This, then, he sets right, it having fallen in between. For since he had made mention of the covetous, he immediately grew hot with care concerning those who sin in such things. And see how he shows indignation from the very beginning, and calls the thing daring and lawlessness. And he did not say, Before the unbelievers, but, “Before the unjust.” For since he who goes to law wishes to obtain justice, he shows that they do not obtain it. For the Greeks who judge, he says, are unjust; how, then, will they judge you justly? And by “saints” he means the faithful, showing the difference from the very names: for the one sort are unjust, but the others are saints.

1 Cor. 6:2. Or do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? Since the faithful, being private men, did not seem trustworthy to decide a matter, he makes them trustworthy, first by calling them saints, then by saying that they shall judge the world—not they themselves sitting and giving judgment (for the Lord shall judge), but they shall condemn; for when, being of like passions, they themselves shall be found to have believed, while those others disbelieved, is not this a condemnation of the unbelievers?

1 Cor. 6:2. And if the world is judged in you, are you unworthy of the smallest tribunals? See, he did not say, Is judged by you, but, “In you”—that is, It is judged by God, but condemned in you, instead of, In that you, having believed, are an example. And the phrase “Are you unworthy of the smallest tribunals” has this sense. For since it was likely that they were ashamed at being judged by those within, on the contrary, he says, it is rather a shame when you are judged by those outside. For those are the smallest tribunals, not those within.

1 Cor. 6:3. Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more things of this life? By “angels” he means the demons. These, then, we shall also condemn, when we who are in the flesh shall be found to have more than those bodiless ones.

1 Cor. 6:4–5. If then you have tribunals of things pertaining to this life, set those who are least esteemed in the Church to judge. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man, who shall be able to decide between his brother and brother? Wishing, out of superfluity, to draw them away from the tribunals outside, he says that, Perhaps someone might say that there is not among you a wise man able to decide. For if, according to your account, there is no wise man, you are setting men least esteemed as judges rather than the unbelievers. But this I said to your shame, going along with your false pretext, that there is then so great a scarcity of wise men among you that men paltry and rather private should judge. And the phrase “his brother” he added, signifying that, when the suit is against a brother, there is need neither of much subtlety nor of knowledge, inasmuch as the brotherly disposition contributes much toward the dissolving of the contention.

1 Cor. 6:6. But brother goes to law with brother, and this before unbelievers? The evil is twofold: both that the suit is against a brother, and that it is before unbelievers.

1 Cor. 6:7. Now therefore there is altogether a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. First he took away the being judged before unbelievers; but now he takes away the being judged at all, saying that it is “altogether a defeat”—that is, A condemnation, a shame, that you have lawsuits at all—that is, suits with one another; for this is the meaning of “with one another.” And he said this emphatically; for we Christians ought to reckon the brethren as our own selves.

1 Cor. 6:7–8. Why do you not rather suffer wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? But you yourselves do wrong and defraud, and that your brethren. The charge is manifold: first, that they do not know how to bear being wronged; second, that they rather do wrong themselves; third, that it is the brethren. It were good, he says, neither to wrong nor to be wronged; but in the choice, it is better to be wronged.

1 Cor. 6:9. Or do you not know that the unjust shall not inherit the kingdom of God? He shuts up the exhortation in a threat, making the word stronger, and questioning them as concerning a thing agreed upon.

1 Cor. 6:9. Be not deceived. Here he hints that there were certain among them who said that God is loving toward men, and will not punish, but will bring them into the kingdom. He says, therefore, “Be not deceived.” For it is indeed of deceit and of error to hope for good things here, and there to obtain the contrary.

1 Cor. 6:9. Neither fornicators. Him who had already been condemned he places first.

1 Cor. 6:9. Nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate. By “effeminate” he means those who suffer shamefully. He then brings in also those who do shamefully.

1 Cor. 6:9–10. Nor sodomites, nor covetous, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor rapacious, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Some inquire why ever he set the drunkards and revilers together with the idolaters and those who do unspeakable things. Because Christ too said that he who said Fool to his brother is liable to hell-fire; and again, the Jews from drunkenness came to idolatry. And further, the discourse now is not concerning punishment, but concerning falling away from the kingdom. And from the kingdom all fall away alike; but whether they shall have a difference in their punishments is not for the present occasion to inquire.

1 Cor. 6:11. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Spirit of our God. Consider, he says, from how great evils God delivered you, and how great good things he bestowed upon you. For you also had all the things mentioned; but he made you clean of them; and not only this, but he also sanctified you. How? By justifying you, he says. For he washed you, then, having justified, he sanctified; not in the name of this or that teacher, but in the name of Christ, and in the Holy Spirit—that is, The Trinity bestowed these things upon you. For in saying that God, in the name of Christ and in the Holy Spirit, sanctified, he sets forth nothing other than the Trinity.

1 Cor. 6:12. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. Since he had spoken concerning the fornicator, and is about again to speak concerning him, he meanwhile interposes also the discourse concerning gluttony. For from this, for the most part, comes the passion of fornication. He says, then, that “It is lawful for me to eat and to drink,” but it is not profitable to do these things without measure.

1 Cor. 6:12. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. I am lord, he says, of eating and drinking; but if I give myself over to these without measure, I shall be found their slave instead of their lord. For he who uses them as he ought is himself their lord; but he who goes out into excess is no longer lord, but becomes their slave, gluttony tyrannizing within him. Do you see how he showed him who thought he had authority to be under authority? For consider: each of those men said, It is lawful for me to live luxuriously; he says that one does this not as having authority over it, but as being himself subject to this authority. For you have no authority over the belly, so long as you are profligate, but it has the authority over you.

1 Cor. 6:13. Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods. By “belly” he means gluttony, not our member; and by “foods,” the immoderation of foods. He says, then, that the immoderation of foods has a friendship and kinship toward gluttony, and that toward this; and these cannot lead us to Christ, but send those who obey them over to themselves—the immoderation to the gluttony, and that to this.

1 Cor. 6:13. But God will bring to nought both this and these. Not the belly, but gluttony; not the food, but the immoderation. And as to the “will bring to nought,” some say that it is a prediction concerning the age to come, that there is neither eating nor drinking there. And if eating in measure is not there, much more shall immoderation and gluttony be brought to nought. But the Theologian,[1] by saying that the thing brought to nought is immediately brought to nought together with the foods that are brought to nought, declared that, as soon as one is satisfied, that which until then sought after many things is brought to nought. But others say that he sealed the exhortation with a prayer, praying that both immoderation and gluttony might be brought to nought, that is, made to cease.

1 Cor. 6:13. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Behold, he showed that it was on account of the discourse concerning fornication that he spoke beforehand concerning gluttony. For it would have followed to say, But the body is not for foods, nor for the belly; but he did not so speak, but, “For fornication,” showing what is the outcome of luxury—namely, fornication. And what he means is this: The body, he says, was not fashioned for this, that it should live luxuriously and fall into fornication; but that it should follow Christ as its head, and that the Lord, in turn, as head, should be set over it.

1 Cor. 6:14. And God both raised up the Lord, and will raise up us through his power. Be not troubled at hearing that God raised up the Lord; for he condescends to them as to babes. And since concerning the Father, as cause, all confessedly glorified great things, on this account he ascribes the resurrection to him, and declares that we too shall be raised by him. For just as he raised up our head, Christ I mean, so also he will raise up the rest of the body, namely, us. And confirming the saying, he added, “Through his power,” as if saying this: Do not disbelieve the things I say; for the power of God, which accomplishes great things, will do this also. And that he ascribes the resurrection of Christ to the Father as cause is plain from the Lord’s saying concerning himself, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. And again it is written that He presented himself alive. So that, he himself having raised himself, the deed is ascribed to the Father as cause.

1 Cor. 6:15. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Again he came to the exhortation set before him, that against fornication; and he handles the discourse in the most awe-striking manner.

1 Cor. 6:15. Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them members of a harlot? God forbid! He did not say, Shall I join them to a harlot, but what was awe-striking, “Shall I make them members of a harlot?” For who will not shudder on hearing this—to tear away the members of Christ, and to make them a harlot’s?

1 Cor. 6:16. Do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body? For the two, he says, shall be one flesh. He confirms what he said, how the members of Christ become a harlot’s. Through the union, he says, the man becomes one with the harlot. So that his members also, which were Christ’s, became members of her.

1 Cor. 6:17. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. See how, even from the bare names themselves of the harlot and of Christ, he advances the accusation, making it dreadful. He says, then, that he who is joined to the Lord becomes spirit only, by doing nothing carnal—that is, he is made spiritual. For union with the Lord furnishes him the sanctification of the Spirit. And through these things he showed the reasons why the faithful become members of Christ.

1 Cor. 6:18. Flee fornication. As though it were a kind of pursuer, ever pressing upon us, he exhorts us to flee it, enjoining upon us a strained abstinence from it. For nothing pursues us so much as carnal desire.

1 Cor. 6:18. Every sin that a man may do is outside the body; but he who commits fornication sins against his own body. By fornication, he says, the whole body is defiled; whence it is also the custom for those who have fornicated to run to the baths, as the body has, of course, been defiled. Against the body itself, then, the fornicator sins, defiling it and befouling it. For even if murder too seems to be done through the body, yet it does not defile the whole body. For it is possible to strike with a stone, or with wood, or with some other instrument, and the body not be defiled; but for fornication to be accomplished without the body is impossible; whence it is necessarily defiled also. And he wished to exalt the matter, since the exhortation concerning it lies before him. For fornication is not altogether worse than all things. I know also other solutions to this: for instance, that the fornicator sins against his own body, inasmuch as he is joined not from desire of begetting children, as with a lawful wife, but vainly corrupts it by the effusion, and weakens it. And again otherwise, that the fornicator sins against the woman with whom he is joined, who is his body through the union; for inasmuch as he is not joined to her lawfully, he sins against her. But the solution of the great John is better than all—the first one, namely. And some are at a loss: What then? Does not envy waste the body? And they solve it again, that envy is a passion, not an activity; but the discourse now to the Apostle is concerning activity. For he says, “Every sin that a man may do”; but not concerning passion. For envy is not done by us, but is worked within us.

1 Cor. 6:19. Or do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? He strikes fear yet more, both by the greatness of the gift—that is, of the Spirit—and by the worth of the giver—that is, of God. A temple, he says, not simply, but of the Holy Spirit. Do not, then, defile the holy temple, nor make useless the gift of God; for from God you have the gift and so great a Spirit.

1 Cor. 6:19–20. And you are not your own; for you were bought with a price. You are under a Master, he says, and have nothing of your own, not even the body. “For you were bought with a price”—that is, Through the blood of Christ. So that your members are subject to another Master, and where he wills, there they must be led. And these things he says, not taking away free will, but showing the justice of our being bound to serve God, by whom also we were bought.

1 Cor. 6:20. Glorify, then, God in your body. Since, then, you were bought, he says, glorify God in your body, accomplishing good deeds through the body, and keeping it holy and pure. For God is glorified when men see your good works and accordingly glorify him.

1 Cor. 6:20. And in your spirit. He shows that one must flee fornication not in body only, but also in soul, by not being defiled even in thought (for by “spirit” he called the mind); for adultery in the heart also is forbidden in the Gospels. These too belong to God.[2] Continually he reminds us that we are not our own, but belong as servants to God, who bought both our soul and our body.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek ὁ Θεολόγος (“the Theologian”) here designates either St Gregory the Theologian or St John the Theologian; the source does not specify.

[2] Translator’s note: The Greek of this closing sentence is damaged in the Migne text (ἔστι τοῦ Θεοῦ. Συνεχής ἀναμίμνησκεν…); the rendering follows the evident sense.

Chapter 7

1 Cor. 7:1. Now concerning the things whereof you wrote to me. He had set right the schisms, the fornication, the covetousness; now, then, he ordains concerning marriage and virginity. For they had written to him whether one ought to abstain from a wife, or not.

1 Cor. 7:1. It is good for a man to have no relations with a woman. The good and surpassing thing, he says, is for every man, and not for the priest only (as some wrongly understand), wholly not to touch a woman, but to remain virgin; yet the safer thing, and that which aids our weakness, is the institution of marriage. He adds, then:

1 Cor. 7:2. But on account of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. He discourses concerning each part. For it is likely that the husband loved chastity, but the wife not; and the reverse. By saying “on account of fornications,” he urges on continence. For if marriage is conceded on account of fornications, those in marriage ought not thereafter to come together licentiously, but chastely.

1 Cor. 7:3. Let the husband render to the wife the goodwill that is owed; and likewise also the wife to the husband. You have, he says, a debt—the goodwill toward one another; as a debt, then, it is necessary that you render it.

1 Cor. 7:4. The wife has not authority over her own body, but the husband; and likewise also the husband has not authority over his own body, but the wife. That the goodwill toward one another is an obligation and a debt, he now shows. For they have not authority, he says, over their own bodies; but the wife is both slave and mistress of the husband—slave, inasmuch as she has not her own body in her own authority, so as to give it to whom she wills, but the husband is master of it; and mistress, because, in turn, the husband’s body is hers, and he has not authority over it, so as to give it to harlots. Likewise, then, the husband also is both slave and master of the wife.

1 Cor. 7:5. Defraud not one another, except it be by consent for a season. That is, Let not the wife practice continence against the husband’s will, nor the husband against the wife’s will. For the one doing this against the other’s will is to defraud, as is said also in the case of money; but doing it with the other’s consent, no longer; as, for instance, when the two by agreement set apart some season for abstaining from one another.

1 Cor. 7:5. That you may have leisure for fasting and prayer. He explains how he said “for a season”—namely, when it is a season to have leisure for prayer, that is, to pray intently. For he did not say simply, “That you may pray,” but, “That you may have leisure for prayer.” For if he debars those who come together from praying simply, how does he say elsewhere, Pray without ceasing? In order, then, that the prayer may be more earnest, abstain, he says, from one another, since the intercourse makes only a hindrance of leisure, not an uncleanness.

1 Cor. 7:5. And come together again, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinence. Your coming together again, he says, I say not as legislating, but “that Satan tempt you not”—to fornication, that is. And since the devil is not of himself the cause of fornication, but rather, first of all, our incontinence, he added, “Because of your incontinence.” For this is the cause of the devil’s tempting us also.

1 Cor. 7:6. But this I say by way of concession, not by way of command. The not defrauding one another “for a season,” he says, I said by way of concession—that is, condescending to your weakness, not laying down a law for you and an inviolable command.

1 Cor. 7:7. For I wish that all men were as I myself am. Wherever he enjoins a difficult thing, he is wont to bring himself into the midst. He says, then, that I wish all to practice continence always.

1 Cor. 7:7. But each has his own gift from God, one in this way, another in that. To remain a virgin, he says, is a gift from God. And yet the matter needs also our own zeal. How, then, does he call it a gift? That he may console them, as having sufficiently struck them in what he said, “Because of your incontinence.” And note that he sets down marriage also as a gift, in saying, “Each has his own gift; one in this way”—that is, to be virgin; “another in that”—that is, to marry.

1 Cor. 7:8–9. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they have not continence, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn. Do you see the wisdom of Paul, how he both shows continence to be the better, and does not compel him who is unable, lest a worse fall come to pass? For if you endure, he says, much force and burning (for great is the tyranny of desire), be rid of toils and sweats, lest at some time you be utterly overthrown.

1 Cor. 7:10. But to those who have married I give charge, not I, but the Lord. Since the Lord expressly legislated that one should not be put asunder save for the cause of fornication, on this account he says, “Not I, but the Lord.” For the things said before were not expressly legislated by the Lord; even though whatever Paul says is of the Lord, and not human. For going on a little further he says, For I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

1 Cor. 7:10–11. That the wife depart not from her husband. But if she also depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband; and that the husband put not away his wife. For since divorces come about through a longing for continence, and through other pretexts and faintheartedness, he says: It is better that no separation at all take place; but if it do take place, let the wife remain keeping her husband—if not by intercourse, yet at least by bringing in no other; or, if she is unable to practice continence, let her be reconciled to him.

1 Cor. 7:12–13. But to the rest I say, not the Lord: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he is content to dwell with her, let her not put him away. What do you say? If he is an unbeliever, let her remain with the man; but if he is a fornicator, no longer? And yet unbelief is worse than fornication. Worse indeed; but God avenges what is ours rather than what is his own. “For leave,” he says, “your offering, and be reconciled to your brother.” And the ten thousand talents which were owing to himself he made light of; but the insolence toward the one owing the hundred denarii he avenged. So then here also, the unbelief, which is referred to himself, he overlooks; but the fornication he punishes, as a wrong done against the wife. But some say that unbelief comes about through ignorance, which is also likely to cease, as he himself says, For what do you know, O wife, whether you shall save your husband? But fornication comes about through an admitted wickedness. And besides, the fornicator has already gone before and parted himself off. “For having taken his members from the wife, he made them members of a harlot.” But the unbeliever has not sinned at all against the carnal union. Rather, indeed, through it perhaps he will be united even according to the faith; not to say that an overturning of life was likely to come about, and a calumny against the Gospel, if the believing part were to be separated from the one who had not believed. And understand these things of the case when they were joined together while both were in unbelief, but the one part believed. For if the man, or the woman, was a believer beforehand, it was by no means permitted to be yoked to an unbeliever. For he did not say, If anyone wishes to take an unbeliever, but, “If anyone has.” But neither does he simply settle the believing part to dwell with the unbeliever, but only when willing. For the “is content” means this, instead of, if it is willing.

1 Cor. 7:14. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife; and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the husband. That is, by the superabundance of the purity of the believing part, the uncleanness of the unbeliever is overcome; not that the Greek becomes holy—for he did not say that he is holy, but, “Is sanctified”—that is, is overcome by the holiness of the believer. And these things he says, that the believing wife may not fear, as though she were becoming unclean through the intercourse. But it is inquired: If he who is joined to a harlot, being one body, is unclean, it is clear that she also who is joined to an idolater is one body; how, then, does she not become unclean? Because in the case of fornication that very thing in which they have communion with one another, namely the intercourse, has the uncleanness, and on this account both are unclean. But in the case of the believing part and the unbelieving, the matter stands otherwise. For the unbeliever is indeed unclean according to his unbelief; but the wife has not communion with him according to this, but has communion according to the intercourse, in which no uncleanness appears; for it is marriage. On this account, then, the believing part is not unclean.

1 Cor. 7:14. Else were your children unclean. For if the unbelieving part is not overcome by the purity of the believing, then the children born are unclean, or rather half-pure.

1 Cor. 7:14. But now they are holy. That is, not unclean; for by the superabundance of the word “holy” he casts out the fear of such a suspicion.

1 Cor. 7:15. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. That is, if he bids you either to share in his unbelief, or to withdraw from the marriage, let him withdraw. For it is better that the marriage be dissolved than godliness.

1 Cor. 7:15. A brother or a sister is not enslaved in such cases; but God has called us in peace. If he contends with you, he says, because you do not share in his unbelief, be put asunder. For you are not enslaved in such things—that is, he does not constrain you to bear with him even in such things. For it is better to be released than to contend; since God too does not will this. “For in peace God has called you.” So that, if he contends, that man has furnished the cause of the divorce.

1 Cor. 7:16. For what do you know, O wife, whether you shall save your husband? Again, having run back to the “Let her not put away,” he says this: For if he does not contend with you, remain, he says, and perhaps by exhorting you will prevail. And he sets this down in a doubtful form, at once that he may not seem to lay a necessity upon the wife of by all means persuading the husband; and at the same time also making her in suspense by the ever hoping, so that she may not despair.

1 Cor. 7:17. And what do you know, O husband, whether you shall save your wife? Only, as God has distributed to each, as the Lord has called each, so let him walk. Some read it thus: “What do you know, O husband, whether you shall save your wife, or not?”—then, from another beginning: “To each as God has distributed”—that is, Whence do you know, whether you shall save her or not? It is altogether uncertain. And since it is uncertain, the marriage must not be dissolved. For if you do not save him, you have not been harmed; but if you save him, you have profited him and been profited yourself. But John, who is among the saints, did not so read it, but, “Only, as God has distributed to each”; which is altogether better. For it is as though the Apostle said: The separation does not take place on account of the unbelief, “only as to each”—instead of, But let each so hold himself, as God has been well pleased with him. “Were you called having an unbelieving wife? Remain having her, and do not, on account of the unbelief, cast her out.”

1 Cor. 7:17. And so I ordain in all the Churches. This he said, that by their having others also as partakers, they might be disposed more readily toward obedience.

1 Cor. 7:18. Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not undo his circumcision. It was likely that many, being ashamed of the circumcision, by some surgical means brought the circumcised member back to its original state, drawing on the skin.

1 Cor. 7:18. Was any man called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Again, some, on account of the seeming repute of circumcision, after believing were getting circumcised. He says, then, that these things contribute nothing to the faith.

1 Cor. 7:19. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is everything. Everywhere this is sought: together with faith, the working of virtue; but the other things, either less, or not at all.

1 Cor. 7:20–21. Let each remain in the calling wherein he was called. Were you called being a slave? Let it not concern you; but even if you can become free, use it rather. “In the calling wherein he was called”—that is, In what manner of life, and in what order and polity he was when he believed, in this let him remain. For by “calling” he means the leading on to the faith. Did you believe being a slave? Be not anxious, nor troubled. For slavery harms you so little that, rather, even if you can be set free, use it—that is, Serve, give yourself over for use.

1 Cor. 7:22. For he who was called in the Lord being a slave is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called being free is Christ’s slave. A “freedman” is he who has been set free from slavery. He says, then, that, You who believed in slavery are Christ’s freedman; for he set you free both from sin, and from this outward slavery also, even if you are a slave. For whenever one has been rid of the passions, and has a noble soul, he is not a slave, even though he seem to be. Again, another, being free, was called to the faith; he is Christ’s slave. So that, if the name of slavery troubles the slave, let him consider that in Christ he has been set free, which is far greater than human freedom. And again, if the name of freedom lifts up the free man, let him consider that he is Christ’s slave, and let him draw himself in, as being under so great a Master, and owing it to please him. Do you see the wisdom, how to both parties he counsels the things that befit them?

1 Cor. 7:23–24. You were bought with a price; become not slaves of men. Each, brethren, in that wherein he was called, let him remain therein with God. This he says not to household servants only, but also to the free, counseling all Christians not to act for the pleasing of men, nor to yield to them when they enjoin unlawful things. For this is to be a slave of men, and that when one has been bought by God. For he does not, indeed, counsel this—that one should withdraw from his masters; far from it. For that he does not say this is plain from what he adds: “Each in that wherein he was called,” and the rest—that is, even if in slavery, in this let him remain; and the phrase “with God” he added, that we may not again withdraw from God on account of subjection to lawless masters. For he provides for both: that we neither withdraw from our bodily masters on the pretext of God; nor again revolt from God, yielding beyond what is fitting to our masters.

1 Cor. 7:25. Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give my judgment, as one who has obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. Since by the words concerning chastity he had exercised us, he runs up to the greater thing, virginity, and says that, The Lord indeed did not legislate, nor command anything concerning it; but said, He who is able to receive it, let him receive it. Neither, then, do I dare to command; for the matter is great and perilous; but nevertheless I give my judgment—that is, counsel—inasmuch as I myself also was deemed worthy, through the mercy of God, to be faithful—that is, his own, and worthy to be entrusted with mystic things.

1 Cor. 7:26. I think, then, that this is good on account of the present necessity, that it is good for a man to be so. As far as concerns my judgment, he says, it is best for a man to abstain from marriage, on account of the difficulties in it, and the troublesome things of marriage—not on account of any uncleanness.

1 Cor. 7:27–28. Are you bound to a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. But even if you marry, you have not sinned. In saying “Are you bound?” he showed that marriage brings an affliction, as a bond. And by “loosing” he means not the abstinence by agreement, but the unreasonable separation; since, if they practice continence by agreement, this is not a loosing. And since he had said, “Seek not a wife,” lest he should seem to legislate celibacy, he adds, “But if you marry, you have not sinned.” And see how secretly he leads on into virginity, calling marriage a bond, but virginity a loosing and a freedom.

1 Cor. 7:28. And if the virgin marry, she has not sinned. By “virgin” here he means not her who has been consecrated (for she alone, if she marries, brings in a setting-aside of her Bridegroom Christ), but the maiden as yet unmarried. She, then, if she marry, has not sinned; for marriage is not unclean.

1 Cor. 7:28. But such shall have affliction in the flesh. But I spare you. By “affliction” he means the cares and griefs in marriage. “But I,” he says, “spare you,” as children, and wish you to be free and without grief; since marriage is indeed a bond, and those under it have not authority over themselves, as has been said above.

1 Cor. 7:29. But this I say, brethren, that the time henceforth is shortened. Since he had said, “They shall have affliction in the flesh,” lest anyone should say, But also pleasure, he cuts away the things of pleasure, by bringing in the thought that the time is shortened. For all things press on toward dissolution, and the kingdom of Christ has drawn near, and henceforth we must journey away to him. So that, even if there is any pleasure, yet it is brief and short-lived; and this very thing is an affliction.

1 Cor. 7:29–31. That both those who have wives may be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they wept not; and those who rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those who buy, as though they possessed not; and those who use this world, as not abusing it. Since even those who have ought to be as though they had not, what need is there thereafter to be married at all, and to lay a burden upon oneself? And what is “as though they had not”? Instead of, not nailed fast to them, nor spending all their zeal upon marriage and wives. Likewise, neither concerning any of the other things—whether griefs, which he intimated by “weeping”; or delights, which he showed by “rejoicing”; or business dealings, which he indicated by “buying”—ought one to be exceedingly more zealous. And why, he says, do I enumerate this and that? Simply, those who use this world ought not to abuse it—that is, to attend to it with all zeal and with attachment to it. For “abuse” is the superfluous use, and more than is needful.

1 Cor. 7:31. For the fashion of this world passes away. Instead of, it passes by and is dissolved. Why, then, ought one to cling to that which is being dissolved? And he called it “fashion,” showing that the things of the present world are but on the surface of sight, and superficial, having nothing fixed and substantial.

1 Cor. 7:32. But I would have you without care. And how should we be without care? If we are unmarried. He adds, then:

1 Cor. 7:32–33. The unmarried man cares for the things of the Lord, how he shall please the Lord. But he who has married cares for the things of the world, how he shall please his wife. How is it, Paul, that wishing us to be without care, and on this account keeping us unmarried, you again say, “The unmarried man cares for the things of the Lord”? For behold, here again are cares. But of what kind, he says, are they? Such as the cares of marriage? For the cares of the Lord are saving and delightful; but those of marriage are harmful and grievous. For how is it not an affliction and a trouble to be eager to please a wife, and that a worldly one, demanding gold and pearls, and the rest of her folly? Hence the pitiable husbands are pushed even into injustice and into soul-harming managements of affairs.

1 Cor. 7:34. The wife and the virgin are divided. That is, they differ from one another, and have not the same concern, but are divided in their zeals; and the one is zealous about some things, the other about others; and their cares differ; and one must choose the better things and the less laborious.

1 Cor. 7:34. The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, how she shall please the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit; but she who has married cares for the things of the world, how she shall please her husband. It does not suffice to be holy in body, but one must be so also in spirit. For this is the true virginity, the purity of the soul; since many, being chaste and undefiled in body, are stained in soul. But consider this also, that she who cares for the things of the world is not a virgin. Whenever, then, you see a woman professing virginity, but caring for the things of the world, know that she is in no way different from her who is in marriage. For Paul has set down boundaries for both, by which they are distinguished—not marriage and continence, but busyness and freedom from business. So that the busy woman is no virgin. And she who has married cares how she shall please her husband; perhaps attending to beauty; perhaps also, in order to seem a good housekeeper, showing herself merciless and miserly.

1 Cor. 7:35. But this I say for your own profit, not that I may cast a noose upon you. I have raised, he says, the words concerning virginity, knowing the thing to be profitable for you, on account of its being free from grief and care, and more beneficial to the soul; not that I may compel you, even against your will, to be virgins; for by “noose” he named compulsion.

1 Cor. 7:35. But for that which is seemly, and for waiting upon the Lord without distraction. That, he says, you may live in a seemly manner and in purity (for what is more seemly and more pure than virginity?), and that, being free from the troubles of marriage, you may serve the Lord without distraction and wait upon him, transferring your whole care upon him.

1 Cor. 7:36. But if any man thinks that he behaves unseemly toward his virgin, if she be past the flower of her age, and so it ought to be, let him do what he will, he sins not; let them marry. If anyone, he says, being truly weak in mind, thinks it unseemly to have a virgin daughter, and her past the flower of her age, let it be so, he says, even thus. How? “Let him do what he will”—that is, if he wishes to give her to a man, let him give her; for he sins not. Nevertheless it is better to keep her a virgin, as he says next.

1 Cor. 7:37–38. But he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has authority over his own will, and has so decreed in his heart, to keep his own virgin, does well. So then he who gives in marriage does well; but he who gives not in marriage does better. See how, from the very outset, he marvels at him who keeps her a virgin, calling him steadfast and firmly fixed, and one doing in judgment the things he does. “For he has decreed,” he says, “in his heart.” So that he who gives in marriage does not stand steadfast. And the phrase “having no necessity” shows this, that he has authority to give her a husband, and there is no one compelling him not to give her. So that it is a point of honor for him to keep his daughter a virgin, and on this account he is praised. “He does well,” he says. And yet he who gives in marriage, that man also does well. For to give in marriage is not a sin; and what is not a sin is well done. But better is it not to give in marriage; for it is an achievement of virtue.

1 Cor. 7:39–40. The wife is bound by law for as long a time as her husband lives; but if her husband fall asleep, she is free to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. But she is more blessed if she so remain, according to my judgment. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God. Here he teaches concerning second marriage, conceding this also; nevertheless setting her who does not marry twice as the more blessed. For as virginity is better than the first marriage, so also the first marriage is better than the second. The wife, then, is bound by law—that is, is held by the law that deals with adulteries, so that she would become an adulteress if she were yoked to another while her husband lived; but when he has died, she has been set free from the first bond and law, and is loosed. “Only in the Lord”—that is, with chastity, with decorum, for the begetting of children and for their protection, not with a passion of desire. And the phrase “according to my judgment” he says, that you may not deem the matter a necessity, but a counsel, and a divine counsel. “For I think,” he says, “that I also have the Spirit of God.” And this is a mark of great humility. For he did not say, I have, but, “I think I have”—that is, I suppose, I surmise.

Chapter 8

1 Cor. 8:1. Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. There were among the Corinthians certain perfect ones, who knew that the things which enter do not defile a man, and that the idols are wood and stones and cannot harm; and so without scruple they entered into the idol-temples, and gorged themselves on the things sacrificed to idols. Seeing these, others more imperfect went in also, after them, into the idol-temples, and ate things sacrificed to idols—not with the same mind, but as though the idols were honorable and received sacrifices. This moved Paul to zeal, inasmuch as it harmed both: the perfect, as enjoying demonic tables; and the imperfect, as being thrust toward idolatry. He hastens, then, to correct this; and he addresses his words to the perfect, leaving aside the more imperfect, as is his custom. And first he abates their conceit over knowledge, and says that Not you alone have this, but we all know that there is no idol in the world; only, knowledge not merely profits nothing, but rather even harms, puffing up and swelling the one who has it, and on this account cutting him off from his neighbor member, unless he have love also with him—which love, on the contrary, is able to build up. For whatever knowledge without love pulls down, these things love raises up and builds, doing all things for the neighbor.

1 Cor. 8:2. But if anyone thinks he knows something, he has not yet known anything as he ought to know. He says the greater thing here: that even if knowledge be joined with love, not even so is it perfect; for no one knows anything as he ought to know it, even were he Peter, even were he Paul. So why do you exalt yourselves, you who have knowledge without love, when, even had you had it with love, not even so would you know anything perfectly?

1 Cor. 8:3. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by him. What he says is this: If anyone loves his neighbor, he assuredly loves God also. And loving God, he did not say that he knew God, but, “He is known by God”—that is, he is rendered known to him and his own. And having become known to God, he receives knowledge from him, and not even this does he have complete. So that even if you have knowledge, do not be exalted; for neither is it perfect, nor is it your own achievement, but it is a gift of God. See, then, through how many things he abates their conceit.

1 Cor. 8:4. Concerning the eating, then, of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no idol in the world, and that there is no other God but one. Again he makes the knowledge common, abating them. For we all, he says, know that there is no idol in the world. Are there, then, no idols? are there no carved images? There are indeed, but it is nothing—that is, it has no power; nor are they gods, but stones and demons. For since among the Greeks there were both the unlearned and the wise—and the unlearned knew nothing more than the stones, while the philosophers supposed divine powers to dwell in them, which they also called gods—to the unlearned he said, “There is no idol in the world”; and to the philosophers, that “There is no other God but one.” So that not even divine powers dwell in the idols; for God is one, and not many.

1 Cor. 8:5–6. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods, and many lords), yet for us there is one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we to him. Since he had said, “There is no other God,” and many gods were spoken of among the Greeks—lest he should seem to contend with what is manifest—he says that “Even if there are so-called gods,” that is, not being gods in truth, but in word; “whether in heaven,” as the sun and moon and the rest of the stars, which the Greeks deified; “whether on earth,” as those deified by them from among men; “yet for us there is one God the Father, from whom are all things”—which declares him to be the Creator. And the phrase, “And we to him,” declares the principle of our faith and of our being made his own; as if he had said: And we have been turned toward him, and upon him we are made to depend.

1 Cor. 8:6. And one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him. Through the Son all things were brought into being, and we too were brought through him into being, and into well-being—that is, to become believers, and to pass over from error to the truth. And hearing, “One God the Father,” and, “One Lord Jesus Christ,” do not suppose that “God” is allotted to the Father alone, and “Lord” to the Son. For indistinguishably the Son too is God; as in, Of whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all; and again, the Father is Lord, as in, The Lord said to my Lord. But since his discourse was to Greeks, who professed a multitude of gods and a multitude of lords, on this account he neither called the Son God, lest they should suppose two gods, being accustomed to polytheism; nor the Father Lord, lest they should suppose that among us too there are many lords. And for this same cause he made no mention here of the Spirit, sparing the weakness of his hearers; just as the prophets too do not clearly make mention of the Son, on account of the Jews, lest they should suppose the begetting to be subject to passion; wherefore he continually sets down “One,” saying that “There is no God but one”; and, “One God”; and, “One Lord.” And so it was by way of contrast with the falsely-named gods, and not with the Son, that he called the Father one God; and by way of contrast with the falsely-named lords, but not with the Father, that he called the Son one Lord.

1 Cor. 8:7. But not in all is there knowledge. Not all, he says, know that there is one God, and not many, or that the idols are nothing.

1 Cor. 8:7. But some, with conscience of the idol until now, eat it as a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. “Some,” he said, indefinitely, not wishing to expose them publicly. For there were many who had come to the faith from idolatry, who until now—that is, even after believing—eat the things sacrificed to idols, as things sacrificed to idols. For “with conscience,” he says, “of the idol”—that is, having the same mind concerning the idols, and supposing them to be something, and dreading them as able to harm. Wherefore he did not say that they defile those things, but, “Their conscience is defiled,” as being weak and unable to perceive that they are nothing; since those things in themselves cannot defile anyone. Understand, then, that those people suffer something like this: as if someone, after the Jewish custom, supposing the touching of a corpse to be a defilement, then seeing others touch with a clean conscience, should touch it himself also, out of shame before these, but be defiled in conscience, as being in doubt.

1 Cor. 8:8. But food does not commend us to God. Lest they should say, I eat with a clean conscience, and I care not if anyone through weakness is scandalized—he shows that even the eating itself, wholly out of contempt for the idols, is nothing. For even if the brother were not harmed, not even so would you be doing anything praiseworthy and pleasing to God. For food does not make us God’s own.

1 Cor. 8:8. For neither if we eat do we abound, nor if we eat not are we in want. That is, Neither if we eat do we have anything more, and stand in good repute with God; nor if we eat not are we in want and diminished.

1 Cor. 8:9. But take heed lest this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to the weak among the brethren. Through this he strikes fear into them. And he did not say, Your knowledge, but, “Your liberty.” That is, lest your rashness and arrogance become a stumbling-block to the weak; which is a greater accusation of them, that they do not even spare the weak, to whom they ought rather to have stretched out a hand.

1 Cor. 8:10. For if anyone see you who have knowledge reclining at table in an idol-temple, will not his conscience, since he is weak, be built up to eat the things sacrificed to idols? That is, If a weak person see you—the one who, as you say, are perfect—tasting the things sacrificed to idols, will he not take all the greater occasion himself also to eat the things sacrificed to idols, and be the more confirmed (for this is the meaning of “be built up”) in supposing the idols to be something? For being ignorant of the reasoning with which you do this, he will assuredly reckon it an encouragement.

1 Cor. 8:11. And the weak brother, for whom Christ died, will perish through your knowledge. And your perfection will become an occasion of destruction to another—and that, to one who is weak; and that, to one for whom Christ died. And Christ did not even decline to die for him; but you will not even abstain from foods, that he be not scandalized? And Chrysostom reads, “Through your knowledge.”

1 Cor. 8:12. And thus sinning against the brethren, and striking their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. He did not say, Scandalizing, but, “Striking”; so as to display the cruelty, when they strike even the weak conscience. And he carried the sin up to the very summit of transgression, saying, “You sin against Christ.” But how is the sin referred to Christ? In many ways: both because he makes his servants’ affairs his own, and because those who are struck are his body and members, and because the things which he built up by his own slaying—that is, salvation—these they pull down.

1 Cor. 8:13. Therefore if food scandalizes my brother, I will eat no flesh forever, lest I scandalize my brother. As an excellent teacher, he establishes through himself the things he says. And he did not say, If it scandalize justly, but, In any way whatever. And he did not say, I will not eat a thing sacrificed to an idol, but, “Flesh” simply, even though it be permitted; and not for one or two days, but for all the time of my life; for this is what “forever” declares. And he did not say, Lest I destroy, but, “Lest” simply “I scandalize.”

Chapter 9

1 Cor. 9:1. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Since he had said, “If food scandalizes my brother, I will eat no flesh,” lest anyone should suppose him to be boasting and vaunting himself, he is constrained henceforth to show how he abstained even from things permitted, for the sake of not scandalizing any. For though Christ himself had enjoined that the one who preaches the Gospel should eat of the Gospel—that is, of those who are taught—I chose rather to be destroyed by hunger, and to take nothing from you, but laboring with my own hands, working and providing for myself. For there were among them too, as it seems, certain wealthy teachers, who made it a point of honor to teach without charge, and thereby contrived to put Paul to shame. Which he himself perceiving, abstained, as I said, from being fed by the disciples, although permitted this. I indeed, he says, am thus; but you do not even abstain from things sacrificed to idols. The whole sense of the passage, then, is this, which he works out through many lines; but now let us look also at each word. “Am I not an apostle?” Lest anyone should say to him, It is not lawful for you, and on this account you do not take—he says, How so? Do not the other apostles take? Yes, he says. What then? “Am I not an apostle?” That is, as those are. “Am I not free?” That is, Have I anyone who hinders me from taking? And again, lest they should say that the other apostles have something more, in that they saw the Lord—he says, “Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?”

1 Cor. 9:2. Are you not my work in the Lord? If you are free and an apostle, but have shown no work of an apostle, what of it? For Judas too was an apostle, and saw the Lord. On this account, then, he says, “My work you are.” So that I fulfilled an apostolic ministry. And since he had said a great thing, he added, “In the Lord”—that is, Not in my own power, but in the Lord’s.

1 Cor. 9:2. If to others I am not an apostle, yet at least to you I am. I do not say that I am teacher of the whole inhabited world, but, Am I not your teacher? How then did I not take from you, from whom most of all I ought to have taken? And he sets down the saying by way of concession.

1 Cor. 9:2. For the seal of my apostleship are you in the Lord. That is, the proof. And if anyone wishes to learn whether I am an apostle, I point to you; and you are those who seal and confirm my apostleship. For all the works that are an apostle’s, I displayed among you.

1 Cor. 9:3. My defense to those who examine me is this. To those who seek to learn whence it is manifest that I am an apostle, this defense I put forward—that is, You. For by showing you all to have been taught by me, I beat back those who examine me.

1 Cor. 9:4. Have we not authority to eat and to drink? That is, having received from the disciples. And indeed we have authority, but we do not use it.

1 Cor. 9:5. Have we not authority to lead about a sister, a wife, as also the rest of the apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? The well-to-do women followed the apostles, supplying them with the necessaries, and procuring for them all freedom from care in these things, so that they might be occupied with the preaching alone. And observe that he has placed the chief one last, as the greater, hinting at this: And why, he says, do I speak of the others? Peter himself does this. And by brethren of the Lord he means James, the bishop of Jerusalem, and Joses, and Simon, and Jude; who were named brethren of the Lord, on account of Joseph’s betrothal to the Theotokos.

1 Cor. 9:6. Or do I alone and Barnabas not have authority to refrain from working? That is, Have we not authority to live idly, and to be fed by those who are taught, working nothing? And he did not conceal Barnabas, who shared with him the strictness in this matter; for he too lived by working.

1 Cor. 9:7. Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? That is, at his own rations. For all who serve as soldiers are fed from the public treasury. And well did he set the example of the soldier first. For this is fitting to the apostleship, on account of the dangers in it, and the war against the spiritual enemies.

1 Cor. 9:7. Who plants a vineyard, and does not eat of its fruit? Through this example he indicated the labor, and the great hardship, and the diligence. And he did not say, He eats the whole fruit, but, “Of the fruit.” Nor did he say, Who does not drink of the fruit? but, “Does not eat”; everywhere exhorting to seek the needful, not the superfluous.

1 Cor. 9:7. Who tends a flock, and does not eat of the milk of the flock? He did not say that He sells the sheep, or, He eats them, or, All the milk, but, “Of the milk”; showing us that the teacher ought to be content with a small solace, and with the necessary nourishment. And the great solicitude which the teacher ought to have, he declared through the “tending.”

1 Cor. 9:8. Do I say these things according to man? Or does not the law also say these things? That is, Do I establish these things from human examples only, and have I not also testimony from the Scripture? I am able to show that these things seem good to God also, and that the law—which is not human, but divine—declares these things.

1 Cor. 9:9. For in the law of Moses it is written: You shall not muzzle an ox while it threshes. Out of abundance he establishes what he wishes; on this account he brings in also the example of the oxen.

1 Cor. 9:9. Is it for the oxen that God cares? What then? Does he not care? Yes, assuredly; but not so as even to lay down laws concerning them. So that he was hinting at something else through his benevolence toward the irrational creatures, training the Jews in zeal toward their teachers. And from this we learn that whatever is said about irrational creatures in the Old Testament contributes to the teaching of men.

1 Cor. 9:10. Or does he say it altogether for our sake? For it was written for our sake. The word “altogether” he set down as of a thing agreed upon, that he might not allow the hearer to gainsay in anything whatever.

1 Cor. 9:10. That the plowman ought to plow in hope; That is, the teacher ought to plow and labor in hope of recompense and reward.

1 Cor. 9:10. And he that threshes, to partake of his hope, in hope. From the sowing he passed to the threshing-floor, and thence shows the many sweats of the apostles; that they both plow and watch over the threshing-floor. And since the plowman only hopes, while the thresher already enjoys something, on this account he said that “He that threshes partakes of his hope.” Lest, then, anyone should say: What then? of so many sweats do you give the apostles this recompense alone, merely to be fed?—he added, “In hope”; that is, of the good things to come. So that one ought both to hope for those things, and also to be fed.

1 Cor. 9:11. If we sowed spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? Here he shows the justice of the matter. For you do not give, he says, things like to those which you received. For we sowed to you spiritual things, but you give back to us carnal things in return. Is this, then, a great thing?

1 Cor. 9:12. If others partake of authority over you, not much more we? He hints at certain false teachers, who took from them shamelessly and brazenly. Wherefore he did not even say, If others take, but, “If they partake of authority over you”—that is, They hold sway over you, they exercise authority, they treat you as servants; not much more we, who are the true teachers?

1 Cor. 9:12. But we did not use this authority. And yet, he says, though having authority to be fed by you, we did not use this authority, that you might not be scandalized; and do you not even abstain from things sacrificed to idols, for the sake of not scandalizing the weaker among the brethren?

1 Cor. 9:12. But we bear all things, lest we should give any hindrance to the Gospel of Christ. Lest anyone should say, Since you had no need, on this account you did not take—he says, Being in great straits, nevertheless we bear all things, both hunger and thirst and nakedness, lest any hindrance should arise—that is, even the small and chance delay—to the Gospel and the preaching.

1 Cor. 9:13. Do you not know that those who work at the sacred things eat of the temple? Not content with the first arguments, he brings others also from the law, showing that it was permitted him to take from the disciples. For since the things concerning the oxen were taken by him allegorically, he says that Expressly the law declares that those who work at the sacred things should eat of the temple—that is, the Levites, who are inferior to the priests in rank. And he did not say, They eat of those who offer, but, “Of the temple”; that neither those who take might be ashamed, as being fed by men, nor those who give might be exalted.

1 Cor. 9:13. Those who attend at the altar share with the altar. That is, the priests and the high priests. And he indicates their continual servitude and perseverance through the “attending.” And he did not say that they take the sacred things, showing the moderation, and that one ought not to gather money. Nor did he say that they take from those who sacrifice, but, “They share with the altar.” For the things offered were no longer the offerers’, but the temple’s and the altar’s. And he said, “They share,” since of the things sacrificed the blood was poured out at the altar, and the fat was burnt as incense; but certain portions of the flesh the priest took—such as the breast and the right shoulder and the maw; the whole burnt-offerings, however, belonged to the altar alone.

1 Cor. 9:14. So also the Lord ordained that those who proclaim the Gospel should live of the Gospel. The strongest of all he set down last. For why, he says, do I say this and that? The Lord so ordained, legislating in accordance with the Old Testament. And just as above he said, “To eat of the temple,” so also here, not, “Of those who are taught,” but, “Of the Gospel,” that those who feed them might not be exalted. For it is not you, he says, who feed him, but his work, the Gospel. And he said, “Live,” not, “Make merchandise,” nor, “Lay up treasure.”

1 Cor. 9:15. But I have used none of these things. That is, Neither any of the examples which I mentioned, nor those of the Old Testament, nor the injunction of Christ, have I used toward being fed by you.

1 Cor. 9:15. But I did not write these things, that it should be so done in my case. Lest anyone should say to him: What then? if you did not use it now, but wish to use it for the future, and on this account say these things?—he quickly sets it right, that “I did not write, that it should be so done”—that is, that I might take.

1 Cor. 9:15. For it were better for me to die, than that anyone should make my boasting void. I choose, he says, rather to be destroyed by hunger, than that anyone should make void—that is, prove vain and empty—my boasting. And he said “boasting,” that he might show the excess of his joy. For perhaps someone said, Truly he did not take, but he did this groaning and in pain. So far, then, he says, am I from being grieved, that I even boast.

1 Cor. 9:16. For if I preach the Gospel, it is no boasting to me; for necessity is laid upon me. But woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel. What do you say? Is the preaching of the Gospel no boasting to you, but the preaching without charge? Is this, then, greater than that? Away with the thought, he says; but the preaching of the Gospel is an injunction and a debt, and if I fulfill it, it is no achievement. For woe is me if I fulfill it not; for I shall be beaten with many stripes, as not doing the injunction of the Master. But to preach without charge is the generosity of free choice; and on this account it is a boasting. And the words, “Necessity is laid upon me,” are said not toward the abolition of free will, but by way of contrast with the liberty that lies in taking, and on account of the fear of the punishment for not doing it.

1 Cor. 9:17. For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship. If, then, the preaching had not been put into my hands, he says, and I did this of myself, I have a great and abundant reward; but if it was put into my hands, it is plain that I do this not of myself, but fulfill a Master’s commandment. For this is the meaning of “unwillingly.” And on this account the matter is no generosity; for being entrusted with a stewardship, I administer it. But observe that he did not say, But if unwillingly, I have no reward; showing that he has indeed a reward even for preaching, although he fulfills a Master’s injunction. For it would be absurd if all the apostles should not receive a reward for the things they preached; only it is not such as his who preached without charge.

1 Cor. 9:18. What then is the reward? [That, in preaching the Gospel, I may make the Gospel of Christ free of charge, so as not to abuse my authority in the Gospel.] That is, the greater reward, and one worthy of boasting: that I may not abuse my authority—that is, use it at all; for the simple use he named abuse. And everywhere he calls the matter “authority,” showing that not even those who take did anything amiss. And he said, “In the Gospel,” that he might show that he who preaches and labors ought to take; but he who is idle, no.

1 Cor. 9:19. For being free from all, I enslaved myself to all, that I might gain the more. He says the greater thing: that Not only did I not take, though having authority; but also, being free, and subject to no one, nor having necessity, I enslaved myself to all—not to one or two, but to the inhabited world; not that I might please them as men, but that I might gain the more; for all, it is impossible.

1 Cor. 9:20. And I became to the Jews as a Jew, that I might gain Jews. When he circumcised Timothy. And he did not say, A Jew, but, “As a Jew,” that he might show that the matter was a stewardship.

1 Cor. 9:20. To those under the law, as under the law, that I might gain those under the law. He means the proselytes, or those who had become believers from among the Jews, but still clung to the law. And these things came to pass when he shaved his head, when he offered the things of purification. And he did these things by way of stewardship, and for show, that he might set right those who truly did them.

1 Cor. 9:21. To those without law, as without law. By those without law he means those who do not have the law of Moses, those from among the nations, such as Cornelius was; to whom also, in visiting them, he condescended to their weakness. Or also the Greeks, as when he disputed with the Athenians, conversing with them from the altar among them, and teaching not as concerning God, [namely] Christ, but as concerning a man. For they could not bear to hear any such thing; but they accounted this one also as one of those deified among them, such as Heracles, such as Asclepius. And everywhere the “as” is added, that you may learn that he displayed these things, not being so in truth.

1 Cor. 9:21. (Being not without law toward God, but under law to Christ), that I might gain those without law. Lest you should suppose that he changed his mind, conversing with those without law, he says, “Being not without law toward God”—instead of, being not outside the laws of God, but under law; and not simply under law, but “to Christ”—that is, having a law higher than the older law, the law of Christ. And what is the gain? “That I might gain those without law.”

1 Cor. 9:22. I became to the weak as weak, that I might gain the weak. As now to you, on account of your weak and easily-scandalized mind, in not having wished to be fed by you. But also, when you see him speaking plainly either of the Godhead of the Son or of that of the Spirit, on account of the weakness of the hearers, then too know that he became to the weak as weak.

1 Cor. 9:22. To all I became all things, that I might by all means save some. And why do I enumerate many things? To all I condescended; and that, not expecting to save all, but that I might save even a few; which is the more wonderful. For to labor in hope of a great harvest is not so wonderful; but to toil so greatly for the sake even of a small one—this is great. And the “by all means” he added, consoling those who teach. For even if one save not all, he will by all means save a few. So that he ought not to grow deadened.

1 Cor. 9:23. And this I do for the Gospel’s sake, that I may become a fellow-partaker of it. By “Gospel” he means the believers, those saved through the Gospel; just as above he said, “To live of the Gospel,” instead of, of those who believe. That, then, I may be able, he says, to share the crowns with the believers, on this account I do these things; not because he himself did these things for reward, but that he might persuade those others to do all things for the brethren’s sake, in hope of the good things above. And observe the humility, how he who is worthy of the chief place ranks himself with the simple believers in the fellowship of the good things.

1 Cor. 9:24. Do you not know that those who run in the stadium all run indeed, but one receives the prize? After showing that one ought to condescend to the brethren, he addresses to them the more startling word. And what he says is this: Do not suppose that, because you believed and entered into the stadium of the Church, this already suffices you for salvation; just as neither for those runners does the running simply suffice, unless there be added also the running blamelessly, and to the very end. Wherefore also he alone receives the prize who has so run; which you are in danger of not receiving, despising the brethren on the pretext, forsooth, of the perfection of your knowledge, and gorging yourselves on the things sacrificed to idols.

1 Cor. 9:24–25. So run, that you may obtain. And everyone who strives is temperate in all things. You ought, he says, to run, “that you may obtain.” But this comes not to pass without love, which you do not have, even if you suppose yourselves perfect; which is not so; for you have not yet obtained. And hinting that they fall short in many things, inasmuch as gluttony has its citizenship in them, and fornication, and drunkenness, he says that “He who strives is temperate in all things”—not abstaining from this and not from that, but from all. Know, then, how much you are lacking, and learn the manner by which you shall be crowned, namely, by being temperate.

1 Cor. 9:25. Those, then, that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. This word is shaming: if indeed those for the sake of a corruptible crown are temperate, but we do not do this for the sake of the incorruptible.

1 Cor. 9:26. I therefore so run, as not uncertainly. What is “not uncertainly”? That is, I do all things with a purpose, both circumcising and shaving, and nothing at random and in vain, as you do. For what is the purpose of eating the things sacrificed to idols, while others are perishing? None at all. So that, doing this irrationally, you run uncertainly and aimlessly, and in vain. And as an excellent teacher, he sets himself in the midst as an example.

1 Cor. 9:26. So I box, as not beating the air. For I have one whom I may strike—that is, the devil; but you do not strike him, but in vain have used the perfection of your knowledge.

1 Cor. 9:27. But I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage. Here he shows them to be held also by gluttony, and to be pampering it under the pretext of perfection. I, therefore, he says, endure every labor, so as to live temperately. For “I buffet”—that is, I box against the body; for the wounds beneath the eyes are called “buffetings,”[1] which came to be in boxing. He shows, then, the great contest against nature. For the body is a very great tyranny, and a great adversary. And since he said, “I buffet,” and made mention of wounds, he added concisely, “And I bring it into bondage”; that you may learn that one ought not to throttle it, but, like a refractory servant, to restrain and subdue it; which belongs to a master, and not to an enemy. But some understand “I buffet” to be said in a more idiomatic manner, instead of, I deliver it over to hunger. Which is not so; for it ought to have been “I buffet.”

1 Cor. 9:27. Lest, having preached to others, I myself should become disapproved. And through this also he makes them more sober. For if to me, he says, the preaching and teaching do not suffice for salvation, unless I render myself in all things beyond reproach—how shall you be saved from faith alone, being worsted by so many passions?

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek ὑπωπιάζω (“I buffet”) derives from ὑπώπια, the bruises under the eyes inflicted in boxing.

Chapter 10

1 Cor. 10:1. But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. He recounts of how many gifts the Jews were deemed worthy from God; and he shows that, after these gifts, the many did not please God. And he says these things, showing that, just as it did not profit those to have enjoyed so much, since they did not furnish the things that were of themselves, so neither will faith profit you, and the being deemed worthy of spiritual mysteries, unless you also render yourselves worthy of the grace of God. “All,” he says, “were under the cloud.” For he spread out a cloud for a covering over them, “and they passed through the sea.”

1 Cor. 10:2. And all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. That is, they shared with Moses both the shade under the cloud, and the passage of the sea. For seeing him first cross over, they too made bold for the waters; just as in our case also, Christ having first died and risen, we too are baptized, imitating the death through the immersion, and the resurrection through the emersion. “They were baptized into Moses,” then, instead of, they had him as the originator of the type of baptism; for it was a type of baptism, both the being under the cloud, and the passing through the sea.

1 Cor. 10:3–4. And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. Just as we, after being baptized, eat the Master’s body, so those ate the manna after the sea. And just as we drink the Master’s blood, so those drank the water that gushed from the precipitous rock. And he calls these things spiritual, since, even though they were perceptible, yet they came to be not by a sequence of nature, but by spiritual grace, nourishing the souls along with the body, and leading on to faith.

1 Cor. 10:4. For they drank of the spiritual rock that followed; and the rock was Christ. Concerning the food, then, he needed no elaboration; for of itself it was something altered. But concerning the drink, since only the manner of the supply was altered, he needed elaboration. And he says that It was not the nature of the rock that supplied this (for it would have gushed forth even before this), but some other spiritual rock wrought the whole—that is, Christ. And he said, “Following,” that he might show that he was the one present to them everywhere, and working all wonders.

1 Cor. 10:5. But with the most of them God was not well pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Even though God displayed many tokens of love toward them, and deemed them worthy of so many good things; nevertheless he was not, he says, well pleased with the most of them; for this is the meaning of “was well pleased.” For not all were rejected, but the most. And by saying, “With the most,” he shows that even their multitude profited them nothing, because they did not display the things of love toward their benefactor. And by, “They were laid low,” he indicates their sudden destruction, and the God-sent punishments.

1 Cor. 10:6. Now these things became types of us, to the end that we should not be lusters after evil things, as those also lusted. Just as the benefactions were types, so also the punishments. And he shows not only that they shall be punished, but also that they shall be punished more greatly than those, by as much as those things were a type, but these the reality. And just as in the gifts there is the preeminence, so also in the punishments. And having said, “Lusters after evil things,” he speaks universally concerning all wickedness, since all wickedness too is from lust. Then he sets down the wickednesses also according to kind. And what did those lust after? Garlic, flesh, gods of their own, as he himself through what follows declares their idolatry.

1 Cor. 10:7. Neither be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. First he takes hold of those who eat in the idol-temples, and shows that, just as those fell from gluttony into idolatry (for setting up dances around the calf, they played before it), so for you too there is danger of falling into this, from eating the things sacrificed to idols through gluttony. So that, where is your seeming perfection, when you are thrust out into idolatry?

1 Cor. 10:8. Nor let us engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. Again he makes mention of fornication, by the continuousness of the reproof making his word more effectual. And this sin too comes from gluttony. And when did three and twenty thousand fall? When, by the counsel of Balaam, the Midianite women, appearing at the battle-line, drew on the younger men, and through fornication called them forth to sacrifice to Baal-Peor, and the people fell in the battle-line.

1 Cor. 10:9. Nor let us put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. He intimates that the Corinthians were tempting, demanding signs.

1 Cor. 10:10. Neither murmur, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. That is, by some avenging power. And he hints at them through this also, that in their trials they did not bear nobly, but murmured, saying: When will the good things come? and until when the afflictions?

1 Cor. 10:11. Now all these things happened to them as types; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. He frightens them both by saying that “They were written for our admonition,” and we ought henceforth, we too, to expect punishments, and more dreadful ones, by as much as we have enjoyed greater gifts; and by setting before them the end, and showing that the punishments are not temporary, but the immortal ones after the consummation will receive you. For already that tribunal is at the doors, since the ages of the world are coming to an end.

1 Cor. 10:12. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Again he hints at those who think great things over their knowledge. For even if you think you stand, take heed, he says, lest you fall; for the very being confident that you stand is not even to stand. For you think it, you do not truly stand; and even if you do, the fall from presumption is easy.

1 Cor. 10:13. No temptation has taken you but such as is human; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Since he had frightened them, saying, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall”—and there were many who had already endured temptations—lest they should say: Why do you frighten us? for having endured many temptations we have not fallen—he says that No temptation has taken you, but a small and proportionate one; for everywhere he calls the small thing “human.” Then he consoles them again, persuading them to look to God, who is faithful—that is, true, and will not deceive. For he promised: Come, you that labor, and I will give you rest. “He will not, then, allow you to be tempted above what you are able”—not simply, but he will make the temptation come proportionate to your power; or rather, every temptation is greater than your power, unless he help. “And he will make the way of escape”—that is, the release from the temptation—“with the temptation”—that is, swiftly; so that even at the same time as the temptation comes upon you. So that, through the swift release also, this becomes bearable to you. “For he will make the way of escape,” he says, for the sake of “your being able to bear it”—that is, that the temptation may appear to you light and endurable.

1 Cor. 10:14. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. Since he had sufficiently taken hold of them, he now heals them, calling them brethren; and no longer, on account of the harm to the brethren, does he forbid them the things sacrificed to idols, but he assails the matter itself in itself, naming it idolatry, and demanding the swift withdrawal from it. For “Flee,” he says.

1 Cor. 10:15. I speak as to wise men; judge you what I say. Since he had attached a great charge to them, naming what they did idolatry, he smooths the harshness of the word, and makes the very accused the judges (it belongs to one confident in his own words, as true); and he says: I need no other judges; you, as wise, judge.

1 Cor. 10:16. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? That is, of the Eucharist. For holding it in our hands we bless and give thanks to him who poured out his blood for us, and deemed us worthy of unspeakable good things. And he did not say, Participation, but, “Communion,” that he might declare something more, namely the utmost union. What he says is this: that This which is in the cup is that which flowed from the side; and partaking of it, we have communion—that is, we are united to Christ. Are you not ashamed, then, O Corinthians, running to the cup of the idols, after this cup which delivered you from that cup of the idols?

1 Cor. 10:16. The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? That which on the cross the Lord did not suffer (for not a bone of his was broken), this he now undergoes, being broken in pieces for our sake. For “Which we break,” he says, “is a communion of the body of Christ”—instead of, Just as that body is united to Christ, so we too are united to him through this bread.

1 Cor. 10:17. Because there is one bread, we the many are one body. Since he had said, “A communion of the body”—and that which has communion is other than that of which it has communion—he now shows the greater thing, and says that we are that very body. For what is the bread? The body of Christ. And what do those who partake become? The body of Christ; not many bodies, but one body. For just as the bread becomes one from many grains, so we too, being many, become one body of Christ.

1 Cor. 10:17. For we all partake of the one bread. So that we are also one body. How, then, do we not keep love, and become also in this respect one? And yet God, he says, gives us his body for this reason, that he may unite us, both to himself and to one another. For since the former nature of the flesh was corrupted by sin, and became destitute of life, he gave us his own flesh, sinless and life-giving, but like to ours, that, partaking of it, we might be mingled with it, and might live sinlessly, as far as is possible.

1 Cor. 10:18. Behold Israel according to the flesh: are not those who eat the sacrifices partakers of the altar? From the grosser things, he says, be instructed, that what is done by you is a communion of idols. And “Israel according to the flesh” he said, as against them who are Israel according to the Spirit. And observe how, in the case of the Jews, he did not say that they have communion with God, but, “They are partakers of the altar.” For indeed that which was set apart for God, being placed upon the altar, was burnt up; but in the case of the body of Christ, it is not so, but it is a communion of the body of Christ. For we become partakers not of the altar, but of Christ himself. Fearing, then, lest the hearers should suppose that, since the God who there received the sacrifice was able to harm, therefore the idols also which here receive the sacrifice are able to harm those who do not sacrifice, he added:

1 Cor. 10:19. What then do I say? That an idol is anything? Or that a thing sacrificed to an idol is anything? Not as though the idols had any power, and were able to harm or to profit, do I lead you away from these things; for they are not at all; but I lead you away because the thing sacrificed is not offered to your Master.

1 Cor. 10:20. But that the things which the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God. Do not, then, run to the enemies of your Master; for indeed, if leaving a royal table you ran to that of the condemned, you would assuredly be sinning—not because that table harmed or profited, but because this seemed an insult to the royal table.

1 Cor. 10:20. But I would not that you should become partakers of demons. For if those who partake of the mystic table have communion with Christ, those who partake of the table of demons plainly have communion with demons.

1 Cor. 10:21. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons. Since he had said by way of exhortation, “I would not that you should become partakers of demons”—lest the exhortation should be despised, he now sets it down by way of declaration, saying, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons.”

1 Cor. 10:21. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons. From the names alone he establishes the necessity of abstaining from the things sacrificed to idols.

1 Cor. 10:22. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? This he set down by way of shaming. Or do we tempt, he says, and provoke God to anger, as if to ask whether he is able to punish us when we depart to his enemies? Then, leading the argument to an absurdity, he says: “Are we stronger than he?”—reminding them very strikingly of the Mosaic saying: They provoked me to jealousy with that which is no God, they provoked me to anger with their idols.

1 Cor. 10:23. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. Lest anyone should say to him, Eating with a clean conscience I have authority to do this—Yes, he says, all things are indeed lawful for you, since you yourself have become self-determining from God; but it is not by all means profitable for you to eat; for advancing along the road, you will acquire a disposition toward the idols, by continually having communion with their tables.

1 Cor. 10:23. All things are lawful for me, but not all things build up. Neither is it profitable for you, he says, even as I said before; nor for your brother; for it does not build him up, but rather pulls down and undermines his faith. So that, since it profits neither you nor your brother, why do you do this?

1 Cor. 10:24. Let no one seek his own, but each that of his neighbor. Do not seek this, whether you eat with a clean conscience, but whether what is done builds up your brother. And in many places of the Epistles he sets this down, as most necessary. And he does not simply bid us not seek our own advantage, but whenever this harms the brother. For then one ought to prefer and choose his advantage above one’s own.

1 Cor. 10:25. Everything sold in the meat-market eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake. Since he had established through many arguments that they ought to abstain from the things sacrificed to idols—lest again they should become more scrupulous than was needful, so as to refuse even the meats in the market, fearing lest these too might be things sacrificed to idols—he says that “Everything sold eat,” not examining those who sell, and asking whether it be a thing sacrificed to an idol, as if smitten in conscience, and wishing to cleanse it.

1 Cor. 10:26. For the earth belongs to the Lord, and everything in it. Not the demons’. And if the earth, then also the fruits and the trees and the animals. And if all things are his, nothing is unclean by nature, but only from the mind of each.

1 Cor. 10:27. But if any of the unbelievers invite you, and you wish to go, eat everything set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake. Well did he say, “You wish”; for he wished neither to urge them on, nor to turn them away. And ask no question, that you may not, by the excessive scrupulosity, be thought to dread the idols, and that you may keep your conscience clean and unsmitten.

1 Cor. 10:28. But if anyone say to you: This is a thing sacrificed to an idol—eat not, for the sake of that one who disclosed it, and for conscience’ sake; for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof. Not as of things harmful do I bid you abstain, but for the sake of that one who disclosed it, that he be not harmed, and suppose that the things of the idols are not to be rejected by Christians. For that it is not as of unclean things, nor of things alien to our Lord, that I teach you to abstain, is plain from this: “For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof”—that is, all the things that fill it, the things contained in it.

1 Cor. 10:29. But conscience I mean, not your own, but that of the other. That is, of the Greek. For perhaps (as I said) he will be scandalized, either judging you a glutton, or as one who, like himself, equally approves the idols.

1 Cor. 10:29. For why is my liberty judged by another’s conscience? By liberty he means the being unobserved and unhindered. For I indeed, he says, eat freely and unobservedly; but the Greek will condemn me, and will say: A fable is the Christians’ profession, who say they abhor the idols, and eagerly eat the things sacrificed to them. But perhaps someone might say: Why do you take thought of the one who disclosed it? for you said before: What have I to do with judging those outside? It is not for him that I take thought, he says, but for you, that you be not condemned; wherefore also he went on:

1 Cor. 10:30. If I by grace partake, why am I blasphemed for that for which I give thanks? I indeed partake, he says, of God’s creatures freely, on account of the grace of God which made me steadfast and firm, so as to observe nothing scrupulously; but the Greek will blaspheme me, as one feigning to flee the idols, and yet again through gluttony eating the things that come from them. And the words, “For that for which I give thanks,” mean this: that I indeed give thanks to God, that he made me so lofty, and above Jewish lowliness, so as to be harmed from nowhere; but, as I said, the Greek is scandalized and blasphemes.

1 Cor. 10:31. Whether, then, you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. “Do all things,” he says, “to the glory of God”; since the things now done among you are a dishonor of God, or rather a blasphemy. And one eats and drinks to the glory of God, when not for the scandal of anyone, when not as a glutton, or a pleasure-lover, but as one wishing to keep the body together for the working of virtue.

1 Cor. 10:32. Be without offense both to Jews and to Greeks, and to the Church of God. That is, giving to no one any occasion of blame. And this will be, if we scandalize neither Jew nor Greek, nor yet the brethren; for they themselves are the Church of God. And observe, he said the greater thing last; for the others too it befits us to draw on toward the faith; but the brethren we ought by no means to drive away.

1 Cor. 10:33. Even as I also please all in all things, not seeking my own advantage, but that of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, even as I also of Christ. Since he had enjoined a great thing on them, to render themselves accountable to the verdict of both Greeks and Jews, he brought himself into the midst, that he might show the matter to be easy. And that he did not seek his own advantage is plain from many things, which he also said before, that “To all I became all things”; and most of all from the things in which he prayed to be anathema for the brethren’s sake. “Be imitators of me.” And the words, “Even as I also of Christ,” understand not as the word of a boaster, but rather of one exhorting to the imitation. For I, he says, imitated Christ, who despised even his own life that you might live; how much more ought you to imitate me? For I am not so much better than you, as he than me, who incomparably surpasses all.

Chapter 11

1 Cor. 11:2. Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things. Since he had brought to completion the discourse concerning the things sacrificed to idols, which were great matters, he now sets right a lighter fault. For he is accustomed to place the lighter faults in between the weighty ones. And what was this? The women both prayed and prophesied with heads uncovered; while the men wore their hair long, inasmuch as they were given to philosophy, both when they prayed and when they prophesied. And these things were of Greek custom. Since, then, he had admonished them concerning these matters—perhaps when he was present—and some of them obeyed, while others were disobedient, he says, concerning those who obeyed, that “I praise you, that you remember me in all things.” And yet this was a single thing, namely, that the men should not wear their hair long; but nevertheless he says, “You remember me in all things.” For he is ever accustomed to adorn with praises those who are expected to be made better thereby.

1 Cor. 11:2. And that you hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you. From this it is plain that he too, and the rest of the apostles, delivered many things unwritten.

1 Cor. 11:3. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ. He seems, so far as may be judged from the sequence, to be conversing with those praised by him for holding fast the traditions; but at the same time he sets right those who had been disobedient. And when you hear “of every man,” understand that Christ is the head of the believer; for it is we who are believers who are his body, and not also the Greeks; so that neither is Christ the head of those.

1 Cor. 11:3. And the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. The head of the woman is the man, because he is her cause, since she was generated from his rib. And the head of Christ is God, that is, his cause, as Father of the Son. For we must not understand the things said concerning headship in the same way also in the case of Christ; but Christ is our head both as Creator and as our being his body; while the Father is the head of Christ, as his cause. And if you should also understand it according to the human nature, that the Father is thus called the head of Christ, just as Christ himself was called our head, there is nothing impious; since the Father is also called God of Christ according to the human nature. For since he condescended to be made like us, and was named our brother and head, it is nothing strange if he also accepts the names of lowliness, and has the Father—who according to the Godhead is his Father—as his head according to the human nature, as his ruler, and as his God.

1 Cor. 11:4. Every man praying or prophesying, having anything on his head, dishonors his head. He does not always forbid the man to be covered, but only in prayer and prophecy. And he did not say, “Having his head covered,” but, “Having anything on his head,” that he might do away not only with covering by a garment, but also by long hair; for he too who wears long hair has something on his head, namely, the hair. And how does he dishonor his head? Because, having become a ruler and one in authority, he makes himself subject to authority. For to have the head covered is to place authority upon the head; for the covering on the head stands in the place of one in authority over him, and is a sign of subjection. It is worth inquiring why the Apostle sets this down as a charge. A symbol has been given to the man and to the woman; to the one, of rule; to the other, of subjection—among other things, this very thing also, that the one should be uncovered and the other covered. How, then, is it not a charge that the bounds of nature should be transgressed, and that the man should wear long hair, and the woman go unveiled? This, then, he does away with, as a sign of self-will, a thing not seen in ecclesiastical affairs. For from this very thing come also the heresies, from each one’s overstepping the things appointed.

1 Cor. 11:5–6. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors her head; for it is one and the same as if she were shaven. For there were, as we have said, women also who had the gift of prophecy, such as the daughters of Philip, and many others. And how does she dishonor her head? Because she renders her head a kind of fugitive, deprived of the authority entrusted to it by God. And know that the man, as has been said, he forbids to be covered in prayer and prophecy; but the woman not only at these times, but always. For this is what he intends by saying, “For it is one and the same as if she were shaven”; for just as it is always shameful for her to be shaven, so plainly is it also to be uncovered. For the hair is in the place of a covering. So that she who casts off the covering is like her who casts off her hair.

1 Cor. 11:6. For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn; but if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. He continues to show that uncovering is equal to shaving; and just as the latter is shameful, so also is this. And through these things he also makes plain what I said, that it is always shameful for the woman to be uncovered.

1 Cor. 11:7. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, being the image and glory of God. The first cause he stated was that he has Christ as his head, and ought not to be covered; and now he sets down a second also, that he is the glory of God—that is, the vicegerent of God, and his image. The ruler under the King of all, then, ought to appear before him with the symbols of his rule, namely, the uncovered head; for this signifies that the man is not under the authority of any earthly thing, but that he himself rules over all, as the image of God.

1 Cor. 11:7. But the woman is the glory of the man. That is, she is ruled by the man; she ought, therefore, to appear with the symbols of subjection, which are the having of the head covered.

1 Cor. 11:8–9. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. He states the causes for which the man surpasses the woman: both that the woman is from his rib, and that not he was made for her, but she for him. Let us make a helper for him. How, then, shall the man cover himself, having been thus honored by God? For he seizes the woman’s appearance, and does the same as if one, having received a diadem, should cast it from his head, and [take up] a servile token instead.

1 Cor. 11:10. For this cause ought the woman to have authority on her head, because of the angels. Because of all the things said, he says, the woman ought to have the symbol of being under authority—that is, the covering—upon her head, if for no other reason, out of reverence for the angels, lest she appear shameless even to them. For just as being covered prepares one to look downward and to be modest, and to maintain the appearance of one who is ruled; so being uncovered displays shamelessness, which the angels too, who attend the believers, abhor. But Clement the author of the Stromateis understood “angels” more elaborately to mean the just men of the Church. For let her be covered, he says, lest she scandalize these to fornication.

1 Cor. 11:11. Nevertheless, in the Lord, man is not independent of woman, nor woman independent of man. These things he says because he had given great preeminence to the man, having shown that the woman is from him, and for his sake, and under him. In order, then, that he might neither exalt the men more than is fitting, nor humble the women, he says that truly indeed in the first creation the woman thus came to be from the man; but now neither is the man begotten without the woman. “Nevertheless in the Lord”; that is, since God does the whole, and gives life to the seed, and strengthens the womb.

1 Cor. 11:12. For as the woman is from the man, so also is the man through the woman. The woman, he says, is from the man; for this remains to the man inviolate, that the woman is from him; but the man is through the woman—that is, the woman is a minister to the begetting of the man; but the greater operation is of the seed. So that the man would not properly be said to be from the woman, but from his father through the woman, who became as it were a minister to the begetting. But concerning the Lord, Paul did not speak thus, but says that he was made of a woman. For he was afraid to use the preposition “through,” lest he should give occasion to the heretics to say that he came as through a pipe of the Virgin; or also because, no man having entered in, the fruit of her womb was of her alone.

1 Cor. 11:12. But all things are of God. This achievement, he says, is not of the man, but of God. If, therefore, all things come to pass by the power of God, and he himself has ordered the things of men and of women, do not contradict, but be persuaded.

1 Cor. 11:13. Judge in your own selves. Again he seats them as judges, establishing out of abundance what he wishes.

1 Cor. 11:13. Is it seemly that a woman pray to God uncovered? Here he hints at something more fearful, that the insult runs up to God.

1 Cor. 11:14–15. Does not even nature itself teach you, that if a man wears long hair, it is a dishonor to him; but if a woman wears long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her in the place of a covering. And how is it a dishonor to the man to wear long hair? Because he takes up the appearance of a woman, and, having been appointed to rule, receives the symbol of subjection. But to the woman the hair is a glory, because she keeps her own proper order. And honor for each one is the keeping of order. But why must she add another covering also, that of the veil, if indeed the hair is a covering? In order that she may confess the subjection not only of nature, but also of deliberate choice.

1 Cor. 11:16. But if anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. It is contentiousness, then, to strive against in such matters—what comes from custom, not from reasoning and understanding. For since perhaps the Corinthians, wishing to make a show of cleverness, strove against [him] through reasonings, showing the matter to be indifferent, he says that We have no such custom—either of being contentious, or of the man’s wearing long hair and the woman’s not being covered—but neither have the other Churches, he says. So that you set yourselves against not us only, but also against the whole Church.

1 Cor. 11:17. Now in declaring this I praise you not. Just as those who believed in the beginning, having all things common, passed their life in common; so, in a kind of imitation of these—though not an exact one—in Corinth, on certain appointed days, perhaps festal ones, they feasted in common after partaking of the mysteries, the rich bringing in the provisions, and the poor being called and entertained by them. But through dissension the wonderful and loving and philosophical custom was corrupted, and was not kept by all. Paul, therefore, writes to set it right; and in the charge before this one, since he had many who obeyed, he said, “Now I praise you”; but here, the matter being otherwise, he says, “Now in declaring this I praise you not”—that is, I praise you not, that I command you at all concerning this which I am about to speak of and to admonish. For you ought, understanding of yourselves, neither to have sinned at all, nor to have needed any command.

1 Cor. 11:17. That you come together not for the better, but for the worse. You ought to advance to the better, and to make your assemblies more honorable; but you have diminished even the custom that had already prevailed; and you come together indeed in the one Church, yet not so as to sup together as you ought. This, then, is “the worse”—that is, that wherein you are diminished.

1 Cor. 11:18. For first of all, when you come together in the Church, I hear that there are divisions among you. He does not at once rush into the discourse concerning the tables, but first strikes them, that there are divisions among them. For indeed, because they were torn asunder, on this account each one ate privately.

1 Cor. 11:18. And I partly believe it. Lest they should say, What if those who accuse us lie? he neither said, “I believe it,” lest he make them more shameless; nor, “I disbelieve it,” lest he seem to censure in vain; but, A little, he says, I believe. And at the same time it is also likely that no one transgressed the custom in all things, but only some in part.

1 Cor. 11:19. For there must also be factions among you, He does not mean the heresies of doctrines, but those of such divisions, those concerning the tables. And what is “there must be”? In the sense of, it is admitted, or also that, It is necessary, you being men, that not all of you walk uprightly. On this account, then, I also believe it; just as the Lord also said, “It is necessary that offenses come”—in the sense of, Since there are wicked men in the world, it is necessary that offenses also be, and come.

1 Cor. 11:19. That they who are approved may be made manifest among you. The “that” here is not causal, but [denotes] the outcome of the matter, as is plain from many places. For from the more arrogant not accepting the feasting, the approved are made manifest—that is, the poor, in that they bear being overlooked; whereas before, their endurance was not apparent.

1 Cor. 11:20–21. When you come together therefore into one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper. The coming together, he says, displays love and fellowship; yet this [other] is the deed that is done. And he calls the feasting “the Lord’s supper,” as an imitation of that fearful one which the Lord ate with his disciples; wherefore he also called this a “supper.” See, then, he says, of what you are deprived, you who [ought] to imitate the Master’s table.

1 Cor. 11:21. For each one takes before others his own supper in eating. This Lord’s supper you have made a private one. For so long as it was common, it was also called the Lord’s supper; for the things of the Master are common to all the servants. But since each one takes beforehand, eating his own supper, and does not wait for the poor, but eats privately by himself, you have dishonored the supper, making it private instead of the Lord’s.

1 Cor. 11:21. so that one goes hungry while another gets drunk. The poor man is hungry, but the rich is drunken. And he speaks of two charges: that the poor are overlooked, and that you are drunken, alone consuming the things which ought to have been prepared for the poor as well. And the word “is drunken” is emphatic.

1 Cor. 11:22. What, have you not houses to eat and to drink in? For if you are not going to eat in common, why do you not eat in your houses?

1 Cor. 11:22. Or do you despise the Church of God? For when you make the Lord’s supper a private one, doing it by yourself, you insult the Church and the place.

1 Cor. 11:22. And put to shame those who have not. It is not so much, he says, a care to the poor that you do not feed them, as that they are put to shame, being reproved for not themselves having, while you recline in lavishness and are drunken.

1 Cor. 11:22. What should I say to you? Should I praise you? In this I do not praise you. After the demonstration of the fault, he converses with them more kindly. For though he might say that they were worthy of ten thousand deaths, yet what does he say? “Shall I praise you? In this I praise you not.” And this he does, that he may render them gentler toward the poor.

1 Cor. 11:23. For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you. For what reason does he make mention of the mysteries and of that evening? Very necessarily; that he may persuade them, [saying]: Your Master deemed all worthy of the same table, and do you thrust away and deem unworthy him who is of your own kind? But how does he say that he received from the Lord? for he was not even present then, but was a persecutor. That you may learn that today also, at the mystical table, it is he himself who delivers the mysteries, just as also then.

1 Cor. 11:23–24. That the Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and having given thanks he broke it, and said: Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you. At once, he says, [observe] that he gave you this mystic rite as the last, and in that very night in which he was about to be slain; and he had the betrayer as his table-companion; and do you deem your brother unworthy? And you were taught indeed to give thanks; for he too gave thanks, giving us a pattern; but you do things unworthy of the thanksgiving, insulting the Church, and, while another is hungry, yourself being drunken. And he said to all in common, “Take, eat,” and this, his body, which he broke equally for all, giving it to death; but you take beforehand in eating, and do not even set the common bread in the midst, nor break it, that it may be given to many, but hold it for yourself.

1 Cor. 11:24. This do in remembrance of me. What do you say? If indeed you were making a remembrance of a son or of a father, you would be smitten by conscience if you did not fulfill the customary things and call the poor; but performing a remembrance of the Master, you do not even share the table simply.

1 Cor. 11:25. Likewise also the cup after he had supped, saying: This cup is the New Covenant in my blood. There were cups in the Old [Covenant] also, in which they poured out the blood of irrational creatures after sacrificing. Instead, therefore, of the blood of irrational creatures, which sealed the Old Covenant, I now set my own blood, sealing the New Covenant. Be not troubled, then, at hearing of blood. For if you received that of irrational creatures in the Old [Covenant], how much more the divine [blood] now?

1 Cor. 11:25. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. Through the cup also, he says, you perform a remembrance of the Master’s death. How, then, do you alone drink and become drunken, when the fearful cup has been given equally to all?

1 Cor. 11:26. For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he come. Thus, he says, you ought to be disposed, as though in that very evening, and reclining upon that very couch, and receiving the sacrifice from Christ himself. For it is that very supper, and we proclaim that very death—that is, we set it forth—until the second coming.

1 Cor. 11:27. Therefore, whoever shall eat this bread, or drink the cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. He hints at them as partaking unworthily, as overlooking the poor. And how does he who partakes unworthily become guilty? As one who himself also poured out the blood. For just as then those who pierced him pierced not that they might drink, but that they might pour out; so also he who drinks unworthily, but reaps nothing from it, has poured out the blood in vain. And the Jews indeed rent the King’s robe; but he who communicates unworthily cast this [blood] into the mire—I mean, into his own soul.

1 Cor. 11:28. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. Paul is accustomed, whenever in the midst of one subject another necessary one falls in, to treat this also thoroughly; so therefore now too, another subject being set before him, that concerning the tables, since he fell into the discourse concerning the mysteries, he works it out as most necessary, and demonstrates the chief of good things, namely, to approach with a pure conscience; and he says that I set over you no other judge, but yourself over yourself. Judge, then, with your conscience, and then approach—not when it is a feast, but when you find yourself pure and worthy.

1 Cor. 11:29. For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself. Not because of the nature of the mysteries—for these are life-giving—but because of the unworthiness of the one approaching; just as the sun also is harmful to those whose sight is corrupted.

1 Cor. 11:29. Not discerning the body of the Lord. That is, not examining, not considering the greatness of that which is set forth. For if we should learn who he is that is set forth, we shall need nothing else, but this very thing will prepare us to be sober.

1 Cor. 11:30. For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and a good number sleep. From the things that come to pass among you, take the proofs. For on this account come untimely deaths and long sicknesses, because many partake unworthily. What then? Those who are kept without sickness to deepest old age, do they not sin? They sin indeed, but the punishments here are not the only ones for those who approach unworthily; rather, there harsher things are laid up for them. But we would not have been punished even here, had we not sinned.

1 Cor. 11:31. For if we judged ourselves, we should not be judged. He did not say, “If we punished ourselves,” but only, “If we judged” and condemned ourselves, we would not even here be condemned by God, but we would escape both the punishments here and those there.

1 Cor. 11:32. But being judged by the Lord, we are chastened, that we may not be condemned with the world. Since, he says, we do not do the thing so light and easy—that is, the condemning of ourselves—not even so does God deal with us unsparingly, but he chastens us here, that there he may have mercy. For we are chastened, he says, here; we are not punished, but we are admonished by a Father, “that we may not”—with the world, that is, with the unbelievers—“be condemned” there. For the faithful, being held in reverence before God, here expend their sins.

1 Cor. 11:33. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. Again he came to the discourse concerning the poor, after he had made mention of punishments and deaths. And he did not say, “Share with one another,” but, “Wait for one another,” showing that the things brought in there are common, and that one must await the common assembly.

1 Cor. 11:34. And if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home. The word is reproachful; for as with children who are peevish because of hunger, he converses with them, and condemns their gluttony. Wherefore also, leading them out from the Church, he sends them off to the house; which is no small shame.

1 Cor. 11:34. That you come not together to judgment. That is, to your harm, and to condemnation. For on this account the assemblies were appointed, that you might be benefited, coming together in love; but if not, it is better to be at home. And this he says, not that they may be at home, but that he may rather draw them on toward coming together as they ought.

1 Cor. 11:34. And the rest I will set in order whenever I come. Either he speaks of certain other things sinned among them and needing arrangement, or he says concerning this very matter, that It is likely that some will use excuses against the things I have said; but for the present let the things I have said be kept. And if anyone has anything else to say, let this be reserved for my presence. And he frightens them as one who is about to be present, that they may be subdued and set right, if they have anything not well.

Chapter 12

1 Cor. 12:1. Now concerning spiritual things, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. That is, concerning the gifts of the Spirit. And the subject is this: Those who believed in the beginning and were baptized all received the Spirit; but since this was invisible, a perceptible proof of its working was given, and they either spoke with tongues, or prophesied, or worked miracles. Among the Corinthians, then, on account of the gifts there were factions, both of those who received the greater being lifted up, and of those who received the lesser being envious toward the former. Then too there were certain diviners and false prophets, and these were distinguished with difficulty from the inspired prophets. All these things, then, he sets right, and first that of the diviners.

1 Cor. 12:2. You know that when you were Gentiles, you were led away to the dumb idols, even as you were led. He gives a sign of the diviner and of the prophet; and he says that among the idols, if anyone divined, being possessed by an unclean spirit, as one led away, he was thus dragged, bound by the spirit, knowing nothing of the things he said, but being beside himself and raving; whereas the prophet [is] not so, but utters all things with a sober mind; so that this is the first sign of a demonic diviner and a divine prophet.

1 Cor. 12:3. Therefore I make known to you, that no one speaking in the Spirit of God says, Jesus is accursed; and no one can say, Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit. And let this too, he says, be a sign to you of a diviner: the anathematizing—that is, the blaspheming and speaking evil of—Jesus; and again, of a prophet: the naming with good words of the name of the Lord. What, then, of the catechumens? how, not yet having the Holy Spirit, do they name Jesus? But the discourse is not now concerning these, but concerning the believers and the unbelievers. And what of the demons? did they not name the name of the Lord? But [they did so] when scourged and compelled; willingly, however, and not scourged, nowhere.

1 Cor. 12:4. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. After showing the difference of the prophet and the false prophet, he speaks also concerning the gifts, that he may set right those also who were in faction over these. And first he heals the one who received the lesser gift, and was grieved on this account. For why are you grieved, that you did not receive as much as another? For it is not a debt, but a gift and a free bestowal. So that give thanks, that God, owing you nothing, has given you something at all; but he is also the same Giver both to you and to that other, namely, God. For it is not that an angel gave to you, but God to that other; rather, the same Spirit to both.

1 Cor. 12:5. And there are diversities of ministrations, but the same Lord. He makes mention also of the Son, as Giver of good things. And consoling yet more the one who is grieved, he said, “ministrations.” For he who heard “gift,” and received the lesser, might perhaps be grieved as having been lessened concerning the bestowal; but he who [heard] “ministration,” not so; for this is indicative of toil and sweat. For why are you grieved, if he bade another toil more, sparing you?

1 Cor. 12:6. And there are diversities of operations, but the same God who works all things in all. Here he made mention of the Father also, who works the operations in all the believers. And behold, the Trinity is complete for you. And gift, and operation, and ministration are the same things, even if they differ in their names; for the things given by the Spirit and the Son and the Father are equal. And observe how he made mention of the Spirit first, and last of the Father, on account of those who busy themselves about the order.

1 Cor. 12:7. But to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for profit. Lest anyone say: What then, if it is the same Lord, and the same Spirit, and the same God, but I received the lesser? he says that This was profitable for you. And by “the manifestation of the Spirit” he means the signs. For through these the Spirit was shown dwelling in those who were baptized. So that, if you are grieved, whether [it be] the greater gift or the lesser, you have it from the same Spirit.

1 Cor. 12:8. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom. Such as John had, the son of thunder; such as Paul himself. And note the “through,” in the case of the Spirit.

1 Cor. 12:8. And to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit. Such as many of the believers had, themselves having knowledge, but not being able to teach. For wisdom teaches, being something clear, as also making plain the hidden things. And everywhere he makes mention of the same Spirit, consoling the one who received the lesser.

1 Cor. 12:9. And to another faith, in the same Spirit. Not that of doctrines, but that of signs, which also removes mountains.

1 Cor. 12:9. And to another gifts of healings, in the same Spirit. The healing of every disease and every infirmity.

1 Cor. 12:10. And to another workings of powers. This one was able also to punish the disobedient, as Paul blinded Elymas, and Peter slew Ananias; which he who received the gifts of healings did not have.

1 Cor. 12:10. And to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits. That is, the knowing who is spiritual, and who is not spiritual; who is the prophet, and who the deceiver.

1 Cor. 12:10. And to another kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues. Great was the gift of tongues among the Corinthians, on which they prided themselves the more, as having been given first to the apostles, and on this account they held it to be greater than the others. But it is not so. For the gift of teaching is greater, and the interpretation of tongues is greater than simply to speak with tongues. And most fittingly, instead of “tongues,” he said “kinds,” calling their differences “kinds.”

1 Cor. 12:11. But all these works the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally as he wills. Again he sets down the same consolation, that the same Spirit works all things. And he rather stops the mouth of the one who is displeased at the distribution. For “as he wills,” he says, so also he does; and who are you who are not pleased? And note the saying, on account of the Pneumatomachi; for [it is] not, “As he is commanded,” but, “As he wills.” So that [he is] master and God. And [it is] not, “He is worked,” but, “He works,” just as also the Father.

1 Cor. 12:12. For as the body is one, and has many members, but all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. And from the illustration drawn from the body he consoles the one who is pained at the lesser gift, showing him that he has not been lessened. For just as the body is both one thing and many, by reason of its having members; so also the members are both many and one, by reason of their contributing to one body. Where, then, is the difference? where the greater? where the lesser? for all are one. “So now,” he says, “is Christ also”—that is, the Church of Christ. For since Christ is the head of the Church, he thus named the Church from the head. For just as the body and the head are one man; so, knowing the Church and Christ, as body and head, to be one, he set “Christ” in the place of the Church.

1 Cor. 12:13. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. Now he shows how the Church resembles the illustration of the one body. And he says that By the same and one Spirit we all, and I Paul, were baptized into one body—that is, so as to be one body. For [it is] not that you were baptized in one [Spirit], and I in another, but in the same. So that neither do I have anything more than you. For “into one body were we baptized.” In the sense of, That we might be one body, both Jews and Greeks, both slaves and free. And if the Spirit united those who stood so far apart, much more, after they have become one, ought we not to be grieved, as though there were some difference among us.

1 Cor. 12:13. And we were all made to drink into one Spirit. He seems indeed to be speaking concerning the spiritual table, of the bread and the wine. For having called “Spirit” that which gave us drink, he made plain both, the blood and the flesh. But rather—what is truer—he speaks here of the visitation of the Spirit which came to us from baptism. And “we were made to drink,” he said, from the metaphor of trees, whose branches are watered from the root. One Spirit, then, gave us drink and watered us, and made us to be one body.

1 Cor. 12:14. For the body also is not one member, but many. Marvel not, he says, if, being so many, we are one body. For also in the case of the human body it is possible to find one body out of many members.

1 Cor. 12:15–16. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? He introduces the members speaking and murmuring because they had been made less than the other members, in order that, by showing the murmuring of the members to come about contrary to reason, he may shame those in the Church who murmur because there are some greater than themselves. But the foot is the same [in essence] as the eye, yet differing in order. And then you are not a member, if you tear yourself away, and break off from the union. Keep, therefore, the union, if you wish to be a member.

1 Cor. 12:17. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? Since he had made mention of eye and hand, of the superiority and the inferiority, that they might be consoled, yet not beyond what is fitting; now he shows that it is profitable to be thus different. For if the whole body were one [member], where would the rest be? Are you not ashamed, then, of deeming yourself alone to be [everything]?

1 Cor. 12:18. But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, even as he willed. The head, having the upper place, ought to be well content; for this is of God, this is not its own achievement. So therefore also in the case of the Church: he who set that one to be below—it is also profitable for him; and that one to be above; and this one too, having been brought to soberness, must not be lifted up.

1 Cor. 12:19–20. And if all were one member, where were the body? But now there are many members, yet one body. See his wisdom; from this very thing he stops their mouths—from that which seemed to produce the littleness of soul, I mean, the gifts being different and not equal in honor. For if the members were not different, neither would there be one body; and there being no one body, neither would there be equality of honor. But now on this account there is equality of honor in all, because all contribute to one body. From the members being different, one body is brought to completion; from their being one comes the equality of honor, by this very thing, in that they contribute to the filling up of one body.

1 Cor. 12:21. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; or [the eye] to the head; or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you; for the greater have need of the lesser, since they are not themselves self-sufficient to build up the Church. He said, “cannot.” For though it wish many things, he says, yet the matter is not so by nature.

1 Cor. 12:22–23. But much more those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those parts of the body which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. Now he shows that the things which seem lesser are useful and necessary. And what are these, the things that seem weaker and less honorable, but are necessary? Some say the generative parts, which seem indeed to be dishonorable and uncomely; yet they are so necessary that without them there is not even a race. But we also bestow more abundant honor upon these; for though one were naked over the whole body, these at least he does not endure to leave naked. And as weaker indeed, but necessary, some say the eyes; for being small, and weaker than the other members, they are most necessary. And as less honorable and uncomely, the feet. The eyes, then, we deem [worthy] of much care, as weak; and the feet too we both cover and deem worthy of forethought, although they lie below, and seem dishonorable.

1 Cor. 12:24. But our comely parts have no need. Lest anyone say: And what kind of reasoning is this, to take forethought for the uncomely and dishonorable, but to despise the comely? We do not despise them, he says, but those do not so need [help] from us, having comeliness by nature.

1 Cor. 12:24. But God tempered the body together. Both from nature, and by our forethought it was cared for; but the others did not [need] even the regard from us.[1] They would not have been torn away; but, being unable to bear the bond [as something] everlasting, and these being torn away, this would befall the rest also, inasmuch as the body would be rent asunder. Let not, therefore, you, he says, who have the greater gifts, trample upon the lesser, lest, when those are torn away, you also be harmed.

1 Cor. 12:25. but that the members might have the same concern for one another. Not only that they may be members, but that there may also be much love and concord. And the great one cares and is anxious for the small, not simply, but “the same”—that is, that the small one also may enjoy the same forethought as the great. Thus, at any rate, when a thorn has fallen in and been fixed in the heel, the whole body is set in motion; the head stoops, the back is bent together, and the hands of solicitude pluck out that which is fixed.

1 Cor. 12:26. And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or whether one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it. For the exact union makes both the misfortunes and the good successes common. Thus, at any rate, as we said, when the heel is struck, all suffer together; again, the head is crowned, and it seems good to all, and the whole body seems comely.

1 Cor. 12:27. Now you are the body of Christ, and members in part. Lest they say: For what reason the example of the body and the members? he says that “And you are members, the body of Christ”; for as the human body must not be in faction, how much more that of Christ? But since they themselves alone did not fill up the body of Christ, but the believers in all the world; he added, “And members.” For even if they were not a whole body, yet they were members; and these “in part”—that is, all the members, but in part. For according to the Church among you, you are the body of Christ, as a whole Church; but with respect to the Churches everywhere, having Christ as head, you are members, from being a part in relation to it.

1 Cor. 12:28. And those whom God has set in the Church: first apostles, secondly prophets. God has set them; how, then, do you set yourself against God? And he sets the apostles first, as leaders of all good things; and second the prophets—not those of the Old [Covenant] (for those prophesied until then concerning the coming of Christ), but those after the coming of Christ in the New Covenant, such as also the daughters of Philip, and many others; for this grace of the Spirit was abundant in each Church. And he sets down “first” and “second,” that, by ranking the gift of tongues last, he may put down those who were lifted up over it.

1 Cor. 12:28. Thirdly teachers. For the prophet utters immediately from the Spirit; but the teacher [speaks] also from his own resources; on this account this one is third.

1 Cor. 12:28. Then powers, then gifts of healings. The powers both healed the sick and punished the adversaries; but the gifts of healings only healed; on this account he sets the former before the latter. Of both of these, however, the one who is truly a teacher is better, who is, namely, he who teaches by deed and by word.

1 Cor. 12:28. Helps, governments. That is, the helping of the weak, and the governing—that is, the administering—of the affairs of the brethren. And these, even if they are of our own diligence, yet he says that they too are gifts of God, persuading us to be thankful, and to look toward him, and not to be lifted up.

1 Cor. 12:28. Kinds of tongues. This he set last, that he might put down those who boasted over it.

1 Cor. 12:29–30. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all powers? have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? Since it was likely that they would rather be grieved, as the greater and lesser gifts had been made manifest through the enumeration, again he consoles the lesser. For what? he says; are you grieved, that you do not happen to have prophecy? Consider that you have this, again, which the prophet does not have; and what another does not have. So that this is profitable and more beneficial for you, to be thus, that each may have need of his neighbor.

1 Cor. 12:31. But earnestly desire the better gifts. Here he gently makes plain that they themselves are the cause of their seeing the lesser things; for by saying, “Earnestly desire,” he requires the diligence on their part, and the greater longing concerning spiritual things. And he did not say, “The greater,” but, “The better”—that is, the more beneficial.

1 Cor. 12:31. And moreover I show to you a way according to excellence. And along with these things (for this is what “And moreover” makes plain), if at all you are earnest desirers of gifts, I will show you one way according to excellence—that is, surpassing—which leads to all the gifts. And he means love.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek of this comment is disturbed in Migne; the rendering follows the sense supplied by the surrounding argument.

Chapter 13

1 Cor. 13:1. Though I speak with the tongues of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. He did not at once point out to them the way, but first compares it with the gift that seemed to them to be the greater—that of tongues—and shows that this [love] incomparably surpasses it, yes, and all the other gifts besides, and then declares it worthy to be longed for. And by tongues of men he means those of the nations everywhere throughout the world. Not content with this, he sets down yet another hyperbole: And of angels, tongues; not that the angels have tongues, but wishing to indicate something greater, and that which surpasses human tongues, for this reason he spoke thus. For an angel’s tongue is the intellectual power of imparting the divine thoughts to one another; and he named it from our own organ, just as also that, Every knee shall bow, of things in heaven. For they have not bones and sinews, but he indicated their intense subjection. And I have become sounding brass; that is, uttering a sound indeed, but speaking to no purpose, and being burdensome, and benefiting no one, because of being deprived of love.

1 Cor. 13:2. And though I have prophecy, and know all mysteries, and all knowledge. Not prophecy simply, but the very highest, and that which knows all mysteries. And observe how, in the case of tongues, he said there was no gain at all; but in the case of prophecy, [he speaks of] the knowing of all mysteries, and all knowledge.

1 Cor. 13:2. And though I have all faith. That he might not seem burdensome by speaking of each thing one by one, he came to the mother and the fountain of all, saying “all faith.”

1 Cor. 13:2. So as even to remove mountains, I am nothing. Since to the grosser sort it seemed a very great thing to remove mountains, for this reason [he speaks of] his own [faith]—not that all faith can do this only; for to remove mountains is possible to a small part of faith, to him who has a grain of mustard seed. So then, from [prophecy] and from faith he received all the gifts; but if [they be] apart from love, I am nothing and of no account; rather, I am nothing.[1]

1 Cor. 13:3. And though I dole out all my goods to feed the poor. He did not say, Though I give a part of my substance, but, all; and he did not say, Give, but, dole out in morsels; so that to the expenditure there is added the ministering also, done with all carefulness.

1 Cor. 13:3. And though I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I am profited nothing. Not “that I may die,” but what is harder than all—that one be burned alive; and not even this is anything, apart from love. But one might say: How is it possible, having doled out one’s goods, [to be] without love? It is possible, then, to say that either he laid down a thing that is not, as though it were—which [he does] when he says, If an angel, or we, should preach to you a gospel other than that which you received; and yet neither he himself nor an angel was ever going to preach otherwise; and in many other places he says such things—or [the meaning is] that it is possible to give without love, whenever it comes about not through compassion toward those in need, but through the desire to please men. But it comes about with love, whenever one does this while suffering-with and being inflamed [with sympathy].

1 Cor. 13:4. Love is long-suffering, is kind. Henceforth he goes through the marks of love, and first sets down long-suffering, the root of all virtue. For the long-suffering man is he who has a large and great soul. And since some use long-suffering not for virtue, but often, by slandering and treating with irony those who are angry against them, being in no way long-suffering, rather cause them the more to be inflamed with anger; for this reason he says, is kind, instead of, displays a kindly and guileless character—not, like those just spoken of, festering and deceitful. And these things he said touching the contentious and festering among them.

1 Cor. 13:4. Envies not. That is, bears no ill will; for it is possible to be long-suffering, and yet to envy; but love has escaped this too. And this he said because of the envious.

1 Cor. 13:4. Is not rash. That is, is not headlong, but renders the one who has it forbearing and steadfast; for he is light who is lifted up, light who is borne aloft. And this too [is said] toward the young and youthful-minded among them.

1 Cor. 13:4. Is not puffed up. For it is possible to have the aforesaid good things, yet to be puffed up over them; but love has not this either, but along with the things mentioned it is also humble-minded. And [this is said] toward the boastful.

1 Cor. 13:5. Does not behave unseemly. That is, not only is it not puffed up, but even if it should suffer the most shameful things for the sake of the beloved, it does not consider the matter to be unseemliness and loss; just as Christ also, on account of his love toward us, not only accepted the dishonorable cross, but even counted it his own glory. And you may understand it also thus: Does not behave unseemly, instead of, does not insult. For nothing is more unseemly than an insolent man. And this [is said] toward the uncondescending.

1 Cor. 13:5. Seeks not its own, is not provoked. He tells the manner in which it does not behave unseemly. Because, he says, it seeks not its own advantage, but that of the neighbor; and it counts it unseemliness then, whenever it does not deliver the neighbor who is behaving unseemly. And this, while the rest look on; nor is it provoked, since it does not behave unseemly. For a wrathful man is not seemly. So that love does not behave unseemly, because neither is it provoked—that is, it does not leap up into anger. This [is said] toward those who are insulted.

1 Cor. 13:5. Thinks no evil. Suffering all evils, he says, it is not provoked to anger; and not only does it not work evil in return, for vengeance, but it does not even reckon it. And observe everywhere how he does not say that love is jealous indeed, but prevails; or is provoked indeed, but masters [it]; but [he says] that it does not at the very outset allow any wickedness whatever to spring up; as here also: Thinks no evil. And this too [is said] toward the same persons, that they may not return insult for insult.

1 Cor. 13:6. Rejoices not in iniquity. That is, is not gladdened, whenever someone is wronged, and is abused, and suffers ill.

1 Cor. 13:6. But rejoices with the truth. But, what is far greater, he says, it rejoices together over those who are well-esteemed; and whenever the truth prospers, it counts this its own glory. And this [is said] toward the envious.

1 Cor. 13:7. Bears all things. Both insults, and blows, and death; for this its long-suffering bestows upon it, which he said belonged to it. And this [is said] toward those who are plotted against.

1 Cor. 13:7. Believes all things. Whatever the beloved may say; and it neither speaks anything festering itself, nor supposes that another speaks [so].

1 Cor. 13:7. Hopes all things, endures all things. It does not despair, he says, of the beloved, but ever hopes that he will advance to the better. And this he said toward those who despair. But if, even having hoped, it should fail, that one remaining in his wickedness, it nobly bears his shortcomings; For it endures all things. And this [is said] toward those who easily fall apart from one another.

1 Cor. 13:8. Love never fails. That is, never misses the mark, but sets all things aright; or, what is better, instead of: it is not dissolved, is not cut off, never ceases, but abides even in the age to come, while all the others are done away, as he will say next.

1 Cor. 13:8. But whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether tongues, they shall cease. Having enumerated the offshoots of love, again he exalts it in another way also, by saying that both prophecy and tongues shall then have an end, but that love is abiding and unending. For if both the prophecies and the tongues, because faith has been received within, the truth being everywhere spread abroad, will reasonably be idle as superfluous—both now, but most of all then.

1 Cor. 13:8–10. Whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. If knowledge is going to be done away, are we then going to pass our time in ignorance? God forbid; rather the word speaks concerning the partial knowledge, as he himself also interprets this. The partial knowledge shall be done away, the perfect [knowledge] dawning, namely, that which is according to the life to come. For we shall no longer know [only] so much, but far more; for instance, that God is [the God] of all things, we know now; but how, we know not; and that a virgin gave birth, we know; but how, not yet; but then we shall know something more than these things.

1 Cor. 13:11. When I was a child. Having said that, the perfect having come, that which is in part is done away, now he brings also an example, through which he shows how great is the interval between the present knowledge and that which shall be then. For now we are like children; but then we shall be men.

1 Cor. 13:11. I spoke as a child. As regards the tongues, [is] this I spoke.

1 Cor. 13:11. I thought as a child. This [is] as regards the prophecies.

1 Cor. 13:11. I reasoned as a child. This [is] as regards the knowledge.

1 Cor. 13:11. But when I became a man, I did away with the things of the child. That is, when in the age to come I shall have the more manly knowledge, then shall be done away the knowledge resembling that of children, which we have here. He adds therefore:

1 Cor. 13:12. For now we see through a mirror, in a riddle. He makes clear what was said about the child, and shows that our knowledge now is somewhat dim, but later will be more distinct. For now we see through a mirror, he says. Then, since the mirror shows the imitation of the thing reflected more in outline [than the reality], he added, In a riddle, showing with hyperbole that the present knowledge is most partial.

1 Cor. 13:12. But then face to face. Not that God has a face, but [signifying] through this the clearer and more manifest knowledge, and that which is unveiled.

1 Cor. 13:12. Now I know in part; but then I shall fully know, even as I also was fully known. In a twofold way he pulls down their inflation, showing both that the present knowledge is partial, and that it is not from ourselves. For it was not I, he says, who knew God, but he made me known. As, then, now he himself knew me, and himself ran toward me, so I shall run toward him then more greatly than now; just as one sitting in darkness, so long as he does not see the sun, does not himself run toward the beauty of the ray, but it shows itself, whenever it shines; but when he has received its splendor, then he himself also pursues the light. This, then, is the [meaning of] Even as I also was fully known; not that we shall know him so exactly [as he knows us], but that, just as he ran toward us now, so we shall hold to him then. Or [it is] as if someone, finding a well-born infant exposed, comely in form, and himself recognizing it, should take it up, and deem it worthy of care, and rearing it nobly, should at the last enrich it with wealth, and bring it into the palace; and the child, so long as it was an infant, would perceive none of these things, nor recognize the loving-kindness of the one who took it up; but when it was grown to manhood, then it would recognize the benefactor, and love him worthily. Behold, through the example what was shadowed over in the saying has been illumined for you.

1 Cor. 13:13. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. There are indeed tongues, and prophecies, and [kinds of] knowledge, even if they are dim; yet, faith being set in all, as has been said above also, they shall be wholly idle; faith, however, hope, love, are more abiding than these (for this is what he signifies by saying, And now abide, indicating the abidingness of the three); and of these themselves love is the greatest, since it extends also into the age to come.

1 Cor. 13:13. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three. Here, he says, faith, hope, love are more abiding. For the faith of the preaching, as has been said, being spread abroad everywhere, the tongues and the prophecies and the rest of the gifts shall cease. But faith—that concerning the things to come, the judgment and the recompense—and the hope of the rewards, and love toward one another, shall abide until the age to come.

1 Cor. 13:13. But the greatest of these is love. And again, of these more abiding excellences love is the greatest. For when the consummation has come, faith and hope shall cease; but love shall abide, becoming mightier and more intense.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek of this paragraph is defective in Migne; the connective sense has been supplied.

Chapter 14

1 Cor. 14:1. Pursue love. Since he had shown this [love] to be great, he henceforth urges them on toward it. And he did not say, Follow after it, but, Pursue, demanding intense earnestness. It flees from us, and there is need of much running, that we may overtake it.

1 Cor. 14:1. But earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy. That they might not suppose that he exalted love for this reason, to quench the gifts, he adds: Earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, that is, the gifts. But especially prophecy. And this he said because of the tongues, over which they were boasting.

1 Cor. 14:2–3. For he who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God; for no one hears him. But in the Spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks to men edification, and exhortation, and comfort. He compares the tongues with prophecy, and shows them neither wholly useless, nor wholly profitable in themselves. For they speak not to men, but to God; that is, they say things not easily understood by men and not clear, but in the Holy Spirit they speak mysteries. So that, in so far as they speak from the Spirit, the thing is good; but in so far as it benefits not men, it falls short of prophecy. For that is both from the Spirit and the more profitable, building up the unsteady, exhorting and rousing the more careless, comforting the faint-hearted. Everywhere, then, Paul sets that as the greater—the more profitable.

1 Cor. 14:4. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but he who prophesies edifies the Church. Many having tongues were not able to interpret to others also what they said. These, then, benefited themselves alone. But he who prophesies benefited all who heard. As great as is the interval between one being benefited and the Church [being benefited], so great is the interval between tongues and prophecy.

1 Cor. 14:5. Now I would that you all spoke with tongues, but rather that you prophesied. Since among them many spoke with tongues, that he might not seem out of envy to belittle the tongues, I would that all spoke, not one, or two; but rather that you prophesied, because of its being far more profitable.

1 Cor. 14:5. For greater is he who prophesies than he who speaks with tongues, except he interpret, that the Church may receive edification. Greater, he says, is the prophet; but [only when] that other merely speaks with tongues, not knowing how to interpret. For if he knows also how to interpret, he who speaks with tongues is equal to the prophet. For he edifies the Church, through interpreting the things obscurely spoken in a tongue. And interpretation too was a gift, given to some of those who spoke with tongues, but to some not given.

1 Cor. 14:6. But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you either in revelation, or in knowledge, or in prophecy, or in teaching? Do you wish to know the unprofitableness of uninterpreted tongues? For suppose that I, Paul, your teacher, utter with tongues; not even so will there be any good to those who hear, unless I say something in revelation; that is, such things as those are wont to say who obtain a revelation—which is itself also a kind of prophecy, whenever, while many stand by, the counsels of each are revealed. Or in knowledge; that is, such things as those can say who have knowledge, and unfold the mysteries of God to those who hear. Or in prophecy; both concerning the things that are past, and concerning the things that are to be; for all these are either prophecy or revelation. Or in teaching; that is, in the form of a didactic discourse, whenever the discussion is about virtue, or about doctrines. For teaching too is for the benefit of those who hear. But some understood the In revelation thus, [as meaning] the saying of certain things easily grasped and clear and unveiled; and the In knowledge, the saying of the things that can be known.

1 Cor. 14:7. Even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, if they give not a distinction in the notes, how shall it be known what is piped or what is harped? And why do I say, he says, that with us the unclear is unprofitable, but the clear profitable? For even in lifeless instruments, if the notes have not a distinction—that is, discrimination and clarity—but all are confused, what is piped will not be known, nor will there be any leading of the soul and gladness from it.

1 Cor. 14:8. For if the trumpet sounds an unclear call, who will get ready for battle? From the superfluous things he came to the more necessary, and makes mention of the trumpet, and says that on it too there are certain rhythms—some preparing for war, others sounding the recall from war. If, then, it give an unclear and uncertain sound, the soldiers will be unprepared, and what is the benefit of the unclear sound?

1 Cor. 14:9. So you also, unless through the tongue you give speech easily understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. That they might not say: And what is the example of the pipe and the trumpet to us? he says that You also, unless through this gift and the tongue you give something clear and easily marked, you speak in vain and to no purpose, no one hearing. For this is the whole point, that the gift be a benefit. And if the gift of tongues were unprofitable, for what reason was it given? That he alone who received it might be benefited? But if it was going to be profitable to others also, he ought either to ask God, and, being cleansed in his life, to receive interpretation, or to go to another able to interpret. For Paul too says these things for this reason, that he may glue them together to one another, and that they may not think themselves self-sufficient, but may take to themselves those able also to interpret; for then is the gift the more profitable.

1 Cor. 14:10. There are, it may be, that many kinds of sounds in the world, and none of them is meaningless. That is, so many voices happen to be in the world—of Scythians, of Indians, of Thracians, and of other nations—and all the tribes say something; for they are not voiceless.

1 Cor. 14:11. If, then, I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be a barbarian to him who speaks, and he who speaks a barbarian in my regard. If, then, I do not discern the meaning of the tongue, he who speaks will seem to me a barbarian—that is, uttering unintelligible things; and I likewise to him; not through any badness of the voices, but through the [lack of] understanding on either side.

1 Cor. 14:12. So you also, since you are zealous of spirits, seek that you may abound to the edification of the Church. Some put the stop at the So you also, and interpret it thus, that So you also, speaking with tongues unclearly, seem barbarians to those who hear; then from another beginning they read this [next clause]. But I do not accept this, as I have said before; rather, seek that you may abound to the edification, or benefit, of the Church. For so far am I from forbidding you to speak with tongues, that I even wish you to abound, only if you handle them toward the common benefit.

1 Cor. 14:13. Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. He tells the manner through which this gift will be for the benefit of many. For let him who speaks in a tongue pray, he says, that he may receive interpretation also. So then they themselves are the cause of their not receiving the interpretation also, because they do not ask it of God.

1 Cor. 14:14. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. For of old, receiving even the gift of prayer in a tongue, they would utter [it] in the tongue of the Persians or of the Romans, but the mind did not know what was being said. Paul says, then, that My spirit prays, that is, the gift that moves the tongue; but my mind is unfruitful, understanding nothing of the things said. And observe how, advancing on his way, he showed the one who speaks in a tongue to be useless even to himself. This is [the view] of John, who is among the saints.[1] But some [take it] thus: If I speak in a tongue, but do not interpret, my spirit—that is, my soul—is itself by itself benefited; but my mind is unfruitful, in that it benefits not others also. But those who take the saying thus have, it seems to me, watered the raving of Montanus. For he introduced a heresy of this sort, that the prophets simply did not understand the things they spoke, but, held by the Spirit, said certain things, yet knew not what they said. But this has no place here. For the Apostle did not say this concerning the prophets—the not understanding, I mean, the things said—but concerning those who speak with tongues; and not even of all these, but of those alone who are not even able to interpret.

1 Cor. 14:15. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the mind also. What is it, then, he says, that is the more profitable and must be asked of God? To pray with the spirit—that is, with the gift—but yet also with the mind, that is, with the understanding. And likewise also in the case of singing.

1 Cor. 14:16–19. Since if you bless with the spirit, how shall he who fills the place of the unlearned say the Amen at your thanksgiving, since he knows not what you say? When, he says, you sing, if you bless with the spirit—that is, with the spiritual gift through the tongue—he who fills the place of the unlearned, that is, the layman, how shall he say the Amen at your prayer? For when you have said the To the ages of the ages unclearly and in a tongue, he did not hear; so that neither is he benefited.

1 Cor. 14:20. Brethren, be not children in your minds; but in malice be babes, but in your minds be full-grown. After showing the imperfection of the gift of tongues in the not interpreting, he henceforth in a more stinging manner shows them plainly, and reproaches them as [behaving] childishly. For to babble with tongues belongs to babes, because of its unproductiveness. Be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

1 Cor. 14:21. In the law it is written: With men of other tongues, and with other lips, will I speak to this people; and not even so will they hearken to me, says the Lord. Again he compares prophecy with tongues, and shows it surpassing; and how, is clear from what follows. He is wont to call the whole Old Testament “law”; wherefore now also he says that the things written in Isaiah are written “in the law.” And by saying, Not even so will they hearken to me, he shows that the wonder was able to astound them; but if they were not persuaded, theirs is the blame. For God always does his own part, and shows his providence, although knowing that they would not be persuaded, that they might be without excuse.

1 Cor. 14:22. So that tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelievers. But the sign astounds indeed, yet does not altogether benefit; it often even gives offense and harms, like the tongue without interpretation, as he says going on, that They will say that you are mad; but behold the reason for which the signs have been given; for the faithful, being faithful, do not at all seek signs.[2]

1 Cor. 14:22. But prophecy is not for the unbelievers, but for those who believe. Prophecy, he says, benefits the faithful, instructing them. Is prophecy, then, not for the unbelievers? And going on he says, that If all prophesy, and there come in some unbeliever; behold, then, prophecy is for the unbelievers also. It is possible, then, to say that the Apostle did not say that prophecy is not useful to the unbelievers, but that it is not for an unprofitable sign, like the tongue. So that, to say it in sum, the tongue is for a sign to the unbelievers, that is, for astounding only; but prophecy is useful both to the faithful, and to the unbelievers, convicting them, even if it be said not to be for a sign to them.

1 Cor. 14:23. If, then, the whole Church come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in unlearned or unbelievers, will they not say that you are mad? Quietly he shows that the tongue has an occasion of harm also, if it have not interpretation as well. And this he says, pulling down their inflation. For since they thought that the tongues made them admired, Paul shows the contrary rather, that they are for an ill repute to them, making them seem to be mad. But that you may not suppose this to be the work of the gift—the wrapping of the one who has it in ill report—he says that it is the senseless who will say that you are mad. For unlearned, and unbelievers, such as also [were] in the time of the apostles, those who said that they were filled with new wine; since the more sober-minded even gain from the tongues, as those in the time of the apostles who admired them, as declaring the great things of God.

1 Cor. 14:24–25. But if all prophesy, and there come in some unbeliever or unlearned, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all; and so the hidden things of his heart become manifest; and so, falling on his face, he will worship God, declaring that God is truly among you. You see how prophecy is the more profitable—how, revealing the hidden things of the heart, it makes the unbeliever recognize God, falling on his face and worshipping, and confessing that God is truly among you. Which happened also in the case of Nebuchadnezzar; for when Daniel had revealed to him the dream, he said: In truth your God, he is a God who reveals mysteries. Know, then, from this, what that was which was said above, the In revelation. For behold, revelation is a kind of prophecy. And note also how the Spirit is God; for he says, God is truly among you. But in those who prophesy is the Spirit, assuredly; for so he said above, that prophecies are given in the Spirit.

1 Cor. 14:26. What is it then, brethren? When you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation; let all things be done for edification. They made psalms also of old from a gift, and a gift of teaching was given. And he calls prophecy “revelation,” naming the genus from the species. And he makes mention of the tongue, that the gift might not seem wholly contemptible, and not even in the rank of a gift. Let all these things, then, be done for edification; for this is proper to the Christian—to edify, to benefit. But how can he who has only a tongue edify? If he come together with one who has interpretation, and they display the gifts in union.

1 Cor. 14:27. If anyone speak in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three, and in turn; and let one interpret. I do not forbid the speaking in a tongue, but the [doing it] without an interpreter. Let not many, then, speak with tongues, that there be not confusion and disorder. And in turn, that is, by succession. But by all means let there be an interpreter.

1 Cor. 14:28. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the assembly, and speak to himself and to God. If he have no interpreter, let him not speak in the Church, that he seem not a barbarian, uttering things unintelligible and inconceivable to the many. But if he be so vainglorious as not to endure to keep silence, let him speak to himself and to God, that is, soundlessly and quietly by himself, so that the things said be audible to God alone, not to men. And observe how, while seeming to permit, he turns [them] away.

1 Cor. 14:29. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. There were among the prophets diviners also lying hidden; wherefore he says that let them discern these, the others, lest some diviner be concealed. For just as has been said above also, there was the gift of discernment, so as to know the false and the true. And for this reason he commands two or three to prophesy, both for the sake of the better order, and that the diviners be not concealed in the multitude.

1 Cor. 14:30–31. But if anything be revealed to another sitting by, let the first keep silence. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be exhorted. Here he teaches good order and humility. For when the Spirit inspires another, he says, do you keep silence; for if the Spirit had wished you to speak first, it would not have moved that one. Then, comforting that one, he says: For you can all prophesy one by one; that is, Grieve not; for you can, and another, and all, in turn and by succession, prophesy. For the gift is not enclosed in one alone, but is given to all, that the whole Church may learn, and receive exhortation toward virtue.

1 Cor. 14:32. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. This too is for the comfort of him who is bidden to keep silence. And what he says is of this sort: Be not contentious, nor make faction; for the Spirit itself—that is, the gift in you, and the working of the Spirit in you—is subject to the gift of the other who is called to prophesy; and if the Spirit is subject, much more ought you yourself, who possess the Spirit, not to be contentious. But some understood this thus: The diviners among the Greeks, once they had been seized by the demon, were not able, when they wished, to keep silence. But the prophets among us who are such are not so, but it is in their own power, he says, to keep silence, or to speak; and this is what he says, that the spirits of the prophets—that is, the gifts—are subject to them, and it is in the prophets’ power to keep silence and not to keep silence. For that you may not say, How shall I keep silence, as you bid, when I speak being moved by the Spirit? he says, that But this Spirit yields to you, is subject to you, and it lies henceforth in your own authority to keep silence; and do not vainly put forward the Spirit.

1 Cor. 14:33. For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. They resolve [it thus], that this too seems good to God—the keeping silence of the first; for God is not a God of disorder and confusion (which comes from the not keeping silence, but all prophesying), but is a God of peace. This peace dwells as citizen in all the churches of the saints—that is, of the faithful; for there are churches both of Greeks and of Jews. Be ashamed, then, you who conduct yourselves contrary to all the churches.

1 Cor. 14:34. Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted to them to speak, but to be subject, as also the law says. Since he had ordered all things well—both the matters of the tongues and the matters of the prophets, that not many should prophesy, and that confusion and disorder come from this—now he restrains the tumult from the women, saying that Let them keep silence in church; then he says the greater thing, that to be subject is more fitting for them. For subjection with fear shows silence, as happens in the case of bondwomen; and the book of Genesis indicates [this], in which it is written: Your turning shall be toward your husband, and he shall rule over you. If, then, it was appointed to be subject to the husband, much more to the spiritual teachers in the Church.

1 Cor. 14:35. But if they wish to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home. As though one had soberly said: If they speak not, how shall we learn the things we do not know? he says that Let them learn at home from their husbands. And this both adorns those women, and makes the husbands more attentive, since they ought to set before the women, who ask them, the things they heard in church. And note that not even concerning necessary and soul-profiting things is it permitted to women to speak in church.

1 Cor. 14:35. For it is shameful for women to speak in church. Since those women perhaps prided themselves on their supposedly spiritual discourses in church, he says the contrary, that this is an ill repute and a shame to them.

1 Cor. 14:36. Or did the word of God go out from you? or did it come to you only? As though toward certain ones contradicting him the discourse is fashioned. For why, he says, do you set yourselves against this, and not consider it good that the women keep silence in church? Are you the teachers? and did the preaching go out from you, and to the rest? or did the faith stand fast in you only? and ought you not to receive likewise the things received from others? You are, then, neither the first of the faithful, nor the only ones. You ought, therefore, to be content with the things that seem good to the whole world.

1 Cor. 14:37. If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write to you, that they are the commandments of the Lord. The strongest of all he has set last, that God ordains these things through me, and that whoever seems among you to be a prophet, or to have some other spiritual gift, will assuredly know—that is, will recognize these to be commandments of the Lord.

[Having concluded] the discourse about the women, now, then, he speaks again about the gifts, and gives the first place to prophecy, saying, Earnestly desire; but to the tongues, the second place. And he did not say, Permit [them] to speak, but, Forbid not; which we are wont to say of things indifferent, neither urging on, nor turning away.[3]

1 Cor. 14:40. Let all things be done decently and in order. As in summary he sets all things aright—both the matters of those who speak with tongues, and those of the women speaking in disorder; and, in a word, all the things among them not done according to order. And decently and in order would it be, if those who speak with tongues speak with interpretation, and not as madmen; if the prophets give place to one another; if the women keep silence.

[1] Translator’s note: “John who is among the saints” is most likely St John Chrysostom, on whose homilies Theophylact draws throughout.

[2] Translator’s note: The Greek of the closing clause is corrupt in Migne; rendered to the evident sense (the faithful, being already faithful, have no need of signs).

[3] Translator’s note: The opening clause is defective in Migne; the connective sense has been supplied.

Chapter 15

1 Cor. 15:1. Now I make known to you, brethren, the Gospel which I preached to you. He launches into the discourse concerning the resurrection, which is the chief point of our faith. For if there is no resurrection, neither has Christ been raised; and if he was not raised, neither was he made flesh; and thus our whole faith is gone. Since, then, this was thus impeded among the Corinthians (for the Greek-minded sages would have accepted anything rather than the resurrection), Paul contends concerning this. And wisely he reminds them of the things already believed by them. For I say nothing strange to you, he says, but the thing already made known to you, though it had escaped you; this I make known—that is, I call to remembrance. And by naming them brethren, at once he soothed them, and at once reminded them whence we have become brethren—both that it is from the incarnate presence of Christ that the faith is in danger of being disbelieved, and that it is from baptism, which is a figure of the burial and the resurrection of the Lord. And by saying “Gospel,” he reminded them of the ten thousand good things which we have enjoyed through the incarnate presence and the resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:2. Which also you received. He did not say, Which you heard, but, “Which you received.” For not by word only, but also through works and wonders did they receive it; and at the same time that he might persuade them to hold it fast as a deposit.

1 Cor. 15:2. In which also you stand, through which also you are being saved. Although they were being shaken, nevertheless he says that they stand in this, willingly feigning ignorance, and forestalling them, that not even, if they should greatly wish it, might they be able to deny it. And what is the gain of standing in this? To be saved.

1 Cor. 15:2. By what word I preached to you. He means something of this sort: Concerning the being of a resurrection, I make nothing known to you; for neither were you shaken in this. But this perhaps you need to learn—in what manner I preached to you that the resurrection comes to pass; and this too I make known to you, namely, concerning how the resurrection comes to pass.

1 Cor. 15:2. If you hold it fast, unless you believed in vain. Since he said, “You stand,” that he might not make them more careless, he says, “If you hold it fast.” And you do assuredly hold it fast, “unless you believed in vain,” instead of, Unless, then, you are named Christians to no purpose. For the whole of Christianity lies in the doctrine of the resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:3. For I delivered to you among the first things that which I also received. As being a great thing, the doctrine concerning the resurrection, I delivered it among the first things; for it is, as it were, the foundation of all the faith. And I too received it, from Christ, namely. As, then, I hold it fast, so ought you also to hold it fast; and as having received it among the first things, you are now not justified in doubting, not even on account of the time.

1 Cor. 15:3. that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. These are manifestly the words of Christ speaking in Paul. For since the Manichaeans were going to say that Paul calls the sins “death,” and the deliverance from these “resurrection,” he was pleased that from these words they be convicted. For Christ died; what death? a bodily one, assuredly; for surely not the death in sins; For he did no sin. But if they should even be shameless, saying that he too died the death in sins; how does he say, “For our sins”? For if he too was a sinner, how did he die for our sins? But by saying also, “According to the Scriptures,” he most clearly puts them to shame. For everywhere the Scriptures testify to Christ this bodily death. They pierced my hands and my feet; and, They shall look on him whom they pierced; and, He was wounded for our sins; and, For the sins of my people he came to death.

1 Cor. 15:4. and that he was buried. Therefore he had a body also; for that which is buried is a body. But he did not add, “According to the Scriptures,” either because the tomb was manifest to all, or because the “According to the Scriptures” lies in common.

1 Cor. 15:4. And that he has been raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures. And where do the Scriptures say that “On the third day he has been raised”? Through the figure of Jonah; and before this, the figure of Isaac, who in three days was brought back safe and alive to his mother, and was not slaughtered, and through ten thousand other figures; and from the words, on the one hand, of Isaiah, The Lord wills to cleanse him from the stroke, to show him light; and, on the other, of David, You will not abandon my soul to Hades.

1 Cor. 15:5. And that he appeared to Cephas. Among the first he sets the most worthy of all. And yet the Gospel says that he appeared first to Mary; but among men, he appeared first to Peter, as to the foremost of the disciples. For it was fitting that he who confessed first should also see the resurrection first; and because of his denial too he appears to him first, that he might show him that he was not cast off.

1 Cor. 15:5. Then to the twelve. And yet Matthias was brought in after the ascension of the Lord, in place of Judas; how then does he say, “Then to the twelve”? We say, then, that he saw him in the company of Matthias, and that after the ascension also he appeared; since to Paul too, called after the ascension, he appeared; wherefore he did not say the time, but reckoned the company. But some say that it is a scribal error; or that the Lord, knowing through a certain foreknowing perception that he would be numbered with the eleven, appeared to him too, that not even in this might he be less than the rest of the apostles. Something of this sort John too intimates, saying: But Thomas was not one of the twelve. For one would rather say that he ranked Matthias, according to the foreknowledge, with the rest of the apostles, than Judas, who had ended in betrayal and the noose.

1 Cor. 15:6. Then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once. After the demonstration from the Scriptures, he brings forward witnesses also—both the apostles and other trustworthy men. The “Above,” some took as, From above, out of the heavens, they say; for above and over their heads he appeared to them, that he might confirm the ascension also. But some understood the “Above five hundred” as, to more than five hundred.

1 Cor. 15:6. Of whom the greater part remain until now; but some have also fallen asleep. I have, he says, living witnesses. And by the word “have fallen asleep,” he laid down beforehand a beginning of the resurrection; for he who falls asleep also rises.

1 Cor. 15:7. Then he appeared to James. To the brother of the Lord, he means, who was appointed by him first bishop of Jerusalem.

1 Cor. 15:7. Then to all the apostles. For there were other apostles also, such as the seventy.

1 Cor. 15:8. And last of all, as to the untimely birth, to me also. A word of humility; and wisely he uses humility, that when he says next, “I labored more than all,” he might not be disbelieved as a boaster. An “untimely birth” is properly the unformed embryo which the womb casts out. From the fact, then, that he says himself to be unworthy to be an apostle, and an outcast, he so named himself, as unformed in respect of the apostolic dignity. But some understood the “untimely birth” as the later offspring, because he too was the last of the apostles. Yet Paul is not lessened, because he saw the Lord last. For neither was James less than the other five hundred, because he saw the Lord last of them.

1 Cor. 15:9. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. He declares concerning himself; and he did not say, I am the least of the twelve only, but also of all the rest. And observe that through these things he makes mention of the sins from which he was freed through baptism, that he might show what God bestowed on him. But for what reason, while bringing himself forward as a witness of the resurrection of Christ, as having appeared to him too, does he recount his own faults? That he might be the more trustworthy. For he who with truth sets down his own disgraces would not vainly bestow a false favor on another.

1 Cor. 15:10. But by the grace of God I am what I am. The faults he reckons to himself; but the right achievements he attributes to the grace of God.

1 Cor. 15:10. And his grace which was toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all. And this too he has said with reserve; for he did not say, I did things worthy of the grace, but, The grace of God, he says, was not found vain in me. How? Because I labored more than all the apostles. And he did not say that I was endangered, but with restraint, under the name of labor, cutting short his own praise. And for the sake of appearing trustworthy, he says these things about himself. For the teacher must be trustworthy.

1 Cor. 15:10. yet not I, but the grace of God that is with me. And the very laboring is of the grace of God, not my own achievement.

1 Cor. 15:11. Whether, then, I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. Whether I labored more, or they, concerning the preaching at least we are all of one voice, he says. And he did not say, If you believe not me, be persuaded by them; for he would have cheapened himself; but he says both that he himself is sufficient by himself, and that they are sufficient by themselves. And by saying, “We preach,” he shows the truth of the things said. For we speak not in a corner, but openly; “And so you believed.” But he did not say, You now believe, because they were being shaken. And along with the others he calls also their own faith a witness of the truth. For you would not, he says, simply have believed lying words, unless you had been persuaded that the things preached were true.

1 Cor. 15:12. But if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? Most excellently he reasons. For having first demonstrated that Christ has been raised, and that he is so preached by himself and by the apostles, from his rising he establishes the common resurrection also, as the rest of the body follows the head. But he does not make the accusation against all, that he might not make them more shameless; but, “Some,” he says, “say.”

1 Cor. 15:13. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. That they might not say, Christ indeed has been raised, but yet there will be no general resurrection; he establishes this, and says: “If there is no resurrection, neither has Christ been raised”; for each is establishing of the other. For on what account did he rise, if he was not going to be the firstfruits of us?

1 Cor. 15:14. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain. For if, having died, he had not power to rise, neither has sin been taken away, nor has death been destroyed; and consequently, we preached vain things, and you too believed vain things.

1 Cor. 15:15. And we are found also false witnesses of God, because we testified concerning God that he raised Christ; whom he did not raise, if indeed the dead are not raised. Unholy, he says, are we found, because we slandered God, that he raised him. And this comes about, if indeed the dead are not raised. So that, since the consequence is absurd, neither is that to be believed—namely, that the dead are not raised.

1 Cor. 15:16–17. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. Again he contends by the same argument. For on this account he rose, that he might bring about a general resurrection. But if there is no resurrection, then neither did he himself rise. And this being granted, your faith is futile; which is absurd.

1 Cor. 15:17. You are still in your sins. For if he was not raised, neither did he die; and if he did not die, neither did he loose sin; for his death is the loosing of sin. For behold, he says, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. And he called him “Lamb” assuredly because of the slaughter. But if sin has not been loosed, you are assuredly in it even now; how then did you believe that you were freed from it?

1 Cor. 15:18. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. That is, those who died for Christ and bore witness have perished, if there is no resurrection; and simply all those who have fallen asleep in the faith according to Christ, and in the strait and afflicted manner of life, have perished, deprived of the delights of the world, and not even going to enjoy any good thing thereafter, if indeed there will be no resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:19. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. If, he says, our portion is as far as the life here, and we who have hoped in Christ are circumscribed by this alone, and there is no other life there; we are more wretched than all, as never having enjoyed the present things, as has been said above also, and not having the things to come, because neither shall we rise. But perhaps someone will say that the soul alone will enjoy them. And what of that? For not it alone labored, but the body also. Where, then, is the justice, that the body, which underwent the greater toil, passing into non-being, and not having enjoyed any good thing, the soul alone should be crowned?

1 Cor. 15:20. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Having shown how many absurdities are born from the resurrection not being believed, he takes up the argument again, and says something of this sort, that These things indeed come about, if indeed there is no common resurrection, as though Christ too had not been raised. “But now Christ has been raised”; therefore there will be a common resurrection also, and these absurdities will not come about. And continually he adds the “From the dead,” stitching up the mouths of the Manichaeans. If he is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, these too must assuredly rise. For the firstfruits have those who follow also; as when, of many, one first begins what the rest also are going to do in succession.

1 Cor. 15:21–22. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. He adds the cause through which he confirms the things said. For it was fitting, he says, that the very nature which had been defeated should conquer, and that the one who had been cast down should himself prevail. For in Adam—that is, through the fall of Adam—all fell under death. So, then, in Christ all shall rise; that is, through Christ’s being found sinless and not liable to death, and having indeed to die, but to rise, inasmuch as it was not possible that the Author of life should be held fast by corruption. And all these things too are against the Manichaeans.

1 Cor. 15:23. But each in his own order. That you may not, on hearing that “all shall be made alive,” suppose that the sinners too are saved, he added this. As far as concerns the rising, “all shall be made alive”; but “each” shall be “in his own order,” and among those of whom he is worthy.

1 Cor. 15:23–24. Christ the firstfruits, then those who are Christ’s at his coming; then the end. Christ became the firstfruits and the beginning of the resurrection; after him, then, his own—that is, the faithful and those who have been well-pleasing in him—shall rise first, at his coming from the heavens. For this is the meaning of “At his coming”; for the righteous must have a certain privilege in the very rising. For since they are going to be caught up into the air to meet the Lord, they are raised beforehand; whereas the sinners remain below for the Judge, as condemned. Then the end of all things, and of the resurrection itself, inasmuch as all are raised in common; for not as now, Christ alone having risen, the human affairs have remained in their place, so will it be then also; but all things shall receive their end.

1 Cor. 15:24. When he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father. Scripture knows two kingdoms: the one according to appropriation, the other according to creation. For he reigns over all—both Greeks, and Jews, and the demons themselves, even against their will—according to the principle of creation; but he reigns over the faithful and the saints, who submit willingly, according to the principle of appropriation. Concerning this kingdom he speaks. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations; and, All authority has been given to me; this too he delivers up to the Father—that is, he sets it right, he perfects it; just as a king has entrusted to his son a war against rebellious nations, that he might administer it for him; when, then, the son has completed the war, having subdued the nations, he is then said to deliver up the war to the father—that is, to show forth the work entrusted to him accomplished. Paul says, then, that when the Son shall have subjected all things, then will be the end. For then will Christ reign over us perfectly, men being no longer divided between God and the ruler of the world; for, as it were, having taken out the kingdom plundered by a tyrant, he presents it free to the Father.

1 Cor. 15:24. When he shall have done away with all rule, and all authority and power. That is, when he shall have conquered and stopped the wicked powers. For now they work in many places, but then they shall cease.

1 Cor. 15:25–26. For he must reign, until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that is done away is death. Since he said that he is going to do away with the apostate powers, and to set up trophies, and it was likely that someone would doubt and say, Perhaps he will grow weak until he does all these things; he says that He will not grow weak, but “he must reign”—that is, must bear himself as a king and as one mighty—until he subjects the enemies, and last of all, death. For he who has subjected the devil, plainly will subject also his work, death. And how would it appear that death has been subjected, unless it vomit forth the bodies which it held? For then is it properly defeated, when the spoils too are plundered. Do not, then, he says, on hearing that he will do away with all rule and authority, fear that he will grow weak. For he will do all things, and will carry through and wage the war, until he subjects all. You see that the “Until” is not for the doing away of the “After these things,” but for the cause stated? For his kingdom, he says, prevails, and does not grow weak, until he sets all things right. But after he has set them right, much more does it prevail; For of his kingdom there shall be no end. But Gregory the Theologian says that “to reign” is here said to mean, to work the subjection, and to set us under his own kingdom; whence also, after we have been subjected to him, such a kingdom ceases—that is, the zeal and working toward our being reigned over by him. For just as the builder builds until he sets the roof in place, but after this rests from this work of building; so also the Son reigns—that is, works his reign over us—until we are brought under his reign.

1 Cor. 15:27. For he has put all things under his feet. But when he says that all things have been put under, it is clear that he is excepted who put all things under him. Since he had said concerning the Son that he will do away with the enemies, and work a trophy, he feared lest the Son be thought to be some other unbegotten principle. He refers all things, then, to the Father, saying that he subjected the enemies to the Son. And since he was writing to Greeks, who hold that Zeus rose up against his father Cronus, and stripped him of the kingdom, he feared lest they suspect something of this sort concerning the Son, as though he had risen up against the Father; and he says that All things have been subjected to the Son, except the Father; for it was rather he who subjected all the other things also to the Son.

1 Cor. 15:28. But when all things have been subjected to him, then shall the Son himself also be subjected to him who subjected all things to him. That no one may say, that Even if the Father is not subjected to the Son, nothing hinders the Son from being mightier than he; this suspicion he removes out of abundance of caution, and says that the Son too shall be subjected to the Father, showing the great concord of the Son with the Father. So that you may know that the Father is the cause and fountain of this power to the Son, and that the Son is not some other power without beginning, apart from the Father. But if he used a more lowly expression than was needful, do not wonder; for it is Paul’s custom, when he is about to pluck up something by the roots, to use much abundance of emphasis; for instance, being about to show that the believing wife is not harmed by living with the unbelieving husband, he said that The unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife; not saying this, that the husband, being an unbeliever, becomes holy, but by the hyperbole of the expression showing that the believing wife is in no way harmed. So here also, by the name of subjection, he plucks up by the roots the wicked suspicion which someone might have suspected, that the Son is perhaps mightier than the Father, as being able to set right so many things. But Gregory the Theologian says that the Son, appropriating all our things to himself, deems our subjection also his own. Now, then, we are in faction against God: the unbelievers, denying him; the faithful, many being enslaved to the passions, in this respect are insubordinate. But when the one sort shall have come to know him whom they now deny, and the other sort shall be transformed from the passions in this life, then assuredly it comes about that the Son is subjected; for, putting on the person of humanity, he makes our things his own.

1 Cor. 15:28. That God may be all in all. That is, that all things may be dependent on the Father, that no one may suspect two principles without beginning and severed from each other. For when the enemies are under the feet of the Son, and the Son is not in faction against the Father, but, as befits a Son, is subjected to God the Father; then assuredly God and Father will be all things in all. But some say that the doing away of wickedness is signified through these things, as all things being subjected; for when sin is no more, it is evident that God will be all things in all, when we are no longer many in the motions and the passions, bearing nothing at all of God, or little, in ourselves, but being wholly God-formed, wholly able to contain God and him alone. For God will be all things to us—both food, and drink, and clothing, and thought, and motion.

1 Cor. 15:29. Else what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead are not raised at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? The Marcionite heretics, whenever someone among them dies unbaptized, hiding a living person under the bed of the deceased, approach the bed and ask the dead man whether he wishes to be baptized; and the one hidden underneath answers that he wishes; and so they baptize him in place of the departed. Then, being accused for this, they make their defense, that the Apostle said this, and these madmen bring forward this saying. But it is not so; rather, how? All who are about to be baptized recite the symbol of the faith, in which is set down, among the rest, this also which is confessed: I believe in the resurrection of the dead. He says, then, that Those who have believed that there will be a resurrection of dead bodies, and have been baptized upon such articles of faith, what will they do, having been deceived? and why at all are men baptized for resurrection—that is, in expectation of resurrection—if the dead are not raised?

[Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?] If you do not believe, for the demonstration of the resurrection, the confession through words which those being baptized make, believe also the voice given through deeds. We, all the apostles, are ever in dangers; and if there were no resurrection, for what reason were we endangered? that we might enjoy what? For if someone should choose to be endangered through vainglory, he would do this once or twice; but the doing it every hour, as we do, is the greatest demonstration of being fully assured concerning the resurrection.[1]

1 Cor. 15:31. I die daily, by your boasting, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. Having said, “We are endangered,” he showed the dangers; or rather, something greater—daily deaths. How did he die daily? By his readiness, and by being prepared for this, and by suffering such things as brought death. By your boasting—that is, By your progress, in which I boast. For the progress of the disciples is a boast to the teacher. Then, attributing this to Christ, he says: Which I have in Christ Jesus; for it is his work, not mine. And most wisely he reminds them, that Just as I boast when you are progressing, so I shall be put to shame, if to the end you are so wretched as to disbelieve the resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:32. If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what is my profit? As if to say, What of my having fought with beasts among men? for what is it, if God snatched me from the dangers? what, then, is my profit, if there is no resurrection? And he calls “fighting with beasts” the battle against the Jews and Demetrius the silversmith. For in what did these differ from beasts?

1 Cor. 15:32. If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die. If the dead are not raised, and there will be no enjoyment there, let us then enjoy the good things in this life, eating and drinking; for these we shall gain. And this saying he brought forward from Isaiah, making comedy of the folly of those who deny the resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:33. Do not be deceived: bad company corrupts good character. He turns the discourse to exhortation; and quietly he accuses them as senseless and light; for this he indicates through the “Be not deceived.” And he calls “good characters” the easily-deceived; he indicates, however, that others also drag them down into such things.

1 Cor. 15:34. Awake to soberness righteously, and sin not; for some have ignorance of God. As over those who are drunk [is] the Awake to soberness; and the Righteously, as it were, profitably. For it is possible also to be sober unrighteously—for instance, to evil. And sin not, he says; for from this also you disbelieve the resurrection. For those conscious of evils in themselves are not persuaded that there is a resurrection, where there are many punishments. And they have ignorance of God, those who disbelieve the resurrection. For they know not the power of God. And he did not say, You have, but, They have, making the charge lighter.

1 Cor. 15:34. I speak to your shame. Since he had laid hold of them sufficiently, he comforts them, saying that These things I said to you, not as an enemy reproaching, but in order to shame you, so as to lead you back to correction, ashamed, and minded as is fitting.

1 Cor. 15:35. But someone will say: How are the dead raised? with what body do they come? He did not say, You say, that thus the discourse might become inoffensive, as being examined in [the persons of] others who disbelieve. And two things are doubted: both the manner of the resurrection—how the body once dissolved is raised; and with what body it rises, this one or some other. And through the example of the grain he resolves the two.

1 Cor. 15:36. Fool, that which you sow is not made alive, unless it die. From something manifest, and done by them every day, he makes the resolution; wherefore he calls them fools, as ignorant of things so clear. You, he says, that which you sow—you, the corruptible, how do you doubt concerning God? And he said, It is not made alive, unless it die, using expressions proper not to seeds, but to bodies. For he did not say that it does not sprout at all, unless it be dissolved, but, It is not made alive, unless it die. And see how he turned the argument into the contrary; for to them it seemed a dreadful thing, how after death we are raised; but he says the contrary, that on this account we are raised, because we die, as it not being possible to be made alive otherwise, unless there were death.

1 Cor. 15:37. And that which you sow, you sow not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may be of wheat, or of some of the rest. Having said that two things are doubted—both how the dead are raised, and with what body—how they are raised he resolved, namely, that it is through dying, just like a grain; and now, interpreting also with what body they are raised, he resolves the other difficulty too, and says that the same body is raised, that is, of the same substance, but more splendid and more comely. But the heretics say that it is not the same that is raised. For this, they say, the Apostle indicates by saying, Not that which shall be. But the Apostle does not say this; rather, what? You do not sow such as it will be—splendid, namely, and comely—but a bare grain; yet the ear grows up more seemly. Neither is it altogether the same, because the ear was not sown with the stalk, namely, and the awns, but a bare grain; nor altogether other, because the ear is not from another grain, but from that bare one.

1 Cor. 15:38. But God gives it a body, as he willed. If, then, God gives a body, why do you still busy yourself overmuch with what body we are raised, and disbelieve the resurrection, hearing of God’s power and will? For God raises the body that was dissolved, only more seemly and more spiritual. For this too may be found in the case of the seeds, that what springs up comes up more seemly than what was cast in.

1 Cor. 15:38. And to each of the seeds its own body. This irrefutably stops the mouths of the heretics who say that the same body is not raised in the resurrection, but another. For behold, you hear that its own body is given to each.

1 Cor. 15:39. Not all flesh is the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another flesh of birds, another of fish. That you may not, on hearing about the wheat, suppose that, as in its case all the ears come up of equal honor, so also in the resurrection all will be of equal honor; he wishes to show that there is a difference among those who rise (which he touched on earlier also, saying, Each in his own order), and he says that “Not all flesh is the same flesh”; that is, Not all rise in the same honor, but they have a difference—first, the righteous as compared with the sinners, such as the heavenly bodies have toward the earthly; then, even among the righteous themselves, a great difference of degrees, as he will say further on; and among the sinners themselves also. For just as, he says, there is a difference between the flesh of men, and that of beasts, and of the rest of living things; so also among the sinners there will be a difference in the punishments. All, then, that has been said by him here is said concerning the difference of sinners. For concerning the righteous he speaks further on, when he enumerates heavenly bodies.

1 Cor. 15:40. There are also heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and that of the earthly another. Here, as I said above, he indicates the difference of the righteous as compared with the sinners; calling the former heavenly bodies, but the latter, the sinners, earthly; and the glory of the righteous is one, and that of the sinners another—no longer “glory” (for we must not supply this), but their condition of life.

1 Cor. 15:41. The sun has one glory, the moon another, and the stars another; for star differs from star in glory. As a little before he spoke of the differences of the bodies of sinners, beginning from men, and next making mention of birds, and beasts, and fish—because the sinners too, having become men in the beginning, then were carried down to the likeness of the irrational—so too he shows the great difference of the righteous. For all indeed are in glory; but the light of the sun is one, and that of the moon another, and so on down to whatever there is. For stars too differ from stars in glory, that is, in light; for the glory of the stars is their light. But some understood “heavenly bodies” as the angels—not aptly, I think; and this is clear from his adducing the sun, and the moon, and the stars. So that the discourse is concerning these.

1 Cor. 15:42. So it is also with the resurrection of the dead. So—how? In great difference, as the examples written above also showed.

1 Cor. 15:42. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. Above, speaking about seeds, he used expressions proper to bodies; as when he said, “It is not made alive, unless it die”; now, speaking about bodies, he uses expressions proper to seeds; “For it is sown,” he says, “in corruption.” And he calls “sowing” now, not the sowing in the womb, but the laying away of the dead bodies in the earth, as if he said: The dead body is laid away in the earth in corruption, that is, so as to rot. And well did he say, “It is raised,” and not, “It rises up,” that you might not suppose the work to be the earth’s.

1 Cor. 15:43. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. For what is more dishonorable than a corpse? but in the glory of incorruption it is raised, even if not all enjoy the same honor.

1 Cor. 15:43. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. For not yet are there five days, and the flesh has not strength to hold out against corruption; but it is raised in the power of incorruption, being henceforth proof against all corruption, even if the incorruption is for the sinners rather to greater punishment.

1 Cor. 15:44. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. A “natural body” is that governed by the natural powers, and in which the soul has the authority and the leadership; but a “spiritual” body, that which is enriched with the working of the Holy Spirit, and governed in all things by him. For even if now the Spirit works in us, yet not so, nor always; for it flies away from those who sin. And, the Spirit being present, the soul governs the body; but then the Spirit abides perpetually in the bodies of the righteous. Or by “spiritual” he simply means the incorruptible, as being finer and lighter, such as even to be borne upon the air; only not as Origen says, airy and ethereal—that is, from the substance of the air and the ether. But if you disbelieve the incorruption, look at the heavenly bodies, which for so long are unaging and unwearied; for he who made these such, will also make incorruptible our corruptible things.

1 Cor. 15:44. There is a natural body, which we now have in the present life.

1 Cor. 15:44. And there is a spiritual body, which we are going to have in the age to come, being the same indeed, but refined—that is, incorruptible.

1 Cor. 15:45. So also it is written: The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam a life-giving Spirit. And indeed the one is written, but the other was not afterward written; rather, from the sequence of the matters he says that the outcome was written, just as the prophet too said that Jerusalem would be called a city of righteousness, and it was not expressly so called; and the Gospel that the Lord [would be called] Emmanuel, and he was not himself so called, but the events let go this utterance. The first Adam, then, was a natural man, that is, he had a body governed by natural powers; “but the last Adam,” the Lord, “a life-giving Spirit.” He did not say, A living spirit, but, “Life-giving,” saying the greater thing. For the Lord had the Holy Spirit essentially conjoined to him, through whom he both made alive his own flesh, and through it bestowed on us incorruption. So that of this corruptible life we have the pledges in the first Adam; but of the life to come, in Christ.

1 Cor. 15:46. But not first the spiritual, but the natural, then the spiritual. That no one may say, Why do we now have the natural and worse body, but the spiritual is to come? he says that the beginnings of each were thus ordained also. And Adam was first, but Christ later. So that our things ever advance toward the better; and believe that the things now in you, corruptible and worse, shall be transformed into the incorruptible and better.

1 Cor. 15:47. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man, the Lord, is from heaven. That they might not be careless of the best life, he is henceforth going to exhort concerning a God-pleasing manner of life, and he says that “Adam was from the earth”; for this very reason he was so named too; for “Adam” signifies earthy and of dust. “But the second man, the Lord,” was “from heaven.” And the one he names from the worse, the second from the better; not that the man—that is, the human nature assumed—was from heaven, as the foolish Apollinarius raved; but because, there being one person of the one Christ, the man too is said to be from heaven on account of the union, and God to be crucified, for the same cause.

1 Cor. 15:48. As is the earthy, such also are the earthy. That is, so they will perish and come to their end; or, that those nailed to the earth will die the death of sin.

1 Cor. 15:48. And as is the heavenly, such also are the heavenly. That is, so they will remain immortal and shining. For even if the second Adam died, yet it was that he might destroy death; or, that so they too will be glorified who have lived in God-like fashion, as minding the things of heaven.

1 Cor. 15:49. And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, here he more nakedly reveals the hortatory form of the discourse. By “image of the earthy” he means the base deeds; by “image of the heavenly,” the good. As, then, we have lived through in wickedness as sons of the earthy, and minding the things of the earth; so let us also live henceforth in virtue, as keeping the image and the imitation of the heavenly. And an image of the earthy is also the, You are earth, and to earth you shall return; but an image of the heavenly is the resurrection from the dead and incorruption. So that, if these be among the things said concerning resurrection, we must not understand them as concerning the manner of life; and the We shall bear the image of the heavenly we must understand or write not as said by way of counsel, but as indicative of a coming fact—that is, that we are going to bear it.

1 Cor. 15:50. Now I say this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Since he said, “Image of the earthy,” as if interpreting it, he says that flesh and blood are the image of the earthy; that is, the fleshly deeds, and those proper to the grossness of the body, which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”

1 Cor. 15:50. Neither does corruption inherit incorruption. That is, wickedness, which corrupts the nobility of the soul, cannot inherit that glory and the incorruptible good things. But you may take all these things not as said about the manner of life, but as about resurrection; for instance, the Flesh and blood; as meaning that A body such as this, composed of flesh and blood, will not in the age to come enjoy the kingdom. For there is no eating and drinking there, by which a body of this kind is assuredly nourished. Neither corruption—that is, the corruptible body—shall inherit the incorruptible things; so that of necessity our body shall be spiritual and incorruptible. Know, however, that Chrysostom received these things as said by the Apostle by way of exhortation, concerning the best life.

1 Cor. 15:51. Behold, I tell you a mystery. Again he comes back to the discourse concerning the resurrection, and says that he is going to tell them something secret and unspeakable. And through this he shows also the great honor toward them, as telling them the secret things.

1 Cor. 15:51. We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, Not all, he says, will die, but all assuredly shall be changed, even those who do not die—that is, they shall pass into incorruption. Do not, then, because you die, fear that you will not rise. For behold, I tell you that some will not die, and yet this does not suffice them for that kingdom, unless they be changed, and so come into immortality from this mortality of the bodies they bear. As, then, the not dying does not profit those, so neither will the dying harm us. For to them too the change is a death; for in them corruption dies, being changed into incorruption.

1 Cor. 15:52. in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. In an instant and indivisible time, and as much as the closing of an eyelid, such great things shall come to pass; and it is full of wonder. For not only that things rotted shall rise, nor that each shall receive his own body, must one wonder at; but that it shall be so swiftly as cannot even be told. But some understood the “At the last trumpet” thus, as from the Apocalypse of John the Evangelist. For there being seven trumpets, he says, the first ones bring about the consummation of men (for not all are consummated together, but in part); and this by a dispensation of God, he says, that those who are left, seeing the first ones perishing, may themselves repent; but the last trumpet brings about the rising and the change of those already risen, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”

1 Cor. 15:52. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, That no one may disbelieve how such great things come to pass in the twinkling of an eye, he shows the trustworthiness of the saying from the power of God who does these things, and says that “The trumpet shall sound, and they shall come to be”; like the, He spoke, and they came to be. For the trumpet signifies nothing else than the command and the nod of God, which reaches through all things.

1 Cor. 15:52. And we shall be changed. He does not say this concerning himself, but concerning those who are found living at that time.

1 Cor. 15:53. For this corruptible body must put on incorruption, and this mortal body must put on immortality. That no one, on hearing that “Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God,” and again, that “The dead shall rise incorruptible,” might suppose that the bodies do not rise, because they are now composed of flesh and blood, he adds, that the bodies do rise, but not as being flesh and blood, but transformed into incorruption. And note these expressions against those who say that not the same bodies are raised, but others. For “This corruptible,” he says, “and this mortal,” not another, but this, demonstratively. So that the body itself remains the same (for it is itself that which is clothed); but the mortality and the corruptibility vanish, incorruption and immortality encompassing it. And mortality and corruption differ in this, that mortality is said only of things ensouled, but corruption of things soulless too. There are, then, in us certain things resembling soulless things—for instance, hairs, nails; and these too shall put on incorruption.

1 Cor. 15:54. When, then, this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the word that is written: Death was swallowed up in victory. When these things come to pass, then is fulfilled the Scripture of Hosea. For since he said paradoxical things, he confirms them by a scriptural testimony. And the “In victory”—that is, to an end; so that, being utterly conquered, it is put away, and has not even visibly any strength henceforth.

1 Cor. 15:55. O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? As if seeing the things already come to pass, he is filled with divine ardor, and shouts the victory-song, and raises the war-cry, as if treading upon death lying prostrate, and trampling him down. And you may find a certain difference between Hades and death, in that Hades holds the souls, but death the bodies; for the souls are immortal.

1 Cor. 15:56. But the sting of death is sin. For through it death had strength, using this as a kind of weapon and sting. For just as the scorpion is itself some small creature, but has its strength in its sting; so also death had strength through sin, being otherwise without effect. And the case of the Lord shows it too; for in him also, finding no sin, it remained without effect.

1 Cor. 15:56. And the power of sin is the law. How? Because, the law not being, sinning in ignorance, we were not so condemned; but the law, having made it manifest, condemned us the more, as sinning in knowledge; and it made it strong—not by reason of its own nature, but by reason of our carelessness, who did not use well the medicine given; as has been said also in the [Epistle] to the Romans more broadly and at greater length. Do not, then, O man, doubt concerning the resurrection, seeing that sin too, which was the weapon of death, has been done away; and the law, which by its effect was the power of sin, has been abolished. For it is manifest that death, being disarmed, has no longer any strength.

1 Cor. 15:57. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The contest is the Lord Jesus’, but to us the victory is given; not in recompense, nor according to debt, but according to the grace and loving-kindness of God and Father, who made us to conquer through the contest of his Son.

1 Cor. 15:58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Since you have come to know, he says, that there will be a resurrection, and a recompense of good and bad, be steadfast. For they were being shaken in the discourses concerning the resurrection. And since they were careless also of a good life, as though there were no resurrection thence, he says: “Abounding in the work of the Lord always”; not only working it, but doing it out of abundance. And the “work of the Lord”—that is, what the Lord loves, and what he requires of us—is virtue.

1 Cor. 15:58. Knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. That is, hoping that there will be a resurrection, and that whatever you labor, you shall not lose. For formerly you were careless of virtue, as not believing there to be a resurrection, and on this account not willing to labor in vain; but now you know that, if you labor anything, it will not be in vain. And the “In the Lord” means either that Your labor which is in the Lord—that is, which has also the help from above, as being done upon God-pleasing works; or that With the Lord the labor shall not be made vain, but you shall receive from him the recompenses.

[1] Translator’s note: The opening clause is corrupt in Migne; it has been supplied from the lemma of 1 Cor. 15:30, to which the comment evidently belongs.

Chapter 16

1 Cor. 16:1. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the Churches of Galatia, so do you also. Having brought to completion his discourse concerning the doctrines, he came to the chief of the virtues, namely almsgiving. And he calls it a “collection,” at once making the matter light from the very outset; for what is contributed by many was light for each one. Then he leads them to emulation: “As it was directed by me, things already set right by others.” For as the Galatians, he says, have done. And he did not say, “I exhorted,” but “I directed,” which is more authoritative, that you may learn that it is a royal ordinance, and may not hold the matter in contempt.

1 Cor. 16:2. On the first day of the week let each of you lay aside by himself, storing up whatever he may be prospered in. By “the first day of the week” he means the Lord’s Day, that is, the first of the days of the week. And from the day itself he urges them on to almsgiving, reminding them of the mysteries accomplished on it. And very providently he commands each to store up whatever he may be prospered in—that is, whatever God may send, and what he may have ready to hand. For he did not say, “Bring it at once,” lest anyone who has little be ashamed, but, “Gather it beside yourself, and when it has become worth mentioning, then bring it.”

1 Cor. 16:2. That there be no collections when I come. That there be no gathering, he says, at the very time when there is need to expend. And by saying “When I come,” he makes them more eager toward the collection, since the contribution is to be made, as it were, before his very eyes.

1 Cor. 16:3. And when I arrive, whomever you approve by letters, these I will send to carry your gift to Jerusalem. Well has he set down “whomever you approve,” everywhere avoiding occasions of stumbling, lest they suspect that he himself wishes to embezzle anything from what is gathered. Place a stop, then, at “approve”; then read on, “by letters these I will send”; so that the sequence is as follows: Whomever you approve, these I will send by my letters—as though saying, “I too will be present with them, and will share in the ministry through my letters.” And he called the matter a “gift,” that is, a generous bounty, in order to show that they were doing something great, and not out of grief or out of necessity; for such is a gift. For to have called it almsgiving would have been unworthy of those illustrious saints.

1 Cor. 16:4. And if it be worthwhile that I also should go, they will go with me. If what is gathered, he says, be so much as to be worthy even of my own ministry, I will go. And by this he urges them on to liberality. And in this way too he wishes to have witnesses, that he himself will take nothing; wherefore he says, “They will go with me.”

1 Cor. 16:5–7. But I will come to you when I have passed through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia); and with you perhaps I will even remain, or even spend the winter, that you may send me forward, wherever I may go. For I do not wish to see you now in passing; but I hope to abide some time with you, if the Lord permits. He did not say, “I am going away to Macedonia,” lest they say, “You prefer the Macedonians to us,” but, “I am passing through Macedonia,” that is, “I look upon them as in haste and in passing, but with you I remain.” And by this he shows both that he prefers them to the Macedonians, as more genuine disciples and more worthy of mention—for great was the Church in Corinth—and he also strikes fear into those who were sinning, by the word “I will remain.” And he adds “perhaps,” because of the uncertainty; for he did not know whether this would be permitted him by the Spirit or not, since he was led by the Spirit wherever It willed. And being in Ephesus, he then looked to go away into Macedonia, and to pass through it more quickly, and then to go away to them. And in many ways he shows his disposition toward them, both by not wishing to see them in passing, and by wishing to be sent forward by them.

1 Cor. 16:8. But I will remain at Ephesus until Pentecost,—and this too belongs to one who loves greatly: both to say where he will remain, and until when; and moreover to add the reason. For he goes on to say:

1 Cor. 16:9. For a door has been opened to me, great and effectual, and the adversaries are many. That is, “Many are about to come to the faith, and a broad entrance to them has been opened to me, inasmuch as their ministry toward the faith is at its height.” For to the teacher there is straitness when he does not have eager disciples, but spaciousness when he finds them. And the adversaries are many—which does not hinder, but rather provokes; for the devil, seeing himself being stripped bare, is the more troubled, and stirs up those who oppose.

1 Cor. 16:10. Now if Timothy come, see that he be without fear among you. Since it was likely that Timothy, having come to Corinth, would lay hold of those who were sinning and rebuke them, he secures them, lest the rich and wise rise up against him—not because Timothy, being unmanly, was about to fall, but because they themselves were about to be harmed. For that man was exceedingly well prepared for dangers. And well did he say, “among you.” For do not cite to me the Greeks; for the present I require it of you.

1 Cor. 16:10–11. For he works the work of the Lord, as I also do; let no one therefore despise him. That is, “He preaches and teaches; and not simply, but as I do.” Which is great praise for Timothy. Since, then, he is such a one, “let no one despise him”; for he was young, and alone, and had been entrusted with the care of so great and so haughty a people, and it was likely that he would be held in contempt.

1 Cor. 16:11. But send him forward in peace, that he may come to me; for I am awaiting him with the brethren. “Rather, then,” he says, “honor him also”; for “send him forward” makes this plain. And “in peace,” that is, without fear, without battle and contention, with all submission. And “I am awaiting him” belongs to one striking fear, that, knowing he will report everything to him, they may in no way grieve him; and at the same time he makes him more reverend, seeing that he holds him so necessary as even to await him.

1 Cor. 16:12. But concerning Apollos the brother, I greatly besought him to come to you with the brethren; and it was altogether not his will to come now. Apollos was both older than Timothy and an eloquent man. So that they might not say, “Why ever did he not send him, but the younger man?” he says, “I besought him much.” And he does not say, “He withstood me,” but, absolving him too of blame, he says, “It was altogether not the will”—that is, God did not will it. And lest they say that these things are a pretext and an excuse, he says:

1 Cor. 16:12. But he will come when he has opportunity. At once both making his defense on that man’s behalf, and consoling them, who longed to see him, with the hope of his coming.

1 Cor. 16:13. Watch. Again he exhorts them toward the end, showing that they must not place their hopes upon their teachers, but also in themselves. “Watch,” because of those who deceive; and he said this as to men who were drowsing.

1 Cor. 16:13. Stand firm in the faith. Not in the outward wisdom; for in that it is not possible to stand, but to be carried about; and he said this as to men who were being shaken.

1 Cor. 16:13. Be manful, be strong. Because of those who plot against them; and he said this as to men growing soft.

1 Cor. 16:14. Let all your affairs be done in love. This is directed against those who were forming factions and tearing apart the Church. For whether, he says, one teaches, or learns, or rebukes, let all be in love; and there will be no puffing up nor division, with love mediating.

1 Cor. 16:15. Now I exhort you, brethren. This is a transposition: “I exhort you, that you also submit yourselves to such as these”; and the rest is inserted between.

1 Cor. 16:15. You know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia. “You,” he says, “know it, and have no need to learn it from me.” And he calls the household of Stephanas the firstfruits of Achaia, either because they were the first to believe, or because they also chose the best manner of life. For the firstfruits must in every respect have the most excellent of those things whose firstfruits it is. And by Achaia he means Hellas.

1 Cor. 16:15. And they appointed themselves to the ministry of the saints. To receiving the faithful poor, and ministering to them, they appointed and set apart themselves—not constrained by others through necessity, but willingly, of themselves.

1 Cor. 16:16. That you also submit yourselves to such as these, and to everyone who works together and labors. That is, “Take part with them both in the expending of money and in bodily service.” And he did not say simply, “Work together,” but, showing an intensified obedience, “Submit yourselves.” And lest he should seem to be favoring Stephanas alone, he adds, “and to everyone who works together and labors.” Where? In the ministry of the saints. For all such are worthy of honor; for thus would they also bear their toil nobly.

1 Cor. 16:17. And I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas, and Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because these supplied what was lacking on your part. These were the ones who announced to Paul concerning the dissension in Corinth and the other sins; and those of Chloe’s household perhaps disclosed it through them. Since, then, it was likely that the Corinthians had been made savage toward these men, he commends them, saying, “They supplied what was lacking on your part”—that is, “They came in the stead of all of you, and for your sakes undertook so great a journey to me.”

1 Cor. 16:18. For they refreshed my spirit and yours. He showed them that his own refreshment is theirs. So that, since when I was refreshed by them you too gained it, namely my refreshment, you should display nothing ungracious toward these same men.

1 Cor. 16:18. Acknowledge, therefore, such as these. That is, “Hold them in honor.”

1 Cor. 16:19. The Churches of Asia greet you. He glues together the members of Christ through the greeting, as he is ever wont to do.

1 Cor. 16:19. Aquila and Priscilla greet you much in the Lord, with the Church that is in their house. For with them he abode, being himself also a tentmaker. And observe their virtue, that they made their house a Church, having made within it a gathering of the faithful.

1 Cor. 16:20. All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. This addition of the holy kiss he adds here alone, because of the many dissensions. Since, then, he had exhorted them much concerning being united, he now unites them also through the holy kiss—the genuine, the guileless, the unfeigned.

1 Cor. 16:21. The greeting of Paul with my own hand. He makes the greeting with his own hand, in order to show that he made much of the Epistle.

1 Cor. 16:22. If anyone does not love our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. By this one saying he struck fear into all—the fornicators, the dissenters, those who ate things sacrificed to idols, those who disbelieved the resurrection, and, in a word, all those among them who were living outside his teaching and tradition. For all such do not love the Lord.

1 Cor. 16:22. Maran atha.[1] That is, “The Lord has come.” And he said this, at once confirming the word of the Incarnation, and thereby the resurrection; and at the same time putting them to shame, that “The Master accepted all things on our behalf, while you provoke Him to anger—some being called after men, and some doing base things.” And he did not use the Greek tongue, but the Hebrew, or rather the Syrians’ language, since he was speaking to the Corinthians, who prided themselves greatly on the outward wisdom and on the elegance of the Greek tongue, showing that he himself had so little need of it that he gloried in his plainness of speech, so as even to utter a barbarian tongue.

1 Cor. 16:23. May our Lord Jesus Christ’s grace be with you. This belongs to a teacher: not only to exhort, but also to pray, and to give support in twofold manner—both by teaching, and by the supply of the help from above through prayers.

1 Cor. 16:24. My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen. Since he was separated from them by place, as it were by the stretching out of some right hand, he embraces them with the hands of love, saying, “My love be with you”—which is, “I am with you all; for I am not absent, even though I am separated by place.” And through these words he shows that the things written were not of wrath nor of anger, but of love and solicitude, even if they revealed some bitterness. And lest they think that he says these things to flatter them, he says, “in Christ Jesus”—that is, “My love has nothing human or fleshly, but is spiritual and in Christ.” Let us, then, pray also ourselves that, loving one another in Christ, we may carry about within ourselves nothing of worldly love, which is enmity toward God. For thus shall we also be counted worthy of the beloved tabernacles of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, who has loved us; to whom be the glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: An Aramaic (Syriac) phrase, here rendered as Theophylact understood it: ὁ Κύριος ἦλθε, “the Lord has come.” The words may also be divided Marana tha, “Our Lord, come!”

Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians

Introduction

The Epistle of Reconciliation

Theophylact’s Argument gives this letter a double purpose. Paul had promised the Corinthians a visit and then delayed it, kept away by other pressing labors and by trials laid upon him, and the letter must first explain that delay. But it must also do something warmer: the first Epistle had rebuked the Corinthians sharply, and “since they had become better” as a result, Paul now writes “to receive and to praise them,” reserving his severity for its final chapters, where certain Jewish-Christian rivals had been slandering him as “an unlettered man and worthy of no account.” The letter therefore moves in a register unlike the first: tender and personal through most of its length, sharpening only at the end, where Paul must defend the authority of his own apostleship against men who questioned it.

Theophylact follows this shift closely, and his comment changes register with it. Where Paul consoles, he draws out the tenderness; where Paul answers the boasting of his rivals in chapters ten through thirteen, he traces the argument’s edge without blunting it, reading Paul’s forced self-commendation there not as vanity but as a reluctant necessity—a man defending, for his converts’ sake rather than his own, the truth of what God had done through him.

Treasure in Earthen Vessels

Two images of apostolic ministry occupy Theophylact’s closest attention in the letter’s middle chapters. The first is Paul’s description of the apostles as bearers of “this treasure in clay jars”—a figure Theophylact reads as itself a proof of God’s power, since “an earthen vessel contains such treasures,” and the frailty of the messenger only sets off more clearly that the strength shown through him is God’s and not his own. The second is Paul’s account of the ministry entrusted to the apostles as one of reconciliation: God, Theophylact writes, “sent the Son as ambassador,” and even after the Son was put to death by those who needed reconciling, “gave the ministry of the reconciliation to us”—the apostles sent out, in turn, as ambassadors to plead with the estranged on God’s behalf. Both images turn on the same point: an office of surpassing dignity carried by men who are, in themselves, nothing remarkable, so that the outcome can be credited to no one but God.

The Collection for Jerusalem

Between the letter’s tenderness and its final self-defense sit two chapters, eight and nine, devoted to a practical matter: the collection Paul was gathering among the Gentile churches for the poor of Jerusalem. Theophylact reads Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians as deliberately unforced. Holding up the generosity of the Macedonian churches as an example rather than a command, Paul “leaves their will free, that what is done by them may also be a virtue,” since a gift given only from shame or compulsion earns no true reward. Theophylact draws out the principle behind the appeal to “God loves a cheerful giver”: what matters is not the size of the gift but the freedom and joy with which it is made, a small chapter of practical almsgiving folded into a letter otherwise concerned with far weightier things.

The Thorn in the Flesh

Theophylact gives unusual care to Paul’s admission, in chapter twelve, of the “thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan,” sent to keep him from growing conceited after his revelations. He explicitly sets aside the reading—already current in his day—that takes this as a bodily ailment: Paul’s body, he insists, was never given over to the devil, since Paul himself commanded and restrained Satan elsewhere, delivering the Corinthian fornicator to him for correction. The “messenger of Satan” is instead read as the human adversaries who dogged Paul’s ministry—men named elsewhere in his letters, such as Alexander the coppersmith, and others of their kind who stirred up opposition wherever he preached. Read this way, God’s answer to Paul’s threefold prayer—“My grace is sufficient for you: for my power is made perfect in weakness”—becomes a word not about illness borne patiently but about opposition endured and, in the enduring, turned to the Gospel’s advantage.

How to Read This Commentary

Second Corinthians is, of Paul’s letters, one of the most personal, and Theophylact’s comment stays close to that intimacy rather than smoothing it into a treatise. A reader will do best to notice the letter’s changes of tone as they come—comfort, self-defense, appeal for the collection for Jerusalem, and finally a hard word to those still resisting him—and to read Theophylact’s gloss as following Paul’s mood rather than standing above it. Because so much of the letter turns on Paul’s own credibility as an apostle, the commentary rewards a reader willing to sit with the discomfort of watching a saint defend himself, and to see in that defense not self-regard but a shepherd’s care for a church still learning whom to trust.

Chapter 1

Argument of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. The blessed Paul adds a second Epistle to the Corinthians, because in the first Epistle he had promised to come to them, but delayed—inasmuch as the Spirit was occupying him with other, more necessary matters, and trials had been laid upon him. It was necessary, then, to make a defense concerning the delay, which had grown long; and on this account he composes this second Epistle, defending himself for the things in which he had delayed. And at the same time it was fitting to receive and to praise them, since they had become better[1] as a result of the first Epistle; for as he had brought charges against them when they sinned, so it was necessary to praise them when they had been set right. Wherefore the Epistle is not the more accusatory in tone, except perhaps a few of its parts toward the end, and these on account of those from among the Jews who were boasting and slandering him as an unlettered man and worthy of no account.

2 Cor. 1:1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy the brother. In the first Epistle he had sent Timothy there; then, having received him back again, he reasonably joins him to himself. For Timothy too had given the Corinthians proof of his own virtue, and as one who had already become known to them and had set right many things among them, he takes him to himself in the Epistle. And observe: at one time he calls him son—for As a son with his father, he says, he served with me—at another, fellow-worker—For he works the work of the Lord, as I also do—but now, brother; making him in every way worthy of reverence.

2 Cor. 1:1. To the Church of God which is in Corinth. Again he binds them together, by saying “Church.” For those who are torn asunder are not a Church.

2 Cor. 1:1. With all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia. He makes mention of all those in Achaia, at once both honoring the Corinthians, as one who through the Epistle to them addresses all, and at the same time gathering the whole nation into concord. And besides, because they too were being shaken, he makes the treatment common as well; which he does also when writing to the Galatians and to the Hebrews. And by calling them saints he shows that, if anyone is unclean, he is not worthy of this appellation and of this approach.

2 Cor. 1:2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes the customary salutation now also. And concerning these things it has been said in other places.

2 Cor. 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He had promised in the first Epistle to come to them; then, having delayed, he strongly suspected that they were grieved, as though others had been preferred to them by him. Wishing, therefore, to make a defense, and to show that he had been hindered by reason of the many trials laid upon him, he makes his defense skillfully. For I give thanks, he says—to God, that is—as to one who delivered me from dangers; intimating through the thanksgiving that the things which hindered him were something great; being set free, he gives thanks. And consider the word God; then, and Father of the Lord; and if you should also understand it conjointly, The God and Father of the Lord, there is nothing strange; for it belongs to one and the same Christ to be, according to that which is human, [his] God, and according to the Godhead, [to have him as] Father.

2 Cor. 1:3. The Father of mercies, and God of all comfort. That is, he who displayed mercies so great as to lead us up from the very gates of death, and to count us worthy of all comfort in our afflictions. And it is the custom of the saints to name God from the benefactions done to them: upon victory in wars, I will love you, O Lord, my strength, he says; and, The Lord is my defender; but when they are delivered from gloom, and darkening of mind, and grief, The Lord is my light. So then now also Paul names him Father of mercies and God of comfort, from what had befallen him. And observe his humility. For having been delivered from the trials endured for the sake of the preaching, he does not say that I was delivered according to my desert, but, On account of the mercies of God.

2 Cor. 1:4. Who comforts us in all our affliction. He did not say, Who does not allow us to be afflicted, but, Who comforts us in our being afflicted. For he allows us to be afflicted, that through endurance we may have a reward; and whenever he sees us flagging, he comforts; and he ever does this. Wherefore Paul too did not say that he comforted once, but, He who comforts—that is, always. And not in this or that affliction, but, In all.

2 Cor. 1:4. So that we may be able to comfort those who are in every affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Not because we are worthy to be comforted, he says, does God on this account comfort us; but that from the example of the comfort shown to me I may be able to comfort others also who are in trials. So that you too, seeing me thus comforted, may not fall down when you are in afflictions. And through this he shows both the work of the apostles, and that they are appointed for anointing and rousing others; and not, like the false apostles, that they live in luxury, and sitting at home overlook those who need comfort and rousing.

2 Cor. 1:5. For just as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, so also through Christ does our comfort abound. Do not fall down, he says, O hearer, on hearing of afflictions and sufferings. For by as much as these abound, by so much do the comforts also abound. And he did not say simply, Sufferings, but, Of Christ, that from this very thing he might also console. For these sufferings which we suffer are Christ’s, and we become partakers with him of the sufferings; so that let this very thing be the greatest comfort to you, that you undergo the afflictions of Christ; or rather, not those alone, but even more. For the sufferings of Christ, he says, abound to us—that is, We suffer more than the things which Christ suffered. But perceiving how great a thing he had uttered, and that it was a weighty thing, he again draws it in, saying, So through Christ does our comfort also abound. For he refers the whole to him. And he does not say that the comfort is of equal measure with the afflictions, but, It abounds, and this is far greater than the afflictions.

2 Cor. 1:6. Whether we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. But on this account, he says, you ought not to be troubled at my afflictions, since it is for your salvation and comfort that we are afflicted. For it was possible for us to pass our life in safety by not preaching; but now, by preaching, that we may by all means save you, and comfort your souls through the preaching and the good things that come from it, we fall in with afflictions. We endure the afflictions, then, for your salvation; and so you ought not to be disturbed.

2 Cor. 1:6. Which works inwardly in the endurance of the same sufferings which we also suffer. This salvation, he says, is worked inwardly not only through our endurance, but also through yours; that is, Your salvation is the work not of me alone, but also of yourselves. For just as I am afflicted in preaching, so you also, in receiving the preaching, endure the same sufferings which I also do. And he bears them much witness of virtue, in that they received the preaching amid trials.

2 Cor. 1:7. And our hope for you is firm. That is, we are firmly confident concerning you, that you will not be overturned by the trials that befall you; much more, then, will you not be disturbed at the things in which you see us suffering.

2 Cor. 1:6. Whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort and salvation. Having said above that we are afflicted, lest he should seem to say something burdensome, he now says, And we are comforted for your sakes; that is, Our comfort becomes a refreshment to you. For if we breathe even a little, this suffices for your consolation. For you share with us in the gladness.

2 Cor. 1:7. Knowing that, just as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also of our comfort. Just as, he says, you grieve when we are persecuted, as suffering this yourselves, so we know that, when we are comforted also, you reckon that you yourselves enjoy the comfort.

2 Cor. 1:8. For we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning the affliction which came upon us in Asia, that we were exceedingly weighed down beyond [our] strength, so that we despaired even of living. Since he had made mention of affliction indefinitely, he now says of what kind. And through this he shows also his love toward them. For it belongs to love to lay bare the things that befall one to another; and at the same time he weaves a defense for the delay. And he says that the affliction came upon him in Asia, concerning which he spoke also in the former Epistle, that a great door has been opened to me, and the adversaries are many. And he seems to say the same thing by exceedingly and by beyond strength; but it is not so. What he means is this: The trial was exceeding—that is, great. Then, since it is possible for a trial to be great, yet to be borne nobly by one who is strong, he says that it was not only great, but also beyond our strength; that is, both great, and unbearable, and so great that we despaired even of living—that is, that we no longer even expected to live. And such a thing David calls the gates of Hades, and birth-pangs that bring forth death, and the shadow of death.

2 Cor. 1:9. But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves. The judgment, the verdict, the decree which the circumstances rendered, all but uttering a voice; that is, As far as our own surmise the expectation of death stood, and the answer which the nature of the circumstances gave; but it advanced no further.

2 Cor. 1:9. That we should not be trusting in ourselves, but in God alone. And why did this come to pass? he says: That we might learn not to be confident in ourselves, but in God alone. And this Paul says, not as though he himself needed now to learn this (for who knew better than he that one must be confident in God?), but as regulating the others, in the things which he speaks concerning himself; and at the same time teaching humility.

2 Cor. 1:9–10. To him who raises the dead. Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us. Again he reminds them of the discourse concerning the resurrection, on behalf of which he had said so much in the former Epistle, confirming it also from things present. Wherefore he added, Who delivered us from so great a death. For he did not say, From danger, but, From death. For since the resurrection was a thing to come and unseen, he shows that this comes to pass every day. For whenever God draws up a man who has come to the very gates of Hades, he displays nothing other than a resurrection; whence we too are accustomed to say of such men, We have seen a resurrection of the dead.

2 Cor. 1:10. And we have hoped that he will yet deliver us. From this we learn that our life ought ever to be in a struggle; for by saying He will deliver, he announces beforehand the snow-flurries of many trials.

2 Cor. 1:11. You also helping together on our behalf by your supplication. Since the words That we should not be trusting in ourselves seemed to some a common accusation, intimating those men also, he softens the saying, calling their prayers a great shield in their stead. And we are taught from this both humility, if indeed Paul had need of the prayer of the Corinthians, and the power of prayer itself. For the prayer that is made by the Church as it ought has great power, so that Paul too has need of it.

2 Cor. 1:11. That from many persons the gift bestowed upon us may be given thanks for by many on our behalf. God delivered us, he says, and will deliver us through your prayers, that the gift bestowed upon us through many—that is, the grace that came to me through many—that is, through you having prayed earnestly for me—may be given thanks for by many persons, namely, by you. For my salvation, which comes to pass through your prayers, he bestowed upon you all, that many persons might give thanks to him on your behalf. And we learn from this not only to pray for one another, but also to give thanks for one another. And observe how, at the beginning, he says that he was saved on account of the mercies of God; but now he ascribes his salvation to their prayers. For together with the divine mercy we must contribute also the things on our part. And here too Paul neither gave the whole of the achievement to the Corinthians, lest he puff them up, nor altogether estranged them from it, lest he make them more slothful. For God will deliver us, he says, you also helping together by supplication—that is, contributing the things on your own part.

2 Cor. 1:12. For this is our boasting, the testimony of our conscience. And this also, he says, is to us an occasion of consolation, our conscience bearing us witness that we are driven and persecuted not as men caught in wicked deeds, but for virtue’s sake and the salvation of the many. The former comfort, then, was from God; but this, he says, is from the purity of my conscience; wherefore he also names it a boasting, showing the great confidence which he had in his pure conscience.

2 Cor. 1:12. That in simplicity and godly sincerity. What, he says, does the conscience bear us witness of? and why do we boast? That in simplicity—that is, in a guileless mind—and sincerity—that is, in purity of understanding and in freedom from deceit, having nothing shadowed over and underhanded, such as God accepts. And these things he says on account of the deceitful false apostles.

2 Cor. 1:12. Not in fleshly wisdom. That is, in cleverness of words and in the contrivance of sophistries. For this is the fleshly wisdom in which, while those men were boasting, he himself denies it and thrusts it from him.

2 Cor. 1:12. But in the grace of God we conducted ourselves in the world. That is, in the wisdom bestowed by him, and in the signs and wonders which were the grace of God. And it is a very great comfort for one to be conscious to himself that he does all things not by human power, but by divine grace. And not in Corinth only, but also in the whole world.

2 Cor. 1:12. And more abundantly toward you. How? Because, together with the signs, he also preached the Gospel among them without charge. And observe that what was his own achievement, this he ascribes to the grace of God.

2 Cor. 1:13. For we write no other things to you than what you read, or also acknowledge. Since he seemed to say great things concerning himself, lest anyone should say that these were a vaunting of words, he says that We write to you those things which you read indeed in these letters, but which you also knew, having known them beforehand. For your knowledge, which you have taken up beforehand concerning me, is not contrary to my letters. But some understood this thus: We write to you those things which you read—that is, are put in remembrance of; for reading is a putting in remembrance, or a knowledge from of old. And why do I speak, he says, of the things of which you are reminded? Nay rather, the things which you acknowledge to be our own, not even needing a reminder, because they are manifest.

2 Cor. 1:13–14. And I hope that you will acknowledge even to the end, just as you also acknowledged us in part. He refers the whole to God. For I hope, he says—in God, that is—that you will acknowledge us to be such as my epistles also declare, and as my past life guarantees. For in part you acknowledged us—that is, You had experience of us, who showed you in part certain tokens of a virtuous life. And this he said with modesty.

2 Cor. 1:14. That we are your boast, just as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord [our] Jesus Christ. What will you acknowledge? That I am your boast; that is, I am such as to give you occasion of boasting in me, in that you have such a teacher, who taught nothing human, nothing underhanded, nothing deceitful. Then, lest he should seem to speak great things concerning himself, he makes the boast common, and says that You too will be my boast. For I shall boast that I obtained such disciples, who are not led astray, nor deceived by the false apostles. And when shall we boast in one another? Both now, but especially in that day. For now indeed the many see the reproaches and the mockeries which we undergo, and perhaps slander us; but then, when all things are uncovered, I too shall appear to be not such as the false apostles slander me to be; and you also will be our boast, in that you were not joined to the deceivers.

2 Cor. 1:15. And in this confidence I was minded to come to you before. In what confidence? In being conscious to myself of nothing wicked, in being your boast, in being not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, and in having you as witnesses of all these things. On these accounts, then, he says, I was minded to come to you.

2 Cor. 1:15. That you might have a second grace. That is, a twofold joy: both that through the former Epistle, and that through my presence.

2 Cor. 1:16. And to pass through you into Macedonia. Just as he had said in the former Epistle, And I will come to you, when I have passed through Macedonia. But here he says, I was minded to come to you first. What then? Does he contradict himself? God forbid. For he did not say, I wrote that I would go away through you into Macedonia, but, I was minded. For even if I did not so write, he says, nevertheless I was zealous and minded to come to you even before I should see Macedonia; so far was I from being slothful to come to you, and from falling short of the promise, that I even wished to anticipate it.

2 Cor. 1:16. And again to come to you from Macedonia, and by you to be set forward toward Judea. In the former Epistle he had spoken indefinitely, That you may set me forward wherever I may go; fearing lest, having said, To Judea, and then being constrained by the Spirit to go away elsewhere, he should appear a liar. But now, since he had failed of coming to them, he speaks boldly thereafter, saying, To Judea I wished to be set forward by you; but God was not pleased that I should come to you at all, nor that I should be set forward by you toward Judea. Hear, then, what follows also.

2 Cor. 1:17. Being minded of this, then, did I perhaps use levity? Or the things which I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea, yea, and the nay, nay? Here he makes his defense more openly concerning the delay, and says that, Being minded to come to you, for what reason did I not come? Was it as one fickle and easily swayed, and minded now one thing, now another? By no means. Do I, then, purpose according to the flesh—that is, in human fashion—and govern myself by my own judgment, so that whatever I determine with myself, this I also accomplish, whether yea or nay? Neither is this so. But I am led by the Spirit, and I have no authority to go away wherever I will, but wherever it shall command. So that often with me the yea is not yea, because this did not also seem good to the Spirit; nor the nay, nay, because what I myself refuse, this the Spirit commands. And observe his wisdom: how that which the slanderers made a pretext for reviling—his promising to come, and not coming—this he himself ranks in the place of a commendation, namely, that he had no authority over himself, but was led by the Spirit wherever it seemed good to it. But what then? Did he promise the things he promised without the working of the Spirit, but was ignorant of the future? He was ignorant; for he did not know all things; so that he even prayed for things not expedient, as in the matter of the thorn. And in the Acts also he is found wishing to go away elsewhere, and being hindered by the Spirit. And this God did profitably, lest they should worship them as gods, which is what the Lystrans experienced.

2 Cor. 1:18. But God is faithful, that our word toward you was not yea and nay. He resolves an objection that arises, by representing someone as saying: If the things you say are not firm, but you often say yea, and it is found to be nay, we are taught to suspect lest your word and your preaching too be of this kind, yea and nay—that is, unstable and unsure. He says, then, resolving this, that to promise to come was mine, wherefore I also failed of it; but the preaching is God’s, and it is impossible that the things of God should prove false; wherefore he also said, God is faithful—that is, true. So that, since he is true, neither is his word toward you, which we preached, unstable and unsure, that with you there should be yea and yea, and nay.

2 Cor. 1:19. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you through us, through me and Silvanus and Timothy, became not yea and nay, but in him was yea. Thereafter he says what word became not yea and nay: that which was preached among you became not yea and nay—that is, it was not that now this was preached, now that; but it became yea, that is, it was preached firmly and immovably. And he enumerates also the multitude of those who preached, both making the testimony worthy of credit, and teaching humility, in that he makes his own disciples fellow-teachers.

2 Cor. 1:20. For as many as are the promises of God, in him is the yea, and in him the Amen, to the glory of God through us. In the preaching there are many things that have been promised: the resurrection of the dead, adoption as sons, and, in a word, the hopes of the age to come. He says, then, that not only does the preaching stand thus, and was preached firmly, but that the promises in it are God’s as well. And what God promised, they have in him the yea, and the Amen—that is, the firmness. For they are fulfilled not in any of men, but in God himself; so that they are firm. But they are also to his glory; and by all means, if for no other reason, yet at least for the sake of his own glory, God will fulfill his promises. And how will he fulfill them? Through us—that is, the occasion to him of fulfilling the promises is those who receive the things promised. If, then, the promises of God are firm, much more shall he himself, and the word concerning him, be firm. Or the words through us are to be taken in another way also: that is, to the glory of God which is brought to him through us; for through us he is glorified.

2 Cor. 1:21–22. Now he who confirms us with you to Christ, and who anointed us, is God; who also sealed us and gave the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Having said above that he himself fulfills the promises, he now establishes this, and says that the very fact that you stand firmly in the faith that is to Christ, and I myself, your teacher, he himself gives; and he himself anointed us and sealed us—that is, he made us prophets, and kings, and priests. For such is every spiritual man: a prophet, having seen the things which the simple did not see; and a priest, as one who ought to offer himself a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God; and a king, as having become a son of God the King of all, and heir of the kingdom to come, and as now reigning over disordered thoughts, and set above the whole world. As, then, of old the priests and kings were anointed with oil, so now also we have been anointed with the Spirit, God having given in our hearts the earnest of the Spirit; and if he gave the earnest, he will assuredly give the whole also. And by “earnest” he means the present gifts of the Spirit. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but then we shall receive that which is perfect, when Christ shall be manifested in his glory. Do not, then, suppose that it is we who promise to you, and that perhaps we shall prove false. For neither are we the ones who establish you, but God both promises, and establishes, both me and you. He, then, will fulfill all things. And you ought to infer besides, that the God who did such and such things, he himself fulfills his own promises.

2 Cor. 1:23. But I call God for a witness upon my soul, that, sparing you, I came no more to Corinth. And yet above he said that, For this reason I did not come, because I had no authority over myself, but was hindered by the Spirit. How then does he now say that, Because I spared you I did not come? Either this very thing is of the Spirit; for the Spirit suggested to him not to come, putting forward the sparing of them. Or because at the beginning the Spirit hindered, but afterward he himself also, reckoning that this was better, remained. Observe his wisdom: since those men said that, For this reason you did not come, because, as it seems, you hated us; he, on the contrary, says that, For this reason I did not come, because I spare you. And this he says because there were certain among them sinning and not having repented, against whom he would have proceeded had he come and found them unamended. He waited, then, that when they had been set right, he might then come, and not find them deserving of punishment.

2 Cor. 1:24. Not that we have lordship over your faith, but we are fellow-workers of your joy. Since again what he had said seemed too imperious (for one spares those over whom, when he punishes them, he is lord), he soothes the roughness of the saying, and says that, I said that I spare you, not because of having authority over your faith (for faith is a matter of free choice, and no one constrains there the one who is unwilling); but because your joy is mine, I did not come, lest I should cast you into grief, and I myself also be grieved. For I do all things for your joy, and on this account I remained, that, finding you set right by the mere threat, I might keep you free from grief.

2 Cor. 1:24. For by faith you stand. He discourses with them in a subdued manner, because of having struck them much in the former Epistle. And what he means is this: In the things that pertain to faith you stand. In these things, then, I had nothing to blame you for; but in others you were being shaken; and had you not set these right, I would have proceeded against them, and with reason would have grieved you, as being myself also grieved.

[1] Translator’s note: The reading βελτίους (“better,” and so “more profitable”) rests on a left-margin reconstruction in Migne; the sense is that the Corinthians had been improved by the first Epistle.

Chapter 2

2 Cor. 2:1. But I determined this with myself, not to come again to you in grief. The word again shows that, You grieved me at another time also; but otherwise [he means], that, For this reason I did not come, lest I should grieve you again; which has indeed the same sense (for on this very account he too grieved them with the penalties, because they grieved him with their sins), only it is not equally severe.

2 Cor. 2:2. For if I grieve you, who then is he that gladdens me, except he who is grieved by me? Even though I grieve you, he says, in rebuking you and turning away from you, yet for this very reason I am gladdened, in that, as it seems, you set great store by me, so as to be stung whenever I turn away from you and rebuke you; for no one, he says, gladdens me so much as he who is grieved when he sees me angered. For he makes plain that he does not despise me. Whence also, by giving hopes of amendment, in this respect too he gladdens me.

2 Cor. 2:3. And I wrote to you this very thing. What thing? That, sparing you, I did not come. And where did I write it? In this Epistle.

2 Cor. 2:3. Lest, when I came, I should have grief from those over whom I ought to rejoice. For this reason, he says, I have now written to you, that you may be set right, and that I may not, coming upon you unamended, have grief over you, who ought to be giving me occasions of gladness.

2 Cor. 2:3. trusting in all of you, that my joy is the joy of you all. I wrote, he says, having confidence that you will be set right, and that from this I shall rejoice. And my joy is the joy of you all. So that for this reason I said, Lest I should be grieved—not looking to my own interest, but to yours. For I know that, if you see me rejoicing, you rejoice; and if grieving, you grieve.

2 Cor. 2:4. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you through many tears. Since he said above, He who is grieved gladdens me, lest they should say, This very thing you are eager for, to grieve us, that you yourself may be gladdened; for this reason he says that, I myself also grieve exceedingly, more than you who sin. For it was not out of affliction simply, but out of much; nor through tears simply, but through many, and out of anguish of heart, I wrote; for despondency seizes my heart, constraining and straitening it, and on this account I wrote. Just as if some father who is a physician, cutting or cauterizing his child, is grieved on both sides—both because he is in pain, and because he is compelled to cut him—yet in another way is gladdened, because of the hope of healing; so I too, seeing you sinning, am grieved; but in another way I am gladdened at your being grieved, because of the hope of your amendment.

2 Cor. 2:4. Not that you should be grieved, but that you should know the love which I have more abundantly toward you. The consistent thing would have been to say, Not that you should be grieved, but that you should be set right; but he does not say this; rather, he sweetens the discourse, wishing to draw them to himself, by showing that he loves them more abundantly than the other disciples, and that, even if he grieves, he grieves out of love, and not out of anger. For it belongs to the greatest love that, when you sin, I am grieved, and hasten to rebuke you, and thereby grieve you. But if I had left you unhealed, it would have been [a mark] of negligence.

2 Cor. 2:5. But if anyone has caused grief, he has grieved not me, but in part—that I may not overburden—all of you. Through these words he wishes love to be confirmed toward the one who had committed fornication, concerning whom he wrote in the former Epistle; for at Paul’s command all had turned away from him as abominable. Lest, then, being commanded the contrary—that is, to receive him, and to forgive him—they should again be scandalized at Paul as inconstant, he handles the discourse most wisely, and makes them partakers of the pardon, saying that, Just as he grieved us in common, so in common again be gladdened at his pardon. For he has grieved, he says, not me alone, but you all also, in part; that is, He grieved you a little—that I may not say that he grieved you utterly—so as not to overburden him; since in truth he grieved you also, in like manner as me; but nevertheless, that I may not overburden him who committed the fornication, in part, I say, you were grieved.

2 Cor. 2:6. Sufficient for such a one is this rebuke, which was [inflicted] by the many. He does not say, To the one who committed fornication, but, To such a one, as also in the former Epistle. But there, indeed, he was unwilling even to name him; while here, sparing him, he does not even anywhere make mention of the sin; teaching us also to be more compassionate toward the contrite.

2 Cor. 2:7. So that, on the contrary, you should rather forgive and comfort him. Not only, he says, loose the rebuke, but bestow something more upon him, and comfort him; that is, recover him, heal him; just as if one who is scourging another should be urged not only to release him, but also to heal his stripes. And well did he say, Forgive. For lest that man should suppose that he was let off as having sufficiently confessed and repented enough, he shows that he receives the remission not so much from his repentance as from their favor.

2 Cor. 2:7. Lest such a one be swallowed up by the excessive grief. He must be received, he says, and comforted, and healed, lest he be swallowed up, as it were by some wild beast, or by a storm and surge—[that is, by] grief; and lest either he come to a halter, like Judas, through despair, or spring away, not bearing the pain of the immoderate rebuke, and be hurled headlong into a greater wickedness. And observe how he restrains that man also, lest he become more slothful after the remission. For I did not receive you, he says, because you have wholly washed off the defilement, but lest you suffer something more grievous through your weakness. And mark, that the penalties must be defined not according to the nature of the sins, but according to the disposition of those who sin.

2 Cor. 2:8. Therefore I beseech you to confirm love toward him. No longer as a teacher does he command, but as an advocate he beseeches the judges to confirm—that is, to ratify—love, and not simply, and as it chanced, to receive him. And he shows also their virtue, if indeed, having formerly so loved the man as even to support him, they now, on account of the sin, so turned away from him that Paul must even beseech on his behalf.

2 Cor. 2:9. For to this end I also wrote, that I might know the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things. He frightens them, that, fearing the condemnation of disobedience, they may readily forgive the man. For to this end, he says, I wrote, that I might know the proof of you—that is, the virtue that is in obedience; that, just as you hearkened to me in rebuking him, so now also you may hearken in comforting him; for this is the meaning of whether you are obedient in all things. And yet it was not for this that he wrote, but for that man’s salvation; nevertheless, where no harm is done, he gratifies them also.

2 Cor. 2:10. But to whom you forgive anything, I also. Through these words he softens the contentiousness and obstinacy that perhaps would rise up among them, so as not to forgive the man. For behold, he sets them as taking the lead in the favor, and himself as following, saying that, To whom you forgive, to that man I also forgive.

2 Cor. 2:10. For I too, if I have forgiven anything, to whom I have forgiven it, [I did so] for your sakes in the person of Christ. Lest they should think themselves lords of forgiving, and on this account also be negligent of releasing the man, he shows them that he himself has already forgiven such a one, so that they can no longer set themselves in array against him. But lest they be wounded as being overlooked, he says, For your sakes I forgave him; for I knew that this is acceptable to you. Then, lest he should seem to have pardoned for men’s sake, he added, In the person of Christ—that is, According to God, and in the sight of Christ, and as though Christ commanded this, and as being a representative of him, I pardoned; or, “to the glory of Christ.” If, then, the pardon is done to the glory of Christ, how must not this man be pardoned, that Christ may be glorified?

2 Cor. 2:11. That we be not overreached by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices. Lest the harm become common, he says, and the number of Christ’s flock be diminished. And well did he name the thing covetousness; for the devil takes not the things that belong to himself, but seizes our things also; and especially if [he does so] through a method of our own—that is, through repentance that becomes immoderate; wherefore he also called the devil’s malice and craft “devices,” and [showed] how under a pretext of piety he destroys. For he trips men up not only by fornication, but also by immoderate grief. How then is it not covetousness, when he captures us even out of our own things?

2 Cor. 2:12–13. Now when I came to Troas for the Gospel of Christ, and a door had been opened to me in the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother. He said above that afflictions came upon him in Asia, and showed how he was delivered from them; now again he teaches that he was afflicted in another way too, by not finding Titus. For when the comforter is not present, the trial is more grievous. So why do you blame me for the delay, who fell in with so many constraints, which did not allow us to travel as we wished? And he does not say simply that he sojourned at Troas, but, For the Gospel—that is, in order to preach. How then did you not preach, and that when a door had been opened to you? I preached indeed, but not for long, because I found not Titus. For I had no rest—that is, I was afflicted, I was pained, because of his absence. Did you then on this account abandon the work of God? Not on this account, but because the work was hindered in his absence. For I indeed greatly desired to preach, but the absence of Titus became a hindrance; for he was a great help when present.

2 Cor. 2:13. But taking leave of them, I went forth into Macedonia. That is, I did not spend more time there, being straitened. For a great door had been opened—that is, much work; only by the absence of my fellow-worker I was hindered.

2 Cor. 2:14. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. Since he had recounted many griefs—the one in Asia, the one in Troas, the one because of not coming to them—lest he should seem to be enumerating these as one lamenting, he says that, I give thanks to God, because he always leads us in triumph—that is, he shows us conspicuous. For a triumph is the procession, with victory and trophies, of a king or general through the midst of the city. And so God too makes us conspicuous with the trophies over the devil. Our dishonors, at least, are our glory; for then the devil falls. And these things come to pass in Christ—that is, on account of Christ and the preaching; or because in Christ we are led in triumph, that is, we are glorified, bearing Christ as a kind of trophy, and in his splendor we too are glorified.

2 Cor. 2:14. And who makes manifest through us the fragrance of the knowledge of him in every place. A costly ointment, he says, is the knowledge of God, which we make manifest to all men; or rather, not the ointment itself, but the fragrance of it. For the present knowledge is not exceedingly clear, but through a mirror and in an enigma. As, then, he who smells the fragrance knows indeed that there is an ointment lying somewhere, but of what nature in its substance, no longer; so we too know that it is, but what it is in its substance, no longer. We are, as it were, a royal censer, and wherever we go, we carry about also the fragrance of the spiritual ointment—that is, of the knowledge of God. Having said above, then, that We are always led in triumph, he now says that, In every place also we make men fragrant. For every place and time is filled with our things. So that we must bear nobly even this, that we are glorified now also, even before the things to come.

2 Cor. 2:15. We are a fragrance of Christ to God, among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing. Either he means this, that We offer ourselves a sacrifice, dying for Christ; or that, At the slaying of Christ, we too are offered up as a kind of incense. And what he means is this: that whether some are being saved, or are perishing, the Gospel abides, holding its own excellence, and we abide being this which we are. And just as the light, even if it darkens the weak, is nonetheless light; and honey, even if it be bitter to those who are jaundiced, is nonetheless sweet; so also the Gospel is fragrant, even if some, disbelieving, perish. And we are a fragrance, and not simply, but, to God. And when he gives the verdict, who is there to gainsay?

2 Cor. 2:16. To the one a fragrance of death to death; to the other a fragrance of life to life. Since he said, We are a fragrance among those who are perishing, lest you should think that they too are acceptable, he added these words, and says that of this fragrance some so receive it as to be saved, others so as to perish; just as the ointment is said to choke both swine and beetles; and Christ is a rock of offense, and set for a fall. This shows that the fire burns up the thorns, but refines the precious things.

2 Cor. 2:16. And who is adequate for this? Since he uttered great things, that We are a fragrance, and that We are led in triumph, again he is modest, and says that for these things our weakness did not suffice, except for the power of God; for his is the whole, and nothing is ours.

2 Cor. 2:17. For we are not, like the many, peddling the word of God. Here he indicates the false apostles, who declared the grace of God to be their own achievement; and he says that, For this reason I said, Who is sufficient? and I referred the whole to God, because I am not, like the false apostles, peddling and adulterating the gift of God. And he intimates that they also falsified the teaching with the sophistries of outward wisdom, and sold for money that which ought to be given freely. But we are not such; he adds, then:

2 Cor. 2:17. But as from sincerity, but as from God, in the sight of God, in Christ we speak. That is, from a pure and guileless mind, and as having from God the things which we speak, and not as ourselves achieving them from our own resources. And in Christ—not in our own wisdom, but resounding with the power that is from him. And he said in the sight of God in order to show the uprightness of his heart and its boldness. For so pure is our heart, that we make it manifest to God.

Chapter 3

2 Cor. 3:1. Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves? Since he uttered great things concerning himself, he says: Perhaps someone will say, What is this, O Paul? You exalt yourself in saying these things about yourself. This objection, then, he resolves through what follows.

2 Cor. 3:1. Unless we need, as some do, letters of commendation to you, or [letters] of commendation from you? This he says with severity, making the discourse more cutting; and he intimates the false apostles, the false ones, who, not having it in them to be known from their own works, fabricated letters of commendation and carried them about wherever they wished, being by these commended and made known. What he means, then, speaking with severity, is this: Unless perhaps someone should say that we must bring letters of commendation to you, that through them we may be made known; or again, [letters] from you to others. Then he adds, with feeling:

2 Cor. 3:2. You are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read by all men. What the letters would have done, commending us and making us reverenced, this you do, both being seen and being heard; and wherever we go, we carry you about; for, written in the heart, we both behold you and point out your virtue to all. So that, since I have you as an epistle commending me to others, I do not need letters from you beforehand, that through them I may be made known to those who do not know me. But also, since you are in my mind, I do not need that any others should commend me to me. For toward those who are unknown one needs letters, not toward those who know; but you are written in my mind, so that you cannot even fall away. And here he bears them witness not only of love, but also of good deeds; if indeed they were able to show to all men the dignity of their teacher. For the virtue of disciples adorns the teacher.

2 Cor. 3:3. Made manifest, that you are an epistle of Christ. How? In that the law of Christ[1] and his commandments abide with you, and are kept in the manner of letters.

2 Cor. 3:3. Ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh. Taking occasion to compare the law with the gospel, he begins from here, and says that, Just as Moses became a minister of the law, so we too became ministers of your faith to the preaching; and just as he hewed[2] the tablets, so we too [hewed] your hearts. And the law indeed was written with ink; but the gospel has been written in you with the Spirit. By as much, then, as the Spirit differs from ink, and a heart from stone, by so much also does the New differ from the law. And the words In tablets that are hearts of flesh, read thus, by transposition: In tablets of flesh; then, in the middle, that is, of hearts. Or also, since the hearts of the hardened are of stone, on this account he called the hearts of the faithful fleshly, as receptive of the word.

2 Cor. 3:4–5. And such confidence we have through Christ toward God; not that we are sufficient of ourselves to reckon anything, as from ourselves. Since he showed the things of the New to be greater than those of the Old, and the consistent inference was to conclude that, We too, then, the apostles, the ministers of the New, are greater than Moses, who ministered to the Old—but this seemed [a mark] of arrogance—he says that, Nothing is ours, but our confidence—that is, our boasting—is through Christ toward God. For Christ is the cause to us of boasting in God, and nothing is ours, not even the least. For this is what he makes plain by saying, For we are not sufficient to reckon anything as from ourselves.

2 Cor. 3:5–6. But our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of a New Covenant. Our power, he says, is from God; for he himself made us sufficient—that is, empowered us, wrought us fit—as ministers of this great and divine thing, the New Covenant.

2 Cor. 3:6. Not of letter, but of Spirit. The law also indeed was spiritual—that is, set down by the Spirit; yet it did not supply the Spirit, as the New does. This, then, is what he means: that We were entrusted not with letter, as Moses was, but with the supply of Spirit. For the apostles not only taught spiritual and divine things, but also, laying on their hands, gave the Spirit.

2 Cor. 3:6. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The law, he says, if it take one who has sinned in what seems a very small matter—as the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath—puts him to death; but the Holy Spirit, receiving those who have transgressed in ten thousand evil things, justifies them in the laver of baptism, and gives life to those who are dead in sin.

2 Cor. 3:7. But if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came to be in glory. Having taught above the difference of the New as compared with the Old—that the one was written with ink, this with the Spirit; and the one on stones, this on hearts; and the one kills, but this gives life—he now wishes to show that the glory of the Gospel also is greater. But since the law had a sensible glory, that of the face of Moses, while the New has an intelligible glory, which no one beholds sensibly, he shows the surpassing excellence of the glory of the Gospel from reasoning, and says: that the law was a minister of death. And he did not say productive, lest he give room to the heretics, but a servant. For sin was productive of death; but this brought on the punishment. And it was also mere letters, supplying no help to those who struggle—which is what happens in baptism—but rather pointing out the penalties as ineffaceable. For engraved on stones, he says, was this ministry of death. If, then, the law, being such, came to be in glory, how much more the grace, which surpasses incomparably?

2 Cor. 3:7. So that the sons of Israel could not gaze upon the face of Moses, because of the glory of his face, which was being done away. And he accuses the Jews with reason. For so gross were they, he says, as not to be able even to behold a sensible glory. And he did not say that the law and the tablets had the glory, but the face of Moses; for Moses was glorious, not the tablets of the law. But he also takes down this very glory of Moses, calling it being done away, instead of, ceasing. And observe that he did not say, The evil [glory], but, That which takes an end, and is being brought to a close.

2 Cor. 3:8. How shall not the ministry of the Spirit be much more in glory? Just as he called the law a ministry of death, the consistent thing was to call the gospel a ministry of life; but he said the greater thing, of the Spirit. For the New Covenant has the supply not of life only, but, what is greater, of the Spirit also, which supplies the life. Much more, then, shall this be in glory than the law.

2 Cor. 3:9. For if the ministry of condemnation was glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. Again he turns the same thought about; and, in explaining how he said that The letter kills, he says that the law is a ministry of condemnation, as punitive of sin, not productive of it; and the Gospel a ministry of righteousness; for it not only releases from punishment, but also justifies sinners.

2 Cor. 3:10. For indeed that which was glorified has not been glorified in this respect, by reason of the surpassing glory. And why, he says, do I compare the Old and the New? For so great is the surpassing excellence of the New that in this respect—that is, in being compared—that which was glorified, namely the Old, will not be reckoned even to have glory, because of the surpassing glory of the New. For although the law was glorified, considered in itself, yet, because of the surpassing measure of the glory of the Gospel, it appears without glory. And observe that in this also he commends the Old; for comparisons are made among good things.

2 Cor. 3:11. For if that which is being done away [came] through glory, much more that which abides [is] in glory. And he adds another reasoning. For if the law, which was to be done away and to cease, was given through glory, much more shall the abiding New Covenant, which ever continues, be in glory.

2 Cor. 3:12. Having, therefore, such a hope, we use great boldness. Since he bore witness to some great glory of the New, but the hearers perhaps, as being weak, desired to see a sensible glory, he says that, We have a hope. Of what kind? That we, all who have believed, have been counted worthy of greater things than Moses; and on this account we use great boldness toward those who are being taught, hiding nothing, withholding nothing; and we do not dread your faces, as Moses did those of the Jews; for you are not weak, as they were. For Moses, after receiving the tablets the second time, having come down from the mountain, had his face shining, so that the Jews could not approach him and converse with him, until he put a veil upon his face. Of this history Paul now reminds them, and says:

2 Cor. 3:13. And not as Moses, who put a veil upon his face, that the sons of Israel should not gaze upon the end of that which was being done away. That is, there is no need for us to be veiled, as Moses was; for you are able to see this glory which we have, the glory of the Gospel, though it is brighter than that one; that is, you are able to understand the mysteries of God, namely the gospel, and we need not hide these things from you, as with a kind of veil, [namely] by obscurity. But the Israelites, being gross, were not able to see that the law has an end, and that it would be done away; for the veil signifies their gross understanding, as you will learn hereafter. But some understood it thus: that this very thing, their not being able to gaze, showed that the glory had an end. For, not being seen, neither was it a glory; and thus it was made plain that it would be short-lived, from its not even being seen openly.

2 Cor. 3:14. But their minds were hardened; until this day the same veil remains upon the reading of the Old Covenant, not being uncovered, because in Christ it is done away. Their mind was hardened, he says, and on this account neither did those of that time see, nor those of now, as being hardened, and having the same veil upon the face of Moses—that is, in the superficial reading of the law (for Christ calls the law Moses, as in the saying, They have Moses and the prophets;)—and it is not uncovered to them, nor discerned, that Christ was to abolish the Old. So that the fault is of their own mind; for the hardening is a fault of the mind. Do not, then, he says, marvel if the Jews cannot see the glory of Christ and believe; for neither were they able to see that of the law, the lesser. For if they had seen that one, they would assuredly have seen that of Christ also. For the glory of the law is to turn toward Christ. And where did he say that the law was to be abolished in Christ? Both in the saying, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up to you; him you shall hear in all things. So that, since they were commanded to hear him, and he both loosed the Sabbaths, and circumcision, and all the rest, the law therefore ordained beforehand its own dissolution. But also, in commanding that the sacrifices should be made in one temple only, and then in destroying this same temple, he did not abolish the sacrifices utterly. And, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek; and, Sacrifice and offering you did not desire. For all these things are a dissolution of the law.

2 Cor. 3:15. But to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their heart. Since he had said above that a veil lies upon the reading of the Old, lest anyone should think that by “veil” he means the obscurity of the law, No, he says, but [I mean] the hardening and grossness of their heart; this I call a veil; since even upon the face of Moses it lay, not on his account, but on account of their grossness and dull-sightedness.

2 Cor. 3:16–17. But whenever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away; and the Lord is the Spirit. He now states the manner by which it is possible for the Israelites to be set right. Whenever it shall turn to the Lord, he says—that is, Whenever it departs from the law, and draws near to the spiritual Gospel, then the veil is taken away. For indeed in the history also, when Moses turned to God, he was unveiled. And this was a type of the future: that whenever one turns to the Spirit (for this is the Lord), then he shall see bare the face of the lawgiver; or rather, he himself shall be in the rank of Moses, and shall enjoy the glory that surpasses the glory of the law, as much as has been said; for this the Spirit will bestow upon you, as Lord and almighty.

2 Cor. 3:17. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. In the law there was a yoke and slavery; but in the law of the Spirit and in the Gospel, freedom, so as to behold the glory of the Lord without hindrance and freely.

2 Cor. 3:18. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord, the Spirit. So great is the freedom and nobility we enjoy, he says, that all we who are faithful—not, as there, one alone, Moses—with unveiled face (for among the believers there is no veil) beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image; that is, we partake of the same glory, being as it were a mirror and receiving the splendor, and again reflecting it back. And just as silver lying opposite sends back certain rays itself also at the striking of the sun upon it, so we too, being cleansed in baptism through the Spirit, and illumined by his rays, send back ourselves also a kind of intelligible radiance, and are transformed into the same image, from the glory which is of the Spirit, to our own glory—and such a glory as it is fitting for him to have who is illumined by the Spirit of the Lord, and is subject to none. For being Lord, he has lordly splendors also. For all the faithful are filled with the Holy Spirit through baptism, and their soul shines; since Moses too, having beheld the divine glory, was himself also transformed toward it—that is, he too partook of it, and his face shone, being a type of us.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek here, τῷ τῶν νόμον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, is uncertain (a left-margin reading in Migne) and grammatically irregular; some would read τοῖς νόμοις (“by the laws”). It is rendered here as “the law of Christ.”

[2] Translator’s note: The verb ἐλάβευσεν is an unusual form; the sense required is “hewed” or “engraved” (of Moses cutting the tablets), and it is so rendered.

Chapter 4

2 Cor. 4:1. Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we faint not. Since he had said many and great things—that We the apostles are greater even than Moses (for if all are, much more these)—he now tends the swelling, and says that the whole is nothing. For we are only ministers, and not even this, the ministry, is our own, but, even as, he says, we obtained mercy; for this too is of the divine mercy. And the inversion, Therefore we faint not; that is, Because we were accounted worthy of such things, we do not give up before the dangers, before the afflictions, since, having once obtained mercy, we were appointed his ministers.

2 Cor. 4:2. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness. He hints at the false apostles, who dissembled in all things. Taking secretly, they appeared not to take; they seemed holy, and were unclean. We, then, he says, have renounced the doing of such things as, when brought to light, put to shame the one who does them—those, that is, which are done with dissimulation. For he adds, Not walking in craftiness. So that these are the things that work shame—the things done in craftiness. And if you should understand this also of shameful deeds, it is nothing strange; such too were the false apostles.

2 Cor. 4:2. Nor handling the word of God deceitfully. Not only, he says, is our life simple and pure and free from guile, but our doctrine also and our word are simple. For we mix into it nothing of the outside wisdom, nor anything flattering, nor do we gather money from preaching the word,[1] teaching now this and now that according to the seasons and the persons, as the false apostles do.

2 Cor. 4:2. But by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every conscience of men in the sight of God. The false apostles, he says, commend themselves by dissimulations, and by appearing to be one thing while being another; but I commend myself by the manifestation of the truth; that is, using the very deeds as witnesses—as when I say that I take nothing, and have you as witnesses; and so likewise for the rest. Thus I commend myself to all men, both unbelievers and believers, laying my life bare and setting the preaching openly before all, that they may learn it. Then, since it is possible to deceive men, he says, In the sight of God, whom the false apostles would not consent to have as a witness.

2 Cor. 4:3. But if our gospel also is hidden, it is hidden in them that perish. Having said above that, even if a veil lay upon the Israelites, yet we the faithful behold with unveiled face, he now says that, Even if the gospel is hidden, it is hidden to the unbelievers. For what then befell the Jews with respect to Moses, this now befalls the unbelievers with respect to the gospel. And the charge is theirs, not the gospel’s; since, if indeed they had believed, they too would have beheld unveiled the glory of God.

2 Cor. 4:4. In whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should not dawn upon them. For among the manifold, he says, as also the diverse, are the unbelievers too; the minds, therefore, of these the god of this age blinded. Here the Marcionites say that these things are spoken of the Demiurge, whom they call just and good; and the Manichaeans, of the devil, whom they also call the maker of this world. But it is neither of these; rather it is spoken of our God. And if he is called the God of this age, it is nothing strange, since he is called also the God of heaven; and he is not the God of this only; and the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and not of these only, but of all. What, then, is strange if now also Paul has opportunely named him God of this age, that he may the rather show the unbelievers that He made these visible things too, in which they luxuriate while they set him at nought? And it is also to be read thus: that Of the unbelievers of this age he blinded the minds; for the age to come has no unbelievers. And what is He blinded? That is, he permitted them to be blind; as also the saying, He gave them up to passions of dishonour. For since they leaped away from him, he let them be, he forsook them; for he does not force toward salvation. And mark that he did not say that he blinded them to unbelief, but to the not seeing by their profane eyes the light of the glory of Christ. And the light is to believe that he was crucified, that he was taken up, that he will give the things to come. As if one should shut off a man whose eyes are diseased from seeing the rays of the sun, lest he be further harmed; so then these too became unbelievers of themselves, and to them, being become such, God shut off the rays of the glory of the Gospel, as also to the Israelites the face of Moses. So also he charged us not to cast the pearls before the swine. And well did he say Dawn; for we have now a moderate radiance, and not the whole light—which before he called a fragrance and a pledge, showing that the greater part remains yonder.

2 Cor. 4:4. Who is the image of the invisible God. He shows here that they are ignorant not only of the glory of Christ, but also of that of the Father. For since Christ is the image of the Father, he who does not see him knows not him either.

2 Cor. 4:5. For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for the sake of Christ. Above he said, We walk not in craftiness; then he inserted the matters concerning the unbelievers, how they are veiled. He says, therefore, now that For this reason we do not deal craftily, because we preach not ourselves, as the false apostles do. For they persuaded the disciples to be named after themselves, as he showed also in the former epistle: I am of Apollos, and I of Cephas. Or else, that Do not suppose, as they who war against us seek to make you think, that you war against us. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ. Against him, then, you war, the one preached. For we are so far from preaching ourselves that we do not even refuse to be your servants for Christ’s sake; that is, Because he so loved us, and did all things for our sake.

2 Cor. 4:6. For the God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Why, he says, do we not preach ourselves? Because God shined in our hearts, as of old into the face of Moses, so now into us. Yet not as at the first creation, where he spoke and there came light out of darkness, so now also he spoke and there came light; but he himself became light to us. For he himself shined to us in the face of Christ; that is, through Christ. For through Christ the Father shines in us, and bestows the light of the knowledge—not of his essence, but of the glory. And mark the theology of the Trinity in Paul even here: concerning the Spirit, We behold the glory of the Lord; the Lord is the Spirit; concerning the Son, The light of the glory of the Gospel of Christ; and concerning the Father now, the light of the knowledge of the glory of him.

2 Cor. 4:7. But we have this treasure in clay jars, Since he had said many and great things concerning the unspeakable glory, lest anyone say, And how do we, who have received such things as you say, remain in a mortal body? he says that This very thing too is of the power of God, that an earthen vessel contains such treasures.

2 Cor. 4:7. That the excellency of the power may be God’s, and not from us. That, he says, the excellency of the power of God shown forth in us may be his, and that we may not be thought to accomplish anything of ourselves, but that all who behold may say that the whole is God’s. And he hints at the false apostles, that they ascribed the whole to themselves.

2 Cor. 4:8. In everything afflicted, but not straitened. And so great, he says, is the whole of the power of God, that although we are earthen, and beaten about by so many trials, we are not shattered and do not lose the treasure within us. For we are afflicted in every season, and place, and matter, and among friends, among enemies; but we are not straitened, since God enlarges our hearts.

2 Cor. 4:8. perplexed, but not driven to despair; This is, falling into perplexities and straits, yet standing upright and not despairing and falling, but finding ways through in God and conquering.

2 Cor. 4:9. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Men persecute us, but God does not forsake us. For these things are permitted for our exercise, not for our defeat.

2 Cor. 4:9. struck down, but not destroyed; Cast down in body and in outward things by our adversaries, but not destroyed—by the eagerness and the firmness of the soul, and, as to the body itself also, preserved by God.

2 Cor. 4:10. always carrying around in the body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be revealed in our body. That is, undergoing daily deaths, and ever imitating the death of the Lord, and thereby showing also his life, that is, the resurrection, in our body. For if anyone disbelieves that the Lord is risen, seeing us dying day by day and yet living day by day, he could no longer with reason disbelieve.

2 Cor. 4:11. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh. By these words he interprets how he had spoken of the dying of Jesus; for it was obscure, and he is ever wont to make clear the obscure things. And the saying, That the life of Jesus may be made manifest, is, in addition to the former interpretation, to be taken also thus: that As we endure the death of Christ, and, living, choose to die for his sake, so also he will choose to give life to us when we are dead; which he says also elsewhere: For if we died with him, we shall also live with him.

2 Cor. 4:12. So then death works in us, but life in you. By death here he means the trials, saying this: that We are in dangers, but you reap the life that comes from the dangers, since the gospel is preached to you, through which you live the eternal life.

2 Cor. 4:13. And having the same Spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore also speak. He had made mention of trials and of deaths above; then, that Jesus delivers us also out of these, he says; and he added a consideration, that for this reason he delivers us, that he may confirm his own resurrection. Now therefore, he says, that this must be assured by faith also, and not by reasonings alone. And he says that As David, being in trials, and delivered by God alone, said, I believed, therefore have I spoken; so we also, having the same Spirit of faith which he too had, believe, and therefore also speak, that as Jesus rose, so we also shall both now prevail over the dangers and again rise together with him. And note that the same Spirit is in the Old also, and in the New, on account of those who are ignorant of the law.

2 Cor. 4:14–15. Knowing that he who raised up Jesus shall raise up us also, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the grace which has abounded may, through the more, make the thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. What do we believe, he says, and what do we know? That even now he will deliver us out of the dangers, and afterward will raise us up, he who raised up Jesus also, and will present us with you to enjoy the good things. And he encourages them toward faith and the good manner of life. And hinting at the false apostles, who say, We are the mediators to the disciples of the good things from God, he says that For your sakes are all things, and this resurrection, and not for the sake of this man or that. And this God does, and bestows upon many, so that, the grace abounding, the thanksgiving also may abound, being brought through many persons to the glory of God. So that the false apostles, by appropriating the grace of God, darken also his glory.

2 Cor. 4:16. Therefore we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward is renewed day by day. Because, he says, we know the power of God, and that he both now delivers us from the dangers and afterward will raise us up in splendour, we faint not, neither do we give up in suffering; and the outward man, that is, the body, perishes. How? By being scourged, by being driven about. But the inward, that is, the spirit and the soul, is renewed. How? By having good hopes, and by speaking with boldness, as suffering for God’s sake, and rejoicing.

2 Cor. 4:17. For our momentary lightness of affliction, exceedingly to excess, works for us an eternal weight of glory. He interprets how the inward man is renewed, and says that he considers that the affliction is momentary, that is, temporary and light, for this very reason that it is temporary; but the glory is both eternal, and has weight, that is, a greatness excessively excessive; for this he says by the words, Exceedingly to excess.

2 Cor. 4:18. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. He shows how the affliction is light. Because, he says, all the things that are seen are temporary; so that both the affliction and the repose; for this too is a thing seen. For this reason he said The things that are seen, that he might include this also. We shall therefore neither be cast down by the affliction, nor be made slack by the repose; for both are temporary. And these being such, the things not seen are eternal, that is, the kingdom and the punishment; so that we should both long for the one and flee the other.

[1] Translator’s note: This reads “we gather money from [preaching] the word.”

Chapter 5

2 Cor. 5:1. For we know that if our earthly house of the tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Since he had said above that, as far as the outward man perishes, so far the inward is renewed, he seemed to be saying something strange; he says that rather, when this mortal and earthy body is wholly destroyed, then myriad good things will spring up for us; and at the same time he discourses to them again concerning the resurrection, though not so plainly as in the former epistle, lest he seem still to reckon them incorrigible. And he called the body an earthly house of the tabernacle; and by calling it a tabernacle, he showed its temporariness; for such is a tent. And if often the resting-places of the righteous also are called tents, yet it is with an addition; for they are eternal tents. And mark how against the earthly he set the heavenly; against the tabernacle, the eternal. And, augmenting the praise of the coming glory of our body, he added also Not made with hands; not as in contradistinction to this body—for neither is this made with hands. But some say that the house made with hands is the life on earth, and the tabernacle the body; so that the meaning is this: If the life of our body on earth be dissolved—which might also be called made with hands, as being put together by hands (for bread and wine, and such things, from which our life also comes, are made by hands)—we shall have another life in the heavens, incorruptible and not made with hands, that is, not needing the labour of our hands.

2 Cor. 5:2. For indeed in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven. What habitation? The incorruptible body. And he says it is from heaven, not because it comes down from above, but because from thence it has the grace of incorruption sent forth. So far, then, ought we not to grieve over the trials that befall the body in part, that on the contrary we ought rather to groan, because we do not wholly put off the corruptible body, that we may be clothed upon with this incorruptible one. For this reason he did not even call it a tabernacle, but a habitation, as more abiding.

2 Cor. 5:3. If so be that being clothed also we shall not be found naked. Lest all should take courage on account of the incorruption of the body, he says: if indeed, having put it on, with incorruption, and having received an incorruptible body, we will not be found naked of glory and security, as having unseemliness from sin. For the resurrection is common, but the honour is not.

2 Cor. 5:4. For indeed we who are in this tabernacle groan, being burdened; in that we wish not to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon, that mortality may be swallowed up of life. Since what he was saying seemed burdensome—that We groan, desiring to be released from the body (for there is an unspeakable bond of the soul toward the body)—he says that Not for this do we groan, that we may simply be released from the body, but wishing to be clothed upon with incorruption; so that we do not even wish to be unclothed of this, but to be released from corruption, that the corruption may be consumed and spent by life, not the body. For we are burdened not simply on account of the body, but because it is corruptible. And hence the mouths of the heretics are utterly stopped. For the word is not concerning one body and another, but concerning corruption and incorruption.

2 Cor. 5:5. And he who wrought us for this very thing is God. It is God, he says, who wrought us from the beginning for this very thing; for he created us that we might be incorruptible; and this did not seem good to him now, but from the beginning. So that it will assuredly come to pass.

2 Cor. 5:5. Who also gave us the pledge of the Spirit. Do you wish, he says, a proof? I will give you another also. By giving us the Spirit through baptism, he gave the pledge of incorruption. For he sanctified both soul and body, and made both more divine, releasing them from sin, out of which comes death. So that since he has given the Spirit, it is manifest that he has released us from sin; and having released us from sin, he has also abolished corruption; for corruption is from sin. Thus, then, the Spirit is a pledge of the coming immortality. And in another way too: having now given us the Spirit in part, he has assuredly given a kind of pledge, so that he will give the whole also. And how should he give it, unless we were to be made incorruptible both in soul and in body? Having received here, then, the little, both in soul and in body, as a kind of pledge, hope that you will then have the whole also in its entirety.

2 Cor. 5:6–8. Being therefore always confident, and knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight), we are confident, and are well pleased rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord. He still establishes that which he said above, that We are not anxious about the dangers; for the dangers, he says, and the deaths procure for us the thing to be prayed for, incorruption, for which we also groan, and bring us the sooner to our Master. Being therefore always confident, that is, Fearing neither persecutions, nor plots, nor deaths. And mark his wisdom, how he hid the names of death and of life; and he called the being at home a being toward the Lord, and the being absent a being away from the Lord, that no one might cling to the present life, as though it led away from the Lord. Then, lest anyone say, What then? does the body estrange us from God? he corrected this, saying, For we walk by faith, not by sight; that is, Here indeed we know him, but in measure; for this is the meaning of By faith; not, however, face to face, which is the meaning of By sight. And since these things are so, We are well pleased, that is, We greatly desire to put off this body, and to be with the Lord. And he did not say, To partake of incorruption, but the greater thing, To be with the Lord; for this is greater than incorruption.

2 Cor. 5:9. Therefore also we are ambitious, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing to him. This is the thing sought, to live in a manner well-pleasing to him. For lest, hearing of the departure, you should suppose that this suffices you for salvation, he says, Be earnest to depart approved, by living here in a manner well-pleasing to him.

2 Cor. 5:10. For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ. He frightens here by the reminder of that fearful judgment-seat, and by saying, We must be made manifest. For do not suppose that there walls, and curtains, and the depth of the heart hide either the deeds or the counsels, but all are made manifest.

2 Cor. 5:10. That each one may receive the things done through the body, according to what he has done, whether good or evil. By these words he makes the more hopeful those who have done well; and the more slothful more earnest through fear. And he confirms also the doctrine concerning the resurrection of the bodies; for that which ministered, whether to good or to base deeds, that assuredly is either crowned or punished. Hence too the mouths of the heretics are stopped.

2 Cor. 5:11. Knowing therefore the fear of God, we persuade men; but we have been made manifest to God; and I hope also to have been made manifest in your consciences. Knowing, he says, that fearful tribunal, we do all things so as not to give offence to men; for this is the meaning of We persuade men, instead of, We heal the occasions of stumbling. For even if we do nothing evil, yet give ground for suspicion, and, being able to dissolve the offence, do not dissolve it, we are condemned; to God, however, we are manifest, and he knows how we conduct ourselves; and there is no need to persuade him, as though he were offended. And to you also we have been made manifest, as to those who well know all our affairs. There is no need, therefore, to persuade you as though you had been offended.

2 Cor. 5:12. For we do not again commend ourselves to you, but are giving you occasion of glorying on our behalf. Continually he rubs off the suspicion of seeming to boast, and says that We came to these words not commending ourselves, that is, exalting our own praise, but that you might have occasion of glorying on our behalf against the false apostles, who disparage you.

2 Cor. 5:12. That you may have something against those who glory in appearance, and not in heart. That you may have something to say and to glory on our behalf against the false apostles, who gloried in appearance; that is, in the things for display, in the things according to the outward face. For such were they, having indeed the mask of piety, but bearing in the heart nothing good. And he does not bid them glory always, but whenever those men exalt themselves.

2 Cor. 5:13. For whether we were beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether we are sober-minded, it is for you. Whether we utter anything great (for he calls this being beside oneself, as also elsewhere folly), we do it for God’s sake, that you, not thinking us mean, may not despise us and perish; or whether we say anything moderate and lowly, it is for your sakes, that you may learn to be humble-minded. Or also in another way: if anyone suspects us to be mad, we await the reward from God for the things in which we are suspected on such grounds; but if he deems us sober-minded, let him himself enjoy the benefit of our being sober-minded. And in another way: If we are mad, we are mad in such things for God’s sake, that we may present ourselves to him. And Paul, then, was mad with a love-madness, loving God, and living to him as a lover to the beloved—I mean, having gone out of himself, and wholly passed over to God; and not living his own life, but that of the beloved, as one exceedingly in love, or rather full of affection. If, then, we were beside ourselves, he says, of them, it was wholly to God that we were beside ourselves, instead of, for God’s sake.

2 Cor. 5:14–15. For the love of Christ constrains us, because we thus judged, that if one died for all, then all died; that they who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who died for them and rose again. The love of God which he showed toward us constrains us and impels us to face danger for his sake, having judged this well within ourselves, that since he died for all, it is manifest that we all were perished, and for this reason he died for the perished and slain, that he might give us life. Since, then, he gave us life, we ought no longer to live to ourselves, but to him for whose sake we live; who not only died for us, but also rose again, our firstfruits,[1] that is, having led his own body up into heaven, and that he might also assuredly lead us up. For what need at all was there for him to ascend, unless we too were to obtain the like? So that both because he died for us, and because he gave us life, and because he gave us the pledges of incorruption, we ought to live to him, and not to our own desires.

2 Cor. 5:16. So that we from now know no one according to the flesh. Since all, having been slain by sin, were brought to life again by Christ through baptism, with reason we know no one, he says, of the faithful as living according to the flesh, that is, according to the old and fleshly manner of life. For having been wholly regenerated by the Spirit, they pass over to a new and spiritual life.

2 Cor. 5:16. But if we have also known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. He shows that of this very thing also, the not living according to the flesh, I mean, we have Christ as leader; and he says that Even if Christ was once according to the flesh, yet now he is so no longer. What then? Did he lay aside the flesh? God forbid; for as he was taken up, so also will he come. And he was taken up in the flesh and with the body. What, then, does he mean? That we are said to live according to the flesh then, when we are in sins; and then not to live according to the flesh, when we do not sin. But Christ is said to have lived according to the flesh when he was in the natural and blameless passions, hungering, thirsting, sleeping, growing weary. But now, no longer according to the flesh; that is, he was released from these natural and blameless things, having an impassible and undefiled body; that he might, he says, assuredly teach us also out of his abundance to live no longer according to the flesh, and in the manner of sin, but according to the spirit.

2 Cor. 5:17. So that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. If anyone has believed in Christ, he has come into another fashioning, and has become a new creation. We ought not, therefore, to live according to the old things.

2 Cor. 5:17. The old has passed away; see, everything has become new. What old things? Both the things of sin and the Jewish things; for the old sin too is passed away, and a new soul has come to be for us, and a new body; and in place of all the Jewish things, all things are new for us: instead of the law, the gospel; instead of Jerusalem, heaven; instead of the temple, the inner part within the veil, in which is the Trinity; instead of circumcision, baptism; instead of the manna, the body of God; instead of the water, the blood of the Master; instead of the rod of Moses or Aaron, the cross; instead of the lamb, the Son of God; and the rest likewise.

2 Cor. 5:18. But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ. And all these things have been given to us of God, who reconciled us to himself through the mediation of his Son. For we did not run to him, but he himself called us through the death of the Son.

2 Cor. 5:18. And gave to us the ministry of the reconciliation. O depth of loving-kindness! For the Father, having sent the Son as ambassador, and then seeing him slain by those who had need of the reconciliation, not even so neglected men, but gave the ministry of the reconciliation to us, he says, to the apostles, that going about we might be ambassadors to the apostates from God, and bring them to him.

2 Cor. 5:19. To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses. He said above that he himself reconciled us to himself. Lest, then, anyone say, And yet he sent the Son, he now says that He sent the Son indeed; but it was not the Son alone who entreated, but the Father also was reconciling the world to himself through Christ; for this is the meaning of In Christ; and showing such goodness to men that he not only did not punish, but was even reconciled; and not only forgave, but did not even reckon their sins. For indeed, if he had wished to demand an account, they would assuredly have perished.

2 Cor. 5:19. And put in us the word of the reconciliation. Nothing burdensome, then, were we appointed by God to do to you, but to reconcile you to him. For since those before Christ, he says, were not persuaded, do you remain entreating, until you persuade.

2 Cor. 5:20. On behalf of Christ, therefore, we are ambassadors, as though God were entreating by us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. On behalf of Christ, that is, in Christ’s stead we are ambassadors. For what he was about to do, we have now undertaken; and as through him the Father entreated us, so now also through us he entreats, that you may be reconciled to him. And he did not say, Reconcile God to yourselves, but, Be you reconciled to him. For you are at enmity with him, but he never with you; for he is God and Father. And as though God had offended against them, so he makes the embassy, that they may forgive God. O riches of compassion and of condescension!

2 Cor. 5:21. For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. That I may not mention, he says, all the rest—that you dishonoured your benefactor, that he did not demand satisfaction, that rather he himself first chose to be reconciled—is it not, even for what he did, now unworthy in you to be reconciled to him? What is this? That his Son, who knew no sin, that is, who is righteousness itself, he made to die on our behalf as a sinner and a malefactor. For cursed is everyone that hangs upon a tree; and, He was reckoned with the lawless. And he did not say that he made him a sinner, but sin; which is the greater thing. That what might come to pass? That we might be justified—not by works of the law, but by the grace of God. For this is the righteousness of God, when one is justified by grace, when no stain is found; for this reason he did not say, That we might become righteous, but, The righteousness of God, declaring the surpassing greatness of the grace.

[1] Translator’s note: This reads “our firstfruits” (τὴν ἀπαρχὴν ἡμῶν), standing in apposition to “rose again” (cf. 1 Cor 15:20, “Christ the firstfruits of them that slept”).

Chapter 6

2 Cor. 6:1. And working together we also entreat, that you receive not the grace of God in vain. We work together, he says, both with you and with God: with you, that you may be saved; and with God, to the fulfilling of his will, that is, the saving of us; and we entreat always, according to his presence, and as long as we are in this life, that you receive not the grace of God in vain. For what profit is it to be released from sins by the divine grace, and then again to be filled with them through one’s own sloth? For again there is enmity, and the grace becomes thenceforth void to us. Do not, then, suppose that to have believed, this alone is reconciliation, but there is need also of the manner of life.

2 Cor. 6:2. For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and in a day of salvation I helped you; behold, now is the well-accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation. Now is the well-accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation. This—Why well-accepted? The time of grace, in which is remission of sins and the bestowal of righteousness; an acceptable time, in which God receives us, and hearkens to us, and saves. For in the time of judgment he will neither hearken, nor help, nor save. In this time of grace, therefore, we ought to struggle; for easily shall we obtain the good things.

2 Cor. 6:3. Giving no occasion of stumbling in anything, that the ministry be not blamed. We entreat, he says, and work together. How? By conducting ourselves without offence. And in the manner of a narrative he counsels, that they too may look to him. For thus, he says, do I direct my life, that—I do not say of accusation, but not even of bare blame—rather, I give no one room for stumbling, that the ministry be not blamed. Again he did not say, That it be not accused, but, That my work and my ministry receive not even the slightest reproach. But some interpreted thus: That the reproach run not back upon the preaching; for this he calls his ministry. For if I live ill, the preaching will be trampled upon, and the blasphemy will run back upon Christ and the faith.

2 Cor. 6:4. But in everything commending ourselves, as ministers of God. This is the greater thing, not only to make oneself clear of accusations and reproaches, but also to display such a life that through it one is seen to be a minister of God. And he did not say, Appearing, but, Commending, that is, demonstrating.

2 Cor. 6:4. In much endurance. He tells also the manner, how he became such, that it was thus through endurance; and not simply, but also much. For it does not suffice to bear one thing and a second, but one must endure to the end.

2 Cor. 6:4. In afflictions, in necessities. This is the intensifying of the affliction, when the evils that throttle the man are without outlet.

2 Cor. 6:4. In straits. Those from famine, or simply those of the trials.

2 Cor. 6:5. In stripes, in imprisonments. When there are both stripes and imprisonments, see how great the evil; whereas even either of these by itself is most grievous.

2 Cor. 6:5. In tumults. That is, in persecutions, when one has nowhere to stand, being driven from place to place.

2 Cor. 6:5. in labors, in sleepless nights, in fastings. Having told the things from those outside, he here adds the things from himself, with which he willingly afflicted himself: Labours, those of the hands, by which he fed both himself and others; and with all these he also watched and fasted.

2 Cor. 6:6. In purity. By this he means chastity, or rather purity in all things, and incorruptibility by gifts, and preaching without expense.

2 Cor. 6:6. In knowledge. That is, in the wisdom of God, which is truly knowledge; not in the outside wisdom, like the false apostles.

2 Cor. 6:6. In long-suffering, in kindness. It is the mark of an adamantine soul, when provoked and goaded on every side, not only to be long-suffering, but also to show kindness.

2 Cor. 6:6. In the Holy Spirit. He shows whence he accomplished all these things: that it was in the Holy Spirit. And when he had displayed the things from himself, then he set down the help of the Holy Spirit. And it is understood also of spiritual gifts; for in these too we show that we are ministers of God, in that we display miracles. Or that even in the Holy Spirit we gave no offence, that is, in the gifts of the Spirit. For many, being lifted up, like those who have tongues, do not use these as they ought; but Paul not so.

2 Cor. 6:6. In love unfeigned. This is the cause of all good things; this it was that made the Spirit also to remain with us.

2 Cor. 6:7. In the word of truth. That is, rightly dividing the word of God.

2 Cor. 6:7. In the power of God. Nothing, he says, is mine, but all these things came to pass in the power of God, or also in signs and wonders, and the demonstrative power.

2 Cor. 6:7. Through the weapons of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. The left-hand weapons of righteousness are all the grievous things; weapons, as walling about and setting in safety; and left, on account of the opinion of the many. For indeed the Lord also commanded us to pray not to enter into temptation. And the right are the more cheerful things. Through both, therefore, Paul was shown blameless, neither contracted by the grievous things, nor puffed up by the more cheerful, but as doing these things of righteousness.

2 Cor. 6:8. Through glory and dishonour. He interpreted the right-hand and left-hand things, that they are glory and inglory. But how is glory a weapon of righteousness? Because the honouring of teachers leads many to piety. What, then, is this an achievement of Paul’s? Yes, because he was not made vain by being glorified; and the inglory, working endurance, made him approved, and showed the preaching to be of good odour.

2 Cor. 6:8. Through evil report and good report. This too is a great thing, to endure evil report; for it greatly fastens upon the soul. Wherefore the Lord also blesses those who endure reproach. For in the tortures the body shares with the soul the pains; but in the evil report, the whole weight is upon the soul. Whence to Job also this was heavier than the rest.

2 Cor. 6:8. As deceivers, and yet true. This is what he says, Through evil report and good report.

2 Cor. 6:9. As unknown, and yet well known. For some were greatly sought after and familiar; but others did not even deign to know them. And this is the same as Through glory and dishonour.

2 Cor. 6:9. As dying, and behold we live. That is, as men under sentence of death and condemned, and, so far as concerns the purpose of those who plot against us, dying; but, on account of the power of God, behold we live.

2 Cor. 6:9. As chastened, and not put to death. God permits these things, he says, that he may chasten us; so that, even before the rewards yonder, no small good is the gain here, that of the chastening. And this is from David; for he says, Chastening, he says, the Lord chastened me, but he did not deliver me to death.

2 Cor. 6:10. As sorrowing, yet always rejoicing. Among those outside, he says, we seem to be despondent; but we have our pleasure at its height. For we do not rejoice at one time and not at another, but always.

2 Cor. 6:10. As poor, yet making many rich. And according to the spiritual wealth he made many rich, and according to the perceptible also. For having the houses of all opened to him, he was most rich, and able to provide for others and to feed them, as he did the saints in Jerusalem. And he shows this also through what follows.

2 Cor. 6:10. As having nothing, and possessing all things. For he who is nailed to nothing of the things of life has the things of all. For if it had been possible, he says, you would have plucked out even your eyes and given them to me. And all these things he recounted to them, that they might not be troubled at any of the things that seem grievous.

2 Cor. 6:11. Our mouth is opened to you, O Corinthians; our heart is enlarged. Having recounted his own struggles, and having shown them, as in the manner of a narrative, how they ought to imitate him, he is about now to lay hold of them, as not loving him very much. But before doing this, he shows them his own love, and says that I ever wish to speak to you and to converse, and to speak without reserve and with boldness. For this he signifies by The mouth is opened. And he speaks thus because he is about to rebuke them, showing that this above all is love, namely boldness. And not only by the mouth do I show the love, but also by the heart, having it wide toward you. For the warmth of love both opens my mouth, and has enlarged my heart, and made it broad, so as to contain you all; which he also adds:

2 Cor. 6:12. And you are not straitened in us; but you are straitened in your own bowels. You indeed, he says, are contained in my heart, which is broad, without being straitened, and that though you are so many. But in your own bowels you have much straitness, and you cannot contain me broadly, though I am but one; that is, I indeed love you exceedingly, but you, though you do love me, and have me in your bowels, yet do so straitenedly, and not broadly.

2 Cor. 6:13. But for the same recompense (I speak as to children) be you also enlarged. Bring in the same return and equality of friendship, and be you also enlarged, as I am. And he shows that this is also a debt; for As to children, he says, I speak; it is no great thing for him, being a father, to deem himself worthy to be loved by children. For this is a debt for children.

2 Cor. 6:14. Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. Lest he seem to say these things for his own sake, he shows that for the sake of their gain he has need of their friendship, and as it were says: This is to love me, your not mingling with the unbelievers and inclining toward their part. And he did not say, Mingle not, but, Be not unequally yoked; that is, Wrong not what is just, by inclining and attaching yourselves to those to whom it is not lawful. For to be unequally yoked is said of an unjust balance, when the one scale weighs down.

2 Cor. 6:14. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Here he makes the comparison not of himself and the unbelievers, but of the virtue and nobility of the Corinthians, and the baseness of those others; as when a father, seeing his son consorting with corrupt men, says to him: What fellowship has your nobility with their foulness? You, then, he says, are righteousness itself; but they are lawlessness; what partnership, therefore, have you with them?

2 Cor. 6:14–15. And what communion has light with darkness? and what concord has Christ with Belial? Wishing by every means to draw them away from the unbelievers, he did not say, What communion have those of the light with those of the darkness? or those of Christ with those of Belial? but he set the things themselves in place of the persons—light and darkness, which was more; and Christ and Belial, which signifies the apostate. And by this he made the word altogether more fearful.

2 Cor. 6:15. Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever? Here he made mention of the persons, that he might not seem simply to accuse vice, or to praise virtue.

2 Cor. 6:16. And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. The unbelievers are temples of idols, or even idols; but you are a temple of God—not such as they fable, but of the living God. What agreement, then—that is, likeness or meeting—have you with these?

2 Cor. 6:16. Even as God said, that I will dwell in them, and will walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Lest he seem to flatter, from the Scripture he shows that they are a temple of God. The indwelling of God in us, the purity of life procures; and the walking among us, the earnestness that follows thereafter. For in a man who is pure God dwells; then, when he is moved again to other works, God is said to walk among him; and then indeed God becomes his God, as he ascends into the rank of the patriarchs.

2 Cor. 6:17. Therefore come out from the midst of them, and be separate, and touch not an unclean thing, and I will receive you, says the Lord. He did not say, Do not strange things, but, Touch not. And uncleanness is twofold: either of the body, or of the soul; of the soul, as filthy thoughts, and the looking with unchaste eyes, and bearing of grudges, and guiles, and such things; of the body, as fornication, adultery, and all licentiousness. He wishes, then, us to be pure on both sides. Come out, therefore, from the midst of the unbelievers, and be separate, that is, be set apart and cleansed, and then I will receive you. For when you are released from the wicked, then you shall be united to God.

2 Cor. 6:18. And I will be to you a Father, and you shall be to me sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Do you see how the prophet proclaimed beforehand the regeneration and adoption that has now come to us through baptism?

Chapter 7

2 Cor. 7:1. Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit. Which promises? That we are temples of God, and that we have him dwelling and walking within us, who is also our Father. Let us cleanse ourselves from shameful deeds; for these are a defilement of the flesh. And from filthy and passionate thoughts; for these are a defilement of the spirit—that is, of the soul.

2 Cor. 7:1. bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. It is not enough, he says, to abstain from uncleanness, but one must also accomplish something good—holiness, that is, purity and self-control. And he added, In the fear of God, either because there is also a contrived self-control that aims at pleasing men, and not according to the mind of God; or he shows us how we shall perfect it, namely, in the fear of God. For even if the desire of the flesh plays the tyrant, yet have the fear of God, and the madness will be dissolved. And do not understand this self-control as chastity alone, but simply as all purity in life.

2 Cor. 7:2. Make room for us; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have defrauded no one. Again he takes up the discourse concerning love. For since he had rebuked them, saying that they spurn him but cleave to unbelievers and the unclean, he now soothes them and says, Make room for us; that is, Receive us with an open heart, and let us not be straitened among you. And hinting at the false apostles, he says that We have wronged no one in money; we have corrupted no one; that is, We have not deceived, corrupting their mind with impious doctrines; We have defrauded no one; that is, We have not plundered, nor enriched ourselves under pretext of the preaching.

2 Cor. 7:3. I speak not to condemn you; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. Not to condemn you do I say these things. Whence is this clear? From love, in that you are in our hearts. And since it is possible to love yet not to be willing to share in danger, he says, To die together. And since many do not rejoice together with their friends when they prosper, because of envy, he added also, To live together. The whole, then, is this, that both in dangers we will not flee you, and in prosperity we will live together with you and will not envy.

2 Cor. 7:4. Great is my boldness toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. Since he seemed to wound them by saying, You are straitened, and, Make room for me, he now makes his defense, healing them, and says that Not as condemning you did I say these things, but because of my great boldness toward you, and wishing you to rise toward virtue. For that I do not condemn you is clear from the fact that to others also I boast on your behalf.

2 Cor. 7:4. I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy in all our affliction. Having been corrected, he says, in those things for which I condemned you in the former Epistle, you filled me with comfort; and not only did you comfort me (which is to be delivered from grief), but you also filled me with joy in abundance. For the abundance of the joy he shows by the word I overflow. And so great, he says, was the joy that, against all our affliction, great as it was, this joy prevailed and quenched it. These things seem indeed to be contrary to what he said about them a little before, but they are not; for both these and those belong to one who loves—those of one reproving, these of one confirming that the reproofs were not from enmity, but from vehement love.

2 Cor. 7:5. For indeed, when we had come into Macedonia, our flesh had no relief. He recounts the affliction and exalts it by his words, that he may show their joy also to be great, if indeed it repelled so great a pain. And he said well that the flesh had no relief; for Paul’s soul is unconquerable.

2 Cor. 7:5. But being afflicted in everything: without were fightings—of the unbelievers.

2 Cor. 7:5. Within were fears. On account of the weak among the faithful, lest they be swept away by the false brethren.

2 Cor. 7:6. But God, who comforts the lowly, comforted us by the coming of Titus. He testified many great things to them, and brings forward Titus also as a witness. And who is it that comforts the lowly? God, he says; he it is who comforted us also, in that he sent Titus to us; for his coming sufficed to scatter our affliction. And he wishes to render the man venerable to them, and makes much of his coming.

2 Cor. 7:7. And not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted concerning you. Not only, he says, by this very thing, that he stood by us in a time of affliction and consoled us, but also because he reported such virtue of yours, by which he himself also was comforted—that is, he rejoiced over you, accepting you on account of your good deeds. And he endears the man to them, as one who praised them to him.

2 Cor. 7:7. Declaring to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal on my behalf. For it was likely that they grieved and were pained: Why did the teacher come thus, why was he away so long a time? And he did not simply say, Tears, but Mourning; not Desire, but Longing, that is, a vehement seeking; nor Anger, but Zeal, against him who had committed fornication. For on my behalf you were set on fire and burned, so as to keep my command; or you were also zealous on my behalf against the false apostles. And the Apostle says these things not only to heal his former rebukes, but truly also to accept those who had done well. For there are indeed many ill-disposed and unworthy of these praises; but nevertheless he himself does not separate them, but sets both the commendations and the accusations in common in the midst, giving to the conscience of each to choose out what is his own.

2 Cor. 7:7. So that I rejoiced the more. And having rejoiced at his coming, he rejoiced the more, he says, at the things he reported concerning you.

2 Cor. 7:8. So that even if I grieved you in the Epistle, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. Even if I wrote such things to you, he says, as to exceed the measure of rebuke and to make me regret it, as having reproved beyond measure, nevertheless the great gain that comes from them does not allow me now to regret it. These things he said, not as having truly rebuked immoderately, but augmenting their praises.

2 Cor. 7:8–9. For I see that that Epistle, even if for an hour, grieved you; now I rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance; for you were grieved according to God. For an hour was the grief; but the gain is perpetual. I rejoice, he says, not that you were grieved (for what gain is it to me that you were grieved?), but that you were grieved to repentance. And observe how the grieving he assigns to the Epistle; and then he says that It benefited you—which was also true; but he makes the matter belong to their virtue. For you, he says, were grieved; and you were grieved according to God.

2 Cor. 7:9. That in nothing you might suffer loss from us. Having been rebuked by us, he says, you were grieved according to God, and thereafter you suffered loss from us in nothing. For all of you—even he himself who had sinned the uttermost and committed fornication—were made better. For the teacher then causes loss to the disciple, when he does not rebuke him as he sins. For if he had been rebuked, he was about to gain.

2 Cor. 7:10. For the grief that is according to God works repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the grief of the world works death. He philosophizes concerning grief, and shows that grief is not always an evil, but only when it comes to be according to the world [ƒ. world], that is, on account of money, on account of glory, on account of those who die. For this works death—altogether the death of the soul, and often that of the body also; for many have perished on account of these things. But whoever is willing to grieve on account of his sins grieves according to God; for this remedy is suited to this disease alone, working salvation not to be regretted (for no one condemns himself for having grieved over his sins), and it snatches the man from the death of the soul.

2 Cor. 7:11. For behold, this very thing, that you were grieved according to God, what earnestness it wrought in us.[1] Not from others, he says, do I show the benefit of the grief that is according to God, but from your own case. For not only did you not regret that you were grieved, but you became even more earnest.

2 Cor. 7:11. But what clearing of yourselves. Toward me. For you cleared yourselves to me through repentance.

2 Cor. 7:11. But what indignation. Against him who had committed fornication.

2 Cor. 7:11. But what fear. Toward me; for such, and so swift, a correction was a mark of fear.

2 Cor. 7:11. But what longing. Toward me. And having said fear, lest he should seem to lord it over them, he briefly set it right by saying longing—which is indicative of love, not of authority.

2 Cor. 7:11. But what zeal. That which is on God’s behalf.

2 Cor. 7:11. But what vindication. Of the laws of God; for they made use of these when they had been outraged.

2 Cor. 7:11. In everything you proved yourselves to be pure in the matter. Not only, he says, was nothing of the sort dared, such as by him who had committed fornication, but you did not even take part with him. For since in the former Epistle he had said, And you are puffed up, which had made them partakers of the charge, he says that Now you have wiped away even this suspicion and have shown yourselves clean of every such blemish.

2 Cor. 7:12. So then, even if I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of him who did the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered the wrong, but that our earnestness on your behalf might be made manifest to you before God. Lest they should say to him: Why then did you rebuke us, if we were pure in the matter? he says that I have such gratitude for those letters, and do not regret the rebuke, that I even say that for this very reason I wrote these things, that my love and my earnestness on your behalf might be made manifest to you before God—that is, with God beholding that it is true. For I was afraid lest the corruption should spread even to you. And whom does he call the one who did the wrong and the one who suffered the wrong? Those who had committed fornication; for both wronged one another. But how does he say that I did not write for the sake of these? That is, I did indeed write, on account of these also, but not chiefly for their sake; rather for your sake, being earnest that the city should not be harmed; just as also when he says, Does God care for oxen? he does not mean this, that he does not care—for how then would they have been created?—but that he does not chiefly legislate for the sake of the oxen.

2 Cor. 7:13. Therefore we have been comforted. Because my earnestness on your behalf was made manifest, and my hopes were not belied, therefore, he says, I received the greatest consolation.

2 Cor. 7:13. And in your comfort we rejoiced the more exceedingly at the joy of Titus. And now, he says, by your comfort, with which I was comforted from you, by this I rejoiced still more exceedingly, and at the joy of Titus; and this joy and comfort too is yours, and on your account. He therefore says next:

2 Cor. 7:13–14. Because his spirit was refreshed by you all. For if in anything I have boasted to him on your behalf, I was not put to shame. For this reason, he says, I rejoiced, because Titus found you such as I had told him you were; and he himself also was refreshed, finding you such, and nothing troublesome was reported to him on your part. And that Paul boasts over his disciples shows both that they were virtuous and that he was loving toward his children. Such ought both the disciples and the teachers to be.

2 Cor. 7:14. As I spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus was found to be true. Just as, he says, whatever I preached to you was true, such also was my speaking of the commendations concerning Titus to them. As, therefore, all these things are true, so also whatever I boasted concerning you was shown to be true.

2 Cor. 7:15. and his heart goes out to you all the more, For this reason he commends Titus to them, that they too may love him in return, as one who has embraced them and is fervent toward them. For this reason he said, His inward affection, that he might show the inward and ardent disposition of genuine love.

2 Cor. 7:15. While he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. He sets down the causes for which Titus so loves them, showing the beginning of the love to be from them, and at the same time urging them on still toward it. For not simply love or earnestness did you show toward him, but obedience, having received him as children a father, but also as a ruler. For with fear, and still with trembling. For he testifies to a twofold virtue in them: love, as toward a father; and fear, as toward a ruler; that neither the love, being without fear, should be relaxed, nor the fear, being without love, should be graceless.

2 Cor. 7:16. I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you. Not on account of Titus do I rejoice so much, that he was honored by you, but because I find you such, not putting me to shame, but making me to have confidence and to speak boldly concerning you in every matter and season. And in another way too, I have confidence in you, because whatever I either do or say toward you, you gladly receive these things, and to your own betterment, whether it be needful to reprove, or to commend, or to enjoin something burdensome.

[1] Translator’s note: The reading ἐν ἡμῖν (in us) follows the Byzantine text; the critical text reads ἐν ὑμῖν (in you).

Chapter 8

2 Cor. 8:1. Now we make known to you, brethren, the grace of God which has been given in the Churches of Macedonia. Not in vain did he weave the many commendations for these beforehand, but smoothing them in advance, since he was about to urge them on to love of the poor. For this reason indeed he said above, I have confidence in you; that is, that Whatever I say to you, you do. He did not therefore say at once, Give alms, but setting in the midst the things done by others, he urges these also to the same zeal. And observe how he calls the merciful disposition the grace of God, at once making his discourse free from envy, and at the same time also calling forth the Corinthians to seize this same thing for themselves as a gift of God. And he did not say, To this or that city, but he praises the whole of Macedonia, that they too may all look toward the same.

2 Cor. 8:2. That in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy. That is, having been much afflicted, and so as to become approved through endurance; nevertheless they did not fall, but rather had joy also; and not simply, but also with abundance.

2 Cor. 8:2. And their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality. That is, just as the much affliction abounded to joy, so their much and deep poverty not only did not hinder them to almsgiving, but rather persuaded them even to abound to riches. And he did not say, Of the things given, but, Of liberality; that is, of the ungrudging and generous disposition. For not by the multitude of the things given, but by the will, is munificence judged. This, then, is wonderful, that out of so great a want (for they had been plundered by their own countrymen) they displayed so great a munificence.

2 Cor. 8:3–4. That according to their power, I bear witness, and beyond their power, of their own accord, with much entreaty beseeching us. He explains what he said, and says that As much as their power, or rather even beyond their power; for this is the abundance of liberality, the beyond their power, he says. But neither were they urged on by us, but of their own accord. And why do I say this? Nay, they themselves brought much entreaty, and besought us. And he says these things that he may urge them on also, not so much to give much, as to give with eagerness. Wherefore he also dwells on the discourse concerning this.

2 Cor. 8:4. The grace and the fellowship of the ministry to the saints. There is lacking the clause, They besought us to undertake this ministry. And he said The grace, in order that, since the Corinthians were zealous of the spiritual gifts, they might run after this also as a gift, as has been said above. And he called it fellowship, that they might learn that they not only give, but also receive.

2 Cor. 8:5. And not as we had hoped. We did not hope that, having so great a poverty and being in so great an affliction, they would beseech us so much, that we should receive their ministry.

2 Cor. 8:5. But they gave themselves first to the Lord, and to us through the will of God. Here he testifies to the other virtues also in them; for not because they were earnest about almsgiving, being puffed up, did they neglect the rest, but they gave their whole selves to the Lord, toward every well-pleasing work with their whole soul, and not inclining with a divided mind. And to us also they gave themselves, that is, in all things they submitted, and showed love through the will of God; that is, as it pleases God, and not by human reasoning.

2 Cor. 8:6. So that we besought Titus, that as he had begun before, so he would also complete in you this grace as well. So greatly, he says, did those men give themselves to almsgiving, that I, seeing the matter, became anxious on your behalf, lest you should be left behind them, and for this reason besought Titus to come to you; and that before my exhortation. And he endears Titus to them through these things, that when he comes and counsels concerning almsgiving, they may more easily be persuaded by him, as one minding the things that are for them. And again he called the matter grace. For it is truly great, and a gift of God, and able to make him who pursues it like to himself; whence a certain wise man also says: A great thing is a man, and an honorable thing a merciful man.

2 Cor. 8:7. But just as you abound in everything—in faith, and word, and knowledge, and in all earnestness, and in your love toward us—that you may abound in this grace also. With commendations he urges them on, and says that Just as you have all other things with abundance, so here also, not that you may give, but that you may abound, either beyond the Macedonians, or that you may simply be lavish. In faith, that of the gifts, the unhesitating; in word, that of wisdom; in knowledge, that of the doctrines; and in all earnestness, that toward the rest of virtue; and in your love toward us. For he said before that You showed to Titus the love toward me, being zealous on my behalf.

2 Cor. 8:8. I speak not by way of commandment. That is, not constraining you, nor as exercising authority.

2 Cor. 8:8. But through the earnestness of others, and proving the genuineness of your love. That is, For this reason I praise the Macedonians, that through their earnestness I may show your love toward the poor saints to be more approved and more brilliant.

2 Cor. 8:9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sakes he became poor, being rich, that you by his poverty might become rich. That is, Consider, reckon up the great mystery, and you will spare nothing. For if you disbelieve, he says, that poverty is productive of riches, consider your Master, and you will no longer disbelieve. For unless he had become poor—that is, had taken up the lowly and dishonored flesh, and had undergone all the rest of the dishonor, and these things for our sakes, the unworthy, the enemies—we would not have become rich. And what riches does he mean? Those of piety, the cleansing, the sanctification, and the other good things, which he both gave and will give.

2 Cor. 8:10. And in this I give my judgment; for this is profitable for you. Observe how he is earnest to be inoffensive. For I give, he says, my judgment; that is, I lay upon you counsel, not necessity; and this counsel itself I make on account of its being profitable for you rather than for those who receive.

2 Cor. 8:10–11. Who not only to do, but also to will, began before, a year ago; but now complete the doing also. No longer from the earnestness of others does he urge them on, but from their own eagerness; and he says that Of your own will you came to this, and not only laid a beginning toward the doing, but also toward the willing; that is, toward doing it voluntarily, and with no one urging. Now therefore I give my judgment, that you may complete the work also.

2 Cor. 8:11. That as the eagerness of the willing, so also the completing out of what you have. That the good may not be only as far as the eagerness, but may also be worked out more perfectly. For just as the willing makes the eagerness and the purpose, so also the work comes to be out of what one has. Whoever, then, has, let him fulfill the work; since he who has not has fulfilled that which comes of the purpose.

2 Cor. 8:12. For if the eagerness is present, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he has not. Observe his wisdom, how the Macedonians—the Thessalonians, I mean, and the rest—as having done beyond their power, of these he demands nothing more than their power. If, therefore, you have the eagerness, he says, bring in the things according to your power, and God accepts these.

2 Cor. 8:13. For it is not that there should be relief to others, but affliction to you. Not, he says, that those should revel in ease, while you must give beyond your power, so as to endure both want and affliction from this. And yet the Lord praised the widow, as having given her whole living; but Paul does not do this now—at once because they were weaker, and at the same time because they were also rich; and certainly, had they given according to their power, the gift would have been ample, and noteworthy, and rich. And further he also hopes that by the example of the Thessalonians they will rather be roused; and for this reason he leaves the matter to their own authority; but in what follows he will urge them, in a riddling manner, to this very thing.

2 Cor. 8:14. But by way of equality, in the present time your abundance for their want, that their abundance also may be for your want. That is, You pride yourselves on money; they pride themselves on their boldness toward God. Give, then, of the money in which you abound, but which they do not have, that you may receive of the boldness in which they are rich, but you are lacking. And observe how secretly he establishes the giving even beyond one’s power. For if you wish, he says, to receive of the abundance, as you also give of the abundance. But if you wish to receive the whole recompense, do you also furnish the whole; which is out of want, and beyond power; but this he says covertly. For the present, then, according to appearance, he counsels the giving according to power.

2 Cor. 8:15. That there may be equality; as it is written: He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. How may there be equality? If both you and they give back in turn the things that abound, and fill up the wants. And what equality is it, to give spiritual things in return for carnal? Not according to the more honorable or the less honorable of the things given and received is the equality spoken of, but inasmuch as what abounds to you, you give; and again, what abounds to them, they give; and again, what you lack, you receive; and what they lack, they receive: according to this is the equality. And besides, this equality is according to the present time; but in the time to come there is a great superiority of the things which they give. So that be abased, you rich, if indeed in the things that abide the poor surpass you. And he brings forward what happened with the manna, at once that he may show how the equality comes to be—that when the rich man who has much then gives the surplus to him who has little, neither does he himself have over, and he who has little is not diminished, inasmuch as he received from that other. And again, in the case of boldness toward God, the same; and at the same time he accomplishes something greater also, showing to the rich that, just as in the case of the manna, neither those gathering more nor those gathering less—all were found to have the same measure, God chastising greediness—so also now one must not reach after the more.

2 Cor. 8:16. But thanks be to God, who put the same earnestness on your behalf into the heart of Titus. Having discoursed concerning almsgiving as much as was needful, he henceforth praises those sent for this purpose, that, having become free of suspicion, they may rather cast them into eagerness for contributing together. And since Titus was first of these, he praises him, and says that it was a work of God that he was roused to minister. For the same earnestness that I too have on your behalf, he put into him. And from this he urges them on to make the gift noteworthy. For if God roused him, God henceforth looks on, and you ought to make the gift worthy of God.

2 Cor. 8:17. That he indeed received the exhortation; but being more earnest, of his own accord he went out to you. Whence is it clear that God urged on Titus? Because, even when exhorted by me, he eagerly received the exhortation, and did not murmur, but indeed also of his own accord went out, so that even had I not exhorted him, he himself displayed his own earnestness.

2 Cor. 8:18. And we sent together with him the brother whose praise in the Gospel is throughout all the Churches. Some say it is Luke, on account of the Gospel which he wrote; but some, Barnabas; for he calls the unwritten preaching also a Gospel. But he does not dwell upon the commendations of this man, as upon those of Titus, perhaps because he was unknown; whereas Titus was sufficiently known. He gives him a sufficient commendation: For not simply, he says, does he preach the Gospel, but he is also praised; not by two or three, but by all the Churches.

2 Cor. 8:19. And not only so, but who was also chosen by the Churches as our fellow-traveler, together with this grace which is ministered by us. He praises the man also from the judgment of those who chose him. For not only, he says, is he praised as approved in preaching the Gospel, but he was also chosen as our fellow-traveler by the Churches. So that he is also a partner of the trials and the dangers. But these things rather befit Barnabas. And he was chosen also to this grace, that is, to the ministry of the money, that he might minister together with us.

2 Cor. 8:19. To the glory of the Lord and your eagerness. That is, That both God may be glorified, and you may become more eager, inasmuch as those who receive this money are approved, and no one is able to bring forth suspicion against them.

2 Cor. 8:20. Avoiding this, that no one should blame us in this abundance which is ministered by us. This is worthy of the holy soul of Paul, and of his great solicitude and condescension. For this reason, he says, we sent such men, and not one, but several, avoiding, that is, being apprehensive and fearful lest anyone should suspect us as embezzling from the money. And he did not say, Lest you; but, Lest anyone, that they might not be vexed as being suspected of thinking such things about him. For this abundance too, he says—that is, the multitude of the money—is sufficient to furnish suspicion to the wicked, unless we display security.

2 Cor. 8:21. Taking forethought for good things, not only before the Lord, but also before men. Behold the soul of Paul, how he took thought for the stumbling of the brethren. For he did not say: I am clean, let whoever wishes wail; but, Just as before God, he says, I take forethought—that is, I take care to appear blameless—so also before men; and the more they are weaker, the more must one condescend; since we condescend even to little children, if we are going to bear them up.

2 Cor. 8:22. And we sent together with them our brother, whom we have many times proved earnest in many things, but now much more earnest, by reason of the great confidence which he has toward you. And he adds yet another, naming him a brother, and commending him from having proved and judged him to be earnest, and that in many things and many times; and it is an intensification of praise, thus to double the word. But now, he says, he has become more earnest, inasmuch as he is confident that you will make the almsgiving more lavish, to which he is about to minister.

2 Cor. 8:23. Whether for Titus, my partner and fellow-worker toward you. That is, If one must say anything for Titus, this I have to say, that he is my partner, working together with me to your teaching and benefit; or, that If you do anything for Titus, you will do it not for any chance person, but for my partner.

2 Cor. 8:23. Or our brethren. That is, Whether you wish to hear something concerning the others, they too have great claims to be judged trustworthy; for indeed they are our brethren.

2 Cor. 8:23. Apostles of the Churches. That is, sent and chosen by the Churches.

2 Cor. 8:23. The glory of Christ. The greatest of all he has placed last. To Christ, he says, the whole is referred, whatever may be done to these.

2 Cor. 8:24. Therefore show toward them, before the face of the Churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf. Now show, he says, both how you love us, and how we too do not boast in vain over you. And you will show it, if you display love toward them. For indeed you will do before the face of the Churches whatever you do to these, that is, to the honor of the Churches. For these stand in the person of the Churches that sent them.

Chapter 9

2 Cor. 9:1. For concerning the service to the saints, it is unnecessary for me to write to you, Having said so much before, and being about to say more again, he nevertheless says that it is superfluous for him to write concerning these things. And he does this wisely, so as the more to draw them on. For they will be ashamed if, when Paul has such an opinion concerning them—that they do not need counsel toward showing mercy—they should then appear to be less than the opinion.

2 Cor. 9:2. For I know your eagerness, of which I boast on your behalf to the Macedonians, that Achaia has been prepared a year ago. I myself also know, he says, your eagerness; and not only this, but I also boast to others that all Achaia is ready, not Corinth alone; and nothing is lacking, except the coming of those who are to receive the money. So that it is a shame to me, if I shall appear to have boasted in vain and falsely.

2 Cor. 9:2. And your zeal has provoked the greater number. And yet above he said that They were of their own accord, and beseeching us. How then does he now say that Your zeal has provoked the greater number? But he did not say, All, but, The greater number. For some were of their own accord, and beseeching us; but others were provoked by the zeal toward you; for the greater number need a goad. Or also, that We did not counsel, we did not exhort, but only praised you, and this sufficed for them to exhortation. Do you see how he rouses both those through these, and these through those? You became teachers, he says, to those; do not then appear to be falling short of the disciples.

2 Cor. 9:3. But I sent the brethren, lest our boasting on your behalf should be made empty in this respect; that, as I said, you might be prepared. As it were, he makes himself a part of the Corinthians, and is in anguish on their behalf; for he says that Since I boasted, I was afraid lest we be put to shame; and for this reason I sent the brethren, lest it be made empty, that is, lest it be proved vain and empty, my boasting on your behalf. For I, he says, priding myself on you, boasted among all, and among those men too; so that if you fall short, the shame is common; yet not everywhere, but in this respect; that is, That I might not be put to shame in the matter concerning almsgiving alone; but be prepared, as I said to the Macedonians, that all those of Achaia are ready, and nothing is lacking to them.

2 Cor. 9:4. Lest by any means, if the Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, you) should be put to shame in this confidence of boasting. Again he turns about the same things, and heightens the anguish, leading them up from human reasonings. For greater is the shame, when one is put to shame before the faces of strangers. For perhaps, he says, you have confidence in me, as one who is forbearing; but consider the Macedonians, who will perchance come with me (for this is likely), and if they find you—he did not say, unwilling to give, but, unprepared. For if not to be prepared, nor to contribute amply, is a shame, much more is it to contribute nothing at all, or less than what is due. And he tempers the saying, saying that We shall be put to shame (that I say not, that you) in this confidence of boasting; that is, We shall not be put to shame elsewhere, but in this boasting concerning almsgiving alone, since your other things are unimpeachable. And this he says, not flattering them, but rather making them more eager, that, being well-approved in the other things, they may not in this be found disapproved and less than themselves. And by saying, that I say not, that you, he shows that they themselves rather will be put to shame; for theirs is the fault. And by confidence he means the subject, and the matter itself, that is, the substance of the boasting.

2 Cor. 9:5. Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they should go before to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised blessing, that this might be ready as a blessing, and not as covetousness. Lest he should seem to contradict himself—having said above that It is superfluous for me to write, but now again discoursing concerning these things—he now discourses concerning lavishness, and concerning the doing of the work with eagerness; and on account of these things he says he sent the brethren. And urging toward two contrary things—both to give munificently, and to give with eagerness—he most wisely handles them both. For first he discourses concerning giving with eagerness, then also concerning the other head. He says, then, that what is given is a blessing; and no one giving a blessing is grieved. And he shows the fruit also at once here sprouting forth, and those who give being filled with blessing. And not even with this was he satisfied, but he added, And not as covetousness. For do not suppose, he says, that we receive these things from you as those who overreach you, but as those who wish to procure a blessing for you. So that he who gives alms unwillingly is, as it were, overreached.

2 Cor. 9:6. But this: he who sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he who sows on blessings shall reap also on blessings. He passes over to the other head, that concerning giving with lavishness, and says that I say this also, in addition to what I said, that one must not give in a niggardly way. And he did not say, Niggardly, but more auspiciously he set down the name of sparing. And he called the matter a sowing, that you may at once look to the recompense, and may learn that you receive more than you give. And having spoken concerning giving with lavishness, he again made mention also of giving with eagerness; for the phrase, He who sows on blessings, shows this, as has been said above.

2 Cor. 9:7. Each as he purposes in his heart, not of grief or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. He dwells on the discourse concerning giving with eagerness, knowing that, toward giving much, the example of the Macedonians also will be sufficient to rouse them, and the being ashamed to appear less than they. But their will he leaves free, that what is done by them may also be a virtue. For if it is involuntary, it is not a virtue. As, therefore, a true teacher, he wishes the disciples to do what they do according to the principle of virtue, and at the same time also that the reward may be whole for them, doing the good voluntarily; since the involuntary cuts short the reward. For this reason he says: Each as he purposes, and not of grief, or of necessity; and he brings forward a testimony from Solomon.[1] And yet the saying of the wise man was spoken not concerning lavishness; but nevertheless he himself took it up to giving with eagerness; and, if you will, to both.

2 Cor. 9:8. And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, Through these words he overturns the reasoning which many of us have, saying: If I give much, I fear lest I become poor. He says, then, that God is able to make you so free from want, that you can do all grace also—that is, all almsgiving—with abundance. Give, then, lavishly, that your almsgiving may ever and ever abound.

2 Cor. 9:8. That in everything always having all sufficiency, you may abound to every good work. Do you see? Not riches for them, but sufficiency does he pray. And in saying this, he shows that he neither forces them nor compels them to give out of want; for then they would no longer have sufficiency; and at the same time he also teaches where one must use the gifts of God. For, he says, that you may abound to every good work. For in carnal things, he says, I pray sufficiency for you; but in spiritual things (for this is the meaning of To every good work), abundance; that you may not only show mercy abundantly, but also do every God-pleasing work munificently.

2 Cor. 9:9. As it is written: He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness abides forever. He said, That you may abound. Establishing such a thing, he brought a testimony from the prophet, the phrase, He has scattered abroad. For this word shows the lavishness and the abundance. The money, then, does not abide; but the righteousness—that is, the love of mankind (for so he calls it, as justifying the man and dissolving his sins)—this at least abides forever, both that here and that there. For from this also the merciful man is beloved by all, and his descendants by those born afterward.

2 Cor. 9:10. And may he who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply your seed, and increase the fruits of your righteousness. He prays for them in the same breath both bodily and spiritual things, and he makes his discourse trustworthy from the perceptible husbandry. For if to those who sow the earth God gives seed, and if to those who nourish the body he furnishes nourishment, much more to those who till heaven and nourish the soul. Having said, then, May he supply and multiply your seed, he speaks concerning the perceptible wealth, which he wishes to become a spiritual seed when given to the poor. For from this grows every good work in us, and the sheaves of righteousness; wherefore he also adds: And increase the fruits of your righteousness. And note here too, that he introduces God as giving us not luxury, but nourishment. For bread, he says, for food.

(But this is from Jeremiah.)

2 Cor. 9:11. Being enriched in everything to all liberality, which works through us thanksgiving to God. And again he shows how one must use wealth. For he says that one must not bury it, but have it to all liberality—that is, to empty it out with lavishness. And since many display their liberality toward harlots and actors, he says that I mean such liberality as brings much thanksgiving to God; or rather, not thanksgiving only, but also many other things, which he sets down as he proceeds; that, having shown the many good things begotten of liberality, he may render them more eager toward it.

2 Cor. 9:12–14. That the ministry of this service not only fills up the wants of the saints, but also abounds through many thanksgivings to God (while through the proof of this ministry they glorify God for the submission of your confession to the Gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your fellowship toward them and toward all); and in their supplication on your behalf they long after you, on account of the surpassing grace of God upon you. The ministry, he says—that is, the supplying of the money—accomplishes many things. For not only do you fill up the need for the brethren, but you also abound; that is, You furnish them more than the need, and many thanksgivings come about through this approved ministry, witnessed to for its love of mankind. For they glorify God, that you so submitted to the Gospel as to fulfill his commands with lavishness. For the Gospel teaches almsgiving. And for another reason they glorify God, that your liberality and goodness is poured out not toward them alone, but also toward all the poor of Christ. For they do not envy, as the rest of the poor, but give thanks, even for what you give to others. Which is a sign of their great virtue. So that one must give more lavishly to such men, so ungrudging, so virtuous. But they also make supplication on your behalf, that they may be counted worthy to see you—not on account of the money, but on account of the grace of God given to you surpassingly. And again he called the matter of almsgiving grace, referring the whole to God, that they themselves may not be lifted up. And in saying, The surpassing grace of God, he rouses them, that they may make their munificence more lavish, and that others may not surpass and outdo them.

2 Cor. 9:15. But thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. By gift he means the good things that come about through almsgiving both to those who give and to those who receive; or he also calls to mind the good things of which we were counted worthy through the incarnation of Christ, as though saying such things as these: Do not suppose that you do anything great; for unspeakable are the good things which we received from God; and if we give a few perishable things, what is that great?

[1] Proverbs 22:8 (according to the Septuagint); ἄνδρα ἱλαρὸν καὶ δότην εὐλογεῖ ὁ Θεός.

Chapter 10

2 Cor. 10:1. Now I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Having finished his words concerning almsgiving, he now begins the sterner matters, both against the false apostles and against those who slandered him as unlearned and as boasting to no purpose; and he is about to commend himself, being constrained to it, lest the preaching be brought into contempt. He therefore recounts both his own achievements and the grace of God that was given. So that one would not err in calling this Epistle an encomium of Paul. For the present, then, at the very outset the discourse displays some such intention, directed against those who called him powerless and a boaster: that I entreat you, I Paul myself, the teacher of the world (for the words I Paul myself display dignity, just as also the I Paul say to you), and I beseech you, that those who revile me may not compel me to use my power against them. Now it is a great thing even that he himself entreats. But he also brings forward the meekness of Christ to mediation, as if saying: Reverence the gentleness of Christ, through which I entreat you; and at the same time he shows why he spares them: that it is on account of imitating the meekness of Christ, and not on account of being weak. Do not, therefore, compel me to depart from it—which I so long for that I even set it before you as a mediator.

2 Cor. 10:1. Who in presence indeed am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. Either he says this ironically, making use of the words of those who slandered him; for those men said that, when he is present, he is worthy of no account, but lowly, contemptible, whereas when he is absent he puffs himself up and vaunts, and is over-bold against us and threatens. Or he says these things truly concerning himself: that I, who in my presence am lowly and meek toward you, now, even if I utter great things, do not do this out of madness, but out of being bold toward you.

2 Cor. 10:2. But I beseech you that, when present, I may not be bold with that confidence wherewith I reckon to be daring against certain ones who reckon of us as walking according to the flesh. I beseech you, he says, that you may not compel me to use my power with boldness (for he calls his power “confidence”); wherewith I reckon to be daring—that is, I suppose and reckon, or conjecture, from the things wherein those men compel me—against those who slander us as hypocrites and boasters; for this is the meaning of walking according to the flesh. And observe how he calls it daring, merely to defend himself against certain ones; and yet it was not on his own behalf, but on behalf of the preaching, that he was about to do this. But nevertheless it is more proper to a teacher always to delay in punishments, and not quickly to employ them.

2 Cor. 10:3. For though walking in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. That is, though clothed with flesh, we do not use fleshly weapons. For he is discoursing about the preaching, showing that it is not human, nor in need of help from below. And by saying we war, he showed that we have taken up war and battle.

2 Cor. 10:4. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly. That is, not wealth, not glory, not eloquence, not flatteries, not pretences; for such are the fleshly weapons.

2 Cor. 10:4. But mighty before God, to the casting down of strongholds. He did not say, But spiritual (for this he certainly ought to have said, in contradistinction to the fleshly), but, mighty, hinting that the weapons of those men are weak and powerless. And mark his freedom from pride: he did not say, We are mighty, but, The weapons are mighty before God—that is, God made them mighty. For since they were driven about and scourged, and these things seemed to be marks of weakness, he says that they are mighty before God. For the strength of God appears especially through these, and it is he who works and wars, even though we are the ones clothed with them. And where are they mighty? To the casting down of strongholds; and what the strongholds are, he goes on to add.

2 Cor. 10:5. Casting down reasonings. The syllogisms of the Greeks, he says, and their conceit, we cast down through these weapons; or else, that we overthrow their very reasonings and their souls out of the error by which they are held fast, and subject them to the truth. For the reasoning of the Areopagite, and his great-mindedness, was indeed cast down from impiety, but was bowed beneath piety. And observe, he did not say, We bring up siege-engines, but, at once we cast down—showing the ease of the victory and the might of the darts.

2 Cor. 10:5. And every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God. He continues in the metaphor, that he may more vividly show what he means. He says, then, that even if you should name a high thing—that is, a tower, or a fortress set against the knowledge of God, that is, against the Gospel—this also we cast down.

2 Cor. 10:5. and taking every thought captive to obey Christ, The word “captivity” signifies two things: both the loss of freedom, and the complete capture, so as not to resist again. According to the second signification, then, Paul now said bringing into captivity. For we do not merely prevail, he says, and conquer every human thought, but we also take it captive—which is the more perfect victory. Then, since the word “captivity” is harsh, he says, to the obedience of Christ; that is, We lead them into subjection to him—a slavery more precious than all freedom; for from perdition to salvation, and from death to life, we subject them to Christ. Consider, then, those in Ephesus who burned their books of magic, and you will understand how Paul took men captive.

2 Cor. 10:6. And being in readiness to avenge every disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Here too he put these men in fear. For we wait for you, he says, until, when through exhortation we have set you right and removed you from those men, then upon those alone, left behind as incurable, we may bring the knife. We hold our punishment, therefore, in readiness, but, while you are mingled together with them, we are hindered, lest the blow touch you also. And by saying, when your obedience is fulfilled, he hints that they obey even now, but not perfectly. And he threatens these things that both these and those may be set right, and that he may strike no one. Now first within us reasonings are formed, as the worse wrestle against the better; then they become high things, when, namely, they conquer, when also they are exalted against the divine knowledge, and so greatly that they run up even into the rank of thought—such as are called inspirations. For a thought is a simple and non-discursive application of the mind, showing the things themselves more excellently than demonstration does. There are, then, even among those deceived by demons, such seeming thoughts, which Paul, and whoever is according to him, takes captive to the obedience of Christ.

2 Cor. 10:7. Look at the things that are before your face. Not only does he put in fear those who deceive, but he also rebukes those who are deceived; wherefore he says: Judge from the things that appear—whoever boasts greatly, whoever is rich, whoever wears about him the mask of virtue.

2 Cor. 10:7. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him reckon this again from himself, that even as he is Christ’s, so also are we. For the false apostles boasted greatly as being Christ’s, and perhaps eyewitnesses. And the words from himself he used instead of: Let him not wait for our rebuke against him, but let him consider that, in this very thing—being Christ’s—he has nothing more than we. For it is not that he is Christ’s, while I am another’s. But this he said condescendingly, since, as he goes on, he shows how much he himself excels.

2 Cor. 10:8. For even if I should boast somewhat more abundantly concerning the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for casting down, I shall not be put to shame.[1] He did not say, I have authority to punish and to exact penalty, while they do not have it; but, in a restrained way, somewhat more abundantly. And he did not say, If I boast, but, If I should boast—that is, If I should be willing; concerning the authority, he says, which the Lord has given me—again ascribing the whole to him. And I received this from God, that I might build up to the faith, doing good, not that I might punish. How then did you say, Casting down reasonings? Because this very thing especially builds up: to cast down [all] the rotten things, and to throw down the hindrances. How then do you threaten them, if you did not receive the authority to casting down? Primarily I received it to building up; but if anyone be incurable, we shall use casting down also. If, then, I should be willing, he says, to boast that God has given me something more, so that I have authority both to do good primarily, and, when I am forced, to punish, I shall not be put to shame—that is, I shall not be shown to be a liar or a boaster.

2 Cor. 10:9. so that I may not seem to be frightening you through my letters. For the epistles indeed, he says, are weighty and strong; but the bodily presence is weak, and the speech of no account. Let such a one reckon this, that what we are in word by epistles when absent, such are we also in deed when present. What he means is this: I was able to boast, but, lest I should seem to terrify you by my letters—such things as my slanderers indeed say, that “He vaunts in his epistles, and writes fearful things, but when he arrives he is contemptible, and is convicted of not being what he writes”—but let him know, he says, whoever it may be that says these things, that we not only threaten weighty things, but are also able, when present, to bring the threats into deed.

2 Cor. 10:12. For we do not dare to rank or to compare ourselves with certain of those who commend themselves. Here he shows them to be boasters, and boasting great things concerning themselves. He says, then, that we do not dare to rank ourselves—that is, to number ourselves with them—or to compare ourselves—that is, to set ourselves alongside certain of these who praise themselves.

2 Cor. 10:12. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, do not understand. Those men, he says, do not deem it worthy to be compared with any other men, but they compare themselves with themselves and contend with one another, and do not perceive how ridiculous they are in boasting such things. For each one, calling himself superior, casts down the other; and thus all appear estimable through one another—which, being laughable, they themselves do not understand.

2 Cor. 10:13. But we will not boast to things beyond measure. For those men, vaunting perhaps, said: We have reached the ends of the earth, and have turned the world about. But we are not so, he says.

2 Cor. 10:13. But according to the measure of the rule which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even to you. As God, dividing a vineyard among husbandmen, so also marked off the world for us, the apostles. According, then, to the measure of the rule which God apportioned to us, we will boast. And what is the measure? To reach even to you. Since, then, this is our measure, we boast even to you.

2 Cor. 10:14. For we do not overstretch ourselves, as though not reaching to you; for we came even as far as you in the Gospel of Christ. It was likely that the false apostles, having arrived anywhere even without preaching, would vaunt from the bare sojourn, and reckon the whole to themselves. The Apostle therefore says that not as though we had not reached you do we overstretch ourselves. For we came, not simply, but, in the Gospel of Christ; that is, not having merely sojourned, as those men, but also with the preaching of the Gospel.

2 Cor. 10:15–16. Not boasting to things beyond measure in other men’s labors, but having hope, as your faith grows, to be magnified among you according to our rule to abundance, so as to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another’s rule, in things made ready to hand. He indicates that those men adorn themselves with the labors of the apostles, and boast to things beyond measure—that is, excessively, and in other men’s labors. But we are not so; rather, having reached as far as you, we speak freely as far as you. And we hope—in God, that is (for Paul is not wont to make pronouncements)—that, having sufficiently taught you and increased your faith, we may be magnified indeed among you. For then is a teacher magnified, when the things of his disciples increase—that is, when the measure which he obtained advances exceedingly. Why, then, “we hope”? Because we shall preach the Gospel also in the regions beyond you, and perhaps shall boast over those also, if indeed we shall profit them. And everywhere he calls it a rule and a measure, as a builder of the world and a master-builder, and that he may show that the whole is God’s, who gave the rule and the measure; wherefore he adds:

2 Cor. 10:17. But let him that boasts, boast in the Lord. For having such works, we do not vaunt, nor reckon anything to ourselves; but to God we ascribe the whole, even the very measure which we have reached. Those men, therefore, ought also to have boasted in this.

2 Cor. 10:18. For not he that commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. He did not say, We are approved, but, whom the Lord commends; that is, whom the truth of the work and of the labor, together with the grace of God, declares to be approved.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne marks a variant reading here: καυχήσωμαι (forte).

Chapter 11

2 Cor. 11:1. Would that you bore with me in a little of my folly; but indeed you do bear with me. Being about to enter upon his own praises, he uses many forecorrections, avoiding the burdensomeness of seeming to praise himself. And necessity brought him to this, and the fear lest it should turn to the harm of the disciples that he himself be made contemptible, while the false apostles seem to be something. For that it was under great necessity, and for the profit of the disciples, that he came to this, is plain even to the exceedingly senseless. For he who remembers his former sins, from which he was set free through baptism, and who calls himself unworthy of the appellation of apostle, how could he, without necessity, have spoken boastfully concerning himself? He says, then: Would that you bore with me as I play the fool a little; nay rather, do bear with me. For I am confident that you love me, and bear with all that is mine.

2 Cor. 11:2. For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God. He did not say, I love, but that which was far more vehement, I am jealous. For jealousy is born in those who love ardently. Then, lest they suppose that it is for the sake of something human—such as money, or glory—that he is jealous over them, he says, with a jealousy of God; for God too is said to be jealous, because of his loving us exceedingly, not that he himself may gain anything, but that he may save us, gathering us to himself and joining us to himself. Such, then, he says, is my jealousy also toward you: not that I may gain, but that you may not be corrupted.

2 Cor. 11:2. For I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. I espoused you beforehand, he says, to Christ. Therefore it is on his behalf that I am jealous, not on my own. For I am not the husband, but the bridesman. And observe how he did not say, I am your teacher, and on this account you ought to bear with me; but he sets them in the rank of a bride, and himself in the place of the bridesmaid, dignifying them. And consider now what comes to pass in the case of the Church: for in the world, after marriage they no longer remain virgins; but here, even those who were not virgins before this become virgins after this marriage; thus the whole Church is a virgin. For Paul says these things to all, both to the men who have married and to the women who have been married. And what bridal gifts do I bring, who have made the betrothal? The kingdom of heaven. A figure of this is what happened in the case of Abraham, when he sent his servant to betroth a foreign maiden. For here too God sent his servants the prophets to betroth the Church to his Son Christ; as in David’s saying, Hearken, O daughter, and behold, and forget your people, and the house of your father; and the apostles, and Paul, saying, On behalf of Christ we are ambassadors. The present time, then, is that of the betrothal; but the time to come is that of the marriage, when the cry shall be raised: Behold, the bridegroom.

2 Cor. 11:3. But I fear lest, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your thoughts should be corrupted from the simplicity that is toward Christ. For even if the destruction be yours, yet the fear is mine. And he does not declare, You have been corrupted—although they had been corrupted—but he has set it down doubtfully: Lest, as the serpent deceived Eve. For that one too, by promising greater things, deceived; and the false apostles likewise, vaunting and wishing to say certain great things, deceive in their craftiness. But just as neither the craftiness of the serpent, nor the simplicity of Eve, sufficed for her to pardon, so neither shall these things avail for you. And he did not say that Adam was deceived, that he might show being deceived to be a womanish thing. And he did not say, Be not deceived, but, Let not your thoughts be corrupted, continuing in the metaphor; for corruption is spoken of in the case of virgins. Lest you be corrupted from the guilelessness which you have toward Christ. This is: Be not deceived away from your guilelessness. And some take it thus: Be not carried over from the simple faith into the cleverness of those without; for this is the greatest corruption.

2 Cor. 11:4. For if indeed he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different Spirit, which you did not receive, or a different gospel, which you did not accept, you bore with him well. What do you say, O Paul? Writing to the Galatians: If anyone preaches to you any gospel beside that which you received, let him be accursed; now you say that, if those men were preaching another Jesus, you bore with them well? Hear, then: The false apostles vaunted, as bringing in something more than the apostles. Since, then, they prated many senseless things, using the wisdom that is without, he says that, If they were preaching another Christ, who ought to have been preached, while we had passed him over, you bore with them well. For on this account he added, Whom we did not preach. But if the chief points of the faith are the same, what have those men more? And mark, he did not say, If he that comes preaches something more; for indeed they did say something more, with greater authority and much beauty of words; but, preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach; which has no need of fine speech. Or you receive a different Spirit; that is, If he made you richer in the spiritual gifts; which neither does this need elegance of words. Or a different gospel; which neither does this need words. And everywhere he shows that one must give heed, not simply if they say something more, but if they say anything that ought to have been said and was passed over by us. For mark: Another Jesus whom we did not preach; a different Spirit, which you did not receive; a different gospel, which you did not accept. So that, since they say the same things, why do you gape after them? And since they say the same things, O Paul, why do you hinder them? Because, using hypocrisy, they bring in other doctrines.

2 Cor. 11:5. For I reckon that I have come short in nothing of the apostles who are above measure. Henceforth he compares himself with those around Peter, wishing to show this, that If they know anything more than I, then they know more than those also—leading the argument to an absurdity. And observe his humility: I reckon, he says, as it were, I consider, I suppose, and nothing assertive. And he does not simply say, the apostles, but, those above measure, hinting at Peter, and John, and James. And this he says because there was now need of it, since elsewhere he says, who am not worthy to be called an apostle.

2 Cor. 11:6. But though I be unlearned in speech, yet not in knowledge. Since the false apostles adorned themselves in this, in not being unlearned, he himself shows that he does not flee from unlettered plainness, but even glories in it. And he does not say, If I too am unlearned, so also are the apostles, lest he seem to slander them along with himself; but he overthrows the very matter of the wisdom that is without, as also in the former Epistle he showed it to be not only unprofitable, but rather even ruinous to the glory of the cross. In speech, then, I am unlearned, not in knowledge. And by this he hints at those men, that as much as they vaunt in eloquence, so much are they deprived of the knowledge of God, and are unlearned with respect to it.

2 Cor. 11:6. But in everything having been made manifest among all men toward you. Not as the false apostles, being one thing and appearing another, but in all things which we do and say we are manifest toward you; there is no duplicity or hypocrisy in us, as in those men, who wear about them only the mask of piety, and do all the basest things.

2 Cor. 11:7. Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you the Gospel of God freely? This, he says, I sinned, and on this account you have grounds to accuse me and to exalt yourselves over me: that I abased myself, begging and famishing, that you might be exalted—that is, be built up to the faith. For they were no longer offended (which is also their greatest accusation), since they were not built up otherwise, except by his own being starved. But since they slandered him, that when present he is lowly, but when absent he vaunts, as if now making his defense concerning this, he strikes them: that I became lowly, but you were exalted thereby.

2 Cor. 11:8. Other churches I robbed, taking wages for the ministry to you. And yet he was able to say, I ate from the labor of my own hands; but, making his speech more striking, From others, he says, I took, and that while ministering to you. And the word I robbed is instead of, I stripped them bare, and made them poor. And he hints also at the Macedonians, who, being most poor, had me besides as a further burden upon them, although they were not in need of superfluities, but of the necessary expenses. For I took wages; but nevertheless not even these did you give me; which is the greatest accusation, and what is worse, that it was for the ministry to you; for while preaching to you, and working your things, I was fed by others.

2 Cor. 11:9. And being present with you and in want, I was burdensome to no one. The charge is threefold: that, being both present with you, and ministering to you, and in want, I was not deemed worthy of a word. Not only did you not send, as the Macedonians did, but you did not even feed me when present. And the words, I was burdensome to no one, signify this: I did not weigh upon anyone. And he shows them to be sluggish and torpid in contributing. But some take I was not burdensome instead of, I was not negligent, nor did I become more slothful toward the preaching; but on my part all that was needful was done for your salvation; yet I passed my time in want, and did not ask, nor did I relax my endurance by growing torpid.

2 Cor. 11:9. For my want the brethren supplied when they came from Macedonia. He casts them into jealousy, that he may the more rouse them to almsgiving, lest, having been outdone by the Macedonians in the feeding of him, they be outdone also in almsgiving. And by saying, my want, he shows that he received nothing beyond the necessary need; and those who fed him were his own.

2 Cor. 11:9. And in everything I kept myself unburdensome to you, and will keep myself so. He shows that they even accounted it a burden to furnish him with food. And well does he say, I will keep. For do not suppose, he says, that I said these things in order that I might receive from you for the future; but I both kept myself unburdensome, and will keep myself so; which is a great blow to them, if he no longer has confidence in them, but has once for all given up receiving anything from them.

2 Cor. 11:10. The truth of Christ is in me, that this boasting shall not be stopped against me in the regions of Achaia. Lest they suppose that he said, I will keep myself, in order the more to draw them on, he says: In truth, the truth which is in Christ Jesus, I say that I will not receive; and lest anyone suppose that he says these things from grief or anger, he calls the matter a boasting. For to preach the Gospel without cost was a great boast to him, as to one who, for Christ’s sake, leaps beyond the bounds set by Christ. And the words, shall not be stopped, are from the metaphor of rivers; for, as though his fame flowed everywhere, he says: This good and glorious stream shall not be stopped by my receiving from this time forward. And the saying, in the regions of Achaia, belongs to one who strikes. For if this is a boasting, he ought to have kept it everywhere; but if he keeps it among them alone, it is manifest that they are not sound, as the rest are.

2 Cor. 11:11. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do. Being about to introduce the cause for which he did not receive from them, namely, that it was on account of the false apostles, he first removes what the Corinthians would have suspected: that, As it seems, it is because you hate us that you do not receive. And he says that, Rather it is because I love you, and do not wish you to be harmed, as being easily made to stumble. But thus plainly he does not say it, lest he reprove their weakness; and he turns the discourse to another cause.

2 Cor. 11:12. But what I do, I will also do, that I may cut off the occasion of those who desire an occasion, that wherein they boast they may be found even as we. Here most plainly he sets forth the cause for which he did not receive. For since the devil saw that worldly men are especially won over in this, in the teachers’ not receiving, he taught the false apostles to feign this also. For neither did they truly succeed even in this, though they were rich; but, while seeming not to receive, they received. Wherefore he did not say, That wherein they succeed, but, wherein they boast; which is also indicative of arrogance. The Apostle, therefore, perceiving these things, determined within himself not to receive anything from anyone, and that while being poor, in order to cut off their occasion, and that they might not find room to find fault with him. And yet this was no fault; for it is a law of Christ; but nevertheless, since the Corinthians, as weak, were easily made to stumble, he guarded himself. And henceforth the false apostles, being inferior in the other things, had nothing more even in this; unless one should say that in this also they were inferior, both because, being themselves rich, they did not receive, while Paul, in much want, did not receive; and because not even this did they truly succeed in, but feigned it; whereas the Apostle truly succeeded.

2 Cor. 11:13. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. What do you say? Those who preach Christ, those who bring in no different gospel, as you said above—are they now false apostles? Yes, he says, for this very reason; for, feigning these things, they secretly bring in unholy doctrines. And deceitful workers, inasmuch as they seem indeed to work, but tear up the things that have been planted; they have only the form of apostles, and the hide of sheep, but are in truth wolves.

2 Cor. 11:14. And no marvel; for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. For when their teacher dares all things, it is no marvel; he who stands by, proclaiming that God too is light, in that he himself is light. But the devil transforms himself into such a one; he does not become such. Thus, then, these men also bear only the form of apostles, not the very working. And we learn from this, that to do anything for display is, most of all things, devilish.

2 Cor. 11:15. It is no great thing, then, if his ministers also transform themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. That is, as ministers of the Gospel which has righteousness; or they invest themselves with the reputation of righteous men; but they shall not escape to the end; for according to their works shall be their end—that is, evil. So that from their works we shall recognize them; for they shall have an end corresponding to their works.

2 Cor. 11:16. Again I say: let no one think me to be foolish; but if otherwise, yet even as foolish receive me, that I too may boast a little. For even though he had already used forecorrections, yet nevertheless, I am not content, he says, with what has been said, but I say again, lest anyone think me to be foolish. For to boast is, simply, a mark of folly; but I do not do this as a senseless man, but being constrained. Nevertheless, if you do not pardon me, but altogether judge me too to be foolish, although I boast of necessity, I do not decline this. Therefore bear with me as I say: that I too, like those men, may boast, but this too only a little.

2 Cor. 11:17. What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as in folly, in this confidence of boasting. What I speak, he says, is not according to the Lord—that is, the words; but the aim of the words is exceedingly according to the Lord. And he did not say, In folly, but, As in folly. For the boasting resembles folly; but it is not so in truth. And lest you suppose that everywhere he speaks in folly, and not according to the Lord, he says that it is in this part of the boasting, not in certain others.

2 Cor. 11:18. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. That is, from outward things, from noble birth, from having circumcision, and Hebrew forefathers. For this is what he calls not according to the Lord: to boast in such things; for what profit is it to be of the Hebrews? I do not, then, set these down as a virtue, but since those men, he says, boast in these, I too am constrained to make the comparison from hence.

2 Cor. 11:19. For gladly you bear with the foolish, being yourselves wise. You, he says, compel me to say such things; for if you did not receive those men, and from this I saw you being harmed, neither would I have come to this. And he calls foolish those who boast in fleshly things. For if even to boast in spiritual things is folly, how much more to boast in things that are not at all? And the words, being wise, seem indeed to be cheerful, yet rather they have an intensification of accusation, that, In knowledge, he says, you sin. For if you were senseless, you would be worthy of pardon.

2 Cor. 11:20. For you bear with it, if anyone enslaves you. See how great a servility he charges against the Corinthians, and how excessively they had bowed beneath the false apostles.

2 Cor. 11:20. If anyone devours you, if anyone takes from you. Do you see that he shows them to be receiving, and that excessively? For the word devours signifies this. So that also what he said above, that wherein they boast, he said well. For they had only a boast, not the truth, feigning not to receive.

2 Cor. 11:20. If anyone exalts himself. That is, if anyone tyrannizes over you, and lords it over you; for the masters are not gentle, but burdensome and grievous.

2 Cor. 11:20–21. If anyone strikes you on the face; I speak as concerning dishonor. Did you see the intensification of dishonor and outrage? For they treated them as slaves. And these things he says, not that they were struck in the face, but that they suffered no less than those who are struck in the face; for he said this with a view to their outrage. For what could be more shameful than this, when, having taken away both their possessions, and their freedom, and their honor, they treat them as slaves?

2 Cor. 11:21. As though we had been weak. But for what reason, he says, do you bear with them? As though we were weak, and not able so to deal with you? Which is not the case. For we too are able so to walk among you; but we by no means wish it. He therefore ascribes the whole cause of those men’s arrogance to the servility of these. For you, by bowing beneath them in too slavish a manner, are the cause both to them of their outrage, and to us of the present words.

2 Cor. 11:21. But wherein anyone is bold (I speak in folly), I am bold also. See how again he calls the matter boldness and folly, and all but says: By force I come to this. And yet how many forecorrections had he laid down beforehand, and others before these? And this he does, teaching us also not to come to such words without necessity. He says, then, that wherein, in any matter, anyone is bold to boast, I am bold also; “with labor” is to be supplied from without. Then also the things wherein they boast. As—

2 Cor. 11:22. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Since not all the Hebrews were Israelites—for the Moabites also and the Ammonites made themselves Hebrews along with them—on this account, purging the nobility of birth, he added, Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I; indicating Isaac.

2 Cor. 11:23. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself.) I am more so. Some say that he ought not to have brought forth the word by way of comparison, but to have denied altogether that they were ministers of Christ. And we say that this he showed in a single phrase, by calling them false apostles. But now, having begun to make his speech by way of comparison, he brings in the demonstration that is through facts, and gives the hearer to understand that he himself is, while those men are not. He says, then, that, Even if they are ministers of Christ, yet even so I am above them. And again he calls the matter madness, because of the ocean of his humility.

2 Cor. 11:23. In labors more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in imprisonments more frequently. He recounts the things that characterize the apostles, and, leaving aside the signs, begins from the trials; and he says that, I both undertake more labors, passing from place to place, and teaching night and day, and still working with my hands; but also—what is greater—enduring stripes too, and these excessively; and—what is still greater—together with the stripes being also imprisoned. And the words, above measure, and the words, more abundantly, are comparative indeed, as against the false apostles; yet by way of hypothesis: as if to say, Granted that those men toil; but I, more abundantly and above measure. But some say that these things were not said by way of comparison, but are simply significant of abundance and intensity.

2 Cor. 11:23. In deaths often. Not only dying in purpose, but also being given over to dangers that were in very deed death-bringing.

2 Cor. 11:24. From the Jews I received forty lashes minus one, five times. Why save one? There was a law that he who was beaten with more than the forty stripes should be dishonored; they ordained, therefore, to give one short, that is, thirty-nine; so that even if the one striking, carried away by the impetus of striking, should give one too many, he should give forty, and the one beaten should not become dishonored, as having been struck within the number prescribed by law.

2 Cor. 11:25. Three times was I beaten with rods; once was I stoned. Not all the things that Paul suffered did Luke write down for us; for you see how many of the things here enumerated that man omitted. For it was not for the sake of vainglory that the labor of the composition was undertaken by him.

2 Cor. 11:25–26. Three times I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have passed in the deep. In journeyings often. And what has it to do with the Gospel, if you suffered shipwreck? For it was for the Gospel’s sake that, being sent on long voyages across the sea, I suffered shipwreck. And a night and a day he continued in the deep, swimming. But some say that, having been hidden in a certain well, after the danger at Lystra, in a place called the Deep, he now says this.

2 Cor. 11:26. In perils of rivers. For indeed he was compelled to ferry across rivers also.

2 Cor. 11:26. In perils of robbers, in perils from his own race, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea. Everywhere both the devil made war, and God set forth the prizes. For robbers rose up against him, both from the Gentiles and from his kinsmen the Jews, who indeed warred the more, being made savage through their jealousy against him. But was he without danger in the city? By no means. But then in the wilderness? Not even in this; and if he fled the land, the perils in the sea succeeded.

2 Cor. 11:26. In perils among false brethren. This again is another kind of trial, and most grievous: to be plotted against by falsely-named and hypocritical brethren; and David too laments: For if an enemy had reproached me, I would have borne it; but it was you, a man my equal; and again, The man of my peace.

2 Cor. 11:27. In toil and hardship, in watchings often; The things from those without did not suffice, but he himself also, from his own resources, wore himself down with toils and hardships, and with watchings.

2 Cor. 11:27. In fastings often, in cold and nakedness, besides the things that are without. Suffering so many things, he had not even the necessary food in plenty, nor covering—he, the teacher of the world; but he both contended naked, and fought as a boxer while famishing; and yet he passed over the greater part. For this is the meaning of besides the things that are without; nay rather, not even these things which he mentioned did he state in detail, but those of which the number was easily grasped he enumerated, saying, Five times, and, Three times; while of the things hard to number he made mention indefinitely; for more abundantly, he says, and, above measure, and, often. And observe how, having enumerated so many hardships, he did not say how many he converted to Christ, at once being moderate-minded, and at the same time teaching that, even if nothing more come to the one who labors, even so the things of the rewards will be fulfilled.

2 Cor. 11:28. My daily pressure. This is the frenzied onset, and the rising up, which the populaces make against me each day by common consent.

2 Cor. 11:28. the concern for all the churches. This is the chief of all. For if one who presides over a single household—and that, having servants and stewards—is not able even to breathe; what is it likely that a single soul should suffer, amid so many dangers, taking thought for the whole world, and that on behalf of souls?

2 Cor. 11:29. Who is weak, and I do not feel that weakness? Lest anyone should say, He took care indeed, but simply so, he shows also the kind of his care. And he did not say, I share in the despondency, but, As though I myself were weak, so am I disposed. And by weakness you will understand both the bodily, and especially the spiritual. And the word who—whether he be great, he says, or whether he be mean.

2 Cor. 11:29. Who is made to stumble, and I am not set on fire? See how he set forth the excess of his pain. For I am set ablaze, he says, and I burn; and the other things, while suffering them, he rejoiced, knowing that for the Master’s sake he suffers these things. But here he was wounded through in his soul, so that anyone’s being made to stumble—even the chance and cast-off man—grieved him the more. And David gives us to understand I am set on fire instead of, I am made to stumble. For just as he said, Who is weak, and I am not weak? so he says: Even if anyone is made to stumble, I myself seem to be made to stumble, and I am eager to heal the passion as my own. And where does David say this? When the ungodly man exalts himself in pride, the poor man is set on fire; that is, the poor man is made to stumble, beholding in his mind the unworthy growing rich and exalting themselves.

2 Cor. 11:30. If I must needs boast, I will boast of the things of my weakness. By weakness he means the persecutions. For in famishing, and being struck, and suffering shipwreck, and suffering all the other things, human weakness is shown. And of signs he makes no mention here; for those were a gift of God; but these, together with the inclining of God’s help, displayed also his own endurance.

2 Cor. 11:31. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ knows, who is blessed to the ages, that I do not lie. Having made no asseveration upon any of the former things, here he asseverates and gives assurance; perhaps because it was more ancient and more obscure. But the other things were known also to them, such as the care, and the rest.

2 Cor. 11:32. In Damascus the ethnarch of Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes, wishing to seize me. See the war, how great it was, if indeed it was on his account that the ruler was guarding the city; and by no means would the ethnarch have been so disposed, had not Paul’s zeal set all things ablaze. And Aretas was the father-in-law of Herod.

2 Cor. 11:33. And through a window in a basket I was let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. He escaped, fulfilling the Master’s law; for the Lord too removed from place to place; for we ought not to cast ourselves into trials. Where, then, the evils are inescapable, there is need of God alone, and from him alone must redemption be sought and awaited; but where the trial is moderate, something must be devised from one’s own resources also; yet even so the whole must be ascribed to God, even as this man too escaped in a basket. For even though he longed to be with Christ, yet he also took thought for the salvation of men, and kept himself for the preaching.

Chapter 12

2 Cor. 12:1. But it is not expedient for me to boast; for I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. Since he is passing over to another kind of boasting—the kind that made him illustrious, that of revelations—he says that this there is nothing to be gained by it, lest it lift me up into conceit. But what if you do not speak of them? Do you not know them all the same? Yet we are not lifted up in the same way when we ourselves know them and when we publish them to one another. And he says these things, not as one who is himself about to suffer anything of the sort, but to school us to hold such things in reserve within ourselves. And in another sense also, It is not expedient, lest anyone reckon of me beyond what he sees me to be—which he also says a little further down. For the false apostles, even though they had nothing, kept speaking; but this man, although he had many visions and revelations of the Lord, nevertheless mentions one only, and that unwillingly. And know that the revelation has something more than the vision. For the one grants only to see; but the other lays bare something deeper than what is seen.

2 Cor. 12:2. I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago. He neither mentions all the revelations (for he would have been burdensome, since they were many), nor passes over all of them in silence; but even against his will he speaks of one only, that he may show that he mentions even this unwillingly. And the phrase In Christ, he added, lest the false apostles should say that he was caught up by demons. Nor is this either without reason… that one may learn that, having kept silence for fourteen years, he would not even now have spoken out without necessity.[1] And [observe] that if, fourteen years ago, he was deemed worthy of such things, how great he now is, after so many dangers for Christ’s sake!

2 Cor. 12:2. (Whether in the body, I do not know; or out of the body, I do not know; God knows) that such a one was caught up to the third heaven. See his modesty of mind, how he confesses that he does not know whether he was in the body or out of the body when he was caught up. And the third heaven you may understand thus: Scripture calls the air “heaven,” as in The birds of heaven; and, The dew of heaven; behold, this is one heaven. It knows the firmament also as heaven; for He called the firmament heaven; behold, this is the second. And it knows also the one created in the beginning together with the earth; behold, the third.

2 Cor. 12:3–4. And I know such a man (whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know; God knows), that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. From the third heaven, he says, he was caught up again into paradise. He was caught up, then, that not even in this might he be inferior to the rest of the apostles who had companied with Christ. And into paradise, because the name of that place was much spoken of; whence also the Lord promised it to the thief. And unspeakable were the words he heard, which to those who are minded after the manner of men, and have nothing spiritual, it is not permitted to utter. And hence it is clear that the so-called Apocalypse of Paul is spurious; for how could it be otherwise, if those things were unspeakable?[2] Now according to the letter, the third heaven is one place and paradise another; but according to the anagogical sense, perhaps the same, perhaps not the same. For though there are many things that might be said anagogically, we shall say a few, and those more easily grasped. For there is a first heaven, the limit and boundary of the ethical discipline, when one sets his own character in order. Then the natural discipline is a second heaven, when one circumscribes, so far as is attainable, the knowledge of the nature of the universe. Then the theological discipline is a third heaven, when, through contemplation, one attains the measure—attainable to him for the time—of the apprehension of things more divine and beyond knowledge. And so Paul too, in the regions concerning the Trinity, became wholly caught up—that is, having transcended all created things; and neither being in the body (for he was not acting according to the bodily senses), nor out of the body; for his understanding too was at rest. For in things divine all human understanding is at rest, while the man is caught up and taken by God, so as to be borne and energized by Him. And since in the regions of theology too there are ascents, for this reason he is caught up again into paradise, dwelling among the more mystical things of the Godhead—which, being unknown and unspeakable, no one could ever receive unless he go out beyond human meanness.

2 Cor. 12:5. Of such a one will I boast. See his freedom from vanity, how he relates these things as though concerning some other. For Of such a one, he says, will I boast. And yet, for what reason, if another was caught up, do you boast? So it is clear that he says these things concerning himself.

2 Cor. 12:5. But of myself I will not boast. Either because, there being no necessity, I will say nothing of the sort lightly and at random; or, veiling his statement as far as may be, he says these things.

2 Cor. 12:5. Except in my weaknesses. That is, in afflictions, in persecutions.

2 Cor. 12:6. For if I should wish to boast, I shall not be foolish; for I will speak the truth. How is it that, having said before that boasting is folly, he now says, I shall not be foolish if I boast? It is not in respect of boasting that he now said he would not be foolish, but in respect of not lying. For he added, For I will speak the truth. As one speaking truth, then, I shall not be foolish.

2 Cor. 12:6. But I forbear, lest anyone should reckon of me beyond what he sees me to be, or hears anything from me. This is the avowed reason: that men might not make a god of him; for on this account he was always silent concerning himself; and if ever he was compelled to say anything, he veiled it, lest men should conceive a greater notion concerning him. For he did not say, Let no one speak concerning me, but, That no one may reckon anything greater than my worth. For if they wished to sacrifice bulls to him on account of the signs, what would they not have done, had he also disclosed the revelations?

2 Cor. 12:7. And so that I might not become conceited because of the extraordinary character of the revelations, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me—so that I might not become conceited. Some have supposed the messenger of Satan and the thorn to be a headache brought on by the devil. But far be it; for the body of Paul would not have been delivered over to the devil, seeing that Paul rather gave commands to him and set limits to him, when he delivered the fornicator to him for the destruction of the flesh, and that one did not overstep the limits. What, then, is “Satan”? In the Hebrew tongue he is called “the adversary.” The messengers of Satan, therefore, are all the adversaries: Alexander the coppersmith, Hymenaeus and Philetus, and all who afflict and ill-treat him, as doing the works of Satan.[3] He says, then, that God did not allow my preaching to proceed without dangers and toils, lest I should be exalted as having been deemed worthy of many revelations. And why did he not say, Messengers of Satan were given, but a messenger? Because in each place some one is found, perhaps, who resists and stirs up the populace, at whose instigation the rest also follow along; or—which is also better—he named the thing itself, that is, the opposition to the preaching and the bringing-on of dangers, “a messenger of Satan.” And by whom was it given? By God, he says, it was permitted; for this is the meaning of It was given; and not that he should buffet me once, but continually. And as for Lest I should be exalted above measure, some have understood it as meaning, Lest I should be glorified by men. But Paul does not say this here, even though he said it above; rather this very thing, Lest I become vainglorious, he says; for he too was a man.

2 Cor. 12:8–9. For this I besought the Lord three times, that it might depart from me; and He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you. Three times, meaning, many times, I besought. And this too belongs to humility, to confess that he could not bear the plots and the afflictions, and on this account besought. He has said to me, then, It is sufficient for you, for I have given you such grace, that you may raise the dead, that you may accomplish all mighty works. Do not seek that the preaching be set before you free of danger as well; for this is superfluous; but what is sufficient for you, you have received.

2 Cor. 12:9. For my power is made perfect in weakness. That is: But perhaps you grieve, O Paul, lest this should seem to be a weakness of mine, that many plot against the word—take courage. For then my power shines forth the more perfectly, when, being persecuted, you prevail over your persecutors. And observe how he himself said that he was given over to the trials in order that he might not be exalted; but God stated another cause of this, namely, that His power then appears as having its perfection, when they are in weakness, that is, in persecutions and dangers.

2 Cor. 12:9. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Since, he says, I have heard these things, and that the power of God is made perfect in weakness, henceforth I will boast in my weaknesses. For the more these abound, the more abundant the power of God they procure for me. Do not, then, suppose that I spoke the things concerning the thorn as one grieving, but rather as one rejoicing and boasting, as one drawing the greater power of God toward myself through the intensifying of the afflictions.

2 Cor. 12:10. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. I desired, he says, as a man, to be delivered from these grievous things; but since I heard what I heard, from that time I both boast and take pleasure—that is, I rejoice, and giving thanks I am well content in weaknesses. Then, lest you should suppose a fever and such-like maladies, he interprets these for you, that the insults and the rest are the weaknesses. And these things both put the false apostles to shame, who boast in the opposite things, as enemies of God; and console the disciples, that they may not be ashamed of their teacher, but rather may even glory in him, since God wills this, and since the dangers are for Christ’s sake.

2 Cor. 12:10. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Why do you marvel if the power of God is then displayed? For I too am then strong, when grace comes upon me more abundantly; as when he was shut up in prison, then he catechized the jailer; when he was shipwrecked, he astonished the barbarians on the island; when he stood bound before the judge, then he prevailed over both him and the accusers. When, therefore, he was weak—that is, was in dangers—then he was strong and illustrious.

2 Cor. 12:11. I have become foolish in boasting; you compelled me. Again he makes his defense concerning the boasting. And above he said, Receive me as a fool, and, As in foolishness; but now, taking away even the As, he calls himself a fool. For since he has established what he wished, he henceforth confidently condemns such a fault, instructing them out of abundance never to boast when there is no necessity—seeing that even when there was necessity, Paul calls himself a fool. For you compelled me; that is, Caring for your salvation I said these things, since I saw that the false apostles, by their boasting, were corrupting you who gave heed to them; for this very reason, then, I too chose to say something on my own behalf, for your sake.

2 Cor. 12:11. For I ought to have been commended by you. It behooved you, he says, rather to recount my deeds and to speak well of me; but since you did not do this, but gave heed to those men and were corrupted, I said these things for your salvation.

2 Cor. 12:11. For in nothing was I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I am nothing. Above, with hesitation, For I reckon, he says, that I am in nothing behind; but now he spoke more authoritatively, that In nothing was I behind; that is, I did not come after the great apostles, those around Peter. Yet here too he has not forgotten his own custom, but added, Though I am nothing. And observe his discernment. For he no longer compares himself with the false apostles, but, not deeming these worthy even of a word, he affirms that he is equal to the apostles, prevailing altogether out of abundance; and at the same time showing that the Corinthians insult the apostles also, when they hold one equal to them in second place after the false apostles.

2 Cor. 12:12. The marks of a true apostle were performed among you, I, he says, am nothing; but do not you look at this, but rather attend to the fact that I lacked nothing of the marks that characterize an apostle. For you are witnesses that I did all things.

2 Cor. 12:12. In all patience. The first mark of an apostle is patience, and the bearing of all things nobly. And see his humility, how many dangers, how many wars, within and without, by this single word he hinted at and passed over. For what was his own achievement—patience, I mean—he stated in a single word; but the matters of the signs, which were not his own but of the grace of God, he set forth at greater length. And listen.

2 Cor. 12:12. In signs and wonders and mighty works. Wherein a sign differs from a wonder has been stated elsewhere. But lest anyone should suppose that these were said only of conferring benefit, he added also mighty works. For “power” indicates more plainly the punitive kind as well. And see here too how many dead, lepers, blind, and demoniacs—all of them benefited—he comprehended in a word; and likewise those who were brought to their senses, such as Elymas.

2 Cor. 12:13. For what is there in which you were made inferior to the rest of the Churches? Lest anyone should say, Great indeed are you, yet you did not work so many things as the apostles did in the other Churches, he says, In what were you made inferior? that is, In what did you have less? Did you obtain a lesser gift than the rest?

2 Cor. 12:13. except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong! With much severity he reproves, and says: If you charge this against me, that I did not burden you, but preached to you without expense, I ask pardon; forgive me this sin. And at the same time the saying also contains a commendation of them, if indeed they consider themselves wronged by him who did not see fit to take anything from them.

2 Cor. 12:14. Behold, this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you; for I seek not what is yours, but you.[4] Lest he should seem to be continually bringing this forward to them, as though from now on he would take, he says, It is not because I do not take that I therefore do not come; rather, I both came a second time and have prepared to come a third, and I will not burden you. Why? Not because you are smitten, nor because you are weak, but because I seek you, not what is yours; that is, your salvation and your souls, not your money.

2 Cor. 12:14. For the children ought not to lay up treasure for the parents, but the parents for the children. Since it was likely that they would say, For it is not possible for us both to keep ourselves and to keep what is ours; so you are not kindly disposed toward us—on this account he brings in a consideration, that the parents owe it to give to the children; taking, in place of teachers and disciples, fathers and children, and showing that he is fulfilling a debt, and that the matter admits no excuse.

2 Cor. 12:15. And I will most gladly spend and be utterly spent for your souls. I, he says, not only will by no means take from you, but rather will give over and above; for this is the meaning of I will spend. And why do I say I will spend money? I myself will be utterly spent; that is, Even if it be necessary to spend the flesh for the salvation of your souls, I will not spare it.

2 Cor. 12:15. Even though, loving you more abundantly, I am loved the less. And this too is uttered with reproach together with love. For he says, And these things I do for those who are loved indeed, but do not love in like manner. And see how many degrees the matter has. When he ought to have taken, he did not take; second, being in want; third, even while preaching to them; fourth, that he even gives over and above; fifth, that he does so not simply, but even with eager generosity out of his want; for. Sixth, that he gives even himself; seventh, on behalf of those who do not love him exceedingly; eighth, that he does so even toward those loved exceedingly.

2 Cor. 12:16–17. But be it so: I did not burden you; yet, being crafty, I caught you with guile. Did I make a gain of you by any of those whom I sent to you? What he means is this: I, for my part, did not overreach you; but someone might perhaps suspect that I myself, while taking nothing, was preparing, like a crafty man, those sent by me to ask something of you in their own person, that, taking it by stratagem, I might not seem to take. Whether, then, this is true, look and consider. And he again calls the matter “overreaching,” fastening upon them and putting them to shame, and showing that they were about to give unwillingly, and as men overreached. For this is overreaching, to take something from an unwilling man; which was their greatest shame, if indeed they considered themselves overreached.

2 Cor. 12:18. I besought Titus, and sent with him the brother. Did Titus make any gain of you? And this too is by way of reproach; for he did not say, I sent, but, I besought; showing that, even if he had taken, he would have taken justly, for he came at his request; yet even so he remained clean. And he had sent along with him a certain other brother also.

2 Cor. 12:18. Did we not walk in the same spirit? That is, In the same spiritual gift? for he calls a gift the being earnest not to take. And though it was his own achievement, he attributes it to God.

2 Cor. 12:18. Did we not walk in the same steps? Not in the least, he says, did I depart from my own way, but they showed the same exactness. And see how Paul schooled in this manner not only himself, but also those with him, to be not at all defiled even by a just gain.

2 Cor. 12:19. Again, do you think that we are making our defense to you? We speak before God in Christ. He fears lest he should incur a reputation for flattery, and says: We do not speak these things to win your favor, nor that we may defend ourselves to you, but as in the sight of God, and in Christ; that is, Through Christ we speak. So that we say true things, things which have come to pass and are known by God, and not that I may commend myself to you; and this also he said at the beginning.

2 Cor. 12:19. But all things, beloved, are for your edification. He did not say, For this reason I did all these things and took nothing, so that you are weak (for this would have been wounding), but, For the sake of your edification. For that you may not be made to stumble at me, he says, on this account I took nothing, for the sake of your profit.

2 Cor. 12:20. For I fear lest, when I come, I should not find you such as I wish, and that I should be found by you such as you do not wish. Do you see fatherly solicitude? Others were sinning, and Paul was afraid; and he does not even declare it, but still hesitates: Lest perhaps, he says, when I come I should find you not such as I wish, that is, corrupted; and, that I also should be found of necessity such as you do not wish, that is, an avenger and chastiser.

2 Cor. 12:20. Lest perhaps there be strife, envyings, wraths, rivalries, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults. He was going to set the swellings first, for it was against him that they were boasting; but nevertheless, lest he should seem to be seeking his own, he names the common one first. For from envy and malice all the rest were engendered; and all envy was kindled by them. “Rivalry” is so called when one, in contention, challenges another to this or that. By “whispering” he means slander; and by “swellings,” the boastful and inflated characters; or also when conceit becomes second nature to someone. For being lifted up against him, they were honoring the false apostles.

2 Cor. 12:21. Lest, when I come again, my God should humble me before you. That is, The former things are enough; but I fear lest, when I come, I should be compelled to deal with you severely. For he calls this “humiliation,” the chastising of certain ones at all—and yet the many rather regard this as glory. But he did not say, Lest I be humbled, but, Lest God humble me; showing that for God’s sake he is about to do this also; and that, were not God and His command in the midst, he would not have appeared severe of himself. And by saying My God, he makes plain his burning love toward God.

2 Cor. 12:21. And I should mourn many of those who have sinned before, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and licentiousness which they have practiced. See the tender affections of the apostle, how he mourns for the offenses of others. And he did not say, All, but, Many; and not simply those who had sinned, but those who have not repented; for these are worthy of mourning, who remain in the wound. And he does not even expose these, granting them an easy return to repentance. For indeed it was for this reason that he made mention of repentance, that they might lay hold of it, and that he might not, when he came, chastise them and on this account mourn—that is, be grieved to the uttermost. And mark well the point concerning repentance, against the Novatians.[5] By “uncleanness” understand whatever every unclean person does, or, specifically, the unspeakable defilements of bodily intercourse; for it was not one man who had committed fornication, but many, and in many forms of licentiousness.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek here is rough: Migne reads Οὐκ ἀλόγως δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο μάθῃ, with no governing conjunction. A clause has very likely dropped out at the foot of the column (PG 124, between cols. 464 and 465); the sense has been completed conjecturally.

[2] Translator’s note: The reference is to the apocryphal Apocalypse of Paul (the Visio Pauli), which Theophylact here dismisses as pseudepigraphal precisely because Paul says the words he heard were unutterable.

[3] Alexander the coppersmith: 2 Timothy 4:14. Hymenaeus and Philetus: 2 Timothy 2:17 (Hymenaeus also at 1 Timothy 1:20).

[4] Translator’s note: Migne here prints κατανερκήσω for the expected καταναρκήσω (“be burdensome”); the spelling has been kept as printed.

[5] Translator’s note: The Novatians were a third-century rigorist sect (followers of Novatian) who refused to restore the lapsed and grievous sinners to communion through repentance; Theophylact notes that Paul’s mention of repentance tells against them.

Chapter 13

2 Cor. 13:1. Behold, this third time I am coming to you; in the mouth of two witnesses and of three shall every word be established.[1] Just as God threatens much but is ever slow to punish, so also Paul, His imitator, gives much warning beforehand, and says: As it is written, that before two or three witnesses every doubtful matter is established, that is, confirmed; so also at my three comings every threatening word shall be set in array against you, and shall be ratified, unless you repent. For in place of witnesses he sets his comings.

2 Cor. 13:2. I have said beforehand, and I say beforehand, as when present the second time, so also now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare. I both foretold, he says, and again I foretell; for as, having come a second time and being present, I told you, so also now through the letter I proclaim—to those who have sinned before, as needing correction; but to the rest, as witnesses: That if I come again, I will not spare. And he did not say, I will chastise, but used a fatherly word, that of sparing. For if I find them uncorrected, he says, I will no longer defer.

2 Cor. 13:3. Since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me. With much indignation toward those who set him at naught as weak and despised, he says these things. For since you wish to test whether Christ dwells in me, and on this account mock me as weak and bereft of Christ—you shall know it assuredly, if indeed you remain uncorrected. And he shows that the words he speaks are spiritual, and that henceforth one must fear the threat, as of Christ speaking; yet he did not chastise for this reason, as though about to give them a proof and trial; but since you sin incurably, of necessity, he says, I must chastise you, and you shall know through the deeds themselves the proof which you seek.

2 Cor. 13:3. Who toward you is not weak, but is mighty in you. Why did he add Toward you, seeing that He is mighty everywhere? Because it is likely that they had also formerly had experience of His power. He says, then, that From the time you have already received experience, you know assuredly that toward you He is not weak, but mighty—that is, able. Or because at the present He shows His power toward you who are able to be corrected, smiting now, that He may then let go; but toward the unbelievers, in the day of judgment. And he shows also that, even if He is about to take vengeance, it is not he himself who will take vengeance, but Christ.

2 Cor. 13:4. For though He was crucified out of weakness, yet He lives by the power of God.[2] Many are made to stumble by this saying; but learn that “weakness” is spoken both of the body, and also of unsoundness concerning the faith, as in, Receive him who is weak in the faith. And “weakness” is spoken also of plots and dangers and dishonors, as in, I take pleasure in weaknesses, and the like. According to this signification, then, the Lord was crucified out of weakness, having endured plotting, and danger, and insult; for these things seem to come about out of weakness. As, therefore, Paul calls the preaching “foolishness,” not as being so, but as being so reckoned by the unbelievers, so also he says the Lord was crucified out of weakness—the weakness reckoned so among the unbelievers, not the real one. Yet He lives by the power of God, that is, of the Father, or rather His own; for all that is the Father’s is also His, and what is His, the Father’s. So that the power is common; or rather, He Himself is the power of the Father. So that He also raised Himself, as indeed He foretold: Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up. And all these things Paul says because they set him at naught as one persecuted and plotted against, and supposed that he suffered these things out of weakness. He shows, then, that Christ also was in no way harmed by this reputed weakness.

2 Cor. 13:4. For we too are weak in him, but we will live with him by the power of God toward you. That is, We are persecuted, driven about; for these things are the “weakness.” In Him, meaning, For His sake and for His preaching. But just as He was not harmed when plotted against, so neither are we; but we shall live with Him; that is, We shall be found unconquered toward you; that is, for your profit. And perhaps he still frightens them, that, Even if you think us weak, yet we are living toward you; that is, for the purpose, if you are not corrected, of chastising you.

2 Cor. 13:5. Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; prove your own selves. And why do I speak, he says, concerning myself, that Christ speaks in me, and that I am indeed able, yet, imitating Him who was crucified, do not proceed against you? For you too, if you are willing to examine yourselves, will see Christ within yourselves—if indeed you all have the faith (for those who believed then worked miracles), whether the simple faith, or that of the signs, which is more particular. So that, if Christ is in you the disciples, much more is He in me the teacher.

2 Cor. 13:5. Or do you not recognize your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are reprobate? That is, unless you have fallen from the grace of the signs which you received. And he hints that they had also been corrupted in their life. For since many who had faith were yet without share in the working of wonders, inasmuch as they were corrupted in life, he says that, As it seems, you do not recognize your own selves, that Christ is in you? But He is not in you, by reason of your being reprobate as to your life. Yet he did not declare it outright, lest he should wound, but set it down by way of hesitation.

2 Cor. 13:6. But I hope that you will know that we are not reprobate. Great here too is the threat. For since, he says, you wish to receive the proof through the chastisement laid upon you, I hope that we shall not be at a loss to give you the demonstration that we are not reprobate, nor have fallen from the grace of the signs and of the power; or that we are not corrupted in our life, so that Christ should be banished from us, but that there is in us what belongs to an approved life, and that He will take vengeance on those among you who are disobedient.

2 Cor. 13:7. Now I pray to God that you do no evil—not that we may appear approved, but that you may do what is good, and we may be as reprobate. See his tender affections: he was despised, mocked, as though able to do nothing, but only blustering in letters; and not only does he defer the punishment, but he even prays both that they may never sin, and that he himself may not come to the necessity of taking vengeance. For I am not earnest about this, he says, that I may appear approved, as having power to chastise, but that you may always do what is good, and even if you ever sin, that you may repent; and that I may be as reprobate—that is, that I may seem to the many weak and powerless, inasmuch as I find no occasion to chastise you. For he was not in truth going to be reprobate; rather he was found approved, in that he so schools his disciples that they sin in nothing. But because of the supposition of the many he said, As reprobate.

2 Cor. 13:8. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. Lest he should seem to be showing them favor, he says: It is altogether from a mind free of vainglory that I do this, that if we find you without fault, we shall not be able to chastise; but even if we attempt it, God will not cooperate. For He has given us power that we may bring a true verdict, not one contrary to the truth. And he votes truly who punishes the one who is worthy; but against the truth votes he who attempts to chastise the one who is not sinning.

2 Cor. 13:9. For we rejoice when we are weak, but you are strong. Again he shows himself exceedingly careful for them. For he says, Do not suppose that, because I am not able—you being without fault—to display my grace, I am grieved on this account; for I rejoice most of all when I myself am weak—that is, am reckoned weak, as not displaying any power in taking vengeance—but you are strong; that is, virtuous, faultless.

2 Cor. 13:9. And this also we pray for, your perfecting. Not only, he says, do I wish this, but I even pray that you may be blameless and perfected—that is, made complete, presenting no gap.

2 Cor. 13:10. For this reason I write these things while absent, that being present I may not deal sharply, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for edification, and not for tearing down. Since he had reproved them severely and threatened them, he now makes his defense, and says: For this reason I wrote in this manner, wishing the threat and the sharpness to extend only as far as the letter, and not to be displayed in the deeds. For if I find them uncorrected, I will surely chastise them sharply, since the Lord has given me authority. From this, then, he shows that the Lord also chastises through him as His instrument. And showing that he does not desire to use the authority for their punishment, he added, Not for tearing down, but for edification; that is, primarily the Lord does not will to tear down, that is, to chastise, but to build up, that is, to confer benefit; yet even the bringing of demolition upon the uncorrected is to build up.[3]

2 Cor. 13:11. Finally, brethren, rejoice. I, he says, have done my own part. It remains, therefore, for you to contribute your own. For having been corrected, you will gain the unfading joy that comes from a good conscience, even though I have spoken words of grief to you.

2 Cor. 13:11. Be made complete. Meaning, Become perfect both in doctrines and in life, and fill up the things that are lacking to you.

2 Cor. 13:11. Be comforted. Since the trials and dangers were many, he says: Be comforted both by yourselves and by one another, and by the change for the better. For a good conscience is a great comfort.

2 Cor. 13:11. Be of the same mind, live in peace. This he asked of them in the former epistle also, as of men given to faction.[4] And it is possible to be of the same mind in doctrines, yet not to be at peace in one’s dealings with one another; Paul, therefore, requires both.

2 Cor. 13:11. And the God of peace and love shall be with you. Not only does he exhort, but he also prays; or rather this is not even a prayer, but a foretelling of what will follow accordingly: that If you live in peace, God will be with you. And He is called the God “of love,” either as being its fountain, or as having displayed it toward us in surpassing measure; or because, where love is, there He too is present, and is shown to be its Master. And likewise also “of peace”: either as its fountain, or as having made peace with the things in heaven and the things on earth, or as Master of His possession.

2 Cor. 13:12. Greet one another with a holy kiss. Not with a treacherous and deceitful one, like Judas;[5] for on this account we kiss, that we may the more kindle love; since the mouth is, beyond the other members, that which binds souls together. For indeed, on returning home, we show our union by kissing with the mouth. Or also, since we are a temple of God, and the porch of this temple is the mouth, we kiss the porches; for through these porches Christ enters, when we commune.

2 Cor. 13:12. All the saints greet you. Those who are present he joins through the kiss, but those who are absent through the salutation; and these too the mouth joins, for the salutation is from the mouth.

2 Cor. 13:13. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.[6] Since he has joined all together, he prays over them according to custom: the grace of the Son, through which He saved us, not from our own works, but by grace, being Himself slain on our behalf; and the love of the Father, with which He loved us, giving the Only-Begotten on our behalf. And, as though asked, Whence is the grace of the Son? he says, From the love of the Father. And what did He accomplish? The communion of the Holy Spirit—that is, the participation in Him and the partaking, by which we are sanctified, having become, by the visitation of the Paraclete upon us, partakers of Him, and being ourselves also “spirit,” not in essence, but by participation. And where are those who set aside the Spirit, because Paul does not place Him at the beginning of the Epistles? For behold, he has placed Him here, and the Trinity has been numbered in full by Paul; by which Trinity may we be preserved, holding fast the doctrines of the truth securely, and showing forth an incorruptible life, that we may be in very deed made complete, being well in both respects, and shown to be perfect servants of the perfect God in Trinity; to whom be glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: The heading printed here, ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΙΘʹ (“Chapter 19”), gives the number of the ancient Euthalian kephalaia (the running chapter-divisions of the epistle), not the modern Pauline chapter; in modern numbering this is chapter 13.

[2] Translator’s note: Migne’s lemma here lacks the preposition ἐκ (printing ζῇ δυνάμεως Θεοῦ); Theophylact’s own comment supplies it (ζῇ μέντοι ἐκ δυνάμεως Θεοῦ), and it is rendered accordingly.

[3] Translator’s note: After καθαίρεσιν (“tearing down, demolition”) Migne prints a bracketed variant, [καθαιρεῖν] (the infinitive, “to tear down”); it is noted here but not separately rendered.

[4] In the former epistle: cf. 1 Corinthians 1:10.

[5] The treacherous kiss of Judas: cf. Matthew 26:48–49; Luke 22:47–48.

[6] Translator’s note: This benediction is numbered 13:14 in the Byzantine / Textus Receptus tradition followed by Migne; in the modern critical text it is verse 13:13.

Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians

Introduction

A Letter Written in Anger

Paul’s preamble to Galatians, Theophylact observes at the head of his Argument, “is full of wrath, and so is almost the whole Epistle; for always to be gentle toward disciples who have need of rebuke belongs not to a teacher.” It is an observation about tone rather than content, and he notes that even the Lord rebukes Peter and calls his own disciples senseless when the occasion warrants it, and that Paul, though he can write with severity to the Corinthians too, reserves his sharpest words for the Galatians. The cause, as Theophylact reconstructs it, was a party of Jewish-Christian teachers who pressed circumcision and the observance of Sabbaths and new moons on Paul’s Gentile converts, claiming falsely that the apostles at Jerusalem required as much—and who, to undercut Paul’s authority to say otherwise, spread the charge that he was inconsistent, circumcising at one moment and abolishing circumcision at the next, and in any case no eyewitness of Christ but only a disciple of the apostles at second hand. It is against this campaign, burning in his own soul, that Paul composes the letter.

A Staged Rebuke: Paul and Peter at Antioch

The most delicate passage in the whole commentary is Paul’s account, in chapter two, of withstanding Peter “to his face” at Antioch. Theophylact takes some care to head off the natural reading—that an apostle is here caught in plain hypocrisy—and offers instead an explanation that had already become the standard Greek patristic account before him: the whole exchange, he argues, was “done and said by way of dispensation,” arranged between the two apostles for the instruction of onlookers rather than fought out over a real disagreement. Peter, who had already conceded the point in principle, withdrew from eating with Gentile believers only when men from Jerusalem arrived, so as not to give them offense; Paul’s public rebuke let the Jewish and Gentile disciples alike see the question settled without Peter having to argue it himself. “If there had truly been a quarrel over the truth,” Theophylact reasons, “they would not have rebuked each other in the presence of the disciples,” since that would only have scandalized them further. The confrontation becomes, on this reading, itself an act of apostolic cooperation rather than a rupture between two pillars of the Church.

A Consistent Apostle: Circumcision and Its Limits

The same Argument that explains the letter’s anger also answers, before Paul himself does, the charge of inconsistency his rivals raised against him. Theophylact grants the plain fact behind the slander: Paul did, on occasion, circumcise—he circumcised Timothy, and submitted himself to a purification according to the law. But this, Theophylact insists, was condescension to weak Jewish believers still attached to the law, offered freely where it could do no harm, never a concession forced on Gentile converts who had no such attachment to give up. Peter and the Jerusalem apostles had done the same, for the same pastoral reason, toward those they were preaching to; what the Galatian agitators suppressed was that this condescension was never meant to become a requirement binding on believers who had come to Christ from paganism. Theophylact’s Paul is not inconsistent but discerning, applying one principle—the law’s ritual demands bind no one under grace—in two different pastoral situations.

Hagar and Sarah: The Two Covenants

Theophylact gives sustained attention to Paul’s allegory of Hagar and Sarah in chapter four, calling it exactly that—an allegory, in which the history of Abraham’s two sons “not only signifies this, but also proclaims certain other things.” Hagar the bondwoman, bearing children to bondage, stands for Mount Sinai and the Jerusalem of the present, and so for the Mosaic law itself, which Theophylact judges to contain “much that is unfree and servile,” since it held out virtue for the sake of earthly reward and warned off wickedness by fear of earthly punishment. Sarah the free woman, by contrast, prefigures “the Jerusalem above,” the mother of those who live under grace rather than law. The allegory gives Theophylact his clearest statement of what is actually at stake in the letter’s anger: not a quarrel over ritual observance for its own sake, but the difference between a religion of earned reward and one of adoption as sons.

How to Read This Commentary

Galatians is short, and Theophylact’s commentary on it is correspondingly compact—six chapters treated with the same lemma-by-lemma method he brings to every Pauline letter, but without the room Romans affords for a leisurely doctrinal survey. Readers will find it repays attention to Paul’s own argumentative sequence: the defense of his independent apostolic call in chapters one and two, the case from Scripture and experience for justification by faith in chapters three and four, and the turn to practical exhortation—the fruit of the Spirit set against the works of the flesh—in the letter’s final two chapters. Because the whole letter is written under pressure, Theophylact’s comment is unusually alert to Paul’s tone as well as his content, and a reader who listens for that tone, and not only for the doctrine being defended, will hear the letter as Theophylact himself plainly heard it.

Chapter 1

Argument of the Epistle to the Galatians. Paul’s preamble is full of wrath, and so is almost the whole Epistle; for always to be gentle toward disciples who have need of rebuke belongs not to a teacher. This the Lord also does; for, having blessed Peter, he then also rebukes him; and the disciples too he calls senseless. And Paul indeed, even now in writing to others, employs severity, as in writing to the Corinthians; but most of all toward these Galatians. And the cause is of this sort. Those of the Jews who had believed, at once both clinging to the law of their fathers and reaching after being teachers, were teaching the Galatians that they ought to be circumcised, and to keep the Sabbaths and the new moons; for those around Peter, they said, did not forbid these things. And in truth these men did not forbid them, not as laying down a doctrine, but as condescending to the weakness of those of the Jews who had believed, to whom indeed they were preaching. But Paul, preaching to the Gentiles, had no need of this condescension. Yet when there came to be need of it, he too consented, and circumcised Timothy, and himself was purified according to the law. But the deceivers, not understanding the reasons for which both those around Peter and Paul himself did these things, were beguiling the simpler sort, and brought forward this very thing as a slander against Paul: that at one time he circumcised, and at another did away with circumcision, and preached different things to different people; and on top of all, that one ought not to give heed to Paul, who neither saw Christ, nor is his disciple, but a disciple of the apostles; whereas those around Peter ought to be received, as eyewitnesses. For these reasons, then, burning in his soul, he composes the Epistle; and first of all he directs himself against that which those men were saying, undermining the esteem in which he was held—that the others, indeed, are Christ’s, but he is a disciple of the apostles. Wherefore he thus begins:

Gal. 1:1. Paul, an apostle, not from men, neither through man. At once he does away with his being a disciple of men. For not from men, but from above, and from heaven, was he called; and not through man, but through Christ himself. For Ananias indeed baptized him; but it was not he who called him to the faith, but Christ from heaven. And why did he not say, Paul, called, but, an apostle? Because the whole dispute was about this very thing, men saying that he had been appointed an apostle by men; against this, then, he stands, showing that it is not so.

Gal. 1:1. Rather, through Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised him from the dead. And indeed the Acts make clear that he was set apart by the Spirit to the apostleship. It is plain, then, that the authority of the Son, and of the Spirit, and of the Father is one. And mark also the word through, set down concerning the Father, and that the Son is named first—this on account of the heretics who busy themselves with these matters. And opportunely he calls to remembrance the death and the resurrection, that he may persuade them no longer to give heed to the law, which contributed nothing on their behalf, but to Christ, who died and rose again on their behalf; and [he shows] that to set oneself against such a benefactor is great thanklessness. And the Father is said to have raised him both because of the weakness of the hearers, and because all things whatever the Son does are referred to the Father. For surely he himself was not unable to raise himself, who also gave to those who believed in him to raise the dead from the mere shadow of their bodies.

Gal. 1:2. And all the brethren who are with me. Since they slandered him as preaching these things alone, he shows that he has many others also as partakers of his mind.

Gal. 1:2. To the churches of Galatia. Behold the wrath and the grief. For he did not say, To the beloved, nor, To the sanctified, nor, To the churches of God, but simply, To the churches of Galatia. And since they were also at variance among themselves, with reason he names these too as many churches; and at the same time, putting them to shame, he gathers them into one by this name. For those who are divided into many cannot be called by this appellation, which signifies concord.

Gal. 1:3. Grace to you and peace. Since they were in danger of falling away from grace, through giving heed to the law, he prays this for them; and since they had made themselves enemies of God by setting up the things of the law, which he had abolished, he leads them back toward peace.

Gal. 1:3. From God the Father. God became your Father. Whence? From the law, after which you gape, or from the baptism of Christ? How then do you turn away from your benefactor? And mark the words, From God the Father, set down without the article—this on account of those who bring in the Son as lesser, from John’s saying, And the Word was God, without the article.

Gal. 1:3. And of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not the law is our lord, but Christ Jesus. And the very names themselves are indicative of the benefaction. For “Jesus” is he who saved the people from their sins; and “Christ,” from the anointing of the Spirit, with which he was anointed on our behalf, having sanctified the nature in that which he assumed, and given to us to be so named.

Gal. 1:4. Who gave himself for our sins. Behold, he gave himself; not then as a servant did he render service. When, therefore, you hear that he was given by the Father, understand the good pleasure and the will of the Father. And he gave himself, that he might deliver us from the sins from which the law had no strength to deliver. How then, having forsaken him who delivered you, do you give heed to the law, which has profited nothing?

Gal. 1:4. That he might deliver us from the present evil age. Here the Manichaeans pounce upon the saying, declaring: Behold, he has called the present age evil—that is, our life. It is not so. For neither are the days themselves evil in themselves (for what wickedness is there in the course of the sun, or in the interval of the days?); nor is our life itself, in itself, evil; for how could it be, wherein we come to know God and contemplate the things to come? But by “evil age” he means the evil deeds and the corrupted choice. Just as we too are accustomed to say, I had a bad day, slandering not the time, but the circumstance and the deed. For it was not in order that he might slay us and cast us out of the present life that Christ died, but that he might deliver us from evil deeds for the time to come. For since he had said above that he gave himself for our sins, he gave assurance also for the future, that he might deliver us from the evil manner of life. But the law had strength neither for the future.

Gal. 1:4. In keeping with the will of God, even our Father. Since those men supposed that they were disobeying God in forsaking the law, he corrects their suspicion, showing that it is the will of the Father that we be set free through the Son. And do you see that he did not say, According to the purpose of the Father, but, According to the will—that is, the good pleasure? And having called God our Father, again he puts them in remembrance of Christ the benefactor, who made his own Father our Father also. How then do you depart from him?

Gal. 1:5. To whom be the glory to the ages of ages. Amen. Nowhere else in his preambles has he set down the Amen; here he has set it down, showing that the discourse is complete for him, and that what has been said suffices for the accusation of the Galatians. For having called to remembrance the unspeakable benefactions of God, by reason of which these men stood condemned for forsaking Christ their benefactor, then, struck with amazement at them, and being able to utter nothing further concerning them, he closes the discourse in a doxology.

Gal. 1:6. I marvel that you are so quickly removed from him who called you in the grace of Christ. He shows that he had a great esteem concerning them. For I marvel, he says, that you, who have labored so much in the faith, are so quickly removed. And there are two charges, both the are removed and the quickly; so that the deceivers did not even need time—which accuses the levity of those who received them.

And he did not say, You were removed, but, You are being removed; that is, I do not yet believe, nor do I deem the deceiving to be complete. And mark his wisdom. Since, clinging to the law, they thought to do service to the Father, he says that those who give heed to the law are removed from the Father. For from, he says, him who called you—that is, from the Father. In the grace of Christ—that is, so as to be justified by Christ, not from works, but by grace. For the Son bestows the remission in grace, while the Father calls toward this.

Gal. 1:6–7. To another gospel, which is not another, except there are certain men who trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ. Since the deceivers called their own deception a gospel, he contends even against the name, and says that there is no other gospel beside that which you received. For there is one that contains right belief, which I preached; unless perhaps certain men trouble the eyes of your souls, and make some things appear to you in place of others, wishing to pervert the Gospel of Christ. And indeed they were not overturning the whole Gospel, but only smuggling in the commandment concerning the Sabbath and Circumcision; yet nevertheless he shows that, even when slightly counterfeited, it overturns the whole Gospel—just as he who cuts away a little from the royal coinage renders the whole coin counterfeit. And mark this, on account of those who say that it is a small matter and to be allowed. But the Marcionites lay hold of the saying, and say that from this one ought to receive not the four, but one Gospel—the one which they themselves, having jumbled together [forte: poured out] and cut down, composed. For behold, they say, Paul says that the Gospel is one. And what of this? We too say that the four are one, at least according to their concord; for neither does Paul speak now about number, but about discord. For because, he says, the preaching of the deceivers is discordant, for this reason it is not a gospel; whereas, if it were in accord, it would be a gospel—that is, an apostolic preaching. So that the words of Marcion are manifest babbling.

Gal. 1:8. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any gospel beside that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. [He says this] lest anyone say that for love of glory he is mustering his own doctrines, since he anathematizes even himself. And since they took refuge also in dignities, and brought forward those around Peter, and James, for this reason he made mention also of angels. And he added the words, from heaven, since the priests too were called angels. Therefore, lest you suppose it to be said concerning priests, by the addition of “heaven” he made plain the powers on high. And he did not say, If they should proclaim contrary things, but, Even if they should preach some small thing beside that which we preached. By anathematizing the angels, then, he casts out every dignity; and by the word we, every kinship. For do not say to me that your fellow-apostles preach other things; nor do I spare even myself if I preach other things. Yet not as condemning the apostles does he say these things, but wishing to sew up the mouths of the deceivers, and to show that dignity is not admitted when the discourse is about doctrines.

Gal. 1:9. As we said before, and now I say again: If anyone preaches to you any gospel beside that which you received, let him be accursed. Lest they suppose that he said these things from wrath, and on a sudden impulse, he sets them down a second time, showing that not without judgment, but firmly and steadfastly, having ratified these things within himself, he so pronounced them.

Gal. 1:10. Am I now trying to persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? He is about to make his defense concerning the things laid to his charge. Therefore, lest they be lifted up against him as though sitting in judgment upon their teacher, he says: Do not suppose that I am making my defense to you, or that I seek to persuade you, but my whole discourse is toward God. Whence neither do I write these things out of longing for the glory that is among you, and that I may have disciples, but as making my defense to God on behalf of the doctrines, and not wishing to please men. Or also thus. Since they slandered him as preaching different things to different people, and as changing himself to suit men, he says: Do I strive to persuade men, and to please these, or God? For if I wished to please men, I would assuredly do the things you say.

Gal. 1:10. For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ. He establishes that he does not strive to please men; for how could he either flatter them, or preach different things to different people? For if I were striving after this, I would not have departed from the things of the Jews and come to Christ; I would not have despised kinsmen, tribesmen, glory of such a kind, and chosen persecutions, and dangers, and dishonors.

Gal. 1:11. But I make known to you, brethren, the Gospel which was preached by me, that it is not according to man. He is about to show them that he was truly transferred from the law, and for this reason he makes mention of his former life and of his sudden change—showing that he would not have been changed so suddenly, had he not received some more divine assurance. Wherefore he also says that my Gospel is not according to man—that is, I had no man for a teacher, but I became a disciple of Christ himself.

Gal. 1:12. For I neither received it from man, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ. For this is what his slanderers were saying: that not, like the apostles, did he become a hearer of Christ himself, but received all things from men. He says, therefore, that He himself revealed the Gospel to me—the very one who also made disciples of those around Peter.

Gal. 1:13. For you have heard of my manner of life in time past in Judaism. Whence is it plain that I received the Gospel through divine revelation? From my former manner of life. For such a persecutor as I was, how could I have been changed so suddenly, had not some divine revelation effectually drawn me? For that I was a vehement persecutor is plain from the fact that even you Galatians, who are so far removed from Judea, heard of it.

Gal. 1:13. How that beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God, and laid it waste. See how he sets down each thing with intensity. For he did not say, I persecuted, but, With all excess. And not only this, but also, I laid it waste; that is, I endeavored to raze it to the ground and to make it vanish; for this is the work of a destroyer.

Gal. 1:14. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age in my nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. Beyond all, he says, who were of the same time, I displayed much fervor, and advanced in the war against the Church; or, that I was held in honor among the Jews. But do not suppose that the matter was of vainglory, or of wrath, but of zeal. If, then, the things against the Church I did not for any human reason, but according to zeal for God, even if mistakenly, how should I now, when I have come to know the truth, preach this and that out of desire for human glory, and not the things which the truth demands, and which Christ taught me?

Gal. 1:15. But when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb. If from his mother’s womb he was set apart to the Gospel, and was chosen by God, then assuredly it was by some dispensation that he was left in Judaism for the time between—namely, that his change, being thus sudden, might give assurance to many and draw them on. And God set him apart not according to a fulfilling of merit, but according to a foreknowledge of his being worthy.

Gal. 1:15. And called me through his grace. God indeed called him on account of his virtue. For a vessel of election to me, he says, is he. But Paul himself, being modest-minded, says that he was called through grace, not according to desert, but through mercy.

Gal. 1:16. To reveal his Son in me. He did not say, To reveal to me, but, In me; showing that he learned not by word alone, but that his heart also was filled with much of the Spirit, the nature being given depth toward the inward man, and Christ speaking in him.

Gal. 1:16. That I might preach him among the Gentiles. He revealed the Son to me, not that I might see him only, but that I might also carry him forth to others. For not the believing only, but also the being ordained, came to pass from God. How then do you say that I was taught by men? And not simply, That I might preach him, but, among the Gentiles. So that, how could I preach circumcision to the Gentiles?

Gal. 1:16. At once I did not confer with flesh and blood. That is, I did not enter into discourse with the apostles; for these he calls flesh and blood, naming them from their nature; or simply he says this concerning all men, that From no man did I learn anything.

Gal. 1:17. Neither went I up to Jerusalem to the apostles who were before me. How, then, does the Apostle say these things? Is he so puffed up as even to think himself sufficient to himself, and to have no need of a counselor? And how did he not hear him who says, Be not wise in your own eyes; and, Woe to those who are prudent in their own sight? God forbid. But since those who slandered him were saying that one ought to follow the apostles, and not him, and that those men were apostles before him, he was constrained to say these things, that he might silence the deceivers. For indeed it was unreasonable that one who had learned from God should thereafter cling to men. Not, then, in despair does he say these things, but that he might show the dignity of his own preaching. And indeed he did go away to Jerusalem—yet not so as to learn himself, but so as to persuade others that these things seem good also to those in Jerusalem. Furthermore, he did not go up immediately—that is, at the outset; but afterward he went up, and then for the sake of persuading others.

Gal. 1:17. But I went away into Arabia, and again returned to Damascus. He went about the untilled places, and the wild ones; for if he had remained where the apostles were, the preaching would have been hindered, and would not have been spread abroad so quickly. For this reason he ran to the most savage of the nations. And see his humility: how, in recounting the cities, nowhere did he say how many he converted, although in Damascus he so confounded the Jews that he was even plotted against by the ethnarch. So then, not for the sake of vainglory does he speak the great things that must be spoken concerning himself, but that the preaching might not be harmed, he being disbelieved as a man of no account, and a disciple of disciples.

Gal. 1:18. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter. And this too is a mark of humility, seeing that he who had accomplished so much went away to Peter, not for the sake of profit, but only to visit him, honoring him as greater than himself. Wherefore he did not even say, To see Peter, but, To visit him; which is what those say who go to inspect the great and splendid cities, just as we too go away to holy men—yet rather we for the sake of profit, but he only for honor.

Gal. 1:18. And I abode with him fifteen days. The visiting was a sign of honor; the abiding, of friendship and vehement love. And he did not say, I was taught, but, I abode with him, in the sense of, I spent the time together with him.

Gal. 1:19. But other of the apostles I saw none, except James the Lord’s brother. On account of Peter he went up, so greatly did he honor and long for him; and he saw James also, not for the sake of profit, but honoring him. And James too he mentions with honor, saying, the Lord’s brother; thus was he also free of envy. And yet, had he wished to designate him, he would have said, The son of Clopas. For neither was he the Lord’s brother according to the flesh, but was reputed to be. And how he was Clopas’s son, hear. Clopas and Joseph were brothers; Clopas having died childless, Joseph raised up seed to him, and begot this man, and his other brethren, and Mary—whom, being the wife of Clopas, the Gospel called the sister of the Lord’s Mother; Joseph having preserved toward the Virgin rather the guardianship of a father than the disposition of a husband.[1]

Gal. 1:20. Now the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I do not lie. As though about to render account before a tribunal, so does he contend in his discourse, that he may seem worthy of belief.

Gal. 1:21–23. Then I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they were only hearing that, He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith which once he laid waste. Because he had set foot in Judea only to see Peter, he again departs from it, both because he had been sent as a herald to the Gentiles, and because he would not endure to build upon another’s foundation. Wherefore, he says, I was also unknown by sight to the Christians in Judea. How then could I have preached circumcision to them, I who was not even known to them by sight? For this they slandered him with: that in Judea he preached circumcision. For they were only hearing concerning me that I had turned to Christ, and was preaching him.

Gal. 1:24. And in me they glorified God. And this too is of modesty. For he did not say that They marveled at me, were astonished at me; but he showed the whole to be of grace. For they glorified God in me, as being plainly the one who works the whole.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact here harmonizes the New Testament references to “the Lord’s brethren” and the several Marys by means of a levirate explanation: Joseph raised up offspring to his deceased brother Clopas, so that James and the rest are legally Joseph’s but reckoned Clopas’s. This is one of several patristic reconciliations of the kinship texts.

Chapter 2

Gal. 2:1–2. Then, fourteen years later, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation. The occasion of the former going up was Peter; but of the second, the revelation. He took Titus and Barnabas along as witnesses of his own preaching, namely that it seemed acceptable to the apostles.

Gal. 2:2. And I communicated to them the Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles. That is, the one without circumcision. But why, after so many years, did he communicate it to them, when he ought to have done this from the beginning, and then learned well whether or not he was running rightly? For it would be senseless that, after running for so many years, he should then need to learn whether he had perhaps run in vain. Yet if he went up in order to learn for himself about his own course, then what was being done was truly without reason. But since he saw that many were being made to stumble—on the ground that Peter accepted circumcision, whereas he himself did not circumcise, and for this reason was suspected of transgressing the law—he went up by revelation, the Spirit prompting him, so that those who were stumbling might be persuaded that there was no disagreement in the preaching, but that those who conceded circumcision conceded it by way of dispensation, since they were preaching to the circumcised. How, then, was what was done without reason? For the Spirit moved him to go up for the setting right of others, and he, with good reason, obeyed.

Gal. 2:2. But privately to those who were of repute. Because those who were stumbling were many, Paul speaks privately with Peter’s company, lest a faction arise and the offense be raised to something greater. For those who were stumbling were tens of thousands; and had they heard in public that Paul abolishes circumcision, they would likely have raised an uproar and thrown everything into confusion. For this reason, then, he speaks privately, having Titus and Barnabas as witnesses, who declared to all men that not even the apostles thought it right to preach anything contrary. And in saying “those of repute,” he does not deny that they were such, but together with his own vote he sets down the common vote of all; just as he also said of himself, that he too thinks he has the Spirit of God—not as denying that he has it, but introducing the common estimate. Those of repute, then, means the great, the renowned.

Gal. 2:2. Lest somehow I should be running, or had run, in vain. That is, In order that I might teach those who were stumbling over me that I do not run in vain—not so that I myself might learn; for I am the very one who had the Son and his Gospel revealed to me by the Father.

Gal. 2:3. But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Titus, being uncircumcised, he says, was not compelled to be circumcised. And this is the greatest proof that not even the apostles accepted circumcision as a matter of principle, but by way of dispensation, on account of the believers from the circumcision; and that Paul’s preaching had nothing to be blamed in it, since his disciple was uncircumcised.

Gal. 2:4. And it was because of the false brethren brought in secretly, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage. The construction of the sentence is this: Titus was not compelled to be circumcised even because of the false brethren brought in secretly—that is, Although those who opposed me were present, nevertheless the apostles did not, even on their account, compel Titus to be circumcised. But how does he call these men “false brethren” for introducing circumcision, if indeed the apostles too accepted it? Because the apostles, accommodating themselves to the believers from the circumcision, accepted circumcision inasmuch as they were preaching to Jews; but these men acted as legislating circumcision on principle, and as champions of the law. For this reason, then, he calls them false brethren. Moreover, by saying slipped in, he makes plain their secret plotting; and by to spy out, he hints that they were enemies. For spies slip in for no other purpose than to learn everything thoroughly, and to prepare an easy way for themselves to ravage and to enslave—which is just what these men were doing. For they were looking around to see who were uncircumcised, having the freedom that is in Christ—that is, not being subject to the law—so that they might lay hold of them and force them to be circumcised, and might bring us back again under the bondage of the law, from which Christ set us free. And from this too it is plain that the apostles conceded the things of the law in order that, little by little, they might withdraw men from bondage; but these men were contriving in order to strengthen the bondage.

Gal. 2:5. To whom we did not yield in subjection, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the Gospel might remain with you. He did not say, “In speech,” but, In subjection. For they were doing these things not in order to teach us anything, but in order to subject and enslave us. For this reason we yielded to the apostles, but to these men no longer. That what we preached to you, he says, may remain firm and true. What things? That the old things have passed away, and that the law has been abolished, and that Christ does not accept those who are circumcised, nor does it profit them anything. Having withstood those men, then, we showed that what we preached to you concerning the inactivity of the law is also true. Do not, therefore, fall away from this truth.

Gal. 2:6. But from those who were reputed to be something—whatever they once were, it makes no difference to me; God accepts no man’s person. Since it was likely that someone would object to him and say, How then did the apostles command men to be circumcised? he resolves this objection. And the true reason he does not state—namely, that they did this by way of dispensation and accommodation—lest the believers from among the Jews, hearing that even the apostles allow circumcision not truly but by dispensation, should fall away from them as well, on the ground that they too were abolishing the law; for up to that point they held to them precisely because they thought they were keeping the law. This reason, then, Paul conceals. But he bears down hard upon the apostles, saying that It makes no difference to me—that is, I have no concern about those who are reputed to be something, that is, the great apostles, whether they preached circumcision or not; for they themselves will give account to God; and not because they are great and chief will God be put to shame before their persons, for he is no respecter of persons. And observe: he did not say, Whatever they now are, but, Whatever they once were, showing that they too had by then ceased to preach in that manner, once the preaching had shone forth everywhere. And Paul says these things not to disparage the saints, but wishing to profit those who hear.

Gal. 2:6. For those who were of repute added nothing to me. Whatever sort they were, he says, will be God’s concern; but this I know, that they in no way opposed me, nor added anything to my preaching, nor corrected it.

Gal. 2:7–9. But on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel of the uncircumcision, just as Peter with that of the circumcision (for he who worked in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision worked also in me to the Gentiles), and when they came to know the grace of God that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision. Some have interpreted it thus: So they not only corrected nothing of mine, but on the contrary, they themselves were even corrected. But this is not so. For what were they likely to be corrected in by him? For each of them was fully equipped. This, then, is what he says: But on the contrary, they gave me the right hands of fellowship; then the rest comes in parenthetically: When they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel of the uncircumcision, and so forth. For so far were they from correcting me that they even praised me, and agreed that I and Barnabas should preach the Gospel to the uncircumcision, that is, to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision, that is, to the Jews. For by “circumcision” and “uncircumcision” he does not mean the things themselves, but the uncircumcised and the circumcised. And here he shows himself to be of equal honor with Peter. For he who gave to that man the working of the Gospel toward the Hebrews gave this also to me toward the Gentiles. And observe how he showed that not only did his preaching please the apostles, but it also seemed good to God. For the apostles, he says, came to know the grace of God. He did not say, Heard, but, From the very facts they came to know. For how would God have given me the grace, unless such preaching were acceptable to him? Again he made mention of the three with praises. For those who were reputed to be pillars—that is, the great ones, whom all everywhere carry about and glorify—these bear witness to me that my preaching pleases Christ as well. Therefore they also gave the right hands, that is, They agreed, and made us partners, and showed that they are pleased with my preaching, as differing in nothing from their own word.

Gal. 2:10. Only that we should remember the poor; which very thing I also was eager to do. The preaching, he says, we divided; but the poor we held in common, undivided. For in Jerusalem there were many of those who had believed who had been plundered of their possessions by the unbelieving Jews, and were in want of the necessary food. For the Greeks did not war against the believers from among themselves as the Jews did against the Christians from among the Hebrews. Therefore Paul makes great effort in the care of them, as he himself confesses, that I was eager to do this very thing. For gathering from the disciples everywhere, he himself conveyed it to them.

Gal. 2:11. But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him to his face. Many suppose that Paul is here charging Peter with hypocrisy; but that is not so. For whatever he seems to say against Peter was done and said by way of dispensation. For Peter, while he was in Jerusalem, conceded circumcision—for it was not possible to draw men away from the law all at once; but when he came to Antioch, he used to eat together with the Gentiles. Yet when certain men from Jerusalem came to Antioch, he withdrew himself from the Gentiles, so as not to give offense to those from Jerusalem, and at the same time so as to give Paul a reasonable occasion for the rebuke. For this reason Paul reproves and Peter bears it; for thus the disciples were more easily going to be brought over, when the teacher was being censured and kept silent. So then, the withstanding “to his face” was a thing arranged; since, if there had truly been a quarrel over the truth, they would not have rebuked each other in the presence of the disciples, for they would have given them great offense. Rather, the quarrel arranged in the open was a setting right of the disciples; for Peter does not even gainsay anything—evidently because he accepts Paul’s opposition.

Gal. 2:11. Because he stood condemned. He did not say, By me, but simply, by others—those who were ignorant of what was being dispensed, and supposed it to be hypocrisy: that while those from Jerusalem were absent he ate with the Gentiles, but when they were present he withdrew. But some have understood it thus: that he had already been blamed beforehand, he says, for eating together with Cornelius, and for this reason now too he withdrew, fearing lest they should blame him again; so that in the very thing for which he withdrew, I withstood him.

Gal. 2:12. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those of the circumcision. He states also the cause of the blame. This James was the brother of the Lord, who also taught in Jerusalem as their bishop. From him, then, certain men were sent who had believed from among the Jews, yet still clung to the law, and they went off to Antioch. When Peter saw them and was afraid—not lest he himself be endangered, but lest they, being made to stumble, should leap away from the faith—he withdrew himself from associating with the Gentiles. So certain men, being ignorant of the cause, blamed him.

Gal. 2:13. And the rest of the Jews also dissembled with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their dissembling. He calls the matter “dissembling.” For he does not wish to disclose Peter’s purpose; and at the same time, on account of those who held vehemently to the law, he named this “dissembling,” in order to root out their disposition toward the law. And by “the rest of the Jews” he means those in Antioch who had believed from among the Jews, who themselves also withdrew from the uncircumcised.

Gal. 2:14. But when I saw that they were not walking uprightly toward the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter before them all. Let neither this expression trouble you; for he says these things not as condemning Peter, but for the sake of those who were going to be profited by hearing that even Peter was rebuked, as one clinging to the law: and what, then, are you doing any longer? For this is the very reason that even then he rebukes him before them all, so that those men, hearing it, might be afraid, since so great a pillar was being rebuked and had nothing to say in reply. But Eusebius says that it was not the great Peter who was rebuked by Paul, but a certain other Cephas, one of the seventy; and he thinks to establish this by saying that it is not likely that the man who had made his defense at the beginning—when, having eaten with Cornelius, he gave offense to some—should again stand in need of such a rebuke. But, O most learned one, neither do we say that Peter was rebuked by Paul as one ignorant of his duty, but as one able to endure the rebuke, that others might be set right.

Gal. 2:14. If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, why do you compel the Gentiles to live as Jews? Paul all but cries aloud to everyone: Imitate your teacher. For behold, he too, though a Jew, nevertheless ate together with the Gentiles. And observe how he does not charge Peter that You do wrong in keeping the law, but rather reproves him on behalf of his own Gentile disciples, as one compelling them to be circumcised and to live as Jews. For in this way his word was going to seem more readily acceptable.

Gal. 2:15. We are Jews by nature, not sinners from among the Gentiles. “By nature”—that is, not proselytes, but born of Jewish fathers and reared in the law; yet we forsook the manner of life in which we were reared and took refuge in the faith in Christ.

Gal. 2:16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but only through faith in Jesus Christ; we also have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Observe how he speaks everything with caution.[1] For we let the law go not as something evil, but as weak and unable to justify. For no one could fulfill its works, which were burdensome and hard to accomplish—not because of their greatness, but rather because of their pettiness; and besides, because the law did not sanctify the soul, but cleansed bodily defilements. Superfluous, then, is circumcision. And as he goes on he will say that it is even dangerous, estranging one from Christ.

Gal. 2:17. But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? We sought, he says, to be justified in Christ, having forsaken the law; but, as you say, it is a sin to forsake the law; so then Christ thrust us into this sin, for it was because of him that we forsook all the legal observances. So that Christ not only did not justify us, as you say, but even became to us the cause of greater condemnation, by persuading us to forsake the law.

Gal. 2:17. God forbid. Having led the argument to an absurdity, he then had no further need of demonstration, but was content with the denial—which is what one should do, as is customary in the case of things that are altogether to be rejected.

Gal. 2:18. For if I build again the very things which I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor. Observe the wisdom of it. Those men were saying that he who annuls the law is a transgressor; but he shows the contrary, that he who keeps it is a transgressor—transgressing not only the faith but also the law itself. For the law itself led me to the faith and persuaded me to forsake it. As he goes on he will show this; but for the present he says that the law has ceased, and this we acknowledged by the very acts by which we annulled it, departing from it. If, therefore, we contend to set it up again, we become transgressors, setting up the things that have been annulled by God.

Gal. 2:19. For I through the law died to the law. He establishes how he annulled the law, and says: Through the law of grace and of the Gospel I died to the Mosaic law; or, I died, he says, to the law through the law—that is, The law itself led me to attend to it no longer, having guided me to Christ, both through the words of Moses and through those of the prophets. If, therefore, I attend to it again, I also transgress it. Or thus as well: The law commanded that whoever did not do the things written should be punished and put to death. Therefore, since, so far as the law was concerned, it was impossible for these to be fulfilled, I have been put to death. Let it not, then, lay commands upon me—upon one who, so far as the law’s requirements go, is dead—both a spiritual death, because I was sinning, being unable to fulfill the things of the law, and a bodily death, so far as concerns the law’s condemnation. How then shall I still attend to that which killed me?

Gal. 2:19. That I might live to God, I have been crucified with Christ. Lest anyone say, How then do you live, since you have died? he says that the law killed me while I was living; but Christ, taking me when dead, made me alive, since I was crucified with him in a spiritual sense and died together with him through baptism. And the wonder is twofold: both that he made the dead alive, and that he did so through death.

Gal. 2:20. And I live, yet no longer I, but Christ lives in me. By saying, I have been crucified with Christ, he hinted at baptism; but by saying, And I live, yet no longer I, he hinted at the manner of life that follows, by which our members are put to death. But Christ lives in me—that is, There is nothing in us that Christ does not will, but he is the one who does all things in us, and rules, and is master. And our own will is dead, while his lives and governs our life. If, then, I live to God another life beside the one in the law, and have been put to death to the law, neither am I able to keep the things of the law.

Gal. 2:20. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. What I have said, I said concerning the spiritual life; but he will find that this perceptible life itself is also mine from Christ. For the law, when transgressed, made all men subject to sin and punishment, and nothing hindered all from perishing, as in the flood, as transgressors; but Christ, when he came, snatched us out of the condemnation, having justified us by his own death. So that this very thing too—the living perceptibly and in the flesh—we have through the faith in Christ, which justifies us and snatches us out of the condemnation.

Gal. 2:20. Who loved me and gave himself for me. And indeed he gave himself for all, and loved all; but Paul, considering from how much Christ delivered us and what he bestowed, and being set on fire with love, makes what is common his own—as the prophets also do: My God, my God;[2] and at the same time showing that each one ought to acknowledge as great a debt of gratitude to Christ as if Christ had died for him alone. And those who have profited by the benefit are those alone who have believed in him. So that he who attends to the law shows that Christ did not die for him. And how is it that you do not shudder at this, but run back to the law, showing the death of the Master to be useless? And note also the phrase, “having given himself,” against the Arians.

Gal. 2:21. I do not set aside the grace of God. Since he has set down the arguments drawn from reasoning, he then declares: I do not shake off the gift of Christ which he bestowed on me, having justified me apart from works by his death, nor do I run back to the law.

Gal. 2:21. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. For if the law, he says, has power to save and to justify, then Christ died to no purpose. For he died precisely for this reason, that he himself might save through his death, since the law had no power; so that if the law saves, the death of Christ is superfluous. Do you see to what point the blasphemy advances?

[1] Translator’s note: Migne records a variant reading here: where the text has “with caution” (μετ᾽ ἀσφαλείας), some copies read “with simplicity” (μετ᾽ ἀφελείας).

[2] An echo of the Psalter’s manner of address; cf. Psalm 22:1 (LXX Ps 21:2) Ὁ Θεὸς, ὁ Θεός μου, and Psalm 63:1 (LXX Ps 62:2).

Chapter 3

Gal. 3:1. O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth? Having shown through what went before that he was an apostle not from men, nor through men, and having established himself as worthy of trust, he now discourses with greater authority; and being about to compare faith with the Law, he first calls them foolish—not as one transgressing the law of Christ, but rather as keeping it strictly. For it is not the one who simply calls his brother a fool that is liable to judgment, but the one who does so without cause. And these men were most justly called foolish, who were insensible to such great good things and were making the death of Christ useless. But observe that, after his proofs, he rebukes them, and at once lets up. For he did not say, Who has deceived you? but, Who has bewitched you? Who has envied you? showing that what they were doing was worthy of envy. And he makes clear that those who were misleading them did these things not as guardians, nor as supplying what was lacking, but as mutilating even what was already present; for such is envy. Yet he said this not as though envy had any strength in itself, but as showing that those who taught these things had come to it through malice.

Gal. 3:1. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly portrayed, crucified among you. And yet he was crucified in Jerusalem; how then does he say, Before your eyes, and, Among you? Because with the eyes of faith they saw the cross more exactly than those who were then present and looking on. For many of those, having seen it bodily, profited nothing; but these, though they did not see it with their eyes, through faith saw it more exactly. Christ, then, was “openly portrayed”—that is, he was painted before them through the preaching; and you, having believed the preaching, saw him as though present. And these things are both a praise of them and a reproach: a praise, in that they received these things with such full conviction; a reproach, in that the one whom they saw stripped, impaled, dying—him they forsook and ran to the Law. And observe how, setting all else aside, he brings the cross into their midst.

Gal. 3:2. This only would I learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith? Since you do not follow lengthy arguments, nor are willing to behold the greatness of the dispensation, I will say something brief to you. Answer me this little thing: From where did you receive the Holy Spirit, and work such great power and signs? From the works that are in the Law, or from faith? It is plain that it was from faith; for it was not while you held fast to the Law that you had the Spirit and accomplished miracles. How then, having forsaken faith, do you cling again to the Law?

Gal. 3:3. Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made complete in the flesh? Again he opportunely brought in the reproach. For when you ought, he says, to have made an advance as time went on, not only did you not advance, but you were even drawn backward. For to work miracles is spiritual, which you had in the beginning; but to be circumcised is fleshly, which now, at the end, you have chosen. And he did not say, You make complete, but, You are being made complete, showing that, having taken hold of them like irrational beasts, those men were cutting them down—those who were teaching circumcision.

Gal. 3:4. Did you suffer so many things in vain? If indeed it be in vain. They had wrestled with many trials for Christ’s sake. So many things, then, he says, have you suffered to no purpose? For if you are circumcised, all those things are in vain, and the deceivers have robbed you of so many crowns. Then he gives them hopes of return, saying, If indeed it be in vain—that is, If you should be willing to come to your senses, it would not be so, nor will what you have toiled at have been in vain. Let those be ashamed, from this passage too, who do away with repentance. For behold, these men were trophy-bearers, and confessors, and martyrs; yet, when they had fallen away, Paul does not cast them off, but gladly receives them back.

Gal. 3:5. He therefore who supplies to you the Spirit, and works powers among you—is it by works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith? God, he says, who supplies to you the Spirit, so that you prophesy and speak with tongues, and who works powers among you of signs and wonders—did he do these things on account of the works that come from the Law, as though served by you who fulfilled them, or on account of the faith that you showed toward Christ? It is plain that it was on account of this faith. How then, having forsaken this faith, by which you were being glorified, do you run to the Law that has been abolished?

Gal. 3:6. Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness. Most of all, he says, you ought to have recognized the power of faith from the signs that you accomplished; but look also to your forefather, of whom you make much account, and you will find that he too was justified by faith. And if he who lived before grace is justified by faith, much more ought those who have been counted worthy of grace to cling to faith.

Gal. 3:7. Know therefore that those who are of faith, these are the sons of Abraham. Since they were afraid that, having forsaken the Law, they might fall away from kinship with the patriarch (for they prided themselves greatly on this), he shows the contrary: that faith rather makes those who have it sons of Abraham.

Gal. 3:8. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God justifies the nations by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed. He demonstrates how those who are of faith, these are the sons of Abraham; and he brings forward the testimony from the Scripture, that In you shall the nations be blessed—that is, In imitating your faith. And he shows also that faith is older than the Law, seeing that before the Law it was this that justified Abraham; and that what is now coming to pass comes to pass according to the prophecy. For foreseeing, he says, the Scripture—that is, God himself who gave the Law foreordained that we should be justified not by the Law, but by faith. And he did not say, He revealed, but, He preached the gospel beforehand—that you may learn that Abraham too rejoiced in this manner of justification, and longed for it to be set forth.

Gal. 3:9. So that those who are of faith are blessed together with the faithful Abraham. Since they were troubled, lest they should be under a curse as not abiding in the Law (for it was written: Cursed is he who does not abide in the things written in the Law), he shows rather the contrary: that those who forsake the Law and draw near to faith are blessed, even as the faithful Abraham too was blessed.

Gal. 3:10. For as many as are of works of the Law are under a curse. For it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not abide in all the things written in the book of the Law, to do them. Lest anyone object, saying, It was fitting that Abraham should be blessed and justified from faith, because there was not yet a Law; but show me that, after the Law was given, faith justifies and makes men blessed—the Apostle now shows not only that faith justifies and blesses, but also that the Law becomes a cause of sin and of cursing; for no one is able to do the things written in the Law, and he who does not do them is accursed. So that to bless belongs to faith, and you fear in vain lest you become accursed by departing from the Law. For rather, in making use of it, you are under a curse, as not being able to fulfill it.

Gal. 3:11. But that no one is justified in the Law before God is plain, for the just shall live by faith. And the Law is not of faith, but the man who has done these things shall live in them. Having shown that the Law makes men accursed, while faith blesses, he now shows that faith alone also justifies, and not the Law; and he brings forward Habakkuk saying that The just shall live by faith, and not by the Law. For the Law requires not faith alone, but works also. And well did he say, Before God. For before men those who hold fast to the Law perhaps seem just, such as the Pharisees, who justified themselves before men. Since, then, the Law, because it was hard to fulfill, neither justified and made men subject to a curse, grace came, showing the easy way, namely faith, through which, being justified, we are blessed. Behold, then, it has been demonstrated that not only before the Law did faith bless and justify, but even more so after the Law as well.

Gal. 3:13. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us. For it is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs upon a tree. Lest anyone contradict him, saying, It is true that the one who does not do the Law is accursed, and that faith justifies; but from where is it plain that that curse has been done away? For we fear lest, having once come under the yoke of the Law, we ourselves also be still under the curse—he shows, then, that the curse has been loosed through Christ. For having given the price, in that he himself became a curse, he redeemed us from the curse of the Law, which he himself indeed escaped, inasmuch as he fulfilled the Law; but we were liable to it, not being able to accomplish it. It is as if some man condemned to die were delivered from death by another, a guiltless man, who chose himself to die on behalf of that other. He received, then, the curse that comes from being hanged, and loosed the curse that lay upon us from our not fulfilling the Law, while he himself was not subject to it. For he both fulfilled the Law and committed no sin.

Gal. 3:14. That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the nations in Christ Jesus. For this reason, he says, he became a curse, that upon the nations—that is, those who do not make use of the Law—the blessing of Abraham, that is, the blessing that is of faith, might come in Christ Jesus, that is, in the seed of Abraham; even as it is also written, that In your seed shall they be blessed—that is, in Christ, who came from you according to the flesh; that is to say, those who believe in him.

Gal. 3:14. That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. For this reason, he says, the nations have been blessed, that they might also receive the Spirit through faith. For since it was not possible for those still under a curse to receive the Spirit, they are blessed, the curse having been loosed by Christ; and then, being justified through faith, they receive the promise of the Spirit. For the things that God promised to Abraham, Paul understands to be spiritual—the very things, that is, that have now been given to us, both the blessing and the rest.

Gal. 3:15. Brethren, I am speaking in human terms. Having above called them foolish, he now calls them brethren: the former, to bring them up sharply; the latter, to comfort them. I am about, he says, to bring forward to you a human example.

Gal. 3:15–17. Even a man’s covenant, once it has been confirmed, no one sets aside or adds further conditions to. Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He does not say, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to your seed, who is Christ. And this I say: A covenant confirmed beforehand by God in Christ, the Law, which came three hundred and thirty years after, does not annul, so as to make the promise of no effect. This he wishes to show: that faith is a covenant older than the Law, and that it would not be just for the Law to be preferred to it. For which reason he also set down the example. For if a man, he says, makes a covenant, let no one presume, coming afterward, to overturn it or to add further conditions—that is, to add anything to it. Much more, then, in the case of God. For God too made a covenant with Abraham, that in his seed the nations should be blessed. And his seed is Christ. For he did not say, To seeds, lest you should suppose the Jews and Ishmaelites descended from him; but, To the seed, in the singular—which is, as has been said, Christ. How then can the Law annul this covenant, and agreement, and promise, so that the nations should be blessed not in Christ, but in the commandments of the Law? For this is nothing else than to make the promise of no effect—which is absurd.

Gal. 3:18. For if the inheritance is of the Law, it is no longer of promise. But God granted it to Abraham by promise. If the Law, he says, bestows the blessings, and makes men heirs of life and of righteousness, then that promise made to

Abraham is void and has been cast out. But this could not stand to reason; for since the Law is of later birth, how shall it annul the earlier covenant? And do not be in haste for the whole example to fit the matter at hand. For this is why he himself said, I am speaking in human terms—that is, I bring forward a human example. So that if it cannot be made equal to things divine, it is nothing strange.

Gal. 3:19. What then? The Law was added for the sake of transgressions. Since he had exalted faith and shown it to be older, an objection arose: For what reason, then, was the Law given, if faith was older and it was this that gave the blessings? He says, then, that it was not given without purpose, but for the sake of transgressions, that it might be as a bridle to the Jews, restraining them from transgressing at least some of the commandments, if not all. And well does he say, It was added, that he might show the Law to have been given not as a leading thing, like the promises, but as a thing set alongside, on account of the many transgressions, that it might restrain at least a few.

Gal. 3:19. Until the seed should come to whom it had been promised. But nevertheless the Law was not given without end, but until Christ should come, to whom it had been promised that the nations would be blessed in him. If, then, it was given until the coming of Christ, why do you drag it out further?

Gal. 3:19. Being ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. The Law, he says, was given, being ministered through angels as intermediaries—either the priests, or angels properly so called. For indeed, at those trumpets, and the thunders, and the signals, angels were ministering. By the hand of a mediator—that is, of Christ. For he shows that Christ also gave the Law; so that he himself is Lord even to abolish it.

Gal. 3:20. Now a mediator is not of one; but God is one. So that Christ too is a mediator of two—of God, that is, and of men. For he mediated between both, making peace and loosing the war that men had against God. For from the time that he united human nature to himself, from then he made peace, having marvelously blended with the divine nature the flesh that was hostile through sin. So that, since he himself is mediator and reconciler, it is quite plain that he is the one who saves, and not the Law.

Gal. 3:21. Is the Law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not. If the promises blessed, while the Law brings in a curse, it is plain that, if we run after the Law as having authority, it loosens the promises of God that bestow the blessing. But certainly not. And hear what follows as well.

Gal. 3:21. For if a Law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would indeed have been of the Law. Then, he says, the Law would have been more powerful than faith, and would have blessed and justified man, if it had been able to give life and to save. But as it is, it rather puts to death, in so far as it is not able to free from sins. How then shall it prevail over faith, which is able to give life through baptism, and which blesses and justifies?

Gal. 3:22. But the Scripture shut up all things under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. The Law, he says, had not the strength to set men free from sins, but it worked together toward this—toward shutting men up under sin; that is, toward showing them to be sinners, and pressing them on so that they might desire forgiveness, and run to Christ, who is able to grant it. For since the Jews, not perceiving their sins, did not desire forgiveness either, he gives the Law to shut them up—which means, pressing them hard and choking them with reproofs, and showing them to be sinners, and pressing them on to seek the way by which it is possible to be forgiven; and this is the faith in Christ, through which we are blessed and justified.

Gal. 3:23. But before faith came, we were kept under the Law, shut up to the faith that was about to be revealed. The Law, he says, furnished much security to those who were under it and kept by it, fencing them off from the greater part of their sins, and being like a kind of wall, and shutting men up and gathering them to faith. How? For by reproving sins, and not being able to set men free, it of necessity pointed to the faith that justifies—which was indeed hidden long before, but was later revealed, when God too was made manifest in the flesh.

Gal. 3:24. So that the Law has become our tutor to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. For just as the tutor frees the young man from all wickedness, and prepares him to receive the lessons from the teacher with all diligence and attention, so also the Law trained those under it in a measured virtue, and led them to Christ, who is the teacher, by reproving and pointing out their sins, making them more eager to seek the one who gives forgiveness and justifies by faith. Let those, then, be ashamed who slander the Law. For neither does the tutor oppose the teacher, nor is the Law contrary to the New Covenant.

Gal. 3:25–26. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Now that faith has come, he says—the faith that makes one a full-grown man—we who have been perfected through it, and have passed beyond childhood, would no longer be under a tutor. For that we are full-grown men by faith is plain from the fact that we are also sons of God through the faith that is in Christ; for this is the construction of the words. And surely one who has been counted worthy to become a son of God is neither imperfect nor a child. So that it is ridiculous for those who have become men to be subject to the tutor that is the Law—just as it would be, when day has appeared, not to look at the sun, but at the lamp. And observe how above he showed faith making men sons of Abraham, but now sons of God; so great are the things it can do.

Gal. 3:27. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. He establishes how we are sons of God, and says that it is through baptism. But he did not say, As many of you as were baptized have become sons of God, as the sequence indeed required; but something far more awe-inspiring: that you have put on Christ. For if we have put on Christ the Son of God, and have been made like to him, we have been brought into one kinship and one form, having become by grace what he is by nature.

Gal. 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Each one, he says, of those who are baptized has put off the natural distinctions; and all received one stamp and one form—not that of an angel, but of the Master himself, showing forth Christ in themselves. So that we are also all one in Christ Jesus—that is, inasmuch as we have one form, that of Christ, laid upon us; or inasmuch as we are one body, having one head, Christ.

Gal. 3:29. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to promise. Since he said before that the seed of Abraham, in which the nations are blessed, is Christ, to whom indeed the promises were given; and since he demonstrated that You too have the form of Christ; he now concludes that You too, therefore, are Abraham’s seed, and consequently heirs also of the promised blessing. How then do you give heed to the Law, you who have been blessed by putting on Christ and being made like to him, and from this becoming Abraham’s seed?

Chapter 4

Gal. 4:1–2. Now I say that, for as long a time as the heir is a child, he differs nothing from a servant, though he is lord of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. That is, the father has ordained that he should administer nothing until the lawful age, and he must be content with this.

Gal. 4:3. In the same way, we too, while we were children, lived enslaved under the elements of the world. Children, not in age, but in the knowledge concerning God. And by “elements of the world” he means the new moons and the sabbaths; for these days come to us from the course of the moon and the sun. So that those who now lead us under the law make us children, and place us under the elements of the world—and that, though we have become men and perfect, and sons of God, and masters of households, and lords. And we learn that God, on the one hand, wished from the beginning to give the adoption as sons (for this is the inheritance), but our childhood hindered it. And since he wished thoroughly to overthrow the law, he did not say, “We were in bondage to the days,” but, Under the elements of the world, so as the more to put to shame those who were still persuading them to give heed to the law. And do not be troubled if, by what follows, the elements are understood as the guardians and stewards. For, first, you ought to understand the law as the guardian, just as also the schoolmaster, and not these things; and, in the next place, he called the new moons and the sabbaths “elements.” Besides, he said it thus also in order, out of abundance, to draw them away from the law and to put them to shame, as he will show still more clearly as he proceeds. But some have understood “elements” to mean the elementary and introductory law.

Gal. 4:4–5. But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. For a while, then, being children, we were under new moons and sabbaths; but when the appointed time of the incarnation of Christ came—when human nature, having run through every kind of wickedness, was in need of healing—God sent forth his Son (that is, he was well pleased that he should come); made, he did not say “through a woman,” lest those should find a means who say that the Lord passed through the Virgin as through a channel, entirely in appearance; but, Of a woman; that is, taking a body from her very substance, and being the fruit of her womb. And he became under the law, being circumcised and fulfilling all things, that, having come to be outside the curse, he might redeem us. And he speaks of two achievements of the incarnation of Christ: both the redeeming of us from the curse of the law, and the restoring of the adoption as sons. And he said we might receive, showing that this was owed to us from of old and out of promise, even if it was not given on account of our childhood. For indeed the inheritance promised to Abraham was the adoption as sons. For it is the son who inherits.

Gal. 4:6–7. And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So that you are no longer a servant, but a son; and if a son, then also an heir—an heir indeed of God, and a fellow-heir of Christ. How, he says, is it plain that we have been deemed worthy of the adoption as sons? He demonstrated it indeed even before, when he showed us to have put on Christ, who is the Son; but he shows it now also, from our having received the Spirit, who prepares us to call God Father, laying hold of our hearts in a divine and wholly new manner. And this would not have come to pass unless we had been deemed worthy of the adoption as sons. So that, since we are sons and heirs—not of ordinary things, but of the things of God—and sharers with the Only-begotten, why do we again become servants, and set aside the faith that adopted us as sons, by giving heed to the law?

Gal. 4:8. But at that time, indeed, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those which by nature are not gods. Here he turns his discourse toward those who had believed from among the Gentiles, showing that the observance of days is also idolatry, and that they sin more grievously than of old. Of old, he says, you did not know God, inasmuch as you were darkened and led astray; and on this account you were in bondage to the sun and the moon, which by nature are not gods. But now, after the recognition of the truth, if you observe days, you do nothing else than render service to the elements, and the impiety is worse.

Gal. 4:9. But now, having come to know God, or rather having been known by God, how do you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you wish to be in bondage over again? But now, he says, you have come to know God—or rather, it is not you who found and recognized God by your own labor (for you did not even seek him at all), but he himself sought you and took you to himself while you were passing your life in deep darkness. For having been known stands in place of, Having been taken up by God. How, then, do you turn again to the beggarly and weak elements? That is, to the things that have no power toward the good things set before us, nor strength to profit us spiritually? And at the same time, as being bereft of mind, and of perception, and of life, he calls these things beggarly and weak, even though the Greeks may be displeased. The false apostles, then, as champions of the law, were introducing the observances of days; but he, most wisely, calls the matter idolatry, which the law itself also forbids. So that those who teach these things are opposed even to the law.

Gal. 4:10. You observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. From these things it is plain that the false apostles were proclaiming not only circumcision, but also the feasts and the new moons.

Gal. 4:11. I am afraid for you, lest somehow I have labored over you in vain. Behold his tender affection: they are being shaken, and Paul is afraid. And the word lest somehow shows that they were still surviving, and had not yet been utterly shipwrecked; and he gives them hope that, if they were willing to come back to sobriety, the labor expended upon them would not have been in vain. As though, then, he says to them: Remember my labors for you, and do not bring my labors to nothing.

Gal. 4:12. Become as I am, for I also am as you are. He says these things to those who were from among the Jews: namely, Imitate me. For I too was exceedingly inflamed for the law, as you are; but I let it go, and now I fight on behalf of Christ and the faith—such become you also. And he has set this down later with good reason. For men are drawn more by examples of their own kind than by reasonings.

Gal. 4:12. Brethren, I beseech you, you have not wronged me at all. Since he had taken hold of them very severely, he wishes to soften matters. For neither is severe rebuke profitable, nor is complete indulgence. Therefore he also calls them brethren, at the same time reminding them of the grace of baptism, out of which we all became brethren, as from one Father, God. And he makes a defense also concerning the things that were said, that they were not spoken out of hostility. For you have not wronged me at all, that I should bear myself toward you as an enemy; but rather you displayed toward me countless works of honor and grace. How, then, could I have said these things out of hostility? But plainly because I care for you, and wish rather to make return of favor.

Gal. 4:13–14. You know that it was because of an infirmity of the flesh that I preached the Gospel to you the first time; and you did not despise nor reject the temptation that was in my flesh. You know, he says, that it was with infirmity of the flesh—that is, with persecutions and dangers—that I preached the Gospel to you, and not even so did you turn away from me; nor did this temptation of mine—that is, the persecutions, and the scourgings, and such things—cause you to stumble, or make you despise and reject me. And at the same time he secretly puts them to shame, showing how much he suffered at the hands of his adversaries for their sake.

Gal. 4:14. But you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. So greatly, he says, did you honor me, as one greater than according to man. How, then, is it not absurd that at that time, when I was persecuted and driven out, you received me as an angel and as Christ, and were not made to stumble; but now, when I counsel you the things that are needful, you reckon me as an enemy, and do not receive me?

Gal. 4:15. What then was your blessedness? He is at a loss and astonished, and he says: What has become of your blessedness? That is, Where has all that gone, for which you were counted blessed by all, as lovers of your teacher? What, then, is it now? Into what has that blessedness of yours been changed? For now I do not see it, since you are disposed toward me in a contrary way.

Gal. 4:15. For I bear you witness that, if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. You held me even more precious than your own eyes, for the sake of the preaching. What, then, has happened, that now you even suspect me as an enemy? For it is absurd that one so honored by you should say these things to you out of a hostile mind.

Gal. 4:16. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? I know, he says, no other cause of enmity than that I told you the truth, and reproved you as men being corrupted concerning the doctrines. But on this account I rather ought to have been loved the more by you, as one who has done the work of a guardian.

Gal. 4:17. They are zealous for you, but not honorably; rather, they wish to shut you out, that you may be zealous for them. Zeal is good when one imitates the virtue of another; but zeal is not good when one is eager to cast out from virtue the one who is doing rightly. These men, then, are eager to shut you out—that is, to cast you out of the most perfect condition and knowledge that is in Christ, and to cast you into the more imperfect condition that is in the law—so that you may honor them as teachers, and be zealous for them and imitate them, as disciples.

But I, on the contrary, wished that you should be even now leaders for them toward the more perfect things. Which indeed also came to pass, when I was with you. And he hints at these things in what follows.

Gal. 4:18. But it is good to be zealously sought after in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. Do you see that he hints at this, namely, that they were objects of zeal to all on account of their perfection while the Apostle was present? And he hints also at this, that his absence wrought these things. Blessed, then, he says, is it when, not only while the teacher is present, but also while he is absent, the disciples are minded as they ought.

Gal. 4:19. My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you. He imitates a mother trembling over her children. You have corrupted, he says, the form of Christ which you had within yourselves from baptism, and you need again another regeneration and refashioning, so that the form of Christ may again come to be in you, in such a way that you are stamped with his character. For again I am in travail of you—that is, through teaching I again beget you. For I do not despair. On this account also I call you little children, that you yourselves may not despair. And this too is against the Novatians; for Paul is again in travail of the Galatians and refashions them, but those men do not accept the correction that comes from repentance.

Gal. 4:20. I could wish to be present with you now, and to change my voice, for I am perplexed about you. I am not content with letters, but I could wish both to be present and to change my voice—that is, to turn it into wailings and lamentations. For indeed I am perplexed what to say concerning you: how it is that you who were so exalted as even to be endangered for the faith, and to work signs through the faith, are now being dragged down into the cheapness of the law. On this account, then, I could wish, being present, to lament over you. For whenever we are at a loss, we are wont to fall into tears.

Gal. 4:21. Tell me, you who wish to be under the law, do you not hear the law? Since he had sufficiently softened them and drawn them to himself, he enters again into the contests, showing that the law itself does not wish to be observed; and he says: Answer me. And he said well, who wish. For the matter was not one of the natural sequence of things, but of their own untimely contentiousness. And by “the law” he means the book of Genesis; for it is his custom to call the whole of the Old Testament “law.”

Gal. 4:22. For it is written that Abraham had two sons: one by the bondwoman, and one by the freewoman. He said above, You are sons of Abraham. But since the sons of the patriarch were not of the same dignity—the one being from the bondwoman, the other from the freewoman—he now shows that you are not only sons, but also such as the free and well-born one is: so did the faith ennoble you.

Gal. 4:23. But the one by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh; the other by the freewoman, through the promise. Since, in saying that they were sons of Abraham, he seemed to be saying things hard to believe—if indeed those not born of Abraham according to the flesh are his sons—he says that even Isaac, the more proper son of Abraham, was not himself born according to the flesh either; for how could he be, when nature was deadened and the womb disabled? Rather, the Word of God and the promise fashioned him. But Ishmael was born by the sequence of nature. For this is what according to the flesh means; and yet, nevertheless, the one according to the flesh was a servant and a stranger to the inheritance, while the one not according to the flesh was master and heir. What, then, is to hinder you also, even if you have not been born of Abraham according to the flesh, from being his sons? For you too were fashioned through the words pronounced over the baptismal font.

Gal. 4:24. Which things are allegorized. That is, this history not only signifies this, but also proclaims certain other things; wherefore it is also called an allegory. For those things were a type of the things present.

Gal. 4:24–25. For these are the two covenants: the one indeed from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is, and is in bondage with her children. These. Which? The two women are allegorized as referring to both the New and the Old Covenant. How? Hagar, on the one hand, refers to the Old. For indeed the law was given from Mount Sinai. And Sinai is in Arabia, and is called “Hagar” in the Arabic tongue; and it corresponds also to Jerusalem—that is, it borders upon her, or touches her, or because it is likened to the Jerusalem below, and is analogous to her, and is taken as referring to her, since there is a likeness between the two. As, then, Hagar was a bondwoman and bore children to bondage, so also the law that is from Mount Sinai—the law of Hagar, which belongs to Jerusalem as being correspondent and analogous to her—bears to bondage those who give heed to it. For indeed in the law there is much that is unfree and servile. For virtue was prescribed for a corruptible reward—the good things of the earth, I mean; and the avoidance of wickedness was introduced through punishments and fears.

Gal. 4:26. But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. The type of Hagar, then, is in these things; but see also that of Sarah, for she prefigured the Jerusalem above. For that is the city of the faithful, from which also is the law for us; for the Gospel is from heaven. And it is free from the observances of the law, and orders all things freely and nobly. For nothing is accomplished by us for a visible reward, nor do bodily punishments hang over us; but the promises are more divine, and the punishments such as befit the well-born—namely, to be shut out from the mystical table, and to be censured.

Gal. 4:27. For it is written: Rejoice, you barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in travail, for many are the children of the desolate one, more than of her who has the husband.[1] He is not content with the types, but brings forward Isaiah also as a witness, who calls the Church from among the Gentiles barren and desolate. For indeed she was desolate of divine knowledge, and childless, having brought forth no prophet of God or teacher; whereas she who has the husband is the synagogue of the Jews, either because she had the law administering her affairs, or because she had God himself. Break forth, then, stands in place of, Pour forth a voice of gladness, because now your children have been fulfilled to you—both prophets, and teachers, and sons of God from you—and you have given birth to the whole inhabited world, not one nation only, as the synagogue of the Jews did.

Gal. 4:28–29. But we, brethren, are children of promise, after the manner of Isaac. But just as then he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also now. The Church, he says, being barren like Sarah, not only became the mother of many children as Sarah did, but also gave birth freely as she did. For just as it was not nature, but the promise, that made her a mother (for he who said, At this season I will come, the Word, entering into the womb, fashioned the infant), so indeed also in our case, as has been said above, divine words effect the refashioning—the words pronounced over the baptismal font. Then, lest anyone should say: And what kind of freedom is this, when the Jews scourge the believers, and those who seem to be free are persecuted?—he says that even then it happened so. For indeed Ishmael persecuted Isaac; yet nevertheless nothing hindered the persecuted one from being the genuine son of Abraham, and the master of his persecutor. And so from this very thing—the being persecuted by the Jews—is shown both our likeness to Isaac and our kinship with Abraham.

Gal. 4:30. But what does the Scripture say? Cast out the son of the bondwoman; for the son of the bondwoman shall by no means inherit with the son of the freewoman. Lest anyone should say: What then? Is it a comfort to the faithful who are now persecuted by the Hebrews, that Isaac too was persecuted at that time?—he says: Hear what the Scripture says, and then you will be comforted. For in return for the temporary persecution with which he persecuted Isaac, he is cast out completely; and not only does the being cast out suffice him as punishment, but rather the not becoming a partaker of the things prepared for the child. Which is also the greater punishment, having taken its force from the judgment and decision of God, and not from the persecution. See how it is not the son of Abraham, but the son of the bondwoman, that he names the one not deemed worthy to inherit, calling him by the more lowly lineage. Consider, then, that he showed the law itself introducing its own dissolution, if indeed all the things that were said, being types of the things now coming to pass, are recorded in the law—that is, in the book of the Old Testament.

Gal. 4:31. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the freewoman. He sets all these things in motion in order to show that what is now coming to pass concerning us was prefigured many ages before. How, then, is it not absurd that, having obtained freedom so many years before, we should again willingly become servants?

[1] Galatians 4:27, citing Isaiah 54:1 (LXX).

Chapter 5

Gal. 5:1. Stand fast, therefore, in the freedom with which Christ has set us free.[1] For it was not you yourselves, he says, who set yourselves free, but he who gave the price on your behalf. How, then, do you subject yourselves to the lordship of the law, against the mind of Christ, who set you free? And by saying Stand fast, he showed that they were being shaken.

Gal. 5:1. And do not be entangled again in a yoke of slavery. In speaking of a “yoke,” he indicates the heaviness of the slavery under the law. And the word again charges them with insensibility, seeing that, having learned by experience how burdensome the slavery is, they nevertheless desert back to it.

Gal. 5:2. Behold, I Paul say to you, that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. He sets down the trustworthiness of his own person in the place of every proof. And Christ does not profit the one who is circumcised, because such a man sets aside grace, and runs to the law as to his benefactor, while he utterly disbelieves Christ, as though he had conferred no benefit on him; and the one who disbelieves gains nothing from the one he disbelieves.

Gal. 5:3. And I testify again to every man who is circumcised, that he is a debtor to fulfill the whole law. Lest they suppose that these things are said against them alone: I say it, he says, not to you only, but to every man who is circumcised, that he lays a great burden upon himself; for the ordinances of the law hang together with one another. And when you take up some small part of the law and subject yourself to the yoke, you have drawn the whole lordship upon yourself. For circumcision both demands a sacrifice and observes a particular day; and the sacrifice demands a pattern and a manner, and purifications; for the unclean man does not sacrifice. The purifications, in turn, have other observances. Do you see how the one who has apostatized from Christ not only gains no profit from him, but has also subjected himself to ten thousand burdens? For if the law is lord, fulfill the whole of it; but if it is not lord, do not submit to it even in part.

Gal. 5:4. You have been severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. That is: You have no fellowship at all with Christ; you who, as you suppose, are justified by the law have fallen away from grace, which truly justifies. Great indeed is the shipwreck, when you neither uphold the things of the law and yet cast away the things of grace.

Gal. 5:5. For we through the Spirit, by faith, wait for the hope of righteousness. We who are faithful, he says, hope to be justified not by the law, but by the Holy Spirit. How? By faith. For faith must come first, and then, by the visitation of the Holy Spirit, one receives the forgiveness of sins and is justified in baptism.

Gal. 5:6. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love. And yet he was saying that circumcision is harmful; how, then, does he now make it a matter of indifference? We say, then, that he means the circumcision that precedes faith—as if he said that those who are enrolled under the New Covenant are neither profited if they have been circumcised, nor harmed if they are uncircumcised. For faith is everything, working through love—that is, faith that ought always to show itself active and living through love toward Christ. And he hints that they had indeed believed, but had not grown fervent in their love toward Christ, and for this reason had deserted to the law; or else he is also setting them right with regard to love toward their neighbor. And at the same time he shows that those who were leading them astray, had they but had love toward them, would not have dared to do these things. Learn, then, that faith is made active through love—that is, it is shown to be living; but when it does not have love, it is inactive. It is like the saying, Faith apart from works is dead.

Gal. 5:7. You were running well; who hindered you, that you should not obey the truth? This is not the language of one asking a question, but of one lamenting and saying: You had reached perfection; what has happened? Who has prevailed so far as to hinder you, that you should not obey the truth of the Gospel, but the law, which has been abolished and is but a shadow?

Gal. 5:8. This persuasion is not from him who calls you. That is, this obeying of those who deceive you is not from Christ; for he did not call you in order that you should obey those who counsel you to Judaize.

Gal. 5:9. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Lest they should say: Why have you laid hold of us so vehemently (for we have set aside but one commandment of the law), and magnify the charge?—he says that this thing, which seems small, does harm in matters of vital importance. For just as the leaven, though it is small, leavens to its own likeness and transforms the whole lump, so also circumcision, though it is a single commandment, summons you over to a complete Judaism.

Gal. 5:10. I have confidence in you in the Lord, that you will be of no other mind. I take courage, he says, concerning you; for I know my own disciples; I know how easily you may be set right. I take courage, then, concerning you, as being able to be corrected; and I take courage also in the Lord, who does not will that even a single one should perish. He urges them, therefore, both to bring in what is from themselves and to hope in the Lord. For there is no other way to attain the things that are from God, unless, he says, you also bring in the diligence that is from yourselves.

Gal. 5:10. But he who troubles you shall bear the judgment, whoever he may be. You indeed, he says, shall be set right; yet not for this reason shall those who deceived you be freed from punishment, but they shall pay the penalty, even if some of them seem great and worthy of credit. For this is the meaning of whoever he may be. And he says this so that others, in turn, may not again set upon them.

Gal. 5:11. But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Since those who slandered him said that he was a hypocrite, in one place preaching circumcision and in another not, he says: You are witnesses that I am persecuted by the Jews. If, then, I preach circumcision, for what else am I persecuted? For it is plain that they persecute me because I overthrow their ancestral customs. But if I am introducing circumcision, why then do they persecute me? “What of this,” they say; “did he not circumcise Timothy?” Yes—but by way of dispensation.

But to circumcise is one thing, and to preach circumcision is another. For he did not say, If I performed circumcision, but, If I preach it. For the one who preaches it lays down as a doctrine that this must always be done, as being simply good; whereas the one who has done something even by way of dispensation does not do it as a thing simply good, but as serviceable for a particular occasion.

Gal. 5:11. Then is the stumbling block of the cross abolished. If I preach circumcision, he says, then the stumbling block has ceased at which the Jews take offense in the cross. For at the preaching of the cross they take offense, and do not receive it, for no other reason than that through it circumcision and the law are abolished. So that, if circumcision were preached by me, the conflict of the Jews against the cross, and the stumbling block at which they take offense in it, would be abolished and would cease.

Gal. 5:12. Would that those who are unsettling you would even mutilate themselves! Those who had been deceived he called foolish at the beginning, rebuking them as nothing more than children; but upon those who had done the deceiving, as men incurably diseased, he calls down a curse, saying this: Would that they would not only be circumcised, but would even cut themselves off entirely, mutilating their own parts! And observe, too, how he said unsettling, which is the word we use of those who take men captive. For these men too were taking away their freedom, and, raising them in revolt against the Jerusalem that is above, were removing them, like exiles, over to the law and to Jewish pettiness. And note, against those who mutilate themselves, that they draw the Apostle’s curse upon their own heads.

Gal. 5:13. For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom for an occasion to the flesh.

It was not, he says, that we should be slaves to the law that we were called by God, but that we should be set free from the yoke of the legal slavery. Then, lest anyone suspect that, because we are free, it is therefore permitted us henceforth to do whatever we wish, he corrects this and says that we should not hold our freedom for an occasion to the flesh, that is, to the desires of the flesh. For it was not for this that we were loosed from the yoke of the law—that we should be flung headlong over a cliff—but that we should walk straight even without a yoke, as men already rightly trained. For it is not that we should transgress the things of the law that we are set free, but that we should even surpass the law itself.

Gal. 5:13. But through love be servants to one another. Since he has taken away the yoke of the law, he lays on another yoke, that of love, both lighter and safer than the former. And he hints that it was out of love of rule that the deceivers had broken in upon them; for this is the mother of the heresies. Since, then, love of rule has divided you, through love be servants to one another—showing the intensity of the love by the word be servants. And turning now to the moral discourse, he shows the way by which it may be brought about that one not be a slave to the desires of the flesh.

Gal. 5:14. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. If, then, he says, you wish to fulfill the law, fulfill it not in being circumcised, but in love; for this is the fullness of the law. And observe how, even while going through the moral discourse, he does not forget the doctrinal one—so exceedingly was he grieved over the matter in which they had been led astray.

Gal. 5:15. But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed by one another. What he knows to be truly happening, he sets down as though in doubt; and likewise what follows, that you be not consumed by one another—for this is the language of one warning and putting on guard, not of one condemning. And he did not say bite only (which belongs to wrath), but also devour, which belongs to the utmost savagery. These things he says, on the one hand, concerning the corrupted doctrines; but they are understood also of the plots against one another, and the acts of plunder, and the acts of greed. And since those who do wrong and lay snares seem to be catching others, he says: Take heed lest the thing be turned back upon yourselves.

Gal. 5:16. I say, then: Walk by the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the desire of the flesh. Since he said that biting and devouring is destructive, he states also the remedy for this, which both preserves love and is preserved by it—I mean, the being spiritual. For if we are spiritual, we love the more; and if we love, we become spiritual, and thereafter we do not fulfill the desire of the flesh.

Gal. 5:17. For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are opposed to one another, so that you may not do the things that you would. Here the Manichaeans fasten on, and all heretics of that sort, saying that man is composed of two contrary substances, and that the Apostle bears witness to this by what he now says. But it is not so; for he is not discoursing about substance, but by “flesh” he means the earthly reasoning, the slothful and the negligent, not the body; and by “spirit,” the spiritual reasoning, not the soul. The earthly reasoning, then, he says, is opposed to the spiritual, and the spiritual reasoning to the earthly. He therefore introduces a battle of evil and good thoughts, not of body and soul. For the willing and the not willing belong to the soul, which reasons. For he adds: so that you may not do the things that you would; since the body is a fellow worker with the soul, not its adversary; and the soul clings to the body, and suffers all things so as not to leave it, and grieves when it is torn away from it. How, then, are things contrary that have so great an affinity for one another?

Gal. 5:18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The one who has the Spirit quenches the evil desires. And the one who has been delivered from these has no need of the counsel of the law, nor is he under it. For the one who is not even angered, how does he need the precept that forbids murder? And the one who does not even lust, how does he need the counsel that forbids fornication? Which is what he also said elsewhere: The law is not laid down for a righteous man. And he seems also to be speaking in praise of the law, seeing that it stood in the place of the Spirit, training men according to its own power, when it had its season. How, then, do you again come under a tutor, having let go the Spirit that makes you perfect? It is as if some man who is a philosopher should need a tutor.

Gal. 5:19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication and adultery. These, he says, are the works of the corrupted and fleshly choice, by which fornication and adultery are also recognized. And it is plain how fornication differs from adultery.

Gal. 5:19. Uncleanness, licentiousness. He hints here at shameful practices, which he could not bear even to name.

Gal. 5:20–21. Idolatry, sorceries, enmities, strifes, jealousies, fits of wrath, factions, dissensions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and the like; of which I forewarn you, just as I also foretold, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Let those who disparage the flesh tell us: granted that licentiousness and fornication are sins of the body—but enmities, and heresies, and the like, how could they belong to the flesh? So that it is plain that they all belong to the corrupted choice. And if they were of the flesh, belonging to us by nature, how could they cast us out of the kingdom of God? For it is not of nature, but of choice, that both the punishments and the crowns come. And in another way: if the passions were of nature, he would not have said doing, but, suffering; for “doing” makes manifest a choice.

By “enmities” understand the unjust ones; for there are also just enmities—those, namely, that arise for the sake of the faith, and those against all who swerve from what is right. And by “jealousies” he means envious rivalries; for there is also a good zeal, when one imitates the man who does what is noble. And rightly has he placed the heresies after the dissensions and the factions; for every heresy arises from contentiousness, since the contentious man wishes to set up his own will, and for this reason establishes a heresy. And murder, too, comes from envy, and the revelings from drunkenness. For revelings are the songs of drunken men, attended with insolence; and therefore he has placed first the things that beget, and then the things begotten of them.

Gal. 5:22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. The evil works arise from ourselves alone; therefore he called them works of the flesh, and at the same time as things having toil and heaviness. But the good ones need not only our own diligence, but also the working-together from above; therefore he called them the fruit of the Spirit—since the seed, that is, the purpose, is given by us, while the becoming of fruit lies in God. And he sets down love first as the root of all good things, then joy. For the one who loves always rejoices, even when he suffers ill; for he regards the one who does him ill as a benefactor. And he rejoices also in God, as one who does and suffers all things for his sake, and therefore is gladdened by a good conscience. And out of love and joy he is at peace both in soul, not being troubled by his thoughts, and toward all those who are outside. For even if he seems to be at enmity with some, it is not with them, but with the evil that is in them, that he is at enmity—loving those men as brothers, and showing this enmity for their benefit, that they may be set right.

Gal. 5:22–23. Long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Long-suffering seems in this respect to differ from gentleness in Scripture: that the long-suffering man, being abundant in prudence, lays the fitting penalty upon the offender not quickly, but at leisure; whereas the gentle man lets it go altogether—as Moses, who, forgiving Miriam and Aaron, was called gentle above all who dwelt upon the earth. And kindness is something more general than goodness. For the Lord is kind to all alike; but goodness benefits only those who are worthy, according to the saying, Do good, O Lord, to those who are good. And by “faith” he means not the simple faith, but that which even removes mountains, which believes without wavering that the things impossible with men are possible with God; and above all, self-control—not of foods only, but of every evil thing.

Gal. 5:23. There is no law against such things as these. For the soul that accomplishes these things from the Spirit has no need of the admonition that comes from the law, being itself loftier than it—just as horses that are by nature spirited have no need of the whip. And neither here does he cast out the law as evil, but as inferior to the philosophy that is given by the Spirit.

Gal. 5:24. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. As though someone had said, Who is it that accomplishes these things that you have spoken of?—he says that those who are Christ’s, that is, those who are of Christ’s portion, have crucified the flesh, that is, they have put to death the fleshly mind. For they did not, of course, destroy themselves—so that you may understand by “flesh” not the substance of the flesh, but the earthly reasoning—so that neither the passions of wrath live on in them, nor the desires, but both these and those are crucified and put to death. Or by “passions” he simply means the impassioned actions, whether they be from wrath or from desire. He says, then, that not only the actions are put to death, but also the very beginnings of these, namely the desires.

Gal. 5:25. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Since, he says, so great is the strength of the Spirit, let us live by him, let us be governed by him. For this is the meaning of let us walk—that is, Let us be governed by the power of the Spirit, and not seek for the addition that comes from the law.

Gal. 5:26. Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another. He hints here that those who led them astray came to this out of vainglory (for this is the cause of all evils), provoking one another, that is, to contentiousness and strife—as when someone says to his rival: If you are able, come, let us do such-and-such a thing. And since envy comes from vainglory, he forbids this also.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne prints a marginal apparatus note here, [vulg. στήκετε], recording the Vulgate reading of “stand fast”; it is not part of the text.

Chapter 6

Gal. 6:1. Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in some trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of meekness. Since many, thinking that they were rebuking those who sinned, were in fact giving vent to their own passions, coming to this out of a love of domineering, he says that if anyone be overtaken—that is, be caught off guard, having suffered an assault from a demon—you who are spiritual, restore him; that is, Do not punish, but set him right in a spirit of meekness. He did not say, In meekness, but, In a spirit of meekness, showing both that this seems good also to the Spirit, and that it is a spiritual gift to set right those who sin with gentleness.

Gal. 6:1. Considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. So that the one who restores another may not be lifted up, he secures him. For consider, he says, and keep watch over yourself, lest you too fall into the same things, suffering temptation from the adversary. And he spoke emphatically the word

You. For through it he called to mind human weakness.

Gal. 6:2. Bear one another’s burdens. For since, being human, it is not possible to be without sin, he exhorts us not to be exacting toward our neighbor’s sins, but to bear them, so that our own sins in turn may be borne by another.

Gal. 6:2. And so fulfill the law of Christ. He did not say, Fulfill, but, Fill up together; that is, All of you in common fulfill it, through the things by which you bear one another. For example, let the quick man bear with the sluggish, and the sluggish with the other’s vehement impulse; and thus neither will the one go astray while borne by the other, nor the other by him. And in this way, stretching out a hand to one another, fulfill through one another the law of Christ, each one filling up whatever is lacking in his neighbor by bearing with him. For in another way too, bearing one another’s burdens belongs to love; and love is the fulfilling of the commandments of Christ.

Gal. 6:3. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Here again he casts down arrogance, showing that the one who thinks himself to be something is nothing, this very thinking being brought forward as proof of his own nothingness; and he deceives no one else, but himself.

Gal. 6:4. But let each one prove his own work, and then he will have his boasting in himself alone, and not in another. Let him examine, he says, his own deeds with exactness (for this is what let him prove means), whether he did them not for vainglory, not in hypocrisy, not from some other human motive; and then let him not boast against another. But if indeed he stands beyond reproach, let him have his boasting in himself—that is, comparing himself with himself, let him reckon today’s work better than yesterday’s, and rejoice in the good work. Yet Paul says these things by way of concession, not as laying down a law, so that little by little he may strip away the boastings of such a character. For the one who has been habituated not to boast over his neighbor, as the Pharisee did, will quickly cease also from exulting over himself.

Gal. 6:5. For each one shall bear his own load. For why do you boast over your neighbor? Both you and he shall bear your own loads, and then each one’s work shall be proved. So then, since you too have loads and burdens, neither boast against another, nor exult over yourself in your good deeds.

Gal. 6:6. But let him who is taught the word share with him who teaches in all good things. He now discourses concerning teachers, that those who are taught by them should share with their teachers—not in some one thing, but in all good things: imparting food, clothing, honor, good will, and, in a word, all good things. For you receive greater things than you give; for in exchange for carnal things, spiritual things. Therefore he also calls the matter a sharing, since a giving-in-return takes place. And for what reason did Christ ordain that teachers be supported by their disciples? For these two reasons: that the teachers might not be greatly lifted up, but, as being in need of their disciples, might be modest-minded, and that they might devote themselves to the word alone, not being distracted over food; and that the disciples, in their gratitude toward their teachers, might be trained to be the same toward others also, and at the same time might not be ashamed, even when they themselves are poor and begging, seeing that their very teachers are such.

Gal. 6:7–8. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Since often certain people, blaming their teachers as living a bad life, look down upon them and do not support them in their poverty, he says, as he goes on, that in doing good let us not grow weary; and now too he shows that one ought to be unsparing even toward such teachers, since the expenditure is made for a spiritual matter. Comparing, then, the expenditures made for carnal things and those made for spiritual things, he says: If you spend on the flesh, preparing tables and delicacies, and sowing drunkenness and luxury and gluttony, you will reap corruption; for these things both perish themselves, and corrupt the body along with them. But if you sow to the Spirit—that is, to spiritual works, doing almsgiving toward all and pursuing self-control—you will reap life everlasting. For God is not mocked or deceived, but renders to each then what is his own. It is better, therefore, to spend on spiritual things, among which is included also the expenditure for teachers, than on carnal indulgences that perish and corrupt the body. For from indulgences and excesses come diseases.

Gal. 6:9. But in doing good, let us not grow weary; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Now he reveals more plainly that, even if those who are in need of us be wicked, we ourselves should not grow weary in doing good to them. And he indicates both bounty and continual giving by saying that we must not grow weary. Then, since he had demanded something great, he sets down the reward at once, that we shall reap. How? If we faint not—that is, having no toil, but all rest. For here there are droughts and toils in the harvest; but there it is not so.

Gal. 6:10. So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward all, but especially toward those who are of the household of faith. Just as it is not always the season for sowing, so neither for showing mercy; and the virgins and Lazarus make this plain. So long, then, as we have the season in this life, let us work that which is good not only toward teachers, but also toward Greeks and Jews—that is, beneficence, almsgiving. We must not, however, use the same measure toward these and toward those who are of the household of faith, but show greater generosity toward the faithful. For this is what he indicates by the word especially. And observe how in this too he leads them away from Jewish narrowness; seeing that the law opened its bowels of compassion toward those of the same race, but grace calls land and sea alike to the table of mercy—though not in equal measure, as has been said.

Gal. 6:11. See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand. Having said a little on the ethical theme, he returns again to the former matters, those that gnaw at his heart, and makes plain that he himself wrote the whole Epistle with his own hand, not only that he might display his love toward them, but also that he might remove an evil suspicion. For he was being slandered as one who preached different things in different places; he was compelled, therefore, to set down a written testimony of his own preaching. And yet, while others wrote his other epistles, he himself wrote, if anything, only the salutation. And the phrase with what large is not indicative of size, but of the unshapeliness of the letters, as if he were saying: Although I do not know how to write very well, nonetheless I was compelled to write the Epistle in my own hand.

Gal. 6:12. As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, these constrain you to be circumcised. As many, he says, as desire to be well thought of in the flesh—that is, among men, the Jews namely (for they were reproached among them as having forsaken their ancestral customs)—these constrain you to be circumcised, making their defense to the Jews by means of your flesh. And by saying they constrain, he showed that they endured these things unwillingly, giving them an occasion to withdraw, as men now stumbling against their will.

Gal. 6:12. Only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. And for another reason too, he says, they do this; for in order that they may not be persecuted and driven on account of the cross and the faith, as transgressors of it, they, being circumcised, wish to have others also as partners in their circumcision.

Gal. 6:13. For not even those who are circumcised keep the law themselves, but they wish you to be circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh. Not only out of men-pleasing, he says, but also out of love of vainglory do they do these things. For they perform this neither out of zeal for the law, nor for the sake of piety, he says, but out of love of vainglory, that they may boast in your flesh; that is, That they may boast in cutting up your flesh, as your teachers, having you for disciples.

Gal. 6:14. But God forbid that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those men, he says, boast in circumcision, a thing that has been abolished; but God forbid that I should boast in anything else, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (that is, in faith in the Crucified), who has abolished the law. And as of something forbidden he prayed it away, calling also upon God’s alliance for this. But how does one boast in the cross? Because, For my sake, the worthless one, my Master was crucified, having loved me so greatly as even to give himself up. The cross, therefore, is the boast of Paul and of every believer, since in it is shown the love of the Master toward us. And what servant does not boast when he is loved by his master?

Gal. 6:14. Through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. By “world” he means the affairs of this life—glory, wealth, luxury. These, then, have become dead to me, and I in turn am dead to them, a double deadness having come about. For neither can those things lay hold of me, since they are dead; nor can I run to them, for I am dead.

Gal. 6:15–16. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be upon them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. Do not speak to me, he says, of circumcision, which can do nothing and is useless, just as uncircumcision is also. For Christ made all things new, and requires of us another way of life. For the life according to Christ is a new creation, because now our souls, grown old in sin, have been made new again by baptism; and because in the age to come we shall be honored with incorruption and glory, having our bodies also made new and made incorruptible. As many, therefore, as abide by this rule of the new way of life according to Christ, fleeing the circumcision that has grown old and become powerless, shall attain to peace with God, being delivered from the sins that wage war against God on our behalf, and shall be deemed worthy of his love for mankind—no longer hated as enemies of God, but deemed worthy of mercy, since peace has come to them through the cross and through grace. And such men are also Israel in the proper sense, as seeing God; whereas those who are not such, even if they be Israelites by race, are so called falsely. And this Paul received from David, who says: Peace be upon Israel.

Gal. 6:17. From now on let no one cause me troubles. He says this not as one shrinking back, nor as one who has grown weary. For how could he, who exhorts, Be ready in season, out of season? Rather, it is because he wishes the laws laid down by him to remain unshaken, and so that they may not expect anything else from him, but may receive full assurance that he preaches in this way.

Gal. 6:17. For in my body I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus. I have a defense, he says, against those who tell you that I am a hypocrite and preach circumcision elsewhere: the marks and the perils endured for Christ. For these, more brilliantly than any voice, bear witness that it was not for the law, but for the teaching according to Christ, that I exposed myself to danger. And he did not say, I have, but, I bear, as one bears a trophy or a royal ensign, and in these I exult.

Gal. 6:18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen. By praying for them, he shows that it was not in anger and hostility that he said what he said. And this is not only a prayer, but also a teaching, setting a seal upon all that has been said. For he reminds them of the grace they enjoyed, not through the law, but by having believed in Christ. And he did not say, With you, but, With your spirit, leading them away from carnal things, and showing that they received the Spirit not from the law, but from grace; and that it is not the law, nor circumcision, but grace that is able to preserve the Spirit for them, just as it also gave it. But by addressing them as brethren as well, he called to mind the font, from which we become brethren, being sons of one Father, who is God, and not from the law. And may the grace of God be with us also, as we live spiritually and do not cast away the divine sanctification of the Paraclete in the mire of sins, but ever procure more of it for ourselves in Christ Jesus our Lord, who has shown forth the new and spiritual life through the doing away of the old and bodily life. To whom be the glory to the ages. Amen.

Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians

Introduction

A Letter for a Learned City

Theophylact’s Argument to Ephesians dwells, before anything else, on the character of the city itself. Ephesus was “the metropolis of Asia,” home to the great temple of Artemis and proud of its title as her temple-keeper, a city where the Evangelist John spent his exile and his last years, where Paul had left Timothy as teacher, and where, Theophylact notes, “those of the philosophers who most flourished passed their lives.” A congregation drawn from so sophisticated and so religiously self-satisfied a city called, in Theophylact’s judgment, for a letter of unusual depth: Paul, writing from Rome in chains, “entrusted to them the deeper and loftier of his thoughts, inasmuch as they had already been catechized,” and Theophylact warns his own reader at the outset that the letter will need “much attentiveness toward the understanding of the mysteries in it.” Of all the Pauline commentaries, this is the one Theophylact most explicitly frames as demanding real effort from the reader before it yields its sense.

Chosen Before the Foundation of the World

The letter’s opening blessing, with its declaration that God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world,” draws from Theophylact the same careful, synergistic reading he gives the comparable language in Romans. To be chosen “before the foundation of the world,” he explains, is to say that “our affairs were foreordained” from the beginning rather than settled only recently—but the choosing itself, he insists, is not blind or arbitrary: the word “he chose” shows at once “the love of God for mankind and their own virtue; for he chooses all who are going to prove approved.” And lest a reader conclude from having been chosen that nothing further is required, Theophylact stresses that the purpose of the choice is stated in the same breath—“that we should be holy and blameless before him”—a holiness Theophylact locates specifically in the life given at baptism and lived out afterward, and one that must hold not merely before other men, as with the Pharisees, but “before him,” before God himself.

Marriage as a Great Mystery

In the letter’s final chapter, Paul’s instruction to husbands and wives leads to a citation of Genesis—that a man shall leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, so that the two become one flesh—which Paul calls “a great mystery” concerning Christ and the Church. Theophylact takes the wonder of the passage seriously on its own terms before turning it toward Christ: that a man should forsake those who begot and raised him for the sake of a woman he had never known before is itself remarkable, and Moses’ words, read prophetically, disclose that Christ himself “forsook the Father, not by a change of place, but by the condescension toward the flesh,” to be joined to the Church as a bridegroom to his bride. Marriage, on this reading, is not merely regulated by the analogy to Christ and the Church; it is given its very meaning by it, so that the ordinary bond between husband and wife becomes, in Theophylact’s exposition, a visible sign of the deepest mystery in the letter.

The Whole Armor of God

The letter’s close turns from the household to the battlefield, as Paul calls his readers to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Theophylact fastens on Paul’s choice of word: not “battles,” nor “wars,” but “wiles”—the enemy’s characteristic weapon is deception rather than open assault, working by plausible argument and disguise rather than by urging sin directly. And when Paul adds that “our wrestling is not against blood and flesh,” Theophylact reads this not as meant to frighten but to steady: naming the true scale of the opposition makes believers more watchful, not less secure, since “he who relates the power of the enemy makes his own people more secure.” The armor that follows—the readiness of the Gospel, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit—answers a warfare that is real but, rightly met, need hold no terror for those who fight it clothed in what God himself has supplied.

How to Read This Commentary

Because Paul himself moves in Ephesians from the loftiest doctrine—election, the mystery of Christ, the unity of Jew and Gentile in one body—to the most concrete practical instruction on households, work, and warfare against unseen powers, Theophylact’s commentary asks to be read in the same two registers. The first three chapters reward slow, attentive reading, since Theophylact himself treats them as the letter’s densest and most demanding ground; the last three move more quickly, as doctrine already established is worked out in the ordinary relations of Christian households and congregations. A reader who has taken the trouble to follow the argument of the earlier chapters will find that the household instructions of the later ones read not as a separate, lesser concern but as the doctrine of election and adoption made visible in daily life.

Chapter 1

Argument of the Epistle to the Ephesians. Ephesus is the metropolis of Asia; and it venerated Artemis, whose temple also was in it, most beautiful and most great, honored both by all the Greeks and especially by Ephesus, so that this city was even said to be the temple-keeper of Artemis, as is written in the Acts. And in Ephesus the evangelist John spent the greater part of his time, having been exiled there, where also he dies. And Paul left Timothy there as a teacher; and those of the philosophers who most flourished passed their lives in it. Since, therefore, the city was thus so given over to superstition, and prided itself on such wise men, Paul employed much diligence in writing to people of this sort, and entrusted to them the deeper and loftier of his thoughts, inasmuch as they had already been catechized. And he writes this Epistle, laden with these surpassing thoughts, from Rome, in bonds. We too, then, have need of much attentiveness toward the understanding of the mysteries in it.

Eph. 1:1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God. Behold, he has assigned the word through to the Father; and mark this on account of the Arians.

Eph. 1:1. To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus. See how great was the virtue in those days, when he calls saints and faithful men who lived in the world, having wives and children; but now, not even in mountains and caves are there such men.

Eph. 1:2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Having said grace, he adds, of God our Father, that he may show what grace has wrought for us—namely, to make the Master and God our Father. But the Lord also, that is, the Son, by the grace shown toward us became both Jesus and Christ, having been made flesh for our sake, and called Jesus, and having anointed the manhood with the Godhead.

Eph. 1:3. Let the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be praised. Behold, he is both God and Father of one and the same Christ: God, inasmuch as he was made flesh; and Father, inasmuch as he is God the Word.

Eph. 1:3. Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. By way of contrast with the Jewish blessing, he said the word spiritual; for that blessing was more bodily. For may God bless, he says, the offspring of your womb; and, May he bless your coming in and your going out. But here every blessing is spiritual, and nothing is lacking to us. For we have become immortal, and sons of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, and our firstfruits are worshiped by the powers on high. With reason, then, he said, With every blessing; for all things divine and spiritual have been freely given to us.

Eph. 1:3. In the heavenly places. As though he were explaining how our blessing is spiritual, he says, In the heavenly places. For the blessing of the Jews was upon the earth, and for this reason bodily: For you shall eat the good things of the land; and, A land flowing with honey and milk; and, The Lord shall bless your land. But here there is nothing earthly, but all things heavenly. For this reason also our blessing is spiritual. For the kingdom of heaven is promised to the poor, and to those who are persecuted there is great reward in the heavens.

Eph. 1:3. In Christ Jesus. That is, the blessing is ours through Jesus Christ, not through Moses, as it was for the Jews. So that we differ from them not only in the quality of the good things, but also in the mediator.

Eph. 1:4. According as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. He blessed us, he says, through Christ, just as he also chose us through him—that is, through faith in him. And he chose us before the foundation of the world. For from above our affairs were foreordained, and they are not recent, but ordered from the beginning. And well did he say foundation, that he might show that from some height of God’s power the world was laid down and established as on a foundation. And the word he chose makes plain both the love of God for mankind and their own virtue; for he chooses all who are going to prove approved.

Eph. 1:4. That we should be holy and blameless before him. Lest, having heard that he chose us, you should thereafter grow slothful, as though already chosen, he says: For this he chose us, that we might be holy and blameless, abiding in the holiness which he gave us when we were baptized, and having a virtuous life. For the holy man is he who partakes of the faith; and the blameless, he who in his life is beyond reproach. And he seeks holiness and blamelessness not simply, but, Before him. For there are many who are holy before men, like the Pharisees, but not before God. This David also says: According to the cleanness of my hands; what cleanness? That which is before his eyes. And Isaiah: Wash yourselves, and put away your wickednesses before my eyes.

Eph. 1:4–5. In love having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself. Having said that he chose us, he gave us to understand that he chose us as approved on account of our virtue. But since salvation is not from our virtue alone, he added that In love he predestined us—that is, Out of his own love for mankind, having loved us, he predestined us. Moreover, the believing and the drawing near is ours, though it belongs also to God who called; but to deem us, once we have drawn near, worthy of adoption, belongs to his love and benevolence alone. Wherefore he added, Having predestined us to adoption. What adoption? That which leads our race up to him, and makes us his own; and this too, Through Jesus Christ. For the Father predestined, but Christ brought us near. For through the Son come all good things, not through any of the servants; wherefore the bounty is the more splendid.

Eph. 1:5–6. This was in keeping with the good pleasure of his will, so that the glory of his grace might be praised. For this reason, he says, he predestined us to adoption—willing, and earnestly purposing, and desiring it (for this is good pleasure)—that the glory of his grace and of his benefaction might be displayed. But does God crave glory? God forbid; for the Divine is without need. Rather, he wills to be glorified by us, that we may love him the more. For he who marvels at the benefactions done toward him will be eager not to offend his benefactor; and as often as he calls the good things to remembrance, the more will he love the giver. Good pleasure, then, is the antecedent will of God. As, for instance: the first will of God is that no one perish; the second will, that those who have become evil perish; for not by necessity does he punish, but willingly. The good pleasure, therefore, is the antecedent will of God.

Eph. 1:6. Wherein he graced us in the Beloved. He did not say, He bestowed a favor, but, He graced; that is, he made us gracious and lovely. Just as if someone, taking a scabby old man, wasted with hunger and unseemly, should at once make of him another, comely and younger, having graced him in all respects—so also God, taking us who were filled with every deformity and unseemliness, showed us forth gracious and beautiful. For the king, he says, shall desire your beauty. And he graced us in the beloved Son—that is, through the Beloved.

Eph. 1:7. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of trespasses. In the Beloved, he says, we have redemption. What redemption? The remission of trespasses. How brought to pass? Through the blood. For this is the most awesome thing: that, having slain the very one who was beloved, he redeemed us who were hated, giving as price and ransom the blood of the Beloved. And see that this is even greater than the adoption—not to have spared even the Son for our sake. For after speaking concerning the adoption, he says this, ascending from the lesser to the greater.

Eph. 1:7–8. According to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us. And this he did, he says, in the riches of his grace. And see the superabundances: riches were given to us, and the riches of God, and riches of grace. And not simply of grace, but, Which he made to abound toward us—that is, he poured out ungrudgingly.

Eph. 1:8–9. In all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of his will. That is, he poured out his grace upon us, so that, having made us wise and prudent, he made known to us the mystery of his will; as though he were saying: The things in his heart he made known to us. Or also thus: That he might make known to us the mystery which is in all prudence and wisdom—that is, the mystery laden with all wisdom and prudence. For that he should deem the enemies, the outcasts, worthy of so great things—and this at the end of the times, and this through the cross—how is this not of great wisdom?

Eph. 1:9. According to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself. And he did this according as he willed, and according as he purposed and predestined in himself—in Christ, that is.

Eph. 1:10. To a dispensation of the fullness of the times. And this good pleasure and this will he purposed and predestined to a dispensation, and administration, and ordering of the fullness of the times. For the fullness of the times, that is, the last seasons, demanded chastisement and punishment, since the wickedness of men had multiplied in them. But the coming of the Son rather dispensed salvation in these last times—which is a thing of inconceivable wisdom.

Eph. 1:10. To gather up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth, in him. The heavenly things, he says, had been severed from the earthly; they had not one head. For even if, according to the principle of creation, there was one God for all, yet according to the principle of close kinship it was no longer so. The Father, then, purposed to gather up the heavenly things and the earthly—that is, to set one head over all, namely Christ: over the angels, according to his incorporeal nature; over men, according to the flesh. A gathering-up is also said to be the speaking concisely of things that come about at length. In Christ, then, the Father gathered up all things—that is, he cut short the things dispensed over a long time, finishing the account and cutting it short in righteousness.

Eph. 1:11. In whom also we were made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. He said above that he chose us; now again, that we were made an inheritance in Christ—that is, through Christ. But since the lot is a matter of chance, and not of virtue, nor of choice, he corrects this, and says: Having been predestined according to the purpose of God. For he would not have predestined had he not known us to be worthy. For God, who works all things, foresaw us before we came to be, and made us an inheritance, and set us apart for himself; so that, having himself wrought our election and inheritance, he did not err. And to be made an inheritance is a thing of blessedness, as coming to us without toil and by divine grace, even though it came upon the worthy. And according to the counsel, he says, of his will, that he might show that not as though the Hebrews had been disobedient were the Gentiles called in passing, but that these things were foreordained from above, and that this was an ancient counsel of God, and his will. For even if Christ said, Do not go among the Gentiles; and, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; yet these things were said for the sake of urging on the Jews, and of drawing them in, being coaxed like children; since in truth the calling of the Gentiles was foreordained from above.

Eph. 1:12. That we should be to the praise of his glory, who had first hoped in Christ. So that, he says, we who had first hoped in Christ should be to his glory—that is, those who believed in Christ, and even before the age to come is at hand, hope for the things that shall then be ours. For it is a glory and a praise of the goodness of God to save those who were thus estranged.

Eph. 1:13. In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Gospel of your salvation. That is, through whom, namely Christ. So also to the Hebrews he says, He spoke to us in a Son. And he says the word of truth, by way of contrast with the typical and shadowy law; and, the Gospel of salvation, by way of contrast with the law that kills, and with the chastisement to come. For the proclamation of the first coming was to salvation; but the trumpet of the second is to chastisement.

Eph. 1:13. In whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise. Having believed in the Gospel, he says; or, In Christ; that is, Through the grace of Christ, having believed, you were sealed; so that it is plain that you are God’s portion and inheritance. But the Jews were sealed with circumcision, as the irrational beasts are, receiving a fleshly seal; whereas we, as sons of God and above the flesh, were sealed with the Spirit. And he calls it the Spirit of the promise because it was given out of promise (for indeed through Joel also God promised, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh. And Christ said, You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you), or because the Spirit confirms the promise of the good things to come. For having been already given to us, it makes the things to come also trustworthy; wherefore it is called an earnest. For hear what follows:

Eph. 1:14. Who is the earnest of our inheritance. God purchased our salvation from us, and gave us for the present the Spirit as an earnest, giving assurance that he will give also the inheritance of the unspeakable good things. And those who truly partake of the Spirit, even from this present already know that it is an earnest of the perfect inheritance—such a one as Paul; wherefore he also groaned, and sought to receive the perfect, and to be with Christ; whereas we neither have the earnest as we ought, nor do we crave the perfect, being without taste of it.

Eph. 1:14. To the redemption of the possession. By “possession” he means God’s diligence and care concerning us. He says, then, that this earnest leads to the perfect redemption and the pure possession of us, and was given for its sake. For then shall be the perfect freedom, when sin is wholly done away; when the saints are also loosed from dwelling together with sinners, and there appear those who have been made a possession and acquired by God, so as to be his people. But some have understood the “possession” to be ourselves. To the redemption of the possession, then—that is, of us, who are a possession, and an acquisition, and God’s own treasure.

Eph. 1:14. To the praise of his glory. Continually he subjoins this, giving full assurance that the things promised shall assuredly come to pass. For if he were doing it for our sake, there might be room to doubt; but now, since it is for the sake of the manifestation of his own goodness that he is about to do these things, who shall gainsay that he will not do them? So also the Scripture: Do for us for your name’s sake; and, Not to us, but to your name give glory.

Eph. 1:15–16. For this cause I also, having heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love which is toward all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you. For this cause. What cause? Because, having believed, you were sealed with the Spirit, and received an earnest of the good things to come and of the perfect redemption, and are about to attain the things laid up for those who rightly believe and live, I cease not to give thanks for you. Do you see the bowels of compassion—how he gives thanks on behalf of all, as though he himself were the one benefited? For not to these alone, but to all, does he write this. It is fitting, then, to give thanks to God both for all the other things of which we have been deemed worthy; and fitting also on behalf of the faith of those who believe, that they were thus enlightened, that they were added to the cross of the Savior, having departed from him who destroys; for this is a mark of brotherly love. Having heard, he says, of your faith in the Lord Jesus. And not only the faith, but also the love—that is, the merciful and brotherly and humane disposition toward all, and not toward the local saints only, that is, the faithful poor. And everywhere he joins love to faith, the love that gives birth to the virtuous life. For without it the other is idle—faith, I mean, without work and life; just as also a life without faith.

Eph. 1:16. Remembering you as I pray. Consider how many he held in his mind, how many he remembered in his prayers; whereas we do not so much as remember ourselves, as we ought.

Eph. 1:17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. Why do you make request and entreaty on our behalf? That God may make you wise. And “God of the Lord Jesus”—that is, of the man who is like us according to the flesh. “The Father of glory”—that is, he who has given us great and glorious good things. For he always names him from the matter at hand, as in, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort; and the prophet, The Lord is my strength and the horn of my salvation. And here too, then, since he bestowed great and glorious things upon us, he calls him Father of glory—that is, the cause of it. For he has no other way to call him than from the name most splendid among us. But Gregory the Theologian understood “glory” to be the Godhead of the Only-begotten, so that of one and the same Christ there is both a God and a Father: of Christ, that is, of the human, a God; but of the glory, that is, of the Godhead, a Father.[1]

Eph. 1:17–18. May he give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; the eyes of your heart being enlightened. That is, May he furnish you a gift of grace, so that you may be enlightened through the Spirit. For unless the Spirit reveal the hidden mysteries, it is impossible otherwise to learn them. For it alone—not an angel, nor an archangel—searches all things, even the depths of God. But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit. When, therefore, the mysteries are revealed to us by the Spirit, then we also come to be in the knowledge of God, and our eyes are enlightened, and we no longer doubt and say that this and that is impossible to come to pass; but we see all things as they are.

Eph. 1:18. That you may know what is the hope of his calling. That is, upon what hopes we were called. And it is plain that it is to adoption, and the enjoyment of the heavenly good things, and the having of Christ as our head. For since this is yet to come, it needs a spiritual revelation in order to learn it.

Eph. 1:18. And what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. And this too, being yet unseen, needs the revelation from the Spirit—namely, what things the saints are about to inherit; for they are great. Wherefore also he calls these things a riches of glory—that is, an unspeakable and surpassing glory. And he calls them an inheritance, as things about to be given to sons.

Eph. 1:19–20. And what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of the might of his strength, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead. The things foretold were concerning matters yet to come; but now he speaks of what has already come to pass, that from this he may give assurance also of that. And what is this? Our believing, he says; for this too needs revelation, that you may learn it more clearly. What then? Did the Ephesians not know that they had believed? They knew indeed, but not in the way Paul now says. For it is not easy to know that it is a work of great power to change a soul’s persuasion, and to remove it from error—a power so great that not even the raising of a dead man equals it. For the dead the Lord raised by a single word alone; but the Jews he did not persuade even by long discourses and marvelous works. He says, then, that for this also we need the revelation of the Spirit, that we may learn that our believing came to pass by the great power and working of God; and that, just as he raised Christ from the dead, so also he raised us who were dead through unbelief. Wherefore he called this a surpassing greatness of power, and a might of strength. For when the prophets accomplished nothing, and all creation—both the visible, teaching through its good order, and the invisible, through the guiding and sustaining angels—then, marvelously, we were saved. And the words, He wrought in Christ, understand to be said with respect to the human; for that which was raised was man, even though it was united to God.

Eph. 1:20–21. And he seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion. He did not say, Above, but, Far above, that he might show the utmost height. For from the lowest degree to the highest he led up the human nature in Christ. For it is concerning this nature that he discourses—the nature that both died and was raised; since the divine nature neither died, nor was raised, nor was exalted, being ever above all height. Above all angelic power, then, was seated the nature that once was abominated.

Eph. 1:21. And every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. If anything, he says, is in heaven, it is lower than that which was assumed and exalted, and he himself is higher than all. And we learn that there are certain powers now unnamed, but then to be revealed.

Eph. 1:22. And he put all things under his feet. Lest, having heard that he was seated far above, you should suppose that he was merely preferred, he shows that he also made him Master of all. And he did not subject them simply, but with the utmost subjection: For under his feet.

Eph. 1:22. And gave him to be head over all things to the Church. Wonderful! He seated the Church also upon his very throne; for where the head is, there also is the body. And the words, Over all things, make this plain: that he gave a head exalted and above all things, above angels, above archangels.

Eph. 1:23. Which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Lest, having heard “head,” you should suppose that some rule and authority is signified (for the head signifies these things also), he says that Christ is head of the Church as of a body, and thus akin to it and united with it; and the Church is his fullness. For just as the body is the fullness of the head, completing it through its own members, so also the Church is the fullness of Christ, who fills all in all. For Christ is filled, and as it were replenished in all his members, in all the faithful: as, for instance, he is filled out as to the hand in the merciful man, and in him who otherwise takes hold of the weak; he is filled out as to the foot in him who travels abroad for the word’s sake, in him who visits the brethren; and another member in another of the faithful. And thus all the members are filled out in all the faithful—that is, through all the faithful, each contributing his own grace. For then is our head, Christ, filled—that is, he receives the body in its perfection—when we are all together united and joined fast.

[1] Translator’s note: “The Theologian” is St Gregory of Nazianzus, who in Christian tradition bears the surname “the Theologian.”

Chapter 2

Eph. 2:1–2. And you, being dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit. He said above that God displayed toward us the same power and working which he displayed in Christ also. Concerning him, then, he said that he raised him from the dead, and seated him above all. And now he speaks also concerning us, and says, And you, being dead (a deadness not the bodily one, which began from Adam, but the deadness of the soul, which arises from ourselves, the deadness of sins)—he raised up and quickened. So that by the same power he both raised the Lord from bodily death, and us from the death of the soul, the death of sins; or rather, that which is greater than raising the dead, namely the persuading of souls to change, as has also been said above. The sense, then, of the whole passage is this; but only after a long interval is it brought to its apodosis at the words, He quickened us together with Christ; inasmuch as many things have been inserted between, and a resumption is made at the words, But God, being rich in mercy. Having said, then, that they were dead, and having shown how they were dead—namely by trespasses and sins—he consoles them in a twofold way: both by saying, Wherein in time past you walked—and not now; and by adding that, being held under the authority of the devil, you sinned, and the whole was not yours, but belonged also to your fellow worker, who so strongly exercised authority over you. You sinned, then, walking according to the course of this world—that is, minding the things of the world and the things of the moment, and making evil use of this present age. For the age is not evil, but the misuse of it. For it has been given as a guide, in that, being corruptible and fleeting, it rouses us toward the things incorruptible and unfleeting; but we, bound fast to its corruption and flux, have made it not a guide but a hindrance. By the prince of the power of the air he means the devil, not the Creator, as the accursed Manichaeans hold. “Prince,” then, because men subjected themselves to him, and more serve him than serve God. Yet such a rule of his exists within this present age, and does not pass beyond the air; for he has no place in heaven, but beneath heaven. Therefore Paul also calls him prince of the power of the air—not as lording it over the air so as to administer it, God forbid!—but as making it his haunt. For the devil, being a spirit, dwells in the air as a spirit, and has his power and authority only as far as this, being prince of those who subject themselves to him. But some understand “prince of the air” to mean of the powers of the air. For this reason, they say, he added, Of the spirit—that is, according to the prince and ruler of every airy spirit. For since he once became a prince, he seems not to have fallen from his rule even after the transgression.

Eph. 2:2. Who now works in the sons of disobedience. He did not say, Who compels, but, Who works; and this is plain from what follows as well. For he works, he says, in the sons of disobedience—that is, in those who do not obey God, but obey him, and are not compelled.

Eph. 2:3. Among whom we also all had our conduct in time past in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts. Not in this alone did he console them, by saying that your sinning belonged to the devil, but also by ranking himself and all men together with them; for no one was without sin. And by lusts of the flesh he means those of the carnal mind. And that he does not disparage the flesh is plain. For having said, Doing the desires of the flesh, he added, And of the thoughts; that is, minding nothing spiritual. So that the flesh is not worthy of blame, but the mind, which is dragged down toward the passions of pleasure. Or also thus: that We defiled our thoughts as well, reasoning out evil things; and with the flesh we did them. And you may understand the works of the flesh as fornication and the like; and those of the thoughts as murder and malice, and things similar.

Eph. 2:3. And we were by nature children of wrath, even as the others. That is, We provoked God and stirred him to anger; and we were nothing else but very wrath itself. Just as the child of a man is by nature a man, so also are we. And just as sons of Gehenna and sons of perdition are so called, those who are worthy of these things, so too those who do things worthy of wrath are children of wrath. And the word By nature stands for truly and genuinely, even as the others; for no one was free.

Eph. 2:4. But God, being rich in mercy. We, for our part, were doing things worthy of implacable wrath; but God, being not simply merciful, but even rich in mercy.

Eph. 2:4. Because of his great love wherewith he loved us. And the love springs from great mercy. For how could we, being children of wrath, have been loved?

Eph. 2:5. And us, being dead in trespasses, he quickened together with Christ. Here is the apodosis of the thought that began above, and the other things had been inserted between. And again Christ is in the midst, and the matter is trustworthy; for if the firstfruits live, we also live. For he quickened both him and us—him in actuality, us now in potentiality, but a little later in actuality as well. Behold the surpassing greatness of his power, that he quickened the dead, the sons of wrath; this is the hope of the calling.

Eph. 2:5. By grace you have been saved. This he inserted in the middle out of inward astonishment, marveling at the unspeakable gift of God. For you were saved, he says, not by toil and your own works, but by grace alone. For as far as works went, you were worthy of punishment and wrath.

Eph. 2:6. And he raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Just as, our firstfruits and head—Christ, I mean—having been raised, he raised us also through it; so too, when it is seated, the rest of the body is seated together with it. Therefore he says, In Christ Jesus; that is, In his being seated we also are seated. Or the word He raised us up together is to be taken not of the resurrection, but of the renewal of life through the laver. How, then, did he make us sit together? If we endure, he says, we shall also reign together with him. And Christ says: You shall sit upon twelve thrones; and again, But to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. So then it has been prepared.

Eph. 2:7. That in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace, in kindness toward us, in Christ Jesus. Lest anyone disbelieve what has been said, he makes the statement convincing; and he says that, even if not because of his love toward you, yet because of his will to display his goodness, he will assuredly do it. For now many disbelieve, but in the age to come all will know what he has freely given us, beholding the saints in unspeakable glory. And the words In Christ Jesus mean: these things would not stop at Christ alone, but through him will come also to us, as from a firstfruits to the whole; and we shall be quickened together and seated together. These things the great John says here; but in his commentary on Matthew he says that no one will sit then. Truly, then, there is need of the Spirit and of revelation, in order to understand the depth of these mysteries. For unless this all-wise teacher John had said expressly that we too shall be seated, one might have said that we are seated in Christ, just as in Christ we are also worshiped by angels. For we are not worshiped in our own person, but, our nature that is united to God the Word being worshiped, the glory passes over to us. This, then, is what he means here also, that we too shall be seated.

Eph. 2:8. For by grace you have been saved through faith. Having stated what belongs to God—that we were saved by grace—he adds also what is ours, namely, Through faith; so that free will might not be done away with.

Eph. 2:8. And this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Again he checks it, and says that not even faith is from ourselves; for had he not come, had he not called, we would not have obeyed. For how, he says, shall they believe, unless they hear? So that this too is a gift of God. Or otherwise: he does not call faith the gift of God, but the being saved through faith—this is the gift of God. For granting that faith is ours, how could it alone have availed to save, unless God had been pleased to receive us through it—so that we might not be wholly idle, but might seem to contribute something ourselves as well?

Eph. 2:9. Not of works, lest anyone should boast. It was not that he thrust us away when we had works, but that, when we had been betrayed by works, he saved us by grace, so that, as a result, no one might thereafter have anything to boast of. For the word That is not causal, but is drawn from the outcome of the matter.

Eph. 2:10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Lest, hearing that we were justified not by works, you grow slack concerning works, he says that now, after faith, there is need of works. For you were created in Christ Jesus, and became a new workmanship, the old man having died for you in baptism. And just as in the beginning you were brought from non-being into being, so now he has brought you into well-being; and you were created not that you should be idle, but that you should work, and walk in good works; that is, that you should complete the whole road of life in these, not for two or three years, but the whole road of your life. For this he hints at by the word to walk. For God prepared these beforehand; so that there is no putting it off, since the work has been appointed by God. But also in all things; for if one is lacking, virtue has been maimed. But Gregory the Theologian understood the words Created to good works not of the creation in baptism, but of the original creation.

Eph. 2:11–12. Therefore remember that you, being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands—that at that time you were without Christ. Having said that he saved them when they were dead, he is now about to say to whom he made them equal and joint heirs—namely, to the Israelites; for great was the dignity of these; and he says, Therefore remember. Why? On what account? Because we were created to good works; for this alone is sufficient to persuade us to be diligent about virtue. And he said Remember, because it is customary for those who have risen from great lowliness to a height not even to remember their former state. And what are you to remember? That you were estranged from Christ in former times; but now you have come near to him, just as Israel also. This, then, is the aim of the passage. But observe how skillfully he overthrows circumcision, showing that it differs from uncircumcision in word only, and not in deed. For you, he says, are Gentiles in the flesh, but not in spirit; and called so, but not being so; as if he were saying, In the flesh you have the inferiority, not in the spirit. And again: By that which is called Circumcision in the flesh; indicating the preeminence that lies in words only and in flesh. Now uncircumcision was not a dreadful thing, nor abominable, even if it was so called by those who boasted in circumcision; but to be without Christ—this was truly dreadful and unbearable. Why ever, when he is about to show them partakers of the glory with the Israelites, does he pull down the dignity of the Israelites? But observe in what respects he pulls it down: in the things that are not necessary. For circumcision is not necessary, but indifferent. But in the necessary things he even greatly exalts them, naming the Israelites holy and members of God’s household.

Eph. 2:12. Being alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. He did not say, Separated, but, Alienated; since the Israelites too were outside the lawful polity that is according to God, yet not as aliens, but as negligent.

Eph. 2:12. And wholly strangers to the covenants of promise. This too is a great separation. For he did not say, Not attending to the covenants, but, Wholly strangers. For even though the Israelites fell from the promises, yet not as strangers. And what are the covenants of promise? To you and to your seed will I give this land; and whatever other things he promised, all of them to be understood spiritually.

Eph. 2:12. Having no hope. No hope, that is, concerning the things to come—the hope of the resurrection and of recompense.

Eph. 2:12. And without God in the world. And yet they worshiped gods; but they were not gods. And he added the words In the world, to show that they were inferior not only in the heavenly things, but also in the things esteemed on earth. For the Israelites were, even on account of their piety, glorious and most noble.

Eph. 2:13. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. We were far from God, not in place, but in purpose and in manner of life; but now we have been made near, not by our manner of life (for we brought nothing of works), but in Christ Jesus, and by his blood. For he, having poured out his blood and given himself for us, delivered us from the captivity that was estranging us far from him, and brought us near. And you may also understand it thus: that We were far from the Israelites; but now we have come near to them.

Eph. 2:14. For he is our peace, who made both one. For before the incarnation, there was great enmity of the circumcision toward the uncircumcision; but now we have made peace, having become one by faith. For we are no longer characterized by circumcision and uncircumcision, but we have one distinguishing mark, faith. For let there be two men, the one a slave, the other an adopted son; and let both give offense to the same person—the one having done things deserving of disinheritance, the other having run away; then let both become heirs and true sons. Behold, they have been brought to one honor, and the two have become one. So also the Gentiles and the Israelites: the former as slaves, the Israelites as sons, having given offense. What then? Is it a great thing to share with the Israelites? You led us up into the heavens, and now do you again bring this forward as something great? Yes, he says; for those things must be grasped by faith, but these by the very facts themselves. Besides, he does not say this, that he raised us up to their nobility, but that he raised both us and them to something greater. Yet greater is the benefit toward us; for to them he made a promise, but to us he neither made a promise, and we were farther off, according to the example given above.

Eph. 2:14. And having broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmity, in his flesh. He explains what the middle wall of partition was, and says that it is the enmity toward God of both Gentiles and Jews, which was being born of our trespasses, as the prophet also says: Is it not your sins that make a division between me and you? This middle wall, then—the enmity, I mean—he broke down in his own flesh. How? By making the enmity to stand there. For inasmuch as he united it to the Godhead, it is evident that he wrought reconciliation, the two natures being interwoven and embracing one another. And in another way too: by appearing without sin and by fulfilling the whole law, he broke down the enmity. For the law was a fence, inasmuch as it was given for safety, to hedge us about; but when it was transgressed, it made sin into a middle wall; by which we are not established in safety, but are separated from God.

Eph. 2:15. Having abolished the law of commandments contained in ordinances. Lest anyone say: What then? if we have been released from the former transgression of the law, are we again compelled to keep it? he says that he has abolished it as well. For having given it to us for safety, when we did not keep it, though he ought to have punished us, he instead abolished the law, just as if someone, having handed a child over to a tutor, should, when the child does not obey, free him from the tutor as well. And he calls it a law of commandments, as ordaining things concerning conduct; and by ordinances, faith, as being established through doctrines; as if he were saying that in place of a way of life he introduced faith. For we were not justified out of commandments, which prescribe to do this and that; but, if you believe with the heart, and confess with the mouth, you shall be saved. Or by ordinances he means the declarative injunctions of the Lord, such as this: But I say to you, Do not swear at all; and, Not to be angry; and the like.

Eph. 2:15. That he might create in himself of the two one new man. He did not make the Greek a Jew, but raised both to one condition. And he did not say, Change, but, Create, in order to show vividly what is meant, and that we ought no longer to start back from it as from things contrary to nature. And the words In himself either stand for By himself; for no other did this, but he himself by himself, and having melted down both Jew and Gentile, brought forth one new and wondrous man. Or it is because he himself first provided a pattern and example, having himself also appeared first as this very thing which he made them to be; and because, having become the midst of both, and holding the Jew on this side and the Greek on that, and mingling them together, and doing away with all that was alien, he refashioned them anew through fire and water. In the human nature, then, which he assumed—which is common to both Gentile and Jew, and was assumed on behalf of both, and which is in itself estranged from all corruption and oldness that comes from sins—in this he created the two into one new man, freed from the old age of sins and of unrighteousness; for no longer are this one and that one characterized by their own peculiarities, but the peculiarities of one man, formed according to Christ, characterize them both. And you would come nearer to what is meant, if you should think of the Lord as a cornerstone, and these two as walls being built upon it.

Eph. 2:15. Making peace. Both toward one another (for the Jew is then joined to the Gentile, when he becomes a believer), but especially toward God—which is also more proper, as he makes plain through what follows.

Eph. 2:16. And that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross. He did not say, Reconcile, but, Reconcile fully; showing that human nature had been reconciled to God through the law as well; then, having become rather an enemy through transgression, it again had need of reconciliation with God, which, as being complete, is fittingly called a full reconciliation. And In one body means, in his own. For he himself underwent the penalty owed by us through the cross; which he also said above, In the flesh; and again, he will create the two in himself. But some understood the words “In one body” thus, as meaning: he reconciled both to God as having become, as it were, one body, of which he himself is the head.

Eph. 2:16. Having slain the enmity in himself. He did not say, Having loosed, but the more emphatic, Having slain, so that it might never rise again. How, then, does the enmity rise again? That one never rises again; but we beget another by sinning afresh. And the words In himself mean either on the cross, or in his own body. For he slew the enmity both on the cross and in his own body, in which he also took up the cross.

Eph. 2:17. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off, and to those who were near. He sent no other, but came himself, taking upon himself the rank of a servant and minister,[1] and preached peace—that is, peace toward God; to those far off, the Gentiles; and to those near, the Jews; for these seemed more intimate with God. For indeed he said: Peace I leave with you; and, Take heart—I have conquered the world; and, The Father loves you; and, Whatever you ask, you shall receive. For all these are tokens of peace.

Eph. 2:18. For it is through him that we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. The wrath he dissolved through his own death, and further he made us beloved to the Father, through the Spirit, having graced us with one grace. For it was not that to them, as being near, he gave a greater grace, and to us, as far off, a lesser; but in one Spirit he gave one grace to both, and so brought us to the Father. Or the word In stands for By, so that the statement is this: through him and the Spirit we were brought to the Father.

Eph. 2:19. Now therefore you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints. Since the Son abides forever, those who are not to attain the city above are strangers and sojourners. But we are not such now, but fellow citizens with the saints; not simply of the Jews, but of those holy ones, the patriarchs and prophets, and we were enrolled in the same city which they too longed for as for something seen from afar.

Eph. 2:19. And members of the household of God. That which they scarcely obtained through many toils, we found by grace, having been made members of God’s household. Behold the hope of the calling; for in such hopes we were called, that we might receive such things.

Eph. 2:20. Built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets. Wishing to signify the great union of the Gentiles with the prophets and apostles, he says, Built upon; as if he were saying: The prophets and apostles are laid down as a foundation, but you fill up the rest of the building, so that all become one temple of God; such as is the being built upon the patriarchs and prophets, which elsewhere he calls a grafting in. And he placed the apostles first, even though they were last in time.

Eph. 2:20. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. It is Christ who holds the whole together. For the cornerstone holds together both the walls and the foundations. And observe: sometimes he says that he binds the whole together from above, where he also names him head; and sometimes from below, as in the case of the cornerstone; and elsewhere he also calls him a foundation.

Eph. 2:21. In whom the whole building, fitly framed together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In the cornerstone, he says—that is, in Christ—the whole building, that is, all the faithful, being fitly framed together, and united by nature and inseparably, grow and are filled up, so as to become a temple of God. For I will dwell in them, he says, and walk in them. For the Church in common—the assembly, I mean, of all the faithful—is a temple of God, and each one also individually. And the words In the Lord stand for By the grace of the Lord, not by our own toils. And by saying Fitly framed together, he shows that it is not possible to be built together into a temple of God in any other way, unless we also have our life in fellowship with the cornerstone.

Eph. 2:22. In whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. And all the faithful are built together in him, and you Ephesians as well, so as to be a habitation of God in the Spirit—that is, through the cooperation of the Spirit. Or he said In the Spirit by way of contrast with the perceptible building, as if he were saying: a spiritual habitation of God. So then, this building together goes on until the second coming, through those who believe in each generation.

[1] Translator’s note: The text reads ἀναδειξάμενος (“displaying”); a conjecture proposes ἀναδεξάμενος (“taking upon himself”), which is followed here.

Chapter 3

Eph. 3:1. On this account, I, Paul, am the prisoner of Jesus Christ on behalf of you Gentiles. Having spoken of Christ’s care concerning us, he now enters upon his own as well. And since, he says, our Master displayed such things toward us, it is necessary that I too contribute what lies within my power. I am, therefore, a prisoner for you. For if he was crucified, I at least am bound for your sake. And in saying, On behalf of you Gentiles, he made this plain: that not only do we not abhor you, but we are even bound for your sake, and we name ourselves prisoners of Christ, taking pride in it.

Eph. 3:2. If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace that was given to me toward you. He hints at the foretelling of God to Ananias, that He is a chosen vessel of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles. And the revelation of the mystery also—that he did not learn it from men—he calls a dispensation of grace. For thus, he says, did the grace of God dispense it: that I should be called from above, and that I, the disobedient one, should be blinded by the light, so that in this way at least I might be persuaded. And the grace was given to me for you, he says. For he himself said to me, I will send you far away to the Gentiles. So that the whole is of grace, and I myself contributed nothing.

Eph. 3:3. How that by revelation he made known to me the mystery. Behold the work of grace—the revelation of the mystery. For it is truly a mystery: to raise the Gentiles up, from the uttermost worthlessness, to a greater honor than the Jews.

Eph. 3:3. As I wrote before in brief. Concerning the things he spoke of above, he says that the Gentiles, being far off, were called; that they were built upon the patriarchs, and all such things. And in brief means, in few words.

Eph. 3:4. Whereby, when you read, you are able to perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ. I wrote, he says, not as much as was needful, but according to your capacity, and as much as you can contain; from which you are able to grasp my understanding, that which is in the mystery of Christ—that is, How I understood the mystery of Christ; or rather, I perceived that he sits at the right hand, that he has also made us sit together with him; that in himself he created both into one new man, and all that pertains to the mystery. You shall know, therefore, the dignity of my understanding from the greatness of what God made known to me. For that this is a matter of great honor, hear: He has not done so, he says, for every nation, in that he made known his ordinances and judgments to Israel.

Eph. 3:5. Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit. What then? Did the prophets not know? And how does Christ say that Moses and the prophets wrote concerning Me? and, Search the Scriptures; for it is they that bear witness concerning Me? First, then, Paul says this: that it was not revealed to all men; for he added, Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men. Then also, that it was not made known even to the prophets in the way that it has now been made known, through the very deeds themselves, to the apostles, and to the prophets of the New [Covenant], through the Holy Spirit. For had the Spirit not taught Peter, he would not have received the Gentile Cornelius together with those who were with him. And observe that the Spirit reveals nothing concerning circumcision, but concerning the Gentiles; for it was a great thing that the abominable Gentiles should be received. And so the ancients did not accurately know the mystery, seeing that even Peter, so great a man, had need of the Spirit’s teaching concerning these things.

Eph. 3:6. That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers together of his promise in Christ, through the Gospel. This is the mystery: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs with Israel of the promise, and partakers together. For the Israelites partook of the promise, as a holy nation; and together with them the Gentiles also, hitherto unclean, partook of it. But how? In Christ; that is, through faith in Christ, which came to them through the Gospel. And he was not content with saying Fellow heirs and partakers together, but, that he might show the great nearness and union, he said Of the same body. For the Gentiles have become one body with the holy Israelites, held together by one head, Christ.

Eph. 3:7. Of which I became a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me according to the working of his power. I became a minister of the Gospel, and I am a prisoner on account of this; and the working is not mine, but this is a gift of the divine grace, which was given to me, not simply, nor sparingly, but powerfully and bountifully, and as the mighty God would work. Or [the meaning is], he bestowed on me the ministry, and he also implanted in me power. For the dignity would not have sufficed, had not power also been added. For three things we must bring together to the ministry: a soul that loves danger, wisdom and understanding, and a blameless life; and God [must] give power, through which all these things shall be made effectual.

Eph. 3:8. To me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given. Since he is about to tell the greatness of the divine grace, see what he says of himself in his humility. For after so many accomplishments he calls himself less than the least—not of the apostles, but of all the saints, that is, of the faithful. And this is the greater, as regards humility, than the saying, I am not worthy to be called an apostle.

Eph. 3:8. To preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. What grace, he says, was given to me? To preach among the Gentiles; for the others [were sent] to the circumcision, but he to the Gentiles. So that it required grace that the least should be entrusted with the greater things. For he who is appointed to convert the worse becomes great by this very thing, even if he be small.[1] The matter, then, is one of grace. And if his riches are unsearchable even after they have been made manifest, how much more his essence? How, then, did Eunomius boast that he had comprehended it?

Eph. 3:9. And to enlighten all, what is the dispensation of the mystery which has been hidden from the ages in God. That the Gentiles would be called, the prophets and the angels perhaps knew, through the Spirit; but that it would be on such terms—and so as to sit upon the throne of God—who could have expected this? For this reason he calls it a mystery, hidden in God from the ages; that is, from above and from the beginning. For this dispensation is not recent, but one known to him alone.

Eph. 3:9. To him who created all things through Jesus Christ. Well did he make mention of creation; for he who created all things is God, he says, through Christ. For without him, he says, came to be not one thing; and this too he reveals through him.

Eph. 3:10. That now to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. Neither the principalities and powers above, nor those below, knew the mystery of the glory of the Gentiles. For indeed even angels and archangels knew only this, that Israel was the Lord’s portion, and his people. And Gabriel too knew only this, that He would save his people from their sins. But that the Gentiles also should attain such great honor, this the powers above and below have now learned, through the Church—that is, through the things that have come to pass among us. For the benefits shown toward us became for them teachers of the wisdom of God. And he does not simply call it varied, but manifold, indicating its all-resourcefulness and its incomprehensibility. But Gregory of Nyssa [says]: Before the Incarnation, he says, the heavenly powers knew the wisdom of God as simple—for instance, that he created all things by his will alone, and they understood him to be powerful; that he preserved all things by his wise governance, and they recognized him as a wise Provider; and there was nothing manifold in these things—that is, nothing being one thing while generating another. But when God the Word was made flesh, the contrary things were accomplished through their contraries: through death, life; through weakness, power; through dishonor, glory; through all lowly things, the things befitting God. Thus, then, the wisdom and the power of God were now known as manifold to the heavenly powers. For when we learned, then they too [learned] through us, beholding what things the Church was counted worthy of, and being led through her into knowledge.

Eph. 3:11. According to the purpose of the ages, which he made in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, he says, the wisdom of the things that have come to pass concerning us has been made known, yet from above it had been foreordained. For [he says] according to the purpose of the ages; that is, according to the foreknowledge of the ages to come. For God saw the things that would be, and so he ordained. And the phrase, which he made in Christ Jesus, is understood of the wisdom, or rather of the dispensation, which the Father made through the Son. But Chrysostom, reading of which he made, says, of which ages he made—God, [that is], through the Son.[2]

Eph. 3:12. In whom we have boldness and access, in confidence through faith in him. That the whole has come to pass through Christ is plain, he says, from the fact that he himself is the one who brought us near. Yet we were not brought near as captives, nor as having sinned, but we have boldness—not simply, but with confidence and courage. And whence have these come to us? Through faith, he says; for this, having loosed our sins, implanted in us boldness and courage.

Eph. 3:13. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this reason, he says. What reason? Because great is the mystery of your calling, and great are the things entrusted to me, so that I should preach to you; and it is necessary that I be bound, and suffer evil at the hands of those who do not understand the mystery, but contradict it. I ask you not to lose heart—that is, to be troubled and thrown into confusion, as though something unreasonable had happened. For this is rather your glory: that God so loved you that he not only gave his Son for you, but also gave us, his servants, over to dangers and bonds for your benefit. And if my tribulations are your glory, much more shall you be glorified through your own. So that not even when you yourselves are afflicted should you lose heart.

Eph. 3:14–15. For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named. Since you were so loved, and incomprehensible are the good things which you have obtained and shall obtain, I pray, he says, that grace may be given you—Christ dwelling in you—to comprehend them, and to know how you were loved. And the prayer made with compunction he signified by the words, I bow my knees. And from the Father above [comes] every fatherhood, he says: on earth naming the generations fatherhoods, those so called from the name of present fathers; but in heaven, since there no one is begotten of anyone, he calls the [angelic] orders fatherhoods—that is, both the ranks above and those below he himself made, and they are named fathers from him.

Eph. 3:16–17. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts, you being rooted and grounded in love. What do I pray for you? That he would grant you—as one rich and willing to be glorified—to be strengthened against temptations, so as not to be shaken by them, nor carried away. And, not content with [saying] with might, he prays for good things upon them out of [his] abundance.[3] And how [are they] to be strengthened? Through his Spirit; for it is this that supplies the strength. Just as Isaiah also [says], A Spirit of strength. And not only to be strengthened, but the greater and more abundant thing also: That Christ may dwell in your inner man—that is, In your hearts, not superficially, but in depth. How? Through faith. For in faithful hearts Christ dwells, coming with the Father, and making his abode with them, as has been foretold by him. And these things you shall obtain, being rooted in his love, and not carried away and shaken. Either, then, he prays two things for them: both to be strengthened through the Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in their hearts; or [he means], that you may be strengthened, he says, and become fit, so that Christ may dwell in your inner man.

Eph. 3:18. That you may be fully able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height. That which at the beginning he prayed—that there might be given them a Spirit of wisdom and revelation, to the knowing what is the hope of the calling, and what follows—this he says now also: That you may be fully able to comprehend with all the faithful the mystery dispensed for your sake, which is so great as to be extended everywhere. Wherefore he also sketched it under bodily figures, embracing the things above, and the things below, and the things on either side. For I indeed have spoken of these things, he says, I too; yet it is not possible to learn them sufficiently through my words, but through the Holy Spirit; nor would you otherwise be fully able to comprehend these things, unless you are strengthened through the Spirit. For there is need of much strength; and unless Christ dwell in you, neither could we accomplish it. But Gregory of Nyssa said that by the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, the Cross is signified; [and] that the Apostle therefore prays for the Ephesians that they may be fully able to comprehend the mystery of the Cross. For the whole dispensation is contained in this, and the most awesome part of it is the Cross; from which the love of God is especially shown, as the Lord also says; wherefore Paul also adds, concerning love:

Eph. 3:19. And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. And that you may be fully able, he says, to know the love of Christ which exceeds all knowledge. Since, then, it exceeds all knowledge, how shall we know it? First, then, he said that it exceeds knowledge—human knowledge, that is; but you shall know it not through human knowledge, but through the Spirit. Then, neither did he say this, that You shall know how great it is, but this very thing, that it is great, and that it exceeds all knowledge. This I beg you to learn from the Spirit. And who, one might say, is ignorant of this? All—both those who are vexed at the things that happen day by day, and those who prefer Mammon to God; for if we knew this [love], we would neither murmur against Providence, nor give heed to present things, departing from God, who so loved us. And see: if the love exceeds all knowledge, how much more the essence?

Eph. 3:19. That you may be filled to all the fullness of God. Some have understood this in two ways: either, That you may know, he says, that God is worshiped by us in Father and Son and Holy Spirit—for this is the fullness of God, the Trinity; or, That you may be filled with all virtue, of which God is full. But I think it better understood thus: That you may be perfect in all the perfection that is according to God, knowing all divine things, so far as is possible.

Eph. 3:20–21. Now to him who is able to do above all things, exceeding abundantly beyond what we ask or think, according to the power that works in us—to him be the glory in the Church in Christ Jesus, to all the generations of the age of ages. Amen. I indeed, he says, pray; but he will work things greater than my prayers. For he is able not only [to do] all that one prays, but even to do above all things, and exceeding abundantly—that is, bountifully and lavishly. And he sets down two emphatic expressions: Above all things, and Exceeding abundantly. For it is possible to do even more than what is asked, yet not exceeding abundantly, which is lavishly and with bounty; but God is able [to do] both. So then, as he has already been able, and has worked in us great and extraordinary things, having adopted as sons his enemies the Gentiles—so that from the things already worked concerning us, what I have said is plain. And fittingly he closes his discourse with a doxology, glorifying the Benefactor; and at the same time, that by this also he might show the greatness of the things that have come to pass for us. For he would not be marveled at, had he not given things so great as to move us to wonder and glory. And he does not simply say, To him be the glory, but also, Through Jesus Christ. For in truth no one is able even to glorify [Him], except in the grace and power of Christ. For he himself is the one who both gives us grace to the doxology, and teaches how this ought to be done. And [that] the glory of God [is] in the Church—well [said]; for she abides perpetually, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her; wherefore the doxology also is eternal.

[1] Translator’s note: The edition records a conjectural reading ἢ (or) in place of the main-text ᾖ (be); the printed reading, even if he be small, is followed here.

[2] Translator’s note: Theophylact contrasts two readings of the relative pronoun: the main text’s feminine ἥν (agreeing with purpose/wisdom), and Chrysostom’s genitive plural ὧν (agreeing with ages), which yields the ages which God made through the Son.

[3] Translator’s note: The edition marks a conjecture αὐτοῖς (dative) for the main-text αὐτοὺς; the sense (he prays good things for them) is unaffected.

Chapter 4

Eph. 4:1. I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called. For the teacher must not lord it over [his disciples], but serve the disciples for the sake of their salvation. Therefore Paul too exhorts as a servant. And he puts forward his bonds as well as a plea for supplication. For I am a prisoner in the Lord; that is, not for any wicked deed, but for the Lord’s sake. Reverence, then, the bonds [borne] for God’s sake. And what do I beseech? Not on my own behalf, but on yours, that you may walk worthily of the calling; for you were called to great things—to sit together with Christ, and to reign together with him; and you must not disgrace your dignity by works unworthy of Christ. And from the doctrinal he passes over to the ethical, sweetening his discourse.

Eph. 4:2. With all humility. He shows how it is possible to walk worthily of the calling: namely, If you are humble. For you will surely consider who you are and of what you have been deemed worthy, and you will be restrained, and will be eager to serve your Benefactor. Besides, this is also the foundation of every virtue; therefore the Lord too began the Beatitudes from this point, calling blessed the poor in spirit, the humble-minded, that is. And “with all humility,” he says—not that which is in words only, but also in deeds, and in bearing, and in tone of voice; and not toward this man yes, and toward that man no; but whether he be small or whether great.

Eph. 4:2. And meekness with long-suffering. For it is possible to be humble, yet sharp and irascible; but there is no profit [in that].

Eph. 4:2. Bearing with one another in love. He teaches what is the work of meekness and long-suffering: to bear with one another. Then, lest anyone should say, “How shall I bear with my neighbor when he is irascible and insolent?” he adds also the manner: that it be in love. For if we have love, we shall bear with one another.

Eph. 4:3. Being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. For just as in the body there is a spirit that holds all things together and unites them, though the members be diverse; so also among the faithful there is the Holy Spirit, which unites all, though we have diverse races and ways and pursuits; and through this Holy Spirit we become one body. Let us therefore be diligent to keep this unity through peace with one another. For he who does not love his brother and is not at peace with him has destroyed the unity which the Spirit has given us; and just as, should a separation of the hand or the foot from the rest of the body occur, and they be cut off from continuity with the other members, they are no longer held together under one spirit, so it is with us. Much diligence, therefore, is needed, and not without toil shall we be able to be at peace, binding one another to ourselves, so that wherever the one is borne, the other may be borne along with him (for such are those who are bound together), and not lording it over one another, and thus we may be under one Spirit.

Eph. 4:4. One body, one spirit. Paul does not simply seek love, but that which makes all one body through the exact union with one another, so that like members they suffer together with one another and rejoice together. “And one spirit.” Well did he say this, showing that from being one body they will also be one spirit; or that it is possible to be one body, but not one spirit—as when someone is a friend of heretics, yet not going along with their doctrines. Or that, having received one spirit through the faith, you ought to be of one mind. Or by “spirit” he means the shared zeal and the concord, as if he were saying: One body and one soul.

Eph. 4:4. Even as you were also called in one hope of your calling. God, he says, called you to the same things, bestowed life on all, is equally the head of all, raised all together and seated them together, and in short took all to himself with equal honor, and we all hope for the same things. You ought, then, to be one also according to the unity of love. For in the heavens we are equal, even though on earth we are far apart.

Eph. 4:5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. For do you have a greater Lord, and he a lesser? Were you saved from faith, and he from works? Were you set free by baptism, and he not?

Eph. 4:6. One God and Father of all, who is over all, works through all, and dwells in you all. That is, he who is above all, and pervades all by his providence and governance, and dwells in you all. And note that the heretics assign the preposition through to the Son, and in to the Spirit, as introducing a diminution; yet now they are found applied to the Father; therefore they are not [marks] of diminution.

Eph. 4:7. But to each one of us was given the grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ. If all things are common, as you say, whence has this man a greater and that man a lesser gift? For this was leading them, as it did the Corinthians and many others, into envy. Resolving this, then, he says that to each was given the gift as the Giver apportioned. So, since it is a gift, be content that you received at all; for it was not given you as a debt. And since God determined the measure, do not meddle. For if God measured it, he certainly did this profitably. The necessary things, then, and those without which one cannot be a Christian, are common; but if this man has something more in the way of a gift, do not be pained, since the labor too is greater, as he will say further on. And he did not say, According to the measure of each one’s faith, lest he cast into despondency those who have the lesser [gifts], but he attached the measure to the will of the Giver, so that they might not dare to dispute at all.

Eph. 4:8. Therefore it says: When he had ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. That he himself gave the gifts is clear from what the prophet says, that he gave gifts to men. And yet the prophet [says], You received gifts; but it is the same thing. For God, in giving the gifts, receives in return the ministry. For he who has received a gift receives it because of working something and toiling. Therefore one must not be despondent. And he ascended on high—either that of the Cross, or that of heaven, in the Ascension; which latter is the more evident from what follows. And what captivity does he mean? That of the devil; for he took captive the devil, and death, and the curse, and sin, and us also who were under the devil and held fast in the things mentioned.

Eph. 4:9–10. Now this, “He ascended,” what is it, except that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the very One who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. Discoursing here about humility, Paul brings forward Christ as an example, just as also in the [Epistle] to the Philippians; and he says that, just as he did not refuse to descend, so neither should you refuse the condescension that comes through humility. For that he descended is clear from the prophet’s saying that He ascended. For in the case of God, when He ascended is said, it is necessary first to understand a descent; but in the case of men, no longer [so]. And where did he descend? Into Hades; for this he calls the lower parts of the earth, according to the common supposition; as also Jacob: You will bring down my old age with grief to Hades; and David: I shall be likened to those who go down into the pit. He descended, then, into the lowest parts, beyond which there is nothing else; and he ascended above all, above which there is nothing else; and the descent was no hindrance to him for the ascent. And you, therefore, if you humble yourselves, shall be exalted. For it is for this reason that he works all this out, that he might fill all things with his lordship and his operation, even in the flesh, since in his divinity he filled all things before as well. And this is for the overthrow of the Samosatene and of Nestorius; for he who descended, it is clear, descended being on high, both becoming incarnate to the earth, and dying to Hades; and he is one and the same, not one and another.

Eph. 4:11. And he himself gave. Emphatically did he say Himself. For he who thus provided for us, and for our sake did not refuse to descend even to the lower parts, did not make the distributions of the gifts simply, but evidently with wisdom and profit. How then is one pained, as though the distribution had not been made reasonably? Elsewhere he says that the Spirit distributes: In which the Holy Spirit also placed you; and, One and the same Spirit works all things. And elsewhere [he ascribes it to] the Father, as in: God placed in the Church first apostles, and so forth; and: I planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase. But here [he ascribes it to] the Son. There is, then, one operation of the Three.

Eph. 4:11. Some to be apostles, and others prophets. First the apostles, since they also had prophecy; and the prophets—those, namely, in the New [Covenant]—did not also have apostleship.

Eph. 4:11. And some, evangelists. Either those who wrote down the Gospel, or those who did not go about everywhere, but nevertheless preached the gospel, as Priscilla and Aquila.

Eph. 4:11. And others to be pastors and teachers. He means those entrusted with the Church, the bishops, such as were Timothy and Titus and the like. But you may understand by “pastors” also the presbyters and bishops; and by “teachers” also the deacons. For these too, holding the purifying order, by all means purify through the word.

Eph. 4:12. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. Do you see the dignity? Each one, he says, perfects, each one ministers toward the building up of the body of Christ, that is, of the Church. So why are you pained, as having received a lesser gift? For you too contribute toward the perfecting of the saints—that is, toward the benefit of the faithful and their consummation. See, then, lest, having received the gift that you might build up others, you then, out of envying the greater, tear yourself down. Furthermore, if another has received the greater gift for the perfecting of the faithful, consider that both the labor and the ministry are greater, and the accountability for these is greater. And otherwise, how is it not a satanic passion to envy him who perfects and builds up?

Eph. 4:13. Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Until then, he says, all who have received a gift must work, and toil, and build up, until we arrive at the unity of the faith; that is, Until we all be shown to have one faith, neither differing in doctrines, nor having, in the matters of life, schisms with one another. For then [there is] the true unity of the faith, when we know the Son of God, when we are both orthodox in doctrines and preserve the bond of love. For Christ is love.

Eph. 4:13. To a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. By “a perfect man” and “measure of stature” he means the more perfect knowledge of the doctrines; which [he calls] also “the fullness of Christ,” [namely] the complete and entire knowledge and faith of him: that, being one of the Trinity and equal to the Father, he became man, one hypostasis in two natures and wills and operations; and that with the body he sits enthroned with the Father, and will come with him, and whatever else is rightly thought and said concerning him. How then does he elsewhere call our knowledge imperfect? As in contrast to the knowledge to come; but here he called the knowledge perfect with regard to its being unchangeable. For when we do not fall away, then we are perfect, as is clear from what follows.

Eph. 4:14. That we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching. That we may, he says, hold firmly and steadfastly the very small measure which we received, and not, like infants, be shaken and carried about by every teacher. For it was for this that the gifts were given—for building up and perfecting—so that the edifice might not be shaken. And in saying no longer, he showed that they had suffered this in former times as well. And he places himself too [among them], that he might set things right not as one reproaching, but with cheerfulness. And by saying tossed by waves, he shows in how great danger are the souls that are not firmly fixed toward orthodoxy. And, keeping to the metaphor, he calls the various teachings “winds.”

Eph. 4:14. In the sleight of men, in craftiness, toward the scheming of error. Those who use dice are called dice-players; such are the false teachers, shifting the simpler sort about, like dice, as they please. So that we, he says, may not be carried about in this dicing. How? “In craftiness, toward the scheming of error”—that is, being shifted and carried about toward that which their deceitful scheming intends. For they contrive and devise all things for no other reason than to deceive. And well did he add: of men; for [it is] not of God.

Eph. 4:15. But being truthful in love, let us grow up into him in all things, who is the head, even Christ. The crafty and the dicers of words have all things spurious and false, and with them nothing is sound and stable. But we, being truthful in love—both toward God and toward our neighbor—and no longer holding false doctrines, nor living in hypocrisy (for here he seems to discourse with them also about life), let us grow up in all our things into Christ, both in life and in doctrines. For to him, being the head, we ought to fit our own things, that we may bring nothing incongruous and unsuited to the head, but may grow in all things toward him.

Eph. 4:16. From whom the whole body, fitly framed together and knit together through every joint of supply, according to the operation in the measure of each single part, makes the growth of the body, to the building up of itself in love. The sense of the passage is this, even if it has been expressed obscurely: Just as in the body the spirit that descends from the brain through the nerves does not simply give sensation to all the members, but to each according to proportion—to the one able to receive more, more, and to the one [able to receive] less, less—so also Christ makes the supply of his gifts to our souls, which are his members, not simply, but in the measure of each single member, that is, as each is able to contain; and thus the whole body makes the building up and growth of itself in love. But it is not possible to receive the supply of the Spirit—by which we are both given life and grow—unless we are bound together and united through love, as one body. For just as, suppose, a hand torn away from the body would not receive the perceptive spirit, inasmuch as it has been severed from the continuity; so also we, unless we are united, do not receive the grace of the Spirit that descends from Christ our head. For this reason he said also that the body is fitly framed together and knit together; that is, the members not simply lying [there], but also united, and each occupying its proper place, and not dislocated, nor lying out of position. With us, then, is the fitting-together and knitting-together of ourselves through love; but with Christ, our head, is the sending of the spirit. The whole discourse, therefore, is about humility and union. And the [phrase] through every joint of supply signifies this: that the spirit channeled and supplied from the head touches all. The body, then, grows and is built up through the supply of the spirit touching the members and working in them (for this is the [meaning of] according to the operation); or [it means] that the spirit gives the operation to the members.

Eph. 4:17. This, therefore, I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the nations walk, in the vanity of their mind. It belongs to a teacher not only to exhort, but also to strike fear, by setting God too over the disciples, as here too Paul does. “For I testify to you in the Lord,” he says; that is, I make the Lord my witness that I have not hidden from you the things that must be said. And he did not say, “that you no longer walk as you were walking,” lest he wound them; but, “as the rest of the nations [walk],” chastening them by the example of others. And they were walking in vanity of mind, both as revering the idols, and as enslaved to the passions, and as nailed to the vain things of the world; which are called vanity for this very reason, that we use them in vain; for they are not in their own nature vain, since they were created exceedingly good.

Eph. 4:18. Being darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God. The light of both the knowledge of God and the pure life was shining; but they darkened themselves, making weak the discerning faculty of the soul through the mist of the passions and of the cares of life. For a great and hardly-curable flood are the passions and the anxieties of the world, befouling the understanding. For this reason those who are in such a state were alienated also from the life of God, which is the life according to God. For the life of the rational [soul] is to apprehend the truth; and he who has been blinded to this reasonably does not even live, because the truth is the substance and light of the reason.

Eph. 4:18. Because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart. If, then, they are ignorant, why do you bring charges against them? For the ignorant must be taught, not accused. But the ignorance, he says, came upon them because of the hardening—that is, because of the insensibility; and the insensibility [arose] from their disposition toward the impure life. So that they are worthy to be accused. For hear also what follows:

Eph. 4:19. Who, being past feeling, gave themselves over to licentiousness, for the working of all uncleanness with greediness. Do you see that their insensibility is from choice? For “being past feeling,” he says—that is, having grown utterly slothful, and unwilling to toil for the finding of the good, and being disposed without feeling, and as it were stupefied—they gave themselves over to licentiousness. To do what? That they might work uncleanness; for they made this their continual study and occupation; and not one kind, but every [kind]. How, then, were they not bound to be insensible, having given themselves over to all uncleanness? For the impure life is both a cause of evil doctrines and produces ignorance of every good. Whenever, then, you hear elsewhere that God handed them over to a corrupt mind, remember this saying too, and, reconciling both, understand that God is said to give over those who [first] gave themselves over—in the sense of having permitted and abandoned [them], since they made themselves worthy of this. And by saying “with greediness,” he testifies that their insensibility was a matter of choice. For it was possible, he says, for them to enjoy both money and pleasure in due measure; but they, choosing excess, came in all things into hardening and insensibility to every good.

Eph. 4:20–22. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off, according to the former manner of life, the old man. The nations are thus; but you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Christ and have been taught in him; that is, Since you learned Christ. For not as doubting, but as strongly affirming, does he speak thus. For this is to learn Christ—to live rightly; just as he who lives wickedly is ignorant of Christ. For they profess, he says, to know God, but by their works they deny him. And the [phrase] “as the truth is” must be understood thus: that, Not as the nations walk in vanity did you too in like manner agree upon the same things. For the things of Christ are not vanity, but truth, both the doctrines and the life. For sin is falsehood, as having no substance and no end; but virtue is truth, as subsisting and having an end. And what were you taught, and what is the truth according to Christ? That you put off the old man—that is, the manner of the former conduct, and the old and sinful life.

Eph. 4:22. Which is being corrupted according to the lusts of deceit. You will understand this in two ways: either that, just as the lusts are corrupted, so also the [old] man himself—that is, the reasoning—is corrupted. And how are the lusts corrupted? Because beauty too withers by sickness and by old age, and strength likewise, and in short all things are at the last dissolved by death. For in that day, he says, all his thoughts perish. Or [it means] “according to the lusts” in the sense of “by the lusts.” For indeed by these our old man is corrupted, just as the wool and the iron are destroyed by the very things they engender. For the love of glory too destroys—certainly in the soul always, and sometimes also in the body; and pleasures likewise. And well did he call the pleasure [arising] from these things “deceit.” For it is hypocrisy and falsehood, as feigning to be pleasure, but being in reality bitterness. This, then, is deceit: to appear one thing, and to be another.

Eph. 4:23. Be renewed, rather, in the spirit that shapes your mind. Lest anyone suppose that he is bringing in another man, he says, “Be renewed”; that is, to renew the very thing that has grown old and to make it different. So that the subject is the same, but the change is one of manner and of disposition. And how might the renewal come about? Through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our mind. For the Spirit does not tolerate old deeds. And what he says is of this sort: Be renewed with a spiritual renewal in your mind, but not a bodily one and [one] taking place in the body.

Eph. 4:24. And put on the new man. Do you see that the subject is one—that which is put off and put on—but the garments are diverse, that is, vice and virtue? For just as the putting-off and the putting-on is easy, so also are vice and virtue, if we will. And why does he call vice “man,” and virtue “man”? Because man is characterized by his works, and these show the man no less than [his] nature, whether good or wicked. The new man, then, is the young one, the one from baptism, who ought also to be strong, and having no wrinkles, and healthy; for all these belong to the young.

Eph. 4:24. Created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth. This man, he says, was created not according to the lusts, but according to God; that is, by God [as] such a creation as God is well pleased with, in the font, not of water and earth, but in righteousness and holiness. For these are the substance of such a man. Righteousness, then, is virtue in general, just as we are accustomed to call “righteous” the man who is blameless. And the Lord: Unless your righteousness abound more than that of the Pharisees; for here he means the whole of virtue. And holiness is purity, and the fulfilling of all that is due; according to which we speak also, in the case of the dead, of “the due rite,” when one has fulfilled what is owed to them, and [we say] I have rendered the due. And since in the Old [Covenant] too righteousness was spoken of, he says that “those things were of the type. But I tell you of the [righteousness] of the truth and of the Gospel.” Or, in contrast to the righteousness that is in outward show and hypocrisy, he spoke of that of the truth. This man was created in baptism through righteousness and holiness; but he must be put on even now through life and works. And when you hear put on, understand the never putting off; as in the [verse]: He clothed himself with cursing as with a garment; and, Who robes himself with light. And we are accustomed to say: So-and-so has put on So-and-so.

Eph. 4:25. Therefore, putting away falsehood, let each speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Having spoken of “the old man” in general, he henceforth describes him also in particular; and first he cuts off falsehood toward one another; and he adds the reasons—both that we are neighbors of one another, and the greater and more shaming [reason], that we are members of one another—as if saying this: Does the eye, seeing a wild beast, lie to the foot, and not give it [leave] to flee? Or when a deep pit is covered over with reeds and earth, and is tested by the foot, does the foot lie, and not report to the eye, that it may look elsewhere and find a way past? And in short you will find the same in all [the members]. So, then, let us too not lie to one another; for we are members of one body.

Eph. 4:26. Be angry, and sin not. He had said, “Do not lie.” Since, then, anger is often born from falsehood, he says that, Good indeed it were not to be angry at all; but since it has come about, [see] at least that you not be led on to sin from using anger immoderately. But some say that there is one sinless anger—that against the demons and the passions—which the divine Apostle here introduces to us.

Eph. 4:26. Do not let the sun go down while your anger still burns. Let not the passion, he says, abide with you for long, nor let the sun, leaving you [still] enemies, depart, lest it appear to have shone upon the unworthy; and at the same time, lest the night, through [its] broodings, kindle the fire still more, and contrive plots.

Eph. 4:27. Give no place to the devil. To war against one another, this is to give place to the devil. For as long as we are united and closely knit, he introduces nothing of his own, inasmuch as he finds no place; but when he finds some division among us, then, as having found a place, he thrusts in his head like a serpent, and thereafter drags in along with it the whole coil of his body.

Eph. 4:28. Let him who steals steal no longer. Do you see the members of the old man—falsehood, malice, theft? And he did not say, “Let the thief be punished,” but, “Let him cease,” he says, from the evil. For the former belongs to the courts outside, but this to the teaching of Christ. And where are those called Cathari—the Pure—who are in reality full of every defilement, who do away with repentance? For let them hear that it is possible to put off the charge—not only to abstain from the sin, but also to work some good. For hear what follows:

Eph. 4:28. But rather let him labor, working the good thing with his hands, that he may have [something] to share with him who has need. For it is not enough to cease from sin, but [one must] also go over to the way opposite to it. Was he formerly working evil? Now let him work good; and not simply, but with toil—at once that he may wear down the body, which formerly through idleness had learned evil things; and at the same time that he may have more abundant means and resources of livelihood, and may share also with others—in return for which, whereas formerly he stole the things of others, now he benefits others. Wonderful! how the Gospel makes angels of those who were almost demons!

Eph. 4:29. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. By “corrupt word” he means the idle, and the random, and the unseasonable—such as buffoonery, foolish talk. But still more corrupt and foul-smelling is filthy speech, reviling, slander; for we pay penalties not for deeds only, but also for words.

Eph. 4:29. But only such as is good for the building up of the need, that it may give grace to those who hear. That is, Let us utter that which builds up the neighbor, being necessary to the matter at hand, and not unseasonably and uselessly, so that those who hear may be thankful to us. For if we utter something profitable to the soul, those who hear will give us thanks, as having been benefited. Or [it means], he says, that the word may render them graced with grace. For just as ointment gives grace to those who partake of it, so also the divine and soul-profiting word. Do you see how that which Paul always exhorts, this he requires of us now too—to build up the neighbor, which is to build up ourselves? For he who exhorts another to the things profitable for the soul [does so] far sooner, surely, for himself.

Eph. 4:30. Do not grieve God’s Holy Spirit. If you speak, he says, a corrupt word and one unworthy of the Christian mouth, you have grieved not a man, but the Spirit of God, by whom you were benefited, by whom your mouth was sanctified. He adds, then, with what we were benefited.

Eph. 4:30. In whom you were sealed to the day of redemption. For this sealed us, and showed us to be of the royal flock; this did not allow us to stand with those liable to the wrath of God, but sealed us and set us apart to be redeemed from it. Grieving this, then, are we not ashamed? Your mouth has been sealed by the Spirit, so as to say nothing unworthy of him; do not break the seal.

Eph. 4:31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and blasphemy be put away from you, with all malice. He had done away with anger through the things said above, and now he uproots it root and all; for bitterness is the root both of wrath and of anger. For when the humor becomes bitter and acrid, it overflows more and more the vessel that contains it, and is poured out over the whole body, and makes the man savage. Bitterness, then, is rancor, guile, the readiness toward doing evil; and wrath is the beginning of anger, being a kind of seething-up; and anger is that which is already rushing to do something. And since anger, if it does not have clamor to kindle it together, is quickly quenched, he says that “clamor too be put away”—that is, Let it be made to vanish, let no remnant remain. For clamor is the horse, and anger the rider; hobble the horse, and you have overthrown the rider. And do away also with blasphemy—that is, reviling—which is born from anger, but is kindled the more, together [with it], through clamor. And since many are secret biters, saying nothing, but biting covertly, and keeping the malice unseen and lurking within—for this reason he added, “with all malice”—that is, both small and great.

Eph. 4:32. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. And since abstinence from evils is not sufficient for attaining the kingdom, but there is need also of the working of good things (for if we are deficient in good deeds, we are cast into Gehenna, even though we do no evil, as is clear from many [passages] in the Gospels)—for this reason Paul, having done away with the base things, exhorts to the working of good things, and says: Be kind, in contrast to anger; tenderhearted, in contrast to bitterness; forgiving one another—that is, lenient, and remitting [offenses] to those who sin—in contrast to malice and blasphemy.

Eph. 4:32. Even as God also forgave us in Christ Jesus. Since examples are more compelling, he brings forward God as a pattern. And he could indeed have said that God declared: Forgive, and you shall be forgiven; but since many disbelieve in things future, he brings into the midst the things that have already happened, and says that God forgave us. How? In Christ—that is, with the peril of his Son and his slaying. For you perhaps forgive without peril, but he not so; and you [forgive] your brother, but he remitted and forgave you who were an enemy. And see how, instead of saying “forgiving one another,” he said “yourselves,” showing that whenever we, the one and the other, forgive [one another], each of us does the grace to our own selves.

Chapter 5

Eph. 5:1. Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children. As the Master loved you, do you also love your brother, and you have imitated God as far as is possible. For here it is not possible to plead poverty and to say, If I forgive, I am the loser; but forgive him who has trespassed, without cost and without loss, and you have gained a great thing—to imitate God. Then he sets down also another and nobler reason. For as beloved children, he says; that is, You have yet another necessity to imitate your Father. And since not all children imitate their father, he added the word, Beloved; for such as these imitate their fathers.

Eph. 5:2. And walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. Behold the foundation of all things; for where this is present, there is no clamor, no wrath, no blasphemy, but all are done away—wherefore he set down this chief point last. And he teaches also whence we became children: that it is from love. We ought, then, to cherish it, since it has become the procurer of the divine adoption. For just as, when we are sick, if we are helped by some medicine, we honor even the very name of the medicine, so also ought we to cherish love; for through it the Master gave himself for us. And yet he gave himself for enemies, while you spare not even friends. So that you then truly imitate Christ, when you do good to your enemies. For the word even as is then preserved; and to die for enemies, this is a sacrifice and a sweet-smelling savor; for this is what Christ also became, dying for us his enemies; this is to imitate God.

Eph. 5:3. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be even named among you, as becomes saints. Having spoken concerning the bitter passion of wrath, he came [also] to the less evil one, desire; as the lawgiver also, having said, You shall not kill, which belongs to wrath, set down secondly, You shall not commit adultery, which belongs to desire. For just as bitterness, and clamor, and blasphemy belong to wrath, so too to the part that desires belong fornication, and uncleanness, and covetousness; for by the same faculty we love both money and bodies. Let not, then, such things be even named among you, but be wholly pure; for words are a road to deeds. So that, if you are saints, let your tongue also be holy. And he adds further what follows:

Eph. 5:4. And filthiness, and foolish talking, or jesting, which are not fitting, but rather thanksgiving. Just as he took away clamor, being the vehicle of anger, so now does he take away filthy speech and jesting, being the vehicle of fornication. For do not, he says, utter witticisms, nor base things, and you have quenched the flame of fornication. Then, lest he should seem burdensome and harsh, as cutting off jesting, he brought forward also the cause, saying, Which are not fitting—that is, Which are nothing to you. For just as the leather-worker will not endure to do any of the things not fitting to his own craft, so also the Christian, having become holy, ought not to say the things [of his own] not fitting to sanctification. For the things not needful are nothing to us. But if you wish to say anything, let every word be thanksgiving to you; and if you accustom yourself to give thanks, you will call to mind who you are and what you have become, and you will mourn over your own evils, and you will be utterly amazed at him who counted you worthy of such things, and you will not even have time to say anything else. For the present season is not one of laughter or jesting, but of mourning and contest. The enemy goes about gnashing his teeth against you, and do you sport and jest? For even one who contends finds it hard to prevail over him—how much more one who sports? And what is a jester? The pliant man, the one who becomes all things, the one who easily turns his words about; and this belongs to an unstable mind, and is alien to those who serve the Rock.

Eph. 5:5–6. For this you know, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with empty words. There were some, as it seems, among the Ephesians who said that God, wishing to frighten them, forbade these trivial things. For what is amiss in saying, You fool, that he who says it should become liable to hell-fire? and how is the covetous man an idolater? These, then, the Apostle hints at, and the appended clause makes it plain: Let no man deceive you with empty words. For empty words are those that have a temporary charm, but are shown to be useless in deeds, and to bestow such things is a deceit. For that the covetous man is an idolater, learn: You cannot serve God and Mammon. The covetous man, then, has departed from God, and serves gold; how then is he not an idolater? But if he says that he has set up no idol, what of this? For neither did the more refined of the Greeks confess to worshipping idols, but rather Aphrodite, it may be, and Ares; and these are passions. But he does not slaughter sheep—nay, but men and rational souls. The Greeks worshipped the creatures of God, but the covetous man worships his own product. For God did not make covetousness, but our own insatiableness. And I think that Paul said this from David, in another manner. For while David says, The idols of the nations are silver and gold, he turns it about, according to his great wisdom, that silver and gold are idols. Therefore he who serves silver and gold is altogether an idolater.

Eph. 5:6. For because of these things comes the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience. Either because of fornication, and uncleanness, and idolatry; or because of such words of the deceivers. And by sons of disobedience he means the exceedingly disobedient, those who disbelieve God, those who lay down such things as doctrine.

Eph. 5:7–8. Be not you therefore partakers with them; for you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord. But you, he says, have no fellowship with them. Then he reminds them of their former wickedness, saying: Consider what you were, and what you have become, and that from darkness you became light. For formerly, both in respect of doctrines and in respect of life, you were sheer darkness; but now you are light, inasmuch as you have come to know God, and pursue the works of light. And this came to you not from your own virtue, but in the Lord—that is, through the divine grace. You ought not, then, to have fellowship with the sons of disobedience, upon whom the wrath comes; for formerly you were such and worthy of wrath, but now no longer; do not, then, run back to the darkness.

Eph. 5:8. Conduct yourselves as children of light. That is, decorously, and as is fitting for one who walks in light. Rather, he also charges us to be light to others as well. For the child of light is assuredly itself also light.

Eph. 5:9. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth. He interprets for us, as it were, what the child of light is, and says that it is that which has the fruit of the Spirit; for the Spirit bears as fruit, not those things which we spoke of before, but the contrary ones: goodness, which is set against bitterness and wrath; righteousness, which is contrary to covetousness; and truth, which withstands the false pleasure of uncleanness. And he says all goodness—that toward all, not only friends, but rather toward enemies.

Eph. 5:10. Proving what is well-pleasing to the Lord. To prove belongs to the perfect, to those able to judge. So that it belongs to an imperfect and unproved understanding not to choose the things pleasing to the Lord, such as the passions spoken of above.

Eph. 5:11–12. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them. For the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of. Unfruitful are the works of darkness and of sin; for they bear no other fruit but death and shame. One ought not, then, to have fellowship with these works, but rather to reprove them—which is to instruct those who do such things. How, then, does he say elsewhere, Judge not? Instead of, Do not condemn. For reproof is one thing, and condemnation another; for the one is to correction, the other to reproach and exposure. Moreover, the Judge not is said concerning the smallest sins. He adds, therefore, And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother’s eye? And Paul hints at certain unspeakable practices prevalent in Ephesus.

Eph. 5:13. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible. Having said that You are light, and that the light reproves the things done in darkness, he adds: If, then, you are virtuous, the wicked will not be able to escape notice. For as, when a lamp shines, the thief would not break in, so, when the light of your virtue shines, those men will be caught, especially as they are also reproved by you with instructive words.

Eph. 5:13. For whatever does make manifest is light. Just as a wound that is covered enjoys no healing, so also is it with sin. But when it is made manifest, it becomes light—not the sin itself, but he who works it. For when, having been reproved, he repents and obtains forgiveness, has not his darkness been purged away? Or, [the meaning is] that Your life, he says, being manifest, is light; for no one hides a blameless faith and practice. But the things that are hidden are hidden because they are worthy of darkness—things which must be reproved and made manifest.

Eph. 5:14. Therefore he says, Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. By him that sleeps and is dead he means the one in sins. For he is foul-smelling as the dead, and inactive as one asleep, and he dreams, and imagines things that have no substance. When, therefore, one is raised from sin, then Christ shall give him light—that is, shall shine upon him, just as the sun also upon those who are roused from sleep. For so long as he is in sins, he hates the light, and comes not to it. And he says these things not concerning unbelievers only, but also concerning believers. And you may find a difference between him that sleeps and him that is dead. For many who do the evil, yet do not consent to what is done, might be called sleepers; and these are quickly awakened—to whom is said, Awake. But others both do the evil and advocate it; and these might be named dead, as harder to recall to the good. Yet even to these the word cries aloud that they may arise; for the changeable nature is not to be despaired of.

Eph. 5:15. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise. And he still purges away bitterness and wrath, as if saying to them: You are sheep in the midst of wolves; many are fierce toward you, even your nearest kin; see that you give no one an occasion for enmity; except concerning the faith, let no one of you lay any other charge, but show all honor and obedience, where the faith is not harmed, and become as doves. For this belongs to wisdom, or rather to prudence: to keep oneself blameless, avenging oneself on no one.

Eph. 5:16. Redeeming the time. He does not teach us to be devious, but since, he says, the time is not yours, but you are sojourners, and pilgrims, and strangers, seek not honor and glory, nor vengeance, but bear all things, and in this redeem the time; lay down all that they may wish. As a rich man, seeing certain men coming upon him to slay him, will give all and deliver himself, so do you also give all, so as to preserve the chief thing—I mean the faith.

Eph. 5:16. Because the days are evil. He does not disparage the substance of the days; for the substance of a day is, it may be, the light, and the hours; what wickedness, then, is there in these? But because of the things that come to pass in the days, he seems to disparage the days; just as we are wont to say, I passed a bad day—because of the things that befell in it, namely, which came from wicked men, not from God. For this reason, then, the days are called evil, as having within them wicked men who hold sway.

Eph. 5:17. Therefore be you not unwise, but understanding what the will of God is. Since, he says, the days have wicked men, do you as prudent men make haste to give them no occasion; for this is the will of God, to keep yourselves blameless in all things, together with the guarding of the faith also.

Eph. 5:18. Do not get drunk with wine. And he still chastens wrath; for the immoderate use of wine makes men irritable and bold. And that it is the immoderation he chastens is plain; for he did not say, Do not drink, but, Do not get drunk. And drunkenness comes from immoderation; since wine drunk in measure produces health also (as he himself says in the Epistle to Timothy), and gladness, as David testifies. And again the Scripture: Give wine to those in sorrow, and strong drink, that is, relaxation, to those in pains. For it dissolves what is harsh and gloomy. For this reason God also made our bodies measured, so that they may be content with little, and may press on toward another life.

Eph. 5:18. Wherein is excess. That is, immoderate use. For it saves not, but destroys—not the body only, but also the soul. And this is excess. Or by excess here, according to the common usage of ordinary people, he means licentiousness. For from drunkenness licentiousness is born.

Eph. 5:18–19. Rather, be filled with the Spirit, addressing each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord in your heart. Do you wish, he says, to be glad? Flee the filling that comes from wine, and desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And this will be yours, if you learn to sing psalms. For those who sing psalms are filled with the Holy Spirit, just as those who sing the songs of Satan are filled with an unclean spirit. And to make melody in the heart is this: with understanding, and with the heart not roving. For he who gives heed, that man makes melody in the heart. And observe that, after cleansing the soul from bitterness and the other passions, and making them compassionate and forgiving, then he expounds to us the filling that comes from the Holy Spirit. For he will not simply come upon us, but will fill our heart. And since there is so great a light within us, the rest of virtue too will be easy and ready.

Eph. 5:20. Giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father. Always; for not in ease only, but also in sorrows, and not for good things only, but also for grievous ones, and both for those we know and those we know not. For through all things we are benefited, even though we be ignorant of it. And we must give thanks to the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus—that is, naming the Lord Jesus also, and taking him along [also] with us, as being the mediator both of the good things and of the very thanksgiving.

Eph. 5:21. Submitting to one another out of reverence for God. Behold, again love. For from this comes the submission to one another; not for any worldly or human reason, but in the fear [he says, of] God. For those who submit to one another for God’s sake will never be made to stumble or be dissolved, having such a bond.

Eph. 5:22. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Not without purpose and at random does Paul take much pains concerning wedlock, but because God also cared for it from the beginning exceedingly. For to Adam he united his sister—or rather his daughter—and what do I say? his own flesh. Then, when the race was multiplied, he extended marriage yet further, that he might not confine love to kinsmen alone. And our life is held together through marriages. He says, then, that Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands. For if the marriage be in concord, the children too are reared well, and the servants are orderly, and all things—both the affairs of neighbors and of friends—are well. And serve as to the Lord. How, then, is it written elsewhere, Unless a man renounce his wife, and [a wife her husband], he cannot follow me? For if one must serve as to the Lord, how does he say that one ought to depart for the Lord’s sake? Because the word As is not everywhere altogether of equal honor. Or, [the meaning is] that you submit, knowing that you serve God; that is, even if not for the husband’s sake primarily, yet at least for the Lord’s sake. For if he who sets himself against the outward authority withstands the ordinance of the Lord, much more she who sets herself against her husband. So that, on the contrary, she who submits to the Lord submits to him.

Eph. 5:23. Because a husband is head of his wife, just as Christ also is head of the Church, being himself savior of the body. From reasonings he establishes that wives ought to submit, and sets down as the ground and occasion of love the fact that the husband holds the ruling and provident rank (for he is, he says, head and saviour), while the wife holds the submissive one; for she is body. As Christ also, being the head of the Church, provides for it and saves it, so then the husband too is the saviour of his own body—that is, of the wife. How then ought not the body to submit to the head, which provides for it and saves it?

Eph. 5:24. But as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. From this you will learn more plainly what he said above, that Submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. For since wives ought to submit to their husbands as the Church to Christ, and the Church is also women, therefore as to Christ ought the wife to submit to her husband. But how? Does he then command her to submit at every [time]? Even when the husband urges her toward unbelief? But the discourse now is not for Paul about unbelieving husbands, but about believing ones, to whom plainly he was also writing.

Eph. 5:25. Husbands, love your wives, in the same way Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her. You saw how Paul urged the wife to submit to you in the measure in which the Church also submits to Christ; hear now how he again constrains you to love her, and not to behave despotically. For love her; in what measure? In that in which Christ also loved the Church; provide for her, as Christ also for her; and if you must suffer anything, or even die for her, refuse not. For you indeed, already joined to her, will do these things; but he did so for one that hated him and was an adulteress. And as he drew to himself her that turned away from him, not by threats nor by insults, so do you also, even if you see her turning away and being coy, hasten to draw her to yourself by much love and forethought; and if you suffer anything for her, reproach her not; for neither did Christ so deal with the Church.

Eph. 5:26. That he might sanctify it, having cleansed it with the washing of water by the word. So then it was unclean, and impure, and unshapely, yet he did not abhor it; so neither do you abhor your own wife, even if she be most unshapely, even if mean. For that the Church was unshapely, hear: For you were once darkness; for what is blacker than darkness? Serving wickedness and envy; what is more unclean? Disobedient, foolish, but also blasphemous; what is more hideous than these? Yet nevertheless, as for one beautiful, as for one wonderful, he gave himself up. And he cleansed it with the washing of water—that is, with baptism.

Eph. 5:26. By the word. By what word? In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Eph. 5:27. So that he might present the Church to himself, glorious. Not simply clean, but glorious. As then Christ is the cause of all good things to the Church, so be you also to your own wife; and as he procured for it the beauty that is according to the soul, so do you also strive after this, not after that of the body. For if you seek the beauty of the soul from your wife, you will quickly fashion this for her, ordering her and presenting her glorious according to the spirit, both to yourself and to God.

Eph. 5:27. Having no spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but being holy and without blemish. By these things he means the passions of the soul. Spots, then, are the recent passions, which are also easy to wash off, and which produced a blemish. Wrinkles are those grown old with time, which also rendered it unclean, being hard to wash away. But the divine washing cleansed all, and presented them holy and without blemish.

Eph. 5:28. So ought men to love their own wives, as their own bodies. Not as setting this down now as a greater and more compelling example (for it is plain that the relation of Christ to the Church is greater than the measure of an example), but as a nearer and more intimate one. For lest anyone be able to say that He was God, and gave himself, he lays the necessity upon us from another quarter. For they ought, he says, to love; that is, the matter is not a favor, but a debt and a necessity; for your wife is your body. The example of Christ, then, he took up not only because one must love, but also because of the ordering; for that, he says, it should be holy and without blemish. But that of the flesh, only because of the loving.

Eph. 5:28. He that loves his own wife loves himself. For no one ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also the Church. Every one renders to his flesh, he says, intense and careful attendance; so do you also to your wife. And again he uses Christ as an example, showing that Christ also loved us as his own flesh.

Eph. 5:30. For we are parts of his body. That is, we have much kinship with him.

Eph. 5:30. From his flesh, and from his bones. For he came to be from our material, just as Eve also from Adam. And as there is so great a nearness there, so also with us. And in another way too, we are of his flesh, and of his bones, both because, just as he was begotten of the Spirit without intercourse, so also are we in the washing; and because, having partaken of the mysteries, from this we are immediately transformed. To say it concisely, then, this is what he means: that we have the utmost intimacy with him. For indeed both according to what is seen he shared with us flesh and blood, and according to what is conceived by the mind he became the cause of the spiritual refashioning for us, just as Adam too was of Eve’s fashioning.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. Behold yet another just claim: that one, having forsaken even those who begot him, [is joined and] entwined with her. And he did not say, Shall dwell with, but, Shall be joined, signifying the indissoluble union. And the phrase, To one flesh, the great John takes also simply thus, instead of, They shall be one flesh; but it hints also at something else, namely, that the two shall be to the producing of one flesh—that is, the child.[1]

Eph. 5:32. This is a great mystery—I mean, in reference to Christ and the Church. That is, the blessed Moses hinted at something great and wonderful. For in truth it is a mystery, that one should forsake those who begot him, who toiled over him, who did him good, and be joined to her who was never seen before, nor first began any good thing. A great mystery indeed; yet for the present this is taken by me with reference to Christ, he says, as being spoken prophetically concerning him. For he too forsook the Father, not by a change of place, but by the condescension toward the flesh, and came to the bride, who had always been ignorant of him, and became with her one spirit. For he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. How then is marriage maligned, when Paul brings it forward as an example of the mystery that is according to Christ, and even names it itself a mystery?

Eph. 5:33. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his own wife even as himself. Nevertheless, he says, even if I have taken these things allegorically, yet they are spoken also for the wife’s sake, and the allegory does not overturn the relation, according to the letter, of the husband to the wife. For each one ought, [he says], to love his wife, and cherish her, as himself. And do not say to me that the wife has this or that defect; for in your own flesh too you have defects—such as a crippled hand, a lame foot, a distorted eye; yet you do not cut these off, but rather deem them worthy of greater care.

Eph. 5:33. And the wife see that she fear her husband. Since equality of honor produces disorder, for this reason he introduces fear, that there may be one principle of authority, the husband. And by fear here he means the intense reverence and modesty befitting free persons, not the servile kind. From such fear love too will be knit together, and it again will knit him together with her. For the wife will love the husband as a member; and will fear—that is, honor—him as a head. What then, if the wife does not fear? Do you love, do your own part; likewise the wife too, even if she be not loved, yet let her fear. And observe that he showed at length how the husband must love the wife, but no longer enlarges upon the matter of fear, because this most of all he wishes to prevail—the matter of love. For indeed the wife too, as has been said, ought to fear with the fear that comes from love, not the kind that makes one tremble and dread, from which hatred is rather born, but so as not to gainsay, nor to rise up, nor to love pre-eminence. For even though they are one flesh, and she too has authority equal in honor according to this, yet the wife is also a second authority, and the husband has more.

[1] Translator’s note: The great John here is St John Chrysostom, on whose homilies on Ephesians Theophylact’s exposition draws.

Chapter 6

Eph. 6:1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Just as one who molds a body sets down first the head, then the neck, and last of all the feet, so also Paul spoke concerning the man, the first authority; he spoke also concerning the woman, the second authority; and now he speaks also concerning the third authority, the children. For the man alone rules the woman, but the woman too rules the children. Obey, then, he says, your parents—but in the Lord, that is, whenever the commands are according to the Lord; since, if the father presses toward impiety, or wishes to prostitute his daughter, or to teach his son a shameful trade, the command is not according to the Lord, neither ought one to obey.

Eph. 6:1–2. For this is right. Honor your father and your mother, which is the first commandment in the promises. Both by nature, he says, is this right, and it is enjoined by the law. But how does he say that this is the first commandment? For it is not; rather, that one, You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery. But observe what he added: In the promises. For those first ones have no promises and recompenses, since they are withdrawals from evils, not workings of good things; and there is no reward for one who merely abstains from evil. But this one, since it has a working of good, was the first also to receive a promise. And the ordering is marvelous. For when the lawgiver had led men away from wicked deeds, being about to bring them into the working of good things, he ordained first the honor toward parents. For since they, after God, are our first benefactors, as being the cause of our living, with reason would they be the first to enjoy our fruits.

Eph. 6:3. That it may be well with you, and that you may be long-lived upon the earth. Observe how he does not here say long and many things, inasmuch as children are not able to follow a long discourse. Besides, the husband and the wife having been ordered according to the laws which he set down before, it is no great labor to bring the little ones into subjection. But neither does he discourse about the kingdom, or about any of the lofty things; rather, the things which a childlike soul most seeks to hear, these he sets down; for his word is toward children. And what is sweeter to children than to be long-lived? Since to the Jews also, as to children, these things were given as law, they not being able to hear more perfect things.

Eph. 6:4. And you fathers, do not provoke your children to anger. He did not say, Love them—this nature demands of them even against their will; but, Do not provoke them to anger; that is, Do not make them disinherited and disowned, nor lie heavily upon them, treating them not as free but as slaves, and be ever harsh toward them.

Eph. 6:4. But bring them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. He leads back to the source and cause of subjection, and shows fathers how they will make their children obedient. For if you wish, he says, that your children obey you, bring them up in the divine words; and do not say that to read the divine Scriptures belongs to monks. For this belongs to every Christian, and most of all to those in the world, inasmuch as they have need of greater help, as being in a tempest. So that it is for your own sake that they hear the Scripture; for from there they will learn: Honor your father and your mother. And then—with Greek learning you bring up your child together, from which he is taught all the worst things, but with the things of God no longer?

Eph. 6:5. Servants, obey your masters according to the flesh. Since the virtue of household servants also contributes to the establishment of the household, neither does he neglect this part; but he comes to this too last, since it is also last in rank. And no longer does he discourse with these as with infant children, but as with grown ones, as we shall show as we proceed. And by masters according to the flesh he means the temporary ones. For at once he consoles them, having pointed out that the servitude is temporary, and dissolved together with the flesh.

Eph. 6:5. With fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ. In the case of the woman he said simply, That she fear her husband; but here with intensity. For trembling is an intensification of fear. For the woman is of equal honor with the man, and free; but servants are not of the same honor. For even if they are brethren according to Christ, yet since he commands even the free to be subject to one another, and the woman to the man, much more the servants to the masters. For neither is the matter a low birth, but rather the first nobility—to know how to be moderate, and to yield to one’s neighbor. But since many fear their masters, yet not out of good will, but, whenever they go unnoticed, plot against them and do them mischief, for this reason he adds: In singleness of heart, doing away with the mischief.

Eph. 6:6. Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers. That is, not only when the masters are present and watching, but also when they are absent, so serve them.

Eph. 6:6. But as servants of Christ. The man-pleaser is not a servant of Christ, just as he also says elsewhere: If I pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Eph. 6:6–7. Doing the will of God from the soul, with good will. Since it is possible to serve in singleness of heart and without guile, yet not with all one’s power, but to do only the appointed task, for this reason he now adds, From the soul, that is, from all one’s power and eagerness; but also, With good will, that is, with full acceptance, and of one’s own choosing, not from constraint. Thus also the low birth of servitude is taken away, if the servants do what is good willingly, and do not wait for compulsion and lashes. And the will of God is either to be subject (for this God wills, good order), or that, In those things be subject, you servants, to your masters, in which God wills. For it may happen—just as was said also concerning children—that the masters force toward certain shameful things, or toward impiety, which are not of the divine will.

Eph. 6:7. Serving as to the Lord, and not to men. For he himself takes upon himself the good will shown toward the masters, as having also legislated good order; and the one who does not serve these as he ought sets himself against the divine law.

Eph. 6:8. Knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he shall receive from the Lord, whether servant or free. Since it was likely that many masters, being Greeks and unbelievers, would do no good to the servants who served well, he says that, Even if you do not receive your recompenses from the master according to the flesh, expect them from the Master of all. And here he showed that he discourses with them as with more perfect ones, and not as with children. For to those he held out length of life upon earth, but these he sent forward to the age to come.

Eph. 6:9. And you masters, do the same things toward them. — The same things. What things? Serve with good will, and not as men-pleasers, but with fear and trembling—the fear, that is, toward God. For even if he did not say it word for word, nevertheless this is what he wishes. For the master too serves the servant, taking thought for him, and supplying all that is needful, and, in a word, bearing with him, and condescending to him, and, as Solomon says, accommodating himself. For hear also what follows:

Eph. 6:9. Forbearing threatening. He did not say, Forbearing the lash, but, Even the threatening itself. Much more, then, the punishment; that is, Do not appear oppressive even in your threats.

Eph. 6:9. Knowing that your own Master also is in the heavens. Observe how he strikes fear. For with what measure, he says, you measured, it shall be measured back to you; lest you too hear: Wicked servant, I forgave you all the debt; ought not you also to have had mercy on your fellow servant?

Eph. 6:9. And there is no respect of persons with him. Do not suppose, he says, that if you are harsh to the servant, you will not be examined by God because of the meanness of his person. For these are matters of the outward laws, which know distinctions of high birth and of servitude; for they are laws of men. But here it is not so; rather, you yourself also are a servant of the same Master, even while you act severely toward a fellow servant; since neither did God make servitude from the beginning, but covetousness, as in the case of the captives; and the insolence toward fathers, as in the case of Canaan. Yet even if it did not come to be by God, nevertheless God legislates the subjection, for the sake of good order, and that life may not be full of bloodshed.

Eph. 6:10. Finally, my brethren, be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of his strength. A camp is the household of each one; having therefore arranged all the authorities, he thus leads out to war. For indeed, when each one does not overstep his own order, then the affairs of the war also will be well disposed. But since he enjoined many things that seemed hard to accomplish, Do not be afraid, he says, but take courage in the power of the Lord. For there is not strength simply with him, but might of strength—that is, he has unspeakable strength, and one that prevails over all things.

Eph. 6:11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. What the whole armor is, he will teach a little later. But observe how he did not say, Battles, nor, Wars, but, Wiles. For a wile is to deceive and to take by a contrivance. For the enemy does not set forth sins openly; for instance, he does not openly urge to idolatry, but contrives it otherwise by wiles—that is, making his argument plausible, and using a covering. And by showing the adversary to be terrible and manifold, he rouses them and prepares them to be watchful.

Eph. 6:12. For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh. And this too he says not to terrify, but to make them more attentive. For he who relates the power of the enemy makes his own people more secure. We do not have it, he says, against ordinary foes, nor against men of like passions with us and of equal power.

Eph. 6:12. But against the principalities, against the powers. Just as God has principalities and powers, so also the boastful tyrant made for himself such orders.

Eph. 6:12. Against the world-rulers. Not those who rule the world, that is, the creation; but Scripture knows how to call wicked deeds “world,” and those who pursue them, as in the saying, You are not of the world, that is, of those who pursue wicked things. Over these, then, the demons rule, men having of their own will been enslaved to them.

Eph. 6:12. Of the darkness of this age. By “darkness” he means wickedness, which appears and subsists in this present age; but beyond it, it goes no further.

Eph. 6:12. Against the spiritual hosts of wickedness. These same he calls the demons. For since the angels too are spirit, he added, of wickedness; for those others are spirits of goodness and of light. And having said that we war not against blood and flesh, he draws the contrast, and says that, Rather, against nimble, and unconquered, and hard-to-capture foes do we fight.

Eph. 6:12. In the heavenly places. For this reason again he rouses the hearer. For the danger is concerning great things, he says, not concerning earthly and perishable things, but the heavenly ones. For the in stands in place of for, and means also because of; as if he said: It is because of the heavenly things that we war, and for this reason we must be watchful.

Eph. 6:13. For this reason take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. That is, in the present age; for this he calls an evil day, from the evils that come to pass in it. And he consoles them also by showing that the time of the war is short. For by saying “day,” he made plain its shortness.

Eph. 6:13. And having accomplished all things, to stand. Having worked down all the passions, and the inordinate desires—that is, having fought them down, having pulled them down. But since many, after conquering, have fallen, he says, To stand. For after the victory there is need of a standing, lest the one conquered fight again. For if we grow slack, the slain enemy will assuredly revive. But observe that it is possible to accomplish and to stand, and that we ought no longer to be slack, making the excuse that the enemies are strong. For we have indeed been strengthened, and have been taught such an art that we are able even to wrestle with demons; or rather, not even to wrestle, but so to be terrible to the demons, through the power of him who dwells in us, that we have no need even of wrestling, but tread upon serpents and scorpions. And Paul says these things, since there were many who set themselves against them, teaching that the demons war against us through these men as their go-betweens. So that—do not be angry with men, but be severe toward the demons.

Eph. 6:14. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth. In matters of tactics the first thing is to know how to stand well; for this reason Paul gives counsel about the standing first, requiring a stance that is well-ordered, and befitting soldiers, and upright. For he who in truth stands has stood upright, not leaning; whereas the one who does not stand is not even upright—for instance, the lustful, the money-loving, the luxurious do not stand upright, but are bent down. And after the standing, he girds the soldier in a wholly spiritual sense, and binds fast the one who runs loose and is slackened by desires, restraining him by means of the belt. And by “loins” he here means the vigorous power of the soul that bears up the whole. For as the keel is in ships, so also in the living creature are the loins, like a kind of foundation. Whence also, when we are often weary, placing our hands upon them we bear ourselves up. So it is also with the spiritual loins, which he commands us to gird with truth—both that according to doctrines, and that according to life. For none of the heretics is girded with truth, but they are dragged down along the earth, able to conceive nothing lofty, but examining the things of God by human reasonings that are dragged down below. And those too who stumble in their manner of life, and give heed to the deceit of the world, neither are these girded with truth, but, slackened downward, they gape after falsehoods. But it is not right that we be so; rather, we must pursue all things in truth—whether it be a doctrine, to seek the truth, and whether it be life, likewise. But also that we be without hypocrisy and without guile, and not lie to one another. If we are so girded, we shall be able also to run. And by the being girded he signifies that we must ever be armed, as David also says: Like a girdle with which he is girded continually; for we are ever at war. And Gregory the Theologian understands our “loins” to be the desiring faculty (for in the loins are the kidneys, which are a symbol of the desiring faculty in the Scripture), and “truth” to be the contemplative faculty. He says, then, that Paul counsels us to bind fast all our desire by the contemplation and comprehension of God. For he who contemplates God, and delights in him as in one truly to be loved, would not allow his desire to be slackened downward and dragged about earthly things.

Eph. 6:14. And having put on the breastplate of righteousness. By “righteousness” he here means the wholly virtuous life, as if saying: Having taken to your bosom the things that are just. For as the breastplate keeps the man unwounded, so also does righteousness the one who has taken it to his bosom.

Eph. 6:15. And having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Well does he put greaves upon us. Or at least he means this, that we must be ready to bring good news and to preach, For beautiful, he says, are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace. Or that we must be ready for our departure, living according to the Gospel. For the feet are a symbol of one’s life; wherefore he also says, See how carefully you walk. And the preparation of the Gospel is good deeds, to which the Lord also gives heed, according to the saying, To the preparation of their hearts your ear has given heed. And well did he say, Of peace. For since he made mention of war and battle, he shows that we must have the war against demons, not against men; for the Gospel is of peace; and that if we fight against the demons, we are at peace with God, against whom we must not again make war by dissolving the peace. But it is also good news—the victory has already come to pass; let us not, then, be afraid.

Eph. 6:16. Above all, having taken up the shield of faith. This is the meaning of Above all—in place of, with truth and righteousness, and the preparation of the Gospel; for all these have need of faith. And he does not here call faith the knowledge of the true religion, but the unwavering faith, the one that makes us believe in the things to come as though present, the one that also accomplishes the signs, and is so fervent and warm as even to remove mountains. As, then, the shield, that is, the buckler, is held before the whole body, like a kind of door guarding and enclosing it, so also the unwavering faith is a guard of the whole soul. And faith is a shield, not subtleties. The shield shelters, but those things entangle.

Eph. 6:16. With which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. That is, the inordinate desires, the reasonings of unbelief (such as, Is there indeed a resurrection? is there a judgment?), and the temptations. And “fiery,” not only because the desires set ablaze, kindling toward shameful deeds, but because by them we are already burned even in the conscience. And through the reasonings of unbelief, too, the devil inflames us, and through the temptations. Faith, then, quenches these; for if it subjects demons, much more the passions. For whether desire sets you aflame, by believing in the good things to come, and in the gladness to come, you will quench it; or whether temptations, by believing in the things to come, you will be comforted. Consider how Abraham was inflamed, when he offered his son, but faith quenched the flame.

Eph. 6:17. And receive the helmet of salvation. That is, the one that saves and guards. For if we have faith, that is, the one that saves and guards us, we shall quickly receive also the saving reasonings, guarding our head, that is, the governing faculty.

Eph. 6:17. And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. By the things said above Paul armed them, so that they might not be harmed by the enemies; but now he gives weapons by which they themselves may rather have strength to harm the enemies. Either, then, he calls the Spirit itself a sword of the Spirit by a periphrasis, or he means the spiritual manner of life, by which the head of the dragon is cut off. And this spiritual sword is the word of God, that is, a command. For if we do his commands, we shall slay the crooked serpent, as Isaiah says. Or the word of God is the saying, In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, rise up and walk, and the like. Or simply a sword of the Spirit, the wisdom that is in the Spirit. For living is the word of God, and active, and sharper than any sword; and he who has the gift of this spiritual sword, and speaks the things of God, is irresistible—such as this very Paul himself.

Eph. 6:18. Through all prayer and supplication, praying at all times in the Spirit. Having armed them, he now leads them also to the King, so as to entreat him to stretch out a hand. For since he said, You shall be able to quench, lest they be puffed up, he says that, You have need of God, and you will set all aright together with the things spoken—and praying, not simply, but, Through all prayer and supplication: that with weeping, that with beating of the breast, that with bending of the knees, and the like. But also not at fixed hours, but, At all times; and, in the Spirit, that is, asking for spiritual things, nothing worldly. And by saying, Praying through all prayer, he hinted that it is possible even to be making a prayer and not to be praying, whenever one is slack.

Eph. 6:18. And watching to this very thing. Whether he here means the all-night vigils, or the watchfulness of the soul, both are admissible. For he who is armed, who stands before the King, must be sober.

Eph. 6:18. With unfailing perseverance and petition. As the Canaanite woman, as the widow, as Anna. For this is truly prayer—the one with perseverance.

Eph. 6:18–19. For all the saints, and for me. So then, one ought not to pray for oneself alone. And observe his humility; for he sets himself last, and asks for the prayer of the disciples, and that too while girded with chains for Christ’s sake. For Peter too was girded with chains, but earnest prayer was made for him by the Church.

Eph. 6:19. That utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth. So then, he did not rehearse what he said, but, just as Christ said, Take no thought what you shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you shall speak; so he too, opening his mouth, conveyed across the things supplied from God, thus accomplishing all things by divine grace. From this you will understand the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Eph. 6:19–20. To make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in a chain, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. That is, That I may make my defense as I ought, with boldness and courage and much understanding. But to whom are you an ambassador? To men, that I may reconcile them to God; but these men bound me, although the law forbids that ambassadors should suffer any harm. The chain, then, was put upon me, that it might stop the mouth of my boldness; but your prayer will open my mouth, that I may speak boldly, and say all that he who sent me as an ambassador commanded me. Do you see boldness as the sword of the word of God, which Paul was about to speak in the opening of his mouth?

Eph. 6:21. But that you also may know my affairs, what I am doing, Tychicus shall make all things known to you, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord. The things that were of doctrine and exhortation he himself made plain through the Epistle; but since he made mention of his bonds, he does not dwell on the words concerning these, but leaves it also to Tychicus to discourse something about him, that the presence of the brother might not be useless. If, then, he is beloved, he knows all things; if faithful, he will not lie. And he is a minister in the Lord, that is, ministering for God’s sake, and in divine things, not for anything worldly, nor in any of the earthly things; or, the brother in the Lord, that is, the spiritual brother.

Eph. 6:22. Whom I have sent to you for this very thing, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts. Saint John read it thus: That you may know our affairs; that is, that he may report to you the things concerning me, and may not let you fall down on my behalf, as though I were in dire straits and wearing a chain. And this makes plain the love—both his toward them, and theirs toward him.[1]

Eph. 6:23. Peace be to the brothers, and love joined with faith, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He prays for them peace and the love that is with faith. And this is of such a kind, either that they should not love the heterodox, but only the faithful; or that they ought also to have faith, so as to take courage concerning the things to come. For apart from faith love profits nothing—or rather, neither could love come to be apart from faith. This is what he meant by “peace,” and the love that is with faith. And teaching how this might come to be, he added that it is through love. And how is love? If we have faith.

Eph. 6:24. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption. Amen. Here he divided peace from grace, setting both apart by themselves, although everywhere he joins them. And the words In incorruption mean either in decorum, or that those who love Christ do so not in wealth or in glory, but in the incorruptible things—that is, for the sake of the incorruptible things; or that he who loves Christ loves him through virtue. For sin is corruption, but virtue incorruption. For as we say that the virgin is corrupted, so also the soul; wherefore Paul also says, Lest somehow, he says, your minds be corrupted; and, Corrupted in mind. May it come to pass, then, that we too show our love toward Christ, both through decorum of life, and through seeking those incorruptible good things; and, in a word, through the whole virtuous manner of life, which keeps the soul incorruptible, not being corrupted in pursuits and lawless deeds, in Christ himself, the incorruptible bridegroom of the virgin and undefiled souls. To whom be the glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact adopts the reading ἵνα γνῶτε τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν (“that you may know our affairs”), which he attributes to St John Chrysostom, in place of the received ἵνα γνῷ τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν (“that he may know your affairs”).

Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians

Introduction

A Letter Written in Chains

Philippi was a city of Macedonia, founded by and named for Philip of Macedon, and by the apostolic age it stood under the metropolitan authority of Thessalonica. Theophylact opens his commentary by recalling how the church there began: Paul, scourged alongside Silas and shut up in prison, saw the jailer come to faith with his whole household after a single earthquake and a single sign—a beginning, Theophylact notes, that was “splendid” from the first, as the Acts of the Apostles record. The Philippians never forgot the debt. Years later, learning that their founder was again a prisoner, they sent him support through one of their own, Epaphroditus, both to relieve his needs and to learn how it stood with him.

Paul answers in a letter written, Theophylact says, from a second imprisonment—after the first defense Paul mentions in writing to Timothy—and it is one of several Epistles composed in bonds, a company that also includes Ephesians, Philemon, and Colossians. Theophylact finds nothing incidental in this. Writing to Philemon, Paul had called himself one “begotten in my chains”, and Theophylact takes the phrase as a lesson meant for every reader: hardship borne for Christ is not a thing to be merely endured but, rightly understood, an honor. The whole letter to the Philippians turns on exactly this point. Fearing that the news of his imprisonment would trouble a church that loved him, Paul writes to explain that chains borne for Christ’s sake are matter for joy, not grief, and the theme of joy sounds through the letter almost as a refrain.

The Hymn to the Self-Emptying Christ

At the center of the letter stands the passage for which it is best remembered, the description of Christ “who, being in the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped to be equal with God”, but “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant”, humbling himself to death, “even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:6–8). No passage in the commentary draws a longer or more combative response from Theophylact, and none is more consequential for how the letter has been read ever since. He takes the verses as a roll call of the heresies they refute in turn—Marcion, who denied that God took real flesh; Paul of Samosata, who made Christ begin at Mary; Sabellius, who dissolved Father, Son, and Spirit into a single person; Apollinaris, who denied Christ a human mind—and above all the teaching of Arius, that the Son is a creature.

Against Arius in particular, Theophylact presses the wording itself. “The form of God” is not an appearance but an essence, exactly as “the form of a servant” that Christ took is a true human nature and not a costume; and the one who “emptied himself” did so as Lord, with authority over what was properly his own, not as a creature obeying a command from outside. The verse that a careless reading might take as diminishing Christ—that he was found obedient—Theophylact turns the other way: obedience given willingly, as a son honors a father he loves, is no mark of inferiority but of a genuine Sonship. And the self-emptying itself he reads as proof of divinity rather than its loss: only one who possesses a dignity by nature, and not by seizure, can lay it aside without fear of losing it and take it up again. The Son had no need to grasp at equality with the Father, Theophylact insists, because that equality was never something apart from him to begin with. Read this way, the hymn becomes not a description of the Word’s descent from divinity into something less, but of God’s own free condescension into the form of a servant—the standing Orthodox answer to any reading of the passage that would make the Incarnation a diminishment of Christ rather than his self-giving love.

Joy, Concord, and a Wary Eye on False Teachers

Paul offers the hymn to Christ, Theophylact observes, not as a detached point of doctrine but as the ground of a moral appeal: if this is what the Son of God did, who among the proud can still make an excuse for himself? The letter’s practical concerns follow directly from its Christology. Theophylact traces Paul’s counsel toward unity and humility among the Philippians, his warm and grateful acknowledgment of what they had sent him by Epaphroditus, and his sharp warning against a set of teachers—Judaizers pressing circumcision under the guise of the Gospel—whom Paul brands “dogs” and “evil workers”. Theophylact reads Paul’s tenderness toward the Philippians throughout as more than customary politeness: this was a church that had shown, from its first days in the book of Acts to its gift now sent to a prisoner, an unusual constancy in faith and in giving, and Paul writes to a congregation he plainly loves and honors.

How to Read This Commentary

Philippians is short, and Theophylact’s exposition moves briskly through most of it, phrase by phrase in his customary manner. But the reader should slow down at the hymn in the second chapter, where Theophylact’s terse, almost combative style—naming heresiarchs one after another and answering each from the wording of the text—rewards patient attention. It helps to know, on first approach, that when Theophylact says a heretic “falls” on a given phrase, he means that the plain sense of Paul’s Greek, taken seriously, leaves that reading nowhere to stand. Read in that spirit, the letter that begins as a prisoner’s thanks to a generous church becomes, at its center, one of the clearest expositions in the whole New Testament of who Christ is and what it cost him to become what we are.

Note on This Edition

This commentary is translated directly from the Greek text of Migne’s Patrologia Graeca, volume 124, where Theophylact’s exposition of Philippians is preserved among his commentaries on the Pauline Epistles. Scripture quoted within the commentary follows Theophylact’s own wording, which reflects the Byzantine text he knew, rather than any modern translation. The Greek terms he plays on in the original—most notably the verb rendered “emptied”, from which the theological term kenosis derives—are noted where the argument of the text depends on them.

Chapter 1

Argument of the Epistle to the Philippians. The Philippians are from one of the cities of Macedonia, Philippi, so called from its founder, and at that time they were reckoned under Thessalonica as their metropolis. Paul bears witness to many good things in them. He wrote the Epistle while in bonds; for after the first defense, which he mentioned in the Epistle to Timothy, he was bound again. The Philippians had sent him through Epaphroditus the things needful for his use, and at the same time wished to learn how it was with him. And since it was likely that they would be troubled on hearing that their teacher had been bound, he writes to them about this very thing, teaching them that the bonds ought not to trouble them, but to procure joy, because they were for Christ’s sake. He counsels them also concerning concord and humility. He reproves likewise the Jews, who under the pretext of Christianity were corrupting the doctrine, and he calls them dogs and evil workers. And he discourses with them at length concerning morals. He makes mention also, with discretion, of the needful things that had been sent. And he is seen to discourse with them with honor; for they showed forth much virtue and aptness toward the faith. Here was the seller of purple; here the ruler of the synagogue believed; here Paul, having been scourged together with Silas, was shut up in prison; here the jailer, from a single sign, came to Christ with his whole household; here the magistrates feared Paul and besought him to depart; and in a word, the preaching had a splendid beginning—and these things we learn from the Acts. Paul bears witness on their behalf not only to a right faith and to dangers, but also to a disposition ready to give. On account of all which he is seen to love them exceedingly and to honor them.

Phil. 1:1. Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ. Here the Apostle does not set down his dignity, [namely] that he is an apostle, but writes himself first as a servant of Jesus Christ—a great thing this too, yet more common. But in writing to Timothy and to the Corinthians, he calls himself an apostle. Why so? Because there he was about to give many directions, and for this reason he took up the dignity of apostle; but here he commands nothing of the sort, but honors them as equals in honor.

Phil. 1:1. To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi. Since the Jews also called themselves holy, as a holy people, for this reason he added: In Christ Jesus. For those who are in Christ Jesus are truly holy, whereas those others are profane.

Phil. 1:1. With the bishops and deacons. By “bishops” he meant the presbyters; for surely there were not many bishops in one city. For the names were not yet distinguished, but even the bishops were called deacons and presbyters. For he says to Timothy, who was a bishop, Fulfill your ministry; and again, Which was given to you with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery; that is, of the bishops; for presbyters did not ordain the bishop. And conversely, the presbyters were called bishops, as themselves also clearly overseeing the people, so as to cleanse and enlighten those who have need. But for what reason does he now write to the clergy, which he did nowhere else? Because they had sent Epaphroditus, bringing the things needful to the Apostle.

Phil. 1:2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He sets before them the customary greeting, praying for them that they may be filled with grace, and that they may not, being lifted up against one another, fall away from peace and concord. For spiritual gifts, to those who are not heedful, procure conceit.

Phil. 1:3–4. I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you, always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all. As often as I call you to remembrance, he says (and this I do always), I glorify God, that you have advanced so far in virtue. Yet not because you are thus of good repute in divine things do I cease to entreat; but I entreat on behalf of all, that you may yet be made to prosper still more.

Phil. 1:4. Making my supplication with joy. For it is possible to remember with grief also, as when he says elsewhere, For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you. So that to remember with joy is a sign of their virtue.

Phil. 1:5. Because of your partnership in the gospel, from the first day up to now. He bears them here a great testimony, and one truly apostolic: that, he says, you became both partners with me and sharers in the labors for the Gospel—not for one season, nor for a second, but from the time you believed until now. And how do you have fellowship? By sending me the things needful [in my need] and by caring for me. For he who works together with one engaged in some good thing, and helps him in every way, becomes a sharer with him in the work. So too with the martyrs, those who tend them; and with the ascetics, those who furnish them with freedom from all distraction; and with the teachers, those who keep them undistracted—these become partners in the crowns.

Phil. 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. I give thanks, he says, and I rejoice, taking courage that God, who began to work the good works in you, will himself also fulfill them; for from the things past I make my conjecture concerning the things to come. And see how he teaches them to be modest-minded, ascribing all things to God, and not to themselves alone. Yet not even thus did he deprive them of praises; for he said, He who began in you—that is, Through your choosing; for unless the choosing of the man were present, neither would God work. Since, if he simply worked, nothing would hinder both Greeks and all men from being so worked upon. So that in this too he praises them not a little, as having drawn down the grace of God to work together with them; and that their good deeds are so great as not to be wrought by human power, but by God. And at the same time he encourages them not to grow slack; for if God is going to bring it to completion, neither will the toil be great.

Phil. 1:6. Up to the day of Jesus Christ. That is, until the coming of the Lord. Thus, he says, I am confident, that God will work not in you alone, but also in those who come from you, until the consummation of the world. Or understand the end of each man as the day of Jesus Christ—that is, his consummation.

Phil. 1:7. Just as it is right for me to think this concerning you all, because I have you in my heart, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel. I am confident, he says, that you will be such until the end, and I think this concerning you, because I have you always in my heart, and I know your good deeds, and that you are eager, even when absent, to become fellow-partakers with me of the grace of the Gospel and of the bonds. So that it is right for me to make such conjectures concerning you, and from the beginnings to infer the end also. And how great a praise it is to be in the heart of Paul, who has this not simply, but with discernment, and who loves those who are worthy! But not even when, he says, I was making my defense before Nero did you fall away from my remembrance. And he calls the bonds and the afflictions a confirmation of the Gospel. And these same things you might call also a defense. For it is evident that, unless he had been persuaded that the recompenses are unspeakable, and the good things unutterable, he would not have been bound; he would not have collided with the beast-like Nero, had he not foreseen another and more abiding King. So that the afflictions are a confirmation of the Gospel.

Phil. 1:7. You all being fellow-partakers with me of the grace. He shows here that he does not love them indiscriminately. For this reason, he says, I have you in my heart, because you are fellow-partakers with me of this grace—that is, of the afflictions and the bonds; and you are eager not to be left behind us in the afflictions, but to share in the temptations for the Gospel’s sake. And that the bonds are a grace is plain: My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. Or rather, as he says further on, that To you it was granted to suffer for Christ. And see how he did not say, Partakers, but, Fellow-partakers, showing that he himself too is a partaker with others, as he says elsewhere, That I might become a fellow-partaker of the Gospel; that is, That I may share in the good things laid up for those who proclaim the Gospel.

Phil. 1:8. For God is my witness, how I long after you all in the tender affection of Jesus Christ. Not as one disbelieved does he call God to witness, but, not being able to set forth his great affection through speech, he leaves this to God, who searches the hearts. And this is a proof of his speaking truly. For he would not, if he were flattering them, have called God to witness. And he said, In the bowels of Jesus Christ; that is, Not for any human reason, nor because you sent me the things needful, but in the love that is according to God. Or, Because having become your father through the faith that is in Christ, I have tender affections toward you—not natural ones, but such as Christ bestows upon his genuine servants, upon those who beget for him the children of the Gospel. And I long after you all, since you all are also such.

Phil. 1:9. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more. Although he is so loved, nevertheless he wishes to be loved yet more. For the measure of love is never to stand still. And see how he used more intensive expressions, saying, Yet, and, More, and, May abound. And he says these things, not only that they may love him, but the others also.

Phil. 1:9. In knowledge and in all discernment. That is, That you may not love all simply, but with testing, and knowledge, and judgment. For there are many who love without reason; whence such friendships are in no way lasting. Or, That you may not love heretics.

Phil. 1:10. That you may approve the things that are excellent. That is, the things that are profitable. For if you love with testing and judgment, you are able to approve what is profitable, and to recognize whom one ought to love, namely the faithful; and whom not, namely the unfaithful. How then does he say elsewhere, Be at peace with all men? First, he did not say it simply, but he added a qualification: If possible, be at peace with all. Then, to be at peace is one thing, and to love is another. For the one is not to fight; but to love demands a disposition of soul, and a kind of blending, and a likeness of character—which one ought not to display toward heretics. For if your eye causes you to stumble, cut it out.

Phil. 1:10. That you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ. I say these things not for my own profit, but that you may not, under the pretext of love, receive any spurious doctrine. And he said, Sincere, as toward God; without offense, as toward men. For even if friendship with the heretic does not harm you, yet it causes another to stumble. So how shall you be found sincere in the day of Christ, while you cause your brethren to stumble?

Phil. 1:11. Filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. That is, That together with rightness of doctrines you may also have a manner of life beyond reproach. For by “righteousness” he means all virtue, or, more particularly, almsgiving. And not that you should work virtue or almsgiving imperfectly, but that you may be filled. And since the Greeks too seemed to lay claim to virtue and almsgiving, he added: Which are through Jesus Christ; for their works were not according to Christ, but for vainglory and the pleasing of men. And to the glory of God—that is, Not to mine who teach these things. So that you must not be a hindrance to the glory of God. And at the same time he encourages them, as though God would work together with them in the work that is to his glory.

Phil. 1:12. But I wish you to know, brethren, that the things concerning me have turned out rather to the advancement of the Gospel. It was likely that they, on learning that he was bound, would be troubled, as though the preaching were being hindered. Removing, then, this suspicion, he says, that My bonds not only did not hinder the Gospel, but rather turned out to its advancement.

Phil. 1:13. So that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole praetorium, and to all the rest. That is, So that even being bound I spoke the more boldly, and did not keep silence, but the preaching of the word reached even to the praetorium itself—that is, the palace—and throughout the whole city. And this came to pass in Christ; that is, Not my own achievement, but Christ’s. Or, My bonds that are in Christ—that is, those that are for Christ’s sake.

Phil. 1:14. And that the more part of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Even before they spoke boldly, but now more so; from seeing me speaking the more boldly, and that while bound. For since they saw me bound, they too were strengthened to zeal. And since it seemed a great thing to say, that I encouraged them, he said, “In the Lord.” If, then, those who are near my bonds are not disturbed, but rather receive the greater courage, much more ought you.

Phil. 1:15. Some indeed even from envy and strife, but some from good pleasure, preach Christ. Since Paul had been arrested, many of the unbelievers themselves also preached Christ, wishing to kindle Nero to greater wrath, so that he might destroy Paul the sooner, on the ground that the preaching was being sown everywhere through him. This, then, is the meaning of, From envy and strife. Or, that, Wishing to be themselves also honored, and to draw away something of my glory. But others, From good pleasure, he says—that is, without hypocrisy, and with an upright mind.

Phil. 1:16. The one sort proclaim Christ from contention, not purely.[1] That is, not sincerely, nor for the sake of the good itself.

Phil. 1:16. Thinking to add affliction to my bonds. Supposing, he says, thus to cast me into greater danger, and to bring affliction upon affliction; but their contrivance does not turn out so for them. For from this the preaching becomes more splendid, and my joy on this account the greater. Do you see that it is possible to do a good work, yet not from a good choosing, and not only not to receive a reward, but even to be punished?

Phil. 1:17. But the others from love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the Gospel. That is, But the others, from the love that is both toward the Lord and toward me, preach, knowing that I am about to make speeches on behalf of the preaching, and for this reason they help me in the work. For if there are many who come over to my preaching, my defense will be easy for me. To this, then, those men work together, catechizing many.

Phil. 1:18. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. For what need is there, he says, to say much? Or what concern is it to me, he says, whether thus or not—whether in pretense, that is, in contention and hypocrisy, or in truth, that is, in uprightness of mind, Christ is proclaimed? From these words certain senseless men have supposed that Paul gave free entrance to the heresies. For only let one, they say, proclaim Christ, and it makes no difference. But consider: first, he did not say, Let him proclaim, that he might seem also to be laying down a law; but, Is proclaimed, recounting what was taking place. Then, even if he had spoken as one laying down a law, not even thus did he give free entrance to the heresies. How? Because these men of whom he speaks did not introduce spurious doctrines, but preached right things, yet not rightly, nor with an upright aim; whereas the heretics, in the first place, preach things not right, but perverse and spurious, together with having their aim also perverse.

Phil. 1:18. And in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice. Those men do these things in order to grieve me; but I rejoice that Christ is the more preached; and if they still do this, I will rejoice the more. Do you see how the devices of the devil overthrow that very one who devises them?

Phil. 1:19. For I know that this will turn out for me to salvation. — This. What kind of thing? The increasing of the preaching through the enmity and the zeal against me.

Phil. 1:19. Through your supplication and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. See the humility of the blessed one: having salvation owed to him from countless good deeds, nevertheless he says, that If I be counted worthy of your prayers, and through them there be supplied to me the more of the Spirit, from this my salvation will come. And by “supply” he means the greater bestowal of the grace of the Spirit.

Phil. 1:20. According to my earnest expectation and hope. By “earnest expectation” he means the firm and unchangeable hope, from the figure of turning the whole head and inclining it toward what is firmly hoped for. He says, then, that I hope with assurance to be saved. And you may understand by “salvation” also the deliverance from the cruelty of Nero. For just as, he says, I escaped the first [danger], so also shall I escape the present one. And he teaches here not to entrust the whole matter to the prayers of others, but that we ourselves also should contribute, just as he himself contributes hope, the cause of all good things. For the prophet also says, Let your mercy be even as we have hoped;[2] and in another place, Who has hoped in the Lord and been put to shame? and Paul himself, Hope does not put to shame.

Phil. 1:20. That in nothing shall I be put to shame. That is, Neither in living—for I preach; nor in dying—for my enemies will not prevail. For even if they kill me, then all the more is the glory mine that cannot be put to shame; yet not even this will they accomplish.

Phil. 1:20. But in all boldness Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death. Those men, he says, through their own guile thought to cast me into dangers and death; but their endeavor will not succeed, But in all boldness, that is, openly and without contradiction, Christ shall be magnified in my body; that is, While I live, and carry about this body—for I shall not die. But that no one may say, What then? If you die, shall he not be magnified?—he adds, that Even through my death he shall be magnified, because he has made me stronger than death also; only for now, through life, since this he has granted me by delivering me from the dangers. And he speaks concerning death, not as one about to die at once, but that, even if it should come to pass, they may not be troubled; for they clung to him exceedingly.

Phil. 1:21. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. That is, I live a certain new life, and Christ is all things to me—both breath, and life, and light. For the name of “life” signifies both the natural life (For in him, he says, we live and move); and it signifies also the life of sin, as when he says, We who died to sin, how shall we still live in it? and it signifies also the eternal life, that is, the life according to Christ, as, Our citizenship is in heaven. Here, then, Paul does not deny the natural life, but the life in sin, the life that cleaves to worldly deception. And he confesses Christ to be life [in] himself; as indeed he says elsewhere, I live by faith in the Son of God. — And to die is gain, because, he says, then I shall be with him more clearly. So that those who hasten to cast me out of the life in the world procure gain for me, sending me on to Christ, who is my life.

Phil. 1:22. But if to live in the flesh, this is for me the fruit of labor, then what I shall choose I do not make known. That you may not think that he is disparaging the present life, he says: But if to live in the flesh, this is for me the fruit of labor; that is, I said indeed that to die is gain for me, yet since to live in the flesh also is not fruitless for me (for I bear fruit, teaching and enlightening all), I do not know what I shall choose. And here the mouths of the heretics who disparage the present life are stopped; for it is not evil, if indeed it gives us fruits. So that this is not the cause, but the choosing of those who use it badly. And revealing a certain mystery, he shows himself to be lord of living and of dying. For if I should wish, he says, to ask God, he will grant the favor; so that from this too you ought to be comforted, that even if I die, this comes to pass not through the wickedness of the enemies, but by the dispensation of God.

Phil. 1:23–24. But I am hard pressed from the two, having the desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better; yet to remain in the flesh is more needful for your sake. These things he says, preparing them beforehand to bear nobly his coming death. For why, he says, do you grieve over death? This I desire, [of old, and again,] and this is better for me; for it grants me to be with Christ. So that you ought not to grieve. Yet again, to remain in the flesh is more needful for your benefit; for I do not seek my own, but yours. Being hard pressed, then, from these two—that is, being straitened, and not knowing which I should prefer—nevertheless I judge it more needful that I should live to benefit you. Is there, then, anything of equal worth with the soul of Paul? Who judged even the benefit of others more choiceworthy and more to be preferred than to be with Christ, that he might be made more intimate with Christ by postponing his life with Christ.

Phil. 1:25. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all, for your advancement and joy of faith. Since, he says, it is needful to remain in the flesh, confidently and without doubting I know that I shall remain; that is, I shall live; and not simply, but, With you; which is, I shall see you. For what reason? That you may advance in the faith—that is, that you may be established and made firm both in doctrine and in life; which advancement is a true joy both for you and for me. And here he also puts them in fear, as though saying: See, for your sake I was deprived of being with Christ; do not make void my remaining in the flesh. What then? Did he remain for the Philippians alone? Not for these alone, but in tending them he says this, and exhorting them to greater watchfulness.

Phil. 1:26. That your glorying may abound in Christ Jesus in me, through my presence again with you. Since above he said, that For your advancement I shall remain, he shows that he himself too gains something from this—namely, to glory the more over them, as they advance through his presence with them. What then? Did he come to them? This is uncertain and is a matter of inquiry.

Phil. 1:27. Only conduct yourselves worthily of the Gospel of Christ. Only this I seek from you, that you may advance toward virtue. And he conducts himself worthily of the Gospel who has denied himself, and taken up his cross, and followed Christ.

Phil. 1:27. That, whether coming and seeing you, or being absent, I may hear the things concerning you. Not as having changed his mind, nor as one who will no longer come, does he say these things; but, Even if perchance I do not come, he says, I am able even when absent to rejoice in your conduct according to the Gospel. So do not slacken, even if I do not arrive, but, as one who will learn the things concerning you, be watchful.

Phil. 1:27. That you stand fast in one spirit, with one soul. That is, in the same gift, that of concord; for thus also some stand in one soul, being of one mind and of one soul, clearly when they have also one spirit.

Phil. 1:27. Striving together for the faith of the Gospel. That is, taking up one another together in the contest for the faith.

Phil. 1:28. And in nothing terrified by the adversaries. I do not say, he says, not falling down, but, not even terrified—that is, not troubled in anything, even if they threaten dangers, even if they bring deaths; for they accomplish nothing, but only terrify; so weak are they.

Phil. 1:28. Which is for them an evidence of perdition, but for you of salvation. For when they see that, contriving ten thousand things, they are not able even to terrify you, will they not have this as a plain proof, that their things will perish, but that yours are strong, and unconquerable, and have salvation from themselves?

Phil. 1:28. And this from God. For to you it was granted, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. Paul, in naming the suffering on behalf of Christ a gift of grace, accomplishes [these] two things here: one, that they may not be ashamed, nor fall down while suffering; the other, that they may not be lifted up. For the whole, he says, is of God. For indeed he calls the virtues also gifts of grace; not that he may take away free will, but that he may render them modest-minded. For neither can we do anything without God. And perhaps this gift is even greater than raising the dead. For there I am a debtor; but here I have Christ as my debtor. O wonder! He both bestows a favor on me, and for this very thing is in my debt.

Phil. 1:30. Having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me. He shows that they contend in the same things as he, and strive in the same things—which bears witness to their great virtue. And you have, he says, me for an example; for you both saw me contending among you, when, that is, I was scourged and imprisoned; and now you hear of it also.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact, following the Byzantine text, takes verse 16 as those who preach “from contention” and verse 17 (in the next section) as those who preach “from love”—the reverse of the order in modern critical editions, where verse 16 has the preachers of love.

[2] Psalm 33:22 (LXX Ps 32:22).

Chapter 2

Phil. 2:1–2. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassions, fulfill my joy, that you be of the same mind. What he says is of this kind: If you wish to give me any consolation in my temptations; if any comfort, such as love begets; if you mean to show that you have some fellowship with me in spiritual things and according to the Lord; if you have compassion and pity me for what I suffer—render all this to me in this one thing: in loving one another. And observe how he sets down their being of one mind as a kindness done to himself, and as though he himself were being counted worthy of mercy. He did not say, Make me joy, but, [Joy] fulfill. You have begun, he says, the joy that is in me, and you have already given me a share of peace; I long now that this should come also to its completion. And what is this joy of mine? Not that I should be delivered from dangers, or receive anything from you, but that you should be of the same mind.

Phil. 2:2. Having the same love. This is greater than to be of the same mind. Have [then] the same love. Let not the one who is loved beyond measure love but feebly in return, but in equal measure.

Phil. 2:2. Being of one soul, minding the one thing. As one soul—not in essence, but in [one] mind and in concord; which he makes plain by saying, Minding the one thing.

Phil. 2:3. Nothing according to faction, or vainglory. Doing nothing, he says, according to rivalry or strife; which is what we are accustomed to say: I must strive, lest so-and-so overcome me. This is faction. Then he brings in the mother of this, vainglory; for from this comes that. For when we are in love with the glory of men, what do we not do for its sake?

Phil. 2:3. But in humility counting one another as surpassing yourselves. Now he shows us the way by which we shall flee vainglory, and he states a doctrine that is a bulwark of our salvation. For if you suppose, he says, that so-and-so is not merely greater than you, but that he even surpasses you exceedingly, and out of much humility you persuade yourself that this is so, you will by all means honor him. And doing this, you will no longer be vexed when you see him honored by others as well; but even should he reproach you, even should he strike you, you will bear it lightly, for you have reckoned him greater than yourself. Nor will you envy him; for envy is toward equals, not toward those who surpass us. And again, let that man so suppose of you, as surpassing him, and there will be perfect calm.

Phil. 2:4. Let each one look not to his own things, but each one also to the things of the other. For when I seek what is profitable for you, and you in turn seek what is mine, there is here no room for vainglory, nor for strife, nor for any of the evils whatever, but a life angelic and divine.

Phil. 2:5. Hold the same attitude among yourselves that was also in Christ Jesus. Just as Christ said, Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful; and again, Learn from me, for I am gentle; so also Paul, teaching humility, brings Christ into the midst, putting us to shame out of an abundance of example, as he says also elsewhere, For our sake he became poor, being rich. For when he shows the Son of God, who is beyond all height, become as one in the lowest depths, whom among the high-minded will he not put to shame?

Phil. 2:6. Who, being in the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped to be equal with God. Count how many heretics fall by this passage. Marcion of Pontus used to say that the world and the flesh are evil, and that God did not take this flesh upon himself. Marcellus the Galatian, and Photinus, and Sophronius used to say that the Word of God is an energy, not a self-subsistent essence, and that this energy dwelt in the man who was of the seed of David. And Paul of Samosata used to say that he had the beginning of his being from Mary. And Sabellius the Libyan used to say that Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit are bare names applied to one person. Arius used to say that the Son is a creature. Apollinaris of Laodicea asserted that he did not take a rational soul. See, then, how they all fall by nearly one sword: Being in the form of God. How then do you who follow Marcellus say that the Word is an energy, and not an essence? For the form of God is called the essence, just as the form of a servant is the nature of the servant. And how do you, Samosatene, say that he began from Mary? For he existed beforehand in the form and essence of God. But see Sabellius too falling: He counted it not, he says, a thing to be grasped to be equal with God. But “equal” is not said of one person; for the equal is equal to something; so that two persons appear from this. And Arius is overthrown by yet more. For “in the form of God” means, in essence; and he did not say, Having become, but, Being—like to that saying, I am the One who is. And, He counted it not a thing to be grasped to be equal with God. Do you see the equality? How then do you say that the Father is greater, and the Son lesser? But observe their senseless objection. The Son, they say, being a little God, did not seize equality with the great God. First, then, what Scripture teaches us a little God and a great God? For these are notions of the Greeks. But that the Son too is a great God, hear Paul: The appearing, he says, of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Next, if he were little, how could he have seized becoming great? Besides this, Paul, being about to teach humility, would have been absurd to exhort in this way: Since the little God did not rise up against the great God, you also ought to humble yourselves to one another. For what kind of humility is it not to rise up against one’s greater? This is mere powerlessness. But for one who is equal and of equal power with God to become man willingly—this is humility. So much, then, suffices on this. For the rest, see what he says: He counted it not a thing to be grasped to be equal with God. When someone seizes a thing, he is afraid to lay it aside, lest he lose it, as not being his own; but when he has something natural to him, he readily makes light of it, knowing that he holds it inalienably, and even if he should seem to lay it aside, he will take it up again. He says, then, that the Son of God was not afraid to step down from his own dignity, because he did not hold this by seizure—I mean, this being equal to God and Father—but knew it to be his own natural dignity. Therefore he also chose to be humbled, as one who even in his humiliation preserved his height.[1]

Phil. 2:7. But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. Where are those who say that he came down unwillingly and in fulfillment of a command? Let them hear that he emptied himself, as Lord, as having authority over himself. And in saying “the form of a servant,” he puts Apollinaris to shame. For he who took the form, that is, the nature of the servant, has assuredly also a rational soul.[2]

Phil. 2:7. Being made in the likeness of men. Here the Marcionists say that he was made flesh only in appearance. For you see, they say, how Paul says that he took [not] the likeness of a man, and was fashioned in form, not that he became man in essence. What then is the meaning? The Lord did not have all that is ours, but there were also some things he did not have; for instance, to be born [not] of intercourse, to commit [no] sin. And he was not the visible thing only, but also God; he was not a mere man. For this reason he says, In the likeness of men. For we are soul and body; but he is soul and body, and God. Since also when he says, In the likeness of sinful flesh, he does not mean this, that he did not have flesh, but that that flesh did not sin, but was like the sinful according to nature, not according to wickedness. As, therefore, there the “like” is used because all things were not equal, so also here the “likeness” is used because he was not born of intercourse, because he was without sin, because he was not a mere man.[3]

Phil. 2:7–8. And being found in fashion as a man. Since he had said, He emptied himself, lest you should think the matter a change and a transformation, he says: Remaining what he was, he took what he was not. The nature was not transformed, but he came to be in a fashion, that is, in flesh; for to be fashioned in form belongs to flesh. For since he had said, He took the form of a servant, he was then emboldened to say this also, that saying serving to silence the heretics. And well did he say, As a man. For he was not one of the many, but as one of the many; for God the Word did not pass over into a man, but appeared as a man; and being without fashion, he came under fashion. But some have interpreted it thus: And being found in fashion truly as a man indeed, as John also says, Glory as of the only-begotten from the Father; instead of, such as it befits the Only-begotten to have. For the word “as” signifies both doubt and confirmation.

Phil. 2:8. He humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Again, “He humbled himself,” lest he be thought to have condescended unwillingly. But, say the Arians, behold, he is called obedient. And what of this, O senseless men? We obey friends also, and this in no way makes us inferior. As a Son he obeyed the Father willingly, and in this very thing showing his genuineness; for it belongs to a genuine son to honor his father. And observe the intensifications: He became a servant, but he also received death; and what is yet greater than this, a death of reproach. For “the death of the cross”—that is, the accursed death, the one set apart for the lawless.

Phil. 2:9. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave him a name, the name above every name. Whenever Paul takes hold of the flesh, he utters all lowly things without fear, as though the flesh received these things. So then receive these things concerning the flesh, nowhere dividing the one Christ. And what is the name given to the human nature of the one Christ? “Son,” “God.” For the man too is Son of God, as the angel also said: And the holy thing that is born shall be called the Son of God.

Phil. 2:10. So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend—in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. That is, the whole world—both angels, and men, and demons; or that both the righteous and the sinners. For the demons too will recognize him, and unwillingly will be made to bow, no longer fighting against the truth, they who even before that time were saying, We know you, who you are.

Phil. 2:11. And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father. That is, that all should say this, that Jesus Christ the Lord is Lord and God. And this is the glory of the Father, that he has such a Son, to whom all things bow. Do you see that the proclamation of the Only-begotten is the glory of the Father? So that, conversely, the lessening of him is a dishonor of the Father.

Phil. 2:12. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed. Exhortations must be made together with praises; for thus they become readily acceptable. Therefore he too praises them, calling them beloved, and saying, As you have always obeyed; saying this: I have shown you that the Son of God became obedient; imitate him, then, and imitate also yourselves.

Phil. 2:12. Not only as when I am present, but now much more while I am absent. For then perhaps you seemed to do all things out of reverence toward me; but now, if you press on toward virtue, you will show that it is not for my sake, but for the sake of God.

Phil. 2:12. With fear and trembling, work out your own salvation. Not for my own sake, he says, do I exhort you, but that you may do the things that pertain to your salvation with fear, and that an intense fear, and with trembling. For without fear nothing good is accomplished, neither in the rational arts nor in the mechanical ones. And how shall fear be brought about? If we consider that God is everywhere present, and hears all things, and sees all things—not the things done only, but also the things thought. For serve the Lord, he says, with fear, and rejoice in him with trembling. For there is a rejoicing with trembling, when one doing the good, and that with trembling, has a conscience of good boldness. And he said, “Work out,” not, “Work”; that is, with much eagerness and diligence.

Phil. 2:13. For it is God who works in you both to will and to work. Since he had said, With fear and trembling, now he says: Do not be terrified on this account. For I did not say this that you should despair, but that you should give heed. For if you give heed, God will work all things. For it is he who both gives us readiness, so that we will the good, and who brings its accomplishment to completion. For God works in us the willing; that is, he works together with us toward willing the good things, and increases our good will, and kindles it together so that it becomes more fervent. And in another sense: since he himself sets the end, and we men direct our will toward those things which we see being brought to completion, for this reason he says that the willing too is worked by God. For instance: Did you will something? You began to do it. If the end follows, you will this work more; but if not, your willing grows numb. Since, then, the end is with God, who also kindles our willing together, reasonably he says that this too is with God. Or also, out of much gratitude Paul says that even the willing itself is worked in us from God; just as he also calls right deeds “graces”—not abolishing free will, but wishing us ever to give thanks, and to attribute all things to God. And observe the wording too: “In you,” he said—you who work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for in such persons God works all things.

Phil. 2:13. For his good pleasure. That is, for the fulfilling in you of his good pleasure and his good will, that we may live as he wills. So that from this too take courage; for God will by all means work together with you toward living rightly, if for no other reason, then at least because he himself approves it.

Phil. 2:14. And do everything without grumbling or arguing. The devil, whenever he cannot once for all hinder someone from the good, either suggests pride to him, or vainglory; or, if not these, grumbling, or doubt and unbelief. Since, then, they were in continual temptations and dangers, and from these many are flung headlong into grumbling and blasphemies, Without grumbling, he says, do everything. For he who grumbles is ungrateful and ill-speaking. And by “arguing” he means scrutiny and doubt. For instance: when, a commandment being set before one, he says, Now, if I do this, shall I have a reward? Is it good? For one must not doubt in such things, but do them with confidence; and even if there be toil, even if there be weariness, dispute nothing.

Phil. 2:15. That you may become blameless and harmless. That is, irreproachable and unspotted; for murmuring is no small stain. He did not say, as in the Epistle to the Corinthians, that punishment is laid up for murmuring, because he is speaking to these as to free men. For hear also what follows.

Phil. 2:15. Children of God without blemish. So that to murmur belongs to servants and the ungrateful. For what son, [toiling] in his father’s affairs and laboring for himself, murmurs?

Phil. 2:15. In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. I know, he says, that many are those who war against you and force you into murmuring; but this is most praiseworthy, when one, even though provoked, suffers nothing of the kind.

Phil. 2:15–16. Among whom you shine as luminaries in the world, holding forth the word of life. Just as the luminaries shine in darkness, so also you, being upright in the midst of the crooked, be diligent rather to shine forth. For “you shine” seems to me to be imperative. And “holding the word of life,” that is, Having a seed of life in your very selves, and being about to live, and having already from here received the pledge of salvation. Or, that just as the luminaries both give light and revive bodies by their warmth, so also you, hasten to be a life-giving power to other men.

Phil. 2:16. For a boast to me in the day of Christ. Let your virtue be so great, he says, as not only to lead you into life, but also to make me more radiant at the coming of Christ.

Phil. 2:16. That I have not run in vain, nor labored in vain. This is my boast, that I have so educated you, and that my labor over you has not been in vain.

Phil. 2:17. But even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and rejoice together with you all. Even if I am brought to my end, he says; for he calls his end a libation. And “I am poured out upon the sacrifice and service of your faith”—that is, Having first sacrificed you, and offered [you] as a service, and made you faithful; nevertheless I am not grieved as one about to die, but I both rejoice and rejoice together with you all. I rejoice, then, that I am made a libation; and I rejoice together with you, that I offer your faith as a sacrifice to Christ.

Phil. 2:18. And do you also rejoice in the same. Because you too were offered.

Phil. 2:18. And rejoice together with me. Because, being about to be poured out, I rejoice over it.

Phil. 2:19. But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be of good cheer, when I know the things concerning you. As all things, so also Timothy’s mission he attributes to Christ. For I am confident, he says, that he will make this easy, so that, just as you are of good cheer, having learned through this my Epistle the things concerning me—that the Gospel has gone forward to progress, and that the affairs of my enemies have turned out to the contrary—so I too may be of good cheer and comforted, when I learn the things concerning you, exactly reported to me by Timothy.

Phil. 2:20. For I have no one of equal soul, who will genuinely care for the things concerning you. I could, he says, have sent another also, but no one is so of one soul with me as this man; that is, caring for your interests as I do, who will genuinely, that is, in fatherly fashion, care for the things concerning you. And observe his solicitude: when he himself had no opportunity to come, he sent others, that the disciples might at no time be slothful.

Phil. 2:21. For all seek their own things, not the things of Christ Jesus. That is, their own ease, and to be in safety; for no one would easily choose to undertake so great a journey. And he says these things both praising Timothy, and instructing his hearers also not to seek relaxation. For he who seeks this does not seek the things of Christ. Alas, how far we are from Christ!

Phil. 2:22. But you know the proof of him, that as a child with a father, he served with me to the Gospel. You, he says, are witnesses that he served as a child with a father, not for bodily ministry only, but in what is far greater, in the preaching. So that, whether as my son, he is worthy of honor; or as a minister of God, much more so. And by these things he commends Timothy to them, not so much doing a favor to him as to themselves. For if they give heed to him as one of account, they themselves will by all means be profited through his word, and will have a greater reward.

Phil. 2:23. Him therefore I hope to send, as soon as I see how it will go with me, immediately. When I see what end my affairs will have, “immediately,” that is, at once, I will send him.

Phil. 2:24. But I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall come to you shortly. Not as having altogether renounced my coming to you do I send Timothy for this reason, but that, as I said, in the meantime I may be of good cheer, having learned the things concerning you. And observe how he makes even his coming to them depend upon God, saying, “I trust in the Lord”; that is, if God wills.

Phil. 2:25. But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier. With praises he sends this man too, as he did Timothy, for the same reason which we mentioned above. And greater than the fellow worker is the fellow soldier. For one works together also in matters free of danger; but the fellow soldier shares in dangers above all.

Phil. 2:25. But your apostle and minister to my need, to send to you. That is, The one sent to me from you I give back to you as a favor; for through him you had dispatched to me the things for my need. Or, “your apostle,” that is, your teacher, he says.

Phil. 2:26. Since he was longing after you all, and was in distress because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick, nearly to death. Knowing, he says, that you love him, and that you were grieved over his illness, he longs to see you, that he may free you from the grief which you have over his sickness. And he establishes something else here too. He makes an apology to them as to why he sends him after so long a time, all but saying: This did not happen out of negligence, but Timothy I keep with me as one of equal soul; and Epaphroditus fell sick, and for this reason did not come before the time, since his illness was long; for it was near to death.

Phil. 2:27. But God had mercy on him. What do you say, O Manichaean? If the world and the life in it are evil, how does the Apostle now call it a mercy of God, that Epaphroditus was delivered to remain in life? But with the heretics there is no argument on this point; yet Christians too might inquire: If it is good to depart and to be with Christ, for what reason does he call the life here a mercy of God? Either, then, because Epaphroditus, being a teacher, was likely, by living on, to bring more souls to God (which is more necessary than to depart, as was said above); or because Paul utters many things also according to the common custom of his hearers, just as he does not everywhere philosophize. For his word was addressed to worldly men, who still feared death. And besides, the present life is itself good in its own right; since why else does he place untimely deaths in the rank of a punishment? For this cause, he says, many are weak among you, and a good number sleep. For the life to come is not better than an evil thing (since it is not good), but is more excellent than a good one.

Phil. 2:27. Not him alone, but me as well. Do you see how from this too he makes Epaphroditus worthy of reverence? Seeing that he sets down that man’s recovery from illness as a personal kindness and mercy from God.

Phil. 2:27. So that I might not have grief added to grief. That is, Lest, together with the sorrow that had come upon me from his illness, I should have another sorrow also, that from his dying.

Phil. 2:28. I sent him therefore the more eagerly, that, seeing him, you may rejoice. That is, Without delay I sent him, that you may be freed from your distress over him by seeing him, or rather may rejoice.

Phil. 2:28. So that I too may be the less sorrowful. How “the less sorrowful”? Because if you rejoice, I too rejoice. And he did not say, Free from sorrow, but, Less sorrowful, showing that his soul was never outside of sorrow. For who, he says, is weak, and I am not weak?

Phil. 2:29. So welcome him in the Lord with complete joy. That is, with a reception that is according to God, as God receives, or rather worthily of the saints. And these things Paul does for the sake of the Philippians themselves; for the gain is greater for the one who does good than for the one who receives the good.

Phil. 2:29. And hold such ones in honor. Lest he should seem to favor him alone, he exhorts in common that all who display the same virtue be honored.

Phil. 2:30. Because for the work of Christ he came near to death, hazarding his life. The Philippians sent Epaphroditus to Paul, conveying to him the things for his need. He found Paul, then, in dangers at Rome, when it was perilous for anyone to approach him, since the emperor was ill-disposed toward him. At that time, then, this man, despising every danger, ministered to Paul. This, therefore, he now says. And observe: he did not say, For my sake, but, For the work of God he hazarded himself, that is, he threw himself upon death. For what if he did not die, God having so ordered it? Yet he at least showed his resolve. We too, then, whenever we see saints in dangers, let us hazard ourselves; for this is security—to be daring of danger in such matters.

Phil. 2:30. That he might fill up what was lacking in your service toward me. You, he says, were not present at Rome to minister to me bodily as well, even though you sent the things for my need. This, then, in which you fell short—the service through hand and body—he himself filled up, ministering to me in place of you all. So that he would justly enjoy much goodwill among you, as having brought in by himself alone the contribution of you all. And observe how he calls the matter a “service” and a “lack,” that he may show that it is an obligation and a debt for those who are at ease to help those in danger, and that he who does not do this falls short, like one who does not discharge the public liturgies. Lest, then, supposing that they had done some great thing, they should become high-minded and lose their reward, he named it thus, disposing them to be modest, as having paid a debt.

[1] Translator’s note: The play turns on ἁρπαγμός (“a thing to be grasped/seized,” robbery): one clings anxiously to what is seized and not his own, but is free to lay down what is naturally his. The Son’s equality with the Father is no usurped thing he must clutch, but his own by nature; hence he could empty himself without losing it.

[2] Translator’s note: Greek ἐκένωσεν—“emptied”; from this verse the term “kenosis” for the Son’s self-emptying.

[3] Translator’s note: The bracketed negatives (“[not]”) are Migne’s editorial supplements to the Greek: in the Marcionite objection, that the Apostle says Christ did “[not]” take the likeness of a man; and in the reply, that the Lord did “[not]” have certain things proper to us—namely, to be born of intercourse and to commit sin.

Chapter 3

Phil. 3:1. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. Since they were in despondency, because they did not know how matters stood with Paul, how the preaching fared, and how it went with Epaphroditus in his sickness, and since he had resolved all these things by saying that the Gospel is making progress, and that I am coming, and that Epaphroditus has been sent,[1] he says: Finally, rejoice. For there is no longer any occasion for not rejoicing. The Galatians, then, he calls children, since they stood in need of correction; but these he calls brethren, since he converses with them in honor. And he spoke well in saying, In the Lord. For to rejoice after the world’s manner is not to rejoice; but in the Lord even afflictions hold joy. Or else: Since the Lord has made matters easier, rejoice.

Phil. 3:1. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is no trouble, but for you it is safe. After praising them at length, then he brings in the exhortation, lest from the outset he should seem burdensome.

Phil. 3:2. Beware of the dogs. For there were certain Jews who, feigning Christianity and ostensibly preaching the Gospel, mixed in also the things of Judaism. Since, then, they were hard to detect, for this reason he says: Beware, watch, take heed, lest they escape your notice. Now formerly the Gentiles were called dogs, but now the Jews are, as being reckless—shameless before the light of the truth, and barking against everyone.

Phil. 3:2. Beware of the evil workers. Here he deprives them even of the appellation of dogs. For many dogs, he says, are even kept at the table, and they guard the houses of their masters; but these men work indeed, yet to an evil end, and far worse than idleness, tearing up the things that were well planted.

Phil. 3:2. Beware of the concision. That is, those who have circumcision. Now great and honored was circumcision then among the Jews, seeing that even the Sabbath was dissolved on its account. Since, then, it has now become idle, it is nothing other than a concision. For since what is done is not lawful, they merely cut up the flesh. Or else, because they were attempting to cut the Church in two.

Phil. 3:3. For we are the circumcision, who serve God in spirit. If, he says, one must seek circumcision, you will find it among us who serve spiritually—that is, who serve through soul and mind. He who has been circumcised in soul, and through this serves God, he has the noble circumcision, by as much as the soul is also better than the body. And he did not say, For in us is the circumcision, but, We are it. For this is the true man: the virtuous circumcision. And again, he did not say, In them is the concision, but, They themselves are very destruction and wickedness.

Phil. 3:3. And glorying in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh. Which then is better: to glory in Christ, who circumcises our hearts and leads us up into the nobility of the sons of God through the washing; or to glory in the flesh—that is, to be high-minded over circumcision, as being sons of Abraham?

Phil. 3:4. Though I might have confidence even in the flesh. If, he says, I had come from among the Gentiles, one might say that for this reason I accuse circumcision, as being deprived of the nobility of Judaism; but now I too, he says, have this confidence and boasting which you speak of, that which rests upon the circumcision of the flesh. It is plain, then, that not as one deprived of your seeming nobility, but for the sake of the truth itself, do I condemn circumcision.

Phil. 3:4. If any other man thinks he has confidence in the flesh, I more. See his wisdom: he does not mention them by name, making his word inoffensive; but even in saying, If any other man thinks, he shows that others compelled him to come to these words. And well did he say, Thinks: either as of men not having so great confidence as he himself, or as of the confidence resting upon circumcision being not a true one, but only a seeming one.

Phil. 3:5. Circumcised the eighth day. That which they especially boasted of, the matter of circumcision, he set down first. And by saying, The eighth day, he made clear that he was not a proselyte.

Phil. 3:5. Of the stock of Israel. That is, not even of proselyte parents, but of Israelite ones as well.

Phil. 3:5. Of the tribe of Benjamin. That is, of the more approved portion. For the offices of the priests were, by lot, of this tribe.

Phil. 3:5. A Hebrew of the Hebrews. From of old, he says, I am of the esteemed Jews; for it was possible to be of the stock of Israel, yet not a Hebrew of the Hebrews. For many even corrupted the matter; and being themselves uninitiated in the very Hebrew tongue, because they were poured out among the Gentiles, they were not exact in the Scriptures. I, therefore, he says, am a Hebrew—that is, I preserve the character. Or else, through these things he shows his great nobility.

Phil. 3:5. In respect of the law, a Pharisee. Since the things he had mentioned before were not matters of choice—the being circumcised, the being of the stock of Israel, and the rest—now he speaks also of the achievements of his own free choice, and says: As touching the law, a Pharisee, that is, in the learning of the law. For the most esteemed sect among the Jews were the Pharisees.

Phil. 3:6. And as touching zeal, persecuting the Church. Since there were Pharisees also who were not exceedingly zealous, he says that I had zeal, and so great that I persecuted those of Christ.

Phil. 3:6. As touching the righteousness which is in the law, having become blameless. Since many are zealous both out of love of rule and for other causes, and not on behalf of the law, he says that, being blameless as touching the righteousness which is in the law, how could I have persecuted for any human cause, and not according to divine zeal?

Phil. 3:7–8. But what things were gain to me, those I have counted loss for Christ. More than that, indeed, I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord. Here the heretics who slander the law leap in, saying: Behold, he names the law a loss [and refuse]; how then was it given by God? First, then, let us give thanks that the Holy Spirit so ordered it that they should accept these words as being on their side. For if it had not been so, they would have blotted out these sayings, as they have many others. Next, give heed: he did not say simply that The law is a loss, but that I have counted it a loss; for by nature it is not a loss. For how could it be, since rightly understood it leads to Christ? But since I formerly, understanding it wrongly, did not come to Christ, and then later, having recognized the truth, I came to Christ, it seemed to me that the law became a loss for that time during which, understanding it wrongly, I did not come to Christ. For by its own nature the law is gain. And hear: he did not say, What things I counted gain, but, What things were gain. For truly the law is gain, delivering men from brutishness and from superstition, and becoming as it were a ladder, and leading us up to the life that is according to Christ. Just as, then, he who has gone up by a ladder does not spit upon the ladder, but is even grateful to it—for if it had not been, he would not have ascended—so also the law was gain, but now we count it loss, not because it is such, but because the grace is greater. For just as one who holds silver, when he finds gold and it is not possible to hold both, counts it a loss to hold the former, and so, letting it go, takes the gold; so also here the law is a loss when it leads away from Christ; but if it conducts us onward, it is so no longer. Not only, then, he says, did I formerly count the law a loss, but I count it so now also. Why? For the excellency of the grace. Do you see that he makes a comparison? And the comparison is of things of the same kind; and the excellency is an excellency over what is of the same kind. So that the law too is knowledge, but a lesser one; just as the lamp also is light, but not such as that of the sun, yet light nonetheless.

Phil. 3:8. For whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ. For Christ’s sake, he says, I suffered loss—that is, I counted all things loss; or, that I cast them away. Do you see that the law is not by nature a loss, but for Christ’s sake? But as for “refuse,” it is not yet clear whether he named the law thus. For it is likely that he speaks concerning worldly matters; for so he had said before: For whom I suffered the loss of all things—perhaps the things of the present world. But if we shall take this as said concerning the law also, not even thus is it reviled. For the refuse of the wheat is the chaff, or rather the stalk; but the stalk is preservative of the wheat, and its support, and if it had not been, the wheat would not have come to be; yet when the wheat has appeared and been picked out, the stalk is thenceforth useless. So also the law is the confirmer and witness of grace; but when grace has appeared, one must not sit fast by the letter of it.

Phil. 3:9. And be found in him, not clinging to a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but to the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that is from God. That I may not have my own righteousness, that which is of the works of the law, as having ostensibly accomplished them; for there is not even any righteousness of works, since I did not accomplish these; but that which is through the faith of Christ, which is the righteousness of God—that is, a divine gift, justifying by grace those who believe. For if you believe with the heart, and confess with the mouth, you shall be saved. And the divine gifts surpass by a great measure the meanness of the achievements wrought by human diligence, just as the wheat surpasses the refuse.

Phil. 3:10. Upon faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. So then, knowledge is through faith. For what reasoning will set the resurrection before us? Not one, but faith. And if the resurrection is known by faith, how shall the greater thing, the birth, be left to reasonings? And how is it the greater? Because of the resurrection there are many examples—for many rose even before Christ—but no one was born of a virgin. Either, then, the righteousness of God is in faith—that is, it leans upon it, and has it for a foundation. And he said the power of the resurrection; for in very truth it is a great strength, to rise again. And in another way too: the resurrection puts power into us to journey along the same road.

Phil. 3:10. And the fellowship of his sufferings. Being persecuted, he says, and afflicted, we become partakers of the sufferings of Christ. If, then, we did not believe that we shall reign together with him, we would not be suffering so many things, and such things. And mark this, that he most of all believes that Christ has risen, who himself suffers. And hear what follows.

Phil. 3:10. Being made conformable to his death. That is, being made like to it. For just as he suffered at the hands of men, so also do I. For persecutions and sufferings paint the image of that death, and we too become anointed ones, in so far as we suffer. Do you see the achievement of the sufferings?

Phil. 3:11. If by any means I might attain to the resurrection out from the dead. What then? If you had not suffered, O Paul, were you not going to rise again? But understand here the resurrection that is glorious, the being caught up in the clouds. For all indeed rise, but not all are raised up out from the dead; rather, the sinners remain below to await the Judge, while the saints are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord. And you will understand what is meant also from the sequence. Christ died, he says; I too die. He rose gloriously; I too am eager to attain such a glorious resurrection. And see also the reverent caution of one who had achieved so much, who was above men: If by any means I may arrive. For I am not yet confident, he says; so humble-minded was he—which elsewhere he expresses: Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall; and, Lest by any means, having preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Phil. 3:12. Not that I have already attained, or am already made perfect. Having said, If by any means I might attain, he establishes this, and says that, For this reason I spoke thus hesitantly, because I have not yet received the prize, I am not yet made perfect.

Phil. 3:12. But I press on, if I may also lay hold, for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Still, he says, I am in the contest, still I press on, if by any means I may be strong to lay hold of the end and the prize. Then, showing that the matter is a debt, he says: Because I also was laid hold of by Christ—that is, I was among the perishing, among the despaired-of; Christ pursued me, and laid hold of me as I fled from him, and turned me back. I therefore am also obliged henceforth to pursue him, that I may lay hold of him. And most expressively did he say “press on.” For he who presses on sees nothing other than that toward which he hastens, and passes by all things, even the dearest and the most necessary. So ought we also to hasten, cut off by nothing.

Phil. 3:13. Brethren, I count not myself to have yet laid hold. Since he had praised the Philippians at length, now, repressing their high-mindedness, he says that, I, so great and so eminent a man, your teacher, count not myself to have yet laid hold of all virtue; as though one should say of a runner: He has not yet accomplished the whole. How then does he say elsewhere, I have completed my race? That he said when he was near the end.

Phil. 3:13. But one thing, forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching forth to the things which are before. One thing I do, he says, I become a man of one thing only, that I may ever advance: I forget my achievements, and leave them behind, and do not remember them at all, and so press on toward the things before, as toward things I still lack; whereas he who thinks himself [already] made perfect will cease running, as having already accomplished the whole. And what is the meaning of, Reaching forth? It is this: Before he reaches, being eager to take hold; and being eager to bring his feet, though running, ahead of the rest of the body; the bending of oneself forward toward the things before—which comes from great eagerness.

Phil. 3:14. I press on toward the goal, for the prize of God’s heavenward call in Christ Jesus. Not without a mark, he says, do I run, but looking toward a mark. And what is this? The prize of the high calling—that is, of the incorruptible one, the one in the heavens. For below indeed is the contest, but the crown is above, in the splendor of the saints. For the king also, honoring the contenders the more, calls them up on high and crowns them. And showing that the help of Christ does everything, and that without it the course is incomplete, he says: In Christ Jesus—that is, through his co-working.

Phil. 3:15. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded. Thus minded—how? To forget the things behind. For it belongs to the perfect man not to think himself perfect; for this is perfection: not to be over-confident.

Phil. 3:15. And if in anything you are otherwise minded, this also God shall reveal to you. Here he makes them secure—that is, Whether you think you have accomplished the whole, God will show you, as to men ignorant of it, what is needful. And these things are said concerning the perfection of life, and concerning not thinking oneself to be perfect.

Phil. 3:16. Nevertheless, in that to which we have attained, to walk by the same rule, to be of the same mind. Meanwhile, he says, what we have achieved, let us hold fast—the thing of concord, the thing of peace; and let us walk by the same rule, that is, by the same faith, the same definition; for the rule admits neither addition nor subtraction. Do not you, then, alter the precepts of the Spirit.

Phil. 3:17. Be fellow-imitators of me, brethren, and mark those who so walk, even as you have us for a pattern. He said above: Beware of the dogs; and he led the Philippians away from those men. But now he joins them to those who walk well; for this is the meaning of, Mark them, instead of, Give heed to them, and as though looking to an archetype, model yourselves upon those men; and just as you have me for a pattern, so have them also. For he taught not by words only, but through his life and conduct also he offered himself as a pattern; since this too is perfect teaching.

Phil. 3:18. For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping. He does not name these men, that he may not wound them, but he gives them to recognize them. For of whom, he says, I told you often. But now, since the evil has advanced and been intensified, I cannot even make mention of them without tears. Do you see his compassion? He wept not over his own evils—for he had none—but over those things in which others were living without feeling and in luxury.

Phil. 3:18. Enemies, that is, of the cross of Christ. Already there were certain men feigning Christianity, yet living in luxury and ease; these he calls enemies of the cross. For the cross seeks a soul stretched out to death, thirsting for danger; but these men are dissolute, and conduct themselves in a manner opposite to it. For if they loved the cross, they would be eager to live the crucified life, the most bitter one. Shall we not then shudder, if indeed the friend of luxury and of the ease and security here is an enemy of the cross of Christ?

Phil. 3:19. Whose god is the belly. For they serve it as a god, and offer it every attendance. To some money, to others the belly is god; concerning whom he says elsewhere: Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die. Behold yet another idolatry.

Phil. 3:19. And their glory consists in their shame. Some say this concerning circumcision, which they themselves held to be a glory, but which is in truth a shame. But it is not this; rather, through these words he shows their want of feeling. For even when they sin, he says, when they ought to cover themselves and be ashamed, they count these things a glory.

Phil. 3:19. Who mind earthly things. For these men have the belly for their god, who think of nothing spiritual or heavenly.

Phil. 3:20. But our commonwealth is in the heavens, from which also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So that we must mind the things above, must hasten toward our fatherland, where we have been appointed also to be citizens; since our Master and King is there, and from thence we look for him to come, in the glory of the Father, with the holy angels. So that both from the place and from the person, be moved to reverence.

Phil. 3:21. Who shall transform the body of our humiliation. The body now suffers many things: it is bound, it is scourged, it is subjected to countless hardships. For this reason it is a body of humiliation, because it is subject to corruption and to pains; but it shall be transformed—that is, remaining the same, it shall put on incorruption; for by “transformation” understand the change from corruption.

Phil. 3:21. That it may be made conformable to the body of his glory. Since it became conformable to him, he says, through the fellowship of the sufferings, it shall be made conformable also to the glory. Ah, what has he said! To him who is worshiped by the angels, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, who is the body of glory, our body is made conformable, and is so glorified, even as that one! Therefore, if the whole world should weep together over those who fall away from such glory, it would weep worthily.

Phil. 3:21. By the same working power that enables him to subject all things to himself. Since he had said a great thing, and one almost incredible, he says: Do not disbelieve; for he has a power by which he works all things, and he subdued angels, and archangels, and demons; so that, since he did those greater things, much more will he do this lesser one than those. And what did he subdue? Some say that God and the Father subdued all things to him, that is, to Christ. But this is inconsistent; for he did not speak above concerning the Father. It is better, then, to understand this concerning Christ, who through the power of his Godhead subdued to himself, that is, to his own body, all things. For we shall not, surely, be afraid lest we divide Christ; for we know him to be one, even in the otherness of the natures.

[1] Translator’s note: At this point Migne prints the marginal siglum [ƒ. ἀπ.]—an editorial forte conjecture (Latin fortasse, “perhaps”) flagging a variant reading; it is not part of the running text and has been left untranslated.

Chapter 4

Phil. 4:1. So then, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and my crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, beloved. Therefore, he says, even if you see these men rejoicing and glorified, yet do you stand fast as you stand, in the hope that we shall be glorified together with Christ; do not be turned aside. And observe how many are the praises: brethren, and not simply so, but beloved, and further, longed for—that is, sought after as to when you shall be seen by me. And again: joy, and not simply so, but also crown, than which there is nothing more glorious. And there is praise before the exhortation, and again after the exhortation; so worthy of mention were they, as to be deemed worthy of such great honor from Paul.

Phil. 4:2–3. I beseech Euodia, and I beseech Syntyche, to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I ask you also, true yokefellow, help these women. These women seem to me to have been the chief of the Church there. He therefore commends them to a certain admirable man, who was either the brother of one of them, or also her husband. And perhaps this man was even the jailer; as though he said: Now you are a true brother, now a true husband, if in the work of the Lord you bear the same yoke, helping these women. But some, going astray, say that Paul is here beseeching his own wife; but it is not so. For, to pass over the other points, he ought to have said, true yokefellow [in the feminine].

Phil. 4:3. Who labored together with me in the Gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers. No small part did these women too contribute, he says, although there were many others also who labored together with him; wherefore he says, They labored together with me. For not in a small measure were the Churches then knit together, each one honoring and helping the other. But now, alas! how do we fare? We cast down one another; therefore we also fare thus, contrary to those of that time.

Phil. 4:3. Whose names are in the book of life. Do you see how great a virtue he attests to the women? For what the Lord said to the apostles, that Your names have been written in heaven, this Paul too attests in addition concerning them, that their names are written, with the rest, in the book of life—that is, in the knowledge of God and in his judgment. Or else he decreed life for them already from here, just as, He who does not believe is judged already, and perhaps is written in the book of death.

Phil. 4:4. Rejoice in the Lord always. How then did the Lord say, Blessed are those who mourn? Because this very thing is so to mourn. For he did not say simply, Rejoice, but, In the Lord. And he who is in the Lord rejoices always, even if he is slaughtered, even if he is torn apart. For they returned, he says, rejoicing from the tribunal, because they had been deemed worthy to be dishonored for Christ’s sake.

Phil. 4:4. Again I will say, rejoice. Since the nature of their circumstances gave birth to grief, through the repetition he shows that one must by all means rejoice.

Phil. 4:5. Let your forbearance be known to all men. Since above Paul had accused certain men as enemies of the cross, he exhorts them not to be hostile toward these, but to treat them with forbearance, even if they are enemies.

Phil. 4:5–6. The Lord is at hand; be anxious for nothing. Do not be envious that those men luxuriate and act insolently, while you are in tribulation. The Lord is at hand, the judgment is already upon us; let nothing be a care to you, neither their insolence nor your tribulation; for those men will give account, and you will find rest.

Phil. 4:6. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Behold another consolation also: to pray in every matter, and this with thanksgiving. For how could anyone ask for things to come, without having shown gratitude for the former things? So that for all things, even for those that seem adverse, one must give thanks. For to give thanks over good things, the very nature of the circumstances requires; but the former is the mark of a grateful soul. Such prayers make our requests known to God. For those made otherwise he does not even acknowledge.

Phil. 4:7. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. That is, the reconciliation which he made toward men, which surpasses all understanding, not only human but also angelic; as though he said: He who delivered us in such a way as not even the mind is able to comprehend. For who expected that so many good things would be ours, and that we should be reconciled to God? He himself will guard you and make you secure, so that you do not so much as think anything wicked. Or he means the peace which the Lord spoke of, Peace I leave with you; this will guard you. For indeed this peace surpasses all understanding, when he commands us to be at peace with our enemies, with those who wrong us. And if the peace surpasses all understanding, how much more the essence? And the phrase, In Christ Jesus, means this: In him he will guard you, so that you do not fall away from him, but rather remain in him.

Phil. 4:8. Finally, brethren. As one hastening, and having nothing further in common with present things, so he speaks.

Phil. 4:8. Whatever things are true. That is, virtuous. For vice is a lie, and so is its pleasure.

Phil. 4:8. Whatever things are honorable. Against those who set their minds on earthly things.

Phil. 4:8. Whatever things are pure. Against those whose god is their belly.

Phil. 4:8. Whatever things are lovely. That is, both to God and to men. And this, because of not giving offense to any.

Phil. 4:8. Whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise. Do you see that he wishes them to take forethought also for the things toward men? But not simply so, but after having said, If there be any virtue.

Phil. 4:8. Think on these things. Since wicked deeds arise from thoughts, Think on these things, he says—the things foretold.

Phil. 4:9. Which you both learned, and received, and heard, and saw in me. Since it was not possible to speak precisely about all things—about comings in, about goings out, about word and bearing—he says in summary: Whatever things you learned and heard through teaching, and received in writing, and saw in me through the deeds themselves. For this, as has often been said, is the best teaching: to offer oneself as a model.

Phil. 4:9. These things do. Do not only think on them, as was said above, nor only speak them, but also do them.

Phil. 4:9. The God of peace, then, will be with you. That is, You shall be in calm, if you do these things. For if we are at peace, both toward God—through virtue, that is—and toward men (For with them that hate peace, he says, I was peaceable),[1] he himself shall be with you. For he who pursues even those who flee, how shall he not be present with those who approach?

Phil. 4:10. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have revived your care for me. I rejoiced not worldly, he says, nor in a manner of this life, but in the Lord; not because I obtained relief, but because you advanced. For this reason also greatly, because it was for the sake of their benefit. And having gently rebuked them concerning the time past, that he might teach them to share continually and at all times, again he veiled it over. For the phrase, Now at length, signifies a long time. And the phrase, You have revived, is as of plants that have sprouted, then withered, and again revived. And you also, he says, being in bloom, withered, then revived. So that this is both a rebuke and a praise. For it is no small thing for what has withered to bloom again. But lest anyone suppose that they had withered in the remaining things as well, he added: Your care for me—that is, in this alone, the taking thought for my necessary need. But it must be inquired, how he who says, There is more blessing in giving than in receiving; and again to the Corinthians, It is better for me to die, than that anyone should make my boasting void, is now found receiving? There he reasonably did not receive, because of the false apostles who pretended not to receive, that wherein they boast, he says, they might be found even as I. For indeed he did not say simply, My boasting shall not be stopped, but, In the districts of Achaia; since, Other Churches, he says, I robbed. So that there he did not receive by way of dispensation; but here those who gave were beloved and longed for, whom, if he had not received, he would have wounded. And besides, the receiving is rather for the sake of the givers; for they are benefited more than those who receive. And to say, There is more blessing in giving than in receiving, is not simply a forbidding of receiving, but is a comparison, pointing out the better thing. For neither, because gold is more beautiful, does anyone forthwith forbid the having of silver. And in another way he says that also about working, and giving from one’s labor, and one ought to do so. But if it is not a time for working, bonds being laid upon one or sickness, what must be done? Ought one not to receive? I, for my part, think so.

Phil. 4:10. Wherein you were indeed careful. That is, You had indeed in your heart the care concerning me, and you were anxious for me; for it was also your custom to take thought [for] me.

Phil. 4:10. But you lacked opportunity. Not of your sloth, he says, but of necessity was this; that is, You did not have it in hand, nor were you in abundance; taking this from common usage. As we say: Straitness has come upon me, it is a bad time now.

Phil. 4:11. I do not say this because I am in need. Not for this reason do I find fault with you, as being in need, and looking to my own interest.

Phil. 4:11. For I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. Do you see that it is hard to achieve, this rejoicing in contentment, and that it needs exercise and practice? For I learned it, he says.

Phil. 4:12. I know how to be humbled, and I know how to abound. That is, I know both how to use little, and how to bear hunger and want, and again how to abound. And what kind of virtue is this, to know how to abound? A very great one indeed. For abundance casts down more headlong than want, kindling men to more numerous and absurd desires. And how did Paul abound? Because he spent it on others, and did not rejoice over the abundance, but was the same both in fullness and in want, neither being puffed up by the one, nor pressed down by want.

Phil. 4:12. In everything and in all things I have been instructed. In all the long time, and in every matter, and in all things that befell me, I gained experience.

Phil. 4:12. Both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer want. The Israelites knew neither how to be hungry; for they spoke against God, and said, Can God prepare a table? nor how to be filled; for they ate, and were filled, and kicked back. But Paul, and those who live according to Christ, are not so. And through these things he shows that neither formerly, when men did not give, was he grieved, nor now, when they gave, did he rejoice with human reasoning, but for their sake, as being benefited.

Phil. 4:13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Since he perceived that he had said great things concerning himself, he says: The achievement is not mine, but his who gave the strength, Christ.

Phil. 4:14. Nevertheless you did well, that you shared together in my tribulation. He had said, “I know how to be content.” Lest, then, the Philippians be offended at him, as not having received gladly the things from them, but having reckoned them useless (for givers are wont to be offended, whenever those who receive say that they are not in need), he remedies this, saying: Nevertheless you did well; that is, Even if I am not in need, yet nonetheless I accepted your grace. And see his wisdom, how he exalts the matter: That you shared together in my tribulation; he made them equal to himself. For I indeed, he says, suffer these things; but since you took thought for me, God will reckon you also as my fellow strugglers. So then, through the things said above, he humbled their pride; but through the things now said, he strengthens their eagerness.

Phil. 4:15. And you yourselves also know, Philippians, that in the beginning of the Gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no Church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only. Since he seemed to have reproached them above, when he said, Now at length you have revived; he now defends himself wisely, saying: This very thing I seemed to reproach, not as wishing to receive, but out of trusting you exceedingly, and you are the cause. For you, first of the others, undertook to take thought for my need. And from this taking confidence, I seemed to rebuke you, as having left off your custom. Great, then, is the praise, both that it was in the beginning of the Gospel, and that you supplied not only while I remained among you, but also when I departed from Macedonia—that is, even when I went out from your borders. And he did not say, No Church gave to me, but, No Church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving. For indeed the thing is a sharing. You give carnal things, and you receive spiritual things, as also elsewhere: If we sowed to you the spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things? The other Churches, then, did not share in the matter of giving carnal things and receiving spiritual things.

Phil. 4:16. For even in Thessalonica you sent both once and twice to my need. Great is this also as their praise, that even while seated in the metropolis, he was nourished by the small city. For by “need” he means the necessary expenses; need, that is, not luxury nor extravagance.

Phil. 4:17. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Since he had uttered something lowly, in saying, To my need, lest from this those men be lifted up, he says: I do not say these things because I seek your gifts, but for what is profitable to you, that you may bring forth fruit; the fruit is to your account—that is, it benefits you. Do you see that they themselves were benefited from giving?

Phil. 4:18. But I have all things and abound. Since he had said, I do not seek; lest he again make them more slothful (for the more philosophic they are, the more do those who do good seek out also the thanks from those who have been well treated), he says: But I have all things and abound; that is, Through this gift, you not only filled up what was lacking, but even exceeded. And having said, I have, as of a debt, lest they be lifted up, again, making it cheerful, he shows that they did even beyond what was due, sending things in abundance.

Phil. 4:18. I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things from you, an odor of a sweet savor, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. Astonishing! to what a height he raised their gift! Not I, he says, received it, but God through me. So that even if I have no need, let it be no care to you; since neither did God have need; but nonetheless he so accepted it, that even the Scripture said: [as] The Lord smelled an odor of a sweet savor;[2] lest, hearing that God is without need, we become more slothful concerning giving.

Phil. 4:19. And my God shall fulfill every need of yours according to his riches, in glory, in Christ Jesus. Since he had said above, You lacked opportunity—that is, You were in straits—he now prays for them, that they may be in contentment. For if they had been philosophic, he would not have prayed for them the bodily things; but since they are men of this life, having also a certain desire even of present things, he prays for them condescendingly, not abundance or luxury, but a sufficiency of things needful. For may he fulfill, he says, your every need, so that you be not in want. Then, lest they suppose that he will straiten them, According to his riches, he says; that is, He is able to give you the needful things richly and without straitening. So that you should use the abundance to his glory. And the phrase, In Christ Jesus, can indeed be understood thus, that The Father will do these things in Christ Jesus—that is, with Christ mediating; but it can also be understood thus, in glory referred to Christ Jesus. He therefore adds.

Phil. 4:20. Now to God and our Father be glory to the ages of ages. Amen. For since he had said, To the glory of the Son, he added that this glory of Christ is the Father’s.

Phil. 4:21. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. It is no small mark of good will to greet them through letters.

Phil. 4:21. The brethren who are with me greet you. For there were many with him, perhaps even being from Rome itself, though not being such as to take up resolute deeds. For Timothy alone was such, whom he also named like-souled above. Yet nonetheless he does not refuse to call these also brethren.

Phil. 4:22. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. He encouraged them, showing that the preaching had laid hold even of the imperial house; and that, If those in the palace despised all things for Christ’s sake, how much more ought you, the lowly? And he shows that even among those men he makes mention of their virtue. For he would not have brought those in the palace to a longing for them, so as even to greet them.

Phil. 4:23. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen. As is his custom, he closes the Epistle with a prayer. [And] he teaches at the same time that, even if they have good achievements, they should be persuaded that they have these by the grace of Christ, and not be lifted up. For thus the grace will also be ever with them, if they are not lifted up. May it come to pass, then, that we too grow rich in all other virtue, and especially in that of imparting, through the grace of Christ; that we ourselves, being benefited through giving—both to all who are in need, and especially to those who suffer hardship for God’s sake—may enjoy the riches of his goodness. To whom be the glory and the might, now and ever and to the ages. Amen.

[1] Psalm 120:7 in the Hebrew numbering; Ps. 119:7 in the Septuagint.

[2] Genesis 8:21 (Septuagint).

Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians

Introduction

A Church Paul Never Saw

Colossae was a town in the Lycus valley of Asia Minor, and, as Theophylact points out at the very start of his commentary, Paul had never set foot in it. The church there had been planted by Paul’s own disciple Epaphras, and Theophylact places the letter among the group Paul wrote from prison—alongside Ephesians, Philemon, and Philippians—sent, like the letters to the Romans and the Hebrews, to believers the Apostle knew only through report. What moved him to write, Theophylact explains, was a teaching that had taken root at Colossae “like a naturalized citizen”: certain Colossians had come to suppose that access to God the Father was mediated not through the Son directly but through angels, on the assumption that a Son appearing so late in the world’s history must be a lesser way to God than the angelic mediators through whom, they thought, the Old Covenant itself had come. Alongside this ran a fondness for Jewish and pagan observances—the watching of days, seasons, and foods—and it was this whole tangle, Theophylact says, that “moved the Apostle to write”.

Answering a Wisdom That Bypasses Christ

Theophylact does not treat the Colossian error as a fully formed system needing point-by-point refutation. Instead he reads Paul as attacking its single root: any claim to reach God apart from Christ. Whatever the false teachers promised through their angelic mediators and their ascetic observances, Paul answers, the Colossians already possess in Christ, and possess more fully and more directly. Theophylact traces the letter’s plan accordingly: an opening greeting, a doctrinal exposition of the surpassing majesty of Christ that runs through the middle chapters, and a closing section of moral counsel on the new life that follows from that doctrine. The theology, in other words, is not decoration—it is the argument. If Christ is who Paul says he is, no other mediator is needed or even conceivable.

The Firstborn of All Creation

The letter’s doctrinal center, and the passage that has occupied commentators most, is Paul’s description of Christ as “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15). Theophylact reads both halves of the phrase with exacting care. “Image”, he insists, cannot mean a mere likeness that falls short of its original, the way a human portrait falls short of its subject; where the maker is God, the image differs from what it images in nothing at all, and Scripture reserves the title precisely for the Son, never for the angels, however exalted they are. “Firstborn of all creation” draws his sharpest attention, because—as he says outright—it is the verse Arian readers seized on to argue that the Son is simply the first and greatest of God’s creatures. Theophylact answers from the word itself: Paul did not write “first-created,” and a firstborn son is not made from some other substance than the father who begets him. To call the Son “firstborn” rather than “first-created” is to place him, Theophylact argues, on the side of the begetter, not the begotten things—a distinction he presses further by noting that Scripture itself, without hesitation, calls Seth an image of Adam, and no one doubts that father and son share one nature. The conclusion Theophylact draws is direct: the Son is not the first of creatures but is himself, with the Father, uncreated.

The New Life That Follows

From this height, Theophylact shows, Paul turns the doctrine toward daily life. Because the Colossians already have, in Christ, everything the false teachers promised through angels and ascetic rules, they are called to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1)—not a summons to leave the world physically, Theophylact is careful to note, but to reorder its loves and its conduct around Christ. The moral counsel that fills the letter’s second half—on putting off the old self, on compassion and forbearance, on conduct within the household—follows from the doctrine rather than standing apart from it. A reader who has understood the argument about Christ’s person, Theophylact implies, will find the ethical demands of the closing chapters not as an added burden but as the natural consequence of what has already been established.

How to Read This Commentary

Colossians is brief, but its central chapter has carried weight far beyond its length, shaping how later generations spoke of Christ’s eternal relation to the Father. A reader coming to Theophylact’s exposition of that chapter for the first time will find him naming heresies by name and answering them from the exact wording Paul chose, in a manner more combative than his usual even pace elsewhere in the letter—that shift in register marks the passage as the letter’s hinge. Read Colossians as Theophylact reads it: not as an antiquarian dispute among vanished sects, but as the enduring case that nothing—no philosophy, no angelic hierarchy, no ascetic program—can supplement what is already complete in Christ.

Chapter 1

Argument of the Epistle to the Colossians. All the Epistles of Paul are holy, but most of all those sent while he was in chains, as though a champion in the very midst of slaughter and trophies were sending dispatches even as he set them up. And he himself knows that this is something great and a ground for honor. For writing to Philemon he says, whom I begot in my chains.[1] He said this so that we too might not chafe at hardships, but might even take pride in them. Now there are many such Epistles: the one to the Ephesians, the one to Philemon, the one to Timothy, the one to the Philippians, and this one to the Colossians as well, which was sent while he was in chains. And just as he wrote to the Romans and to the Hebrews though he had not seen them, so too he writes to these without having seen them. Among them were also Philemon and Archippus, who seems to me to have been entrusted with a certain Church. He writes to the Colossians upon such an occasion as this: a wicked teaching had established itself among them like a naturalized citizen, for they supposed that they were brought to God and the Father not through the Son but through angels, thinking it absurd to believe that the Son of God had appeared in the last times, seeing that in the Old Covenant all things came about through angels. They also kept many Jewish and Greek observances, watching days and seasons and foods. All these things, standing in need of correction, moved the Apostle to write this Epistle.

Col. 1:1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God. At once, in the very opening, he secretly overthrows their teachings. For he is not an apostle of angels, but of Jesus Christ; and this is the will of God, that he be His apostle, and not of angels. If, then, I am an apostle by the will of God, it is plain that I proclaim things that are true. And what are these things? That we have been brought near by the Son; that we have been delivered from the Jewish and Greek observances. And note the word “through” laid down with reference to the Father.

Col. 1:1. And Timothy the brother. So then he too is an apostle; and it was fitting that this man should be made known to them as well.

Col. 1:2. To the holy and faithful in Christ who are in Colossae. Colossae is a city of Phrygia, now called Chonae; and this is clear from the fact that Laodicea is nearby. But from what source have you become holy? Was it not through the baptism into the death of Christ? From what source faithful? Is it not because you believe in Christ? Is it not because so many mysteries were entrusted to you by Christ? For we are called faithful not only because we have believed, but also because mysteries have been entrusted to us by God which not even the angels knew. From what source brothers? Was it then in your own works, or in your achievements? It is not so; rather, it is in Christ. How then do you ascribe your being brought near to angels?

Col. 1:2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father. He does not add the name of Christ here, though it was his custom to do so, lest right away in the preface he should openly clash with them and make them recoil from the rest of his discourse. But let those who belittle the Spirit say from what source God is our Father. Is it not through the Spirit? Who has graciously bestowed the great things that surpass the mind? Is it not the Spirit? How then do you belittle Him?

Col. 1:3. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you. Jesus Christ is our Lord, not the servant angels. And not only by his thanksgiving, but also by his unceasing prayer for them, does he show his love, since even those whom he had not seen he held continually within himself.

Col. 1:4. Having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus. We give thanks, he says, because we have heard from Epaphroditus of your faith—not the faith in angels, but in Christ Jesus. And by this he forestalls them. And these names too, “Christ” and “Jesus,” are tokens of the benefaction. For He Himself was anointed on our behalf, and He Himself saved the people from their sins.[2]

Col. 1:4. And the love which you have toward all the saints. Not toward this one or that one, but toward all. Therefore toward us as well. And so you will also hear us gladly. By these words he makes them his own. And it seems to me that by “love” he means almsgiving and fellowship, as elsewhere too.

Col. 1:5. Because of the hope laid up for you in the heavens. You love the saints, he says, not for any human reason, but because you hope for the good things to come; or rather, We give thanks because you are about to inherit the incorruptible things. For they are not laid up on earth, that they should be corrupted, but in the heavens, so that they possess what is secure. Do not, therefore, be in doubt about your hope, for it is laid up in safety. And this is directed to those undergoing trials, that they should not seek their relief here, nor lose heart amid the trials, since they have a great recompense.

Col. 1:5. Of which you heard beforehand in the word of the truth of the Gospel. He did not say “of the preaching,” but “of the Gospel,” in order to remind them of the benefactions of God; for the Gospel concerns good things. And if it is a word of truth, there is no falsehood in it. How then do you make it false by not believing, as you were taught beforehand by it, that salvation is through Christ? And who was the one who preached there? Epaphras, as appears from what follows.

Col. 1:6. Which is present among you, as also in all the world. He used the word present, as of some living thing. It did not, he says, come to you and then depart, but it is present and prevails among you. And by these words he gladdens them. And since the many are more firmly established when they have others as partners in their teachings, he says, And in all the world. For everywhere it is, everywhere it stands fast.

Col. 1:6. And it is bearing fruit and growing. Bearing fruit through works, growing through the many who are continually being added to the faith. But it would not bear fruit unless it were firmly established. For the trees too, when they are made firm, then bear more fruit.

Col. 1:6. As also among you. He forestalls them, as above, with praises, so that they may not depart even if they wished to. For if the Gospel was thus proclaimed to all and to you, how is it that some now teach otherwise?

Col. 1:6. From the day you heard and came to know the grace of God in truth. The Gospel, he says, bears fruit and grows among you from the day you came to know the grace. How? Not in deceit and idle words, but in truth—that is, by signs and wondrous works.

Col. 1:7. As also you learned from Epaphras. You came to know the grace, he says, by the very works, just as Epaphras also taught you. For it was not that one thing happened and another was taught. For this man, as it seems, preached to the Colossians.

Col. 1:7. Our beloved fellow-servant. From this he shows the man’s trustworthiness. For I, Paul, would not have loved him had he not been a true herald, nor would I have called him a fellow-servant.

Col. 1:7. Who is faithful. That is, true.

Col. 1:7. A minister of Christ on your behalf. In your stead, he says, he ministered in matters pertaining to Christ. For his going to Paul at that time, and consoling him in his chains, and making known to him the affairs of the Colossians, was a ministry of Christ. But if Epaphras is a minister of Christ, how do you say that you were brought near through angels?

Col. 1:8. Who also made known to us your love in the Spirit. That is, the spiritual love which you have toward me. For this is secure, the love that is in the Spirit. But the rest—both the natural loves, such as of parents toward children and of children toward parents, and the loves of friends and companions—are all insecure.[3]

Col. 1:9. For this reason we also, from the day we heard, do not cease praying for you. “For this reason”—what reason? Since, he says, we heard of your faith and your love, having become full of good hope concerning the things to come, we pray for you—not one day, nor two, but ever since we heard these things. And by this he shows his own love, while gently bringing a reproach upon them, seeing that, though helped by his prayers, they have not yet recovered themselves to perfection. And observe that there is need of many and continual prayers, and that Paul, though always praying and not yet having succeeded, nevertheless did not desist.

Col. 1:9. And asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will. By these words he shows them to be neither wholly imperfect nor wholly perfect. For he did not say, “that you may receive,” but “that you may be filled.” For you have it, but not the whole of it. And that you were brought near, you have known; but that it was through the Son, this is lacking—which I also pray may be fulfilled. For the will of God and His good pleasure is that the Son was given for us, and not the angels. Understand, then, “full knowledge” as the addition to knowledge.

Col. 1:9. In all spiritual understanding and wisdom. Since the philosophers were deceiving them, I wish, he says, that you learn the teaching in spiritual wisdom, not according to the wisdom of men, by which, being now led astray, you think that you know. But if, in order to learn His will, there is need of spiritual wisdom, what is one to say of those who boast that they know the essence of God from the wisdom that is outside?

Col. 1:10. That you may walk worthily of the Lord. I pray, he says, that you may learn that you were saved through the Only-begotten, in order that you may walk—that is, that you may live according to virtue. For he who has come to understand the love of God for mankind, and that He gave over His Son for us, how would he not be eager to give himself over to the labors of virtue, and to take up his cross? For “to walk” pertains to one’s life and manner of living, as has been said. And everywhere he joins manner of life to faith. And to put it another way: We pray, he says, not only that you may learn, but that you may also display it in works. For he who knows without doing is destined to be punished. And see how he always calls the manner of life a “walking,” showing that just as walking is always necessary to us, so too is the best life.

Col. 1:10. To all pleasing, in every good work. That you may so live, he says, as to please God in all things. And how will this come about? In no other way than in every good work. For where there is every good work, there is all pleasing of God. And observe how everywhere he adds “all”: in all wisdom; and in every good work; and to all pleasing; and to all patience—showing that they have it even now, yet not the whole of it. And so they need to take on what is perfect.

Col. 1:10. Bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God. Just as, he says, you have come to know God more greatly than the ancients, so you ought also to grow in your life according to the measure of your knowledge. For he who has been counted worthy to know God, so as even to be a son of God, of how much virtue does he stand in need? Or else: You ought indeed to bear fruit in good deeds, but in such a way as also to have the knowledge of God as you ought, and not as you now suppose you have it. For what profit is there in life and manner of living, if you are ignorant of the Son of God? And observe how above he said there was need of knowledge in order to walk worthily of the Lord; now again he requires growth in good works, so that one may at the same time also know God. For each is constitutive of the other.

Col. 1:11. Being strengthened with all power. We pray that you may be filled, being strengthened with all power. To what? To the trials and the persecutions, so that you may not grow weary nor despair.

Col. 1:11. According to the might of His glory. That He may give you such power as befits Him to give, ineffable and boundless, that is; only insofar as it is possible for a man to receive it. And great is the consolation. For he did not say “power,” but “might,” which is greater—as though he were saying: Everywhere His glory prevails. Do not, therefore, you yourselves grow soft amid hardships; for you will be strengthened, as is fitting for those who serve a Master so mighty and glorious.

Col. 1:11. To all endurance and patience. Being strengthened to all endurance, which is toward those outside; and patience, which is toward one another. For one is patient toward those whom it is possible to requite, but one endures those whom it is not possible to requite. For this reason, with regard to God, “endurance” is not spoken of, but “patience,” since He is able to crush yet forbears. And “to all”—not now, but afterward no longer. If, then, we gather the discourse together, this is what he says: We pray that you may perfectly receive the knowledge of the teaching, not in worldly wisdom but in spiritual; and that you may have a virtuous life, so as to stand firm against the trials, having been strengthened, as is fitting to be strengthened by God, so as to show endurance toward those outside and patience toward the brethren.

Col. 1:12. With joy giving thanks to the Father. Being about to bring a charge against them, as not holding rightly concerning the teaching, he first smooths his discourse, lest he should seem to be making the charge as an enemy. Having said beforehand, therefore, that “I pray for you that such and such good things may come to you” (which is by no means the part of an enemy), he now says, “And with joy I give thanks for the good things that already belong to you,” so that I bring my charge against you not out of enmity but out of love. And I would indeed wish to praise you throughout, but I am compelled by necessity to make the charge. So he does in the Epistle to the Corinthians as well. And gently he leads them into the discourse concerning the Son. For if I give thanks with joy, then great are the things that already belong to you. And these things the servant angels did not give, but the Master, the Son. But how did he say, “I give thanks with joy”? Because it is possible to give thanks even in grief; for instance, Job gave thanks, yet in anguish: The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. For let no one deprive him of his being stung; for thus he also takes away his praise, if he endured as one without feeling. Rather, he was stung, yet he was not wounded.[4]

Col. 1:12. Who has made you sufficient. So great, he says, are the things given, that He not only made you rich, but also gave you sufficiency and power for being shown worthy, having received them. I mean something like this: A king, having entrusted some lowly man with a prefecture, perhaps, gave him a dignity, yet did not make him sufficient for receiving the office worthily, that is, for administering it; whence often the honor made him ridiculous. But God both honored us and made us sufficient for receiving the honor. And it is a doubling of honor to make us fit also for the gift.

Col. 1:12. To the portion of the lot of the saints. That is, who has ranked you with the saints; and not so simply, but having granted that you should also enjoy the very same things, which he indicates by “portion.” For it is possible to be ranked in the same city, yet not to have the same portion; and again, to be in the same lot, yet not to have the same portion. For instance, we are all in the same lot of the Church, yet one has one portion and another has another. But here He counted us worthy both of the same lot and of the same portion. And everywhere he calls it a “lot,” that he may show that, just as the lot is not of human effort but rather seems a matter of chance, so too we are counted worthy of the kingdom not from our achievements, but the whole is of the divine gift. For this reason, When you have set everything aright, he says, say, We are unprofitable servants; for what we were obligated to do, we have done.[5]

Col. 1:12. In the light. Both in the age to come and in the present—that is, in knowledge. For even now He has given light, having revealed the mysteries to us, and in the age to come He will give it more clearly.

Col. 1:13. Who rescued us from the authority of darkness. It is not only this that is great, that He counted us worthy of the kingdom, but also what manner of men we formerly were. For it is not the same thing to give something to the worthy and to the unworthy; which he also says in the Epistle to the Romans: For scarcely will anyone die for a righteous man.[6] Us, then, who were under the authority of darkness—that is, of error and of the tyranny of the devil. And he did not say “darkness” simply, but “authority.” For he had great authority over us and held us in his power. For it is a grievous thing even to be under the devil simply; but to be so with authority, this is more grievous still. And he did not say “He cast out,” but “He rescued,” showing that we were in wretched plight as captives.

Col. 1:13. And transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. It is a great thing even to be delivered from darkness; but to be brought also into a kingdom is far greater. And not simply, but so as to reign together with the Son of His love—that is, with the Beloved—we who were enemies, who were darkened. Which he also says elsewhere: If we endure, we shall also reign together with Him.[7] And he did not say “He removed” (for then the whole would have belonged to the one who removed), but “He transferred,” so that something might belong to us as well. And by the word he also shows the ease of God’s power, as though one were to lead a soldier from one place to another.

Col. 1:14. In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Lest, hearing that the Father rescued us, you should think that the Son displayed no good thing toward us, he goes on to say that the Son has given us the greater thing. For of our being transferred into the kingdom, He Himself is the cause, having graciously bestowed on us the redemption—that is, the forgiveness of sins. For if we had not been redeemed and forgiven these, we would not have been transferred into the kingdom. So He Himself prepared the way for the gift of the Father. And he did not say “redemption,” but “complete redemption”—that is, He redeemed us perfectly, so that we should no longer fall, nor become mortal, as liable to the sin of Adam. Since, then, the Son redeemed, He Himself also brought us near. How then do you speak of angels? And note “in whom” as said of the Son.

Col. 1:15. Who is the image of the invisible God. Here he sets forth the honor of the nature and the greatness of the dignity of the Only-begotten. He is, he says, the image of God; therefore not differing in any way. For you have no measure of the greatness, that you might say by how much He is diminished. For if He were an image as a man is, you would have something to say, that the image does not attain to the prototype. But since He is an image as God and as Son of God, the image of the invisible God is one that differs in no way—invisible, that is. For with us, since human art produces the image, an art that often falls short, the image does not possess the quality of differing in no way; but where God is, there is nowhere any falling short, nowhere any error; and therefore the quality of differing in no way. But if the Son does not possess the quality of differing in no way with respect to the Invisible, what hinders the angels too from being images? For they too are invisible; yet nowhere is an angel called an image. And observe the precision of the divine Scripture: man it names an image of God and a son; but the angel, by no means. For there the loftiness of the angelic nature would quickly have cast its hearers into impiety, supposing the angel to be of the same dignity as God; whereas in the case of man, his lowliness and humility secures us, so that we should suspect nothing of the sort. Gather, then, that the Only-begotten, being both—both image and invisible—by being an image is distinguished from the angels, who are invisible yet not images; and by being invisible, from men, who are themselves called images yet are not invisible. He alone, therefore, is properly and without any difference an image. And if the Arians still object that the image is not of the same essence as the prototype, let them hear the Scripture saying that Seth is an image of Adam. Is he not, then, also of the same essence? For artificial images are not of the same essence; but natural ones are altogether of the same essence.

Col. 1:15. Firstborn of all creation. Having said that He is the image of the invisible God, he then adds these words too. And here is the great contrivance of those who incline to Arianism. For since, they say, He is called “firstborn of all creation,” He is the first of created things. And yet he did not say “first-created,” but “firstborn.” Otherwise you will give Him brothers, and He will be first even of me, and of a frog, and of a stone, and of the most worthless things, and of the same essence as all these. For the firstborn is surely of the same essence as those of whom he is firstborn. But upon your own head be the blasphemy. For to think such things concerning the incomparable glory of the Creator is godless. And besides, “the firstborn” is not always spoken with reference to those that follow in Scripture, but absolutely thus, the one first born. So then the Theotokos Mary also bore Him as the firstborn according to the flesh, though He had no brothers at all following after Him; for He is Only-begotten from her too. So then He is also firstborn from the Father, not with reference to the rest of creation, but absolutely; for He is Only-begotten according to the generation on high as well. What, then, is it that Paul now says, taking his stand against the pressing matter and dismantling the supposition of the Colossians? Lest they should think that He is younger than the angels—seeing that of old men were brought near through those angels, but now He Himself is said to bring near—he wishes to show that the Son is before all creation. How, then? Through generation. So He is also prior to the angels, and so much so that He Himself even created them. So then, even if the angels rendered any ministry in the Old Covenant, it is His. Observe, then, the wisdom of the Apostle: Lest, hearing that He is before all creation, you should think Him without beginning, he teaches you that He has a Father and is begotten from Him. For since both He and all things are from God, he shows this very thing: that the one is one and the other is another; and that the one is Son, as from the Father, while the others are creatures, created through this very Son. And so he continues.

Col. 1:16. Because in Him were created all things, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth. “In Him” is used in the sense of “through Him,” as he himself will show further on. And what was a matter of doubt, namely concerning the things in the heavens, this he has placed first. If, then, the angels were created through Him, how are they prior to Him?

Col. 1:16. The visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or authorities. Leaving aside detailed discussion of the visible things, as not in doubt, he goes through in detail the things in doubt—the invisible, I mean. And he did not set forth all the orders above individually, inasmuch as he shows the lesser also from the greater. For surely the archangels and angels and our own souls are invisible as well; so that from those things, this is clear concerning these too.[8]

Col. 1:16. All things were created through Him and to Him. Behold, what he said above, “in Him,” this he now says, “through Him”; just as the evangelist John too: All things came into being through Him.[9] But in saying “all things,” he did not include the Spirit. For the Spirit is not of the “all things,” but is one absolutely, as there is one God and one Lord. All things, therefore, that have come into being were created through Him. Then, lest you should think Him to be a subordinate, He says, “And to Him”—that is, all things hang upon Him. And not only did He Himself make them, but He Himself also holds them together, so that, if anything be torn away from His providence, it perishes. And he did not say “He holds together,” but the more subtle: “To Him they incline and hang”; and this alone, their inclining toward Him, is sufficient to hold them together and bind them fast. And this is no less than to have created them; rather, judged by our standards, it is even greater. For we too make a garment, perhaps, or a house; but we are not able to preserve it from corruption. He, however, both made it and preserves it.

Col. 1:17. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Continually he turns the same things over, by the continuity of his words, as by certain repeated blows, tearing up by the roots the destructive teaching. And observe, he did not say that He “came to be” before all things, but “is,” which is most proper to God. But where is Paul of Samosata, who says that He began from Mary? And “in Him all things hold together,” as upon a foundation; thus He is also firstborn of creation, as a foundation. And this indicates not consubstantiality with the creatures, but that all things are borne in Him.

Col. 1:18. And He is the head of the body, the Church. Having spoken of the dignity of the Son, he now speaks also of His love for mankind. For He who is thus above all things, the Maker, the Sustainer, joined Himself to those below. And he did not say “of the fullness of the Church,” but “of the body,” in order to show the closeness of His intimacy with us, and that He took on flesh consubstantial with us, and not from heaven. For Paul took the Church to stand for the whole human race; as though he were saying that in the generation according to the flesh too He is first of men, as a head.

Col. 1:18. Who is the beginning, firstborn from the dead. He is, he says, the beginning of the resurrection, having risen before all. And since He loosed the pangs of death, He is fittingly also called firstborn. He has, however, as a firstfruits, the rest also following after Him. For the firstfruits is a firstfruits of some things. And just as, when a single sheaf is offered as a firstfruits, the whole harvest is blessed, so through Him we were all sanctified and brought near, and, one body having risen, the whole nature has been counted worthy of resurrection.

Col. 1:18. That in all things He Himself might have the preeminence. In all things—in the things contemplated concerning Him. For He was both begotten before all from the Father, and is first of all, as head of the Church; and He rose before all, graciously bestowing incorruption upon them, as a firstfruits. For even if others rose before Him, yet they died again; but He rose with the perfect resurrection. And observe: here He is firstborn as a firstfruits of the resurrection, because this is the regeneration; but there, He is not a firstfruits of creation, even though firstborn. For the manner of being is not the same; rather, the one was begotten, while the creation is this very thing, creation.

Col. 1:19. Because in Him it was the good pleasure that all the fullness should dwell. The fullness of the Godhead—that is, whatever the Son and Word was—dwelt there, not some energy, but essence. And he is unable to state any other cause than the good pleasure and the will of God.

Col. 1:20. And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself. “Through Him,” that is: He Himself, having worked this salvation, secured it for us. And lest you should think that He took the rank of a servant, He says, “To Himself”—that is, He Himself reconciled men to Himself. And yet elsewhere he said that He reconciled them to God; so then the things of the Father are common to the Son as well. And he did not say “to reconcile,” but “to reconcile fully”—that is, to render back, as a debt long owed, and to make peace completely, so that we should no longer be at enmity with Him. For not only was the reconciliation rendered, but also the manner of the reconciliation, that is, the slaying of the Son, availed the very greatest things.

Col. 1:20. Having made peace through the blood of His cross. The reconciling shows the enmity; the making of peace, the war. For we were both enemies of God and at war with Him. It is a great thing, then, to reconcile; but to do so also through Himself is greater; and still further, “through blood”; and still further, “through a cross,” that dishonorable death. For He did not reconcile by speaking words, as an ambassador, but by giving Himself over. And he did not say “of the cross” and stop there, but added “His,” lest you should think the cross was able to accomplish anything by itself. For the cross did not save simply, but because it was His cross.

Col. 1:20. Whether the things upon the earth, or the things in the heavens. The things upon the earth, fittingly; for each man was at strife both with himself and with others, and we were enemies even of the very angelic life. But the things in the heavens, how? Earth had been severed from heaven, and the angels had been set at war against men, seeing their own Master insulted; for which reason they were even sent for vengeance, as in the case of David, as in the case of the Sodomites, as in the case of the valley of weeping. The Son, therefore, having led man up into the heavens, the enemy, the foe, made the angels also to appear on earth singing and accompanying each of the faithful. And it seems to me that Paul too was caught up for this reason, that he might be taught how men are in heaven, and that the Son was taken up there. Among earthly things, then, the peace is twofold, both toward the heavenly things and toward themselves; but among the heavenly things it is single. For with us, henceforth, they have made a truce, and they rejoice over the salvation of so many. How then do you say, O Colossians, that you are brought near through angels? For those angels are so far from bringing us near that they were even set at war against us; and if He had not reconciled us to them, we would not have been at peace.

Col. 1:21. And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind, in your evil works. He said above that we were under the authority of darkness; now he says that we were enemies in our mind—not saying the same thing, but, lest hearing those former words you should think there was compulsion, he adds these, in order to show that, even while we were unworthy of reconciliation, He counted us worthy of it. For he who suffers evil by compulsion is worthy of mercy; but he who suffers it willingly, of hatred. Us, then, he says—not unwilling, nor compelled, but willingly and of our own accord leaping away from Him, and being altogether unworthy—He reconciled fully. And he says these things, since he made mention of the things in the heavens, showing that the whole enmity has its beginning not from the things above, but from us. For those wished it, and so did God; but you did not will it. Therefore he did not say “being at enmity” simply, but “alienated”—that is, not even expected to return. For you were enemies in your mind—that is, in your purpose. And the dreadful thing did not stop there, but extended also to your evil works—that is, you were both enemies and did the deeds of enemies. And by all these things he shows that the angels were able neither to persuade us nor to deliver us from the devil, when we were enemies and the one who held us was not yet bound. But Christ both bound the strong one and persuaded us to depart from him.

Col. 1:22. But now He has reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death. Again he sets forth the manner of the reconciliation, that it was also in the body. How? Was it then merely by being scourged, or struck? No; but also by dying the most shameful death.

Col. 1:22. To present you holy and blameless and without reproach before Him. Again he sets forth another benefaction, which he also said above, “Who has made you sufficient,” saying this same thing now too. For He did not only deliver us from sins, he says, but also graciously bestowed holiness—not the ordinary kind, but the kind that is before Him—and that which is blameless and without reproach, so that nothing should have been done by us even to the point of a bare condemnation.

Col. 1:23. If indeed you continue in the faith. Since he had ascribed the whole to the Son, as having set these things aright by His death, lest they should say, “Henceforth there is no need of our labors,” he says that there is need to continue in the faith. So do not be slothful, nor sink down.

Col. 1:23. Grounded and steadfast, and not shifting away from the hope of the Gospel. Since it is possible to continue, yet to be shaken, he adds, “Grounded and steadfast”—that is, not being shaken; and not only this, but neither being shifted. I demand nothing burdensome of you, he says, but only that you not be shifted away from Christ. For He is the hope of the Gospel, and all who receive the Gospel ought to hope upon Him, as having made peace. So then he who ascribes the peace to angels has been shifted away from Christ. With regard to virtue, then, it is not possible not to be shaken even a little; but with regard to faith, it is possible. So he demands nothing burdensome.

Col. 1:23. Of which you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation that is under heaven. He brings forward as witnesses first themselves, then the whole inhabited world. And he did not say “which is being proclaimed,” but “which was proclaimed”—that is, already believed. So then be ashamed both before yourselves and before all other men, if you believe otherwise.

Col. 1:23. Of which I, Paul, became a minister. And this too contributes to the trustworthiness of the Gospel, that Paul himself is its herald. For great is his name, sung everywhere, and now embracing the whole inhabited world. And by calling himself a minister, he urges them the more to be persuaded. For I do not speak my own things, he says, but I minister to another, namely to God. So then you will be persuaded by Him.

Col. 1:24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf. This seems to be a non sequitur; but it follows very closely indeed. For since he said, “I became a minister of the Gospel,” from which he counts them worthy not to fall away, he shows that “It is so great a good that I even suffer for it; and not only do I suffer, but I also rejoice in the sufferings.” And he said that these sufferings were on their behalf, that “I might be able to benefit you.”

Col. 1:24. And I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ. The saying seems arrogant and presumptuous; but it is not, but rather it is full of much tender love toward Christ. For he wishes to persuade them that Christ even now still suffers on their behalf, and that “You are brought near not through us the apostles, but through Him, even though we are in the midst.” So then, what are you doing in leaping away from Him who, even after dying, is in peril for your sake? And what he says is this: If Christ still owed it to suffer for us, but departed and did not pay back the debt, I pay this back; just as, when the general is absent, the lieutenant fighting for the phalanx, having taken his stand in that one’s place, takes upon himself that one’s wounds. For this reason he said what is lacking, in order to show that he does not consider that he has yet suffered the whole. So greatly does He love us, that, the former sufferings not being enough, He suffers even after death in my body; for He was not content with His death, but does ten thousand other things besides. So Paul says these things not exalting himself, but wishing to show that Christ even now still cares for them.

Col. 1:24. On behalf of His body, which is the Church. Just as he said, “Even if I too suffer, yet the sufferings are Christ’s,” he makes the saying trustworthy, and says that these things too come about on behalf of His body. Do not, therefore, think the saying boastful, but believe that He who did not disdain to join the Church to Himself even now still suffers on her behalf in my flesh. But if the Church is the body of Christ, and He is its head, how do you bring in angels in the midst and sever the unity?

Col. 1:25. Of which I became a minister. He shows that he himself did nothing, seeing that he is a minister. But if I am a minister, how do you introduce angels as ministers?

Col. 1:25. According to the stewardship of God which was given to me toward you, to fulfill the word of God. “The stewardship of God”—either he means this, that “Having been taken up, He left us to preach, that you might not despair as though forsaken.” Or he means that, “For this reason above all things He arranged that I should persecute the Church, that I might be a trustworthy herald.” Or that “He did not seek works, nor achievements, but faith and baptism. And this is the greatest stewardship. For who would have been saved, if works were sought?” Or, simply, “the stewardship of God which was given to me toward you”—that is, toward those of the Gentiles—he means the grace and the sufficiency which God gave him, so as to enlighten the Gentiles. For to persuade the darkened, the foolish, the disobedient to receive such great teachings is not of Paul’s power, but of the stewardship of God. And just as he showed that his own sufferings were Christ’s, so too he says that the fulfilling of the word among them belongs to God. And by saying “to fulfill,” he shows that they are deficient. And understand this too: it was a stewardship of God that the mystery should be spoken now, because you were becoming receptive. For God, doing all things by stewardship, did this also altogether by stewardship—that the mystery should now be revealed, when men were the more likely to receive it. So then those are foolish who are scandalized because the Son is said to have brought us near in the last times.

Col. 1:26. The mystery that has been hidden from the ages and from the generations. Having said of what things we were counted worthy, he shows yet another heightening: that not even before us did anyone learn these things. And he names it a mystery, which no one knew except God; and not simply “hidden,” but “hidden away.” And “from the ages,” this means “from the beginning,” as one might say.

Col. 1:26. But now it has been made manifest to His saints. This is the stewardship, that it was now made manifest. And he did not say “came to be,” but “was made manifest.” Yet not even now to all, but to His saints. So then even now it is still hidden from the others. Let those men, therefore, not deceive you; for they do not know.

Col. 1:27. To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. Lest you should ask for what reason it was made manifest to the saints alone, and not to all, he added, “to whom He willed.” And His willing is not without reason. And indeed He could have said to the worthy, but He wishes them rather to be humble-minded, as accountable to grace, than to be high-minded, as having obtained it worthily. And adding weight to what had come to pass, he did not say simply “to make known the glory of the mystery,” but “the riches of the glory.” Which was especially made known among the Gentiles, as he says elsewhere: but the Gentiles glorified God for His mercy.[10] For it appears among others too, but not so much as among those more senseless than stones, who worship stones and creeping things. Just as, if one were to take a dog mangy and starving, not even able to move, and were to make it a man, and to seat it upon a royal throne, he would be more glorified than if he had displayed these things toward a moderately poor man, so too here. And well did he say “of this mystery.” For there are other mysteries too, but this is truly a mystery, which no one knew, that is beyond common custom and expectation—namely, that the Gentiles should be taken in.

Col. 1:27. Which is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Interpreting what the “riches” is, and what the “mystery” is: Christ, he says, or rather the knowledge of Christ, which is in you. And he set this down with praises, in order the more to draw them. For if Christ is in you, how do you call angels your benefactors? And “the hope of glory,” because through Him we hope to obtain eternal glory; or because our hope, glorious and unashamed, is Christ.

Col. 1:28. Whom we proclaim. We, not angels; how then do you have those as ministers? And he says “we proclaim” emphatically, bringing Him down from above, that is.

Col. 1:28. Admonishing every man, and teaching every man. Not by command, nor with compulsion; for this too belongs to the divine goodness, not to bring near tyrannically, but with admonition and teaching. And you will understand admonition as pertaining to conduct, and teaching as pertaining to doctrines.

Col. 1:28. In all wisdom. For to be able to teach such things requires all wisdom—both that from the Scriptures, and that from reasonings, and that from the Greeks themselves, as the Athenians from the altar.[11]

Col. 1:28. That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. What do you say? Every man? Yes, he says, this we are striving for. And if it does not come to pass, that is nothing to us. And “perfect”—not in the law, nor in angels, but in Christ Jesus, that is, in the knowledge of Christ. For that other is not perfect.

Col. 1:29. To which I also labor, striving. He was not content with the word “labor,” but added “striving,” in order to show the wakefulness, the exactness of his regimen, and all the other things that belong to those who strive. If, then, I labor for your good things, how much more should you?

Col. 1:29. According to His working, which works in me with power. Since he said, “I labor,” he shows that this too is divine. For He who makes me strong for this evidently wills this; just as also at the beginning he said, “An apostle by the will of God.” And by this he shows also that many contend against him. For then the power of God appears the more, when many are set in opposition.

[1] Philemon 10.

[2] Translator’s note: Theophylact here writes Ἐπαφροδίτου but elsewhere Ἐπαφρᾶ; both name the same man, Epaphras of Colossae (Col 1:7), not the Epaphroditus of Philippians.

[3] Translator’s note: Migne brackets the word καί here as an editorial insertion; it is secluded and not rendered.

[4] Translator’s note: Migne brackets the particle ἄν here as an editorial insertion; it is secluded and not rendered.

[5] Luke 17:10.

[6] Romans 5:7.

[7] 2 Timothy 2:12.

[8] Translator’s note: Migne brackets the words τιθεὶς καί here as an editorial insertion; they are secluded and not rendered.

[9] John 1:3.

[10] Romans 15:9.

[11] Cf. Acts 17:23.

Chapter 2

Col. 2:1. For I want you to know what great striving I have on your behalf, and for those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. About to enter upon the doctrine, he first displays much tender affection, so that he may become more readily received. For I am in anguish, he says, on your behalf. And he joins to them those in Laodicea, and others without distinction, so that they may not be troubled, supposing that this proceeds from their own weakness. But why are you in anguish? Is it because you condemn us? It is, he says, because you have not seen my face. And he added, In the flesh, showing marvelously that he saw them continually in the Spirit.

Col. 2:2. That their hearts may be comforted, being knit together in love. Now at last he points toward the doctrine, and he neither accuses them nor altogether absolves them of the charge. Here, then, is the apodosis. I have a striving; to what end? That they may not hold differing opinions, but may be knit together and all united into one faith. How? Not with compulsion or force, but in love. And he said this inasmuch as heresies give birth also to schisms.

Col. 2:2. And to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding. That is, That they may doubt about nothing, that their understanding may be fully and richly assured concerning all things—that is, the knowledge of the mystery. And he did not say, To the riches, simply, but, To all the riches. I know indeed, he says, that you have understanding of the mystery, but I seek in you the full assurance of this understanding, that it may be rich. Or else, With understanding I wish you to be fully assured, not mindlessly and irrationally.

Col. 2:2. To the knowledge of the mystery of God, even the Father, of Christ. And what is the mystery of God? That access comes to be through the Son, not through angels.

Col. 2:3. In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He alone knows all things; and if he alone is wise, then it was wisely that he came in the last times, and not long ago, and certain of the foolish vainly take offense at him in this. By saying, treasures, he shows their abundance; by, All, that he is ignorant of nothing; by, Hidden, that he alone knows, and that from him one must ask for wisdom and knowledge. And observe that, even if he seems to say something great, yet this too he said in condescension, for the sake of the simpler: namely, In whom are the treasures. For he is Wisdom itself and Knowledge itself.

Col. 2:4. And this I say, that no one may delude you with persuasive speech. I said this, he means—that Christ alone knows all things—so that no one may deceive you. For what does it matter if one speaks persuasively? He knows nothing, but the whole of it is delusion and sophistry.

Col. 2:5. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit. What would have followed was to say: For though I am absent in the flesh, yet in the spirit I behold the deceivers; but instead he turned the discourse into praise. And hear him.

Col. 2:5. Rejoicing and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. That is, your good order. For not only have you not fallen, but no one has even thrown your order into confusion, nor your steadfast faith. For just as in a battle line good order makes the phalanx steadfast, so also in the Church, when there is good order, love setting all things in their place and no schisms existing, then steadfastness too comes to be. But faith also is in itself a steadfastness, not allowing reasonings to creep in which, by producing doubt, shake one.

Col. 2:6. As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord. We bring in nothing strange, but what you received, that very thing we ask back again—the Lord Jesus Christ, not the angels.

Col. 2:6. In him walk. For he himself is the way that leads to the Father. Do not walk in the angels; for that way does not lead there.

Col. 2:7. Rooted. That is, holding firm without shifting, and not at one time being in Christ and at another in angels. For that which is rooted could never be moved.

Col. 2:7. And built up in him. He shows that they had fallen, so that they had need of being built up again—that is, of a second building—as upon Christ for a foundation.

Col. 2:7. And established in the faith. That is, firmly holding fast to Christ through faith, not through reasonings and persuasive arguments. For the building, even if it be upon a foundation, yet if it does not stand firm, is unsteady.

Col. 2:7. Even as you were taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Again he sets down, Even as, so that, if they should do anything otherwise, they may feel shame before themselves. Now the phrase, Even as you were taught, is like a kind of foundation; but the abounding, this is the building up. For one must not pass beyond the teachings laid down beforehand; one must, however, advance in them, and be zealous, and show forth something abundant in the faith, giving thanks to God that he counted us worthy of such grace, and not ascribing the advance to ourselves.

Col. 2:8. Beware lest there be anyone who carries you off as spoil. He is a thief, he creeps in secretly, he digs through the walls from beneath unnoticed, that he may carry off your mind as spoil. Beware, therefore.

Col. 2:8. Through philosophy and empty deceit. He shows also the way by which the thief comes—namely, that it is philosophy. But since the name of philosophy seems venerable, he added, And empty deceit. For there is also a good deceit, concerning which Jeremiah says, You deceived me, O Lord, and I was deceived.[1] Such also as Jacob seemed to use in deceiving Esau—which one ought not even to call deceit, but rather a dispensation.

Col. 2:8. According to the tradition of men. Do you see whence the deceit comes? That human reasonings transmit it. For this reason they are also called heresies, because they are the opinions of men. But the faith of Christians is not a human doctrine. Therefore it will not receive such a name.

Col. 2:8. According to the elements of the world. He now begins to refute the observance of days, calling sun and moon elements of the world, by which the days seem to be disposed in this way or that. And he did not say, Observances of days, but he makes mention of the whole world, so that he may show its worthlessness out of abundance. For if the whole world is nothing, much more are the elements nothing.

Col. 2:8. And not according to Christ. Above all, he says, even if it were possible by half measures to serve both Christ and the elements, not even so ought one to be persuaded by those teachers; but as it is, they wholly remove you from Christ. And these observances were not only Greek but also Jewish: the one set deriving from philosophy, the Jewish ones from the Law.

Col. 2:9. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. That is, whatever God the Word is, it dwells in him. And lest, hearing the word, He dwelt, you should suppose that he was merely energized, as the prophets were—for God dwelt in them, according to that saying, I will dwell in them and walk among them[2]—he added, Bodily; that is, it is not some energy, but substance, and as one embodied and being one hypostasis together with that which was assumed. Or else, in the manner of holy Cyril, as a soul dwells in a body; and it dwells in the body substantially and indivisibly and without confusion. But whereas the soul is separated from the body in death, God the Word was never separated from the flesh he assumed, but was present to it even in the tomb, keeping it incorrupt, and was present with the soul in Hades, preaching—that is, granting release to the captives; and there was altogether a union of both, of the soul and of the body, even when by his voluntary death they were parted.

Col. 2:10. And you are made full in him. Marvelous, what a thing he has said! You have nothing less than he, but you too are made full of the Godhead—yet in him, that is, through that which was assumed. For since our nature was united to God, we too in him became partakers of the divine nature. For everywhere Paul wishes to bring us near to Christ, as when he says, He raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ; and, If we endure, we shall also reign together with him; and he calls us joint-heirs.

Col. 2:10. Who is the head of all principality and authority. He sets him down as head not as one consubstantial with them, but, as above, as their cause. How then, having forsaken him, do you run to angels, of whom he is the head? For through all these things he digs through and dissolves the doctrine concerning the angels.

Col. 2:11. In whom also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. He brought forward the marvel of the benefit, that In Christ you were circumcised. For it is not a human hand that brings on this circumcision of the flesh, but the Spirit; and it circumcises not a part, but the whole man.

Col. 2:11. In the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ. There a member was stripped away through circumcision, the fleshly covering being removed; but here our body strips off the sins which we accomplish through the flesh. And such a circumcision the Law does not perform, but Christ circumcises it in baptism, stripping us of the old life that is given to sin and is wholly fleshly.

Col. 2:12. Buried with him in baptism. What he called circumcision, this he now calls a tomb, presenting something greater than circumcision. For what was circumcised was not cast aside, but it perished and was destroyed. He, therefore, who is baptized is buried together with Christ, through the three immersions figuring the three-day burial of the Lord, and dying as far as concerns the old and sinful man.

Col. 2:12. In whom also you were raised together through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. Baptism is not only a tomb, but also a resurrection. How? Through faith. For having believed that God is able to raise, and having as a proof of this that he also raised Christ from the dead, we were thus raised in two ways: both in that, hoping for resurrection, we already seem to have attained it, even though it is yet to come; and in that we have spiritually cast off the deadness of the works of sin—which is the very thing he goes on to emphasize.

Col. 2:13. And you, being dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made alive together with him. Christ indeed, he says, having undergone bodily death, was made alive by the Father—not as though he himself were unable to give life to himself, but inasmuch as all things are referred to the Father. For that he himself raised himself is shown when he says, In three days I will raise up the temple; and again, He presented, it says, himself alive after his suffering[3]. But you, having undergone the death of sins, and being uncircumcised—that is, bearing a fleshly mind that was excessive and superfluous, which was deadening you—were made alive together with Christ. For as he rose in body, so you in spirit; yet we shall assuredly rise also in body. And in another way too the all-great John (Chrysostom) intimates how the deadness ought to be understood. For on account of the trespasses, he says, you lay under the sentence of death.

Col. 2:13. Having forgiven us all our trespasses. Which produced the deadness. And observe of what we were worthy, and how he set us free.

Col. 2:14. Having blotted out the handwriting that was against us in its decrees, which was contrary to us. Since he had said that He forgave us, lest you should suppose that he allowed them to remain and to be visible, he says: No, not so, but he blotted them out—that is, he scored them through. And let us understand the handwriting to be either the confession which the people, as it were in their own hand, made to Moses, saying, All that God has spoken we will do and we will hearken; or the covenant which God made with Adam, saying, In the day that you eat, you shall die[4]. For the devil held this fast, as a handwriting, and it stood against us, not allowing us to lift up our heads; for it had justice on its side. This Christ blotted out by the decrees—that is, by faith; for not by works, but by the decrees of faith was it dissolved.

Col. 2:14. And he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. He did not merely score these things through, but also took them out of the way—that is, he made them no longer even visible; and he neither gave them to us nor kept them himself, but having pierced it through upon the cross, he tore it apart, which is the act of one who forgives with joy. For we were all liable to sin and to punishment; but he, the sinless one, being punished in our stead, dissolved upon the cross both the sin and the punishment; there, then, he also rent the handwriting asunder.

Col. 2:15. Having stripped off the principalities and the authorities. He means the diabolical powers, since human nature had put them on; or since he himself, having become man, had this very fact of being man as a kind of handle—he stripped off the handle, that is, he was found ungraspable by the principalities and the authorities. For though he assumed the sinful nature, yet he did so without sin. And you may learn what is meant in this way: The devil held human nature in his power through these two things, pleasure and pain. The Lord, then, having assumed our nature for this very reason, that he might wrestle on our behalf against his principalities and authorities—I forbear to say that even immediately from the beginning, in the assumption of his holy flesh, he shattered these, being conceived without pleasure and born without pain; but moreover, even after he was born and grown to manhood, he was tempted first by the enticements of pleasure on the mountain—I mean gluttony, love of riches, and vainglory—the enemy assailing him in person, and he conquered on our behalf. Then the tempter strove, by the contrivances of pain, to turn him aside into hating his neighbors, plotting against him through the Pharisees and Scribes, and even through those whom he himself had benefited; yet he was not able to accomplish this. Last of all, he fastened him also to the cross, bringing on his mightiest contrivance. But the Lord so far did not yield to what that one wished, that he even prayed on behalf of those who crucified him. Thus, then, upon the cross he most perfectly stripped off the principalities and the authorities, procuring for us this stripping off—for us who had put them on—inasmuch as he had shared in our nature.

Col. 2:15. He made a public spectacle of them openly. That is, he made them to be put to shame. For never was the devil so put to shame. For expecting to hold him, he lost also the others whom he had. And, Openly, stands for, publicly, in the sight of all. For the devil would have done anything, had he been able, to persuade men that he had not died. For this is his great defeat and undoing: that a sinless man was brought under death. Therefore he stirred up here countless heresies, introducing the notion that the death came about in mere appearance. For this reason the Lord both died openly and yet did not rise openly: because of the resurrection the later time too would be a witness, but of the death, had not the time then been the witness, no other could have come to be.

Col. 2:15. Triumphing over them in it. That is, showing the demons defeated in the cross. For a triumph is so called when one, returning from a victory over enemies, celebrates a public procession, displaying to all the defeated as captives. Having therefore set up the trophy in the cross, the Lord triumphed over the demons as in a public theater of Greeks, Romans, and Jews. If, then, it was not angels who died for us, but Christ, how do you say that access was granted through them?

Col. 2:16. Let no one therefore judge you in food, or in drink, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of Sabbaths. Up to now he spoke enigmatically, Let there not be anyone who carries you off as spoil; but now more plainly, once he had first recounted the benefits. For if you have obtained such things, he says, why do you make yourselves accountable to little matters? Do not, then, allow anyone to condemn you as not keeping the Jewish observances in foods and drinks. And by this he ostensibly praises them, as setting aside the Jewish practices. And he said, In respect of a feast, because they did not venture to keep the whole of it. For even if they kept the Sabbath, yet not strictly, inasmuch as they were Christianizing. He shows, then, that the observance is vain if the whole is not kept; and that thereby the whole is already being dissolved. For if it were good, it would be observed in its entirety.

Col. 2:17. Which are a shadow of things to come. By things to come he means the things of the New Covenant. For they were to come, with respect to the Old Covenant then present, when its proper time was at hand.

Col. 2:17–18. But the body is Christ’s. Let no one defraud you of your prize. Some place a full stop at, Christ’s, so that the meaning is: The things of the Old Covenant are a shadow, but the body—that is, the truth—is Christ’s. So why must one cling to the shadow, when the body is present? Others, however, join it to what follows, so that we understand thus: But the body is Christ’s; but, that is to say, let no one defraud you of your prize—that is, cheat you. For to defraud of the prize is when one person conquers, but another receives the prize. You too, then, have conquered the devil, and are above him; why do you again subject yourselves to sin by keeping the Law, which cannot justify? And otherwise: It is Christ who has conquered the one who held us fast, and not the Law; and the prize must rest with him, the conqueror, and with you, who are the body of Christ. How then do you overlook this being given to the Law? For it is plain that, if we still Judaize, we have the Law as master, and seem to be saved by it. But if the Law is a shadow, and the things of Christ are body, we should first have been accustomed to the shadow. Fittingly, then, was he made flesh in the last times, in order to bring us near.

Col. 2:18. Delighting in humility and worship of angels, intruding into things which he has not seen. When he had filled them with indignation by showing that they were being defrauded of their prize and insulted, then he sets forth the heretical doctrine, and says that they wish to defraud us by a seeming humility. For they said that It is unworthy of the majesty of the Only-begotten that the Only-begotten should bring you to the Father, and a thing too great for human littleness. Whence it is more reasonable, they say, to hold that the angels rendered service to your access. And from this they introduced the worship of angels, and persuaded the simpler sort to attend to these, as having saved us. And though they had never seen angels, they nonetheless made such firm assertions about them as though they had seen them.

Col. 2:18. Vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh. In vain, he says, is he puffed up over the doctrine by a fleshly understanding, not a spiritual one. For how is it not the mark of a fleshly and gross mind to set aside the things spoken by Christ? Thus God loved the world, so that he gave his Son for the sake of men; and again, For their sake I sanctify myself; and, I lay down my life for the sheep; and, Other sheep I have, and these too I must bring; and countless other such sayings. How then did he say above, In humility? It is a seeming humility, and not a true one. In another way: They are puffed up as dogmatists, taking their stand and refusing to be taught the truth; and they commend their own doctrine through humility—not the humility which they themselves possess, but as saying that It is a thing too great for men, that the Only-begotten should be slain on our behalf.

Col. 2:19. And not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, increases with the increase of God. He does not hold fast, he says—the one who teaches these things—the Head, that is, the Son. For he himself is the head of the angels, as their Maker and Creator; but he is also the head of the whole Church, and in this respect indeed, yet also inasmuch as we are his body and members, he having shared the same things with us. From him, therefore, the whole body of the Church has both its mere being and its well-being. If anyone falls away from him, he immediately perishes. For just as the perceptive spirit is distributed from the brain into the whole body through the nerves, and from the head proceeds all perception and all motion, so also the body of the Church is supplied from Christ—that is, receives life and spiritual increase. And when does it have this? When it is knit together, that is, has conjunction with him. For the Holy Spirit gives the supply of increase through the joints and ligaments; so that if the body were without ligaments and unjoined to the Head, and is not knit together with it—that is, is not joined fast—then neither would the supply of the Spirit come to be, nor the increase of God, that is, of the best manner of life lived according to God.

Col. 2:20. If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you submit to decrees? Through baptism, he says, having died together with Christ, you were put to death with respect to all your former life, so that you no longer even serve the elements to which you were formerly subject. How then now again, as though living in your former life, are you subject to these things? For you are taught that this day is auspicious, that one ill-omened—which are Greek observances. And observe how gently he mocks them, by saying, You submit to decrees. For you sit, he says, like newly-instructed children, being dictated to and given laws as to what you must do.

Col. 2:21–22. Touch not, neither taste, nor handle; which things are all to corruption in the using. And another observance of theirs, that of foods, which is Jewish rather—just as that of days was Greek. And, restraining the conceit of the dogmatists, he says that these are no great things, but they end in corruption for those who use them. For being decomposed in the belly, they flow off through the privy. They neither profit, then, in themselves, nor do harm.

Col. 2:22. According to the commandments and teachings of men. These are not divine teachings, but commandments of men. What then? Is the Law not a teaching of God? There was a time when it had its season, but now it is not, as no longer having a season. Or else, because the elders among the Jews falsified it, handing down traditions outside the Law, as the Lord also says in the Gospels. Or else he is intimating the practices of the Greeks.

Col. 2:23. Which things indeed have a show of wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and unsparing treatment of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. They have a show of wisdom, not its power, nor its truth. For the one who teaches these things seems to be devout and moderate, and to despise the body, through abstaining from foods. And yet God honored the body, and gave foods, so that the flesh, being filled by them, may hold together and master the voluntary passions; but these men do not treat the body with honor, depriving it, and taking away its rightful due, and not permitting it to exercise rightful mastery.

[1] Jeremiah 20:7 (LXX).

[2] 2 Corinthians 6:16 (cf. Leviticus 26:12).

[3] Acts 1:3.

[4] Genesis 2:17 (LXX).

Chapter 3

Col. 3:1. If then you have been raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; set your mind on the things above, not on the things upon the earth. Having said that you died together with Christ—through baptism, that is—and having given us to understand, by what is left unspoken, that you have also been raised together with Him (for baptism, just as it figures death through the immersion, so it figures life and resurrection through the emergence), he now introduces the point that, if you have been raised together with Christ, you ought henceforth to be above, where He also is, where there is no scrupulous observance of days; and to set your mind on the heavenly things, since these matters—the questions about foods and days—are earthly and bodily, having nothing exalted and spiritual in them, for they are the commandments of earthly men. Yet he was not content to say merely “above,” nor “where Christ is,” but he added, “seated at the right hand of God,” so that he might draw our mind still farther away from the earth.

Col. 3:3. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. From both sides he prepares them not to seek the things here below—both from the deadening and from the life. For you have died, he says, to the things below; therefore you ought not to seek these things. And again, your life is above; so set your mind also on the things above. For he is eager to show that they are seated on high and live another life, the life in God, the life that does not appear. Christ does not appear; in the same way neither does your life appear. Why then do you seek the things that are seen? He lays all this down as a foundation beforehand so that he may immediately pass into the moral discourse. For it is his custom, while constructing one argument, to leap over into another; as also in the Epistle to the Corinthians, while discoursing about those who take their portion ahead of others at the suppers, he suddenly fell into the tradition concerning the mysteries.

Col. 3:4. When Christ, who is your life, shall be made manifest, then you also shall be made manifest with Him in glory. At the second coming Christ is made manifest, and is shown to all to be God, coming in glory with the angels. For now He is so hidden that He is even slandered. Then, therefore, you also shall be made manifest—not simply, but “in glory.” So seek that day, not this one; hasten to live with a view to that day. For then your true life is made manifest; since the present life is death, because it too is held together by corruption, by flux and reflux. Do not seek honors and glories here. For there is your glory. The pearl is hidden so long as it is in the oyster; but when that shell is broken open, then it shines in glory. So too we, so long as we are in this corruptible body, ought to live as those who are hidden, not seeking glory; but when this corruptible thing is dissolved, then comes our glory, if we are shown worthy of it through our deeds.

Col. 3:5. Therefore put to death your members that are upon the earth. He did not say “cast away,” but “put to death,” so that they may not rise again. By “members upon the earth” he perhaps means the bodily members themselves; which, when they do not work the heavenly things, are said to be upon the earth, but when the heavenly things are worked through them, are no longer upon the earth. For instance, when we do not see with evil intent, when we do not listen wrongly, we are not upon the earth. But perhaps by “members upon the earth” he also means the sins accomplished upon the earth through the members of the body—sins which both remain upon the earth and are corrupted here; since the members of the body, even if they are from the earth, nevertheless do not remain upon the earth and undergo corruption, but are made incorruptible when they rise. But how is it that, having said above that you were buried together with Christ, that you put off the body of the sins of the flesh, he now again says, “Put to death”? Because the former deadening was the gift of baptism, paying off the sin that had previously come to be in us; whereas the deadening now enjoined belongs to our own moral choice, doing away with the sins committed after baptism, or rather not permitting them to come back to life at all, through the putting to death of the mind of the flesh. It is as though someone, having reforged and made bright again a statue that had grown grimy, counsels its owner to be diligent to remove the rust—not the rust that has been wholly scoured off, but that which comes upon it afterward.

Col. 3:5. Fornication. Behold, he has interpreted what the members are. And he mentions this one first, because this passion especially holds sway.

Col. 3:5. Uncleanness, passion. He passed over naming individually the things that are not even good to name; and through “uncleanness” and “passion” he indicated all the kinds of shameful unions. For in truth the raging frenzy of the body is a passion, and like a fever, or a wound, or some other disease.

Col. 3:5. Evil desire. Behold, again he has stated the whole thing generally, for every desire is evil. Yet there is also a good desire, the desire for God and the things of God, according to which Daniel was a man of desires.[1]

Col. 3:5. And covetousness, which is idolatry. The firstborn son of evil desire is covetousness; which he named idolatry, as serving gold and silver. For the idols of the nations too are silver and gold.

Col. 3:6. On account of which the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Both the wrath to come, and the wrath in the present age, frequently overtake such people. And he calls them “sons of disobedience,” depriving them of pardon, and showing that they are in these passions not out of ignorance but out of disobedience, which they have so practiced that they have even made themselves its adopted sons, and are recognized and characterized by it.

Col. 3:7. In which you also once walked, when you lived in them. The statement carries praise with it, as of those who do not now live in these things, but there was a time—for they were pagans.

Col. 3:8. But now do you also put away all these things. How then, having said above “when you lived” and made it plain that they do not now live in them, does he again say, “Put away all these things”? For how could they put away what they do not have? It is possible, then, to say that the very phrase “when you lived” works together with him toward the things now being said; for it is as though he is hinting at this: that “of old, indeed, sin ruled over you, and held your life fast, and tyrannized—before baptism, that is—and freedom from the passions was difficult; but now, since the sin in you has been put to death through baptism, it is easy to put away the passions, like a garment. And you have no excuse to plead that you live under the tyrant and under the passions; for you have been put to death to them.”

Col. 3:8. Anger, wrath, malice. By “malice” he means the holding of grudges, which some have also named bitterness—when a person keeps the malice within himself in order to repay.

Col. 3:8. Blasphemy. Thus he speaks of reviling.

Col. 3:8. Shameful speech out of your mouth. He spoke emphatically the phrase “out of your mouth”—that is, the mouth that is sanctified through communion in the Lord’s body. For it is absurd that your mouth, which receives Christ, should be defiled through blasphemy and shameful speech.

Col. 3:9. Do not lie to one another. Having put on Christ, who said, “I am the truth,” how do you now clothe yourselves in another form, that of falsehood? For it is evident that you stripped off that stamp which marked you out from the truth.

Col. 3:9. Having stripped off the old man with his deeds. Why ever does he call the corrupt life “members” and “body” and “man,” and again the virtuous life by the same names? In order to show that moral choice is more authoritative than substance, and that we are named rather from moral choice, not from substance. For Scripture too names some people horses, and dogs, and foxes—those who through their moral choice have become like such animals. And it is moral choice, not substance, that leads us into hell and into the kingdom. By “the old man,” then, he means the corrupt moral choice. Therefore he added, “with his deeds”—that is, moral choice together with its works. And he named it “old,” wishing to show its shamefulness, its ill-favored aspect, and its feebleness. And observe how he enumerated the members of the old man: the mind, through falsehood; the heart, through wrath; the mouth, through both falsehood and blasphemy; the eyes, through fornication, along with the hidden members; the liver, through evil desire; the hands, through covetousness.

Col. 3:10. And having put on the new man, who is being renewed to knowledge. The new man is the moral choice that is according to God, which does not grow old but is ever in its prime toward the knowledge of God and of divine things, ever and ever shown to be younger, and growing stronger the more knowledge it receives and the greater the things of which it is deemed worthy.

Col. 3:10. According to the image of Him who created him. That is, of Christ. Since Christ too did not come to old age, but was so beautiful as cannot even be told: Beautiful in comeliness beyond the sons of men.[2] For He committed no sin, which is what ages and corrupts. We too, then, who were created by Him according to His image, ought to scrape off the corruption and aging that come from sins. And understand by “creation” both that of baptism and that of the best manner of life.

Col. 3:11. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew. That is, neither proselyte nor Jew by ancestral descent.

Col. 3:11. Circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Behold yet another commendation of the new man according to Christ: that in him no difference of nation, of rank, or of ancestry is observed, but Christ is his distinguishing mark. For in all who have been formed in the virtuous life, Christ is all things—that is, both lineage and rank. Or also in another sense: that you all became one Christ, being His body.

Col. 3:12. Put on, then, as elect of God, holy and beloved. He always shows the ease of virtue; for, like a garment, we are able to take this on as well. But also that we must have it continually, and use it as an adornment; for whoever does not have it is unseemly and unadorned. And the exhortation comes with praise, and that in the highest degree. For they became holy, but not elect, nor beloved; whereas you are all these things.

Col. 3:12. Bowels of compassion. He did not say, “Put on mercy,” but “bowels of compassion”—at once so as not to disparage those who are worthy of compassion, and at the same time to show that we must be moved toward them out of inward disposition, and not as brothers toward brothers, but as fathers toward children. For do not say to me, “He sinned.” For it is on this very account that I require of you the bowels of compassion.

Col. 3:12. Kindness, humility, gentleness, longsuffering. For the one who has put on bowels of compassion, these too necessarily follow. For what father is not kind toward his son, is not humble-minded—not contending, but yielding all things to him? Who is not longsuffering? And learn the excellent order. Kindness gives birth to humility; for he who is kindly disposed is also humble-minded. From humility comes gentleness; for he who is arrogant is also prone to wrath. From gentleness comes longsuffering, which is greatness of soul.

Col. 3:13. Bearing with one another and forgiving each other, if anyone has a complaint against another. That is, supporting one another—you him, and he you—and not bitterly scrutinizing one another’s faults, but accounting them small and worthy of being overlooked. And observe how he too made light of them, by saying “complaint.”

Col. 3:13. Just as Christ also forgave you, so you also. What he always does, he exhorts them from Christ, bringing Him forward as an example. But above he made one another’s faults seem small, calling them a mere “complaint”; while by bringing Christ forward he persuades us that, even if the sins are great, even if we are benefactors of those who harm us, even if we are great and they small, we should nevertheless forgive everything—and not only this, but even die on their behalf, and do good to them after death, just as Christ also did good to us even after death. For the word “just as” requires all these things.

Col. 3:14. And above all these things, love. Since it is possible even for one who forgives to do this not out of pure love but in outward show and hypocrisy, he points out the way by which we are able to attain to forgiving truly. For it is possible to appear gentle and humble-minded, and yet not to love. Therefore he says, “Above all these things put on love.”

Col. 3:14. Which is the bond of perfection. All those things, he says, this love binds tightly together when it is present; but when it is absent, they fall apart and are exposed as being hypocrisy and nothing. For just as in the case of a house, if there are no joinings—the fastenings commonly so called—and in the case of the body, if there are no ligaments, there is no benefit from the rest; so too love holds together all the things that make for perfection, and without it no one is perfect, but even if he seems to have everything, he is imperfect.

Col. 3:15. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts. We have often been wronged by someone; two impulses contend within us, the one moving us toward vengeance, the other toward longsuffering. If the peace of God takes its stand in us, like some just arbiter—that is, a judge and steward of the contest—and gives the prize of victory to the one bidding us be longsuffering, the adversary will cease. Let this peace, then, rule in you—not wrath, not contentiousness, not human peace; for that peace comes from taking vengeance, from retaliating; but rather the peace of God, the firm, the indissoluble peace, the peace that comes about for no worldly good, just as God’s peace toward us did not come about on account of anything, but simply out of love for mankind and love He dissolved the enmity against us. But how is it that, having mentioned love, he again begins and discourses about peace? For the exhortation appears superfluous, if indeed peace is contained within love. It is possible, then, to say that, since a friend often brings charges even against a friend, and out of much love contentions and insults and quarrels are stirred up, he says: No, that is not what I want; rather, together with love have also the peace of God, which orders and judges all things.

Col. 3:15. To which also you were called in one body. That is, Christ, calling us to peace, made us one body, becoming Himself the head. For why else are we one body, except that, being members of one another, we may keep this peace and not be torn apart? Or: that “you were called with a view to peace”—that is, you were deemed worthy of countless good things through peace. For if we had not been at peace with God, we would not have been called by Him to be His servants and to share in His good things.

Col. 3:15. And be thankful. This is what it is to be thankful: to treat one’s fellow servants in the same way as God treats us. For the one who confesses thanks to God, as having been forgiven by Him, will not take vengeance on the one who wronged him; whereas the one who takes vengeance does not remember the good he himself received—like that man who, having been forgiven the ten thousand talents, did not forgive the hundred denarii.[3] Let us therefore give thanks, whatever we may suffer, and from whomever, and we shall receive the crown of martyrdom.

Col. 3:16. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. He shows us the way by which we shall be thankful. For if the Word of Christ dwells in us—that is, the teaching, the doctrines, the exhortations, through which He teaches us to despise the present life and the good things here—we shall yield to none of the hardships, but, bearing all things steadfastly, we shall give thanks for whatever befalls us. And he did not say simply, “Let it be in you,” but “Let it dwell,” and “richly.” For if we are rich in the knowledge of the Scriptures, we shall bear all misfortunes easily, just as the man rich in money is able to bear a loss.

Col. 3:16. In all wisdom. That is, in all virtue. For he calls virtue “wisdom,” just as David calls sin “folly”: The fool said in his heart;[4] and, My wounds stank and festered because of my folly.[5]

Col. 3:16. Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs. Since reading involves toil and much that is burdensome, he led them not to histories but to psalms, so that you may at once both delight the soul by singing and steal away the toil. And after the psalms he set the hymns, as a more perfect thing. For singing psalms belongs to men, but singing hymns belongs to the angels.

Col. 3:16. Singing with grace. Meaning, with grace and spiritual delight. For just as human songs seem to have a grace, though not a spiritual one, so the divine songs have a spiritual grace. Or because they also had their singing from a gift of grace.

Col. 3:16. In your heart to the Lord. Not simply with the mouth, but “in the heart,” which is, with attentiveness. For this is to sing to God, while the other is to sing to the air. And in another sense, “in the heart” means, not for display. For even if you are in the marketplace, you can sing within yourself with no one hearing.

Col. 3:17. And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Whether you eat, whether you drink, whether you travel abroad, do all in the name of God—that is, calling Him as your helper, first praying to Him, and so laying hold of your works. The name of God casts out demons, and will it not make your affairs go smoothly for you? Or he means this: that you should name the Lord Jesus; do not bring in the angels.

Col. 3:17. Giving thanks to God and the Father through Him. If you call upon the Son, through Him you call upon the Father. If you give thanks to the Son, through Him you give thanks to the Father. Or: that just as the Son brought us ourselves to the Father, so too He Himself brings our thanksgiving to the Father, being for us the mediator of all good things.

Col. 3:18. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Why ever does he enjoin these things not in all the Epistles, but in this one, and in that to the Ephesians, and in those to Timothy and Titus? Either because it was likely that in these cities there were such dissensions; or because the Church was firmly established here, and the other matters had been set right among them, and it remains for him to discourse about these. But for the others, since loftier doctrines were lacking, it was more necessary to write on their account, and to neglect such practical injunctions. And there is much resemblance in these matters too between this Epistle and that to the Ephesians. And what is the meaning of “in the Lord”? It stands for, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake.” For I do not require only the subjection that comes from nature (for this he indicates by the phrase “as is fitting,” that is, as is proper), but especially the subjection that is for God’s sake.

Col. 3:19. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter toward them. Observe how he exhorts what is suitable to each kind: to wives, subjection; to husbands, love. For the love of the one ruled toward the ruler is not so much required as the love of the ruler toward the one ruled. From being loved, the wife too becomes affectionate; from being served, the husband becomes reasonable. And since it is possible even for one who loves to grow bitter (for these quarrels with beloved persons are especially bitter), on this account he says, “Do not be bitter.” For in truth it comes from much bitterness, this rising up in faction against one’s own member.[6]

Col. 3:20. Children, obey your parents in all things. For this is well-pleasing in the Lord. Again the phrase “in the Lord.” For he wishes us to do these things not from nature alone, but also because it seems good to God, so that we may have a reward as well, as doing them for God’s sake. And, discoursing with the children of godly fathers, he said in all things, since godless fathers ought not to be obeyed in all things. For surely when they force us into impiety, we are not to comply.

Col. 3:21. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, lest they become disheartened. That is, do not bitterly scrutinize everything they do; but there are things you should be willing to overlook, lest you make them more contentious and cast them into discouragement. And observe his wisdom—how he bent the parents and softened their inward feelings by saying, “lest they become disheartened.” For fathers have every concern that their children not be disheartened.

Col. 3:22. Slaves, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh. Immediately the very name of “slave” is a ground for obeying; but lest the slave be pained, he added, “masters according to the flesh.” For the better part of you, the soul, he says, has been set free. The slavery is temporary; rather, then, subject your soul, so that the slavery may be voluntary.

Col. 3:22. Not in eye-service, as men-pleasers. Make the slavery that comes from law, he says, come rather from the fear of Christ. For when you do what is required while your master is not watching, it is plain that you do it for the sake of the eye of God; but if it is only when your master is watching, then you are a man-pleaser; and being such, you will harm yourself. For the Lord has scattered the bones of the men-pleasers.[7]

Col. 3:22. But in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. For this is to fear the Lord: when, with no one watching, we do nothing evil; and this too is singleness of heart, the not looking to men. So then, the man-pleaser is not single-hearted.

Col. 3:23. And whatever you do, work it from the soul, as to the Lord, and not to men. He wishes them to be rid not only of hypocrisy but also of idleness. Rather, he makes them free instead of slaves, when they have no need of their masters’ oversight. For the phrase “from the soul” means this: to act with goodwill, not under the constraint of slavery, but with freedom and moral choice.

Col. 3:24. Knowing that from the Lord you shall receive the recompense of the inheritance. For masters often do not make their slaves heirs, even if they serve them well ten thousand times over; but the Lord will give you the recompense of the inheritance in the heavens, if you keep goodwill toward your masters.

Col. 3:24. For you serve the Lord Christ. Him who legislated order and subjection. And that you serve Christ is plain from the fact that He is the one who renders you your wages.

Col. 3:25. But the one who does wrong shall be requited for the wrong he did, and there is no partiality. The slave who wrongs his master—by serving carelessly, or by pilfering his master’s goods—shall have his recompense from God. For God is not a respecter of persons, that He should pity the slave as the weaker party; He who through the law also commanded not to pity a poor man in judgment.[8] Or in another way: Let the Christian slave who wrongs a pagan master not suppose that he will escape condemnation. For Christ is not a respecter of persons, that He should forgive him, as a Christian, the sin against his pagan master. And though the saying “there is no partiality” seems to be addressed to the slaves, nevertheless let the masters too receive it as fitting them as well.

[1] Cf. Daniel 9:23 (LXX).

[2] Psalm 45:2 (LXX 44:3).

[3] Cf. Matthew 18:23–34.

[4] Psalm 14:1 (LXX 13:1).

[5] Psalm 38:5 (LXX 37:6).

[6] Translator’s note: Migne brackets the preposition παρά here as an editorial insertion; it is secluded and not rendered.

[7] Psalm 53:5 (LXX 52:6).

[8] Cf. Exodus 23:3 (LXX).

Chapter 4

Col. 4:1. Masters, render to your servants what is just and equal. What is the just? It is to recompense them for their labors, to furnish them with all things in abundance, and not to leave them in need of others. For just because you have heard that they receive their reward from God, do not on that account deprive them of what is owed to them from you.

Col. 4:1. Knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Just as they have you, so you also have a Master. With whatever measure, then, you measure to your servants, your own Master will measure to you as well. Or else the meaning is: You too, together with them, have a Master, so that you should treat them as fellow servants. For here he has made the servitude common to both.

Col. 4:2. Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving. The devil knows how great a good prayer is, and for this reason he causes us to spring away from it. Therefore Paul says: Continue steadfastly. But since one who perseveres often falls into sloth and slackness, he says: Watching; that is, being sober, ever wakeful toward the work of prayer; and moreover with thanksgiving, that is, making this prayer with thanksgiving. For this is the true prayer, the one that holds thanksgiving for all things, both those we know and those we do not know, for the good we have received or the afflictions we have endured, and for the common benefits.

Col. 4:3. Praying at the same time also for us. Behold his humility, that Paul should have need of their prayer.

Col. 4:3–4. That God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ (for which I am also in bonds), that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. That is, that He may grant me boldness, not in order that I may be freed from my bonds, but that I may speak the mystery of Christ as I ought to speak it; that is, not with timidity, but with full boldness. But how is it that, while in bonds, he exhorts others and asks them to obtain for him what he already had? Not only out of humility, but also to display the power of brotherly prayer. For he stood in need of help from on high as well, which the prayer of the brethren would supply to him in greater measure; and at the same time he was drawing them on to pray. For if they prayed for him, how much more for themselves?

Col. 4:5. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside. For the Lord too said: Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doves. And so this man now says the same thing: Be on your guard, giving those outside no handle against you in matters where they do you no harm, and not giving them offense unseasonably. For they are outside, that is, not of our household, nor of the same fold; but even though they dwell in the same world, they are outside, since they are far removed both from the Church and from the kingdom. Therefore we must deal with them prudently. For by wisdom he here means prudence. Toward those of our own household there is no need of such great caution. And he comforts them by calling the Greeks “those outside.”

Col. 4:5. Redeeming the time. He says this not because he wishes us to be devious or hypocrites, but he means this: The present time is not yours, it belongs to them. You are able, however, to make it your own in another way, if you walk with prudence, if you do not take up unseasonable quarrels, but render them the honor that is fitting, whenever you suffer no harm to your soul. Hear this same man speaking to Agrippa: I count myself happy that I am about to make my defense before you. In this way let us also make those outside into insiders, drawing them to the preaching through our gentleness.

Col. 4:6. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt. Let your speech, he says, have its pleasantness; only let it not fall away into indifference and slackness, but let it also have an astringency; for this is what the salt signifies. Be neither charming beyond measure, nor again austere; just as with food: if it is unsalted, it is unpalatable; if it is too salty, it is altogether unacceptable to the taste; and either way it is inedible. Do you not see how Daniel waited upon an impious man? Do you not see how the three young men showed nothing rash or burdensome, but manliness and boldness? For to be rash is not a mark of boldness, but of vainglory.

Col. 4:6. To know how you ought to answer each one. The rich man one way, and the poor man another. For the soul of the former, being weak, needs much condescension; but that of the poor man is sturdier, and therefore can bear it, even if you deal with him more weightily. When there is no necessity, do not call the Greek defiled, and do not be insolent. But even if you are brought before a ruler, render the honors that are fitting; yet if you are questioned about the doctrine, declare it to be defiled and impious. Paul addressed the Athenians with words of commendation; but Elymas he reviled; for he deserved it.

Col. 4:7. All that concerns me Tychicus will make known to you. This too is from wisdom, that he does not put everything in his letters, but only what is necessary and pressing. First, so as not to lengthen them; then, so that the one who is sent may also have something to relate, and may thereby be held in greater honor. Third, he shows how he is disposed toward him; for he would not have entrusted such matters to him otherwise. Then, there were things that ought not to be disclosed by letter.

Col. 4:7. The beloved brother, and faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord. If beloved, he knows all things; if faithful, he will not lie; if a fellow servant, he has shared in the trials.

Col. 4:8. Whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that he might know your circumstances, and comfort your hearts. Here he shows his love for them, since it was for this reason that he sent him: that he might learn their affairs, not that he might report his own to them, but that he might comfort them. And he shows that they were in trials and in need of comfort.

Col. 4:9. With Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. This is the Onesimus who was the servant of Philemon. And how astonishing, to what a great dignity he ascended, so as even to be a brother of Paul! And Paul is not ashamed to be the brother of a servant. And it is a commendation of their city, the phrase “who is one of you,” so that they too might take pride in having brought forth such a man.

Col. 4:9. They will make known to you all things that are here. That is, my bonds and the other things that detain me. For if it were not for these, I would have come to you.

Col. 4:10. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you. This is the man who was brought up from Jerusalem with him. And Paul said something greater than the prophets: for whereas they called themselves strangers and sojourners, this man called himself even a captive. And indeed, like a captive, he was led and carried about; or rather, even worse. For captives are cared for by those who have taken them, as their own possessions; but this man everyone led and carried about as a hated enemy. This too is a comfort to those people, since their teacher was in such conditions.

Col. 4:10. And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. Him too he commends from his kinship; for Barnabas was a great man.

Col. 4:10. Concerning whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, receive him. Perhaps they received the instructions concerning Barnabas, namely to receive him with honor. But you may also punctuate at the words “you received instructions”; and then, beginning afresh, read: “If he comes to you, O Colossians, receive him with honor.”

Col. 4:11. And Jesus, who is called Justus. Perhaps this man was a Corinthian.

Col. 4:11. These who are of the circumcision: these alone are fellow workers for the kingdom of God. Having stated the particular commendation of each, he now sets down the common one. For it seemed a great thing to be of the Jews. But since he had made mention of captivity, lest he cast down the soul of the hearer, he then rouses it again by saying: They work together with me in the things that lead into the kingdom. So that, sharing in the captivity, they will also share in the kingdom. But the blessed John (Chrysostom) read the passage thus, as he faintly noted: “These who are of the circumcision, these alone.” For the greater number were of the Gentiles.

Col. 4:11. Who have been a comfort to me. He shows both that he himself was in great afflictions, and that these men were great in some way, since they became a comfort to Paul. And observe how the one who comforts a man in bonds is proclaimed his partner in the kingdom. So then, we must take care of those who are ill-treated for Christ’s sake.

Col. 4:12. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, greets you. Both at the beginning of the Epistle and now he commends him, so that they may love him in return as one who loves them, and may listen to him gladly in whatever he teaches. For the teacher’s being held in reverence is a benefit to the disciples, who are persuaded by him in whatever he says. And it is a great commendation of him, to be a servant of Christ. It is therefore your glory that, being such a man, he came from among you.

Col. 4:12. Always striving on your behalf in his prayers. Not simply praying, but agonizing and trembling on your behalf, and not now only, but always.

Col. 4:12. That you may stand perfect. He gently pricks them, as being imperfect. For they were altogether limping with respect to the doctrine concerning the teaching about the angels. But since it is possible to be perfect and yet not to stand firm—just as when someone knows all things, but does not stand securely—therefore he says: That you may stand perfect, that is, both in doctrine and in life.

Col. 4:12. And fully assured in all the will of God. That is, that you may do no other will than that of God; for this is to be fulfilled and to be made perfect. And through these words he shows that they had a part of it, but fell short in the rest.

Col. 4:13. For I bear him witness that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis. Both expressions are intensive: both “zeal” and “great.” And he commends him also to the Laodiceans and to the people of Hierapolis; for when the Epistle was read, they too would surely hear about this.

Col. 4:14. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you. This Luke is the evangelist, whose great commendation it is to be beloved of Paul. He set him down later not in order to diminish him, but in order to exalt Epaphras before his fellow citizens. And it is likely that there were others called by this name as well.

Col. 4:14. And Demas. For he had not yet, as it seems, forsaken the teacher.

Col. 4:15. Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea. Observe how he cements and joins them to one another.

Col. 4:15. And Nymphas, and the Church that is in his house. This man was great, because he kept his whole household faithful, so that it could even be called a Church. For this reason Paul also bestows a favor on him, addressing him individually. And he does this also in order to stir up the others to the same zeal, so that, if they too should wish to be honored, they might imitate Nymphas.[1]

Col. 4:16. And when this Epistle has been read among you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you also read the one from Laodicea. It seems to me that there were certain things written in this letter which those people too needed to hear; and again in that one, things which these people had to learn. For the benefit is greater when, while others are being rebuked, still others recognize their own sins. But which was the letter from Laodicea? The first to Timothy; for this was written from Laodicea. But some say it was the one that the Laodiceans wrote to Paul. Yet I do not know what need they would have had of that one for their improvement.

Col. 4:17. Say to Archippus. Why does he not write to him directly? Perhaps because he needed only a simple reminder, not many words.

Col. 4:17. Take heed to the ministry which you received in the Lord, that you fulfill it. This phrase, everywhere it occurs, is a word that strikes fear. “Take heed lest anyone make spoil of you.” “Take heed lest this liberty of yours.” So also here: Take heed how you fulfill the work which you received in the Lord, that is, through the Lord; for it is He who gave it to you, not I. And what was the work? To watch over the Colossians. And by saying “in the Lord,” he accomplishes two things: he makes Archippus more diligent in carrying it out, as being the Master’s work; and he subordinates the Colossians to him, as to one entrusted with them by God. For it is altogether for this reason that he writes to them, “Say to Archippus”: so that when Archippus rebukes them, they may have no ground to blame him as harsh, since they know that this is Paul’s injunction, and that their own mouth spoke to Archippus what Paul disclosed to him. Therefore, in order to silence them, Paul did this skillfully, since otherwise it would be improper for disciples to discourse about their teacher.

Col. 4:18. Remember my bonds. This means: Make remembrance of me, the one in bonds, the condemned one. And it is the greatest comfort to them in every affliction, to remember Paul in bonds.

Col. 4:18. Grace be with you. Amen. When this grace is present, even if you have afflictions, even if you have bonds, nothing will prevail against you; since this too is of grace, namely, to be bound. For they returned, he says, from the prison, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to be dishonored for the name of Christ. Do you see that to be insulted is to be counted worthy? And truly this is a great dignity. May it be granted, then, even to us who are unworthy, to be counted worthy of the divine grace in our afflictions; so that, while this grace bears up our weakness, these afflictions may turn to our benefit, squeezing out the great thickness of our sins, to the glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne brackets the pronoun αὐτόν here as an editorial insertion; it is secluded and not rendered.

Commentary on the First Epistle to the Thessalonians

Introduction

A Young Church’s Reputation

Unlike most of the Pauline letters, First Thessalonians opens for Theophylact without a formal preface setting the occasion; he moves straight into the text, beginning from Paul’s own opening words. But the letter itself tells its story as it goes, and Theophylact draws it out as he comments. The church at Thessalonica, a Macedonian city Paul had founded on his second missionary journey, had within a short time become famous—Theophylact notices Paul’s remark that their faith had made them “types to all who believe in Macedonia and Achaia”, so that other believers no longer needed persuading by report but recounted the Thessalonians’ own conduct as the example to imitate. He draws out the force of Paul’s image: their faith had “sounded forth” like a trumpet, reaching believers who, remarkably, had come to the faith earlier than the Thessalonians themselves yet still looked to them as a pattern.

Theophylact also catches the smaller signals of affection in Paul’s opening lines. Where Paul writes to the Ephesians without naming Timothy alongside himself, here he ranks Timothy together with himself as a co-sender, and Theophylact reasons that this was because Timothy, unlike in the Ephesian case, had only just returned from Thessalonica and so shared directly in Paul’s knowledge of the church. Nor does Paul call himself “apostle” or “servant” in his greeting, as is his custom elsewhere; the Thessalonians, Theophylact explains, were still newly catechized, and it was not yet the moment to press upon them the weight of his office.

The Dead Who Are Only Asleep

The letter’s best-known passage answers a grief that had evidently reached Paul from Thessalonica: some believers had died before the Lord’s return, and others in the church were troubled, uncertain whether the dead would share in the hope the living still awaited. Paul answers, “we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as the rest who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Theophylact reads even the choice of the word “asleep” as doing theological work—Paul does not say “those who have died,” and the very substitution of “sleep” for death carries, in itself, the promise of a waking. The grief Paul addresses, Theophylact stresses, is not grief itself, which is only natural, but grief without hope, the mourning of those who see no resurrection beyond the grave; the sharpness of Paul’s warning here, he says, should make every reader who does hope for the resurrection pause and take notice of what is at stake for those who do not.

Paul’s answer culminates in the promise that the Lord himself will descend, and “the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16), a phrase Theophylact glosses simply as “the faithful,” who will be caught up together with the living to meet the Lord. From this, the letter passes into its teaching on the day of the Lord, arriving unpredictably as thief comes at night—a warning, Theophylact notes, not against Christians as such, since a life lived awake and in the light has nothing to fear from a thief’s coming, but against the specific danger of complacent, unwatchful living.

A Community Built to Encourage Itself

Woven through the letter’s teaching is a steady insistence on mutual responsibility. When Paul instructs the Thessalonians to comfort and build one another up, Theophylact reads it as a deliberate correction of a temptation every ordinary believer feels—to excuse oneself from encouraging a neighbor in the faith on the grounds of not being a teacher. Paul’s answer, as Theophylact hears it, allows no such excuse: the appointed teachers alone cannot reach everyone, so the work of building up the church belongs, in some measure, to every believer in it. The same logic runs through Paul’s closing exhortations on prayer, patience with the weak, and thanksgiving in every circumstance: Theophylact treats these not as loosely gathered advice but as the practical shape a hopeful community takes when it has genuinely absorbed the teaching on the resurrection that precedes it.

How to Read This Commentary

First Thessalonians is generally reckoned among the earliest of Paul’s surviving letters, and Theophylact’s commentary on it moves at an even, unhurried pace, closer in register to a pastoral conversation than to the doctrinal combat that marks his work on some of the other epistles. The reader will do best to keep the occasion in view throughout: a young church, only recently founded, already admired for its faith, yet still working through very ordinary griefs—the death of loved ones, uncertainty about the future, the daily discipline of living attentively. Theophylact’s exposition treats these as matters worthy of the same careful attention he gives to doctrine, because for him the two were never really separate.

Chapter 1

1 Thess. 1:1. Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy. When the Apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonians, he ranks Timothy together with himself. Yet when writing to the Ephesians he does not do so, although Timothy was known to them. It seems to me that to the Ephesians he was about to send him at once, and so it was needless to proclaim as author of the letter the very man who would deliver it; but here it was otherwise, for Timothy had returned from Thessalonica, and so with good reason he ranks him together with himself. He places Silvanus before Timothy, perhaps because Timothy asked this out of humility, imitating his teacher Paul, who numbers his disciples together with himself. And Paul here calls himself neither apostle nor servant, as was his custom, because they were newly catechized and had not yet had sufficient experience of him; it was not yet fitting, then, to make mention of his dignity.

1 Thess. 1:1. To the Church of the Thessalonians. Even though the Thessalonians were few, and had not yet been firmly constituted, he nevertheless calls them a Church, encouraging them by the name; for the name of “Church” for the most part signifies a multitude.

1 Thess. 1:1. In God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Since there were both Greek and Jewish assemblies, distinguishing this one from those, he says: To the Church that is in God the Father. And it is a great dignity to be in God. For if anyone is a slave of sin, he is not in God. And note the word “in” set down of both the Father and the Son.[1]

1 Thess. 1:1. Grace to you, and peace. He prays for them that they may advance still more in the divine gifts, but may also have peace, not being puffed up against one another.[2]

1 Thess. 1:2. We give thanks to God always concerning you all. At once the prologue begins from praise. For by giving thanks to God on their behalf, he shows that they had accomplished such things as glorify God. And at the same time he teaches humility, since it is God who works the whole.

1 Thess. 1:2. Calling you to mind in our prayers. To give thanks to God comes from their good deeds; but to remember them in his prayers comes from his love for them.

1 Thess. 1:3. Unceasingly remembering you. Not only, he says, do I remember you in my prayers, but at every other time as well. And this is a token of his intense love.

1 Thess. 1:3. Your work of faith. That is, of your steadfastness. For this is a work of faith: to stand firmly, not merely to boast of faith in words.

1 Thess. 1:3. And the labor of love. What labor is there in loving? To love simply, none at all; but to love genuinely, much labor. For when someone endures all things for the sake of the one he loves, how is this not labor? The Thessalonians, then, also suffered much for their love toward Paul, as you will learn from the book of Acts.[3]

1 Thess. 1:3. And the patience of hope of our Lord Jesus Christ. You endured, he says, many and long trials; and you endured them strengthened by hope. For with full assurance they believed in the prizes laid up; and since God permitted them to be tried at the very beginning, that no one might say that the preaching was established by deceit and flattery, and that it might be shown that it was not human persuasion, but the power of God, that was persuading their souls.

1 Thess. 1:3. Before our God and Father. You will understand this in two ways: either, “remembering you before our God and Father”; or, “the work of faith, which is before God.” For do not think that you labor without profit, but all things are before God; so that He will also render the rewards.

1 Thess. 1:4. Knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. We remember you, he says, because we know that you have been chosen by God; for you were chosen to the faith beyond the many. And whence is this plain, O Paul? Listen, he says, to what follows.

1 Thess. 1:5. That our Gospel came not to you in word only. From this, he says, it is plain that you are elect: from God’s having glorified the preaching among you. For we did not simply preach in this way, but signs also took place, since God was altogether well pleased that you should believe, as being elect and foreordained to Him.

1 Thess. 1:5. But also in power. That is, in signs, which came about both for the benefit of the well-disposed and for the chastisement of the ill-disposed.

1 Thess. 1:5. And in the Holy Spirit. Either that it was in spiritual wisdom, not in the wisdom that is outside; or that the Holy Spirit was given to those who believed.

1 Thess. 1:5. And in much assurance. That is, also in hardships and afflictions. For just as the signs and the supply of the Spirit came about for the full assurance of those who had believed, so also the afflictions endured for the preaching’s sake are a great confirmation of it.

1 Thess. 1:5. As you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. You yourselves, he says, are witnesses how we conducted ourselves among you, and that we preached with much zeal; but this too was for your sake. For because you were elect, on this account we were earnest in all things on your behalf; for what would one not suffer for the beloved of God? And here he touches upon his own achievements as well, though in a veiled way; for he wishes first to praise them.

1 Thess. 1:6. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord. He braces them both by praising them and by reminding them that they too were not left behind him in dangers. And, ah, what an encomium—to become imitators of the teacher at once, and not only of him but also of the Lord! And how did they become imitators of the Lord? Because He too, though He suffered much, rejoiced; for He came to this willingly, so as even to say to the Father, Glorify Me.[4]

1 Thess. 1:6. You welcomed the word amid great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit. Not simply with affliction did you receive the word, but with much—that is, with dangers. And this too you will learn from the Acts. Yet this affliction, that is, these dangers, you welcomed with rejoicing. And explaining how it is possible to rejoice in affliction, he names its cause—the joy of the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit did not allow you to grieve; rather, the pain was in the body, but the joy was given by the Spirit. For just as the young men in the flame were bedewed by the whistling Spirit, so also the Spirit made you rejoice amid the dangers, foreshowing to you the recompense to come. And observe that one then becomes an imitator of the Lord, when he endures dangers with the joy of the Holy Spirit.[5][6]

1 Thess. 1:7. So that you became types to all who believe in Macedonia and Achaia. And yet Paul came to these later; but you shone forth, he says, so as to become teachers of those who came before you. And this too is an imitation of Paul; for he also, though he came later, surpassed all. And observe: he did not say, “You became types so as to bring men to believe,” but, “To those who had already believed you became a type” of how one ought to believe—that is, with fervor and with readiness for dangers. And by Achaia he means Greece.

1 Thess. 1:8. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth. That is, the report of your virtue made the preaching heard abroad by all, and showed you to be the instructors of all. And the word “has sounded forth” is as of a trumpet ringing out brightly and reaching afar.

1 Thess. 1:8. Not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith toward God has gone out. Macedonia, he says, and Greece you filled with the word and the teaching by your own example; but as for the wonder of it, in every way—how in so short a time you displayed so great a faith. And as though speaking of some living thing, he said has gone out.[7]

1 Thess. 1:8. So that we have no need to say anything. So vehement and active is the report of your faith, that men do not even wait for us to say anything about you; but as often as we set out to speak, in order to spur the others on to an equal zeal, they anticipate us, recounting your good deeds.

1 Thess. 1:9. For they themselves report concerning us what manner of entrance we had to you. That is, that our coming to you was full of countless deaths, yet you were not scandalized at us. But you also, having fallen into dangers for our sake, did not turn away from us, but so held fast to us as though you had enjoyed countless good things. And this was a second entrance. For going off to Beroea he was persecuted; and coming thence, he was so received that they would even lay down their lives for him.

1 Thess. 1:9. And how you turned to God from the idols, to serve a living and true God. That is, that you did so readily, and with much vehemence. And here he introduces, less burdensomely, an exhortation as well, reminding them tactfully from what things they had passed over to what, that they might also live worthily of themselves.

1 Thess. 1:10. And to await His Son from the heavens (whom He raised from the dead), Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. This too belongs to the same method. For under the form of a narrative he teaches them to await the Son of God. For this is the greatest consolation to the afflicted: that He who suffered has been raised, and is in heaven, and that He will come, and will deliver us who are afflicted from the wrath to come—that is, from the punishment—since we have pleased Him through faith and a blameless manner of life; but on those who afflict us He will not have mercy. And since the hard things are at hand, but the good things are in hope, he bears witness to their great faith, seeing that they await and hope firmly for the things to come.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact uses the one word ἐκκλησία (“assembly/church”) of the pagan and Jewish bodies as well as of the Christian community; it is rendered “assemblies” for the former and “Church” for the latter—precisely the distinction he draws.

[2] Translator’s note: In the comment Migne brackets the word “not” (μή) as an editorial insertion; it is secluded and not rendered, so the clause reads “that they may advance still more…, but may also have peace.”

[3] Cf. Acts 17:1–9.

[4] Cf. John 17:1, 5.

[5] Cf. Daniel 3:49–50 (LXX, the Song of the Three Young Men).

[6] Translator’s note: Migne’s text gives no noun where the antithesis to “pain” requires one (“the pain was in the body, but the ⟨joy⟩ was given by the Spirit”); “joy” (χαρά) is supplied editorially. A marginal forte note proposes προδεικνύον for προσδεικνύον (“foreshowing”).

[7] Translator’s note: Migne prints an editorial [μακρὰν] within this comment; it is secluded as intrusive and is not rendered.

Chapter 2

1 Thess. 2:1. For you yourselves know, brethren, our entrance to you, that it was not in vain. Your part, he says, is great; yet neither did we use mere human speech, nor was our entrance among you in vain—that is, without dangers, untested, and having nothing sturdy about it. For, as has often been said, it is the dangers that make faith firm; and without them it would have been empty.

1 Thess. 2:2. But having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as you know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God in much conflict. Having escaped, he says, from the dangers at Philippi, we fell again into other dangers. And see how he again refers the whole to God, saying, We were bold in our God—that is, being empowered by Him.

1 Thess. 2:3. For our exhortation was not of error. That is, our teaching was not of error. For those who deceive do not give themselves over to dangers, but to luxuries; whereas I gave myself over to dangers. So that it is plain from this that my teaching does not deceive, nor do I consent to run risks for the sake of human affairs, but for things divine and abiding.

1 Thess. 2:3. Nor of uncleanness. That is, I teach nothing unclean, such as the things of the magicians and sorcerers.

1 Thess. 2:3. Nor in guile. Nor with a view to sedition and conspiracy, like those around Theudas.[1]

1 Thess. 2:4. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, even so we speak. God, he says, approved us, and chose us to be entrusted with the Gospel; and He would not have chosen us, had He not known us to be worthy. Such, then, we remain—approved, and such as we were chosen by Him for so great a preaching.

1 Thess. 2:4. Not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. That is, it is not that we may please you that we do all these things; rather, willing to please God, who examines the hidden things (for this is what “tests” now means); or because He receives our hearts and crowns them. And no one who is deceitful and a cheat and unclean can please Him.

1 Thess. 2:5. For neither at any time were we found using words of flattery, as you know. Since he had earlier praised them, lest he make the praise suspect, he says that neither at any other time did I flatter you (which is the way of deceivers); therefore not now either.

1 Thess. 2:5. Nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness. Nor did we preach to you out of love of money. Of my not flattering, you also are witnesses; but of my not being a lover of money, God is witness, for this is hidden from you.

1 Thess. 2:6. Nor seeking glory from men, neither from you nor from others. He did not say, “We were honored,” nor, “We did not enjoy honor,” lest he seem to reproach them; but, “We did not seek honor,” although the preaching demanded this. For if we count royal ambassadors worthy of much honor, much more those of God. How, then, should we do anything for the sake of glory, we who do not wish to be honored as teachers either by you or by others?

1 Thess. 2:6. When we might have been burdensome, as apostles of Christ. Either in honor, and glory, and weight; or, being able to receive support and to be maintained, and so to be burdensome to you. For our dignity itself demands this—to receive from you.

1 Thess. 2:7. But we became gentle in the midst of you. “Gentle”—that is, mild, unburdensome. Or also, “as little children in the midst of you”—that is, guileless, free from love of glory. For the little child reckons nothing of the sort. And the phrase “in the midst of you” has this sense: I became as one of you, not taking the higher rank.

1 Thess. 2:7. As when a nurse cherishes her own children. He shows his tender affection. Does the nurse flatter? Does she demand money from the little children? So ought the teacher to be kindly, kissing those who behave drunkenly toward him, as the nurse does the infants, even when they strike her.

1 Thess. 2:8. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not only the Gospel of God, but also our own souls. “Being affectionately desirous of you”—that is, bound fast to you and clinging to you, the word being formed from “together” (homou) and “to join” (eirō, to interweave). Some read “yearning” (himeiromenoi), in the sense of “desiring”; but it is not so. Not only, then, he says, did we receive nothing from you, but, if it were possible, we are well pleased—that is, we earnestly desire—to pour out even our souls into you. Now to give the Gospel is the more honorable thing; but to give the soul is the harder, and belongs to a more passionate love—which indeed he himself goes on to add.

1 Thess. 2:8. Because you have become beloved to us. Lest he seem to say all these things as one toiling on their behalf, and as one who ought to be honored by them for it, he says that I do these things for no other reason than love; for I do not seek a recompense, but do it for the sake of the good itself.

1 Thess. 2:9. For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; working night and day so as not to burden any of you, we preached to you the Gospel of God. He did not say, “Remember the benefits from me,” but, “the labors”; and not simply, but also “the toils”—that is, those undertaken with much diligence. And not by day only, but also by night. Ah, what zeal, and what diligence not to scandalize anyone! And he shows that the Thessalonians too were in poverty, by saying, “so as not to burden any of you.”

1 Thess. 2:10. You are witnesses, and God. God indeed is trustworthy; yet since it is hidden from men whether God bears witness to this, he calls as witnesses those also to whom the discourse is addressed.

1 Thess. 2:10. How holily. Fulfilling all that we ought; for this is what “holily” means, in the sense of “with reverence toward God.”

1 Thess. 2:10. And righteously. That is, demanding money from no one with demands for payment.

1 Thess. 2:10. And blamelessly. Without offense and without scandal.

1 Thess. 2:10. We behaved toward you who believe. For among the unbelievers he was called both unholy, and a charlatan, and a babbler, and nothing sound.

1 Thess. 2:11. Even as you know. Again he calls them witnesses—which is a sign of one who speaks without boasting.

1 Thess. 2:11. As [we dealt with] each one of you (as a father his own children), exhorting you and comforting. Ah, how great a thing it was to leave no one unconsoled, but to converse with each one fittingly! And “exhorting,” with a view to bearing nobly. So then he was not seeking glory. Above, then, he likened himself to a nurse; but now to a father, showing his love, and his protection, and his freedom from conceit. For what father is puffed up against his children?

1 Thess. 2:12. And charging you, that you walk worthily of God, who calls you to His own kingdom and glory. To charge belongs already to a more forceful kind of teaching. So then they did not flatter. But since he had said before, “as a father,” then he added also, “charging.” For not harshly, he says, but as fathers, that you walk worthily of God. And observe how, under the form of a narrative, he both teaches and at the same time consoles. For if God calls us to a kingdom, we must bear all things.

1 Thess. 2:13. For this cause we also give thanks to God without ceasing, that when you received the word of hearing from us, namely of God, you received not the word of men, but (as it truly is) the word of God. Here he praises them as well. For it is not, he says, that we do all things blamelessly, while you displayed something unworthy of my charge. For you are not disposed as those who hear men simply, but you gave heed as to God Himself exhorting. And by “the word of hearing of God” he means the preaching, as being believed through being heard. For how shall they believe unless they hear?

1 Thess. 2:13. Which also works in you who believe. Whence is it plain that you received it as God’s word? It works in you, he says—that is, it is shown from the works. For unless you had received it thus, you would not have borne such great trials so nobly. For just as he himself shows that he is no flatterer, nor deceitful, by his enduring of dangers, so also their faith is made evident by their bearing up under afflictions.

1 Thess. 2:14. For you, brethren, became imitators of the Churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus. Lest anyone understand the “Churches in Judaea” to mean the synagogues of the Jews, he added, “in Christ Jesus,” that he might make plain the Churches of the faithful.

1 Thess. 2:14. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, as they also from the Jews. Great is the consolation. For if the Jews, zealots for the ancestral law, once they had believed endured so much, how much more ought you? And it is no small proof that the preaching is true, that the Jews suffered so much for it which before they persecuted.

1 Thess. 2:15. Who even put the Lord Jesus to death. And what wonder if they ill-treated their own countrymen, where indeed they even killed the Lord? And see how great a consolation it is to share with Christ in His sufferings. Therefore Paul too always brings this forward amid trials.

1 Thess. 2:15. And their own prophets. But someone will say that they were ignorant of the Lord. What then? Did they not know their own prophets, whose books they carry about? How then did they kill these also? So that it is plain they do nothing as zealots for the truth, but rather rave against the truth.

1 Thess. 2:15. And persecuted us. The apostles, your teachers. You therefore, the disciples, must bear up, looking to the examples.

1 Thess. 2:15. And please not God. For how should they please God, who killed the Son, having beforehand killed the prophets?

1 Thess. 2:15–16. And are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved. For if it is needful that the saving words be spoken to the whole world, and these men hinder it, they are therefore common enemies of the world. For it is malice beyond all bounds to impede the common salvation.

1 Thess. 2:16. To fill up their sins always. These things, he says, they did both formerly against the prophets, and later against Christ, and against us, so as to show themselves sinning in the most complete way, and reaching the full measure of wickedness, and its very summit.

1 Thess. 2:16. But the wrath has come upon them to the end. That is, no longer, as before, is there a return from captivity and a repossession of the land; rather, the wrath of God has come upon them to the end—that is, even to the end the wrath of God will so remain upon them. And by saying “the wrath,” with the article, he shows that it is owed to them, and foreordained, and decreed. Having consoled the Thessalonians by showing that they have many partners in their trials, he consoles them now also by showing that those who afflict them will pay the penalty.

1 Thess. 2:17. But we, brethren, being bereft of you for a short while of an hour. Here he speaks of his love. Above, then, he said, “As a father his children,” and, “As a nurse”; but here, “being bereft”—which befits children seeking their fathers—that from this we may learn how he longed for them. And he hints also at the despondency he was in because of the separation. And it is not possible to say, he says, that we waited for a long time, but only for a short and brief while, and as much as may be reckoned as a single hour.

1 Thess. 2:17. In presence, not in heart. And these things, he says, we did—not even in heart were we separated, but in presence; yet, although ever bearing you about in our heart, we are grieved that we do not enjoy you bodily as well. And note this too, that those who love fervently have need of meeting face to face, and that love is the more kindled by this.

1 Thess. 2:17. We endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. “The more abundantly”—that is, more than was to be expected of those parted for an hour. And see his love, that I wish to come, he says, for no other reason than to see your face.

1 Thess. 2:18. Therefore we wished to come to you, even I Paul, both once and again, and Satan hindered us. What do you say? Does Satan hinder? Yes; for it was not God’s work. For in the case of the Romans, he says, that God hindered; and Luke says that the Spirit hindered them; and in the case of the Corinthians, he says the work was the Spirit’s. But here it was only of Satan, who brought on grievous and unexpected trials—by divine permission, of course. And see how he glories in his love, showing that he loved them most of all, by saying, “Even I Paul”—that is, the others with me were eager to come, but I both was eager and made the attempt.[2]

1 Thess. 2:19. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of boasting? Are these not the words of mothers whose very inward parts are warmed through, conversing with their little children? And it did not suffice him to display his warmth by “crown,” but he added “of boasting.” For over you, he says, I hope that I shall obtain greater boldness before Christ on your account; and I rejoice for this very thing, that you are my crown—and a crown of boasting, that is, of splendid glory—both now, and then you shall be.

1 Thess. 2:19. Is it not even you, before our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? What then? Are the Thessalonians your hope, blessed Paul? Not these alone. Therefore he said, “even you,” showing that there were others as well.

1 Thess. 2:20. For you are our glory and joy. For how great a glory it is to bring so great a Church to Christ, and one so well-esteemed!

[1] Cf. Acts 5:36.

[2] Cf. Acts 16:6–7.

Chapter 3

1 Thess. 3:1. Therefore, no longer forbearing, we were well pleased to be left at Athens alone. In the sense of, “We chose, and judged it better.”

1 Thess. 3:2. And we sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God and our fellow worker in the Gospel of Christ. So great was this holy man’s care for the disciples, that whenever he himself was necessarily prevented by certain circumstances, he sent others to visit the disciples. And this he then did, by sending Timothy. And he says so many words of praise about him, not so much exalting him, as honoring them, because he tore away from the work of his ministry, on their account, a fellow worker of the Gospel so necessary at such a time.[1]

1 Thess. 3:2. To establish you and to exhort you concerning your faith. For since they were shaken at their teacher’s being tried, they had need of strengthening and exhortation, lest they fall away from the faith. For no small disturbance to the disciples are the trials of the teacher, just as it is to soldiers that their general be wounded.

1 Thess. 3:3. That no one be moved amid these afflictions. He now explains what the strengthening from Timothy was to profit them; and he says, “That no one be moved”—that is, be troubled or grow slack amid my trials. For the devil, whenever he finds an occasion of trial, fawns upon the unstable by the reminder of relief, that they may leap away from what grieves them. But some said that “be moved” (sainesthai) was set down for “be disturbed,” from the metaphor of dogs wagging their tails when they fawn.

1 Thess. 3:3. For you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. Let us hear that Christians are appointed to be afflicted; for these things are not about the apostles alone. Being appointed to this, then, what is strange if we are afflicted? So that we must remain untroubled not only at the trials past, but also at those to come; for this is more proper to us.

1 Thess. 3:4. For indeed, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to be afflicted, even as it came to pass, and you know. Great is the consolation to the disciples, that the teacher foretold them the afflictions. For thereafter they were not troubled as at things unexpected. Therefore Christ also said to the apostles, I have told you before it comes to pass, that when it comes to pass you may believe. And Paul said to them not this only, but foretold other things as well, and it came out so.[2]

1 Thess. 3:5. Therefore I also, no longer forbearing, sent. If you foretold them, O Paul, that you would be afflicted, and that they ought not to be troubled in the affliction, why do you send again? For it seems that you do not greatly trust them. Out of much love, he says, I do this. For those who love are suspicious even of what is safe. And at the same time the trials were many, and the excess of the evils impelled me. Therefore he did not say, “Condemning you, I sent,” but, “No longer forbearing”—which was a mark of friendship.

1 Thess. 3:5. To know your faith. Here some inquire why he who ascended to the third heaven, and heard unspeakable words, does not know the affairs of the Thessalonians, but sends Timothy to learn their faith. One may say, then, that the saints did not know all things, neither those before Christ nor those after Christ. For Elisha too was ignorant of the matter of the Shunammite woman. And Elijah thought he alone was left, though there were seven thousand. And Samuel is taught about these very men not to look to the appearance of David’s eldest brother. So then it was with the apostles also. And this came to pass, that neither might they themselves be lifted up, nor others imagine great things about them, and that we who come after might not be able to say, “Since those men were above human nature, they achieved virtue, and therefore we grow slothful”; but that we might learn that not even they enjoyed the divine help continually, but achieved their good deeds by their own labors.[3][4][5][6]

1 Thess. 3:5. Lest by some means the tempter had tempted you. I did not suspect, he says, that you had been shaken, but only this much, that you had been tempted. And you see that to be troubled amid afflictions is devilish, and especially when some are scandalized by reason of others who are ill-disposed—which is just what the devil did in Job’s case, tempting the wife through the things that man was suffering. And the devil tempts as one who, knowing whether he will cast a man down—which is plain from Job—yet, being shameless, makes the attempt; and if he sees anything weak, he persists; but if strong, he withdraws.

1 Thess. 3:5. And our labor be in vain. For if they were turned aside, O Paul, what is that to you? Your labor is fully rewarded with God. Yet out of much love, he says, I count the labor to have been emptied out for me.

1 Thess. 3:6. But now when Timothy came to us from you, and brought us good tidings of your faith and love. These things I expected, he says, but the contrary came out. And see his exceeding joy: he did not say, “When he reported,” but, “When he brought good tidings”—so great a good did he count their confirmation in the faith. And he rejoiced at their love also, because it was a sign of faith.

1 Thess. 3:6. And that you have good remembrance of us always, longing to see us, even as we also you. That is, you remember us with praises and good words. Hear, you disciples, and be taught to remember your teachers always with good words. For you will benefit yourselves, not them. And it was the greatest consolation and gladness to the Thessalonians to learn that Paul knew they loved him; for thereby the bond of affection is the more increased.

1 Thess. 3:7. For this cause we were comforted, brethren, over you, in all our affliction and distress. Ah! He was grateful to them, that they were not shaken. For we do not even feel, he says, our sorrows, but we were comforted—not over one affliction, but over all. For the joy over you became a counterweight to all our distresses.

1 Thess. 3:7. Through your faith. You strengthened me, he says. And yet the contrary was the case; for he himself, by not yielding to the trials, strengthened them; nevertheless he turns the encomium over upon them. For you, he says, did not allow me to feel the trials.

1 Thess. 3:8. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. He did not say, “We were comforted,” but, “We live”—showing that he counts their scandal as death, and as life their progress, and stability, and confirmation in Christ.

1 Thess. 3:9. For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sakes before our God? So great, he says, is the joy on your account, that we are not even able to thank God worthily on your behalf. For we count your good achievement a gift of God. For such a high resolve is not of human zeal or of the soul. Therefore, though we owe thanks to Him, we do not find the worthy thanksgiving.

1 Thess. 3:10. Night and day beseeching beyond measure to see your face. See the excess: he prayed exceedingly that he might see them, as a farmer who, hearing that the land he toiled over is heavy with fruit, longs to see it with his own eyes.

1 Thess. 3:10. And might perfect what is lacking in your faith. And yet above he testified that they stood firm; how then does he say, “what is lacking in your faith”? They had not enjoyed the whole of the teaching, but perhaps there was wanting to them the doctrine concerning the resurrection, and other such things. And there were many false teachers; therefore he said, “what is lacking.” Where, then, he had feared concerning the faith itself, he said, “I sent to establish you”; but here, “to perfect,” he says—which belongs to teaching rather than to confirmation. For we say a thing is being perfected when something small is lacking to it.

1 Thess. 3:11. May God himself, our Father, together with our Lord Jesus Christ, guide our way to you. He shows that on his own part too he prayed to see them, seeing that he even sets the prayer within the Epistle; and at the same time he makes a defense, that it is not through sloth that he is parted from them, as if he said: May God Himself cut off the trials that drag us about everywhere, that we may come to you by a straight road.

1 Thess. 3:12. And may the Lord make you to increase and abound in love toward one another and toward all. Do you see the unrestrainable madness of love, that he prays they may both increase and abound in love? And not toward one another only, but toward all. For this is proper to love that is according to God: to embrace all; but if one love this man and not that, the friendship is according to man.

1 Thess. 3:12. Even as we also toward you. Our part, he says, is already done; but yours we ask still to be done. For you have us as a measure and example of love.

1 Thess. 3:13. To establish your hearts blameless in holiness before God and our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. He shows that love brings gain to them, not to those who are loved. For may the Lord make you to abound in love, he says, so as to establish your hearts. And if you understand the Spirit—as Basil also maintained—for who else will establish men blameless before God and the Father at the coming of Christ but the Spirit altogether? And he did not say, “establish you,” but, “your hearts.” For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts. And it is possible, while doing nothing evil, nevertheless to be evil—for instance, envying, dealing deceitfully, bearing grudges, holding perverse doctrines. A man, then, is truly blameless when he is pure in heart; then also he has holiness. For holiness is properly said of chastity, just as uncleanness of fornication and adultery; but in the general sense, every sin is uncleanness, and every virtue holiness. And he wishes them to be blameless before God and the Father, both now (for this is sincere virtue, that which is in the sight of God, not in the sight of men, since human judgment is fallible), and at the coming of Christ as well; for by Him we are judged before the Father. That you may be blameless, then, he says, even as all the saints.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne brackets the words “preserving and” (τηρῶν καί) here as an editorial insertion; they are secluded and not rendered (“honoring them”).

[2] John 13:19 (cf. 14:29).

[3] Cf. 4 Kingdoms (2 Kings) 4:27.

[4] Cf. 3 Kingdoms (1 Kings) 19:10, 18.

[5] Cf. 1 Kingdoms (1 Samuel) 16:6–7.

[6] Translator’s note: Migne brackets “others” (ἑτέρων) in “seven thousand [others]”; it is secluded and not rendered.

Chapter 4

1 Thess. 4:1. Finally, brethren, we ask you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, so you may abound the more. Since, he says, I have discoursed to you about what is fitting, hear also about the things that must always be heard. For the word “finally” signifies this—that is, continually and forever. And see his humility: that not even to exhort does he say he is himself worthy of trust, but he takes Christ along, saying this, that “Christ exhorts you through me.” And “you received” is not of words only, but of deeds; for he taught by deeds as well. And what do we exhort? That you may abound the more—that is, that you may be eager to do something beyond the commandment, and may surpass the injunctions. For just as the earth bears not only what is sown, so the soul ought not to stand still at the injunctions, but to go beyond them.

1 Thess. 4:2. For you know what charges we gave you through the Lord Jesus Christ. A “charge” has to do with things to be avoided, which when done bring punishment, but when not done bring no praise. There are indeed certain things which one ought not to charge—that is, not to restrain with a threat, but to leave to the judgment of the hearers; such as to empty oneself of money, and to keep virginity. For He who is able to receive it, he says, let him receive it. It is likely, then, that Paul charged them with much fear about certain matters. Therefore he does not set them down, but reminds them. And again he sets Christ in the midst: “For the things I charged are not mine,” he says, “but His”; so that He is either obeyed or set at nought.[1]

1 Thess. 4:3. For this is the will of God, your sanctification. That is, chastity. And everywhere he charges concerning this—writing to Timothy, and to the Corinthians, and to the Hebrews. For the passion is tyrannical, and there is need of many and continual remedies.

1 Thess. 4:3. That you abstain from all fornication. For many and intricate are the forms of it, which he could not bear even to name, but said simply, “all.”

1 Thess. 4:4. That each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor. By “vessel” he means the body. When, then, we are chaste, and it is pure, we ourselves possess it; but when it is unclean, sin possesses it. For what sin commands, it makes the body do as a slave. But indeed it is then in honor, when it is chaste. So that sin is dishonor. And note the word “know”; for it shows that to be chaste is a matter of discipline and learning. And where are the Manichaeans and Marcionites who bring in “natures”?[2]

1 Thess. 4:5. Not in the passion of lust. That is, not in a desire that has passion; for there is also a passionless desire, that of divine things. Or also, because he names “passions of lust” all the things that kindle desire; such as luxury, wealth, idleness, sloth—each of these might be called a passion of lust. We must, then, if we are to be chaste, admit no passion that kindles desire.

1 Thess. 4:5. Even as the Gentiles who know not God. For not knowing God, they have no hope of recompense either. Therefore they indulge everything to pleasure.

1 Thess. 4:6. That no one overreach and defraud his brother in the matter. Above he spoke of all the rest of fornication, but now he speaks of adultery, which he fittingly calls both covetousness and transgression. For God assigned to each one a wife, and set bounds to nature—I mean the union with that one wife. So that it is covetousness in the matter—that is, in the union—and that done against a brother.

1 Thess. 4:6. Because the Lord is the avenger of all these, as we also told you before and testified. Do not think, he says, that I say these things only concerning the brethren; rather, one must not have even the wives of others, nor those who are simply unwed, nor common women. For all these things the Lord avenges; and we do not do them with impunity, but ten-thousandfold do we pay the penalty for the pleasure that now arises in us from these things. And see: first he exhorted; then he shamed them by saying, “Even as the Gentiles”; then from reasonings he showed the absurdity, calling the matter covetousness; finally he also strikes fear. And he reminds them that they often heard these things from him.

1 Thess. 4:7–8. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in sanctification. Therefore he who rejects this rejects not man, but God, who also gave His Holy Spirit to us. Since he had said, “You wrong your brother,” and had added that God avenges, he now broadens this, showing that even if an unbeliever should suffer this, the one who did it will pay the penalty. For it is not in avenging that man that God will punish you, but Himself. For He Himself called you to purity, and you insulted Him through your uncleanness—Him who gave you the Holy Spirit. So that whether you corrupt a married slave-woman or a queen, the charge is the same; for it is one God who is insulted. And if you commit fornication, He avenges Himself, whose Spirit you defiled. And otherwise: God, seeing us despising Him in such matters more than men, avenges Himself. For we are eager not to be seen by the eyes of men; but while He sees, we despise Him.

1 Thess. 4:9. But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I write to you. He does not yet speak of love toward all, but of love toward the brethren. And he sets down the exhortation by way of passing it over, establishing these two things: one, that the matter is so necessary that it needs no teacher—for things exceedingly great are plain to all; and the other, by which he the more shames them, rousing them lest they fall short of the opinion he holds about them, reckoning that they have already achieved it.

1 Thess. 4:9. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. See with how great an encomium he says these things. For he set God over them as the teacher of this virtue. This the prophet also said: They shall all be taught by God.[3]

1 Thess. 4:10. And indeed you do it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. He does not simply say, “You are taught by God,” but, “I know it—from what you do.” And he made mention of Macedonia, since Thessalonica is the metropolis of Macedonia.

1 Thess. 4:10–11. But we exhort you, brethren, to abound the more, and to be ambitious to be quiet, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you. That you are lovers of the brethren, I know; but this we exhort, that you abound—that is, increase in brotherly love, and be more zealous in it. Either, then, put a stop here, and then begin afresh and read, “To be quiet and to mind your own affairs”; or, “To be ambitious to be quiet and to mind your own affairs.” And from this he shows that the idle are also meddlesome and turbulent. And by saying, “to work with your hands,” he shames those who do away with bodily labors and seek only the spiritual. For tell me, foolish ones: does one work fasting with his hands? Does one work sleeping on the ground? It is not so; but he speaks of bodily work, which is even rather spiritual—namely, that the worker provide for others, that is, for the poor. And since they were poor, having been plundered of their possessions, he teaches them to work, that they may show mercy. And if he bids these to work—those plundered for Christ’s sake—much more the others.

1 Thess. 4:12. That you may walk becomingly toward those outside, and may have need of nothing. That is, that you may not behave unbecomingly by begging among those outside the faith. And he set this down with gentle words, that he might not strike them. For if the faithful, he says, are scandalized when they see a healthy man begging (whence they call such men “Christ-traffickers”), much more the unbelievers.

1 Thess. 4:13. But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep. Here he sets in motion the discourse on the resurrection. For even if he had discoursed to them about this, yet now he is about to uncover a certain mystery. Or also: they knew all that concerns the resurrection, but they were grieving; which he now heals. And since many matters, while unknown, grieve us, but when known dissolve the grief, on this account he says, “I would not have you ignorant.” And he did not say, “of those who have died,” but, “who are asleep,” showing even from the name itself that there is a rising again.

1 Thess. 4:13. That you sorrow not, even as the rest who have no hope. Hope of what? Of the resurrection. For those who have no hope of resurrection, these ought to mourn. Let us hear, then, and shudder. What then? Is it for this that you do not wish them to be ignorant—that they may not grieve? Do you not say, “that they may not be punished,” but, “that they may not grieve”? Yes, he says, because this grief brings on the punishment.

1 Thess. 4:14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who are asleep through Jesus will God bring with Him. Just as, he says, He raised the Lord, who suffered and died in the body, so also will He raise us. And see how, in the case of the Lord, because the resurrection has already taken place, he confidently says, “He died”; but in our case, because the resurrection is still to come, he says, “those who are asleep,” showing that there is a rising again. For shall not he who sleeps, he says, also rise up? And “He will bring through Jesus those who are asleep” you will understand in two ways: either, “He will bring them through Jesus,” that is, the Son Himself will be the mediator of the resurrection, and will present them to the face of the Father; or, “those who are asleep through Jesus,” that is, the faithful. For having Christ within themselves, they sleep through Jesus. He discourses, then, here of a particular resurrection—that is, the glorious one, that of the faithful, that which is with the Lord. For He will bring them with Him, that is, with the Lord He will catch them up in clouds from every side; since concerning the general resurrection the Thessalonians knew. But this is what he wishes now: to console them by showing that the resurrection of the faithful is honored and glorious, that they may not grieve. For all indeed will rise, but not all in glory, but the faithful—that is, those who have works together with right doctrine. And observe all that follows as well.[4]

1 Thess. 4:15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord. He was about to say something strange; therefore he also makes it trustworthy by the word of God. For not from myself, he says, but having learned it from Christ, do I speak. For this too he heard expressly from the Teacher, just as that other saying: It is more blessed to give than to receive. For the rest he uttered by the Spirit.[5]

1 Thess. 4:15. That we who are alive, who remain to the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who are asleep. What he says in the Epistle to the Corinthians, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, this he says now also. For since it seemed difficult that these who had rotted away should rise, he says that the living shall not precede those; but just as it is easy for God to bring the whole-bodied, so also those. And by saying “we who are alive,” he does not speak of himself (for he was not to live until the resurrection), but he means the faithful; therefore he added, “who remain to the coming of the Lord.” For in his own person he indicates all who shall then be found alive. But the blessed Methodius takes “the living” to be the souls; teaching this, that the souls shall not precede the bodies; for first the bodies are raised, that the souls may enjoy them—the souls which he said also “remain,” because they are immortal.[6]

1 Thess. 4:16. That the Lord Himself, with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, shall descend from heaven. Do not disbelieve, he says, what I say; for the Lord Himself will command this. And how will He command? With the voice of an archangel—of him who is set over the other angels, and who cries, “Make all ready; for the Judge is at hand.” And there will be many trumpets, but at the last of them the Judge will descend. For just as the Father on Mount Sinai had both trumpets and angels ministering, so also the Son, as King. Or: the command of God will make the earth give back the bodies, transformed to incorruption; while the gathering into one of those scattered everywhere the voice of the archangel will accomplish, with the angels ministering.[7]

1 Thess. 4:16. And the dead in Christ will rise first. “The dead in Christ”—that is, the faithful. For being about to be lifted up in clouds, they shall also rise first; but the rest, last, as being about neither to be caught up nor to go out to meet Him.

1 Thess. 4:17. Then we who are alive, who remain, shall together with them be caught up in clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Even if the dead rise first, yet we who are alive are likewise caught up—the worthy, of course—in clouds, just as a cloud also took up the Lord. And for what reason, if He is going to descend, does He catch up the faithful? For honor’s sake. For just as, when a king enters a city, the honored go out to meet him, while the condemned await the judge within, so also then: the sinners remain below, even if they be Christians; but the righteous are caught up, and so reap the chief of good things—to be ever with Christ.[8]

1 Thess. 4:18. So then, encourage one another with these words. With a view to their not grieving, like the rest who do not hope for a resurrection.

[1] Matthew 19:12.

[2] Translator’s note: Within the comment Migne brackets “in sanctification” (ἐν ἁγιασμῷ) as an editorial supplement (“when it is pure”); it is secluded and not rendered. A marginal forte note proposes δή for the connective δέ in “But indeed it is then in honor.”

[3] John 6:45 (cf. Isaiah 54:13).

[4] Cf. Psalm 41:8 (LXX 40:9).

[5] Acts 20:35.

[6] 1 Corinthians 15:52.

[7] Translator’s note: In “And how will He command?” Migne brackets the word “this” (τοῦτο) as a supplement; it is secluded and not rendered. A marginal forte note proposes adding “also” (καί): “And how will He also command?”

[8] Translator’s note: At “to be ever with Christ” Migne prints the genitive Χριστοῦ with a marginal forte note proposing the dative Χριστῷ (“to be ever with Christ”).

Chapter 5

1 Thess. 5:1. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that anything be written to you. For it is superfluous and unprofitable to know the seasons and times of the consummation. For not even to the apostles did the Lord reveal this, when they came and asked Him. But Paul perhaps had learned this too from the unspeakable words.

1 Thess. 5:2. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. By “the day of the Lord” you will understand both the common consummation and the particular end of each one; for this too comes upon each one unseen. And this is profitable for us in many ways. First, because if a man knew his own eighth day, he would be eager to commit every sin the other days, and then at the very end would be baptized. Second, because many, if they knew that tomorrow perhaps they would die, would work countless evils upon their enemies, despairing of themselves and wishing to glut themselves with the blood of their foes—which now does not happen, the fear of death and the love of life restraining them. But the lovers of life, too, would have been destroyed by despondency, had they known the time of their death. And the righteous would not have had so great a reward, when set in dangers; for they would have seemed, since they knew they would not now die but perhaps after so many years, on that account to be unsparing of themselves. But now, since it is uncertain whether they will survive the dangers, and yet they are unsparing of themselves, their virtue is manifest—just as the three young men were the more marvelous for this, that not knowing certainly whether they would survive the fire, they nevertheless did not worship. For these reasons our end is as a thief in the night. You know this, then, O Thessalonians, from what the Lord said: You know not at what hour the thief comes.[1][2][3]

1 Thess. 5:3. For when they say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon her who is with child; and they shall not escape. Since those who were insulting them were in prosperity, he now consoles the faithful, saying: Do not think that they will escape. For destruction will come upon them, both unseen and painful, and bringing much bitterness, just as travail upon her who is pregnant. But how, if Elijah is to come, and the Antichrist, does Paul now say that destruction will come upon them suddenly? Because the Antichrist and Elijah are a sign of the consummation; but of the coming of Christ, no longer—for it will be sudden and unseen. And observe the example of travail. For here too the woman knows that she will give birth; but when, she does not know. Many, at any rate, have borne even seven-month children, and on the roads, foreknowing nothing. And just as those women, while playing and laughing, are suddenly seized with unspeakable pangs, so also the souls of those who now live luxuriously, when that day comes upon them, shall not escape.[4]

1 Thess. 5:4. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief. That is, you do not have a dark and unclean life. What then? Was not the end going to come upon them unseen also, even if they were not unclean? It will indeed come upon them unseen, but it will involve them in nothing grievous. For even to those who are awake and in the light, even if some entrance of a robber should occur, he will be able to do no harm; but those in darkness and asleep the robber strips and goes off.

1 Thess. 5:5. For you are all sons of light, and sons of day. Just as “sons of Gehenna” are those who do the things worthy of Gehenna, and “sons of disobedience” the disobedient, so “sons of light and of day” are those who do the things of the light.

1 Thess. 5:5. We are not of night, nor of darkness. That is, of sin.

1 Thess. 5:6. Therefore let us not sleep, as also the rest, but let us watch and be sober. That is, let us not neglect good works. And the intensifying of watchfulness is sobriety. For it is possible to be awake, yet not sober; as if he said: Let us do the good things soberly and attentively.

1 Thess. 5:7–8. For those who sleep, sleep in the night; and those who are drunk, are drunk in the night. But let us, being of the day, be sober. He calls those in wickedness “sleepers,” as inactive toward virtue and imagining all things. For such are the things of the present life, differing in nothing from dreams. And by “drunkenness” he means not only that from wine, but also that from all the passions, as displacing a man from his natural state and darkening the governing faculty. You ought not, then, to be such. For you are not of night and sons of it, but of day, through baptism and the reception of the commandments of God.

1 Thess. 5:8. Putting on the breastplate of faith and love. It does not suffice to be awake and sober, but one must also be armed. For if a man be awake and sober, but have no weapons, the robbers quickly make away with him. And by saying “breastplate of faith and love,” he hinted at right doctrines and a good life; this is to be truly sober. And one must have these not simply, but as a breastplate. For nothing easily cuts through this, but it is like a wall to the breast, and none of the fiery darts of the devil will touch us.

1 Thess. 5:8. And as a helmet the hope of salvation. Just as the helmet preserves the most vital part in us, the head, covering and guarding it, so also hope guards the mind, and shows itself salvation to it, allowing nothing from outside to fall upon it. See, then, what he said elsewhere also: Faith, hope, love, these three—and now too he bids us acquire them.[5]

1 Thess. 5:9–10. Because God appointed us not to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. For this reason, he says, we must acquire these weapons: because God did not appoint—that is, did not set apart—us that we should taste of His wrath, but that He might gain us for Himself, and save us, giving His Son for us to death. We ought, then, to hope for good and great things amid dangers. For if we believed that He did not spare the Son for our sake, let us hope that much more will He deliver us from these dangers; and let us look upon the example, and love it, and our kindred as well. Therefore, he says, Christ died, that whether we wake—that is, live—or sleep—that is, die—we should live together with Him. For he speaks of one kind of sleep above, and another here. So that what he says is this: Do not fear the bodily dangers and deaths; even if we die, we shall live; for indeed He who so loved us as to die for us is alive.

1 Thess. 5:11. Therefore comfort one another, and edify one the other, even as also you do. Do you see? Why then do you make the excuse, “I am not a teacher”? Edify, he says, one the other, since the teachers are not sufficient for the admonition of all.

1 Thess. 5:12. But we ask you, brethren, to know those who labor among you. Since he said, “Edify one the other,” lest they suppose that he had raised them to the teacher’s rank, and they be lifted up against the teachers, he says: Even if I have entrusted to you the edifying of one another, still I exhort you to hold those men in honor. For teachers are compelled to endure many hardships, which honor will at least somewhat lighten for them.

1 Thess. 5:12. And who lead you in the Lord, and admonish you. For if you honor those who are set over you with regard to men, how much more ought you to acknowledge gratitude to those set over you with regard to God? For the words “in the Lord” mean this: he is not set over you in worldly matters, but in those according to the Lord; he prays for you, he begot you again through baptism, he visits you, he admonishes you, he is a physician to you, and in the dead of night, if you call, he comes. Do you see his protection?

1 Thess. 5:13. And to hold them in the very highest love, because of their work. Do not simply love them, he says, but “very highest,” as children their fathers. For he who loves Christ will love also His minister, of whatever sort he be, because through him he attained the dread Mysteries. If you take a wife of good repute, do you not love and honor the one who arranged the match? You have received the kingdom of heaven, and do you spurn the one who arranged it? Hear Paul: For their work’s sake, he says, honor them.

1 Thess. 5:13. Be at peace among yourselves. It is also written, “among them,” that is, the teachers. For he knows the enmities that are born against these; for because they reprove, or also restrain men from evils, they are hated. One must, then, be at peace with them, and not in outward show, but among yourselves.

1 Thess. 5:14. Now we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly. Here he addresses the teachers. Do not, he says, rebuke from authority or willfulness, but admonish gently. For the reckless man becomes the bolder when he is rebuked. And the disorderly are all who do things contrary to what God has ordained. For He ordained an order for each one, and he who transgresses it is disorderly. The drunkard, the reviler, the covetous, and all who sin, step outside the order.

1 Thess. 5:14. Comfort the fainthearted. The fainthearted is he who does not bear trial. This is the one sown upon the rock. He too, then, needs to be held up.

1 Thess. 5:14. Support the weak. That is, prop up those who are weak concerning the faith, as also elsewhere, Receive him who is weak in the faith, he says.[6]

1 Thess. 5:14. Be longsuffering toward all. Both toward the disorderly, and toward the fainthearted, and toward the weak. For this is most fitting for a teacher: to be able to bring all to a better mind, even the most savage.

1 Thess. 5:15. See that no one render evil for evil to anyone. If evil for evil is not to be rendered, much more evil for good, or to begin an evil, or to do harm to one who has done no injury.

1 Thess. 5:15. But always pursue the good, both toward one another and toward all. It does not suffice not to render evil for evil, but one must, he says, also repay the wrongdoer with good things. For this he shows by saying, “Pursue the good”—that is, be intently zealous to do good, both “toward one another,” that is, toward the faithful, and “toward all,” that is, even toward unbelievers.

1 Thess. 5:16. Rejoice always. Even if you fall into trials. And observe that after saying one must not render evil for evil, then he enjoined rejoicing. For he who has been schooled to avenge himself on no one, but rather even to benefit the one who has grieved him, whence shall he admit the sting of grief?

1 Thess. 5:17–18. Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks. He showed the way of ever rejoicing—unceasing prayer and thanksgiving. For he who is accustomed to converse with God, and to give thanks to Him for all things as happening to his profit, plainly will have continual joy.

1 Thess. 5:18. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you. And how shall you give thanks always? If you recognize that this is what God wills—that you be thankful toward Him, as One who ever does good in Christ Jesus, that is, through the cooperation of the Lord Jesus. For indeed, toward thanksgiving He is Himself our fellow worker, He who also taught us to do this, as we have learned from the Gospel.

1 Thess. 5:19–20. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Since the present life is night, God gave us a lamp, the Holy Spirit; but some made it brighter, as all the saints, while others quenched it, as the five virgins, who left it without oil; as the one who committed fornication in Corinth, who poured filth upon it. He says, then: Quench not the Spirit, that is, the gift. Shut the doors, that is, the senses, that no spirit of wickedness may enter, and the lamp will not be quenched. Do not throw on the dust, that is, earthly cares, and it will be kept unquenched. Or also thus: there were among them prophets of God and false prophets. And since it was uncertain which was the true one, they turned away from all alike. He says, then, to them: The Spirit—that is, the gift in those who are truly prophets—quench not, by turning away from them equally with the false prophets; nor despise the prophecies that are from the Holy Spirit.[7][8][9]

1 Thess. 5:21. But prove all things; hold fast the good. What then? Shall we receive the false prophets also? By no means. But prove all things—that is, judge with discrimination both the false and the true, and then hold fast what seems good to you, that is, the true prophecies—hold them fast, that is, honor them, make them your concern.

1 Thess. 5:22. Abstain from every form of evil. Not from this or that, but simply from every kind, both of false prophet and of sin.

1 Thess. 5:23. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly. After the exhortation he adds a prayer also, that they may have security from both sides. And what is “wholly”? This is it: in body and soul; and you will learn it from what follows.

1 Thess. 5:23. And may your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. By “the spirit” he means the gift which we received through baptism. For if we keep the lamp of this bright and unquenched, we shall enter into the bridal chamber; and the soul too and the body will then be blameless, if the Spirit shine in us. But Gregory of Nyssa says: Since man is compounded of every kind of soul—the natural, the perceptive, and the intellectual—the Apostle, by saying “spirit,” indicated the intellectual part; by “soul,” the perceptive; and by “body,” the natural life in us. He prays, then, that they be kept wholly and entirely blameless, having pleased God in all things.[10]

1 Thess. 5:24. Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it. See his humility. Since he had prayed for them, Do not think, he says, that you will be saved by my prayers, but by the goodness of God who called you. For if He called you to salvation, and is faithful—that is, true—He will assuredly do it according to His will, and will save you.[11]

1 Thess. 5:25. Brothers, pray on our behalf. See his moderation: Paul had need of their prayer.

1 Thess. 5:26. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. Since, being absent, he could not greet them through his own mouth, he wishes to greet them through others; as we say, “Kiss so-and-so for me.” And since there is also a deceitful kiss, like that of Judas, he says, “with a holy one.”[12]

1 Thess. 5:27. I adjure you by the Lord that this Epistle be read to all the holy brethren. Not so much for the sake of teaching, as that he might be conversing with them too through the Epistle—which is a token of ardent longing. And he adjures them, that even if they should despise him, yet for the oath’s sake they might do what was enjoined. For so dreadful were oaths to the Christians of old; but not to those of today, and—alas!—to us.

1 Thess. 5:28. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. All good things, he says, that One has freely given us. Be eager, then, to draw to yourselves the greater grace, by walking worthily of the things given to you. And by the same grace may we also be guarded from every evil way, that we may live to the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; to whom belongs all glory to the ages. Amen.

[1] Cf. Matthew 24:42–43; Luke 12:39.

[2] The three young men: cf. Daniel 3:16–18.

[3] Translator’s note: “His own eighth day” means the fixed day of one’s own death; the “other days” are the remaining span of life.

[4] Translator’s note: At “seven-month children” (ἑπτάμηνα) Migne notes a received reading “eight-month” (ὀκτώμηνα).

[5] Translator’s note: For “hope of salvation” (ἐλπίδα σωτηρίας) Migne records a marginal forte variant, ἐλπίδος σωτηρίου (“the hope of the saving one / of salvation”).

[6] Romans 14:1.

[7] Cf. Matthew 25:1–12.

[8] Cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1.

[9] Translator’s note: In “by turning away from them” Migne prints the dative αὐτοῖς with a marginal forte note proposing the accusative αὐτούς.

[10] Translator’s note: In the lemma πνεῦμα is rendered “spirit” (lower-case): Theophylact takes it not of the Holy Spirit absolutely but of the charism received in baptism, and then reports Gregory of Nyssa’s reading of it as the intellectual part of man.

[11] Translator’s note: A few words are faint in Migne here; “that you will be saved ⟨by my prayers⟩” is reconstructed from the sense (the printed text reads “from my own…”).

[12] Cf. Luke 22:47–48.

Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians

Introduction

A Letter Written to Correct a Rumor

Paul had told the Thessalonians he was eager to visit them; when the visit did not materialize, he sent Timothy instead, and, still unable to come in person, wrote a second time to finish in writing what he had not managed to finish by being present. That, Theophylact explains in his prefatory Argument, is why Paul wrote again so soon after the first letter, and he draws his proof of it from the letters themselves: in the first letter Paul had put off discussing the timing of the Lord’s return as not yet necessary, but here he takes the question up directly—a change, Theophylact reasons, that only makes sense because Paul still had not come and the matter had grown urgent in his absence.

What made it urgent, Theophylact explains, was deception. Certain “pestilent men” at Thessalonica were claiming that the day of the Lord had already arrived, going so far as to forge letters in Paul’s name to lend the claim his authority. Theophylact reads real menace behind the fraud: if believers could be persuaded that judgment had already come and no further reckoning remained, their hope of resurrection and of seeing wrongs finally set right would collapse, their courage under persecution would weaken, and—worse still—Christ himself would appear to have spoken falsely, since he had foretold signs that were to precede his coming and none of them had yet occurred. Paul writes, Theophylact says, to console the Thessalonians in their sufferings and to give them a means of testing which letters bearing his name were genuinely his.

The Man of Lawlessness

The letter’s center is Paul’s teaching that the day of the Lord will not come until “the apostasy come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thess. 2:3). Theophylact takes care to specify what this figure is not: not Satan himself, but a man who clothes himself with the whole of Satan’s power, opposing and exalting himself “above all that is called God”, abolishing every rival object of worship so that he alone may be worshipped, and working false signs to make the claim convincing. Paul adds that something presently “restrains” this figure from being revealed before his appointed time, and here Theophylact reports rather than settles a genuine disagreement among earlier interpreters: some held that the restraint was the grace of the Holy Spirit, others—a reading Theophylact notes that Saint John Chrysostom also favored—that it was the Roman empire itself, whose eventual dissolution would open the way for the man of lawlessness to appear. Theophylact judges the second reading the more likely, and explains Paul’s deliberate vagueness on the point as prudence: to have said plainly that Rome’s power would one day fail would have exposed Paul and the Thessalonian church to a very immediate and avoidable danger from the authorities of his own day.

Paul had written that “the mystery of iniquity already works” even in his own time (2 Thess. 2:7), and Theophylact reads this as a reference to the emperor Nero, whom he calls a type of the coming Antichrist—a man already impure and already seeking divine honors for himself, though not yet with the Antichrist’s full and open impiety. If a figure so nearly resembling the man of lawlessness had already appeared in Paul’s own day, Theophylact reasons, there is nothing strange in the apostle’s warning that the pattern was already, in a preliminary way, at work.

How to Read This Commentary

Second Thessalonians is the shortest and, in its middle chapter, the most densely eschatological of Theophylact’s Pauline commentaries, and the reader coming to it fresh should notice how carefully he distinguishes what Paul discloses from what he deliberately withholds. Paul gives signs, not a timetable, and Theophylact follows him in refusing to speculate beyond what the text supports, weighing more than one patristic reading rather than forcing a single answer where the apostle himself left room for uncertainty. The letter’s closing chapter, with its plain instruction that those unwilling to work should not expect to eat, returns from prophecy to the ordinary discipline of a congregation still waiting—a reminder, in Theophylact’s reading, that watchfulness for the Lord’s coming was never meant to excuse anyone from the patient work of the present. There Theophylact notes a change in Paul’s own tone: where the first letter had touched on idleness gently, the second speaks more severely, and Theophylact traces the reason to Paul’s own example—a man who, though under no obligation to labor with his hands while proclaiming the Gospel, worked “night and day” all the same, and so could ask nothing of the Thessalonians he had not already asked of himself.

Chapter 1

Argument of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. The blessed Paul writes a second letter to the Thessalonians for the following reason. He had stated in the former letter that he was eager to see them; and when he did not obtain what he longed for, no longer able to bear it, he sent Timothy, and by all this he showed the desire he had to come to them. Since, then, he had not managed to come and set right what was lacking in their faith, for this reason he adds a second letter, filling up by his writing what was wanting in his presence. That he did not come to them is plain from this: in the first letter he had deferred writing about when the coming of the Lord would be, as something not needful for them; but now he writes about it. And he would not have written now, had he come in person. He writes about this question of necessity. For certain pestilent men were already saying that the coming of the Lord was at hand, and—what was worse—they even forged certain sayings, as though spoken by Paul, and letters, as though written by him. The devil contrived this in order to unstring the faithful. For since the believers found great encouragement in the hope of the resurrection, expecting that they themselves would receive the rewards of virtue, and would see those who afflicted them undergoing a fitting punishment, he prompted his agents to teach that the judgment and the coming of Christ were already present, so as to show that there would be no further recompense, no tribunal and punishment, and thereby both to shatter the hopes of the saints and to make the enemies of the preaching bolder—indeed, to convict Christ Himself of falsehood, since He had said that certain signs of His coming were to take place; for if these did not come first, and the resurrection took place, as they were deceitfully claiming, the Lord would manifestly be shown false. For these reasons Paul writes the Epistle, and speaks concerning the coming of the Lord, not revealing to them the time, but declaring its sign, the Antichrist. He comforts them, sorely worn down by their sufferings. And finally, he gives them signs by which they will recognize his genuine letters.[1]

2 Thess. 1:1. Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, to the Church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first letter also he began in this way. Whatever, then, has been said by us there, take it up here as well.

2 Thess. 1:2. Grace to you, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. When God bestows grace upon someone, nothing will be grievous to him, but everything will be easily resolved. Knowing, then, how great is the grace of God, this blessed man prays it for them. For if this grace is present with them, they will have no sense of their trials, but, enjoying together the peace of God as well, they will remain unshaken and at peace. And at the same time he reminds them of the grace of God, so that, even if afflictions should come upon them, by recalling the grace from which they were saved they may be encouraged, and, being assured by what is past and greater, may not despair in the lesser things.[2]

2 Thess. 1:3. We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, as it is fitting. He teaches three things here. First, that for whatever good we have accomplished, we must not be grateful to ourselves, but to God, attributing the whole to Him and not boasting. Second, that what they suffer is not worthy of tears or laments, but of thanksgiving toward God—so that they too ought to rejoice, and not collapse. And third, that we must not envy those who do well, but rejoice and give thanks to God on our brethren’s behalf. So then, those who waste away over the good others do blaspheme God. And he said as it is fitting so that we should not be lifted up even over the thanksgiving itself, as though we were contributing something extraordinary; for we are only doing what is due—hence he called the thing an obligation. Or else it means “both in words and in works”; for this is the worthy thanksgiving.

2 Thess. 1:3. Because your faith grows exceedingly. When the flood of trials that come against the faith sweeps in and yet does not overwhelm you, this is proof of nothing else than that your faith has grown and become loftier—just as in the ancient flood the high places were not easily overwhelmed. Therefore he said grows exceedingly, to indicate the surpassing measure of its height.

2 Thess. 1:3. And the love of every one of you all toward one another abounds. Behold love! They did not love this one and not that one, but the love was equal toward all, on behalf of all. For the words “of every one” and “toward one another” indicate this; since whenever we love partially, this is not love but division. For if you love for God’s sake, love all; but if you love partially, this is merely human friendship. And observe that being knit together and holding fast to one another contributes greatly against afflictions.

2 Thess. 1:4. So that we ourselves boast of you in the Churches of God. In the first letter he said that all so well know your affairs that we have no need to speak about you; how then does he now say that he boasts of them in the Churches? This is clear from the very wording. For he did not say “We teach them about you,” but “We boast and take pride in you.” If, then, we both give thanks to God on your account and boast of you before men, much more ought you to do this over what befalls you, and not to be despondent and collapse, as if amid mere trials.

2 Thess. 1:4. For your patience and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions that you endure. He shows that they were tried for a long time, for patience is not displayed in two or three days. Now there is indeed a patience even in bearing the promised good things while not yet enjoying them; but here he speaks of a greater one, that amid persecutions and afflictions. For they were living among implacable enemies, and they needed a sturdy patience—and that at the very beginning of the preaching, and being poor men besides. Let those be ashamed who, for the sake of human patronage, go over to crooked doctrines.

2 Thess. 1:5. A token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God. By what he has already said he consoled them—both by saying “We give thanks” and by saying “We boast”; but now especially he sets down what everyone in pain seeks, namely, deliverance from his troubles and the punishment of those who afflict him. What he means, then, is this: that you endure the afflictions for the showing forth of the righteous judgment of God, which is your being counted worthy of the kingdom. For when He crowns you who are afflicted, and punishes those who afflict you, His righteousness is made manifest. And he consoles them greatly by showing that they are crowned not by favor, but justly, and as receiving the kingdom as a recompense for their own labors and sweat.

2 Thess. 1:5. For which you also suffer. So it is not because those who afflict you are stronger that they prevail over you, but because from suffering the kingdom of heaven is procured. And it is necessary that this exchange come about thus, and not without toil. For through many afflictions we must enter into the kingdom, says the Lord.[3]

2 Thess. 1:6–7. Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay affliction to those who afflict you; and to you who are afflicted, rest. The word “since” expresses no doubt, but rather confirmation, equivalent to “because it is righteous with God.” For if it is so among men, much more with God. We are accustomed to say even in ordinary conversation, “If God hates the wicked,” and “If God cares about human affairs, then such-and-such will happen”—as though the hearers must necessarily reply, “But indeed He does hate.” So it is here too: “If it is righteous”—for the conclusion that follows is, “But indeed it is righteous.” But it is not the case that, as the afflictions brought upon you are temporary, so also the afflictions that God will in turn bring upon those who afflict you will be temporary; rather, those will be unending—and your seasons of rest are of the same kind.[4]

2 Thess. 1:7. With us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of His power. Behold yet another consolation: that they were to be partakers in the crowns together with Paul, who had accomplished so much. He calls the coming of the Lord His “revelation,” and by this too he consoles them. For now, he says, He is hidden, but do not be distressed; for He will be revealed, and as God and Master. “From heaven,” for that is the throne of God; and “with awe-inspiring angels,” for “angels of power” means mighty ones. So why do you collapse, when we have such a Master, whose very servants are angels of power? Those who now afflict you, then, will pay the penalty, and will not escape.

2 Thess. 1:8. In flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Above he said on those who afflict you, but now, more generally, on those who do not know God—establishing this most wisely, that there will certainly be vengeance. For even if not on your account, yet for His own sake He will avenge Himself on His enemies. This, then, is said so that they may be assured that those men will certainly be punished; and the other, so that they may rejoice, since God punishes those who afflict them as an honor to them. And if He punishes those who do not obey the Gospel, much more those who also hinder others from obeying—such as those who now afflict you. The phrase “in flaming fire” should be construed either with “taking vengeance,” as if He said, “punishing the disobedient in Gehenna,” or thus: “at the revelation of Christ, which will take place in flaming fire,” as David also says, A fire shall go before Him, and shall burn up His enemies round about;[5] and Daniel, A river of fire flowed.[6] And note that “in flaming fire” is equivalent to “in a fire that only burns and does not give light.” For to sinners the fire will only burn, not give light; but to the righteous it will only give light, not burn.

2 Thess. 1:9. Who shall pay the penalty, even eternal destruction. Where, then, are the Origenists, who fable an end to the punishment? Paul calls it eternal. And how, with you, is the eternal temporary?

2 Thess. 1:9. Away from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His strength. Here he indicates the ease of it. For there will be no difficulty, he says, but it suffices only for God to be seen, and all the disobedient will be in punishment. For His countenance and His coming alone will be light to some and torment to others. For He is present not simply, but with the glory of power: neither is His glory without strength, nor His strength without glory. That is, He will be seen as a mighty king.

2 Thess. 1:10. When He comes to be glorified among His holy ones. For when the now-disobedient and stiff-necked see those whom they scourged partaking of boundless glory, the matter becomes the glory of God. For their glory is His. So that in glorifying the saints, He Himself is glorified. For just as it is His wealth that there are faithful ones, so it is His glory that there are those who are to enjoy His good things.

2 Thess. 1:10. And to be marveled at in all those who have believed. That is, through those who have believed. For behold, “in” stands for “through.” For when He counts the pitiable, those driven out by all, worthy of such splendor, His strength is then displayed. And, otherwise, when those who have suffered countless terrible things—so as to be made to fall away from the faith—are brought into the midst, and yet have not fallen away, then the glory of God and of them is displayed.

2 Thess. 1:10. Because our testimony to you was believed, in that day. God will be marveled at in that day, he says, because our preaching and word was believed by you—that is, because you believed, and made yourselves worthy of those good things then given to the faithful. And he said well, “in that day”; for then are the truly faithful shown to be such in reality, since now many even counterfeit faith. Therefore the Wise One also says, Call no man blessed before his death.[7]

2 Thess. 1:11. To which end we also pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of the calling. What then? Were they not already called? Yes; but he does not speak of that calling, since by that one many are called—even the man clothed in filthy garments was called, and the five virgins, but they did not enter in. By “calling,” then, he here means the one confirmed by deeds, which is properly a calling—just as faith properly so called is the active kind. So he adds:[8]

2 Thess. 1:11. And would fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness. This calling, he says, I mean: that all the good pleasure of God—that is, all that is well-pleasing to Him—may be fulfilled in you, and that you may accomplish every good thing, and so be as God wills, lacking nothing. And here too he restrains their pride, lest they be lifted up by the many commendations; for he shows that they are not yet made perfect.

2 Thess. 1:11. And the work of faith with power. He will make perfect in you, he says, the endurance of persecutions. How? “With power”—that is, by strengthening and invigorating you; for endurance is a work of faith. So that he who has no endurance shows no work of faith either.

2 Thess. 1:12. That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him. If these aforementioned things come to pass in you, he says, the name of the Lord will be glorified in you even in this present life. For when men see you enduring every trial for the love of the Master, how will this not be glory to Him—that He is so good that His servants die for Him, and so powerful that He has braced you for endurance? But you too are glorified in Him, when you are found so faithful as to suffer all things. For it is a servant’s glory to be found faithful to his master. And, otherwise, affliction for Christ’s sake is glory, since it makes more illustrious those who are ever being delivered to death, yet are shown to be stronger than death.

2 Thess. 1:12. According to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And this very thing, he says, is of God and not our own, but His grace—I mean, that He is glorified in us, because we prefer nothing to Him, as being sweeter than all things; and that we are glorified in Him, because we receive power from Him to endure all trials.

[1] Translator’s note: This reads plainly, with no lacuna: “the coming of the Lord… signifying the Antichrist… And he comforts them… and, finally, gives them signs by which they will recognize [him].”

[2] Translator’s note: Migne prints ἀναιρὸν in the body with a marginal conjecture “grievous” (ἀνιαρὸν); ἀνιαρὸν is the intended sense, and the translation follows it.

[3] Acts 14:22.

[4] Translator’s note: In the lemma Migne prints “righteous [is]” with the verb in square brackets—an editorial supplement not in the canonical Greek; it is excluded from the running lemma here, following the bracketed text.

[5] Psalm 97:3 (Septuagint 96:3).

[6] Daniel 7:10.

[7] Cf. Sirach 11:28.

[8] Cf. Matthew 22:11–12; Matthew 25:1–12.

Chapter 2

2 Thess. 2:1–2. Now we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you be not soon shaken from your mind. When the resurrection will be, he does not say; but that it is not now, this he teaches. For there were certain deceivers who said that the time of the consummation and of the coming of the Lord had already come. And it is no small consolation to say that the faithful will be gathered together to Him, to be with Him—as in the former letter; for at the very moment of rising, the worthy will be caught up to the Lord. What, then, is “we beseech”? It means, “We exhort you,” so that you be not shaken and turned aside from the mind which up to now you have held standing aright.

2 Thess. 2:2. Neither be troubled, nor by a spirit. That is, by a prophecy. For some, feigning prophecy, were deceiving the people, as though the Lord were already present.

2 Thess. 2:2. Nor by word. That is, by teaching given in the living voice.

2 Thess. 2:2. Nor by letter as from us. For they were even forging letters, as though sent by Paul, to confirm what they were saying.

2 Thess. 2:2. As that the day of the Lord has come. Be not troubled, he says, as though the day of the Lord were already present—that is, the coming of Christ.

2 Thess. 2:3. Let no one deceive you by any means. Neither as a prophet, nor as a teacher, nor as one who writes such things.

2 Thess. 2:3. For that day shall not come except the apostasy come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. The coming of the Lord will not take place, he says, unless the apostasy come—that is, the Antichrist. For he called him “apostasy,” since he is this very thing in person, as one who is to make many fall away, even the elect, if it were possible. And he calls this same one “the man of sin,” since he will himself commit every sin and will trip up others into sinning. And “son of perdition,” since he too will perish. But who is this? Is it Satan? By no means; rather, a certain man who clothes himself with all his energy.

2 Thess. 2:4. Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or an object of worship. For he will not lead men into idolatry; rather, he will abolish all the gods, and their objects of worship—that is, the idols—and will proclaim himself alone to be God.

2 Thess. 2:4. So that he sits in the temple of God as God. Not in the temple at Jerusalem only, but in the Churches generally, and in every divine temple.[1]

2 Thess. 2:4. Showing himself, that he is God. He did not say “saying,” but “attempting to show.” For he will display great works and signs to deceive all.

2 Thess. 2:5. Do you not remember that, when I was still with you, I told you these things? From this too it is plain that he was handing down great mysteries even unwritten. And observe that it is necessary to say the same things continually, and to pour them over and over in the same words. For behold, they heard the Apostle say these things in his presence, and yet they needed strengthening again. I say nothing strange, he says, but only what I have always been saying. And he speaks more reproachfully, saying, “Do you not remember? Have you so quickly forgotten?”

2 Thess. 2:6. And now you know what restrains, that he may be revealed in his own time. “What restrains” is what hinders and impedes. And what is this? Some say the grace of the Spirit; others, the Roman empire—with whom the blessed John also agrees. For unless this is dissolved, the Antichrist will not gain entrance to do what he wishes. For this reason Paul also spoke obscurely; for he did not wish to incur needless enmity and senseless dangers. For if he had said that the empire of the Romans would shortly be dissolved, they would at once have buried him as a public menace, and the other faithful with him, as rejoicing at the dissolution of so great an empire. That he is not speaking of the grace of the Holy Spirit is clear. For first, he would not have spoken obscurely, but openly, that the grace of the Spirit—that is, the gifts—now restrains him. Then, if he were to come when the gifts had failed, he ought to have appeared already; for these failed long ago. And note that he did not say “it will be soon,” but “that he may be revealed,” he says, “in his own time.” For again he left the time uncertain.

2 Thess. 2:7. For the mystery of iniquity already works. He speaks thus of Nero, who was a type of the Antichrist. For he too was impure, and sought to be called God. And he says well, “the mystery.” For Nero does not advance openly against every God, as that one will, nor shamelessly. What he means is this: before the time of the Antichrist arrives, there was found another not far short of him. What wonder, then, if the Antichrist is already at work? And he spoke obscurely about Nero, not out of servility, but to teach us as well not to take on needless enmities when there is nothing pressing.

2 Thess. 2:7–8. Only there is one who restrains now, until he be taken out of the way, and then shall the lawless one be revealed. That is, when the Roman empire is taken out of the way, then that one will come. For as long as the fear of this empire remains, no one will quickly submit to him; but when it is dissolved, he will set upon the state of anarchy, and will attempt to seize the rule both of men and of God. For just as the kingdoms before this one were dissolved—as that of the Medes by the Babylonians, that of the Babylonians by the Persians, that of the Persians by the Macedonians, that of the Macedonians by the Romans—so this one too by the Antichrist. And Daniel sets these things before us with great clarity. But some understood “what restrains” to be idolatry. For when, they say, the deceit that restrains shall cease, and idolatry, then the Antichrist will appear, as the Lord somewhere says: The Gospel shall be preached for a testimony to them, and then shall the end come.[2] Others named “what restrains” the decree of God. For when, they say, the decree of God which now restrains the coming of the Antichrist is fulfilled, and the time appointed for him arrives, then he will be revealed. And it has been said that some held the restrainer to be the Holy Spirit. For when, on account of men’s wickedness, this is taken out of the way and withdraws, then the lawless one will have room to be revealed. And the mystery of iniquity, he says, has already taken its beginning. For Simon and Nicolaus the heresiarchs were working the deeds of the Antichrist, and all those after them—Marcion, and Montanus (who even called himself the Paraclete), and Manes, and the rest. But do you receive the interpretation of the holy John as the truer one.

2 Thess. 2:8. Whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall abolish with the brightness of His coming. The consolation is near: for the Lord will consume him. For just as fire, even before its approach, from afar makes the little creatures grow numb and consumes them, so Christ also, by His command alone—that is, by His breath, full of the Holy Spirit—will make him vanish, and by His coming alone will abolish him, that is, render him wholly idle. For by merely appearing He will dissolve the deception.

2 Thess. 2:9. Whose coming is according to the working of Satan. Who this is, he teaches us: that he is a man who has Satan within himself, working through him.

2 Thess. 2:9. With every kind of power, and signs, and lying wonders. That is, he will display all power, yet nothing true, but everything for deception. For “lying wonders” means false ones, or those that lead into falsehood those who attend to them. Paul foretells these things so that the men of that time may not be deceived.

2 Thess. 2:10. And with all deceit of unrighteousness in those who are perishing. For he will be fearsome on every side, from his authority, from his cruelty, doing everything to deceive and wrong men, ruining their salvation. And lest anyone be perplexed, saying, “Why then did God permit him to come, since men are to be so greatly harmed?”—he says, “Fear not; for he prevails among those who are perishing, who, even had that one not come, were going to remain disobedient.”

2 Thess. 2:10. Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. He calls Christ “the love of the truth”; for He was both, and for both He came—both loving men, and that He might show forth the truth. And he hints that the deceiver will prevail especially among the Jews; for these did not receive Christ, nor believe in Him. For this Christ also says to them: I came in My Father’s name, and you received Me not; if another come in his own name, him you will receive.[3]

2 Thess. 2:11. And for this cause God shall send them a working of error, that they should believe the lie. “Shall send” stands for “shall permit him to come.” And observe that first those men thrust away the truth, and then God forsook them, and the lie prevailed over them. By “a working of error” he means the works of the Antichrist, which he does to deceive; or else he so named this very one, as energized by Satan to deceive the many.

2 Thess. 2:12. That they all might be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. He did not say “that they might be punished” (for even had the Antichrist not come, the disobedient were going to be punished), but “that they might be condemned,” he says, so as to leave them without excuse. For what could they say—that “we did not believe in Christ because the disciples preached Him to be God, whereas we heard that there is one God, from whom are all things”? How then did you believe the Antichrist who makes himself God? For Christ referred all things to the Father, but this one does the contrary. But they will say, “We saw signs.” Yet in the case of Christ also many and great signs took place. And besides, Christ was proclaimed Savior by the prophets; but this one, son of lawlessness and perdition. For these reasons they will be condemned: that, having forsaken the truth, they took pleasure—that is, were well pleased and gladly attached themselves to unrighteousness, that is, to the destroyer, who has gathered together all unrighteousness against human souls, who is unrighteousness in person.

2 Thess. 2:13. But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. Since he had said certain fearful things, capable of shaking an undisciplined mind, he now smooths their hearts, teaching that “Let these things be fearful to others, to those who are perishing, against whom they also prevail; but we are bound to give thanks to God for you, because you were chosen, because you were beloved of God.” And if we give thanks on your behalf, much more ought you to do this for yourselves.

2 Thess. 2:13. Because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation, in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. For this we give thanks: that God chose you and foreordained you to salvation, having foreknown you, that is, as worthy. How? “In sanctification of the Spirit”—that is, He saved you by sanctifying you through the Spirit. Then, lest anyone say, “What then? Did we contribute nothing?”—he adds, “And belief of the truth”; that is, He sanctified us who first brought belief of the truth, that is, of true things. For we did not believe in certain falsehoods, but in the truth itself. And, otherwise, he mentioned faith a second time because even after sanctification we need much of it, lest we be shaken loose.

2 Thess. 2:14. To this end he called you through our Gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lest, on hearing of faith, they be lifted up as having contributed it themselves, he does not say even this simply, but “this too,” he says, “is of God.” For to this He called you, he says. To what? To being saved through sanctification and faith. So that even though you believed, the grace belongs to Him who called. For unless He had called through our word, how would you have heard? And Christ regards this as no small glory—your salvation. For it is the glory of the good that many be saved. Who, then, will not love such a Master? Who will not desire His glory, which is his own salvation?

2 Thess. 2:15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or by our letter. From this too it is plain that they handed down many things even unwritten, by word—that is, by the living voice—and not only by letters. And both these and those are alike worthy of belief. So that we also regard the tradition of the Church as worthy of belief. It is tradition: seek nothing more. And he shows here that there were many who were being shaken loose.

2 Thess. 2:16–17. Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word. After the exhortation, prayer. For this is truly to help; as if he said, “I have spoken, but the whole is of God.” And where are those who lessen the Son, because in baptism He is named after the Father? For behold, here it is the contrary: for he named the Son first. “Having given,” he says, “everlasting consolation.” And what is this? “The hope,” he says, “of the things to come.” For this is what holds up our hearts when they collapse amid trials—the hope of the good things to come. And God gave this not to those who had labored, but by grace. He says this to restrain their pride. And observe how, in the manner of a prayer, he rouses their mind, setting down the pledges and tokens of God’s care. For if He gave consolation to those who labor at nothing, much more will He give it to those who labor for the faith—so that you may be of good hope.[4] “Comfort your hearts,” he says, “and establish you in every good work and word”—that is, through every good work and word. For this is a Christian’s consolation, to do something useful and pleasing to God. Or else, “establish you both in right doctrines and in good deeds,” so as not to be carried away or to collapse at what befalls. This is consolation. For he who is established, whatever he may suffer, bears it nobly and is not turned aside: through keeping his doctrine right, being firmly assured concerning the things to come; and through having a good life, rejoicing that he suffers not as an evildoer, but as a minister of God.

[1] Translator’s note: In the lemma Migne prints “in the temple of God [alone] sits,” with “alone” (μόνον) in square brackets—an editorial seclusion not in the canonical Greek; it is excluded from the running lemma here, following the bracketed text.

[2] Matthew 24:14.

[3] John 5:43.

[4] Translator’s note: Migne prints “so that you may be of good hope” in the body, with a received-reading variant (“so as to make them of good hope”); both are recorded in the source, the printed reading rendered here.

Chapter 3

2 Thess. 3:1. Finally, brothers, pray on our behalf, that the word of the Lord may advance swiftly and be glorified, just as it is among you. He himself prayed for them, that they might be established; and now he asks them in turn to pray for him—not that he may not be in danger (for to this he was appointed), but “that the preaching may run and be glorified.” And the request is made with praise; for he says, “even as it is with you”—that is, “that all may so obey, as you also do.” Thus he prayed for nothing of his own, but all for God.

2 Thess. 3:2. And that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked men; for not all have faith. He speaks of those who oppose the preaching, who fight against the doctrines—such as was Alexander the coppersmith; for this he hinted at by saying, “for not all have faith”—that is, not all believe, but the worthy; just as if one were to say that not all may serve in the royal army, but those fit for it. And he rouses them, seeing that they have such great boldness as even to make the preaching go easily for their teacher. And he secretly hints also at the dangers being brought upon him by those who resist the word. And this too is sufficient for their consolation—that even so great a Paul is still wrestling amid dangers.

2 Thess. 3:3. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. He said above, “God has chosen you to salvation,” meaning “He elected you.” “Faithful,” then, means “true”; and He will certainly accomplish what He has begun. And He will establish you, just as we also prayed, so that you be no longer shaken; and He will guard you, so that Satan may not prevail against you.

2 Thess. 3:4. And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that the things we command you, you both do and will do. Since he had prayed for them, and said that God is faithful, that He will accomplish what He began—lest, supposing the whole to be of God, they themselves grow slack, behold, he now also requires their cooperation, as if saying such things as these: “God indeed is faithful, and will certainly do His part; but only if you too labor.” And observe his wisdom: he did not say simply, “We have confidence in you,” but “in the Lord”—that is, “We trust in His love for mankind, that it will strengthen you”—to show them that the whole is to be hung upon God. Again, he did not say simply, “We trust the Lord,” but “concerning you,” and “that you do and will do,” lest, hanging the whole upon God, they themselves become slacker. For we must indeed cast the whole upon God, yet while acting ourselves. He was not content with saying “you do,” but added “and will do,” showing that virtue must be present with us even to the last breath.

2 Thess. 3:5. And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of Christ. Again he prays for them, showing his care. For since he is about to rebuke some of them, he first smooths their hearts, that he may seem to rebuke out of much love. He says, then, “May the Lord direct your hearts”—that is, “may He make them come to straight paths, and not be turned aside.” For there are many things that turn us aside from the straight road toward love: money, vainglory, afflictions, and trials. For these and many more do not let us travel straight to the love of God, and to love Him as we ought. And the phrase “into the patience of Christ” you may understand either thus, “that we may endure as He endured,” or, “that we may with patience await Christ, and not despair, but firmly believe that He will fulfill what He has promised.” And by saying “patience” he hinted at afflictions. He joined patience to the love of God; for this is to love God—to endure for His sake, and not be troubled. And by “the Lord” here understand the Spirit, as the great Basil noted.

2 Thess. 3:6. Now, brothers, we give you this command, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have often said that Paul calls the more severe teaching a “command.” And so now, making the command more fearful, he says, “It is not we who command, but Christ. For what I say, He says.” For nowhere did He enjoin idleness.

2 Thess. 3:6. That you withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks disorderly. That is, separate yourselves from everyone who lives disorderly—that is, idly—whether he be rich or poor or holy. For those who abstain from useful works for the most part are flung headlong into frivolity and indifference. And these things belong to disorder. How? By this very thing, idleness, and inasmuch as he steps outside the order set for him by his teacher. And so he adds the following.

2 Thess. 3:6. And not after the tradition which they received from us. Which I handed down to you by my deeds, becoming a pattern for you. For such handing-down is tradition in the proper sense.

2 Thess. 3:7–8. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, for we did not behave disorderly among you, neither did we eat any man’s bread for nothing. “We did not behave disorderly,” that is, we were not idle. For he calls idleness “disorder,” as also above; and so it is. For God ordered man to work, and fashioned his limbs for this. So that he who is idle has abandoned the order. And observe how he called being fed at their expense “eating for nothing.” And yet it was not for nothing, for he was preaching; for the laborer is worthy of his food.[1]

2 Thess. 3:8. But in toil and hardship, working night and day. Observe the intensifications. But we, if we are not preferred above God by those whom we have taught, are aggrieved, as though most greatly wronged.

2 Thess. 3:8. That we might not be a burden to any of you. Properly speaking, a burden is to take from the unwilling. But here he says this because they were poor.

2 Thess. 3:9. Not because we have no authority, but to give ourselves to you as a pattern to imitate us. For he had authority to be idle, since he was occupied with a greater work, the preaching, and to be fed by his disciples; yet out of generosity he worked, and fed both himself and those with him, that he might teach his disciples this also.

2 Thess. 3:10. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any will not work, neither let him eat. “With you” stands for “among you, in your company.” Now in the former letter he discussed these matters more gently, but here more severely. For if he himself worked night and day, though under no necessity, much more ought the others to do this.

2 Thess. 3:11. For we hear that there are some who walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but being busybodies. For since our mind is ever in motion, it is necessary, when it does not handle some useful work, that it busy itself with useless things, as has been said above, and pry into the lives of others, and thence be flung headlong into slander, idle talk, and frivolity. One must therefore work the works done by the hands. For he who is able yet idle ought not to be pitied. “But I pray,” he says, “and fast.” Yet this too is not a work of the hands; and besides, you can, along with doing these things, still also work. Since, then, you despise this, you are condemned as idle. “And how,” they say, “is the teacher not compelled to work?” Because he handles a greater and more difficult labor, which also hinders him from the work of the hands. But for you, a private man, there is nothing of the kind. So that you sin by neglecting work.

2 Thess. 3:12. Now such as these we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ. Since he had laid hold of them sharply by saying “we command,” he again makes his word gentler, and says, “we exhort.” The exhortation, then, is more fearful and more worthy of belief.

2 Thess. 3:12. So that, laboring in quiet stillness, they may eat bread of their own earning. He requires both: as men behaving disorderly, that they be quiet; and as idle men, that they work—so that they may eat their own bread, not another’s. For they ought not to look to the hands of others.

2 Thess. 3:13. But you, brethren, be not weary in well-doing. See how at once the fatherly compassion was moved, how at once he had mercy on them. “Withdraw indeed,” he says, “from them and separate yourselves; yet do not let them perish of hunger.” What then, if that man, presuming that I feed him, persists in idleness? Let it suffice to withdraw from him and not to grant him familiarity, showing that you are angry. But if not even so is he corrected, still do not you be weary, he says, in doing him good.

2 Thess. 3:14. And if any does not obey your word by this letter, mark that man. Some read “our word,” with the eta, and so understood it thus: “If any does not obey the word of me, Paul, who, as it were, speak through this letter, mark that man, and hold him as one set apart.” But the blessed John read “your word,” with the upsilon, and gave us to understand that “if any disobeys you, tell him to his face the things you learned through this letter of mine.”

2 Thess. 3:14. And do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Do you see what the benefit is of his being set apart? To be put to shame. For if even simply to receive is a thing worthy of shame, how much more when men provide for him along with withdrawing from him? For of old excommunication seemed a great punishment; but not so now. For if one had to separate from the merely idle man, how much more from the others?

2 Thess. 3:15. And do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Just as above, having said, “He who does not work, neither let him eat,” he feared lest such men perish of hunger, and added, “But you, be not weary in well-doing”—so now, having said, “Do not keep company with him,” he was afraid lest this very thing cut him off entirely, when he despaired of the brotherhood. Therefore he added, “Do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother”; and after the giving, he set admonishing first, not reviling, so that he might be benefited in both soul and body. He who admonishes a brother does not parade the disgrace, but does this privately and with gentleness. “Let us grieve,” he says, “not because we give to an idle man, but because he transgresses the law of God”; and let us mourn over him as over one who is sick. Let those hear this who not only give but also heap insults and throw stones. Why is he poor? That you may be able to heal his wounds through your kindness to him; and do you drive away the one who is poor for your sake? What insensibility is this!

2 Thess. 3:16. Now may the God of peace Himself give you peace always by every means. Everywhere, after his exhortations, he sets prayers, placing them like seals and signets upon the things stored up. And here too, since it was likely that quarrels would arise from such occasions—the excommunicated growing harsher, and those who had means no longer giving readily to such men—he fittingly prays peace for them, and “always.” For this is what is sought, to have it ever; “but also by every means,” so as to have no pretext for contention anywhere, neither from word nor from deed. For thus, he says, you will not with difficulty make even those men better. For nothing so contributes to the accomplishing of what we wish as being peaceable and free from strife, and not seeming to rebuke with hostility.

2 Thess. 3:16. May the Lord be with you all. This too the Lord promised: Behold, I am with you all the days.[2] If He be with you all—that is, both with the idle and with those who are not such—all good things will be. For He will heal those who are idle, and will further establish those who work.

2 Thess. 3:17. The salutation of Paul with my own hand. He calls the prayer a “salutation,” showing that even when it was time to greet them, the thing was a matter of prayer, with spiritual profit, and not simply a token of friendship.

2 Thess. 3:17. Which is the sign in every epistle; so I write. So that my letters may not be counterfeited by certain deceivers (for this, as we said at the outset, many did), “I,” he says, “subscribe with my own hand.” And “in every epistle” means the one that may perhaps be sent to you, or else simply, “in every letter to whomever.”

2 Thess. 3:18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. He both began from grace, and now again ends the Epistle with grace, fortifying his words on either side as with great walls, laying secure foundations and bringing a secure conclusion. For if the grace that from the beginning saved us be with you, it will overlook all your weaknesses. For this is the property of grace. And it will be so, provided you do not drive it away. Grace dwells in grateful souls, in those that have simplicity and brotherly love. May we too come to have such souls, showing forth brotherly love, and admonishing as brethren those who perhaps stumble, and by every means working their correction together with peace toward them—that we may be guarded by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has taken us to Himself and brought us to the Father in the Holy Spirit; to whom belongs all glory, honor, and worship, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Matthew 10:10.

[2] Matthew 28:20.

Commentary on the First Epistle to Timothy

Introduction

A Letter to a Trusted Disciple

Timothy was so devoted a disciple that he had even accepted circumcision at Paul’s hands as a pastoral accommodation to Jewish sensibilities—remarkable, Theophylact notes, given that Paul elsewhere preached against circumcision and had openly opposed even Peter on the question. It is that devotion, Theophylact suggests, that explains why Timothy, among all of Paul’s many companions, received letters of his own. Paul kept most of his companions traveling at his side; Timothy and Titus alone he entrusted with churches of their own, at Ephesus and in Crete respectively, and it was precisely because they now bore that responsibility that they needed instruction in writing. Theophylact anticipates an obvious question—if Timothy had already been appointed to teach, why does Paul still need to instruct him?—and answers that no one, however far advanced, is above needing guidance from someone still wiser, and that a church only recently founded could not yet be fully formed by one bishop’s voice alone. He adds a further observation about tone: what Paul writes to Timothy here is pitched not at the level of a learner but of a teacher, since Timothy’s task was now to form others in turn.

The occasion, Theophylact reads from the opening verses, was Paul’s departure for Macedonia, leaving Timothy behind in Ephesus with instructions to silence certain men teaching “a different doctrine”—Jewish teachers, Theophylact explains, drawing believers back toward the law out of a love of prestige, devoting themselves to “myths”, by which Theophylact understands not the law itself but its minute and speculative embellishments. He notices the gentleness of Paul’s language toward Timothy himself—“I urged,” not “I commanded”—set against the sharper word he uses for the false teachers, and reads the contrast as a lesson in pastoral manner: firmness toward error, patience toward one’s own.

Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons

The letter’s most influential chapters set out, for the first time in the New Testament at such length, the qualifications expected of those who would oversee the Church, and Theophylact reads this material as addressed, through Timothy, to every generation that would afterward ordain clergy. Whoever desires the “episcopate”—a word Theophylact derives from the Greek for oversight—desires, he says, a noble work, but must not desire it for the authority it carries; even Moses, Theophylact recalls, desired the work of defending the wronged, not the standing of a ruler. The candidate must be “above reproach”, able to manage his own household well, since a man who cannot govern those closest to him will hardly govern a congregation. Theophylact reads the requirement that a bishop be married only once not as a command to marry but as a check on a particular disorder: a man estranged from a wife now departed, he reasons, has shown he cannot be trusted to preside faithfully over a whole church.

When Paul turns from bishops to deacons, Theophylact pauses over a striking silence: Paul says nothing separately about presbyters. His explanation carries real weight for how the early Church understood its own ministry—everything already said of bishops, he holds, applies to presbyters as well, the two differing, in this period, only in the laying on of hands by which a bishop’s own office is conferred. The deacon’s qualifications follow the same pattern as the bishop’s: dignity, sobriety, freedom from love of base gain, a single wife, a household well kept—the same character required at every rank of ministry, because for Theophylact good order in a church begins in the visible integrity of the men who lead it.

How to Read This Commentary

Because the letter moves between doctrine, church order, and practical pastoral counsel—on widows, on elders who sin publicly, on slaves and masters, on the love of money as a root of every evil—Theophylact’s commentary reads less like a single sustained argument than a close companion to a working bishop’s manual, and it rewards being read with an eye to Timothy’s actual situation in Ephesus rather than as abstract theology. The reader who wants the letter’s center should watch for Theophylact’s recurring theme: that office in the Church is a form of service demanding personal holiness before it confers any authority, and that the qualities Paul lists are not formalities but the visible evidence of a life fit to be trusted with others’ souls. Read alongside its companion letters to Timothy and to Titus, this commentary offers the fullest single picture in Theophylact’s New Testament work of how a church still within living memory of the apostles ordered its ministry, tested its candidates, and guarded itself against those eager to teach without the character to be trusted.

Chapter 1

Argument of the First Epistle to Timothy. Timothy was among the disciples of Paul, and so distinguished was he, and so devoted to Paul, that he even chose to be circumcised by him as a matter of pastoral accommodation—and this even though Paul elsewhere preached against circumcision and had opposed even Peter himself on the matter. Paul too bears witness in many places to this man’s great virtue. To him he now writes concerning many necessary matters. One might ask: Why does he write to neither Silas, nor Clement, nor Luke, nor any other of his many companions, but only to Timothy and Titus? The answer is that he kept the others traveling with him, whereas to these two he had entrusted Churches. These, therefore, he needed to exhort through letters and to instruct in what was to be done. And if you should ask: Why did he not first bring them to perfection in all divine wisdom before appointing them to teach, but rather, after entrusting the teaching to them, writes again and still continues to form them?—learn first that no one is perfect, even if he has been appointed a teacher, but that even such a man stands in need of guidance from those more advanced in many things. Moreover, since the Church had only recently been established, it was not easy for the bishop himself to form everyone by his own word alone. Next, observe throughout the whole letter that the instruction here directed to Timothy is not the sort addressed to learners, but the sort that befits teachers.

1 Tim. 1:1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the commandment of God our Savior. Since he is about to lay down laws for Timothy, he proclaims himself an apostle in order to render his word worthy of trust. For it is not my own words, he says, that I shall utter, but those of the One who sent me—so take care not to disregard Him. And since the dignity of an apostle is a great thing, lest he should seem to be boasting, he added: according to the commandment of God. For it was not I myself, he says, who seized this office; rather, it is an inescapable debt I owe, and I am fulfilling a commandment of the Master. For the phrase “according to the commandment” is more forceful than “called.” Now, nowhere does the Father appear to have given him this command; it is Christ who did so: For He said, I will send you far away; and again: You must stand before Caesar; and the Spirit said: Set apart for me Paul. Yet nevertheless he attributes what belongs to the Son and to the Spirit to the Father as well. For consider also what follows.

1 Tim. 1:1. And of the Lord Jesus, our hope. Do you see how the command is shared? Observe also how David says of the Father: The hope of all the ends of the earth; and this same Paul elsewhere says: We have set our hope on the living God. Yet here the Son is called our hope. Thus all things are common to the Father and the Son. And he has fittingly placed these two titles—Savior, and our hope—because the teacher wrestles with many difficulties, for the full weight of the battle is brought to bear upon him, on the reasoning that if he falls, those beneath him will fall the more readily as well, according to the word: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Do not therefore despair, he says; for we have a Savior who is not a man but God Himself and the Father, who will quickly deliver us from dangers. And even if we are not quickly saved from them, we must at least hope for better things. For our hope, which cannot put us to shame, is Christ. By these two means we bear our dangers: either by being swiftly delivered from them, or by being nourished by good hopes.

1 Tim. 1:2. To Timothy, my true child in the faith. That is, to one born to me through faith. For the preposition “in” here means “through,” just as he also says elsewhere: Through the Gospel I begot you. And praising him, he says: You are not merely a child, but a true child. He calls him true because Timothy preserved his likeness to Paul beyond all the rest, and because Paul himself loved him truly. He placed “in the faith” with great wisdom, so as to anoint Timothy the more for it. For if in the beginning he showed such faith as to become through it both a son of Paul and a true one, all the more now must he be armed with that same faith and not sink down or be thrown into confusion. For this is what faith means—to be bold regarding the things to come.

1 Tim. 1:2. Grace, mercy, peace. Nowhere in the other Epistles did he add “mercy,” but here alone, praying with great tenderness for more blessings upon his child, as one who feared and trembled on his behalf—as indeed he also instructed him concerning his stomach—and at the same time because teachers stand in greater need of the blessing of mercy.

1 Tim. 1:2. From God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Here again is consolation. For if God is our Father, He cares for us as children; and therefore He will have mercy and will grant grace, so that we may be acceptable to all and may live in peace from our enemies.

1 Tim. 1:3. As I urged you to remain in Ephesus when I was going to Macedonia. See his gentleness: he uses not the voice of a teacher but of a suppliant. He did not say, I commanded, but I urged. For toward our own disciples one must behave in this way; toward the corrupt and those who are not genuine, differently. And he urges him to remain in Ephesus. For the letter that Paul sent to them was not sufficient, since people tend to be more dismissive of written messages. Perhaps also this took place before the letter. It is a matter of inquiry whether he has now established Timothy there, and it seems so, for he goes on to say:

1 Tim. 1:3. That you may charge certain persons not to teach a different doctrine. He did not say, that you may urge, but that you may charge, which is more severe. He did not name these persons explicitly, lest he make them more shameless by exposing them. To teach a different doctrine means to bring in teachings of another kind. For there were many false apostles from among the Jews who were dragging people back toward the law, out of love of glory and the desire to be called teachers.

1 Tim. 1:4. Nor to devote themselves to myths. By “myths” he does not mean the law itself, but its minute observances and its distorted doctrines.

1 Tim. 1:4. And endless genealogies. For they would enumerate grandfathers and great-grandfathers, so as to have the appearance of historical learning. “Endless” refers either to genealogies ascending into the remote past, or to those that have no useful or intelligible end, but are hard to grasp and multifarious. It is likely also that he is hinting here at the Greeks, for these myths and genealogies belong to them, who catalogue their gods by lineage.

1 Tim. 1:4. Which promote speculations rather than the stewardship of God which is in faith. That is: God has arranged for all things to be received by faith; but these men, by introducing speculations, dissolve the stewardship of God. Or: God wished to give us great things and displayed toward us an inexpressible stewardship. This stewardship of His goodness faith receives and accepts, but genealogies do not at all. For they introduced speculations: How did this come to be? How can we believe concerning the things to come? Speculation therefore banishes faith. How then did the Lord say, Seek, and you will find? and again, Search the Scriptures? “Seek” there speaks of asking and ardent longing; “search” means: so as to learn their precise meaning and come to know them—and then to cease from asking, that is, from questioning.

1 Tim. 1:5. Now the aim of our charge is love from a pure heart. If you charge them not to teach a different doctrine, he says, you will achieve this—love. And if you plant love, every corrupted doctrine will vanish. For previously, when love was absent, there was envy; from envy came the love of power; from the love of power, the desire to teach; and from that, the heresies. But now it is not so. The love he demands is sincere love—not limited to words but from the heart, and from a heart that is pure and not veiled by hypocrisy, but constituted from disposition and from shared suffering.

1 Tim. 1:5. And a good conscience and sincere faith. For robbers too love robbers, but this does not come from a good conscience, but from a bad one, nor is it from sincere faith. For he who believes in God with a genuine heart cannot ever depart from true love, for that love embraces all. But the robber is a murderer of those he meets. From this you may also reason that one who does not even possess love is not faithful either.

1 Tim. 1:6. Certain persons, by swerving from these things, have wandered into vain discussion. The word “swerving” is used of those who shoot with an unskilled hand. Here also, then, he says, skill was required—to shoot straight and not miss the mark. But certain persons swerved away from both love and faith, and therefore wandered into vain discussion. And he goes on to explain how:

1 Tim. 1:7. Desiring to be teachers of the law. That is, being sick with love of power and craving for glory. They would not have been such had they possessed love and faith.

1 Tim. 1:7. Without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. Here he accuses them of not knowing the aim of the law, nor for how long a time it held authority. Do they then go without condemnation since they acted from ignorance? By no means, for the ignorance comes from love of power and from failing to hold fast to love. For they want, he says, to be lawgivers and teachers of the law, and so they are ignorant. Thus they are themselves the cause of their own ignorance. Concerning what things do they make confident assertions? Probably concerning purifications and other bodily observances.

1 Tim. 1:8. Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully. That is, if one does not merely expound it in words but also fulfils it through deeds. For he who teaches the things of the law but does not do them is using the law unlawfully. Or else, in another sense: one uses the law lawfully who through it is led to Christ. For the law, being unable to guide—that is, to justify—hands one over to Christ, and this is its purpose. So he uses the law lawfully—that is, as the law itself prescribes—who through it is led to Christ, whom the law itself honors above itself.

1 Tim. 1:9. Knowing this, that the law is not laid down for the just. Because the just man does not need to learn what is to be done from it, for he knows this already and does not even fear punishment. By “just” he here understands one who has perfected virtue—a man who hates wickedness and embraces virtue not out of fear of the law but for the sake of the good itself, who achieves more than the law requires and thinks it unworthy to have it as his disciplinarian threatening him with stripes. He thinks nobly and goes beyond the level of a child—just as the physician is prepared for one who has wounds and is sick, not for one who is in good health; and the bridle is for the unruly horse, not for the one that is docile.

1 Tim. 1:9–10. But for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who murder their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers. He runs through the sins one by one so as to persuade them to be ashamed of being under the supervision of the law. All of these things the Jews were. For those who continually bowed down to idols, who sacrificed their children to demons, who stoned the prophets, whose hands were full of blood—were they not ungodly and murderers? And all the rest you will find them to have been as well, if you read the histories. For this reason the law was given to them—to restrain these vices. As he also says elsewhere: The law was added because of transgressions. For the just, however, who are not inclined to transgressions, the law is unnecessary.

1 Tim. 1:10. And whatever else is contrary to sound teaching. Although the things already named were sufficient, he added a comprehensive summary: and whatever else. This shows that such passions find their entry through corrupted doctrines, for all these things are contrary to sound teaching.

1 Tim. 1:11. According to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. Connect this as follows: the sound teaching that accords with the gospel. He calls it “of glory” on account of those who are ashamed of the persecutions and of the suffering of Christ, showing that even the suffering of Christ and the persecutions are glory (of Christ), or also because they bestow the glory that is to come. For even if the present things, he says, carry shame, the things to come carry glory. And this the gospel announces to us, for every gospel concerns things that are to come, not things that are present. Or he means the worship of God which the gospel has taught us.

1 Tim. 1:11. With which I was entrusted. I—not the false apostles; for their gospel is one of shame, not of glory.

1 Tim. 1:12. I give thanks to Him who has empowered me, Christ Jesus our Lord. Since he had said, with which I was entrusted, lest he seem to be boasting, he refers everything to God and says: thanks be to Him who gave me strength to be able at all to take up such a burden. For to stand firm against daily deaths was not within human power. This is true humility; what we practice is lowly speech, not humility of soul.

1 Tim. 1:12. Because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service. Lest any of the unbelievers should say: If everything belongs to God and nothing is contributed by us, why did He make Paul such a one and not Judas?—he removes this objection and says: He did not simply empower me thus, nor without discernment, but because I was found faithful. And he does not even say it in this way, but: He judged me faithful, again shrouding his own achievement in shadow. I do not say, he means, that I was faithful, but that He considered me such. How is this clear? From the fact that He appointed me to His service. For how could He have appointed me had He not seen fitness in me? Even so in households, stewards give thanks to their masters for being entrusted with the stewardship, and they take this as a sign that they are regarded as more faithful than the rest. And God Himself says of him: He is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name. He was therefore fit to bear it, and he received strength from God in order to accomplish the work as well. For one who is about to bear the great name of Christ—to implant it in souls through preaching—has need of great power. And he bears it who in all his thoughts, words, and deeds is worthy of it; but he who is not such does not bear it—for how could he, since he does not have Christ within him at all? Paul was therefore faithful in all other respects as well, and in this respect: that he appropriated nothing belonging to the Master but rather referred even what was his own to the Master. I labored, he says, more abundantly than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God — and many other such things.

1 Tim. 1:13. Though formerly I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man. See how he extols the mercy of God by recounting his former life. And while in speaking of the Jews—who are deserving of every condemnation—he lays no such charge upon them, concerning himself he pronounces these things. Not only, he says, was I myself a blasphemer, nor did I keep my wickedness confined to myself; I even persecuted those who wished to live godly lives—and not merely so, but in an outrageously insolent manner.

1 Tim. 1:13. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief. He shows himself to be deserving of punishment, for mercy is shown to people such as this. But why were the rest of the Jews not shown mercy? Because they sinned not in ignorance, but with full knowledge. For many of the Pharisees believed, he says, but did not confess, for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. And Christ says: How can you believe, who receive glory from men? And the Jews themselves said: See, you are gaining nothing; behold, the world has gone after Him. The passion of love of power everywhere troubled them. And again they themselves said: No one can forgive sins but God alone — and immediately Jesus did the very thing which they had said was a sign of God. How then did they not believe? Surely these acts were not ones of ignorance? Someone might ask: Where then was Paul at that time? At the feet of Gamaliel, not mingling with the crowds, for Gamaliel was a man who kept to himself. How then did Paul afterwards imprison people? Because he saw the preaching increasing and then became zealous for the law—but that was for the sake of ambition. But how, being so exact in the matters of the law, did Paul not know Christ through the Scriptures? For this reason he reproaches himself for being sick with that ignorance which unbelief had produced—and therefore he says he received mercy.

1 Tim. 1:14. And the grace of our God overflowed exceedingly with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Having said great things about the love of Christ for mankind—that He showed mercy to one who was deserving of the extreme punishment—he now says: not only this, but He also made him worthy of adoption, and made him a brother, a son, a friend, and a fellow heir. So greatly did the grace of His love for mankind overflow. But lest anyone should say that since grace is everywhere operative our own free will is thereby abolished, he adds: with faith and love. For faith, he says, I contributed myself—believing that He is able to save me; and love, which also I myself acquired in Christ Jesus, for the author of my love toward God is Christ, not the law. And he shows that faith must be brought in together with love. For from love comes the keeping of the commandments, as the Lord said: If you love Me, keep My commandments.

1 Tim. 1:15. This is a faithful saying and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Since he had said, I who was a persecutor received mercy, he continues: Do not marvel, nor disbelieve on account of the greatness of the gift. For it was for this very purpose that He came into the world—to save all sinners. The saying is therefore faithful and worthy of acceptance. For it is not because the gifts are great that one ought to disbelieve; on the contrary, because the goodness of the Giver is boundless, for that very reason it is right to believe and to receive. This also points toward the Jews who clung to the law, in order to show them that without faith it is not possible to be saved.

1 Tim. 1:15. Of whom I am the foremost. How is it that elsewhere, having said: As touching righteousness which is in the law, having become blameless, he now ranks himself first among sinners? Because in comparison to the righteousness in Christ, the righteousness in the law is sin, since it no longer has its proper time. For as long as it held its time, it was righteousness—just as the moon and a lamp shine in the night, but when Christ appeared as the sun, He eclipsed it; and henceforth he who uses a lamp when the sun is shining both sins and is foolish. He also says this elsewhere: For what was once glorified has come to have no glory.

1 Tim. 1:16. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect longsuffering as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. See his humility. For this reason, he says, I received mercy—that no one among those who have sinned should henceforth despair, but should remain hopeful, since Paul, the chief of all sinners, was saved. And he shows through this that he was not even worthy of forgiveness, but received the love of God for the sake of the salvation of others. He did not say: that He might display in me longsuffering, but: His perfect longsuffering—as if saying: I had sinned beyond measure and stood in need of every mercy and of all His love for mankind, not of a partial one, as with those who are sinners only in part. As an example, he says—that is, as a pattern, as a consolation, as an encouragement to all who desire to believe.

1 Tim. 1:17. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Since he had spoken great things about the Son—that He saves even those who have been given up for lost—he now ascribes glory to the Father as well, lest anyone suppose the Father is being robbed. And all these things are common to the Son also. For He too is King of the ages. If He is Creator of the ages, how is He not also King, immortal, invisible in His divinity, and the only wise? For He Himself is the Wisdom of the Father. And these things apply to the Spirit as well—for he said the only wise not to the exclusion of the Son and the Spirit: God forbid. But since both angels and men possess wisdom, he shows that God alone is wise in the proper sense, as the Fountain and Cause of wisdom; while all other beings that possess wisdom hold it by participation. Honor and glory are to be rendered not through words alone, but through deeds as well. The former shows us to be merely grateful; the latter makes us also His imitators, which is greater. For the glory rendered through words He requires so that we may love Him, attend to Him, and obey Him—and thereby we ourselves benefit, just as one who admires the glory of the sun’s light benefits himself, since he rejoices in the light and uses it for his works; whereas one who ignores the glory of the light has harmed himself by not using it in his labor.

1 Tim. 1:18. This charge I entrust to you, child Timothy. Since he had used the word “charge,” and a charge is issued in a more authoritative manner, he added: child Timothy. For I say these things, he means, not with authority but as to a child. He also used the word “entrust,” to make clear the exactness of the keeping required and that what we hold is not our own but God’s. What He has given, therefore, we are bound to guard.

1 Tim. 1:18. In accordance with the prophecies that were made beforehand about you. The dignity of teaching and of the priesthood is great, and requires the vote of God, that the worthy man may receive it. In antiquity, priests were appointed by prophecy—that is, by the Holy Spirit, for prophecy also speaks of present things. Thus Timothy also was chosen for the priesthood. And since he speaks of prophecies in the plural, perhaps when he was first taken on as a disciple, and when he was circumcised, and when he was ordained by laying on of hands—all these occurred with prophecy. He says then: I charge you in accordance with the prophecies made beforehand about you—that is, looking toward those prophecies, and as it were instructed by them as to what you must do, I urge you to walk worthily of them and not to put them to shame.

1 Tim. 1:18. That you may wage the good warfare in them. What I charge you is this: wage the good warfare in them—that is, do not transgress their laws, but just as they chose you and for what purpose they chose you, wage the good warfare. For there is also an evil warfare, when one offers one’s members as weapons to sin and impurity. He used the term “warfare” to show that there is a fierce battle for all, and most of all for the teacher. Therefore one must be sober and display no slackness.

1 Tim. 1:19. Holding faith and a good conscience. Do not suppose, he says, that it is enough for you to have been ordained with prophecy; you must also hold faith, so as to rightly divide the word, and a good conscience—that is, to have acquired a life free from reproach. From this comes the good conscience, so that you may also be able to preside over others. For just as the general must first be a good soldier himself, so the teacher must himself possess the things he demands of his disciples. And from this let us learn that even if we are teachers, we should not think it beneath us to receive the requests and admonitions of those who are above us.

1 Tim. 1:19. By rejecting this, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith. “This” plainly refers to the good conscience. And rightly so, for when one’s life is impure, corrupted doctrines are also born from it. For in order not to be tormented by the fear of things to come, those who live impurely persuade themselves that everything in our teaching is false. And he who has rejected the faith and committed everything to reasonings makes shipwreck of the faith. For faith is a harbor free from storm, setting the mind in calm; but speculations are waves that carry the mind about here and there as if into a pitiful shipwreck, dashing it against rocks, or drowning it altogether.

1 Tim. 1:20. Among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander. Do you see how from ancient times there were those who taught falsely, who kept away from the faith and followed reasonings and speculations? Therefore even now, do not be discouraged when you see people like this, but stand your ground.

1 Tim. 1:20. Whom I have delivered to Satan that they may be taught not to blaspheme. How is Satan, who chastises others, not chastised himself? He did not say, that he may chastise, but that they may be taught. For it is not Satan who accomplishes this; rather, it results from the outcome. Just as executioners, filled with ten thousand evils, become a cause of sobriety for others, so it is with the devil. Why did Paul not punish these men by his own power, as he did with Elymas Bar-Jesus, or as Peter did with Ananias? So that together with the severity of the punishment there might also be the greater humiliation, and to show that he commands even Satan, making him thereby more formidable. Rather, I should say that those who were unbelievers he punished himself, so that they might learn that they cannot escape notice—for Ananias too was an unbeliever, still in a state of testing. But those who had already learned this and then turned away he handed over to Satan, showing them that they had been held in check not by their own power but by that of the apostles themselves. Or again: those whom they wished to correct they did not punish themselves, but those who were beyond correction they punished themselves. But how was someone handed over to Satan? He was expelled from the Church, cast out from the flock, and handed over naked to the wolf. For just as of old the cloud encompassed the tabernacle, so the Spirit encompasses the Church of Christ. If one is outside the Church, he is also outside the Spirit, and is henceforth wretched and easily seized—such is the penalty of excommunication. And God Himself, by handing sinners over to diseases and afflictions, chastises them by these means. For when we are judged, he says, we are chastised by the Lord. Note also that seeking to probe divine things by human reasonings is blasphemy. For it is an insult to divine things to suppose that they can be grasped by human reasonings.

Chapter 2

1 Tim. 2:1. I urge therefore first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in positions of authority. First of all—that is, in the daily liturgy. For the priest, as it were the common father of the inhabited world, stands caring for all, just as the God whom he serves. See how broadly grace extends. For Jewish prayers were not of this kind. He did not say at once: for kings, lest he seem to be flattering them; but having first said: for all people, he then added: for kings. For even if the kings are unbelievers, one must pray for them—since at that time they were such. And two benefits result from our praying for all: the enmity we bear toward some is dissolved, for no one can be hostile toward the person for whom he makes supplications; and furthermore they themselves become better, both because their wickedness is changed through the cooperation of prayers, and because they are no longer driven to savagery against us. For how great a thing it was for those who were being slaughtered to hear that the very ones being slaughtered by them were praying on their behalf! “Supplication,” “prayer,” and “intercession,” as bearing the same meaning, are used by the Apostle for emphasis, demanding by the accumulation of terms that what he enjoins be done without fail. Some, however, have painstakingly distinguished among them: supplication is a petition offered for deliverance from some distress; prayer is an asking for good things; and intercession is a denunciation against those who act impiously, unjustly, or incorrigibly. Note also that we are commanded to give thanks even for the good things that come to others—that He makes His sun rise upon the evil and the good, that He fills all with His goods, both unbelievers and blasphemers. From this we are bonded together in brotherly love and united. For he who gives thanks for the blessings of his neighbor is compelled also to love him. Much more, therefore, ought we to give thanks for what comes to us.

1 Tim. 2:2. That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. Since the soul of a Christian might naturally be troubled if it is commanded, at the time of the mysteries, to pray for unbelieving kings, he adds the benefit, so that we may at least receive the exhortation in this way. Their salvation, he says, is our freedom from care, for they serve so that we may be free from anxiety. How then is it not unjust for them to face dangers for our safety, while we do not even open our lips to pray for them?

1 Tim. 2:2. In all godliness and dignity. He added this because for many people the calm that follows from wars becomes an occasion for luxury and insolence, from which evil doctrines are also born. In order therefore that we may live not in luxury and insolence but in all godliness—“all,” not only in doctrine but also in life (for there is also impiety through one’s life, as when it is said: They profess to know God, but deny Him by their deeds)—and in that godliness which is the most pure and far removed from all heresies. So also in all dignity—not only in abstaining from licentiousness but in every virtue. We must therefore, when at peace outwardly, also be at peace within the soul, conducting ourselves in all godliness and dignity, for then truly we would lead a quiet and peaceable life. For there are three wars: the war of the barbarians, the war brought upon us by those who are personally hostile to us, and the war stirred up within by the passions. The war of the barbarians is ended by the vigor of the kings, and we must cooperate with them through prayers; the other two we ourselves must end—the war from those who hate us, by meeting afflictions with meekness and prayers (“With those who hated peace,” he says, “I was peaceable; they slandered me, but I prayed”); and the war within us, by all the armor of righteousness.

1 Tim. 2:3. For this is good and acceptable before God our Savior. This—which thing? The praying for all, both Greeks and heretics. It is good by nature, for we all share the same nature; and it is acceptable to God.

1 Tim. 2:4. Who desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. If He desires all people to be saved, you too desire it, and imitate God. And if you desire it, pray. But if He Himself desires it, someone says, what need is there of my prayers? They contribute greatly to those people, for they draw them toward love, and do not allow you yourself to become brutish toward them; and from this it is likely that they in turn will be drawn toward faith—understand salvation as the salvation of faith. And coming to a knowledge of the truth—that is, of faith in Him, for this alone is the truth.

1 Tim. 2:5. For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Having said that God desires all to be saved, he makes this plain and says: for this reason He also sent His Son as Mediator, so that He might reconcile Him to mankind. How then were not all saved? Because they did not wish it. In saying “one God,” he said this not to the exclusion of the Son, but in contrast to idols. That He is God is clear from the fact that He is also the Mediator. For the mediator stands between two parties and must share in both. Since then the Son of God is the Mediator between God and men, He partakes of both, being both God and man—the same Person in two natures. He is not bare God, for those on whose behalf He was to mediate would not have received Him; nor is He bare man, for He needed to speak with God. He did not speak openly about the divinity of Christ, both because polytheism prevailed and so as not to seem to be introducing many gods himself; especially since not even the phrase “one and one,” when stated, is it fitting to add together and say “two,” but rather “one and one”—such is the reverence of Scripture. For this reason he also did not mention the Spirit, lest he seem to be polytheistic.

1 Tim. 2:6. Who gave Himself a ransom for all. Including the Greeks. He then died for all, and yet you cannot bring yourself to pray for them? Note the phrase: who gave Himself. This is directed against the Arians, who say He was handed over unwillingly. What is a “ransom”? Human nature was liable to destruction, but He gave Himself in its place.

1 Tim. 2:6. The testimony. That is: through the testimony the Son became the ransom. Or, glossing the word, he now says: by “ransom” I mean the testimony—that is, the suffering. For He came to bear witness to the truth to death; and indeed He Himself revealed the Father and the true doctrine, and He Himself introduced the true and angelic way of life.

1 Tim. 2:6. In its own times. That is, in the times appointed for it.

1 Tim. 2:7. For which I was appointed a herald and an apostle. I was appointed a herald of this testimony, to proclaim it—that is, the cross and the death of Christ. And not merely as a herald, to preach in one place only, but also as an apostle, to go about everywhere. And besides, the dignity of an apostle is great, and for this reason he lays claim to it.

1 Tim. 2:7. I am telling the truth, I am not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles. He makes his word worthy of trust. For since the other apostles were reluctant in this regard, both because they regarded the Gentiles with aversion and because they did not think them receptive, he says: I myself from this point was set apart as teacher of the Gentiles. Since therefore the Son of God also died for the Gentiles, and I am their teacher, do not be reluctant to pray on their behalf.

1 Tim. 2:7. In faith and truth. See again the phrase “in faith.” Not in syllogisms, he says, or rational demonstrations, but in faith. Then, lest you suppose that the matter is some kind of deception, he added: in truth. For that which is taught and handed down in faith is not falsehood, he says, but is handed down in truth.

1 Tim. 2:8. I desire therefore that the men should pray in every place. How then does Christ forbid praying in every place? For He discourages doing so in public squares and commands entry into the inner room. Yet Christ did not forbid praying in every place; rather, teaching by means of excess that this must not be done for show, He mentioned the inner room—just as when He says: Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, He is not speaking about hands but is expressing the extreme of giving alms without vainglory. Therefore Paul also desires the men to pray in every place, since Christ did not forbid this. He said this in contrast to Jewish prayer, which was confined to one place—namely, the temple in Jerusalem. But for us it is not so, for grace is unlimited; and just as the Christian prays for all, so also he prays in every place.

1 Tim. 2:8. Lifting up holy hands. It is not the place of prayer that must be exact, but the manner. For he requires holy hands—that is, hands clean from covetousness, from plunder, from murders, from blows, hands that overflow with almsgiving.

1 Tim. 2:8. Without anger or quarreling. That is, without bearing grudges and without passion toward one’s brother. By “quarreling” he means doubt—that is, one must not approach with ambivalence and hesitation, but with faith and without wavering, that is, without doubting whether or not you will receive what you ask. How then shall this be? If you ask for nothing contrary to His will, nothing unworthy of the King, but everything spiritual; if you approach with holy hands and without anger.

1 Tim. 2:9. Likewise also the women. I desire, he says, that they too lift up holy hands without anger or quarreling, and without plundering or coveting. For when a woman compels her husband to procure stones and gold ornaments for her, and he covets to get them, she herself surely takes by plunder.

1 Tim. 2:9. To adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control. He demands something more from women: to be dressed modestly, not elaborately—for the latter is unseemliness. By “apparel” he means to be completely covered and veiled on all sides, and not to be immodestly uncovered. For he goes on to say: with modesty and self-control.

1 Tim. 2:9. Not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly clothing. For she comes to pray, not to dance in the chorus. How then do you devise elaborate plaits for your head, braiding your tresses, hanging some pearls here and wearing others there, and even wearing them on your feet—which is the utmost impudence? And all of this from the tears of widows and orphans and the poor? You strip the widow of her rag so that you may tread on pearls? Is the longsuffering of God not great indeed? You came to ask forgiveness for your sins, and you deck yourself out as though entering the theatre. A fine contrition this! God will surely hear you, wearing as you do the tears of the poor about your person. And if Paul forbids what are merely signs of wealth, how much more should he forbid what are signs of vanity—such as cosmetics smeared on the cheeks, eye-paint under the eyes, a mincing voice, a languishing glance, and the rest.

1 Tim. 2:10. But with what is fitting for women who profess godliness—through good works. But let them adorn themselves with good works; then in the middle of his thought: for this befits Christian women, those who worship the true God. Or in another sense: since one may profess godliness through words, he added: through good works.

1 Tim. 2:11. Let a woman learn in silence, with all submission. Let the woman be modest not only in dress and apparel but also in her voice. She should not speak at all, he says—not even about spiritual matters—but only learn. And this will be better for her if she keeps silent.

1 Tim. 2:12. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain silent. He has removed every pretext for a woman to speak. For since he commanded her to be silent, lest they speak under the seemly pretext of teaching, he says: let them not teach, for that is for them to exercise authority over and to dominate the man. But the woman was commanded to be in submission: For your longing, he says, shall be for your husband. Therefore it befits her to keep silence, for through silence she will best display her submission. Know also that Paul does not forbid a woman to teach absolutely, but in the Church; for in private she is not forbidden, since Priscilla also taught Apollos, and a faithful wife teaches her husband.

1 Tim. 2:13. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. Since, he says, the male sex enjoyed the prerogative of precedence in being formed, and Eve was fashioned second after him, all other women also ought to hold second place to men and to be in submission. For what occurred at that time with Adam and Eve pertained to the whole race of men and of women.

1 Tim. 2:14. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. How was Adam not deceived? Because not even Scripture says so; rather, the woman says: the serpent deceived me, but Adam does not say: the woman deceived me, but that she gave to me. And it is not the same to be persuaded by a fellow-being and helper as to be persuaded by a beast that is a slave and subject. The latter is therefore deception. So, in comparison to the woman, he says that Adam was not deceived. Yet Adam too did not see that the tree was beautiful to eat; it was the woman who saw it and was deceived, and then gave it also to her husband. Thus she was led astray by desire, while he was persuaded by the woman. He says then: Once the woman taught and brought down everyone; therefore let the female sex not teach, for it is volatile and easily influenced and easily led astray. Note that he did not say: and Eve, having been deceived—but: the woman, speaking about female nature itself. For just as in Adam all human nature died, so also through Eve volatility passed over to all women; and it was on account of this volatility that the transgression first found place in Eve herself.

1 Tim. 2:15. Yet she will be saved through childbearing. Who? Eve? No, but the woman—that is, female nature. Do not be downcast, he says, O women; God has given you an occasion for salvation: childbearing—that is, the raising up of those born in a good way. For it is not enough merely to give birth; one must also educate the children. For this is truly childbearing; otherwise it is not childbearing but child-destruction for women. What then of virgins? What of the barren? Are they therefore lost? God forbid—he does not say this, that they cannot be saved by their own virtue, but that the rearing of children too will be for women an occasion of salvation. For it is obvious that a woman who is virtuous rears her children in virtue as well. So the virtue inherent in her produces also the virtue transmitted to the children. Therefore the virgin who possesses virtue will undoubtedly be saved. And it seems to me also that since he had forbidden the woman to teach, as if comforting her, he now gives her those whom she may teach. For if you desire to teach, teach your children. Some, however—I know not how—have understood “childbearing” as referring to the Theotokos. For she, by giving birth to the Savior, saved women, they say. But such an interpretation is wholly disconnected from what follows. Listen:

1 Tim. 2:15. If they remain in faith. The children—if they guard the pious faith and the doctrines.

1 Tim. 2:15. And love. That is, in right conduct. For faith alone does not suffice; the sum and fountain of right conduct is love.

1 Tim. 2:15. And holiness with self-control. By “holiness” he means the purity of the body. And since not all are virgins, he added: with self-control. For self-control is the term used of those who have engaged lawfully in marriage; or he simply means by self-control modesty in general. What then of the mother who, though herself evil, rears her children well? It is unlikely that this would happen. Nevertheless, if it does, she will also receive a reward for this. But what of one who, though good herself, rears them badly? If she is careless and gives in to them, she will suffer the fate of Eli. But if she does everything and takes care, and yet cannot improve them—which would rarely happen—she nonetheless will receive the wages of her toil, since even the Son of God, doing and saying all things, had but few who were persuaded by Him.

Chapter 3

1 Tim. 3:1. Faithful is the saying. Since it was uncertain that mothers would be able to enjoy the virtue of their children, he says, Faithful is the saying — what has been spoken is not false; let no one doubt it.

1 Tim. 3:1. If anyone aspires to the episcopate, he desires a noble work. In what he ordains for Timothy concerning the bishop, he is speaking to all throughout the inhabited world. If anyone, he says, aspires to the oversight, I do not forbid it; for he desires a noble work. But let him not covet only the authority and the dominion—since even Moses desired the work, not the authority. For he stood on behalf of the one who was wronged, striking down the one who did wrong. For the word episcopate is derived from overseeing all.

1 Tim. 3:2. The bishop therefore must be above reproach. That is, possessing every virtue, so that neither others nor he himself find anything to lay hold of against him. Therefore if anyone is conscious of a sin within himself, let him not even desire the office from which he has expelled himself by his own deeds. For the ruler must be a luminary, so that all who look to him are illumined and guided.

1 Tim. 3:2. The husband of one wife. But if the married man is anxious about the things of the world, and the bishop ought not to be anxious about the things of the world, how does he say, husband of one wife? Some indeed say that he was hinting at the man who has come away from a wife; but if that is not the meaning, he says: let him have one wife, yet as though he had none—that is, not enslaved to her desires. He does not legislate by this that the bishop must necessarily be married. For how could he who says, I wish all to be as I myself am? But since the circumstances of that time demanded such things, he says: if it should come to pass, let him be the husband of one. This also on account of the Jews, for polygamy was permitted to them. But some have thoughtlessly said that the Apostle speaks here of the Church—that the bishop, they say, must not move from Church to Church; for that is adultery.

1 Tim. 3:2. Vigilant. That is, keen, discerning, quick of mind, not overwhelmed by anxieties and despondency, but always wakeful, so as to see all things and attend to all.

1 Tim. 3:2. Self-controlled. That is, restrained and composed.

1 Tim. 3:2. Dignified. That is, of dignified bearing.

1 Tim. 3:2. Hospitable. For if he shows kindness only to those who are natives, he is partial. He must therefore be more open-handed toward strangers; for this above all shows love for the brethren.

1 Tim. 3:2. Apt to teach. The qualities mentioned before are required even of those who are governed; but this above all others must be present in the bishop.

1 Tim. 3:3. Not given to wine. He does not here mean the drunkard, but the insolent man, the arrogant one.

1 Tim. 3:3. Not violent. He does not mean, he says, one who does not strike with his hands, but one who does not strike the conscience of the brethren inopportunely.

1 Tim. 3:3. But gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He teaches how one would be neither given to wine nor violent: if he be, he says, gentle and not quarrelsome. And since he said above that he must be hospitable, he now adds not a lover of money — at once teaching what the hospitable man is, namely, one who is not a lover of money, and also so that he might not accumulate treasure under the pretext of the strangers.

1 Tim. 3:4. One who manages his own household well. This even those outside the Church say, that one who is a good household manager may quickly become a good governor of the city as well.

1 Tim. 3:4. Keeping his children in subjection with all dignity. For he must furnish examples from his own home. For who would believe that he will bring another under subjection, who has not brought his own son under subjection? How will he make others dignified, who has allowed his own flesh and blood to live without dignity? And by all dignity he means dignity in word and bearing and deed, toward all and at all times.

1 Tim. 3:5. But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how shall he care for the Church of God? For the household is nothing other than a small Church. If therefore he has been unable to manage what is small, limited, and easy to comprehend, how will he govern the judgments of so many souls without reproach? Now it is worth inquiring why he who demands of the laity, Put to death therefore what is earthly in you, and again, Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh, now demands of the bishop comparatively little things unworthy of so great a height—that he be not given to wine, not violent, and the rest. And yet Christ commands that we take up the cross, and says, The good shepherd lays down his soul for the sheep. Paul ought, then, to have demanded that the bishop pursue a kind of angelic life, passionless, commensurate with the height of the dignity. Listen, then: the exactness of such a life would have left few who could be found qualified; yet bishops were needed in great numbers, to lead in every city. Therefore he required a measured virtue, one that many could attain. But now—alas!—how far have we bishops fallen, so that not even the shadow of this modest virtue is to be found among us! Spare us, Lord.

1 Tim. 3:6. Not a recent convert. He does not here mean a younger person—since Timothy himself was young, as we shall learn from Paul’s saying, Let no one despise your youth — but rather one who has been newly catechized. For I, he says, planted. Since they were coming from among the Greeks and being baptized, he says: let not one who is newly baptized be immediately elevated to so great an office.

1 Tim. 3:6. Lest, being puffed up with pride, he fall into the condemnation and snare of the devil. If before he becomes a thorough disciple he becomes a teacher, he will be inflated with pride, he says, and will fall into the condemnation and sentence of the devil—that which the devil himself incurred through his own arrogance.

1 Tim. 3:7. Moreover he must have a good testimony from those outside. That is, from the Greeks, so that even they may have nothing to lay hold of against him, but rather may be led to revere him. What then if he appears good but is not? This is difficult. For enemies find fault even with the most scrupulous. Nevertheless he did not leave this requirement standing alone, but spoke it along with the other virtues, saying: he must also have a good testimony. What then if they slander him idly, acting out of malice? That cannot be: for even enemies revere the man whose life is beyond reproach. They may slander his doctrine, not his life—just as they did not call the Apostles fornicators or licentious, but deceivers, and said it was only a matter of preaching. But even if we grant that this happens, and that a man is slandered by false accusation, let him not be appointed bishop. For the souls of some must not be thrown into confusion on account of the luminary. Let your works shine, he says, so that men may see them. And if he must have testimony from enemies, how much more from friends.

1 Tim. 3:7. Lest he fall into reproach. For he is likely to be reproached by the Greeks; which is also an obstacle to the preaching.

1 Tim. 3:7. And the snare of the devil. Either because they will quickly destroy him, or because he will fall into the same sins as they. And the very fact of being set over many is itself a diabolical snare.

1 Tim. 3:8. Deacons likewise. Why did he pass over the presbyters? Because what he said concerning bishops applies to presbyters as well. For they too have been entrusted with the teaching and oversight of the Church, differing only in the laying on of hands. He says then that the deacons likewise—that is, they too must have such qualities: to be hospitable, gentle, peaceable, and so forth.

1 Tim. 3:8. Dignified. They must have, he says, dignity in addition to the things already mentioned.

1 Tim. 3:8. Not double-tongued. That is, underhanded and deceitful—thinking one thing and saying another, and saying different things to one person and different things to another.

1 Tim. 3:8. Not addicted to much wine, not greedy for base gain. He did not say not drunkards — for that would be far too obvious—but not given to much drinking. For even if they do not get drunk, excessive drinking nonetheless slackens the vigor of the soul. And in former times those who entered the sacred precincts made no use of wine whatever. One who is greedy for base gain is one who refuses no profit from any source whatever. Take not greedy for base gain here as equivalent to not a lover of money.

1 Tim. 3:9. Holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. That is, together with keeping the teaching orthodox, they must also have a blameless life. For a pure conscience belongs to a life that is above reproach.

1 Tim. 3:10. And let these also first be tested; then let them serve, being found blameless. Just as, he says, I required the bishop not to be a recent convert, so likewise let these not be advanced without being tested, but let them first be tried by time and found blameless. As one would not entrust the management of a household to a newly purchased slave before he has proven himself over time.

1 Tim. 3:11. Women likewise, dignified. He is not speaking here of women in general, but of deaconesses. For this office is very necessary and useful to the Church. If he were not speaking of them, what need would there be to insert a discussion of women in the middle of his discourse about male deacons?

1 Tim. 3:11. Not slanderers. That is, not tale-bearers—which is the habit of old women who go around from house to house and whisper one person’s affairs to another.

1 Tim. 3:11. Vigilant. That is, wide awake and vigilant. Since this sex is light-minded and easily deceived, they must, he says, be wakeful and quick of mind.

1 Tim. 3:11. Faithful in all things. That is, possessing steadfastness both in word and in deed.

1 Tim. 3:12. Deacons must be husbands of one wife. See how he requires of deacons the same virtue as of bishops. For they too must be pure and above reproach.

1 Tim. 3:12. Managing their children and their own households well. He places the management of the children everywhere, lest by this the rest be caused to stumble.

1 Tim. 3:13. For those who have served well acquire for themselves a noble standing, and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. By standing he means advancement. For those who have shown themselves wakeful in the lower offices will quickly advance to the higher ones, so as to have great boldness in the faith—that is, to become more honored, not in worldly dignities nor in wealth, but in the faith, that is, in all the words and deeds that accord with the faith. Such are those who shine in the Church, having risen from deacons to the rank of presbyter and bishop.

1 Tim. 3:14–15. These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God. So as not to cast the disciple into despondency by these directives, as though Paul were never going to see him again, he says: I do not write these things because I am no longer intending to come; on the contrary, I shall come—yet if it should happen that I am delayed, so that you may have a pattern of how one ought to conduct himself. Well did he say hoping. For since he was led by the Spirit and did not know where he must go, he naturally expresses uncertainty also about coming to Timothy.

1 Tim. 3:15. Which is the Church of the living God. Do not say that it is men who constitute it—for it belongs to the living God, that is, to one who is terrible and who avenges, not to one who is dead and powerless, as are the gods of the Greeks.

1 Tim. 3:15. The pillar and foundation of the truth. Here he also compares the Church with the Jewish temple, and says: That temple contained types and shadows—bells, pomegranates, and the high priest with his sacrifices. But the Church is the very constitution of the truth. For all that is accomplished within it is true and nothing shadowy, as were the things of the Law. Instead of bells, a radiant proclamation; instead of pomegranates, a life adorned and bearing fruit within; and as high priest, the Son of God; and as the great sacrifice, his divine body.

1 Tim. 3:16. And confessedly great is the mystery of godliness. The economy on our behalf is a mystery—and great, and a mystery of godliness, and confessedly great. For no one doubts concerning it. But how is it a mystery, which everyone knows? Principally, not everyone knows it. And even if all know it now, before this it was not manifest to all. Moreover, that God became incarnate all know; but how, that is hidden. And for this reason it is a mystery. Behold the love of God toward us, that he has made known to us his mystery at all.

1 Tim. 3:16. God was manifested in the flesh. Since Paul, in his ordinations concerning priests, said nothing of the sort found in Leviticus, he says: let no one marvel that I do not go into such minute particulars. Ours is something great, and nothing like that is found there. For here God was manifested. How? In the flesh. For in his divinity he is invisible.

1 Tim. 3:16. Vindicated in the Spirit. Either this means: that although he had done everything for the salvation of men and yet had not persuaded certain obdurate ones, he was nonetheless vindicated, having done his part; or it means that he committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. But those who were righteous under the Law were held under a spirit of bondage—for the Law carried with it fears and punishments, not having the spirit of adoption. But the Lord fulfilled all righteousness in the Holy Spirit, being consubstantial with the Spirit and having the Spirit as His natural companion, and through himself granting us also to be justified in him. For those who are righteous according to the Gospel are truly spiritual, excelling by far those who were justified under the Law in former times.

1 Tim. 3:16. Seen by angels. O mystery! Together with us, the angels beheld the Son of God—they who had not seen him before. For lo, he says, angels came and were ministering to him. And simply from the time of his birth until his ascension. For even at his birth angels sang hymns and brought good news to the shepherds; and at the ascension angels were ministering.

1 Tim. 3:16. Proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world. Among the nations who had been given up for lost, who had been discredited—and not only proclaimed, but also believed on by the whole world, which is a great sign of the power and truth of him who is proclaimed.

1 Tim. 3:16. Taken up in glory. That is, upon the clouds, with angels attending. And that he went up into heaven—unlike Elijah, who went up as if into heaven—not to mention that the very fact of being taken up is itself glory.

Chapter 4

1 Tim. 4:1. Now the Spirit speaks expressly. That is, openly, plainly, and not in shadowed fashion, as the Law and the Prophets spoke.

1 Tim. 4:1. That in later times some will depart from the faith. Because he said above that some had suffered shipwreck concerning the faith, he says here: Do not be surprised that some are now judaizing—a time will come when things will be worse, on the part of those who make a pretense of being Christians. For he is speaking of these things not about the Jews (who belonged to earlier times and even then), but about the Marcionites, the Encratites, the Manichaeans, and all the rest of that same workshop.

1 Tim. 4:1. Giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. For moved by these, they slander both foods and marriage. He is also hinting at all the other heresies, for all of them arise from deception and doctrines of demons. He does not mention them explicitly here, lest he thereby already sow them into souls; but the one that had already begun—namely, the rejection of foods and marriage—this one he does set forth plainly.

1 Tim. 4:2. Speaking lies in hypocrisy. That is, the very falsehoods they utter they do not utter through ignorance, but knowing them to be false, they play-act at teaching them as truths.

1 Tim. 4:2–3. Having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry. That is, they are of wicked life; and because they are inwardly conscious of great impurity, on that account their conscience bears the indelible brands of a filthy life, and so it slanders marriage. For if their life were pure, their conscience would itself be clean and would not slander what God has blessed. As a man with a sick stomach slanders food while himself harboring foul humors within, so also they. What then? Do not we ourselves forbid marriage? God forbid! Rather, we urge those who do not wish to marry toward virginity—and indeed virginity is more honorable. But marriage is not therefore without honor, just as silver is not without honor merely because gold is more precious. For what is more honorable is more honorable than something honorable; what is more beautiful is more beautiful than something beautiful—not than something evil. He who is able, then, let him keep the gold of virginity; but if he cannot, let him embrace the silver of marriage.

1 Tim. 4:3. To abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe. One must not take the word “forbidding” from the preceding clause and carry it over here, but must supply from outside the phrase “advising to abstain from foods.” But what of this: did God not create these things for unbelievers as well? Yes, but they themselves exclude themselves. What then—is luxury not forbidden? Indeed it is, most emphatically—but not the partaking itself. For partaking has its proper measure, whereas luxury has excess. And even luxury itself is forbidden not as being unclean, but because through excess it dissolves the soul.

1 Tim. 4:3. And who have known the truth. Therefore the Jewish observances were a figure—for now there is the truth. The Jews were restricted from many things not as from things unclean, but to restrain them from luxurious living, and so that being hemmed in by those many restrictions, even while slaughtering oxen and sheep, they might come to know what gods the Egyptians had acquired. By “truth,” then, you may understand either faith in Christ, or simply, “those who have come to know the truth”—of which truth he immediately proceeds to say more.

1 Tim. 4:4. For every creature of God is good. For all things, he says, are very good. And by saying “creature of God,” he hinted at all edible foods. And already he cuts away in advance the heresy of those who introduce an uncreated matter and say these things belong to it.

1 Tim. 4:4–5. And nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer. If then it is sanctified, does it follow that it was previously unclean? By no means; but he states this as a concession. For first, by way of direct assertion, he says that nothing is unclean; then by way of concession he says: Let us grant that something becomes unclean—yet you have the remedy: make the sign, give thanks, glorify God, and the uncleanness falls away. For thanksgiving cleanses all things. But the ungrateful person is himself unclean and defiled. Can we therefore cleanse even food offered to idols in this way? Yes, if we do not know that it is food offered to idols; but if knowing this we partake of it, we are unclean—not because that thing is offered to idols, but because we have transgressed the commandment that forbids sharing in the table of demons. Thus your own will has been defiled as one who has disobeyed; the food was not foul by nature.

1 Tim. 4:6. If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ. In what things? That the mystery is great; that to abstain from marriage and foods in such a fashion belongs to demons; and all the other things he said beforehand. And what is “instruct”? It stands for “advise.” He did not say “command,” for there is no question of authority here.

1 Tim. 4:6. Nourished in the words of faith and of the good teaching which you have followed. He said: instruct others in these things; now he says: and you yourself, being nourished—that is, continually turning the same things over, and as it were ruminating on them. For to indicate the unceasing attentiveness to such things he used the word “nourished.” Just as we receive bodily nourishment continually, so also must we continually be nourished in the words concerning the faith.

1 Tim. 4:7. But reject profane and old wives’ fables. That is: to your own people counsel the things I have said; but toward the perverse, do not even descend to debate—for it is not possible to benefit them, unless at some point a scandal should arise, as though we were avoiding the contest with them out of weakness. By “fables” he means the Jewish observances, either as having been corrupted, or on account of their being out of season. Consider a man of thirty who wishes still to nurse at the breast—how laughable he would be on account of its being out of season. “Old wives’ fables,” then, because they are grown old; “profane” and impure, because they stand in the way of faith. For to bring under fear a soul that has risen above such things—this is the mark of impure precepts.

1 Tim. 4:7. But exercise yourself toward godliness. That is, toward pure faith and upright life—for this is godliness. Training and unceasing toil are therefore necessary; for the one who trains even when there is no contest strives to produce sweat.

1 Tim. 4:8. For bodily exercise profits a little. Some say that fasting is bodily exercise—but it is not; for fasting is spiritual. Rather he means the physical training of the body, which, though it involves great labors, profits the body but little, and only for a time.

1 Tim. 4:8. But godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. Here, he says, godliness restores the person. For the one who is conscious of nothing wicked in himself rejoices even here, holding firm the assurances of the good things to come, and there too lives the true life. By comparison, then, he shows the surpassing excellence of godliness.

1 Tim. 4:9. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. That is, it is true, and worthy to be received by all without question. What saying? That godliness profits both here and hereafter. Throughout the whole Epistle he adds this and does not need to construct an argument for it but simply declares it—for his discourse was addressed to Timothy.

1 Tim. 4:10. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our hope on the living God. He shows what godliness is, namely the very thing the apostles themselves pursue; and he establishes how it holds the hopes of the life to come, saying: “to this end,” that is, for this reason, we both labor and suffer reproach. For why would we be cut to pieces, unless we expected the things to come which the living God will give us after death? Here on earth soldiers who have fought in the vanguard for a king often lose their reward when that king dies in the meantime; but our King lives forever, and therefore gives forever.

1 Tim. 4:10. Who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. That is, He wills the salvation of all both here and hereafter, but He shows even greater care here for those who believe. For if He Himself had not saved them, how could they have stood firm while being warred upon by all? Through these words he also urges Timothy toward the dangers. Do not lose heart, he says, having such a God; nor invoke the help of others—but set your hope on Him, for He lives and He is the Savior.

1 Tim. 4:11. Command and teach these things. Among practical matters, some require teaching and some require command. Concerning robbery, for instance, one ought not to teach but to command—that is, to forbid with greater authority; but concerning the giving up of one’s possessions, or virginity, or how one ought to believe, in these cases teaching is needed. Therefore the Apostle places both: Command and teach. In another way: when we do something knowing it to be evil, we need a command; when we do it out of ignorance, we need teaching.

1 Tim. 4:12. Let no one despise your youth. Since the common presumption counted youth a thing easily despised, he says: Command more authoritatively, and let no one despise you—for the teacher must indeed be beyond contempt. But where then is meekness? Where one ought to avenge wrongs done to oneself, let him be meek; but where the salvation of others demands sternness, let him command with boldness. Or rather: demonstrate a seemly life, and your youth—naturally vulnerable to contempt—will not be despised but rather admired. He therefore adds:

1 Tim. 4:12. But be an example to the believers. That is, be the archetype of life and the rule of an excellent conduct.

1 Tim. 4:12. In word. So as to converse with ease and to have one’s word ready and prepared.

1 Tim. 4:12. In conduct. Either in one’s manner of life, or in the order of the Church.

1 Tim. 4:12. In love. Toward all.

1 Tim. 4:12. In spirit. Either in one’s spiritual disposition, or in the gift—so as not to be puffed up on account of it.

1 Tim. 4:12. In faith. In right and undoubting faith, as when one believes God even in matters that seem impossible.

1 Tim. 4:12. In purity. That is, in chastity, virginity, or also self-control.

1 Tim. 4:13. Until I come, give attention to reading. If he commands Timothy to give attention to the reading of the divine Scriptures, what then must we do? And Paul himself would surely have given attention to this until the very end, since he urged it upon others. He also comforts him by saying “Until I come,” giving him the hope that he will see his teacher—for it was natural that he, left as an orphan, should be longing for Paul. And why did he say “until I come”? Because since it was likely that Timothy, being young, was ignorant of many things and stood in need of Paul’s presence in order to learn them, he says: Until I come, read the Scriptures, and from them you will obtain, as much as is possible, the things prescribed by law. But when I come, I myself will set forth for you the rest.

1 Tim. 4:13. To exhortation. Exhortation toward those who are grieving, or toward others who are in a state of laxity.

1 Tim. 4:13. To teaching. Teaching addressed to all simply, and concerning every matter.

1 Tim. 4:14. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy. He here speaks of the gift of teaching, which Timothy received when he became a bishop. “Through prophecy” means by command of the Spirit, as was also said earlier.

1 Tim. 4:14. With the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. That is, of the bishops—for it was certainly not the presbyters who ordained a bishop. Note the awesome thing: what power the laying on of priestly hands possesses.

1 Tim. 4:15. Meditate on these things, be absorbed in them. He charges him repeatedly concerning the same matters, to show that above all else the bishop must be occupied with them.

1 Tim. 4:15. So that your progress may be evident to all. Not in your manner of life only, but also in your teaching word. Note that he wished him to become great and admirable in this respect as well.

1 Tim. 4:16. Take heed to yourself and to your teaching, continue in them. That is: attend to yourself, and also teach the rest.

1 Tim. 4:16. For in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. For the one who is nourished in the words of teaching first benefits himself, even as he exhorts others, piercing his own heart with compunction.

Chapter 5

1 Tim. 5:1. Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as a father. He is not speaking about the one who holds an office of dignity in the Church, but about any man who has grown old. What then if such a person stands in need of correction? Approach him in this manner, he says, as you would a father.

1 Tim. 5:2. Older women as mothers. For since being reproved is burdensome—and especially when the reproof comes from a younger man and is directed toward an elderly person (for then the presumption is threefold)—heal it, he says, by gentleness.

1 Tim. 5:2. Younger women as sisters. Since youth carries with it a boldness and does not readily receive reproofs, let forbearance serve as the mediator, he says.

1 Tim. 5:2. In all purity. Since dealings with younger women give rise to suspicion, and yet the bishop must have dealings even with such women, you, he says, conduct yourself in all purity—meaning not only that you guard yourself from the sin of intercourse, but also from every occasion that gives rise to suspicion. He enjoins these things upon Timothy not for Timothy’s own sake, but for the sake of us who come after, that we may guard ourselves against suspicions.

1 Tim. 5:3. Honor widows who are truly widows. Why does he say nothing at all about virgins? Perhaps because at that time there were as yet none there. He commands that widows be honored, because they have no husbands to take their part, and their condition seems a matter of reproach and ill repute. For this reason they have great need of honor from the priest. And most importantly, they deserve it insofar as they are truly widows. Who these are you will learn as he proceeds. So then, it is possible to be without a husband and yet not be a true widow. The word honor means: show mercy to them and supply their necessities.

1 Tim. 5:4. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety toward their own household. That is, let the children and grandchildren learn to honor their own mother, to do good to her and to provide for her; for this is what he means by showing piety—caring for an aged mother or grandmother. Indeed, the dignity of parents is a divine dignity; so that, on the contrary, failing to care for an aged parent is impiety.

1 Tim. 5:4. And to make repayment to their forebears, for this is acceptable before God. To their forebears — that is, to their mother and grandmother. Mark the wisdom of Paul, how he sets before them what is agreeable to conscience—namely, I say, the repayment of one’s forebears in return for the nurture and upbringing they provided. And he adds a further reason: that this is acceptable to God as well.

1 Tim. 5:5. But she who is truly a widow and left alone has set her hope in God. He said above, Honor widows who are truly widows, and having inserted in the middle the case of those who are not truly widows—namely, those who have children whose duty it is to care for them—he now declares who the true widow is. She is the one who has no guardian, neither child nor grandchild, but hopes in God alone; and she it is who must be honored and shown mercy with a full provision of necessities.

1 Tim. 5:5. And continues in supplications and prayers night and day. Fittingly so. For since she has no one else, she takes refuge in God. And since it was natural for them to be grieved, as women left without any protector, he consoles them as those who have God in place of all others. For even if the woman who raises children receives a reward, your own dignity has not been diminished by reason of your having no children.

1 Tim. 5:6. But she who lives in pleasure is dead even while she lives. Since many choose widowhood in order to act as they please with greater license, he says that she who lives in pleasure, even if she seems to live this perceptible life, is dead in the spirit. Now if he does not permit a woman to live in pleasure—where nature plays its part throughout and age often adds its own weakness—what would men who live in pleasure say for themselves?

1 Tim. 5:7. Command these things as well, that they may be above reproach. Do you see that he wishes this matter to be treated as a law? For he does not leave it to one’s choice to abstain from luxury, but forbids it as though it were a sin. The word command means this: with strictness, prevent such things from being dared.

1 Tim. 5:8. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household. The woman who lives in pleasure, he says, has therefore perished and is dead because she expends all her care upon herself. For one ought to provide for one’s own—that is, for the faithful—and most especially for one’s own household, meaning one’s blood relatives, with every kind of provision, both for the soul and for the body.

1 Tim. 5:8. He has denied the faith. How so? Because his works are not those of a believer. For if he believed in God, he would hear him saying: You shall not overlook those of your own kindred. They profess to know God, he says, but by their works they deny him.

1 Tim. 5:8. And is worse than an unbeliever. Because the unbeliever, even if he may disregard strangers, does not disregard his own, being at least obedient to nature; but this man overturns and wrongs both the law of God and the law of nature. Who could believe that such a man has natural affection toward strangers? And if he shows mercy to strangers, how is that not mere vainglory? Reason further: if the man who does not provide for his own is worse than an unbeliever, where shall the man who wrongs his own be ranked? And note that one’s own virtue is not sufficient for salvation if, being virtuous oneself, one neither teaches nor exhorts one’s own blood relations.

1 Tim. 5:9. Let a widow be enrolled who is not less than sixty years of age, the wife of one husband. Since he said above that she who lives in pleasure and does not provide for her own is unworthy of enrollment among the widows, he now teaches us what she must have. First, he sets down precise rules about age, and the reason he will state as he proceeds. For he does not simply admit any woman of sixty years; for even such a one can be unworthy. Then he also requires that she have been married only once, as a sign of dignity and love of self-control. Hear also what follows.

1 Tim. 5:10. Well attested in good works. This is what properly qualifies her for enrollment; and then he enumerates the works individually.

1 Tim. 5:10. If she has raised children. To raise children is not simply to feed them, but to feed them as one ought; just as he also said above: If they continue in faith and holiness.

1 Tim. 5:10. If she has shown hospitality to strangers. Do you see how he has placed benefactions toward one’s own before benefactions toward strangers? For having first said, If she has raised children, he then added, If she has shown hospitality to strangers. And even if a person should otherwise be in want, at any rate she has a house; for surely she does not dwell in the open air.

1 Tim. 5:10. If she has washed the feet of the holy. He said this because many receive guests but do not serve them personally themselves, but through their maidservants. Wishing therefore that the widow be diligent and not idle, he bids her serve with her own hands; for idleness rather belongs to the woman who lives in pleasure. And also, so that no one might allege utter poverty as an excuse for not showing hospitality, as having not even a house, he says: And yet washing costs nothing and requires no means. The holy are all those who hold the right faith together with a corresponding life, even if they do not work signs.

1 Tim. 5:10. If she has relieved those in affliction. Both with money and with patronage and intercession.

1 Tim. 5:10. If she has earnestly pursued every good work. That is, if she was unable to do it herself, yet she shared in fellowship with another who was doing it, if she assisted in the service. For he urges that bodily service be rendered—such as making a bed, providing rest, the kinds of things women are better suited for.

1 Tim. 5:11. But refuse to enroll younger widows. Why does he prescribe nothing concerning the age of virgins, even though their struggle is greater? Fittingly so: because there the struggle proceeds from a greater eagerness and from a warmer fervor. Moreover, in seeking for virgins that they devote themselves without distraction to the Lord and give heed to the Lord’s affairs, this very seeking produces and demands great exactitude. From this the age too is evident. Again, younger widows have gone astray, and for this reason they themselves provided the occasion for such a regulation; whereas among virgins there is nothing of the sort.

1 Tim. 5:11. For when they become wanton against Christ, they desire to marry. That is, when they become coy and self-indulgent and grow haughty against Christ, refusing to accept him as their bridegroom, they then fall away into marriage; for they did not choose widowhood by a reasoned judgment. Note also that the widow likewise has Christ as her bridegroom, just as the virgin does.

1 Tim. 5:12. Having condemnation, because they have set aside their first pledge. By pledge he means the covenant. They have broken, he says, their agreement with Christ, and on account of this they have incurred condemnation.

1 Tim. 5:13. And at the same time they also learn to be idle, going about from house to house. In addition to the condemnation mentioned above, they commit another sin as well: learning to be idle from their going about from house to house. For idleness has been the teacher of every evil. So idleness is unsuitable not only for men but for women as well.

1 Tim. 5:13. And not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not. Fittingly so. For as they make their rounds from house to house, they carry nothing else but tales from one to another and from that one to yet another, and they are inevitably carried headlong into meddlesomeness—from the prying into everything—and into gossip—from the telling of everyone’s affairs to everyone else.

1 Tim. 5:14. I therefore desire that younger women marry, bear children, manage their households. In the first instance, he says, I wished that they would not break their covenants. But since they desire marriage, I desire it too, condescending to them. For it is better to manage one’s household—that is, to care for and work in one’s own home—than to go about from house to house gossiping and being idle. And by saying bear children, he showed that one ought to enter into marriage for the sake of bearing children, so as to present more souls to God.

1 Tim. 5:14–15. To give no occasion to the adversary for reviling. For some have already turned aside after Satan. Since he said manage their households, so that he might not seem to give them license for self-indulgence, he added: To give no occasion. Manage the household in such a manner, he says, that your soul not be harmed. And in another sense, here he makes his intention plain as to why he condescended to them: So as not to give, he says, the devil occasion to mock them — women who are brides of Christ yet become as adulteresses through the instability of their youth. For this reason I bring them under the yoke of marriage, lest, being unconstrained, they draw upon themselves the aforementioned evils.

1 Tim. 5:16. If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them. For the widows of the faithful ought not to be supported by unbelievers, lest the faithful seem to have need of them. And by saying let them relieve, he indicated sufficiency, not extravagance.

1 Tim. 5:16. And let the Church not be burdened, so that it may relieve those who are truly widows. Thus the faithful who support their own widows also contribute to the widows of the Church, inasmuch as the Church, not being burdened, therefore supports those it does support more abundantly—namely, the truly widows, that is, those without protectors and left alone.

1 Tim. 5:17. Let presbyters who preside well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. Who those are who preside well, the Lord teaches when he says: The good shepherd lays down his life, sparing nothing, for the sake of the care of his sheep. By honor he means the provision of necessities, as is plain from what follows. For teachers ought to overflow with an abundance of necessities, lest, when distracted by these concerns, they neglect their teaching. So also the Levites lived of old. Double honor—in comparison with the widows, or with the deacons, or simply double, meaning great. Now where are those who say that the word is not needed, only the life? Let them hear Paul now, how he especially honors the word, saying: This too is needed, if anything at all is. For when the discussion concerns doctrines, what way of life can avail there? He does not demand the ostentatious word, but the word that is full of the power of Scripture and of sound thoughts, however it may otherwise be expressed.

1 Tim. 5:18. For the Scripture says: You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain; and: The laborer is worthy of his wages. He weaves in testimonies—one from the law and another from Christ. Note from both how it is required that the teacher toil. For threshing is more laborious than all other works. Therefore the teacher too must be prepared for heat and hardships and toil. And in saying the laborer, he indicates that one must not seek self-indulgence and ease. For the laborer is worthy of his wages, that is, of his food. And he shows this from what is greater: for if he is worthy of wages, how much more of food. But the one who is no laborer is unworthy.

1 Tim. 5:19. Do not admit an accusation against an elder. Must one then admit an accusation against a younger person, but not against an elder or anyone else? God forbid. But it is as if he says: not against any other either, but especially not against an elder. He did not say, Do not condemn, but Do not even receive it at all. For by reason of their age they sin less than the young. By elder here he means the one who has grown old.

1 Tim. 5:19. Except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. Since many things are judged by mere suspicion, there must be, he says, witnesses who provide proof—according to the ancient law. What then if these too should lie? This happens but rarely; and it is possible for such falsehood to come to light when examined at the trial. And it is a goodly thing even to have two witnesses, given that sins tend to be committed in secret. What then if the sins be confessed but there be no witnesses, only an evil suspicion? Concerning this he said above: He must also have a good testimony from those outside.

1 Tim. 5:20. Those who are sinning, rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. That is, those who persist in sin and whom you find out upon thorough inquiry—rebuke them sharply and decisively, not to minister to your own anger, but that the rest may be brought to self-control through fear. For the bishop must also be feared. For just as simply condemning without examination is arrogance, so also failing to reprove the guilty is pestilential—spreading the disease to many. How then did the Lord say in the Gospels: Go and rebuke him between you and him alone, if he has sinned against you? Yet even that man, if he persists in his sin, the Lord permits to be rebuked publicly. What then? Does not public reproof give scandal? On the contrary, it gives far more scandal when the sinner is known to all and is not reproved. For this reason God also, having brought forth Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar and many others before all, punished them publicly, so that the world might be brought to self-control.

1 Tim. 5:21. I solemnly charge you before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels. Having discoursed about many matters above, now that he has spoken about judgment he charges him with great and fearful solemnity. For he was not ashamed to do this because Timothy was Timothy, but secured him thereby. For if concerning himself he said: Lest when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified, how much more would he not hesitate to do this concerning Timothy? He calls as witnesses both the Father and the Son, so that he may have a ready defense on that coming day, should anything happen contrary to what is right—since he had given instructions. And why does he add the angels as co-witnesses? Because at the judgment the angels will also be attendants standing guard around the Master. And it is our custom to call both those of higher and those of lesser rank as witnesses. Jacob likewise calls both God and a hill as witnesses. And Moses says: I call heaven and earth to witness. For so gracious is our God, that he even accepts servants being called alongside as witnesses. He said elect angels because the demons too are angels, but rejected ones.

1 Tim. 5:21. That you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing according to partiality. That is, that you be impartial toward those who are judged, so that there be no prejudging—meaning, that no one should anticipate you and, by predisposing you to his side, cause you to prejudge and pronounce sentence in advance in his favor; and that you do nothing according to partiality—that is, according to affection, inclining toward the one party. Even if it is spelled with an eta, it signifies the same thing: as if he says, one party invites you to assist it; do not therefore act in accordance with that party’s call.

1 Tim. 5:22. Do not lay hands hastily on anyone. He has come now to what is most important and what most sustains the Church—the matter of ordinations—and says: not hastily, meaning not after a first examination nor a third, but after many and exact examinations. For the matter is not without danger. And how so? hear.

1 Tim. 5:22. Nor share in the sins of others. You are responsible for those sins that are about to be committed by him, and therefore, just as you share in his good works, so also in his sins. But you are also liable for the sins of his past, because you overlooked them, and turned darkness into light, and did not allow him to mourn and come to compunction.

1 Tim. 5:22. Keep yourself pure. Here he exhorts him concerning self-control.

1 Tim. 5:23. No longer drink water only, but use a little wine, on account of your stomach and your frequent ailments. Do you see how many labors he bore, and yet still wore himself out further with drinking only water? Learn also not to take it amiss when some counsel us in matters of self-control; for indeed, even to Timothy who had drunk only water to the point of falling frequently ill, Paul gives instruction concerning purity. He did not say use wine, but checked it by adding a little. For health, some say, not for self-indulgence. For youth is an ardent thing, quickly excited by wine. But why did Paul not heal him—Paul, who raised the dead through handkerchiefs? So that even now, when we see holy persons suffering, we may not be scandalized; and so that we may not regard the ancients as being above our own condition, but believe that they too were human beings; and so that Timothy himself might not be puffed up in pride over his virtue. More fully has the blessed John spoken concerning this at the beginning of the book called On the Statues. It also seems that Timothy was by nature prone to illness, not only in respect to his stomach but in other parts as well. For he added: your frequent ailments.

1 Tim. 5:24. The sins of some men are evident, going before them to judgment; but for others, they follow after. Since, in giving instruction about ordinations, he said Do not share in the sins of others, it was natural that Timothy might object and say: What then if I act in ignorance? To correct this, he says that some persons sin openly and manifestly, their sins going before them to judgment—that is, condemning them even here and now, walking ahead of them, and these you too can discern. But the sins of others are not visible at first sight, yet perhaps upon examination you will find them. For the phrase they follow after hints at something of this sort. You are therefore able to guard against these as well in ordinations. Or else: even if in this life they go undetected and you ordain them, being altogether innocent in this regard, even so in that life they will not escape notice. For sins are not dissolved with this life, but follow after it. The great Basil, however, received this passage as a separate section standing on its own and not bearing upon the discussion of ordinations—namely, that if someone commits fornication or theft, that sin goes before him to judgment, dragging only him along; but if someone teaches evil things and establishes a school to the destruction of wisdom, his sin follows after him. For it is not extinguished at his death; rather, there are those after him who carry on his corruption—as the wise men of the Greeks, and all who have written in opposition to the doctrine of the Church. These will render account not only because they themselves went astray, but because they have also become the cause of error for those who followed after them.

1 Tim. 5:25. Likewise also the good works are evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden. This is the greatest consolation for those who live uprightly: that either here the good works are manifest—as are those that are not such—or there, where all things are laid bare.

Chapter 6

1 Tim. 6:1. Let all who are under the yoke as slaves count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed. Charge and teach them, he says, that even if their masters are unbelievers, the slaves should yield to them, counting them worthy of all honor—both that which consists in words, and that which consists in deeds. Do not suppose, because you are a believer, that you are free: you are free by nature, yet a slave in the body; and this itself is freedom—to serve, I mean, for the sake of the name of Christ. For if the unbeliever sees you stiff-necked, he will blaspheme against the doctrine as making men rebellious; but if he sees you yielding with good sense, he will rather marvel at it, as correcting even the habits of slaves, which are most difficult to correct.

1 Tim. 6:2. And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren; but rather let them serve them, because they are faithful and beloved, those who partake of the benefit. Do not, because you have obtained your master as a brother through baptism, despise him; but rather serve him all the more for this reason, because he is himself also faithful and beloved—that is, a brother in place of a master. But consider also that he is your benefactor, and stoops down and takes thought for you, to feed you, to clothe you, to afford you every other care. So he has many claims upon you, quite apart from the fact that he purchased you. And by calling him “beloved,” Paul casts out the fear which slaves ordinarily feel toward masters—and which often draws them into hatred—and sets love in its place. Rather let them serve, he says, those who partake of the benefit—that is, the slaves. For he speaks in hyperbaton; between, one must understand, because they are faithful and beloved, the masters. Or take the phrase simply as it stands: those who partake of the benefit—that is, the masters who take thought to do good to their slaves.

1 Tim. 6:3. These things teach and exhort. A teacher, then, needs not only authority—as in the word “charge”—but also gentleness, as in the word “exhort.” He is a physician, sometimes softening, sometimes drawing tight.

1 Tim. 6:3. If anyone teaches otherwise, and does not draw near to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is according to godliness, he is puffed up with conceit, knowing nothing. Do you see that knowing nothing is what lifts a man up into presumption and makes him conceited? And that the one who does not receive sound words is the one who is puffed up? For conceit is a swelling of a sick soul, just as inflammation is on a wounded body. If then he had received the words of the Lord, he would not have been puffed up. The Lord emptied himself, washed the feet of his disciples, and said, Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; he pronounced blessed those who are poor in spirit; he introduced the tax collector as justified by his humility. The one who does not receive and does not know these things is necessarily puffed up with conceit.

1 Tim. 6:4. But sickening with disputes and quarrels of words. Seeking, then, is itself a form of sickness; for where there is no faith, all is sick, and nothing is born but quarrels of words, with the one seeming more plausible knocking down the other. Faith is an eye: he who has no eyes finds nothing, but only seeks.

1 Tim. 6:4. From which come envy, strife, blasphemies, evil suspicions. That is, wicked doctrines arising from the disputes. For we blaspheme, and entertain unworthy thoughts about God, whenever we fall into disputes.

1 Tim. 6:5. Wranglings. That is, vain schools of thought. For it is customary to call schools of thought “pursuits.” Or it is that, just as scabby sheep infect even the healthy when they rub against them, so these men, rubbing against others, corrupt them.

1 Tim. 6:5. Of men corrupted in mind and deprived of the truth, supposing that godliness is a means of gain. Do you see that quarrels of words also give birth to shameful greed? With reason. For those who quarrel over words draw more disciples to themselves, and from these they make profit, and they practice their wranglings all the more, so as to attract still more.

1 Tim. 6:5. From such withdraw yourself. He did not say, Entangle yourself with such men and fight against them; but, withdraw yourself—after a first and second admonition, that is. For when will you ever persuade men who fight for the sake of money? Leave them, then, since they are incorrigible, and turn away.

1 Tim. 6:6. But godliness with contentment is great gain. Those men, he says, wrongly suppose godliness to be gain. But for godliness there is gain—not in the way those men imagine, but in a far greater sense: not when one possesses money, but when one does not possess it. For contentment is great and enduring wealth. Let not the godly, therefore, fall into despair as men without money.

1 Tim. 6:7. For we brought nothing into the world, and it is clear that we can carry nothing out. He shows that the gain which those men pursue is no gain at all. For it stays here and does not travel with us. What need have we, then, of superfluities, if we are going to take nothing with us there?

1 Tim. 6:8. But having food and covering, with these we shall be content. He defines here what contentment is, and says that it is to have as much as suffices only for nourishment—not for luxury—and to be clothed in such things as cover the body; and any ordinary garment will serve that purpose.

1 Tim. 6:9. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare. He urges them from what happens here below. I set aside the things to come, he says; look at what happens here. He did not say, those who are rich, but, those who desire to be rich. For it is possible for one who possesses money to manage it well—despising it, that is, and emptying himself of it—which is not a desire to be rich. They fall into temptation and a snare inasmuch as they are led astray from the faith, and are exposed to dangers on account of their wealth, and live in fear of everyone.

1 Tim. 6:9. And many foolish and harmful desires. For how is it not foolish to keep monkeys and cats, to shut up wild beasts and fish in one’s courtyards, to adorn horses with gold, to bring water up to one’s roof, and to see one’s own reflection in the polished floor of a house? These things are foolish and harmful, diminishing the wealth of the soul and consuming the wealth of sense. Many, moreover, who have desired tyranny, have suffered harm.

1 Tim. 6:9. Which plunge men down. So that they are unable even to rise up again.

1 Tim. 6:9. Into ruin and destruction. Both here below, as has been said, and the one to come.

1 Tim. 6:10. For the love of money is a root of all evils. For it spares neither the living nor the dead, but despoils even these; it sets men against their parents and brothers, and plunders what belongs to God. Remove it, and there will be neither war nor enmity, nor even fornication; for the harlot sells herself for the sake of silver.

1 Tim. 6:10. Which some, in their eagerness for it, have wandered away from the faith. For the love of money does not permit one to see the way of truth, pulling the eyes toward itself. How shall the one who is bent on gain believe the Gospel that commends poverty? This cannot be.

1 Tim. 6:10. And pierced themselves through with many sorrows. And in this present life as well. For how greatly do they lament? How greatly do they mourn? Well said is “pierced through.” For the cares of wealth are thorns, as the Lord also said. Wherever one touches them, they draw blood from the hands, working wounds and pains.

1 Tim. 6:11. But you, O man of God. Great is the dignity: for all men are of God, but properly those who are righteous—not merely according to the principle of creation, but also according to that of intimate belonging. If you are a man of God, do not seek the things that lead you away from God; but what?

1 Tim. 6:11. Flee these things, and pursue righteousness. Both with intensity. For he did not say, Stand aside and draw near; but, Flee and pursue. Righteousness, so as not to be covetous, as are those who desire to be rich.

1 Tim. 6:11. Godliness. That pertaining to doctrines.

1 Tim. 6:11. Faith. Which is the very opposite of disputation.

1 Tim. 6:11. Love. That is, upright conduct of life; for the sum of this is love.

1 Tim. 6:11. Endurance, meekness. From love come both endurance and meekness; for love bears all things, and is longsuffering.

1 Tim. 6:12. Fight the good fight of the faith. That is, stand firm and unconquerable for the faith, through both the power of your word and the purity of your life.

1 Tim. 6:12. Lay hold on eternal life. Behold, both the reward and the prize: eternal life.

1 Tim. 6:12. To which you were also called. For you were called in the hope of eternal life.

1 Tim. 6:12. And confessed the good confession before many witnesses. Here he praises his boldness and courage, as one who confessed Christ in the midst of dangers. Or by “confession” he means that made at the catechism, in which we confess to renounce Satan and to join ourselves to Christ. Observe, also, that confession alone is not sufficient, but endurance is also needed—to remain in the confession continually—and a strenuous contest, so as not to be turned aside.

1 Tim. 6:13. I charge you before God. Both increasing the fear and making the disciple more secure, he calls God as witness, showing that these charges are not merely human—and so that, holding the witness in his mind, he may thereby shake his understanding by the memory of him.

1 Tim. 6:13. Who gives life to all things. Here is an encouragement in the face of dangers, and a reminder of the resurrection: as if he were saying, Do not fear death; for you are a servant of God, who is able to give life to all things.

1 Tim. 6:13. And before Jesus Christ, who bore witness before Pontius Pilate to the good confession. Again the exhortation comes from the example of the Teacher. He bore witness; we are obliged to imitate him. For when Pilate said, Are you a king? he answered, For this I was born; and, I came to bear witness to the truth; and many other things he bore witness to and confessed.

1 Tim. 6:14. That you keep the commandment without spot and without reproach. That is, incurring no stain upon yourself, whether in doctrine or in manner of life.

1 Tim. 6:14. Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is, until your end, until your departure. But he did not say it thus; rather, until the appearing, so as to rouse him the more, by putting him in mind of that dreadful and glorious day.

1 Tim. 6:15. Which in his own times he will show. That is, at the fitting, appointed times. Do not, therefore, grieve that it has not already come.

1 Tim. 6:15. The blessed and only Sovereign. These words too are for encouragement, that he may not look toward those who appear blessed here below, but toward him who is blessedness itself, in whom there is nothing grievous or unpleasant; and that he may not fear those who are sovereigns and kings here below. At the same time, he also establishes that God will show the appearing. For he is the only Sovereign. And all this is meant concerning the Son. The word “only” is spoken in contrast to men or to the falsely-named gods, and not in contrast to the other holy Persons.

1 Tim. 6:15. The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality. For he truly has immortality as a property of his very essence; whereas the angels, even if they are immortal, are not immortal by nature but by grace—so that they do not possess it, but participate in it.

1 Tim. 6:16. Who dwells in unapproachable light. Is he then contained in a place? Is the light something other than himself? And yet he is light itself. Do you see that even when we wish to say something great, the tongue fails? “Unapproachable”—to which no one is able to draw near, because of its exceeding brilliance.

1 Tim. 6:16. Whom no man has seen, nor is able to see. With respect to his divinity, manifestly; for with respect to his humanity he was seen. The blessed John, however, received all these things above as spoken primarily of the Father, while they are also appropriately received as spoken of the Son and of the Spirit as well.

1 Tim. 6:16. To whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. If therefore the power is his always, do not be afraid, even if it does not appear to be so now. His is the honor always; do not fall into despair, even if he is now dishonored. This one thing we are all able to do without condemnation: to glorify him, not to pry about him. And fittingly here Paul inserts a word of praise. For since he called God as witness, he rehearses his glory, that the hearer may be moved to reverence all the more.

1 Tim. 6:17. As for the rich in this present age. There are also others who are rich, but not in the present age—namely, the righteous, who are rich in the age to come.

1 Tim. 6:17. Charge them not to be haughty in mind. For money breeds presumption and arrogance.

1 Tim. 6:17. Nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches. He brought them down at once. Why, he says, do you exalt yourself over something uncertain, changeable, and unstable?

1 Tim. 6:17. But on God, who is living, who gives us richly all things for enjoyment. That is, air, water, light, the annual turnings of the seasons, and hours, and all other things—and in great abundance, even if covetousness lays claim to whatever it receives. This wealth is enduring and living, not corruptible. And you will learn from this that God made every man rich, having bestowed upon all things held in common; therefore the one who grieves as though he were poor is without cause.

1 Tim. 6:18. To do good, to be rich in good works. Supply from the common construction: Charge them to do good, and what follows; for if you wish to be rich, be rich in doing good.

1 Tim. 6:18. To be liberal. This pertains to their money.

1 Tim. 6:18. To be ready to share. This pertains to love. By “ready to share” understand those who are sociable and affable.

1 Tim. 6:19. Laying up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come. Where there is a foundation, all things there are firm and immovable; since, then, the things of virtue and of the age to come are steadfast, for this reason he made mention of a foundation.

1 Tim. 6:19. That they may lay hold on eternal life. For the practice of many good works—which he also called a foundation—is able to set before them enjoyment there.

1 Tim. 6:20. O Timothy, guard the deposit. All these things which have been entrusted to you by me—guard them as the Lord’s own, and diminish nothing of them.

1 Tim. 6:20. Turning away from the profane empty babblings. The unclean, the defiling. By “empty babblings” he means idle talk. There is, then, also an empty babbling that is not profane. The blessed John, however, referred to newly-coined teachings as kainophoniai—writing it with the diphthong ai, as it seems.[1]

1 Tim. 6:20. And the oppositions of what is falsely called knowledge. For when there is no faith, but everything is born of human reasonings, there is no knowledge—the name is false. Observe also that there are oppositions to which one ought not even to reply, but to turn away from them and not become entangled with such people.

1 Tim. 6:21. Which some, professing, have missed the mark concerning the faith. For it is inevitable that the one who follows human reasonings will miss the mark of the faith; for faith does not admit of reasonings. I believe the Apostle is speaking here about those who were then called the Gnostics—men filled with every kind of uncleanness, for which reason he also called their empty babblings “profane.” The head of this heresy was Nicolaus, one of the seven deacons.

1 Tim. 6:21. Grace be with you. Amen. He prays over him the seal of all things—the grace of God—from which every good thing is both given and preserved. May we also enjoy it abundantly, not losing the good things we received from it, but guarding them through it, and glorifying Christ the giver of gifts, together with the Father and the Spirit; to whom be glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek text has κενοφωνίας (kenophōniai, “empty babblings”) in the lemma; Theophylact notes that the blessed John (Chrysostom) used the variant καινοφωνίας (kainophōniai, “novel teachings”), spelled with the diphthong αι. The two words differ in connotation: the former means “empty babblings” or “vain utterances,” the latter “novel utterances.”

Commentary on the Second Epistle to Timothy

Introduction

A Letter Written Near the End

Nero’s custody was closing in on Paul, and the visit he had promised Timothy in his first letter kept slipping out of reach. Paul’s answer, Theophylact suggests at the opening of this, the shortest of his prefatory Arguments in the Pauline series, was simple and circumstantial: unable to come in person, he wrote instead, to console his disciple by letter in place of the presence he could not give. Theophylact reads real strain behind Timothy’s situation—worn down, he suggests, both by Paul’s absence and by the weight of governing a church, a burden that presses even on able men, and pressed with particular force in a season, as this one was, when persecution was breaking out on every side. Paul also asks Timothy to come to him, Theophylact notes, because by now he was nearing the end of his own life, and wished to see his disciple once more before it came.

A Gift Received Through the Laying On of Hands

Early in the letter Paul reminds Timothy of the grace “in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6), and Theophylact reads the verse as Paul’s own record of Timothy’s ordination: Paul had laid hands on him and made him a bishop, and the charge now is not to receive some new gift but to fan the one already given into a stronger flame. The spirit of power, love, and self-control that follows in the next verse Theophylact takes apart carefully—love toward God and toward one’s neighbor together, self-control as soundness of mind and as a discipline that steadies a man under trial, power as the courage that keeps a bishop from being shaken loose from either. None of this, Theophylact stresses, works automatically: grace supplies the gift, but Timothy himself must be the one who fans it. The letter that follows reads, on this understanding, as an older bishop’s charge to a younger one standing in real danger of losing heart.

A Father’s Testament to His Child

The letter’s most moving passage comes near its close, where Paul writes that he is “already being poured out as a drink-offering”, and that he has “fought the good fight” (2 Tim. 4:6–7). Theophylact reads these not as boasting but as consolation, and offers an image of his own to explain the tone: a dying father, seeing his child in tears beside him, speaks of his own life well spent not to claim honor for himself but to steady the child who must go on without him. So Paul writes to Timothy, composing the letter, Theophylact says, almost as a testament—anticipating the objection that a fight ended in chains and execution can hardly be called good, and answering it directly: it is a good fight precisely because it was fought for Christ’s sake, where the ordinary contests of this world purchase a crown for one brief hour, but this one brings a splendor that does not end.

Grievous Times

Between the charge to Timothy’s own ministry and Paul’s closing farewell comes a warning that Theophylact reads as pastoral reassurance rather than raw prediction: “in the last days grievous times will set in”, marked by men who are “lovers of self” before they are lovers of anything else (2 Tim. 3:1–2). Theophylact takes care to explain what Paul does and does not mean. A day cannot itself be wicked, he observes; it is the deeds and the people within it that earn the name, exactly as ordinary speech calls a season good or bad from what happens in it. And self-love, named first among the vices that follow, he reads as the root from which the rest grow—the man who looks only to his own good, and not to his neighbor’s, injures the whole body he belongs to, the way harm to one limb spreads to the rest, or a crack in one wall threatens the whole house. Paul’s point in reciting the list, Theophylact reads, is not to alarm Timothy with novelty; the wicked were no newer in Timothy’s day than in Moses’s, when Jannes and Jambres already opposed the truth, and Timothy is not to be shaken by finding the same pattern repeated in his own time.

How to Read This Commentary

Second Timothy is brief and personal, and Theophylact’s commentary follows its tone, moving with less of the doctrinal combat found elsewhere in his Pauline work and more of the pastoral warmth suited to a letter written, on his own account, in the last months of Paul’s life. Read with that in mind, the charge to “preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season” that fills the letter’s final chapter lands as it was meant to: not abstract exhortation, but the last instructions of a teacher who will not have another chance to give them, entrusted to the disciple he had ordained with his own hands.

Chapter 1

Argument of the Second Epistle to Timothy. Why, then, does he write a second letter also to Timothy? In the former he had said, I hope to come to you shortly. But this did not come to pass, for he was being held back by Nero. He therefore consoles him by letter in place of his presence—Timothy being perhaps afflicted both by the absence and by the burden of his office. For even great men flag in the governance of the Church, baptized as they are by many waves from every side, and especially at that time, when wars were everywhere. He also calls Timothy to himself; for he was already near his end.

2 Tim. 1:1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, in keeping with the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus. At once, from the very opening, he roused up Timothy’s soul. Do not, he says, speak to me of the dangers here. These give birth in us to eternal life. We have become apostles that we might die and live forever. For lest, on hearing that his teacher was in danger, Timothy should be grieved rather than comforted, for this reason he consoles him from the outset. And if it is according to promise, do not seek it here and now already. The life is in Christ Jesus—that is, the life that is with Christ; or because he himself both gives it to us and holds it together. For the life of sense consists in food and drink, but the life of the mind is held together in Christ. For he is all things to us.

2 Tim. 1:2. To Timothy, my beloved child. It is possible to be a child and yet not beloved. Timothy, then, was beloved—surely on account of his virtue. He shows by this, therefore, that it is not as one angered at him, or having condemned anything in him, that he leaves him behind: For you are beloved to me; but it is by force and necessity.

2 Tim. 1:2. May God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord grant you grace, mercy, and peace. The very things he prayed for him before, these he prays for him now also. Read, then, the annotation on these things in the former Epistle.

2 Tim. 1:3. I thank God. Do you see the excess of his love? I give thanks, he says, to God, that loving you I remember you. This is true love, when one takes pride in his friendship toward a certain person.

2 Tim. 1:3. Whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience. How with a pure conscience, seeing that he was ignorant of Christ from the beginning? Either, then, by “conscience” he here means his manner of life—for even though he was living as a Jew, yet he was a man of dignified life; or because, even when he persecuted, he persecuted out of zeal, and not out of human calculation, as the many do who set up a faction for the sake of glory, or who are conscious of much rottenness in it. And what he says is of this kind: Do not suspect me of thinking one thing and saying another; my conscience is pure, as it always was, so now also. I do not lie, therefore, when I say that I love you and always remember you.

2 Tim. 1:3–4. As I have you unceasingly in remembrance in my supplications night and day, longing to see you. I thank God that I remember you—not simply, but in my supplications, both night and day entreating God on your behalf, that he may fulfill the longing which I have, to see you. How then would I have willingly deprived myself of so great a pleasure, if I had been able to come? Why, then, does he not state the cause openly—his being held back by Nero? That he might not grieve him at the outset. But toward the end he uncovers it.

2 Tim. 1:4. Remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy. Construe it thus: Longing to see you, that I may be filled with joy; then, parenthetically, remembering your tears. For even if I were by nature exceedingly devoid of affection, yet your tears are enough to bend me when they come to remembrance. For it was likely that Timothy, being torn from Paul, should mourn more than a child torn from the breast.

2 Tim. 1:5. Taking remembrance of the unfeigned faith that is in you. Not only remembering your tears do I long to see you, but also your guileless faith; for this too is a great claim you have upon being loved by me.

2 Tim. 1:5. Which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and in your mother Eunice. And another commendation: that he came not from unbelievers, but from believers, even though they were of the Jews. His father, however, was a Greek. And see how the law began to be dissolved, as these intermixtures came about.

2 Tim. 1:5. And I am persuaded that it is in you also. Since the good things of our forebears, if we too are such, glorify us, but if not, are rather a shame to us, for this reason he says that the faith of your forebears is in you also, as I am exactly persuaded. Reasonably, then, you have this faith unfeigned, as one founded from above and unable to be shaken.

2 Tim. 1:6. For which cause I put you in remembrance to stir up the gift of God. Because, he says, I know that you have an unfeigned faith, I rouse you up, so that the grace of the Spirit which you received—for the protection of the Church, for the working of signs, and, in a word, for every virtue befitting a bishop—this you should stir into flame; that is, work it so as to be ever living and at its height. For just as fire needs wood, so also the grace of the Spirit needs eagerness, and attention, and sobriety, that it may ever blaze up; for unless these are present, it is quenched, as he says also elsewhere, Do not stifle the Spirit.

2 Tim. 1:6. Which is in you through the laying on of my hands. This grace is in you, which you received together with my laying my hands upon you, when I ordained you bishop; only work the fire more vehemently. The word you received, fill it full of boldness and courage; stand nobly.

2 Tim. 1:7. For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power. That is, we did not receive the Spirit for this, that we should draw back, but that we should be strong against temptations and speak with boldness; for to many he gives a spirit of cowardice, as it is written in the Books of Kingdoms: And a spirit of cowardice fell upon them—that is, he put fear into them.[1]

2 Tim. 1:7. And of love. Both that toward him and that toward one’s neighbor. For our loving God as a Father we have from the Spirit, who makes us cry, Abba, Father. And our not being shaken from love toward our neighbor is a gift coming from divine power, just as, on the contrary, to be made to stumble comes from cowardice and faintheartedness. Yet we too must be the first to show forth what is from ourselves.

2 Tim. 1:7. And of self-control. Either that we may be self-controlled, sound in mind, and in good order; or that we may have the Spirit as a chastening, so that, if any temptation should come upon us, we may receive it to self-discipline; or that we may also be to others trainers and instructors in self-control.

2 Tim. 1:8. Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Many three times-wretched men, examining by human reasonings the things that are beyond comprehension, count it a shame to say that the Son of God was crucified, not knowing that through this very cross the condemned man became a son of God. You then, O Timothy, be not ashamed of the testimony and the death of Christ, the death by the cross, but rather speak boldly and proclaim him. He did not say, Do not fear, but, Be not ashamed, that he might show that the matter holds no danger, but only shame; and if you despise this, the rest is without danger.

2 Tim. 1:8. Nor of me his prisoner. Be not ashamed, if I who raise the dead, the teacher of the whole world, am bound. For I am bound not as an evildoer, but I am his prisoner—that is, on his account. For if he was not ashamed of the cross, how shall I be ashamed of the bonds?

2 Tim. 1:8. But suffer hardship together with the Gospel. That is, do not merely show that you are not ashamed, but show it by experience and through deeds, and become a partner with both Christ and me in the same things. This too he had hinted at through what went before, in saying that he had given us a Spirit of power. And what does it mean, “suffer hardship together with the Gospel”? Is it as though the Gospel suffers hardship? It is not this; but either he says, Suffer hardship together with me, for the Gospel’s sake; or by “Gospel” he means all the heralds and ministers of the Gospel, as also in the Epistle to the Corinthians. Suffer hardship, therefore, together with those of the Gospel. Yet perhaps someone more subtly will call the hindrance against the Gospel, and the unbelief toward it, the “hardship of the Gospel.” Share the danger, then, you also, with the Gospel that thus suffers.

2 Tim. 1:8. According to the power of God. Since “suffer hardship” was burdensome, he softens it: For not, he says, by your own power, but by that of Christ; yours is the choosing and the eagerness.

2 Tim. 1:9. The one who saved us and summoned us to a holy calling. He shows the proofs of the power of God. For he saved us, he says, and called us to himself while we were yet far off, that he might make us holy. And he who saved us when we were unwilling will much more now work together with us who are willing.

2 Tim. 1:9. Not because of anything we have done, but according to his own purpose and grace. No one compelling, no one counseling him, but of his own purpose—that is, moved from within, out of his own goodness.

2 Tim. 1:9. Which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal. That is, prefigured to be given to us, without beginning and before the ages, through Jesus Christ our Lord. And this too is no small thing: that not out of any change of mind, but before the ages, God willed these things for us.

2 Tim. 1:10. But made manifest now through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. For even though the grace had been foreordained, yet now it was made manifest, when the Savior appeared.

2 Tim. 1:10. Who abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the Gospel. In his own body he abolished death in deed, making it incorruptible; but us he enlightened through the Gospel to hope for life and incorruption. For we have not already been made incorruptible in actuality, but we are about to be, and the Gospel confirmed this hope for us.

2 Tim. 1:11. To which I was appointed a herald and an apostle, and a teacher of the nations. For what reason did he now name himself a teacher of the nations? Showing to Timothy that You too must associate with the nations, and not fall away, but imitate me, who am bound for the sake of teaching the Gospel.

2 Tim. 1:12. For which cause I also suffer these things. For being a herald of the nations. For not as an evildoer. And at the same time he makes his word credible: that If I did not believe that death is overthrown, I would not be suffering these things.

2 Tim. 1:12. But I am not ashamed. Do you see how through his deeds he displays what he was teaching Timothy—not to be ashamed of the sufferings?

2 Tim. 1:12. For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard my deposit to that day. Ah, what boldness, and what undoubting hope! I know, he says, and I am persuaded with assurance. By “deposit” he means either the faith and the preaching—that Christ himself, to whom it was entrusted, will guard these, and I suffer all things that my treasure may not be plundered; or he means the believers, whom Christ entrusted to him, or whom he himself entrusted to the Lord, as he says also elsewhere, I commend you to the Lord; as if he were saying, I am not ashamed, hoping that I shall bring many to God, whom he will also guard, that he may glorify me on their behalf. Or by “deposit” he means the recompense; for everyone who does any good thing deposits it with God, that in due time he may be crowned for it.

2 Tim. 1:13. Keep hold of the pattern of sound words. As a painter, I have written for you and sketched an image and an archetype, that looking to this you yourself may paint this pattern of my words; that is, hold the archetype, and if anything must be painted, take from it and paint. For all things are laid up there.

2 Tim. 1:13. Which you heard from me. Not through letters only, but also mouth to mouth. Let us not, then, think that the Epistles are deficient, as not treating of all things, seeing that he handed down much unwritten.

2 Tim. 1:13. The faith and love that are ours in Christ Jesus. That is, my words declare both concerning faith and concerning love—which is, concerning doctrines and concerning manner of life; and if you must lay down any virtuous doctrine, or speak or act, from there it is possible for you to take it.

2 Tim. 1:14. Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. The commandments concerning faith and concerning life delivered to you, or the gift which you received, as he said above. And how will you guard it? Not by human strength, but through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us through baptism. And if we keep him and do not drive him away through evil deeds, he too will guard for us all that we have from God. Be diligent, then, to guard the Spirit, and he in turn will keep the deposit for you. For unless the Lord guard the city, in vain has the watchman kept watch.[2]

2 Tim. 1:15. You know this, that all those in Asia turned away from me, of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. He recounts the temptations, not that he may cast down the disciple, but rather that he may persuade him, that if he too should fall into the like, he should suffer nothing strange, but should bear it. For when Paul was arrested by Nero, all those in Asia forsook him—that is, those from Asia who were sojourning at Rome.

2 Tim. 1:16. May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus. See his magnanimity: those who forsook him he did not curse, but simply only related what had happened. But for the one who cared for him he prays—and not for him alone, but for his whole house also; so virtuous were they, so did Onesiphorus train them.

2 Tim. 1:16. For he often refreshed me. As though an athlete worn down by the drought of afflictions, he counted me worthy of refreshment—not once, but often. So must we too do: from every side and always to support those who pursue some good thing; for thus shall we be partners with them in the rewards. For do not speak to me of Paul. Paul, even had he no one to support him, would have remained steadfast. But perhaps some other will not endure, unless he has one to prop him up. If, then, someone be found supporting him and caring for him, it is plain that he shares in the victory; and if in the victory, in the crowns also. And in wars of old, those who guarded the baggage shared equally with the soldiers in the spoils.

2 Tim. 1:16. And he was not ashamed of my chain. Everywhere he speaks of the shame, not the danger, encouraging Timothy, as though only shame and not danger were present. And yet danger too was present; for Nero was raging against Paul, as having catechized one of his own household.

2 Tim. 1:17. But when he came to be in Rome, he sought me out the more diligently, and found me. Not only did he not flee my company, but he even sought me out, and found me—a man of great courage and faith.

2 Tim. 1:18. May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord in that day. He showed mercy to me, he says; may he therefore receive the recompense in the dread day, when there is need of much mercy for all, even for the saints. And if Onesiphorus, who exposed himself to dangers for Christ’s sake, is saved by mercy, much more we. Here those who are sick with the disease of Marcion leap in, saying, Behold, two Lords! But it is not so. For there is one Lord, as this same Paul says elsewhere. And it is the custom of Scripture to use the word thus, as in The Lord rained from the Lord—that is, from himself. So also here. And if you take it also that the Father and the Son are here signified, neither is this absurd. For the Father is Lord, and the Son is Lord, and the Spirit is Lord; yet one Lord made manifest in the three hypostases. And observe that he did not say, May the Lord grant him some other thing, but, mercy.

2 Tim. 1:18. And how many things he ministered at Ephesus, you know better. He is habituated, he says, to well-doing; he did it not once, but both at Ephesus and at Rome. Such must the Christian be: always to work the good, and that throughout his whole life.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact (following Chrysostom) cites this “as written in the Books of Kingdoms,” but it is a loose paraphrase, not an exact Septuagint verse; left untagged.

[2] Psalm 127:1 (LXX Ps 126:1).

Chapter 2

2 Tim. 2:1. You therefore, my child, be strong. What do you say? You said that you are bound, that all turned away from you, and as though you had said nothing dreadful, you add: You therefore, my child, be strong? Yes, for this very reason the more—because I am in dreadful straits, you be strong. For if I, the teacher, were not suffering such things, perhaps you would have to be cast down, as a young and inexperienced man set amid dangers. But as it is, it is no small comfort to you, toward bearing nobly what befalls, that I too suffer such things, since the dangers belong to the nature of the matter, and not to your inexperience. For also, in general, every lesser man who falls into dangers in any matter whatever is greatly comforted whenever he sees one greater than himself in the same straits. And see with how much tender affection he exhorts, saying, “my child”; as though he had distilled his very soul into the word, If you are a child, imitate your father.

2 Tim. 2:1. In the grace which is in Christ Jesus. Be strong not only from the example of me, but most of all through the grace of Christ. Have that contending alongside you, through which we received authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and to be harmed by nothing.

2 Tim. 2:2. And the things you heard from me in front of many witnesses. The things you heard, not the things you disputed about; for faith comes by hearing. And you heard not in secret, but with boldness, in the presence of many. Some, however, understood “many witnesses” to mean the Law and the Prophets. For my word was confirmed to me by scriptural testimonies.

2 Tim. 2:2. These commit to faithful men. He did not say, Tell, but, Commit, as with a treasure. And what is committed is laid up in safety. And by this he makes the disciple more attentive. To faithful men—not to disputatious and contentious ones; and faithful, that is, to those who will not betray the deposit.

2 Tim. 2:2. Who will be able to teach others in turn. For what profit is there, when one is himself faithful and receives all things without questioning, but is unable to convey the teaching to others also? And again, if he does not betray the word himself, but is unable to make others such? Two things, then, the teacher must have: to be faithful, and to be apt to teach. For it is plain that these things are ordained to him concerning presbyters and bishops, not concerning laymen; for that would be absurd, seeing that Paul himself wrote to both Greeks and Jews. But I think that he speaks also concerning certain more mystical matters, which must be committed to those who are faithful and apt to teach.

2 Tim. 2:3. You therefore suffer hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Do you see that to suffer hardship belongs to a soldier? So that not to suffer hardship belongs to no soldier. We must not, then, be vexed, if one suffers hardship who has been enrolled among soldiers. And how great a dignity it is to be a soldier of Christ, seeing that some count it a great thing to be soldiers of an earthly king!

2 Tim. 2:4. No one who serves as a soldier entangles himself in the affairs of this life, that he may please the one who enlisted him. These things are spoken to all bishops and teachers. And “entangles” is emphatic. For in truth such things are bonds and serpents. And in saying “affairs,” he hinted at the tumults and troubles, turning him away from them even by the very words. Why do you bind yourself fast? Why do you entangle yourself in troubles and affairs? Care only for the warfare, and so you will please Christ, who chose you for the warfare.

2 Tim. 2:5. And if anyone also competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully. That is, it is not enough that he enter the contest, nor that he anoint himself, nor that he grapple, but unless he also keeps the athletic laws concerning food and drink and self-control, and those concerning the manner of the wrestling. For not simply and as each one wishes is it permitted him to wrestle, but there are athletic laws concerning this also. And see his wisdom. He mentioned a soldier, that he might show that one must be prepared for slaughters and deaths; and an athlete, that one might endure all things, and be in training continually.

2 Tim. 2:6. The laboring farmer must be the first to partake of the fruits. He gives a third example also, more fitting for a teacher. For the things of the soldier and the athlete are suited even to subordinates; the farmer does not care for himself, but for the land, and he receives no small recompense from the fruit-bearing. So also the teacher does not labor unprofitably, but before the rest he himself will enjoy his own sweat, God recompensing him abundantly. Lest, then, anyone be vexed at the future of the recompense, Already, he says, you receive it: the requital is in the labor itself, if nothing else, at least the health of souls; great is your gain from here already. Some, however, say this concerning the honoring of teachers, but it has no reason. And see, he did not simply say a farmer, but, the laboring one—that is, the one wearied, not simply the one working.

2 Tim. 2:7. Consider what I say. Since he had said all things enigmatically—the things of the soldier, the athlete, the farmer—Consider, he says. For this is why I said these things thus, that I might sharpen you. Then he prays, as for a genuine child.

2 Tim. 2:7. For may the Lord give you understanding in all things. Not only in these things which I said, but in all things, both words and deeds.

2 Tim. 2:8. Remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead, of the seed of David. This he says also on account of the heretics. For there were even then certain men who counted it a shame that the Son of God should suffer, and for this reason perhaps introduced the doctrine of mere appearance. For so was God humbled for our sake, that men are even ashamed to attribute to God so great a humiliation. And he says it also to console him, showing that the teacher himself, Christ, conquered death through suffering. Remember him, and you will not flag before the sufferings.

2 Tim. 2:8. According to my Gospel. For there were certain men preaching other things; but we must give heed not to them, but to my Gospel.

2 Tim. 2:9. It is for this that I suffer hardship, bound in chains like a criminal. Again from himself he consoles the disciple, both saying that he suffers hardship, and that he carries off an evil reputation.

2 Tim. 2:9. God’s word, though, is never bound. Lest anyone say, And what is the profit? And what is the wonder, if you are bound? Show me gain, show me something wonderful—he says that the word is not bound. For it is not a perceptible work, that it should be hindered when the body is bound. The word is a divine thing, and the word of God; though we are bound, it is loosed and runs. For behold, even bound we write and preach. You have seen the wonder, you have seen the gain.

2 Tim. 2:10. For this cause I endure all things for the elect’s sake. Behold, this too is an exhortation. For not for my own sake, he says, do I suffer, but for the salvation of others; not that I myself may be glorified, but that others may be. And who are these? The elect of God. If, then, God chose them, we must suffer all things for their sake.

2 Tim. 2:10. That they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. They also, as we do too. As for our sake, he says, God suffered, that we might be saved, so we also suffer for their sake. So that the matter is a recompense, not a favor. Then, lest anyone say to him, What do you mean? You are about to perish in bonds, and you boast of becoming to others a cause of salvation?—Not this, he says, do I mean, the bodily salvation, but the true and glorious salvation that is in Christ Jesus; for the bodily salvation is inglorious. For hear also what follows.

2 Tim. 2:10. With eternal glory. Not only that they may be saved, but the greater thing, that they may also be glorified with us eternally. So that even if the bonds hold shame, yet they also procure glory for the elect, and that an eternal glory. And if for others, much more for me, who am clothed with these things. Do not, then, be distressed over me.

2 Tim. 2:11. Faithful is the word. Since many doubt concerning the life and glory to come, saying, When I live, then I am given over to death, and when I die, shall I live? and the like—for this reason he confirms the word, and says, Faithful is the word. What word? That the elect shall obtain a glorious and eternal salvation.

2 Tim. 2:11. For if we died together with him, we shall also live together with him. He establishes the same thing also through human reasonings. And yet above too he gave a proof of this when he said, Remember Jesus raised from the dead; for he showed that after death he rose. How, then, does he establish it? If we share in the sorrowful things, is this not so in the good things? Not even a man would do otherwise—how much more God, the fountain of righteousness and goodness? And by “death” he means both that through baptism and that through sufferings and temptations.

2 Tim. 2:12. If we endure, we shall also reign together with him. It is not enough to give oneself over to death once, but continually. For “daily,” he says, “I die.” Much endurance, then, is needed for this, that the reigning-together also may accrue to us.

2 Tim. 2:12. If we shall deny, he also will deny us. And from the things that will result on the contrary he establishes the word. For not in the good things only, but also in the opposite, are the recompenses. For whoever, he says, denies me, I too will deny him. And consider what it is likely the one denied by Christ should suffer.

2 Tim. 2:13. If we are faithless, he remains faithful. If we disbelieve that he rose, he is in no way harmed by this. For he is true, he is steadfast, whether we say it or do not say it.

2 Tim. 2:13. He cannot deny himself. That is, he cannot not be. He has no nature for passing into non-being; he abides always, even if we do not confess him. So that neither the benefit nor the harm comes to him, whether we confess or deny, but both come to us.

2 Tim. 2:14. Remind them of these things. Lest anyone think that Timothy himself needed to be taught these things, he says: Remind the others of these things.

2 Tim. 2:14. Charging them before the Lord not to wrangle about words, to no useful end, to the subverting of the hearers. Since the matter has a greediness about it, and the human soul ever wishes to dispute and wrangle about words, You, he says, charge them before God not to wrangle about words; instead of, Command, taking God as witness, that they may know that if they despise you, he will judge them. For not only does word-wrangling profit nothing, nor bring any gain, but much harm comes of it. For the faith of the hearers is subverted, like some tower, by the levers, as it were, of the disputings.

2 Tim. 2:15. Make every effort to present yourself to God as tested and approved—a workman with nothing to be ashamed of. He interprets how one might become approved: if he be a workman unashamed; that is, if he is ashamed to do none of the things that pertain to godliness. For thus you will be well approved before the Master, undergoing all things for his sake, working all things. And everywhere he makes much earnest concerning shame, because to the many even the cross of Christ was a shame, and the preaching itself, as something unsophisticated; and the apostles themselves, as mean men, suffering the uttermost things. You then, he says, be not ashamed.

2 Tim. 2:15. Rightly cutting the word of truth. For many tear it aside and drag it awry, but you, lead it toward what is right. Or, since he did not say “directing,” he gave us to understand something else. As with some hide or thong having certain superfluous and spurious parts, Cut away, he says, the things alien to the preaching, and cut them off with the knife of the word.

2 Tim. 2:16. But shun profane babblings. That is, avoid them. And everywhere the blessed John gives “babblings” to be understood as innovations.[1] Some, however, understand “shun” (periistaso) as “stand exceedingly firm” (perissōs histaso), with a view to stopping and hindering; which is not so.

2 Tim. 2:16–17. For they will advance to more ungodliness. And their word will have spreading, like a gangrene. The evil, he says, is unrestrained, no longer admitting healing. For they ruin everything, and are incorrigible. For gangrene is a disease that works rottenness, and spreads to what is round about.

2 Tim. 2:17–18. Of whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have missed the mark, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they overturn the faith of some. Well did he say above, “They will advance to more ungodliness.” For this alone seems to be the dreadful thing, that concerning the resurrection; yet many things are born of it. For if the resurrection has already taken place, then judgment and recompense are done away, and the good have enjoyed pains and afflictions, while the wicked were punished by luxuriating. And what need is there any longer of virtue, if such are the recompenses? But he did not say that he overturns the faith of all, but of some—that is, of the more rotten. He adds therefore.

2 Tim. 2:19. But the firm foundation of God stands. What he says is of this kind: Not all were overturned, but the unsteady. For if they had not been such, they would not have fallen. As neither was Adam steadfast before the assault; but those who are fixed stand firm and unmoved. And see—both “firm” and “foundation.” Thus must one hold fast to the faith.

2 Tim. 2:19. Having this seal: The Lord knows those who are his; and, Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. That is, having, as a stone has certain letters and marks engraved upon it through the very deeds, and fitting to it, the words, The Lord knows, and so forth. That is, they were foreknown by God, as being wholly his; and they were chosen beforehand, so as not to be overturned together with the more rotten. And by “iniquity,” does he mean the error in doctrines, or simply every iniquity? He who does iniquity is not of the foundation, is not of God. For how, since that one is righteous? He does not have the seal. And observe that if he who names the name of the Lord ought to depart from iniquity, the one who does not depart is not worthy even to name it. For praise is not comely in the mouth of a sinner.

2 Tim. 2:20. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earthenware. Since many are troubled as to why the wicked are in the world, Paul, leaving aside the other causes, states this one: because even in a great house the vessels are diverse. And by “great house” he means the world, not the Church; for in the Church he wishes nothing to be of wood, but all of gold and silver, where is the body of Christ, where is the Virgin having no spot.

2 Tim. 2:20. And some are to honor, and some to dishonor. The golden ones, that is, the virtuous, to honor; the wooden and earthen, that is, the wicked, to dishonor. But he did not say, to use and uselessness, because even the wicked, though not for virtue, yet are useful at least for the mere constitution of the world, and for certain dispensations, as Pharaoh was.

2 Tim. 2:21. If, then, anyone purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel to honor, sanctified. Do you see that it is not of nature, nor of material necessity, as the Manichaeans say, to be golden or earthen, but of our own free choice? For it is possible for each to purge himself—that is, to cleanse himself wholly from the earthen and wooden choice, and to establish a golden and silver one. Paul was earthen, but he became golden; Judas was golden, but he became earthen. If, then, the earthen things are spoken against, how does he say elsewhere, having this treasure in earthen vessels? There he speaks concerning the nature of the body. For just as the earthenware is nothing other than baked clay, so also our body is nothing other than clay made firm by the heat of the soul. But here he speaks concerning the free choice.

2 Tim. 2:21. And useful to the Master. Are the wooden ones, then, useless toward the foremost purpose of the Master God, who wills all to be saved—even if, as has been said, they seem to be useful in another manner?

2 Tim. 2:21. Prepared for every good work. That is, even if the occasion for action does not arise, nevertheless it will be ready and made prepared, whether for martyrdom or for virginity.

2 Tim. 2:22. But flee youthful lusts. Youthful lusts are not those of fornication only, but also every unfitting desire, whether one loves power or money; for these lusts and fancies are foolish, and of an unsteady mind. See how even an old man plays the youth.

2 Tim. 2:22. But pursue righteousness. By “righteousness” he means virtue in general.

2 Tim. 2:22. Faith. The true and steadfast faith, and a fellow-disposition toward those who are loved; as though he said, Be not faithless and unsteady. He adds therefore at once.

2 Tim. 2:22. Love, peace, with those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. That is, take courage with those alone who call upon the Lord without guile and without deceit, the peaceable, the unquarrelsome; mingle with those.

2 Tim. 2:23. But foolish and uninstructed questions refuse, knowing that they breed strifes. Do you see how everywhere he leads him away from questionings? Not because he could not adequately refute them—for he could—but because it is useless even to throw oneself into such contests at all. For no good end comes of them, but only strifes and enmities. These, then, refuse, the foolish ones. So that there are other questions, those concerning the Scriptures, which one must not refuse, as not breeding strifes, clearly. See, then, how those go astray who fight in the supposed questions concerning the Scriptures.

2 Tim. 2:24. But the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all. Gentle, that is, meek. How then does he say, Rebuke them with all authority and sharply, and, Let no one despise your youth? Because the vehement rebuke then most of all stings, when it comes with fairness. For it is possible to lay hold the more with meekness than to shame with boldness.

2 Tim. 2:24. Apt to teach. Toward those who wish to learn. For a heretic, after a first and second admonition, refuse.

2 Tim. 2:24. Forbearing. This most of all one must have, and await the conversion, and ever speak, and not at once cut off. For see what follows also.

2 Tim. 2:25. In meekness instructing those who set themselves in opposition. For with boldness and strife the soul could discern nothing useful, because the one who is about to learn anything useful must, before all else, be well-disposed toward the one teaching. And how would he be well-disposed toward one who is bold and insolent? How then does he say, A heretical man, after a first and second admonition, refuse? There he speaks of the incorrigible, whom he knows to be incurably sick; but here, concerning those not yet incurable, as is plain also from what follows.

2 Tim. 2:25. If perhaps God may give them repentance to the knowledge of the truth. Perhaps, he says, there will be some correction. And “perhaps” is for things uncertain and doubtful. So that from the manifestly incurable one must withdraw, but the doubtful one must try to correct. And see how, teaching humility, he did not say, lest you be able, but, lest the Lord give them to come to their senses. Even if anything comes to pass, he says, it is of the Lord; you, be not lifted up. So that even if we too persuade anyone, let us not reckon that we are the ones who persuade.

2 Tim. 2:26. And they may return to soberness out of the snare of the devil. Understand these things not concerning doctrines only, but also concerning manner of life. For men are in the snare of the devil not for doctrines’ sake only, but also for life’s. So that those who err concerning life also must be corrected forbearingly. For just as the sparrow, even if it be held by one part—the foot, I mean—is under the authority of the one who set the snare, so we too, even if we are held not by both, faith I mean and life, but by life alone, are under the authority of the devil.

2 Tim. 2:26. Taken captive by him to his will. In error, he says, they swim; but having been taken captive by God to his will—that is, the will of God—perhaps they will return to soberness out of the waters of error. And the will of God is not to believe only, but also to live rightly. So that understand these things concerning life also, not concerning doctrines only. Some, however, understood “taken captive by him” of the devil, and the rest likewise.

[1] Translator’s note: “The blessed John”—and again in chapter three, “the great John”—is St John Chrysostom, Theophylact’s principal source for these epistle commentaries; preserved as printed.

Chapter 3

2 Tim. 3:1. But know this, that in the last days grievous times will set in. Since many wicked men existed in those times, lest Timothy be troubled at this, he had foretold him, In a great house, and what follows; and he says now also that after these things they will be. But indeed even in the time of Moses there were Jannes and Jambres. So that the matter is nothing new, nor will it stop with you. Do not, then, be vexed. And “grievous times” means exceedingly wicked. This is not to be understood concerning days—for what wickedness has a day?—but concerning the wicked things and persons in those days. We too in common usage thus speak of times as wicked and not wicked, from the events that occur in them, or from the men.

2 Tim. 3:2. For men shall be lovers of self. At once he sets down the cause of all evils: the looking not to the things of one’s neighbor, but to one’s own alone. For a lover of self is one who loves himself alone; from which it results that he does not love even himself. For just as among the members the harm of one passes over to the rest, and likewise in buildings, so also in the Church, he who neglects his brother and tends himself alone ruins himself also.

2 Tim. 3:2. Lovers of money. Having named the root, he adds particularly the branches from it, of which the first and greatest is the love of money. For just as from love comes every good, so from self-love comes every evil, since it is opposed to love. For love is broad, and is poured out everywhere; but self-love narrows its breadth, and contracts it to one alone.

2 Tim. 3:2. Boasters. Vaunting after the manner of men.

2 Tim. 3:2. Proud, blasphemers. As the wickedness advances, the insolence reaches even to God. For when one of men plays the braggart, and then ascribes every achievement to himself and not to the divine grace, then already he also blasphemes.

2 Tim. 3:2–3. Disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable. Reasonably; for if they blaspheme God, how will they honor parents? And he who honors not parents will be unthankful toward all. And such a one is also unholy, because he sets aside what is holy and what is owed; but he is also without natural affection. For whom else will he cherish, who has spat upon his benefactor? And implacable, making truce with no one, if indeed not even with his benefactor.

2 Tim. 3:3. Slanderers. That is, speaking evil of all. For he who is conscious of no good in himself slanders all, procuring for himself a certain consolation in the appearance, and by his inventing.

2 Tim. 3:3. Without self-control. Both of tongue, and of belly, and of all the rest.

2 Tim. 3:3. Untamed. Do you see what self-love and the love of money make men? Beasts instead of men.

2 Tim. 3:3. Haters of the good. Enemies of every good thing.

2 Tim. 3:4. Betrayers. Of friendship.

2 Tim. 3:4. Headstrong. That is, unsteady, having nothing firm.

2 Tim. 3:4. Puffed up. Filled full of madness.

2 Tim. 3:4. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Necessarily; for where there is love of the delights of the world, there divine longing is not.

2 Tim. 3:5. Having a form of godliness, but having denied the power of it. That is, they merely fashion the impiety and play it as a part, but through their deeds they deny it.[1] And note that the power of godliness, and its sinews as it were, are shown forth in deeds. Reasonably, then, it is called dead without works. But “form” the Apostle took elsewhere in a good sense; for the teacher has a form of knowledge—that is, he molds and shapes the knowledge in his disciples.

2 Tim. 3:5. And from these turn away. If they will be in later times, how does he say, From these turn away? It is likely that even then there were certain such men, even if not in excess, yet that there were; as though he said, Turning away from those who are found even now, you do well; as he also adds, Of these are they who creep into houses. Or because by “later days” Paul means those immediately after his own death, in which Timothy was still to be present; or—what is also truer, as the great John judges—through Timothy he exhorts all to turn aside from such men. For of these are they who creep into houses. Their shamelessness he shows by “creeping,” and their illiberality, and flattery, and that they are full of deceit.

2 Tim. 3:6. And take captive silly women. He did not say, deceiving, but, taking captive, as using them for slaves; for such is the one deceived. And note that it belongs to women to be deceived, or rather to silly women. So that a man also, when deceived, may be called a silly woman.

2 Tim. 3:6. Laden with sins. He shows the multitude of sins, and what is disordered and confused. For not simply do they deceive women (for one must not accuse the nature), but those who have a heap of sins. For he who is conscious of no good in himself is quickly persuaded by the wicked dogmatists, consoling himself that he will not pay the penalty for his deeds.

2 Tim. 3:6. Led away by various lusts. That is, of money, of glory, of luxury, of adornment; and he hints also at shameful lusts. And note the “led away,” as of irrational beasts.

2 Tim. 3:7. Always learning, yet never able to arrive at the knowledge of the truth. Are they then worthy of pardon? By no means, but rather they are without excuse. For since they buried themselves in sins and lusts, their mind was hardened. So that their inability to learn is not natural, but a matter of their own choice.

2 Tim. 3:8. And as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so these also withstand the truth. These were the magicians in the time of Moses. But whence did Paul know their names, since the Scripture does not tell these things? Either it was handed down unwritten, or it is likely that Paul knew it from the Holy Spirit.

2 Tim. 3:8. Men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. When one is corrupted in mind through the passions, then he becomes reprobate concerning the faith. For the fool said, There is no God.[2] Whence? Because they were corrupted, and became abominable in their lawlessnesses. So then the uncorrupted mind receives the faith. We must take heed, then, lest we be corrupted by the passions, and the counterfeitness of faith find place in us.

2 Tim. 3:9. But they shall advance no further. How then does he say elsewhere, They shall advance to more ungodliness? There he means this, that, having begun the wicked doctrines and the deceiving, they will not stop, but will ever invent newer things; but here he means this, that they will not deceive, nor sweep away the many, but even if at first they seem to deceive, yet they will be easily detected. He adds therefore.

2 Tim. 3:9. For their folly shall be manifest to all, as that of those men also became. If you disbelieve, learn from the things that befell those magicians. For they too were exposed, working wonders by mere appearance and deceiving, when Moses wrought signs truly. So that all the works of deceit flourish only for a season.

2 Tim. 3:10. But you have closely followed my teaching. Those men, he says, are such; but you know our affairs exactly, that they are not such. For you did not simply associate with me, but you closely followed—that is, you were with me a long time, and gave heed to all that was mine; so be strong, and stand against the adversaries. “My teaching”—this concerns the word.

2 Tim. 3:10. My conduct. This concerns manner of life and citizenship.

2 Tim. 3:10. My purpose. That is, the eagerness, and the manly bearing of the soul. For I did not speak only, he says, but also did.

2 Tim. 3:10. My faith. That is, the steadfastness in the doctrines of the truth, or that which in dangers makes one not despair, but believe God that he will deliver.

2 Tim. 3:10. My longsuffering. That toward the heretics; for I was not troubled, but received all things with meekness.

2 Tim. 3:10. My endurance. That toward the persecutions.

2 Tim. 3:11. My persecutions, my sufferings. Not only was I persecuted, he says, but I also suffered. And since these two things most of all trouble the teacher—both that there are heretics, and the suffering—concerning the heretics he discoursed much, persuading Timothy not to be troubled; and concerning the afflictions he recounts his own, encouraging the disciple.

2 Tim. 3:11. Such as befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra. By Antioch he means that of Pisidia. And Lystra, whence Timothy was. And why does he mention these alone? Because they were more familiar to Timothy, or also more recent than the rest. And see how he does not relate these things in detail; for not for display, but for the comfort of the disciple, does he write these things, of necessity.

2 Tim. 3:11. What persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me. Both these things he shows to Timothy: that I too furnished eagerness, so as to endure, and God did not forsake me. So that you too be eager, and you will not be forsaken.

2 Tim. 3:12. And indeed all who wish to live godly in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted. And this too is a very great comfort. For why do I speak, he says, concerning myself alone? All who wish to live godly and according to the Gospel shall be persecuted. And by “persecutions” he here means not only those from unbelievers, but also the afflictions in general, and the pains, which the virtuous undergo. For the life of man is a trial, according to Job, and he who travels the narrow way is of necessity afflicted.

2 Tim. 3:13. But wicked men and impostors shall advance to the worse, deceiving and being deceived. Let nothing trouble you, if those men are in good cheer, but you in trials; such is the nature of things. You have stripped for the contest; of necessity you must be full of sweat. It is foolish, then, to seek ease in a contest. For even if they seem to advance, yet this is not advance, their faring well in the deception. For interpreting what “the worse” is, he said, to deceive and to be deceived.

2 Tim. 3:14. But you abide in the things which you learned and were assured of. But you, he says, be unturned, and be not jealous among those who do evil, nor of a man prospering in his way. And not simply did you learn, but you were also assured—that is, you learned with full conviction. So that even if you see things contrary to what was believed, be not troubled; since Abraham too, having heard that In Isaac shall your seed be called, and then being commanded to slay him, was not troubled.

2 Tim. 3:14–15. Knowing from whom you learned, and that from infancy you have known the sacred letters. He gives two causes why he ought to abide unturned: That you learned not from any chance person, he says, but from Paul—which is the same as to say, from Christ also; and that you learned not yesterday and the day before, but from infancy, and the divine knowledge is rooted in you. So that it will not let you suffer anything foolish, or such as the many suffer. For he who knows the Scriptures, as he ought, will never be overturned. And by “sacred letters” he means the divine Scripture. This is against Simon, and Manes, and all who call the Old Testament evil.

2 Tim. 3:15. Which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Not as the outside knowledge makes a man wise to deceit and sophistries and word-battles, from which is the destruction of the soul, so also the divine knowledge; but it makes wise to salvation. What salvation? Not that through works, not that through words, but that through faith in Jesus Christ. For the holy Scriptures guide a man to believe in Christ, who procures salvation for him.

2 Tim. 3:16. All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable. Having spoken many modes of comfort, now he brings in the greatest also, that from the reading of the Scriptures. For he is about to announce to him something grievous, that he is being made perfect. So that he might not be cast down, as one bereft of him who supports him, You have, he says, the Scriptures in my stead, able to profit you. And some inquire how he said, “All Scripture is God-breathed.” Are then the writings of the Greeks also God-breathed? And some, forcing the sense, punctuate at “God-breathed,” and say that every Scripture which is God-breathed, that one is also profitable. But they ought to have understood that, having said above, You know the sacred Letters, he now says, that all Scripture; what Scripture? That concerning which he was speaking, concerning which he declared it sacred. All such Scripture, then, is God-breathed and profitable, toward all the things which he next brings in.

2 Tim. 3:16. For teaching. It profits, he says, teaching us, if there be anything we must learn. For there is nothing which cannot be resolved through the divine Scripture.

2 Tim. 3:16. For reproof. And if one must reprove falsehoods, this too is from there.

2 Tim. 3:16. For correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. If one must, he says, be corrected and instructed—that is, chastened toward righteousness, that is, toward doing the things that are just—this too is yours from the Scriptures.

2 Tim. 3:17. That the man of God may be complete. The correction, he says, comes from the Scriptures, that nothing of the good things may be lacking to the man who is according to God. So that you too, if you wish to be complete—that is, perfect and sound, and ever the same, neither contracted by the grievous things nor puffed up by the favorable, for this belongs to an unevenness of mind—have these as counselors in my stead. And if to Timothy, who was full of the Spirit, he wrote concerning reading, how much more to us? And see, that without the Scriptures it is not possible to become complete.

2 Tim. 3:17. Fully furnished to every good work. Not simply partaking of good deeds, but fully furnished—that is, perfected; not toward this thing yes, that thing no, but toward all.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne’s text reads “the impiety” (ἀσέβειαν) where the lemma has “a form of godliness” and the following “it” refers back to godliness; preserved as printed, though the sense calls for “godliness.”

[2] Psalm 14:1 (LXX Ps 13:1).

Chapter 4

2 Tim. 4:1. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to judge the living and the dead. He had frightened Timothy at another time also, when he said, I charge you before God, who [lives and] gives life to all things; but now he makes the word more fearful, recalling that judgment. For him, he says, who is about to demand the accounting, I make my witness, that I hid not even this from you. And by “the living and the dead” he means either sinners and righteous, or those who have already departed and those who shall then be left alive. Some, however, understood it also of souls and bodies.

2 Tim. 4:1. According to his appearing, and his kingdom. When is he about to judge? In his appearing, that which shall be with glory and kingdom. For he will not come mean, as before.

2 Tim. 4:2. Preach the word. What is it that I charge? Preach the word, do not hold back the gift. Let us be made wise, we who do not preach.

2 Tim. 4:2. Be ready in season, out of season. That is, with perseverance and attention speak, not once, but always. Let there be for you no fixed season, but both in season—that is, in peace, in security, and being in the Church; but also out of season—that is, being in dangers, and outside the Church, speak and preach. For the “in season” and the “out of season” he said with a view to the supposition of the many; for they think ease to be the convenient season, and the dangerous time the inconvenient. And again, the time of teaching to be the being in the Church, and the inconvenient season the being outside it. Or also otherwise: Do not await the time of the fall, but even before he falls, teach.

2 Tim. 4:2. Reprove. When you see that this must be done—that is, when you find one sinning, or about to sin—do not draw back.

2 Tim. 4:2. Rebuke. After you have reproved and proved him to have sinned, then rebuke; that is, lay on the penalty and the punishment.

2 Tim. 4:2. Exhort. The rebuke is like a cutting; the exhortation, like a soothing medicine. Apply, then, the medicine of exhortation, lest the cutting alone, making the pains more vehement, cast him into despair.

2 Tim. 4:2. With all longsuffering and teaching. Construe this with all the foregoing. For one must reprove with all longsuffering, so as not to believe all men simply; and with teaching, teaching how he sinned, and what the sin is; and likewise rebuke with longsuffering, laying on the penalty not as upon an enemy, but, as upon a child, a chastening. And with teaching—that is, teaching him the gain of the penalty. And the exhortation especially needs both longsuffering and teaching. And not with the chance longsuffering, but with all—that is, that which is shown in every manner, both through deeds, and through words, and through gestures.

2 Tim. 4:3. For there will be a time when they will not endure the sound teaching. So that before they break their necks, get ahead of them. For this reason he said above also, in season, out of season: while you still have men who obey, do all things.

2 Tim. 4:3. But according to their own lusts they will heap up to themselves teachers. The undiscerning multitude of the teachers he showed by “they will heap up,” and by their being ordained by the peoples, who do nothing according to reason, but ordain those who run together with their own lusts, and who both say and do the things that are to their pleasure.

2 Tim. 4:3. Having itching ears. That is, delighted in hearing, and tickled, and ever desiring to hear the things that are to favor.

2 Tim. 4:4. And they will turn away their ears from the truth, and will be turned aside to fables. Do you see that they go astray not as ignorant, but willingly? For they will turn away their ears, he says, and will be turned aside. So that the evil is voluntary. And he says these things not to cast the disciple into despondency, but to persuade him to use the present season of security to what is needful; and when it goes out, to bear it nobly; as Christ also said, They will deliver you up and will scourge you. And this same one says, After my departure grievous wolves will come in.

2 Tim. 4:5. You, however, must stay sober in every circumstance, and endure hardship. Do you see that for the sake of being sober he foretells these things? As though he said, Before that ruin comes, while the wolves are present, suffer hardship, both willingly and unwillingly, that you may set the sheep in safety.

2 Tim. 4:5. An evangelist’s work. So then this is an evangelist’s work: the suffering of hardship, both from himself and from those outside.

2 Tim. 4:5. Fulfill your ministry. That is, fill it full. So that then the ministry is fulfilled, when one suffers hardship.

2 Tim. 4:6. For I am already being poured out as a drink-offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. He did not say, I am sacrificed, but the greater thing. For of the sacrifice not the whole is offered to God, but of the drink-offering the whole.

2 Tim. 4:7. I have competed in the good contest. For what reason does Paul now speak these great things? He does not speak greatly, but consoles the disciple, that he may not grieve over him, since he has obtained a good end and is departing to crowns. As though a father dying, consoling his child sitting beside him and weeping, should say: Child, do not weep, we have lived well, we have set up trophies, the king knows great thanks toward us, you too have to be admired for the things done by us. For it is plain that the father says these things, raising up the child by the praises toward bearing the separation lightly. So also Paul here consoles Timothy, composing the Epistle as it were a testament. I have fought the good fight; therefore do you also lay hold of it. Where, then, there is a chain, where there are bonds, O Paul, is this a good fight? Yes, for this very reason, for these things are for Christ’s sake. In the outward contests men labor many days, and in one hour they receive the crown; but here the splendor is for the contenders continually. For this reason the fight is good—that is, delightful and seemly.

2 Tim. 4:7. I have finished the course. For from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum he fulfilled the Gospel, thus he ran, breaking through countless hindrances—deaths, plots, calamities—as though having wings of fire.

2 Tim. 4:7. I have preserved the faith. For many things there were that attempted to plunder it—threats, deaths, promises of pleasant things; but he stood against all, sober and ever wakeful, and watching for the thief.

2 Tim. 4:8. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. Sufficient indeed were the things said for comfort; here he adds the prizes also, that he may rouse him up the more. For one ought not grieve, he says, that I am departing to be crowned. And by “righteousness” here too he means virtue in general.

2 Tim. 4:8. Which the Lord will render to me in that day, the righteous judge. He did not say, will give, but, will render, as a certain debt and obligation; for being righteous, he will surely fix the recompense to the labors. So that the crown is a debt, because of the righteousness of the judge.

2 Tim. 4:8. And not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Here he rouses up Timothy himself also. For if to all, much more to you. And who loves his appearing? He who does things worthy of it; whereas he who does not do them does not seem to love it, but even to pray against it, that he may not receive the things worthy of his deeds. And it is called “appearing” because of its shining forth from above, and rising from on high. And before the universal appearing there is another also, according to which he manifests himself to the worthy, and not to the world. And again: I, he says, and the Father will come, and will make our abode with him.

2 Tim. 4:9. Be diligent to come to me quickly. Why ever does he call Timothy to himself, and that when Timothy was entrusted with the Church of Ephesus, and a whole nation? Because he was in bonds and shut up by Nero, and could not himself come to Timothy, for this reason he calls him to Rome, longing perhaps before his end to commit many things to him.

2 Tim. 4:10. For Demas forsook me, having loved this present age, and went to Thessalonica. He does not say, that I may see you before I die, lest he grieve him; but since I am alone, and have no one to take part with me in the Gospel, be diligent to come. And what is it, having loved this present age? That is, being enamored of ease, and of the life that is without danger and secure, he chose rather to luxuriate at home than to be afflicted with me. And him alone he reproaches—not wishing to reproach him, but to strengthen us, that we be not made soft in dangers; and at the same time wishing the more to draw Timothy on.

2 Tim. 4:10. Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. These he no longer reproaches; for Titus too was among the exceedingly admirable, so as even to be entrusted with Crete. These two, then, departed not as having loved this present age, but for the sake of the preaching perhaps, or for some other need.

2 Tim. 4:11. Luke alone is with me. For he held to him inseparably, who also wrote the Gospel and the catholic Acts. Concerning him he says in writing, Whose praise in the gospel work has spread through all the churches.

2 Tim. 4:11. Take Mark and bring him with you; for he is useful to me for ministry. He does not speak of his own repose, but of the ministry of the Gospel. For even being in bonds, he did not cease preaching. So then Timothy also he called not for his own sake, but for the Gospel’s, that no tumult might come to the faithful at his death, many of his disciples being present and restraining the disturbance, and consoling those who bore his death unbearably. For it is likely that the believers at Rome were men of repute.

2 Tim. 4:12. And Tychicus I sent to Ephesus. So that I am left alone, and your presence is necessary.

2 Tim. 4:13. The cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, bring when you come, and the books. He means here a certain garment; and he seeks it, that he might not need to take from others. For everywhere he makes much provision not to need others. Some, however, say it is the book-case where the books lay. But why did he need the books, being about to depart to God? That he might commit them to the faithful, so as to have them in his stead.

2 Tim. 4:13. Especially the parchments. Perhaps these contained certain more profitable things.

2 Tim. 4:14. Alexander the coppersmith did me many evils. He mentions this trial, not that he may reproach the man, but that he may persuade the disciple to bear nobly also the trials brought on by certain mean and dishonorable persons. For many, being tried by certain men of repute, endure, having as comfort the eminence of those who try them; but to suffer from the mean and the cast-off is a great grief. Wherefore Paul also says, He did me many evils—instead of, He afflicted me exceedingly, or also in various ways. For in another respect the obscure and dishonorable, caring very little for the opinion of the many, when they begin to do anyone harm, spare not at all.

2 Tim. 4:14. May the Lord render to him according to his works. Take courage, he says; these things will not turn out for him unpunished, but may the Lord render to him—instead of, will render; for it is rather a prophecy than a curse. And this was said by Paul not as though the saints run after vengeance, but as the preaching needed the drawing-back of those who hindered it, and as the weaker were thereby comforted greatly.

2 Tim. 4:15. Of whom you also beware. He did not say, Punish, or chastise (and yet it was possible through the grace of the Spirit to work these things), but he bids him beware—that is, turn aside, withdraw from him, yielding the vengeance to God.

2 Tim. 4:15. For he greatly withstood our words. That is, he fights and opposes the words of the Gospel.

2 Tim. 4:16. At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. Again he relates other trials, that he may the more anoint the disciple. And what “first defense” does he mean? He stood before Nero earlier, and escaped death, so as even to preach from then on; but when he had catechized Nero’s cupbearer, then Nero, boiling over with madness, beheaded him. And despondency he shows by the “all forsook me”; as though he said: Even my own forsook me, and I was bereft of all comfort. So that you too, when left in dreadful straits, have as comfort the things concerning me.

2 Tim. 4:16. May it not be laid to their charge. Do you see how he spares his own? And yet his own, his fellow-workers, did a dreadful deed, forsaking him. For it is not the same to be despised by those outside and by one’s own. But nevertheless he prays that this be not laid to their charge—before God, that is—being otherwise a great sin, and worthy to be reckoned.

2 Tim. 4:17. Yet the Lord stood at my side. This again is comfort to the disciple; for he shows that God does not let the one forsaken by men suffer anything dreadful.

2 Tim. 4:17. And strengthened me. That is, he granted boldness, he did not let me fall.

2 Tim. 4:17. That through me the preaching might be fully accomplished. See his great humility. For not as worthy to obtain the gift, he says, did he strengthen me, but that the preaching might be fully accomplished through me—that is, confirmed, or that it might come to its end and be fulfilled; as though one should bear the purple and the diadem, and through these be saved.

2 Tim. 4:17. And that all the nations might hear. That is, that there might be made manifest to all both the glory of the preaching, and the providential care concerning me.

2 Tim. 4:17. And he rescued me from the lion’s mouth. That is, of Nero. For he calls him a lion, because of the strength of his kingdom and its undauntedness. And see how he came near to dying, falling into the very throat of the lion.

2 Tim. 4:18. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work. Then indeed he snatched me from bodily death; but since I have preached sufficiently, I hope that he will deliver me—no longer from bodily death, for I am already being poured out, but from every sin; that is, he will not let me be made soft toward death, but will give me to withstand sin even to blood, which is to be delivered from the spiritual lion. Greater, then, is this salvation, when I seem to be given over, than the former, when he escaped.

2 Tim. 4:18. And will save me to his heavenly kingdom. That is, he will snatch me from every sin, and there will guard me. For this is to be saved to the kingdom: to die here for his sake. For he who hates his own soul shall keep it to life eternal. So then the true salvation is this, when we shall shine forth there.

2 Tim. 4:18. To whom be the glory to the ages of ages. Amen. Behold a doxology of the Son, as also of the Father; for this one is the Lord.

2 Tim. 4:19. Greet Priscilla and Aquila. These are they who took Apollos to themselves and catechized him, with whom Paul too was instructed, and whom he continually mentions. And he sets the wife first, as more faithful and more earnest; for she also catechized Apollos; or he does this indifferently. And he makes the greeting, at once consoling, and at once also showing forth honor and love through it; and the greater thing, imparting much grace. For even a greeting alone from that blessed and holy man suffices to fill the one greeted with much grace.

2 Tim. 4:19. And the house of Onesiphorus. That is, those in his household. For he himself was at Rome, caring for Paul in his bonds, as was mentioned before. And through the greeting he makes those also more eager, so as to pursue such things.

2 Tim. 4:20. Erastus remained at Corinth; but Trophimus I left at Miletus sick. Since he had not mentioned these, now he mentions them, and shows himself bereft on every side, so as to draw Timothy to come more quickly. And why did he not heal Trophimus when he was sick? Because the saints could not do all things, God doing this, lest men make gods of them. So Moses also, who became and was slow of speech from his youth, did not heal himself, nor did he enter into the land of promise, lest he be thought a god. So too this same Paul had a thorn. And Miletus is near Ephesus. Either, then, when he was sailing to Judea, Paul left him at Miletus, or after coming to be at Rome he went up again to these parts—we cannot say.

2 Tim. 4:21. Be diligent to come before winter. Since I am bereft on every side, as you can see, be diligent to come. He does not say, before I die, for that is grievous, but, lest you be hindered by the winter, and so not see me, clearly—even though he is not in fact prevented.

2 Tim. 4:21. Eubulus greets you, and Pudens, and Linus. This Linus some relate to have become the second bishop of the Church of the Romans after Peter.

2 Tim. 4:21. And Claudia. Do you see how women too were fervent and warm, and crucified to the world? For this sex is in no way inferior to the men, if it wills. For even in the affairs of life they contribute greatly to living, inasmuch as they take up the keeping of the house, and prepare the men to handle public matters without distraction. And in spiritual things too they are able to practice self-control even more than the men, and to display sanctification and orderliness and fasting. And in a word, there is no hindrance to the female sex toward virtue, if they will.

2 Tim. 4:21. And all the brethren. He no longer mentioned these by name; but of so many believers, he mentions those alone by name, as shining more, inasmuch as they had also gone out beyond worldly affairs, and were more fervent.

2 Tim. 4:22. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Do not grieve, he says, that I depart; for the Lord is with you. And he did not say, with you, but, with your spirit. The help is twofold: of the grace of the Spirit, and of God who helps it. And in another way too he hints at this: that the Lord is with us then, when we have the Spirit also with us, not having driven it away through wickedness.

2 Tim. 4:22. Grace be with us. Amen. And for himself henceforth he prays, that he may ever be well-pleasing to God, and have grace with him. For just as he who beholds the king, and has grace with him, perceives nothing grievous, so even if we are left by our friends, even if we fall into dreadful straits, we shall perceive nothing, that grace being present and walling us about. And this could not come to pass otherwise, except through our working the things pleasing to the Master. For just as in households those servants find grace with their masters who do the things pleasing to them, so each of us too will have grace with the common Master, if he cares for the things that are his. For thus he will attain, through all things, to that one’s providence. To him be the glory to the ages. Amen.

Commentary on the Epistle to Titus

Introduction

Left Behind on Crete

Theophylact begins this commentary with no separate preface, moving directly into Paul’s opening address to Titus, and lets the occasion emerge from the letter itself. Paul had left Titus on Crete, he explains, to “set in order the things that are lacking”—the same kind of charge Paul entrusted to Timothy at Ephesus, and Theophylact draws the comparison deliberately, reading both letters as evidence of how the apostle divided the labor of founding churches: the harder work of first preaching he undertook himself, moving on to fresh ground, while the honor of ordaining and organizing what he had begun he handed to his disciples. Titus is charged to “appoint presbyters in every city”, and Theophylact reads Paul’s insistence on a presbyter for every city, rather than one bishop over the whole island, as a matter of simple pastoral wisdom: oversight divided among many hands is lighter to bear and more exact in its care than oversight stretched thin over too wide a territory.

A Reputation Worth Answering

Among the qualifications Paul lists for a bishop, Theophylact draws out one in particular: not “self-willed”, since a bishop governs a willing people and has no right to rule by his own judgment alone, the way a worldly ruler governs subjects who never agreed to obey him in the first place. Paul then turns, famously, to the character of the Cretans themselves, quoting “one of them, a prophet of their own”, who had written that “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies” (Titus 1:12). Theophylact identifies the source by name—Epimenides, a Cretan poet renowned among the Greeks for his skill in divination, who had composed the line while rebuking his own countrymen for claiming that the god Zeus was buried among them, when a true god, he insisted, could not die at all. Theophylact is careful to say exactly what Paul endorses in quoting him and what he does not: not the poet’s theology, which was false, but his verdict on Cretan character, which Paul judged accurate enough to cite—and cited from a Cretan’s own mouth precisely because a people are shamed most effectively by a witness drawn from their own house, as Paul had likewise done at Athens in quoting the poet Aratus against the Athenians’ own idolatry.

Grace That Trains, Not Merely Forgives

The letter’s doctrinal high point comes almost in passing, in the course of practical instruction to household servants: “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, training us, that having denied ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly” (Titus 2:11–12). Theophylact reads the passage as answering an unspoken objection—why should even slaves be held to so exacting a standard of conduct?—and finds Paul’s answer in the universality of the grace itself: it has appeared to all, servant and free alike, and grants the forgiveness of sins to both without distinction. But Theophylact stresses that the grace Paul describes does more than cancel a past debt; it actively trains, forming the believer toward a settled, sober life going forward, so that gratitude for what has already been forgiven becomes the ground of a changed way of living rather than a debt paid once and then forgotten.

The letter’s closing chapter returns to the same theme from a different angle, describing salvation as coming “not by works that we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy”, through “the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Theophylact reads regeneration as nothing less than a second birth and a wholly new fashioning of the person—not a repair of what was already there, he says, but the way a builder does not prop up a ruined house but tears it down to its foundations and raises it anew. That this is the Spirit’s own work and not a human achievement, he adds, is confirmed by Paul’s own wording: the Spirit was not merely given but “poured out richly”, a generosity in the giving that matches the completeness of the change it works.

How to Read This Commentary

Titus is one of the shortest of Paul’s letters, and Theophylact’s commentary on it is correspondingly brief and direct, moving without digression from church order in its first chapter to sound teaching and Christian conduct in the chapters that follow. Read together with First Timothy, it completes Theophylact’s picture of how the apostolic churches were meant to be governed and by whom, and the reader will do well to notice how naturally, in his reading, doctrine and daily conduct fold into one another here—the same grace that saves is, in the same breath, the grace that disciplines and teaches.

Chapter 1

Tit. 1:1. Paul, a servant of God, yet an apostle of Jesus Christ. He sets these terms down without distinction—now “servant of Christ” and “apostle of God,” now the reverse—for he knows no difference between the Father and the Son.

Tit. 1:1. According to the faith of God’s elect, and the full knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness. You may understand this in several ways: either that “I am an apostle for the purpose of bringing the elect to faith through me”; or that “I was appointed an apostle, not because I had achieved anything, but because it pleased God to entrust His elect to me.” So the whole is of the grace of Him who entrusted it; and it was not as one worthy, but for the sake of the elect, that I received this dignity. Then, to show that we too must contribute something, he added and the full knowledge of the truth—that is, because I came to know the truth of the doctrine, for this reason it was entrusted to me. Or rather, not even our knowledge is our own, but He Himself is the cause of it; for it is by being first known that we thus come to know. Or else: “I believed, just as the rest of the elect did, and I came to know the truth.” And he said of the truth to set it in contrast with the things of the Jews; for those were not truth, yet neither were they falsehood, but a type and a shadow. And by calling us “elect,” he sets them aside; for even if they were elect once, they are so no longer. Observe, too, that faith comes first, and from it knowledge arises, not from reasonings. And having said of the truth, he added which is according to godliness, because in worldly matters also there is a true knowledge—for instance, a man may truly know farming or carpentry. It is not, then, of that truth that he speaks, but of the truth that is according to godliness.[1]

Tit. 1:2. In hope of eternal life. Having told how many benefits God has bestowed on us for the present, he tells also how many He will give in the age to come. For the full knowledge of the truth is itself the greatest benefit to us, who have been delivered from error; and beyond this very gift He grants us, as a reward, eternal life. “Because we have come to know Him,” he says, “we hope also for eternal life.” Do you see how, right from the opening words, he recounts the benefits of God, that he may make both the bishop himself and still more the disciples more eager to please their Benefactor? And in saying “in hope of eternal life” he shakes the foundations of the Jewish way, for they held the present life to be their recompense.

Tit. 1:2. Which the God who cannot lie promised before eternal times. If He cannot lie, He will certainly give what He promised, even after death. From of old, he says, He foreordained these things, and not out of any change of mind; nor is it because the Jews did not come to Him that He now gives these things to us, but from of old it was so determined, and before the ages He loved us. And it is a proof of our noble standing, that we were loved from the beginning.

Tit. 1:3. But He manifested His word in due seasons, in the proclamation. Lest anyone ask, “Why did He defer giving the things that were determined before eternal times?”—he answers that it was for the sake of the divine economy, and in order to act at the fitting time. For Scripture calls the opportune moment a “season,” as in the verse, It is time for the Lord to act.[2] “In His own seasons,” then, he says—that is, in the ones that suit what is due. And what did He manifest? “His word,” he says—that is, the Gospel. How? “In the proclamation”—that is, openly, with boldness. He who proclaims neither adds nor takes away; and so we too proclaim the very things we were commanded, only in the hearing of all, as Christ also said, Proclaim it upon the housetops[3]—by the manner and the place setting forth the boldness with which the teaching may be spoken. But note that the sequence of thought called for him to say, “He manifested it in due seasons”—that is, eternal life; yet he did not continue in this way, but said, “He manifested His word.” And rightly so, for the Gospel embraces all things: both the gifts given us for the present—godliness, faith, truth—and the things of the age to come, namely eternal life. Some, however, have understood “the word” to mean the Son Himself.

Tit. 1:3. Which was entrusted to me, according to the commandment of God our Savior. “The proclamation that was entrusted to me,” he says. “If, then, it was entrusted to me, I must not think thoughts unworthy of the One who entrusted it, nor feign reluctance or chafe against what has been committed to me.” And “it is to me by commandment”—that is, “I am constrained to do this work even against my will.” For of the things to be done, some come about by commandment, others by exhortation: thus, Be reconciled to your brother[4] is a command, and the one who does not do it is punished; but Sell what you have[5] and Let the one who is able to receive it, receive it[6] are exhortations, and the one who does not do them is not punished. “I, then,” he says, “was entrusted with the proclamation by commandment”—that is, so as to do it of necessity. For woe is me, he says, if I do not preach the Gospel.[7] And this is not a matter of love of rule, but of necessity. And whose is the commandment? God our Savior’s. So then, since the God who wills us to be saved has enjoined these things, how shall I not lend my service to a saving work?

Tit. 1:4. To Titus, my true child. For it is possible to be a child and yet not a true one—as the fornicating Christian, or the covetous man, who is a child insofar as he was reborn in baptism, but not a true child, since he is unworthy of the Father.

Tit. 1:4. According to the common faith. Having called Titus his child, and having himself taken the rank of a father, he again lessens this honor, saying in effect, “I have nothing more than you in respect of the faith, for it is common, and through it both I and you were begotten.” How then does he call him his child? Either to show his deep affection, or because he himself baptized him. For insofar as the faith is the same for both, they are brothers of one another; but insofar as Paul baptized Titus, he is his father. At any rate, “according to the common faith” indicates their brotherhood.

Tit. 1:4. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. By this too he shows their brotherhood, in saying “God the Father,” and he rouses Titus to remember whose Son He is, and that He is the Son of God. And see how the very things he prays for the laity, these he prays also for the bishop and teacher. For the bishop has all the more need of the grace of God, since he bears many burdens; and of mercy, since he is answerable for many; and of peace, since he lives amid troubles and countless wars. For one good deed leads the bishop up to heaven, and one sin drags him down to hades.

Tit. 1:5. For this cause I left you in Crete, that you might set in order the things that are lacking. Just as in a household one of those appointed to the services does one task and another does another, so these men too each took a different part of the world as their portion, and all were at work. This, then, is what he hints at here in saying, “I left you in Crete”—as having himself, evidently, gone off elsewhere to labor there. And see how he is not ashamed to write to his disciple that he should “set in order the things I left undone.” For he had an eye to the common gain, not to his own honor. Notice too how the tasks that involved toil and struggle he accomplished himself, while those that brought honor or praise he entrusts to his disciple—I mean the ordinations of bishops, and the rest of the things that needed fuller completion.

Tit. 1:5. And appoint presbyters in every city, as I directed you. Here he calls the bishops by this name, as he does also in the Epistle to Timothy. And he says “in every city,” for he did not wish the whole island to be entrusted to one man, but that each city should have its own shepherd. For in this way the labor is lighter, and the oversight more exact.

Tit. 1:6. If anyone is blameless. If he has a life free from accusation, if no one has found fault with his conduct. For if the light be darkness, how great is the darkness![8]

Tit. 1:6. The husband of one wife. To stop the mouths of the heretics who disparage marriage, he admits to the episcopate the man who has married. For marriage is so honorable that even together with it one may ascend the holy throne. But to chasten the licentious, he says “the husband of one wife.” For the man who has kept no affection toward the wife who has departed—how shall he preside well over the Church? The bishop must be blameless; but the twice-married man is not blameless, even if he seems so by the laws of those outside.

Tit. 1:6. Having faithful children, not accused of profligacy, or unruly. For the man who has not trained his own children, how shall he set others in order? It is plain that, had he from the start brought up his children well and carefully, they would not have turned out unruly. For sins are not by nature, that they should overcome so much care. And he did not say simply “not profligate,” but having no reproach at all on the score of profligacy, nor being of evil repute.

Tit. 1:7. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God. And how could he be blameless, if he has unbelieving and untrained children? God has set him over His own household; he holds the place of God; he must therefore be scrupulously exact in every respect.

Tit. 1:7. Not self-willed. For rulers in the world govern unwilling subjects, and therefore resort to self-will, that is, to self-pleasing. But the bishop, who rules willing subjects, ought not to be self-willed, so as to act by his own judgment and his own counsel, without the mind of those he governs; for that is tyrannical.

Tit. 1:7. Not quick-tempered. Self-pleasing is necessarily followed by irascibility, from which also the bishop must accordingly abstain. For how shall he teach others to master this passion, if he has not trained himself?

Tit. 1:7. Not given to wine. That is, an insolent man. For what need is there of insolence? One must frighten the disobedient with the threat of gehenna, not insult them.

Tit. 1:7. No striker. Neither striking with the hands, nor with bitter and harsh words out of season. For he is a physician; and the physician rather heals the wounded, he does not himself strike.

Tit. 1:7. Not greedy for base gain. That is, showing great disdain for money. For all gain, even if it be just, is disgraceful for a bishop.

Tit. 1:8. Hospitable. Not only not making gain from others, but even giving out his own goods to strangers.

Tit. 1:8. A lover of good. By this he means the forbearing man, the moderate man, the man who does not envy.

Tit. 1:8. Sober-minded. That is, pure.

Tit. 1:8. Just. In his dealings with men—that is, impartial.

Tit. 1:8. Holy. That is, reverent in the things of God, falling short in nothing that is owed to God.

Tit. 1:8. Self-controlled. Master not only of his appetite for food, but also of his tongue, his hands, and his unruly eyes; for this is self-control in the proper sense.

Tit. 1:9. Holding fast the faithful word that is according to the teaching. That is, giving heed to it, making it his work. And “faithful” means either “true,” or “handed down through faith and not from syllogisms.” He said according to the teaching to show that one can teach even without outward wisdom. For there is no need of a pompous display of words, but of experience in the Scriptures and power of thought; for from these the teaching prospers, as did Paul’s own.

Tit. 1:9. That he may be able both to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to refute those who contradict it. That is, that he may both guard and strengthen his own people, and turn back the enemies. For the man who is able neither to do battle with the enemies and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,[9] nor to exhort and admonish and strengthen his own people, is a false bishop. For the other virtues one might find even among the laity—hospitality, sober-mindedness, and the rest; but what most characterizes the bishop is teaching.

Tit. 1:10. For there are many unruly men, idle talkers, and deceivers of minds. He named the root of all evils, insubordination. For the unruly man, unwilling to be ruled but leaping at the chance to rule over others, naturally has learned nothing sound or right, since he would not endure to be taught. He is an idle talker and a deceiver of minds, deceiving both himself and others.

Tit. 1:10. Especially those of the circumcision. These the Lord too reproached for their love of rule, that even after the faith they did not put off the disease.

Tit. 1:11. Men whose mouths must be shut. That is, refuted vehemently, so as to shut their mouths. And what is the gain, if they are unruly? For themselves, none; but for others—for those who would be corrupted if the bishop kept silent, for whose corruption he himself will give account. Therefore one must stop the mouths of such people; and if you cannot, then do not be a bishop at all.

Tit. 1:11. Who overturn whole households, teaching what they ought not, for the sake of base gain. Do you see how, along with insubordination, the love of money and base greed overturn households? For they are the devil’s levers, by which he tears down the houses of God.

Tit. 1:12. One of them, a prophet of their own, said: Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies. This testimony is true. It is asked why he brought forward a testimony from the Greeks and praises it, and that though it was not rightly given; and further, who it was that said this. Now the one who said it is Epimenides, a man who, among the wise of the Greeks, was especially devoted to divinations and rites of aversion, and was thought to succeed at soothsaying. This man, then, seeing that the Cretans had built a tomb for Zeus and honored him as one of mankind, and as though zealous on behalf of his own god, composed this to Zeus: “The Cretans, who are such and such, built you a tomb; but you did not die, for you are forever.” To this saying Paul now bears witness as true. How, then, does he do this? For if it was truly said, then Zeus too is immortal! But it was not with this in view that he called the testimony true, but because it called the Cretans liars and the rest. And what need was there of a Greek testimony? In this way he most of all put them to shame, bringing forward against them the testimony of their reproach from their own house and from their own people. Paul is wont to do this, just as he reasoned with the Athenians from Aratus; the very things that poet attributes to the false-named god Zeus, Paul himself applies in testimony to the true God—since men are best stopped from their own resources. So too with the Jews he always reasons from the prophets, and not from the Gospels. This God Himself also does, drawing each kind by what is familiar and trusted among them: the magi by a star; Saul by the woman with the divining spirit, since he had trusted her; and the diviners by the oxen that drew the ark—not that the diviners speak truth, but He refutes them out of their own mouths. He also permits Balaam to bless and prophesy. For He is always wont to condescend for our benefit. How then did Christ, and this same Paul, forbid the demons to speak and bear witness to them? Because the signs were sufficient to persuade, and Christ proclaimed Himself and that sufficed. And the demons were not being worshiped, for it was no idol that spoke. For this reason they are forbidden to speak.

Tit. 1:13. For which cause rebuke them sharply. Since, he says, they are also liars—which belongs to deceitfulness—and shameless, and gluttons, they need a vehement and cutting word, because gentleness does not help them. For just as the one who strikes the forbearing man destroys him, so the one who flatters the shameless man ruins him, by not letting him come to know himself. But here, he says, it is not strangers that one must rebuke, but one’s own people.

Tit. 1:13–14. That they may be sound in the faith, giving no heed to Jewish myths. So this is soundness: to bring nothing spurious or alien into the faith; whereas to subject oneself to the law is the act of one who does not trust the faith as sufficient to save. And this is no small disease. The things of the Jews are myths in a twofold way: both because the matter is out of season and now useless, and because giving heed to them is also harmful. As, then, one must not be persuaded by myths, so neither by these. The holy books of the Old Testament, rightly understood, are not myths—for how could they be, since from them we are taught the truth of the Gospel? But the misinterpretations and the secondary traditions, these are myths. Listen, then, to what follows.

Tit. 1:14. And to commandments of men who turn away from the truth. Do you see what he calls myths? The commandments of men,[10] as is written both in Isaiah and in the Gospel; and the other things too—evidently the observances of foods, as is clear from what follows.

Tit. 1:15. To the pure all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. So things are not pure or impure by their own nature, but according to the disposition of those who partake of them. For these men, being pure and godly, know all things to be pure, as God’s creatures, and only sin to be impure. For even if the law held certain things to be impure, this was not absolute, but in order to curb indulgence, since God knew that the Hebrews, being gluttons, would not have obeyed Him otherwise. If, however, those who partake be impure and ungodly, to these all things are impure. How so? Because fish too, as often feeding on human flesh, and the birds that seem clean, as feeding on dung, would appear impure to one who scrutinized them in this way. So the filthy mind, reasoning ill about these things, defiles them for itself, though they are not such by nature—just as the man with a queasy stomach thinks food distasteful even when it is pleasant, and to the man who is dizzy the earth, though it stands firm, seems to spin round; for such a notion belongs to his own affliction. These things fit the Manichaeans, and the Marcionists, and the heretics newly sprung from them, whom many call Galatians.

Tit. 1:16. They profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unfit for any good work. Do you see what makes men impure and abominable? Having works that are evil and filthy. For truly faith without works is dead; and the dead man is abominable, and unfit for anything whatever.

[1] Translator’s note: At this point Migne prints two square-bracketed (secluded) readings—“of the [Spirit]” qualifying “Him who entrusted,” and “of the [acquirer and]” before “of the doctrine”—both editorially marked as intrusive insertions. They are excluded here, following the secluded text; see the transcription header.

[2] Psalm 118:126 (LXX; 119:126 MT).

[3] Matthew 10:27.

[4] Matthew 5:24.

[5] Matthew 19:21.

[6] Matthew 19:12.

[7] 1 Corinthians 9:16.

[8] Cf. Matthew 6:23 (// Luke 11:35).

[9] 2 Corinthians 10:5.

[10] An allusion to Isaiah 29:13, echoed at Matthew 15:9 (“teaching as doctrines the commandments of men”); Theophylact says “as is written in Isaiah and in the Gospel.”

Chapter 2

Tit. 2:1. But as for you, speak the things that befit the sound doctrine. Even if those men are disobedient and unfit, still you do your own part; do not keep silent, even if they will not receive it.

Tit. 2:2. That the older men be vigilant. Since it is a defect of old age to be sluggish and forgetful and hard to move, for this reason he says, “Let them be temperate”—that is, wide awake, keen.

Tit. 2:2. Dignified, sober-minded. He calls the prudent “sober-minded,” from their “having their wits sound.” For there are even among the aged men who rave and are frenzied and out of their senses, some from wine, others from faintheartedness.

Tit. 2:2. Sound in faith, in love, in patience. Patience above all is the most fitting charge for old men, because of their irritability and their proneness to petty grief.

Tit. 2:3. The older women likewise, in demeanor reverent. He means the aged women, who from their very bearing and dress ought to appear seemly. Some, however, say he means the deaconesses of the Church, whom he requires to appear reverent from their very attire—that is, befitting the sacred ministries.

Tit. 2:3. Not slanderers, not enslaved to much wine. For since old age is cold, it craves wine; then, being unable to withstand it as something weak, it is overcome—not by a moderate amount, but by much; and from this comes also the proneness to slanders.

Tit. 2:3. Teachers of what is good. How, then, does he say elsewhere, I do not permit a woman to teach?[1] There he speaks of the public teaching in the Church, which is forbidden to women; but here, of the teaching that takes place in the home, privately, toward women. And that this is what he means, listen to what follows.

Tit. 2:4. That they may train the young women to love their husbands. Not only their own daughters, but all the young women generally. For let each older woman train the younger; and first the chief of household goods, love for one’s husband. For where this is present, the rest will follow—prosperity of the house and abundance of goods; whereas where it is absent, all these things, even if present, will drain away.

Tit. 2:4. To love their children. For she who loves the root, that is, the father, will much more love the fruit also, that is, the children.

Tit. 2:5. Sober-minded, chaste, keepers at home, good. For she who loves her husband will be both sober-minded and chaste—that is, pure in body and in mind from the intercourse and the desire of other men; and also a good keeper at home, that is, a good manager of the household. For loving her husband, she also cares for the house, busying herself neither with luxury, nor with unseasonable extravagances and adornments. For whom else would she wish to please, having once pleased her beloved? And notice how Paul, who draws people away from worldly affairs, now takes such care of household matters, because when these are in good order, the spiritual things too will fare well.

Tit. 2:5. So that no one may blaspheme the word of God. Do you see that he is concerned first of all for the preaching, not for worldly affairs? For if a believing wife living with an unbelieving husband were not virtuous, the blasphemy passes over onto the faith.

Tit. 2:6. The younger men likewise exhort to be sober-minded. Over the younger women he set the older women as teachers, women for women; but over the younger men, Titus himself, a man for men—for everywhere he preserves what is fitting. And what must he exhort or admonish these to do? To be sober-minded; for the fire of unseemly pleasures especially troubles the young, and this must be quenched, and one must hasten to be sober-minded.

Tit. 2:7. In all things showing yourself a pattern of good works. Let the older women teach the younger women, and you yourself the younger men; but let the splendor of your own life be a common school and example of virtue, like some archetypal image set before all who wish to take an impress of the good things in it.

Tit. 2:7. In your teaching, incorruptness. “Showing” is to be supplied from the previous clause: that the things you teach be not corrupted and false, but sound, and of right reason.

Tit. 2:7. Dignity. That the teaching may have nothing novel or that dissipates the foolish, but all things venerable and worthy of God.

Tit. 2:8. Sound speech, beyond reproach. That is, orthodox, having nothing open to censure.

Tit. 2:8. That he who is of the opposing side may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. By “he who is of the opposing side” he means either the devil, or anyone who serves him.

Tit. 2:9. Servants are to be subject to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things. So then, the man who divorces wives from their husbands under the pretext of self-restraint, and draws servants away from their masters under the guise of godliness, is not beyond reproach. For he gives many handholds to all, and opens the mouths of all against the faith.

Tit. 2:9–10. Not contradicting, not pilfering, but showing good faith toward all. See that he requires of servants the very things that most of all give rest to masters: not to contradict, not to steal, but to be trustworthy. For in worldly matters these things especially are much sought after.

Tit. 2:10. That they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in all things. For indeed, if the servants are of this kind, they are to the glory of Christianity. For when the Greek sees his servant so trained by Christianity, how will he not marvel at the doctrine, as having such power that it can improve such a soul? For the class of servants is always somewhat reckless and intractable, because it is not well brought up, being neglected by the masters, and not regulated by the words or the company of earnest men. Not in vain, then, did Paul say elsewhere, As serving God, and not men.[2] For even if you serve your master, yet the honor runs up to God, since the goodwill toward the master also takes its beginning from that fear.

Tit. 2:11. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Since he demanded much and great things of the household servants—I mean the adorning of the Lord’s teaching through their own virtuous conduct—he now shows that it is with reason that he requires such things of them. For to them too grace has appeared, even if they are servants; for he says “to all men.” And He has granted them too the forgiveness of many sins, and they therefore owe it, in their turn, to live for the glory of their Benefactor.

Tit. 2:12. Training us, that having denied ungodliness and worldly desires. And from this too he puts them to shame. “For having obtained God as your trainer,” he says, “how do you not owe it to live worthily of Him?” And this grace, he says, is not only for the forgiveness of past evils, but also for securing us against the future. For it trains us to live soberly henceforth—we who beforehand utterly denied ungodliness and worldly desires. Now by “denying” he signifies the turning away that comes from a whole-souled disposition; and by “ungodliness” he names idolatry and evil doctrines. By “worldly desires” he means covetousness, luxury, and the rest—all those that do not pass over into heaven, but are of use in this world and perish along with it. For this reason, then, Christ came: that we might deny both the ungodly doctrines and the polluted life, hating both with the same disposition.

Tit. 2:12. We should live soberly, and justly, and godly. “Soberly” signifies not only abstinence from fornication, but also from the rest of the passions. For if you love money, you are not sober; rather, you are even more licentious, inasmuch as that passion is not even natural. And in a word, whoever is overcome by any of the other passions is not sober.

Tit. 2:12. In the present age. For this age holds the contest; the age to come holds the rewards.

Tit. 2:13. Awaiting the blessed hope, and the appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Behold the prize as well: the second appearing, the truly blessed one. And well did he say “of the glory.” For he speaks of two appearings. The first, as was said above, brought grace and forgiveness, coming with forbearance and lowliness; the second brings recompense, displayed with glory—as also in the Gospel, When the Son of Man comes in His glory.[3] And where are those who diminish the Son, and will not even allow Him to be called God? Let them hear that He is both God, and great. And “great,” said of God, is not by comparison with some lesser being, but absolutely, as of One who is by nature great in Himself. And if, while we were enemies, He saved us, what will He not give then, when He finds us approved?

Tit. 2:14. He who gave Himself on our behalf, so that He might redeem us from all iniquity. This too is a proof of His authority—the giving of Himself; and not that He should redeem this one but not that one, but “from all iniquity.” So let us be abashed before our redemption.

Tit. 2:14. And purify for Himself a peculiar people. Through the washing of divine baptism, and through the working of His divine and cleansing commandments. And “peculiar” means “His own,” from the metaphor of the household servants who are occupied about the substance and wealth of their master—that is, choice, select, having nothing in common with the rest.

Tit. 2:14. Zealous of good works. That is, going to virtue with fervor, and showing zeal in all good things, and an ardent imitation. The redemption, then, is His alone; but to be zealous for the works is ours too.

Tit. 2:15. Speak these things; exhort and rebuke, with all authority. First speak and exhort—that is, teach more gently; then rebuke; and not simply, but “with all authority”—that is, with severity, with full authority. For since they were hard, he introduces severity against them. There are, then, matters that do not need severity, but admonition and persuasion, such as utter contempt for money; but there are matters that do need it, such as adulteries, thefts, acts of greed, sorceries.

Tit. 2:15. Let no one disregard you. That is, “let no one despise you,” when you are stern at the proper time; for the one who rebukes out of season is rather despised.

[1] 1 Timothy 2:12.

[2] Ephesians 6:7.

[3] Matthew 25:31.

Chapter 3

Tit. 3:1. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work. Everywhere he wishes the faithful to be subject to the rulers. And he shows also how they might be subject: if they are prepared for every good work. From which it is clear that those prepared for evil are the ones who disobey the rulers. Or also that they should be ready, so as to be obedient toward what is good, not toward ungodliness, or anything else harmful to the soul.

Tit. 3:2. To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, forbearing. Even if someone behaves badly, do not even then revile him—that is, do not abuse him. For our mouth must be kept pure from reviling. For whether the charge be true, it is not ours to judge, or whether it be false. See how great the danger is.

Tit. 3:2. Showing all meekness toward all men. Both Jews and Greeks, and the wicked and those who do wrong.

Tit. 3:3. For we too were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, enslaved to various desires and pleasures. In the Epistle to the Corinthians he frightens them by the things to come, that they may not judge, saying, Let the one who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall;[1] but here he makes them more sober by the things that are past, saying in effect: “Let us not revile others, since we ourselves sinned worse long ago.” This is what the thief too said to the other thief: that we are under the same condemnation.[2] And when were we foolish? Before Christ. For how was it not folly to worship such gods? And to sacrifice human beings—how was it not the greatest error? But we were also enslaved to various desires and pleasures. Here understand unions with males, with mothers, and with sisters, and the other forms of uncleanness; for in manifold ways the devil made sport of us.

Tit. 3:3. Living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. “Living in malice and envy”—that is, spending our days ever in remembrance of wrongs and in envy, and having these for our very life; whence we were also worthy of hatred, as hating one another. And reasonably so; for from envy comes also hatred.

Tit. 3:4. But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Savior appeared. That is, when the Only-begotten was made flesh and was made like us.

Tit. 3:5. Not by works that we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy He saved us. “He saved us, not by works that we did”—that is, “we neither did works of righteousness, nor were we saved from them, but His goodness did the whole.”

Tit. 3:5–6. Through the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, which He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Astonishing!—that we were so steeped in malice that we could not even be cleansed, but needed to be born again. For this is what regeneration and renewal are: the second birth, and a new fashioning. For just as we do not prop up a very old house, but tearing it down to the foundations build it anew, so God too did not patch us up, but built us afresh from the ground. How? Through the Holy Spirit. For lest you ask the manner, “the Spirit,” he says, “accomplished the whole.” Whence is this clear? “Which He poured out on us richly,” he says. For not only did He refashion us through the Spirit, but He also imparted of Him lavishly, that the one might be shown through the other. And reasonably so: for since He cleansed us, then also He filled us with the Spirit ungrudgingly. For this is the meaning of “poured out.” For into the impure the pure does not enter. And these things are through Jesus; for He is for us the mediator and the procurer of all good things.

Tit. 3:7. That being justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Again, “by grace,” not by debt. And this teaches humility too; for we did not ourselves achieve anything. And he makes us hopeful concerning the things to come: for if He saved by grace those who were so despaired of, much more will He give the things to come to those who have been justified. “That we should become heirs of eternal life,” he says, “even as we hope.” Or else, “that we are already heirs,” at least in respect of hope.

Tit. 3:8. Faithful is the saying. Since he spoke of things to come, he adds trustworthiness to the word. For it is clear from what came before; for He who gave so much will give these things also.

Tit. 3:8. And concerning these things I want you to affirm confidently, that those who have believed in God may be careful to maintain good works. Since he had called to mind the unspeakable goodness of God, he says, “Thus I want you to teach concerning these things, that the faithful may learn not only to be humble-minded, and not to reproach others, but also to show mercy.” For the one who considers the mercy of God which he himself obtained will himself show mercy too. “That they may be careful,” he says—that is, having it as a continual work and earnest effort to help the wronged: to provide for widows, orphans, and in short for those in need. For this is what “to maintain good works” means; and not to wait for the needy to come to them, but themselves to be concerned about them.

Tit. 3:8. These things are good and profitable to men. The care and the maintenance of good works—or the good works themselves.

Tit. 3:9. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and strifes, and contentions about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. By “foolish” he means the unprofitable questions, such as the Jews bring against the faithful. And “genealogies,” which these same men make, tracing the patriarchs as their own ancestors and boasting in them. “Avoid,” then, means “decline.” For one must not neglect the necessary works and spend one’s time on idle talk and profitless quarrels. For what gain is there in fighting where no one is going to be taken captive for Christ? How, then, did he earlier urge that the contradictors be silenced? When they are out to harm others, then one must silence them; but where only their own benefit is at stake, one should not even attempt to talk with them at all, since they will gain nothing, being incorrigible.[3]

Tit. 3:10–11. A heretical man, after a first and second admonition, reject, knowing that such a one is perverted, and sins, being self-condemned. How, then, does he say elsewhere, lest God should grant them repentance?[4] There he speaks of those who give some hint of a hope of correction; but here he calls “heretic” the incorrigible man, the one wholly perverted, who is also self-condemned—that is, without defense. For he cannot say, “No one admonished me, no one taught me.” When, therefore, after the exhortation he persists in the same things, he is self-condemned.

Tit. 3:12. When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis; for there I have decided to winter. Why is it that, having entrusted to Titus so great a Church and so large an island, he again draws him to himself, away from the work? In order to benefit him the more, and to equip him still further for the work, by examining him on the things committed to him. And Nicopolis is a city of Thrace, lying upon the Ister.

Tit. 3:13. Zenas the lawyer, and Apollos, set forward diligently on their way, that nothing be lacking to them. By “lawyer” he means one skilled in the Jewish laws; for such was Zenas. And Apollos was more learned and mighty in the Scriptures. These men had not yet been entrusted with Churches. And “that nothing be lacking to them” means “make them to be in all abundance of the necessities”—of food, that is, and clothing.

Tit. 3:14. And let our people also learn to maintain good works for the necessary needs, that they be not unfruitful. It is as though he said: “It was in my power to make the men I mentioned free from want by other means as well; but I do not wish it, so that our people”—that is, those around you—“may learn, from supplying these men, to maintain good works”: that is, to care for the needy, both in money and in words and in every way. Not that the needy should gain so much, but that they themselves may have fruit from their love for mankind toward their own kind. For indeed the Lord too, who fed the five thousand, could surely have fed both Himself always and His disciples, yet He chose to be supported by women, that they might gain thereby. So too in our case: He benefits the poor not so much through our giving as He benefits us through them. For the poor are to us the cause of forgiveness of sins, and of boldness toward God.

Tit. 3:15. All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Either those who love him faithfully and without guile, or those who love him as believers—that is, as Christians.

Tit. 3:15. Grace be with you all. Amen. He prays that the gift of God may be guarded for them; or that the love of God may be with them always, keeping them by grace. Or also, that it may be with us who most of all have need of it, and may guard both our souls and our bodies in the Holy Spirit. To whom be the glory to the ages. Amen.

[1] 1 Corinthians 10:12.

[2] Luke 23:40.

[3] Translator’s note: The clause “where only their own benefit is at stake” renders χάριν τῆς αὐτῶν ὠφελείας (lit. “for the sake of their benefit”) at the col. 168→169 break; the reading χάριν is confirmed against a high-resolution render and the facing Latin (utilitatis gratia). No connective particle is printed there (asyndeton in the Migne text).

[4] 2 Timothy 2:25.

Commentary on the Epistle to Philemon

Introduction

The Shortest Letter in the Collection

Philemon is the briefest of Paul’s surviving letters, and Theophylact’s commentary on it is correspondingly the shortest in his New Testament work—a single private note, written from prison, asking a slaveholder to receive back a runaway slave. That so slight a letter drew comment from Theophylact at all is worth pausing over, since he wrote no full commentary on every short or occasional piece of early Christian correspondence that survives from the period. What earned Philemon its place beside his commentaries on Paul’s longer epistles is not its length but its substance: in a single page, Paul works out, in miniature and applied to one particular human relationship, the same conviction that runs through his longer letters—that in Christ the old distinctions of the world no longer decide a person’s worth.

A Runaway Received Back as a Brother

The situation is plain from the letter itself. Onesimus, a slave belonging to Philemon, had fled his master—Theophylact does not hesitate to call the flight what it was, an act undertaken with “criminal intent”—and had somehow come into contact with Paul, then a prisoner, who instructed him in the faith and now sends him home with this letter in hand. From the opening line, Theophylact reads Paul’s strategy: rather than open with a command, Paul writes as “a man bound for Jesus Christ”, teaching Philemon by his own example not to be ashamed of a slave who has now, through the Gospel, become a fellow slave of the same Lord. Everything is good, Theophylact observes, for Christ’s sake—even chains, in which Paul himself takes a kind of pride—and the same logic runs through the whole appeal: what looks like loss or disgrace, borne for Christ, becomes something else entirely.

Theophylact draws out Paul’s tact at every turn. Paul does not call Onesimus’s flight a flight, but a “parting”, softening the word so as not to provoke a master already wronged; he even suggests that the parting happened, perhaps, by a providence working toward Philemon’s own good, so that what was lost for an hour might be kept forever. The famous turn of the letter comes when Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus back “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother” (Phlm. 16). Theophylact reads this as the letter’s center of gravity: a single hour’s absence has been repaid, in Christ, with an eternal kinship, and the ordinary categories of master and slave, while not abolished outright, are made to answer to a deeper bond that Paul asks Philemon to recognize and to act on.

Even the letter’s greeting carries this same logic in miniature. Paul addresses it not only to Philemon but to “the Church in your house”, and Theophylact reads that phrase deliberately: the household church includes, he notes, every believer under Philemon’s roof, slaves not excepted, so that Philemon’s own slaves are called upon to add their voice to the appeal Paul is making on Onesimus’s behalf. And near the letter’s end, when Paul asks Philemon, “let me have benefit of you in the Lord” (Phlm. 20), Theophylact notices the play on Onesimus’s own name—which means, in Greek, “profitable” or “useful”—so that Paul’s request to be given profit answers, almost as a private joke between friends, the runaway slave’s own name and the accusation of uselessness a fugitive might expect to bear.

A Debt Paul Makes His Own

Near the letter’s close, Paul offers, in his own hand, to repay whatever debt or loss Onesimus’s flight had caused: “I, Paul, have written this with my own hand; I will repay it” (Phlm. 19). Theophylact reads real tact even here—Paul does not simply presume on Philemon’s generosity, which might have looked as though he doubted it, but formally offers a bond, and then, in the same breath, reminds Philemon gently that he in fact owes Paul a debt far greater than money: his own self, converted through Paul’s preaching. It is a small, finely made piece of persuasion, and Theophylact reads Paul’s care in composing it as itself a kind of teaching—a model of how to ask a hard thing of a friend without either commanding or demeaning him.

How to Read This Commentary

Philemon rewards a slow reading precisely because it is so short; nearly every clause carries a rhetorical or pastoral point that Theophylact takes the trouble to draw out. The letter’s modesty is genuine rather than merely apparent, and Theophylact does not strain to inflate its importance beyond what it will bear. Read as he reads it, Philemon stands as proof that the Gospel’s largest claims—about slavery and freedom, about who counts as kin in Christ—can be made, and made persuasively, in the smallest and most personal of settings.

Chapter 1

Phlm. 1:1. Paul, a man bound for Jesus Christ. Right from the opening words he teaches the master not to be ashamed of his slave, who has now become a fellow slave. For all things are good for Christ’s sake, even chains, in which Paul himself rejoices, so that he is even named from them. At the same time he presses his appeal, showing that it is only right to grant a favor to one who is bound for Christ’s sake.

Phlm. 1:1. And Timothy our brother. As though he did not suffice by himself for the entreaty, he takes Timothy along with him as a fellow petitioner, so that Philemon may be won over by the entreaty of more than one.[1]

Phlm. 1:1. To Philemon the beloved, and our fellow worker. If beloved, he will grant the favor; if a fellow worker, he will not keep the slave back, but will send him out again for the service of the preaching, in which Philemon himself is a laborer. For Onesimus will then fill up the master’s own share of the task as well, if he is sent back to Paul once more.

Phlm. 1:2. And to Apphia the beloved, and to Archippus our fellow soldier. Perhaps Apphia was Philemon’s wife, and Archippus a friend. And if a fellow soldier, in this matter too he will join the contest. This is the man about whom Paul writes to the Colossians: Say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which you have received.[2]

Phlm. 1:2. And to the Church in your house. By “Church” he means all the faithful in the household, including even the slaves. And note his humility, how he calls upon these too to join with him in this intercession.

Phlm. 1:3. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And how will the grace of God be in us? If we too are gracious to our debtors. And how peace? If you too are reconciled to your slave.

Phlm. 1:4. I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers. As often as I remember you—and I remember you always, whenever I pray—so often do I give thanks to God for your virtue. And what this virtue is, he goes on to add.

Phlm. 1:5. Hearing of your love and the faith which you have toward the Lord and toward all the saints. Here he praises him as a merciful man. His love and faith would never have been heard of all the way from Phrygia to Rome, had they not been very great.[3] Since, then, you love all the saints—that is, the faithful—you ought to love Onesimus as well, for he is now one of the faithful, so that you may be shown to love the Lord too. Do you see the force of these considerations that press the appeal?

Phlm. 1:6. That the sharing of your faith may become effective in the full knowledge of every good thing that is in you. I give thanks to God for your love, he says, praying also for this: that your faith, which you hold in common with us, may become effective and active, and as it were alive, in your recognizing every good work—that is, in your loving it and taking it in hand. For faith is alive when we carry out every good work, just as it is dead when it is without works.[4] And he added “that is in you,” to show that even now Philemon has every good work within himself, as though saying: “of every good work that is even now among you all”—that is, in you, Philemon.[5] And by saying “the sharing of faith,” Paul joins Philemon to himself and makes them one. For the faith we hold in common is also a thing that unites; so that you ought to be of one mind with me. By “the sharing of faith” he means almsgiving, as something that springs from abundant faith. So he says: I make mention of you, praying that your generous and openhanded disposition may never cease, but that you may rather pour out upon those in need every good thing that is in you—that is, whatever is yours.

Phlm. 1:6. To Christ Jesus. Whatever good you do for the needy, and especially for the saints, he says, is referred to Christ Jesus; so that even now, if you receive Onesimus and lay up this favor for me, you are giving it to Christ.

Phlm. 1:7. We have much thankfulness and comfort in your love. That is, we have joy; and not only joy, but also the greatest consolation amid my chains, in your love—that is, in your kindly and openhanded disposition.[6]

Phlm. 1:7. Because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. Most wisely does he handle the matter, reminding Philemon of his benefactions toward others, so as to soften him the more, once he has considered: “If I give to others whom I do not even know, how much more to my teacher Paul.” And he did not simply say, “You give to the saints,” but “You refresh the hearts of the saints”—that is, with your whole soul. They welcome your kindness as something done toward them ungrudgingly and with loving care.

Phlm. 1:8–9. Therefore, though I have much boldness in Christ to command you what is fitting, for love’s sake I rather appeal to you. Since, he says, you are such toward all the saints that their hearts find rest in you, much more could I in Christ—that is, inasmuch as I begot you in Christ—have had boldness to command you, not as one lording it over you, but on account of the love which I too have toward you, and you toward me. As for “what is fitting,” it means either to command you what is fitting—that is, what has come to be my need, that you may fulfill it; or else: you tend to all the saints; I too, then, according to what is fitting—that is, the part that falls to me—had boldness to command you. But nevertheless I appeal to you. For I count the matter so necessary that I must even entreat.

Phlm. 1:9. Being who I am—Paul the aged, and now also one bound for Jesus Christ. Being such an ambassador, he says, and so worthy to be heard as Paul the aged would naturally be[7]—that is, having the dignity that comes both from the office of a teacher and from his years, and now having taken on something still greater, namely to be bound for Christ’s sake. See how many grounds he has for persuading.

Phlm. 1:10. I appeal to you, then, concerning my own child, whom I begot in my chains. He has not yet named the one for whom he intercedes. For he first smooths the way with Philemon, commending the servant by calling him his child. “And why do you call him so?” Because I begot him—that is, I instructed him in the faith and had him baptized—and this in hard circumstances, for it was in chains. So, having lulled Philemon’s anger to sleep by these words, he then mentions the name.

Phlm. 1:11. Onesimus, who was once useless to you. He knows that the confession of a fault quenches anger; therefore he speaks thus.

Phlm. 1:11. But now useful both to you and to me. Because he has become reverent and holy, he is useful to both, he says. For if he is useful to Paul, who demands such great strictness, then clearly to Philemon as well. And at the same time he hints at this: “Since he is useful to me, let him be sent back to me again.”

Phlm. 1:12. Whom I have sent back to you. That is: I hand this man over to you, to deal with him as you wish. And by handing him over, he soothes Philemon’s wrath all the more.

Phlm. 1:12. And you, receive him—that is, my own heart. This stands for: receive him with love—or rather, not him, but my own heart; for so do I love him, and carry him about in my soul.

Phlm. 1:13. Whom I was wishing to keep with myself, that on your behalf he might serve me in the chains of the Gospel. See his skill, how little by little he has set Onesimus in the master’s place: “that on your behalf,” he says, “he might serve me.” And he shows also that he intends the master’s own advantage. For if you, he says, owe it to serve me, and this man does it in your stead, then you are the one who gains.

Phlm. 1:14. But without your consent I wished to do nothing. And by this above all he softens Philemon. For though the matter was so necessary—Onesimus was about to serve him in his chains, and these endured for God’s sake—yet Paul was unwilling to act against Philemon’s will. So how is it not fitting to grant the favor to one who could have enjoyed it even without him, yet was unwilling to take it so?

Phlm. 1:14. That your good deed might not be as of compulsion, but of free will. He did not say “of compulsion,” but “as of compulsion,” as though saying this: that even had I kept him against your will, I would not truly have grieved you; yet it would nonetheless have appeared to most people that it was done by compulsion and against your will. Now therefore I have chosen rather that it should not seem at all to anyone to be involuntary, but voluntary beyond all doubt.

Phlm. 1:15. For perhaps it was for this reason that he was parted from you for a while. What wisdom! For since Onesimus had fled out of a criminal intent, Paul turns the flight around, treating it as something that came about for Philemon’s benefit. For perhaps, he says, he fled by divine dispensation. And he tactfully calls the flight a “parting,” so as not to provoke the master by the word “flight.” And by shortening the time, he allays the anger: “for a while,” he says, “was he parted.” At the same time he shows that for all the time Onesimus was with Paul, he was in effect with Philemon. The only time he was truly away, then, was as much as passed before he came to be with Paul; and this was little, like a single hour. So that from now on too, if he is with me, sent by you, count him as being with you.

Phlm. 1:15. That you might have him back forever. That is, that you might enjoy him.

Phlm. 1:16. No longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. The flight, he says, did good in many ways: for in exchange for a single hour, you have him forever. For the whole life of a man, compared with eternity, is nothing—and much less the brief span of his flight. And in exchange for a slave you have a brother; in exchange for a useless man, a beloved one. “And in the flesh,” that is, one worthy to be loved even in worldly services, since he is so serviceable; “and in the Lord,” that is, in spiritual things as well.

Phlm. 1:17. If, then, you hold me as a partner, receive him as you would me. That is: if you have agreed to be of one mind with me, receive him as you would receive me. Whom would such an appeal not have won over? For who would not have wished to receive Paul?

Phlm. 1:18. But if he has wronged you in anything, or owes you anything, charge it to my account. He did not say “he stole,” but more delicately, “he has wronged you, or owes you.” For it was likely that Onesimus had used up what he had stolen. Therefore he says: “Reckon this as a debt to me; hold me as your debtor.”[8]

Phlm. 1:19. I, Paul, have written this with my own hand; I will repay it. He says this graciously, writing with spiritual grace, and as though saying: “For your greater assurance that I will pay the debt, here is the bond in my own hand.”

Phlm. 1:19. Not to say that you owe me your very self besides. Lest he should seem to insult Philemon—as though Paul had not the confidence to ask him outright over the theft of another, a household slave, but even drew up a bond against him, which would have shown Philemon to be somewhat harsh and unfeeling toward his teacher—he shows that he is in fact greatly confident in him. “For not only what is yours,” he says, “but besides these, you owe me your very self.”

Phlm. 1:20. Yes, brother, let me have benefit of you in the Lord. He has come back again from the playful tone to the more earnest, and he appeals. “Let me have benefit of you,” he says[9]—that is, “may I enjoy your kind offices, not in worldly matters, but in the things that are according to the Lord.”

Phlm. 1:20. Refresh my heart in Christ. Refresh, he says, my love for you—or my heart—for Christ’s sake. For it is not to me that you grant the favor, but to Christ.

Phlm. 1:21. Confident of your obedience, I have written to you, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say. Not commanding you, he says, nor acting willfully, have I written to you, but trusting in your obedience. What iron would these words not have softened?

Phlm. 1:22. And at the same time prepare a lodging for me. Philemon might perhaps have suspected, “If it were not for Onesimus, he would not even have thought me worth a word”; this Paul now remedies: “I did not write for his sake alone, but I wrote also for this reason, that you might prepare a lodging for me.” And at the same time he writes so that Philemon may be afraid—since the Apostle will come and find fault with him, if he does not receive Onesimus.

Phlm. 1:22. For I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. Two things we learn here: first, that great is the power of prayers, seeing that even so great a man as Paul needs the help that comes from them; and second, that we must be humble-minded, seeing that Paul has need of the prayers of his disciples.

Phlm. 1:23. Epaphras, my fellow captive in Christ Jesus, greets you. This Epaphras had been sent to Paul from the Colossians, so that it is clear Philemon was from Colossae. And Paul calls him a “fellow captive,” showing that Epaphras too is in great affliction, and thereby putting Philemon to shame: for the one man even suffers hardship together with Paul, while Philemon will not grant Paul even this favor concerning Onesimus. And Epaphras is a fellow captive, he says, not for any human cause, but for the sake of Christ Jesus, suffering hardship together with Paul for the Gospel.

Phlm. 1:24. Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers. Demas was at first of good repute, as indeed he is here attested to be a fellow worker of Paul; but later, growing slack, he deserted Paul, just as Paul also writes in the Epistle to Timothy, which is plainly later than this one: For Demas has forsaken me… Luke alone is with me.[10] So Luke, who is here ranked last, became first of all, when Demas had fallen away. Thus no one ought to be confident in himself; rather, let the one who stands take heed lest he fall.[11] And by saying “fellow workers,” he shows that “These too join with me in appealing to you, and you would be worthy to grant the favor to so many.” Do you see how much benefit we gain from this brief and seemingly plain Epistle? So then, none of the things of Scripture ought to be left unexamined; rather, from everything—since it was spoken by the Spirit—we should seek out some spiritual and profitable meaning. And surely the Paraclete who spoke these things will grant to those who seek rightly the finding of what is sought. By Him may we too be enlightened, and ever guided toward the truth of the word and the life that are according to God, neither led astray by false opinions nor enticed by the falsehood of the world’s pleasure; and may we who are slaves ennoble ourselves through faith and virtue, and may we who are masters, seeing slaves who are holy and apostles, be diligent not to be found far more dishonorable than they in the Kingdom of the Master—Christ our true God, who for our sake appeared as a slave.[12] To Him be the glory, and the might, and the honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Translator’s note: The Greek word here is disputed (ἄρχων vs. ἀρκῶν); the printed circumflex on the final syllable fits only ἀρκῶν (“sufficing,” from the contract verb ἀρκέω).

[2] Colossians 4:17.

[3] Translator’s note: Philemon’s home, Colossae, lay in Phrygia (Asia Minor); Paul writes from his imprisonment in Rome—hence the distance Theophylact stresses.

[4] An allusion to James 2:17, 26 (“faith without works is dead”).

[5] Translator’s note: The Greek shifts from the plural ὑμῖν (“you all”) of the lemma to the singular σοί; Theophylact notes that the plural address lands specifically on Philemon.

[6] Translator’s note: Theophylact’s lemma reads χάριν (“thanks, grace”), which he glosses as χαρά (“joy”); the Greek witnesses of Philemon 7 vary between the two words.

[7] Translator’s note: Theophylact glosses the lemma’s πρεσβύτης (“aged man,” Philemon 9) by its near-homophone πρεσβευτής (“ambassador”), hearing in it an appeal both to Paul’s years and to his apostolic office.

[8] Translator’s note: The printed lemma reads ταῦτα (“these things, charge these to me”); the common New Testament reading is the singular τοῦτο. Recorded as printed in PG.

[9] Translator’s note: The verb ὀναίμην (“may I have benefit/profit of you”) puns on the name Onesimus (Ὀνήσιμος, “profitable”), echoing the useless/useful wordplay (ἄχρηστον/εὔχρηστον) earlier in the letter.

[10] 2 Timothy 4:10–11.

[11] 1 Corinthians 10:12 (“Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall”), which Theophylact adapts.

[12] Philippians 2:7, where Christ “took the form of a slave.”

Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews

Introduction

An Apostle Writing to a People Who Hated Him

Theophylact treats the Epistle to the Hebrews, as the Church has always received it, as the work of the Apostle Paul, and he opens his commentary by explaining why a letter to the Hebrews should come at all from a man sent, by his own account in Romans, as apostle to the Gentiles. The Jews of Palestine, Theophylact writes, hated Paul more bitterly than they hated the other apostles, precisely because his own sudden conversion—the fiercest persecutor of the Church becoming its most tireless preacher—stood as living proof of the power of the very Christ he had once opposed. Even the Hebrews who had come to believe gave him little hearing, since he was understood to be leading believers away from the law and abolishing circumcision entirely. And yet, Theophylact reasons, just as Paul had not been formally commanded to baptize and yet baptized regardless, so out of the abundance of his love he wrote to the Hebrews as well, though his commission lay elsewhere—caring for them so much, Theophylact recalls, that Paul had once prayed to become “anathema” for their sake.

The recipients, Theophylact specifies, were the believing Hebrews of Palestine and Jerusalem—men and women who had had their goods seized by their own unbelieving countrymen and had suffered “countless ill-treatments” at the hands of a community that still, under Roman rule, retained real power to bind and to imprison whom it pleased. Paul writes, Theophylact says, to console a people worn down by persecution from their own house and tempted to fall away from a faith that had cost them so much, urging them to bear nobly what has befallen them and to trust that God does not overlook those who have suffered for him. He places the letter’s composition in Italy, and—reasoning from Paul’s own remarks about Timothy’s release, set against the very different tone of Second Timothy, written when Paul knew his death was near—judges Hebrews the earlier of the two, written while Paul still hoped to see his Hebrew readers again in person.

The Old Made New

The letter’s argument, as Theophylact reads it, is a sustained demonstration that the New Covenant surpasses the Old—not by rejecting what came before, but by showing it to have been provisional from the start, a shadow awaiting its substance. Even while the Jerusalem temple still stood, he notes, the Apostle was already showing that its worship could last only for a time, and that the realities belonging to the New Covenant are the true and lasting ones. Much of the letter’s early argument, in his reading, moves through comparison: the Son is shown to surpass the angels through whom the Old Covenant had come, and Moses himself, faithful as a servant in God’s house, gives way to Christ, who is faithful as a son set over the house itself.

Melchizedek and the Priesthood That Has No End

The argument reaches its most searching point in the seventh chapter, where the Apostle takes up the obscure figure of Melchizedek, the king of Salem who blessed Abraham and received a tithe from him (Heb. 7:1–2). Theophylact reads the encounter as proof, established from Scripture’s own silence, that Melchizedek’s priesthood surpasses the priesthood descended from Abraham through Levi—for the one who blesses and receives tithes is shown thereby to be the greater, and if Melchizedek, a mere type of Christ, outranks the patriarch of Israel, how much more does Christ himself, the true reality that Melchizedek only foreshadowed. Theophylact works out the typology name by name: “Melchizedek” itself means “king of righteousness”, and “Salem” means “peace”, so that a king who is both righteous and peaceable answers to no one but Christ.

The most demanding verse of the chapter calls Melchizedek “without father, without mother, without genealogy” (Heb. 7:3), and Theophylact takes care to distinguish what is truly said of Christ from what is said of Melchizedek only in a manner of speaking. Melchizedek was a man like any other, with parents of his own; Scripture calls him fatherless and motherless only because his genealogy is nowhere recorded, and his lineage passes over the sacred text in silence. Christ alone answers to the description in the fullest and most literal sense—without a father according to his birth in the flesh, since he was born of the Virgin Mary alone, and without a mother according to his birth from eternity, begotten of the Father alone before all ages, in a manner that no human reason can trace or declare. What is said of Melchizedek by the silence of a text, Theophylact insists, is true of Christ by the very nature of his generation.

One Sacrifice, Offered Once

The letter’s central theological claim, developed at length in its ninth and tenth chapters, is that Christ’s priesthood required no repetition. The priests of the Old Covenant, Theophylact observes, “stood daily ministering”, offering the same sacrifices again and again precisely because those sacrifices could never truly take away sin; Christ, by contrast, “having offered one sacrifice for sins forever”, “sat down at the right hand of the Father” (Heb. 10:11–12)—and Theophylact reads the posture itself as doctrine: to stand is the mark of one still ministering, but to sit is the mark of one already served, so that in sitting down Christ shows himself to be not only a High Priest offering a sacrifice but God himself, receiving what has been accomplished. Theophylact explains the timing of the sacrifice as carefully as its singularity: Christ was manifested only “at the consummation of the ages”, after sin had multiplied through the long history of the Old Covenant, so that his one death might answer the full weight of human sin at once, rather than requiring—as an earlier death would have—a repetition without end.

How to Read This Commentary

Hebrews is dense with Old Testament imagery—priesthood, tabernacle, covenant, sacrifice—and Theophylact’s commentary is correspondingly the most sustained argument in his New Testament work, moving patiently through each figure and showing how it points beyond itself to Christ. A reader new to the letter will find it easiest to keep two questions in view throughout: what does this passage show about the surpassing worth of Christ, and how does it console a people tempted to give up under pressure? Both questions run through the whole letter together, since for Theophylact the doctrine of Christ’s unrepeatable priesthood is never abstract—it is offered, from the first chapter to the last, as the ground on which suffering believers could stand without flinching, certain that what Christ accomplished once needed, and could need, no second offering.

Chapter 1

The Argument of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The blessed Paul was an apostle of the Gentiles, as indeed he himself says in the Epistle to the Romans. For the Hebrews would not have endured him preaching to them, inasmuch as they hated him more than the others, since by his sudden conversion he displayed the invincible power of Christ, which had drawn to itself so vehement a persecutor. For it was a great sign of the truth of our preaching, that Paul, the most ardent zealot for the Law, should suddenly come over to Christ. For this reason they warred against him passionately, and would not so much as endure his voice. But even those of the Hebrews who had believed—not even these gave much heed to him, inasmuch as he was leading them away from the Law altogether and abolishing circumcision. Nevertheless, even though he was sent as a herald to the Gentiles, yet he writes to the Hebrews as well. For just as he was not commanded to baptize, yet baptized nonetheless—for neither was he forbidden—so also out of his abundance he sends a letter to the Hebrews. For he cared exceedingly for them, on whose behalf he even prayed to become anathema. And it is to those in Palestine and in Jerusalem that he writes. For these had both had their goods plundered by the unbelieving Hebrews and had been subjected to countless ill-treatments. Hence he is greatly concerned for the almsgiving toward them, stirring up both the Corinthians and the Macedonians to this end. And having divided the preaching with Peter, he makes common cause with the faithful Hebrew poor in Jerusalem. Necessarily, then, he writes to them, consoling them as they were falling away; for they had been thoroughly worn down by the ill-treatments at the hands of their own countrymen, inasmuch as Jerusalem too was self-governing and had authority both to bind and to imprison whomever they wished. And he himself indicates as much, saying: Lift up the hands that hang down, and the palsied knees. For inasmuch as they were Jews, and had learned that their fathers received good things on the spot, they were greatly cast down, as though there were as yet no end of their distress. Therefore much is taught concerning faith in this Epistle, and concerning those from among the saints, as not yet having received the good things; but he establishes [two points]: the one, that one must nobly bear what befalls; the other, that one must await the recompense. For the Lord will never overlook the saints who have been from the beginning; so that then you too shall receive [your reward]. And he discourses much concerning the Old [Covenant] and concerning the New; he shows that the Law is no longer venerable; for even though the temple still stood, yet he hints at this, showing that it will last but for a time, and that our things are the true ones. And he writes the Epistle from Italy. And this one is earlier than the second to Timothy. For in that one he indicates that his life is now at its end: For I, he says, am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. But in this one he promises the Hebrews that he will see them: For know, he says, that our brother Timothy has been set free; with whom, if he comes soon, I shall see you. And it is likely that he came after dispatching this letter. For he spent two years in Rome as a prisoner, then was released, as he himself also says: At my first defense no one stood with me; and, I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. Having come to Spain, from there perhaps he saw Italy as well, and so, being again seized by Nero, he was put to death.

Heb. 1:1. God, who in many parts and in many ways spoke of old to the fathers in the prophets. Those who were afflicted by their evils supposed that their fathers had been deemed worthy of [special] care by him; Paul shows the contrary, namely, that You have enjoyed greater grace than they. For to those he sent prophets; but to you, the Son himself. And what is “in many parts and in many ways”? It is equivalent to “diversely and in manifold forms.” For I, he says, multiplied visions, and in the hands of the prophets I was likened [to men]. So why are you displeased and faint-hearted, having been deemed worthy of such things?

Heb. 1:2. In these last days he has spoken to us in [his] Son. And in this too he rouses them, saying that The consummation is near. For he who has grown faint in the contest, when he hears that the contest is at its end, breathes again a little. And he hints at something else also by saying “In the last days.” For when, he says, there was no longer time left for amendment, but we were liable to punishment, when we had been despaired of and the gifts of grace had failed, then we obtained the more. And the [phrase] “In [the] Son” is equivalent to “through the Son.” And take note of this against those who say that the preposition “in” has been allotted exclusively to the Spirit.

And why did he not say, “Christ has spoken to us”? Partly because they were weak and not yet able to hear concerning Christ; and at the same time also showing that the Old [Covenant] and the New are of one and the same [God]. And observe also the word “to us”; for he unites and sets on equal footing both them and himself together with the disciples. And yet it was not to them that he spoke, but to the apostles, and through them to the many; nevertheless he exalts the matter and shows that he spoke to them as well, and this for [their] consolation.

Heb. 1:2. Whom he appointed heir of all things. That is, he made him Lord of the whole world. For Jacob is no longer the Lord’s portion, but all [people are]. And he said “heir,” showing both the genuineness of the Sonship and the inseparability of the Lordship. And how did he make him Lord? As man, as he also says in the second Psalm: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance. And what lordship does he speak of here? That over those who submit willingly, the lordship of free choice. For this was given to the Son as man, when all acknowledged him; since the natural [lordship], even over the unwilling, according to that which is said, All things are your servants, he possessed before all the ages.

Heb. 1:2. Through whom also he made the ages. Having spoken concerning the flesh of the Son, which was constituted but yesterday and lately, he leads you henceforth up also to the height of his pre-eternal Godhead. And where are those who say, “There was [a time] when he was not”? He himself made the ages, and how could there be an age when he was not? And since the Father is the cause of the Son, fittingly he is the cause also of the things made by him. For this reason he says, “Through whom.” For the Father seems to make, having begotten the Son who made. And Sabellius is struck by this, inasmuch as two hypostases are thereby introduced. And Paul of Samosata likewise receives a fitting blow, who said that the Son was recent and had begun from a cause. And Arius too is struck along with him, yet not so severely, for he lays hold of the “Through whom” as a kind of support, calling the Son a subordinate helper. The words that follow, however, put him to death.

Heb. 1:3. Who, being the radiance of [his] glory. At the very [height] to which he had ascended in his lofty discourse concerning the Son, he calls him the radiance of glory; that you may learn this—that [he is] from him, impassibly, without [the Father’s] being diminished or lessened, [and] of the same essence, that is, light from light. For he both enlightened our souls and himself made the Father known. Wherefore he also said: I am the light of the world, because he is manifested together with the Father co-eternally; for the radiance too is manifested together with that which gives the light. For neither is the sun ever seen apart from its radiance, nor is the Father conceived apart from the Son. When, therefore, you hear the Arians saying, “If the Son is from the Father, then he is later than him,” set before them that “The radiance too is from the sun, yet not later than it; for at one and the same moment [there is] the sun, and at the same moment the radiance.”

Heb. 1:3. And the express image of his hypostasis. Having said “radiance,” and having thereby shown the Son to be consubstantial and co-eternal with the Father, again, since the radiance is without subsistence of its own, he remedies the incongruity arising from the illustration, lest Marcellus and Sabellius find room—men who said that the Son does not exist in his own hypostasis distinct from the Father. He says, therefore: “And he is the express image of his hypostasis”; that is, just as he himself [the Father] subsists, needing nothing for his completion, so also does the Son. For after showing the unvarying likeness, the Apostle further shows, by these words, the express image that stamps the prototype. For the express image is something other than the prototype, as subsisting of itself, yet resembling the first pattern without variation. And Gregory of Nyssa [says]: Just as by the “radiance” he showed the conjunction, so by the “express image” he showed the equality of subsistence. For he who has grasped in his mind the greatness of the hypostasis would altogether measure the hypostasis itself by the express image that appears in it; for neither does the express image exceed the hypostasis, lest it be without subsistence in that wherein it exceeds; nor is the hypostasis greater than the express image, for then it would have that part of itself unstamped. So too, when he says elsewhere that the Son exists in the form of God, he gives us to understand this: that the form is the hypostasis, and the express image is the Lord beheld in it. And he shows altogether the equal measure of the Son with the Father. For in the form the majesty of the Father is beheld, nowhere overflowing beyond it; for then that which fell outside the form would be formless and without beauty—which it is absurd to conceive concerning the Father. And if the majesty of the Father is as great as the form, and the express image is equal in measure to the form, then the express image too would possess as great a majesty as is beheld in the form of God.

Heb. 1:3. and sustaining all things by the word of his power. That which a little before [Arius] laid hold of in the “through whom,” setting him down as a subordinate—hear now, if you are able to understand, how here Paul gives the Son authority in his own right. For he did not say, “Upholding by [his] power,” but “by the word of his power,” that is, by that which flows from power and shows him to be mighty. For just as you say that the Father too spoke, Let there be light, and there was light; so also the Son upholds all things by a word, that is, he governs and holds them together. Nay rather, greater than to have brought all things into being is to hold together things at variance and tending to pass into non-being. And he did not say, “Governing,” but “upholding,” by a metaphor from those who carry something with a finger—causing it to be moved and shifted. For so vast a mass of creation, exceedingly great, he supports as though it were nothing, and by a word alone that is able to do all. For the “word” here is not a bare [word], as with us. Then, when so many heresies are overthrown at the very outset of the Epistle, how do some dare to reject it as not belonging to Paul, making the character of its style, differing from that of the other Epistles, their evidence? For they ought to have understood that the grandeur of the thoughts, and their irrefutable force, belong to none other than Paul, who had Christ speaking within him. And if they make the style a stumbling-block, let them learn that Paul dictated the Epistle in the Hebrew tongue, inasmuch as he was addressing Hebrews; but it was rendered into Greek, as some say by Luke, and as others affirm by Clement, who indeed all the more preserves the [Pauline] character. They commit, then, an offense as great, so to speak, those who take this Epistle from Paul, as if they were taking Paul himself from Christ.

Heb. 1:3. Having by himself made purification of our sins. Having spoken of the grandeur of the Godhead of the Word, he speaks henceforth also of his care for men through the flesh—which is far greater than upholding all things. And here he sets down two things: both his purifying us from our sins, and his doing this by himself; and in many places he glories in this, that it was through the Son himself that this came to pass. For through the cross and the death which he himself underwent he purified us, not only as having died for our sin, he the sinless, and as having paid a penalty which he did not himself owe, and as having simply loosed [our] nature from the condemnation incurred for the sin of Adam; but also as having given us baptism into his death—through which on each occasion we who are baptized receive the remission of the sins committed by us before, and the power no longer to be captive to sin.

Heb. 1:3. He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Having made mention of the cross, he brings in the discourse concerning the Resurrection and the Ascension. And he did not say, “He was commanded to sit,” but “He sat down,” and “on the right hand,” and “on high.” Not that God is enclosed in a place, but that his equality of honor with the Father might be shown. For he attained to the very throne of the Father, and just as the Father is on high, so also is he. And if anyone should say, “But surely it is written: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand;” first we shall say this, that he did not say, “He commanded,” but “He said.” Then, lest you suppose him to be without cause and without origin, for this reason the expression is so phrased.

Heb. 1:4. Having become so much better than the angels, by how much he has inherited a more excellent name than they. At the beginning he judged it [fitting] to compare him with the prophets, because of the weakness of his hearers; but now, advancing further, he sets him also above the angels, gently leading his hearers on to the truth. The word “having become” is equivalent to “having been declared,” just as John also says: He who comes after me has come to be before me; that is, more honorable than I. For that which is said according to the flesh belongs altogether to the Head; since, as God the Word, he always had this name. So we too speak of man both lowly things and lofty things: for instance, when we say, “Man is a great thing,” we name the whole from the better part; and when we say, “Earth and ashes,” from the worse. So too in the case of the Lord, at one time we name the whole from what belongs to the Godhead, at another from what belongs to the flesh.

Heb. 1:5. For to which of the angels did he ever say: You are my Son, today I have begotten you? It is plain, then, that he is better than the angels. From what? From the name. For the name “Son” indicates the genuineness, that is, the being from him. But if anyone becomes [a son] by grace, he is less than the angels. The [phrase], then, “Today I have begotten you,” indicates nothing else than that he is from the beginning, from whom the Father is. For just as “He who is” is said from the present time—for this especially befits him—so too is “today.” But some have understood the “today I have begotten you” to be said not concerning the pre-eternal but concerning the generation according to the flesh. For this too was from above; for it was of the Holy Spirit, by the good pleasure of the Father.

Heb. 1:5. And again: I will be a Father to him, and he will be a Son to me. This is plainly said on account of the flesh. For whenever the Apostle takes hold of it, he utters all [lowly] things. The nature, then, that was assumed inherited the name “Son,” the genuine name which the Word that was united to it possessed, inasmuch as it subsisted in him; even as the angel also said: And the holy thing that is born shall be called the Son of God; and again: And he shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. But this [belongs] to none of the angels. And if certain of the righteous too are sons of God, yet it is by grace; but in the case of Christ it is not so, but by an identity of hypostasis—that of the [Word] with that which was assumed.

Heb. 1:6. And again, when he brings in the Firstborn into the world, he says. Christ calls his coming in the flesh a “going forth,” as when he says: The sower went forth to sow; and again: I came forth from the Father. And rightly so. For we were outside of God, and coming forth to us as an ambassador, and conversing with us, and cleansing us, he reconciled us to the King. But Paul here calls this a “coming in,” by a metaphor from those who inherit and now take possession of some property. For the [word] “he brings in” signifies this, when the Father puts the world into the hands of the Son. For then he took possession of it, when it submitted willingly, when also he became known. And he is brought in not otherwise than in the flesh. For as God the Word he was in the world, and the world was made through him. And he represents the Father as bringing in the Son, that he may make the discourse more readily acceptable. But Gregory of Nyssa and Cyril, [numbered] among the saints, understood the “bringing in” thus: that before the incarnation he had nothing in common with creation, inasmuch as he was God without flesh; but when he was incarnate, then, having entered into communion with creation, in that he united the created [nature] to himself, he is said to be brought into creation.

Heb. 1:6. And let all God’s angels worship him. Him who is with flesh, that is. And here too he shows by how much he is better, and that [he is superior] by as much as a master [is superior] to slaves; as if someone, having brought a man into a house, should at once command those set over it to do him reverence.

Heb. 1:7. And of the angels he says: Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. Behold the very great difference: that they are created, but he is uncreated. For the [word] “makes” indicates the bringing forth from non-being into being. And he has this distinction not only in respect of the angels, but in respect of all the ministering power. And he did not say, “Having made,” but “Making,” that is, preserving by the word according to which they came to be. Of this kind also is that [saying] in the Gospel: My Father works until now, that is, he holds together the things that have been made and already wrought, and keeps them as they were wrought.

Heb. 1:8–9. But of the Son: Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. The angels, he says, are creatures and things made; for concerning them was it said, “Who makes.” But the Son is not a creature; for neither was it said of him, “Who makes,” but, King, and Master, and God. For a throne is attested to him, which is a symbol of kingship, and an eternal throne. And this [is said] against Paul of Samosata, who brings in as a mere man the one who is truly an eternal King; and against Arius. Behold again another symbol of kingship as well. These things are applied to God the Word as having been made flesh, inasmuch as the flesh takes upon itself the lowly things. This overthrows the Jews, and Sabellius, and Marcellus, since it sets forth two persons, God and God; and [it is] against the Marcionites, who suppose that Christ did not take flesh, [showing] that it is not the Godhead that is anointed, but the manhood. He says, then, that “God”—that is, “O God”—“God has anointed you”; that is, the Father, who is your [Father] according to the Godhead, but [your] God according to the flesh. And “oil of gladness,” that is, the Holy Spirit, “above the rest of men.” For Christ did not receive the Spirit by measure, nor as one acted upon, but he was anointed with the presence of the whole chrism and of the whole one who anoints. And his “fellows” are those who live spiritually, as having been sanctified by the same participation. For those under the Law too, the perfect and spiritual, obtained the Spirit by faith in Christ. Wherefore they were also called “christs” (anointed ones); as in the [saying], Touch not my anointed ones. And those under grace are more manifestly fellows of Christ, wherefore, having shared in his death in baptism and having been anointed with the Spirit—which is called “oil of gladness,” as having delivered us from the shame for our sins and prepared us to rejoice in the hope of the things to come. And that the “God” is equivalent to “O God,” a trustworthy witness is the elder Symmachus, who rendered it thus: “Therefore you were anointed, O God, by your God, with oil of joy above your companions.” And note the “the God,” with the article, [applied to] the Son, against those who say that “the Word was God,” being without the article, [and] therefore do not properly refer the [title] God to him.

Heb. 1:10–12. And, You, Lord, in the beginning founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They shall perish, but you remain; and they all shall grow old as a garment, and as a mantle you shall roll them up, and they shall be changed; but you are the same, and your years shall not fail. Lest, having heard above, “When he brings in the Firstborn into the world,” you should suppose it to be some newer gift bestowed upon him by the Father, he shows him to be the creator of it, not at the last, but from the beginning. And this [is] also against Paul of Samosata, establishing that Christ existed even before Mary, seeing that he is also the Creator of the creation; and against Arius, who makes him a subordinate, or rather an instrument, because it was said above, “Through whom also he made the ages.” For behold, here he is introduced as himself the creator. And observe how the discourse concerning the uncreated nature and that concerning the dispensation are interwoven, and at one time lofty things [are said] on account of the former, at another lowly things on account of the latter. He hinted at something greater than the creation: the transformation of the world. For all things shall be changed from corruption to incorruption, and as easily as if one should roll up a mantle. And if he works the transformation and re-creation to the better so easily, did he need another for the lesser creation? And it is no small consolation to the faithful here ill-treated, to know that things will not remain so, but will undergo a change. And that he, served by them, remains living and continuing forever. For “your years shall not fail.”

Heb. 1:13. But to which of the angels has he ever said: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool of your feet? Behold, again he encourages them: that their enemies are about to be vanquished, and that their enemies are the very same as those who are also against Christ. Not as though the Son were unable, is the Father said to subject the enemies; for he who is to judge there would much more have requited them here; but that he may show the honor of the Father toward the Son. For that the Father is angry at the enemies of the Son—how is this not [a mark] of honor? How not of great love toward the Son? And it has been spoken of more at length in the first [Epistle] to the Corinthians concerning this passage; and seek what was noted there.

Heb. 1:14. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth for service for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? He exalts the thoughts of his hearers, showing the great care of God toward us; seeing that he appointed even the angels, who are above us, to minister to the things pertaining to our salvation. And he seems also to be aiming at certain ones who give heed to the angels; but especially at all the Hebrews themselves, who clung to the Law given through angels, and to their ministrations under it, and preferred these to Christ. Do not, then, give heed to these, he says; for they are our fellow-servants. And observe how he does not grant the creatures a great difference; and yet the interval between angels and men is great, but nevertheless he set these near to us; for creatures exceed creatures by little. And the angels ministered both in the Old [Covenant], in many things, and in the New as well—giving oracles to Joseph, bringing good tidings to the shepherds, sitting in the tomb and declaring the Resurrection, and at the Ascension teaching that he will so come. An angel [came] to Cornelius, to Philip, to Peter in the prison, and simply countless such things. And take note that to minister to the salvation of men—nay rather, to Christ himself—is angelic. Whence one ought not to withdraw from such ministry.

Chapter 2

Heb. 2:1. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that have been heard. Since, he says, so great is the preeminence of the Son who has spoken to us, over both the prophets and the angels who ministered in the Old [Covenant], we ought to give heed to the things spoken by him more than to the Law. Yet he did not say this openly, lest he should wound them at the outset; but he gave [them ground] to reason it out as a consequence. And he says these things not as comparing the Old with the New—far from it—but with a view to their supposition, who held great opinions concerning the Old and despised the New.

Heb. 2:1. Lest at any time we drift away. That is, lest we fall away and perish. And he took the expression from the Proverbs: For, my son, he says, do not drift away; that he might show both the easiness of perishing and the grievousness of the destruction; for what has drifted away is hard to bring back.

Heb. 2:2. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast. Behold, he discloses his meaning. And by the “word spoken through angels” we must understand either the Decalogue—for it is likely that angels were present then, having been entrusted with the nation, and they themselves sounded the trumpets, and the other things, the fire, the darkness, as in [the Epistle] to the Galatians: Ordained through angels; and again, You received the law as ordained by angels,—or by “word,” all the ordinances in the Old [Covenant] administered through the angels: as in the case of the weeping, in the case of the Judges, in the case of Samson. Wherefore he did not say “law,” but “word,” that he might indicate these things. All these, then, [proved] steadfast, that is, they came to be true, and the threats issued in deed, and none of them failed.

Heb. 2:2. and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, Not this one, but not that one; rather, every one, and nothing remained unavenged. He calls the punishment a “recompense” (wage), although the name is [usually] applied to favorable things; but the Apostle is not concerned about [precise] words.

Heb. 2:3. How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? There, a word; here, a salvation. And if there too [there was] a salvation, yet not a great one; for they were saved from enemies and received the good things of the earth; but here it is exceedingly great. Therefore he said, “so great.” For the abolition of death, and the destruction of demons, and the kingdom of heaven—all come to pass for you through the things spoken to you by the Son.

Heb. 2:3. Which, having received its beginning of being spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard. Adding the [note of] trustworthiness, he says that This salvation was not spoken through prophets or angels, but by the Master of all himself; from the very fountain it had its beginning; then it was conveyed also to us, surely and faithfully, through the very eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word. Which Luke also says. For they surely gave us full assurance. How then does he say elsewhere that he did not hear from men? Because there it was great and necessary for him to establish the urgent point, that he is not a disciple of men. For he was being slandered as not having heard the Lord; and on this account his preaching was in danger of being disbelieved among the disciples. But now there is not so much need of this. For neither did he preach to the Hebrews, nor was he slandered among these as a disciple of men, and not of Christ. Or [it is] because here too, by adding “God bearing witness with them by signs and wonders,” he shows that not from men, but from God, did he receive these things.

Heb. 2:4. God bearing witness with them by signs and wonders. Having said that it was confirmed, he shows how. For lest anyone say that “Those who heard fabricated [it],” God, he says, bears witness with them; but he would not have borne witness, were they fabrications. They bear witness, he says, themselves; and God bears witness with them, not uttering a voice, but confirming by signs and wonders the things they say. So that we believe God, not men.

Heb. 2:4. And by manifold powers. Indicating the abundance of the gifts of grace, he said “manifold.” For never were so many signs, and so various, brought to pass. And since the sorcerers too do many things, he said “powers.” For those [of the sorcerers] are not powers, but weakness, and illusion, and empty things.

Heb. 2:4. And by distributions of the Holy Spirit, according to his will. This too he added for the same reason. For the things of the sorcerers are not of the Holy Spirit, but deceits of unclean demons. And he hints also at something else. For it is likely that there were not many there who had gifts of grace, but that these had failed because of their sluggishness. Therefore, that he may console them in this, he says that the distributions of the Spirit come to pass according to his will. He himself knows what is profitable for each, and so apportions the grace. Often, because of an unclean life, one does not receive a gift of grace; often, though having a clean life, one does not receive [it], lest he be lifted up. Wherefore they were given rather to the humble and unpretentious.

Heb. 2:5. For it was not to angels that he subjected the world to come. Still showing the preeminence of the Son over the angels, he says that it was not to these that he subjected the world—that is, this creation—but to the Son. And he calls it “to come,” because the Son of God always was, but this was about to come to be, not existing before, that is. So far, then, as concerns the eternal existence of the Son, the world was “to come.”

Heb. 2:5. Concerning which we speak. That is, concerning which we said above that, “When he brings in the Firstborn into the world.” Let not your mind, then, wander off seeking another. But some understood by “the world to come” the world that is to be. Concerning which, he says, is our whole discourse. For then the angels shall stand by as servants, but the Son shall sit as judge. But one somewhere testified, saying: What is man, that you are mindful of him? or the son of man, that you visit him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor; you subjected all things under his feet. He does not name the one who spoke, since he is conversing with those skilled in the Scriptures. All these things were said both of the common manhood; yet more properly would they suit Christ according to the flesh. For indeed the Son of God visited human nature, which was nothing, and taking it to himself and uniting it to himself, he was shown to be higher than all.

Heb. 2:8. For in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing not subjected to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. Since they were being persecuted and suffering ill, lest they should say, “How do you say that he subjected all things, seeing that we are persecuted and suffer ill at the hands of his enemies? so that they are not yet subjected, and you deceive us”; on this account, therefore, he says: Be not troubled, nor faint-hearted; for all things are about to be subjected to him. For this reason the Scripture said, “He subjected”—setting down what will surely come to pass, even if it has not yet happened, as though it had already arrived. Be not, then, distressed at suffering ill; the preaching has not yet prevailed over all, it is not yet the time for [all things] to be perfectly subjected, yet subjected they surely will be.

Heb. 2:9. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, on account of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor. He is eager to show that the things said suit Christ, and he says that, Even if the “He subjected all things” does not seem to suit him so [readily]—although we have shown that this too will surely come to pass—yet the “made a little lower than the angels” suits him rather than us. For he, having been three days in Hades as man, was made a little lower than the angels, inasmuch as they are not subject to death at all; but we, being corrupted for a long time, are made not a little, but very much, lower than they. And the “crowned with glory and honor on account of the suffering” suits him rather than us. And by saying “the suffering of death,” he indicated the true death. For it was not an illusion of death, but a real and active suffering. And he reminded them of the cross and the death, that he might persuade them to bear their afflictions nobly, looking to their Teacher. But also, he says, the cross became glory and honor to him; therefore your afflictions too [are glory and honor] to you, yes, your sufferings. Why then do you shrink from the things that crown [you]? He suffered for you, the slave; will you not endure to be afflicted for him, the Master?

Heb. 2:9. That by the grace of God he might taste death for every one. For God, not as owing anything to us, but by grace, gave his Son to death, and not for the faithful only, but for the whole world. For even if not all were saved, yet he for his part fulfilled what was his. And he well said, “might taste.” For just as one who truly tasted, so, having made but a little interval in death, he immediately rose again. Whence in this too he is better than the angels, in that he was shown to be above death. For just as a physician, seeing the sick man dreading to taste the food set before him, himself tastes it first, that he may persuade the sick man to take it courageously; so also the Lord, seeing us dreading death, tasted of it, although he had no necessity [to do so]. For he was not subject to it, but the whole was grace, that, having shown it to be nothing, he might persuade us too to take courage against it. But the Nestorians, corrupting the Scripture, say: “Apart from God he tasted death for every one,” that they may establish that the Godhead was not present with Christ crucified, as not being united to him according to hypostasis, but according to relation. To whom a certain Orthodox, mocking their folly, said that, Let the Scripture stand, as you say, and even so the saying is for us. For “apart from God,” he died for every other one, and even for the angels themselves, that he might dissolve their enmity toward us and procure joy for them.

Heb. 2:10. For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things, That is, the Father; and “for whom are all things,” that is, he is the cause of all things. And through whom are all things. Observe the “through whom,” set down of the Father. But it would not have been, if it were [a mark] of inferiority and belonged to the Son alone, applied to the Father. And learn what the “through whom” signifies. Since he said “for whom are all things,” lest anyone conceive something absurd, that he himself needs all things—for the preposition “through” signifies some such thing too, as when we say, “On account of man the creation was brought forth”—he added the “through whom,” explaining that the “for whom” is to be understood thus: as “through him,” that is, “by him,” all things having come to be. So that, in the case of the Son too, whenever the “through whom” is said, receive it thus, as equivalent to “by whom.”

Heb. 2:10. In bringing many sons to glory, to make perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. From the “You crowned him with glory and honor” he begins. And what he says is of this kind: The Father did a thing worthy of his love for mankind, in showing forth the firstborn of all the sons who are to enjoy his glory more brilliant than all through sufferings, that he might show the others too how one must contend. And “the author of their salvation,” that is, the cause. And observe how great is the interval: both he is Son and we are sons; but he both saves, while we are saved; we are joined to him, and again we are separated. “Bringing many sons to glory”—in this we share with him; “the author of their salvation”—in this we are separated from him. And take note that the sufferings are perfecting, and causes of salvation; and that he who suffers for someone not only benefits that one, but himself becomes more brilliant and more perfect. And understand “perfecting” here as the glory wherewith he was glorified; and receive this according to the human [nature]: or [understand] that he had the glory naturally, yet so far as concerns us he was without glory, inasmuch as he was not recognized. But since after the cross he was recognized and glorified, he is said to receive glory, which, though possessing it naturally, he did not have from us as antecedently rendered to him. But the holy Cyril says that the “perfecting” is immortality, which was wanting to Christ in that he was man; and the Father supplied this to him through the Resurrection. For having risen, death no longer has dominion over him. And he deemed the whole [human] nature in him worthy of this perfecting.

Heb. 2:11. For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of one. Behold, again he shows this, that we are brothers of Christ, and that we have been so honored. For “he who sanctifies,” he says—that is, Christ—“and those who are sanctified”—that is, we—“are all of one,” that is, of the Father. But the one, as genuine Son and from the very essence of the Father; while we [are] creatures. And observe in the very words the preeminence. He sanctifies, but we are sanctified. So that there is both identity and preeminence.

Heb. 2:11–12. For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Saying: I will declare your name to my brethren; in the midst of the Church I will hymn you. Observe here too the preeminence. For by saying “he is not ashamed,” he shows that this is not of the nature of the thing, but of the tender affection of the one who is not ashamed. For though we are of one, yet great is the interval, even as great as [that between] Creator and creatures. For having put on the flesh, he put on also the brotherhood, and the brotherhood came together [with it]. Yet again the preeminence. For “I will declare,” he says, to those who are darkened, to those who are ignorant; like to this is the [saying], “I have manifested your name to men.”

Heb. 2:13. And again: I will be confident in him. And through this too he shows that he became man, and our brother. For just as each of men [does], so he too is confident in him, that is, in the Father; at the same time also showing us that we ought to be confident in God alone, seeing that he himself, being Son, and lacking nothing, nevertheless says that he is confident in the Father. But some understood it thus: Since, they say, above he called Christ “brother,” and below “father,” in the middle he shows that those [names] are of the dispensation at the last; but his pre-eternal name is “God.” For who is properly confident in any other than in God? “As though he said: Lest, hearing him [called] brother and father, you should suppose him to be one of the many; he is God, he says, in whom it is written that one must be confident;” so that the saying is not, as from the person of Christ, but of the prophet saying that “I the prophet shall be confident in him, in Christ, as God.” But such an interpretation is not well-fitting.

Heb. 2:13. And again: Behold, I and the children whom God has given me. Here he makes Christ our father. And the “has given,” [is said] on account of the good pleasure of the Father at his being made flesh. For unless [the Father] had been well pleased that the Son be made flesh, neither would he have had children.

Heb. 2:14. Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he too likewise partook of the same. Let them be ashamed here, who say that he came in appearance and seeming. For he did not say only that he partook of flesh and blood, as the children—that is, the rest of men—did; although, even if he had said this only, it would have been enough to establish that he was truly made flesh; but he added also the “likewise,” that he might establish the unvarying and true incarnation with respect to us.

Heb. 2:14. That through death he might bring to nought him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. He sets down the cause of the dispensation. That, he says, through his own death, which he undertook in that he partook of flesh and blood, he might bring to nought the devil, who had the power of death. How? Through sin; for since he made men sin through their disobedience toward [sin], he it was who fashioned death, using it as a soldier, as it were, and a mighty weapon against human nature. This very [weapon], then, Christ used against him. And this is indeed [a mark] of great power and intelligence, to slay the enemy by the very weapon with which he was slaying many. But some understood it thus: “Him who had the power”—the power, that is, of sin—“that is, the devil,” which [sin] is the strength and might of death.

Heb. 2:15. And might deliver those who through fear of death were all their life subject to bondage, that is, that he might set free the men who were slaves of death, and feared it, and were partakers with it—that is, held fast in the bondage under it, inasmuch as it had not yet been abolished; or because the men of old lived continually, ever expecting to die, and on account of this fear were unable to take perception of any pleasure. For he said, “all their life.” They were, then, subject to bondage, that is, they ever trembled, like slaves before a bitter master, death, enjoying nothing pleasant. And gather from this that all those [under the old order] were unfree and slaves of all things. This too is a consolation to the afflicted faithful, seeing that those now driven and bound live more freely and pleasantly than those of old who seemed to live in luxury, when death prevailed. For those, shaken by the fear of death, were slaves; but you have been delivered from it.

Heb. 2:16. For surely it is not of angels that he takes hold. That is, he did not lay hold of the nature of the angels, but he bore this [nature of ours]. And this shows the great love of God toward the human race. For what he did not bestow upon the angels, this he gave to men—to take flesh from them.

Heb. 2:16. But he takes hold of the seed of Abraham. He did not say, “he took up,” but “he takes hold,” that he might show that he pursued our nature as it fled and was being removed afar; and overtaking it, he laid hold of it, and clothed himself with it, uniting it to himself, and stayed it from its flight from him. And he did not say, “Of the nature of men,” but, “of the seed of Abraham”; at once both wishing to exalt them, and to show their race honorable, and that they have in this an advantage over the Gentiles, in that from them is the Lord—for he ever shows them favor, wherein no one is harmed—and at the same time reminding them of the promise, that To you and to your seed will I give this land. Since, then, he consented to lay hold of our nature, it followed of necessity that he should be made like to us in all things—that is, be born, be nourished, grow, suffer all that was fitting, and at last die; for this is the “made like in all things.”

Heb. 2:17. That he might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things pertaining to God. For no other reason, he says, did he take our flesh, than that through it he might have mercy on us, and raise us up who lay below. How? By becoming our High Priest, and offering this flesh, which he assumed from us, in the stead of some other victim, that he might cleanse us from our sins, and mediate for us in the things pertaining to God; for we had been made enemies to him. And “faithful,” that is, true, and able to fulfill the work of the High Priest; for this is [the mark] of a true High Priest, to deliver from sins those whose High Priest he is; or [it means] that he is well received by God in his mediations toward him.

Heb. 2:17. To make propitiation for the sins of the people. He showed what it is to be “faithful in the things pertaining to God”; that is, so as to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For this is the great proof of his love, that he did all things in order to loose [our] sins. And why did he not say, “the sins of the world,” but, “of the people”? Because for the present the Lord’s discourse was concerning the Jews, and on their account he came chiefly, that they being saved, the others too might be saved through them—even though the contrary has come to pass. And the angel too [said] to Joseph, He, he says, shall save his people from their sins. He shows, then, here the Jewish nobility, and of how much account they were with the Lord.

Heb. 2:18. For in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. This seems lowly and mean, and unworthy of God. For whenever Paul takes hold of the flesh, he utters all lowly things—yet not unworthy of the flesh; and no wonder, since even concerning the Father, who was not made flesh, the Scripture says many things befitting man and lowly: The Lord looked down from heaven, and saw the sons of men; and, Going down I will see; and countless such things. Much more, then, concerning Christ, who for the sake of [our] sins was made flesh and suffered in the flesh, [is it said]; and otherwise too, for the full assurance of the hearers, and on account of their weakness, was it spoken; for indeed men hold experience to be more trustworthy than all things. And what he says is of this kind: Not as God only does he know [it], but also as man he has come to know it through experience. For the very flesh of Christ suffered many things; it knows what affliction is, it knows what temptation is; so that he is able to help, that is, he is ready to give a hand of compassion.

Chapter 3

Heb. 3:1. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling. “Wherefore,” that is, since I said that he is such a High Priest—faithful, and making propitiation for our sins, and able to help—consider, and you will find this altogether to be so. And “partakers,” he says, “of a heavenly calling”; that is, we have been called yonder; let us seek nothing here; yonder is the reward, yonder the recompense.

Heb. 3:1. Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ. On account of the flesh, all [these] lowly [titles], as has often been said. He is “Apostle,” from his having been sent to the sheep of the house of Israel. And “High Priest of our confession,” that is, of our faith; for he is not High Priest of the priesthood according to the Law, but of our faith.

Heb. 3:2. Being faithful to him who made him, as Moses also was in all his house. Being about to set Christ before Moses, he brought into the midst the high-priesthood, and says that, Both this one and that one were entrusted with a people, but unlike is the commission of the one [and the other]. Yet for the present, at the outset, he does not show the preeminence, lest they start away; for even though they were faithful, still they were somewhat attached to Moses; but for now he sets the Lord on a level with him, and says that, This one too is faithful to the Father who made him High Priest and Apostle. For the discourse here is not concerning the bringing into being [of his essence], but concerning the appointment. “Faithful,” then, that is, well-disposed, presiding over the things of the Father, and not suffering them to be corrupted, but procuring salvation for them. “As Moses also in all his house,” that is, among the people. For he calls the people a “house,” as we too are wont to say, “So-and-so is of such a house.” And “his,” whether of God, or of Moses. For the people was called Moses’ also, as in the [saying], Your people has sinned. As a steward, he says, and manager of a house, so was Moses to the people.

Heb. 3:3–4. For this one has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by so much as he who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone; but he who built all things is God. Behold, here too the preeminence which the Lord has over Moses. He says, then, that, Faithful indeed was that one too in all the house, that is, among the people; yet he himself too was one of the house; for he too was a man, as also the rest; even if holy, yet a fellow-servant with them; as in households the stewards too, even if they take precedence of the rest, yet are fellow-servants with the others. Since, then, he too was a part of the house, he too was created by someone, and the one who created him surely surpasses him. And it was the Son of God who created him—he who took flesh, and was named High Priest on his account; and he therefore surpasses him. See, then, how he began the comparison from the flesh, but ascended to the Godhead, and showed that the Maker incomparably surpasses the thing made.

Heb. 3:5–6. And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of the things that were to be spoken; but Christ as a Son. Behold, he shows another preeminence as well: that Moses was faithful as a servant, appointed for this, that he might speak the things of the Master to the rest of the house, and be a witness to God in the judgment of the things spoken. For if he calls heaven and earth a witness, as in the [saying], Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth; and the valleys, as in Hear, O valleys, the foundations of the earth; much more a man. But Christ is faithful as a genuine Son and heir, administering the things of the Father according to the will of the Father. And exceedingly great and incomparable is the interval between such a Master and a servant.

Heb. 3:6. Over his house; whose house we are, if indeed we hold fast the boldness and the boasting of the hope firm to the end. The people was Moses’ house, of which he too was a part. Christ too has a house, [namely] us; but [we are his house] if we stand firm to the end and do not fall away. For here he exhorts them to be patient in their afflictions and not to grow slack; for thus we shall be the house of God, even as Moses was. And he praises them, showing that they have begun, but that one must add the end also. And he well said “boldness and boasting of hope.” For he who hopes firmly that there will be a recompense boasts even now already, as though the things hoped for had already come to pass, and does not sink down, but rather has boldness, whenever he is afflicted for the sake of Christ whom he loves.

Heb. 3:7–11. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness; where your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Therefore I was grieved with that generation, and said: They always go astray in heart; but they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. He discoursed concerning hope, and that one must firmly expect some reward yonder, and rest in exchange for the labors here; and he shows this from the prophet, who says that The believers are about to enter into rest, while those who disbelieve shall not enter, just as neither did those of old. For after the Hebrews had crossed the Red Sea, and received in the wilderness countless proofs of God’s care for them and of his power, they resolved to send spies to examine the nature of the land into which they were about to enter. And these, when they had gone and returned, marveled indeed at the nature of the land, yet said that men unconquerable in war dwelt in it. They, then, who ought to have reckoned on the unconquerable power of God, being terrified by these words, murmured, and thought they ought to turn back to Egypt. God, therefore, being angry, because they so quickly thrust away the memory of so many marvels, swore that that generation which had murmured should not enter into the land of promise; and indeed all perished in the wilderness, save Caleb and Joshua. Since, then, after that generation David, discoursing, said that “Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts,” that you suffer not the same things as your forefathers, and be deprived of the rest; it is plain that he says these things as though there were some other rest which we ought to obtain. For if they had truly received the rest, for what reason does he say, “Today harden not your hearts, as the fathers, and you shall not enter into the rest”? What, then, is the other rest, but the kingdom of heaven, of which both the Sabbath is an image, and the entry, figuratively accomplished, into Palestine of the children of the generation that disbelieved? For there are three rests: that of the Sabbath, on which God rested from his works, concerning which David does not seem now to speak, inasmuch as it came to pass of old; and the entry into the land of promise, into which the Jews having entered were to rest from wars and wandering. Neither does he now speak concerning this; for Palestine was at that time held by the Hebrews in the days of David. How then does he speak of this, as though it were yet to come? It seems, then, that there is some other rest, into which Joshua the son of Nun was unable to bring the people. And what would this be, but the [rest] in the heavens? Be earnest, then, that you fall not away from it through unbelief, as your forefathers also did. This, then, is the sense of the whole passage, running through a great extent; but we must go through the particulars as well. And consider that one must not demand a reckoning of God, but, whether he presides [over us] or not, believe in him. For this too he charges against them, that they tempted him who is able to do all things.

Heb. 3:12. Watch out, brothers, that there not be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, The word is that of one putting them in fear. For it seems that there were certain ones disbelieving, as though the things said concerning the recompense were not true, and on this account wishing to take experience of the power of God, and of his providence toward them, in the temptations which they had. On account of these things, therefore, he makes them secure, reminding them of what those who disbelieved of old suffered. For the fearful things to come do not so restrain the many as the things past, and already become familiar. And observe that from unbelief one comes also to reckon evil things and to do them.

Heb. 3:12. leading you to fall away from the living God. For otherwise unbelief finds no entrance, unless one depart from God. For so long as one cleaves to God and is confident in him as able to do all things, he holds nothing impossible.

Heb. 3:13. but encourage one another every day, as long as it is called Today, That is, build one another up, and support one another, so as not to fall. And if anyone should fall, set him right while he yet lives; for this is what the “while it is called Today” indicates; for there is hope. Best of all, then, let there be no evil heart in any one; but if such should come to be, let him not fall into despair, but exhort him and take him up again.

Heb. 3:13. Lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. That is, lest, out of despair, he come into callousness and remain incurable. For just as bodies that are calloused and hard do not yield to the hands of physicians, so also souls that have been hardened do not yield to the word of God. And he calls “the deceitfulness of sin” either the deceit of the devil—that is, the not hoping that there will be a recompense—or [the deceit of] insensibility. For to say, “Henceforth I have sinned once for all, I have no hopes,” is truly a deceitfulness of sin. For sin, deceiving and drawing [one] to itself, makes [him] reckon such things, according to the [saying]: The ungodly, when he has come into the depth of evils, despises. And he who despises does not even endure to believe. From sin, then, comes unbelief. For they said, he says, that The Lord will not see, neither will the God of Jacob understand. And again: For he said in his heart, He will not require it; and, God has forgotten; and whatever follows upon the same.

Heb. 3:14. For we have become partakers of Christ. That is, we and he have become one; and so we partake of him, as the body of the head. And here he instills hopes in them, as though saying this: He who so loved us as even to make [us] his body, will not suffer us to be torn away from him, if only we ourselves are willing. And at the same time he hints also at that which has been said elsewhere: If we endure, we shall also reign with him. For partaking now of the same things as Christ—the afflictions, that is—let us be earnest then also to partake of the glory.

Heb. 3:14. If indeed we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end. That is, the faith; for through it we were given subsistence, and were brought into being to the divine and spiritual being and regeneration. Yea, here too he requires that we stand firm to the end in the faith.

Heb. 3:15. In that it is said: “Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts,” as in the provocation. He establishes how he said “to the end”; and he says that this is shown in the saying, “Today.” For the “Today” is always; even as above too he said: Exhort one another, while it is called Today. Or—which is rather to be preferred, as having been said by John, [numbered] among the saints—it is by way of transposition: “In that it is said, Today, if you hear his voice,” and what follows, “let us fear lest, a promise being left,” and what follows.

Heb. 3:16. For some, when they had heard, provoked. Having heard, he says, the promise of God, that “I will give you the land of the Canaanites,” they disbelieved, and provoked God through their unbelief. Take heed, then, lest you too disbelieve the things promised. For the mere hearing will not profit you, unless you also believe. Just as neither did the hearing profit those; and [you would be guilty] with the more justice, in that you disbelieved the words of God.

Heb. 3:16. But not all who came out of Egypt through Moses. For Caleb and Joshua did not disbelieve. Wherefore they also obtained the promise, and entered into Palestine.

Heb. 3:17. And with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with those who had sinned, whose limbs fell in the wilderness? He makes the discourse by way of question, for the sake of greater clarity and irrefutability. For things [put] by way of question are set down concerning matters acknowledged. And he set forth the punishment besides. For their limbs fell, he says, in the wilderness, that is, their great thigh-bones. And from the part he indicated the whole bodies.

Heb. 3:18–19. And to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient? And it is plain that they were unable to enter because of their unbelief. Above he said “those who had sinned”; now, “those who were disobedient.” He seems, then, to be hinting to these believers from among the Hebrews, that they too were halting into other sins as well, along with being faint-hearted and disbelieving the things to come. Those, then, who were disobedient, we see that they did not enter; that is, the penalty of sin is before our eyes and acknowledged.

Chapter 4

Heb. 4:1. Let us fear, therefore, lest, a promise being left of entering into his rest, Here is the apodosis of the [clause], “In that it is said, Today, if you hear his voice,” and what follows: namely, let us fear lest the same things befall us also. And the “therefore” was set down because the discourse was rendered after a long [interval], a recapitulation having been made.

Heb. 4:1. any of you should seem to have come short. That is, lest he come short and be left behind from entering into this rest that has been promised. And making the discourse more exact and less burdensome, he did not say, “lest he come short,” but, “lest he seem to have come short.”

Heb. 4:2. For we too have had good tidings preached to us, even as they; but the word of hearing did not profit them. We too have had good tidings preached concerning the good things to come, just as they had figuratively concerning the land. [Yet] simply [hearing] will not profit us, unless we also believe, and lay aside all faint-heartedness, just as neither did the hearing profit them. And observe how, in our case, he called the matter “good tidings” (an evangel), as being the promise of true good things, and as given from a trophy and a victory; but in their case, “a word of hearing.”

Heb. 4:2. Not being mingled by faith with those who heard. That is, not being united nor brought into one mind through faith with those who heard, but being torn away from them. And admirably he did not say, “not agreeing,” but, “not being mingled,” that he might indicate the utmost union. And by “those who heard” he here means those who believed; for these would truly be called “those who heard.” But John, [numbered] among the saints, understood “not being mingled” of those around Caleb and Joshua. For these remained free of faction, neither were they mingled, nor did they stand together and perish together with the others who were in faction and held one mind with all. But with which [did they not mingle]? With those who heard and were nothing profited? But the saint, having said this according to his great and deep wisdom, did not grant to me, at least, the unworthy one, to understand how he meant it.

Heb. 4:3. For we who have believed do enter into the rest, as he has said: As I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. Whence is it plain that we who have believed shall enter into the rest? From God’s saying that those who disbelieved shall not enter. For this is understood by way of contrast, and just as to those who disbelieved the recompense of their unbelief was the not entering, so also we, on the contrary, having believed, shall receive as the reward of our faith the entering in.

Heb. 4:3–4. Although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has spoken somewhere of the seventh [day] thus: And God rested on the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again: They shall [not] enter into my rest. The discourse seems to be inconsequent, but it is not; rather, this is what he says: that No one can say that David speaks concerning the rest of the Sabbath; for how [could he], seeing that it came to pass of old, even when at the beginning the world received its constitution? But it is plain that David speaks concerning some other rest; which is inclined also toward the [age] to come, as though, that is, certain ones ought to enter in thereafter. And just as the Sabbath is called a “rest” by the Scripture, and nothing hindered another rest from being so called thereafter—namely, the entry into the land of promise—so neither does anything now hinder yet another rest after this from being called [so], the [rest] that is to come, I mean the kingdom of heaven, into which those who disbelieved shall not enter.

Heb. 4:6–7. Since therefore it remains that some must enter into it, and those who formerly had good tidings preached to them did not enter in because of disobedience, again he defines a certain day, “Today,” saying in David, after so long a time, as it has been said: Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day. The whole of this he is eager to show: that Joshua the son of Nun was unable to bring [them] into this rest, concerning which David too discourses, and we now. And since that one did not bring [them] in, but David says again, after so many years, “Harden not your hearts, as the fathers,” who because of unbelief did not enter, and gives us to understand by way of the contrary, that if we believe, we shall enter in; it is plain that this rest is yet to come, and awaits us. For surely David was not promising concerning Palestine; for this they held at that time. But indeed [he was speaking] concerning the seventh [day]; for this was from the foundation of the world. There is, then, a third [rest], the kingdom of the heavens, into which the true Joshua [Jesus] brings [us], and faith in him.

Heb. 4:9. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. He did not say “rest,” but “Sabbath-rest,” setting down a proper name, and one in which they rejoiced and to which they hastened. And thus he calls the kingdom of the heavens. For just as on the Sabbath the Law commanded [men] to abstain from all fleshly and gross works, and the priests to perform those things only which pertain to the worship of God and which profit the soul; so also then all things shall be spiritual and divine; nothing fleshly, nothing impeding, where pain, grief, and sighing have fled away. And hear what he himself says.

Heb. 4:10. For he who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from his own. He explains how he named such a rest a “Sabbath-rest.” Because, he says, we too rest from our works, just as God also, having rested from the works pertaining to the constitution of the world, named the day “Sabbath.” For here, even for the righteous, [there is] much toil and struggle, both in other respects and on account of the sweats of virtue; but there [there is] not even the labor of moral virtue, but enjoyment of God. That very thing, then, which they longed to hear—that they would be delivered from the present toilsomeness—this he said, restoring them.

Heb. 4:11. Let us be earnest, therefore, to enter into that rest. Since he had shown that there is also a third rest, henceforth he exhorts them to enter into it. And he well said “let us be earnest.” For faith by itself alone does not suffice to bring [one] into it, unless a good manner of life accompany it as well.

Heb. 4:11. Lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience. After the same [example] as the Israelites. For just as those, having accomplished the greater part of the way and having suffered hardship, nevertheless fell away because of their unbelief; so you too, take heed lest, after so many struggles which you have undergone, you fall, as not having played the man to the end; for this is truly to fall.

Heb. 4:12. For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. Just as then, he says, it was not war, nor sword, that destroyed those, but the word of God—for of their own accord they fell down—so also will it be in our case. For the same word both chastised those and will chastise us. For it lives always, and is not extinguished. And otherwise too he said “living,” lest, hearing “word,” you should suppose it a word without subsistence. It is living, he says—that is, subsisting and active—and into whatever soul it falls, it works grievous blows. And observe the condescension, how he made mention of a sword and of cutting, things customary and known to us, that from these he might show the surpassing greatness of [its] power.

Heb. 4:12. And piercing even to the division of soul and spirit. He says something fearful: either that it divides the spirit from the soul, and leaves it bereft of the holiness [that comes] from this—which the Lord in the Gospel named a “cutting asunder.” For just as, when a ruler under a king has sinned, his belt is taken away, and his rank first, and then he is punished; so here too the man is deprived of the spiritual rank, and then is punished. Or [it means] that it reaches even to the bodiless beings themselves. But some understood the saying thus—not, as it seems to me, in accordance with the apostolic aim—that the word of God, entering into the soul, divides and parts its parts, making it receptive and capable of the mystery. For just as the arrow, dividing the flesh, so falls into it; so also the word, unless it divide the close-packed parts of the soul, would not enter into it.

Heb. 4:12. And of joints and marrow. Lest, hearing the things of the soul, they should grow slack, as though the punishment were unseen, he sets forth also the things of the body. For the more manifest things strike [men] the more.

Heb. 4:12. And a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Here he indicates the Godhead of the Word. For it is God’s to discern—that is, to examine and to know all thoughts. For he searches, he says, the hearts and the reins, [even] God.

Heb. 4:13. And there is no creature hidden from his sight. Not only, he says, does he examine and search the hearts of men, but even angels, even archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim—all things are manifest to him. There is nothing that can escape his eye.

Heb. 4:13. But all things are naked and laid open to his eyes. That he might show more vividly how all things are naked and manifest before God, he used an expression drawn from a metaphor of sheep that are flayed. For just as, when these have had their necks broken—that is, having received the knife upon the neck and been slaughtered—after the skin has been drawn off, all the inward parts too are laid bare; so also to God all things are manifest. But some understood “laid open” (lit. taken by the neck) as the things [hanging] from the neck, or rather hung upon the neck. And others [understood] “laid open” as the things bending downward and having the neck bowed under, because of being unable to look steadily upon the glory of the Judge and our God, Jesus Christ. But do you receive the first [interpretation].

Heb. 4:13. With whom we have to do (lit. to whom is our account). To him, he says, are we about to render the accounts and the reckonings of the things we have done. Do you see where he has brought the matter to its summit? For lest, hearing “after the same example of disobedience,” you should suppose the punishment to be the same both for us and for the Israelites, he shows through these things that ours is far more terrible.

Heb. 4:14. Having then a great High Priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. As though to one who had said, “Counsel us, then, not to fall, but not to be faint-hearted,” he says: Sufficient indeed are the things already said to instruct us by fear and make us more secure; but besides, we have also a High Priest able to help us, if only we hold fast the confession; for he is not small and ordinary, but great—for [he is] the Son of God. And such [a High Priest] as Moses [was not]. For that one neither entered himself into the rest, nor brought the people in; but this one, having passed through the heavens, sits enthroned with the Father, and is able to give us the entry into the heavens, and to make us heirs of the outpouring [of good things] in the promises.

Heb. 4:14. Let us hold fast the confession. He does not give the whole to the High Priest, but requires also the things on our part. For that one is able to help, but [only] if we too are worthy. And what confession does he here mean? That there is a resurrection, that there is a requital, that there are countless good things yonder, that Christ is God. Let us hold fast this confession, let us not suffer it to slip away from us; but the things which we confessed at the beginning of [our] faith, these let us firmly retain, and all the fearful things will depart.

Heb. 4:15. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. Exhorting them to be confident, he makes the discourse trustworthy, and says that, The High Priest is not ignorant of our affairs, like the many high priests, who do not even know what affliction ever is; wherefore neither are they ready to help the afflicted; but our High Priest has undergone all things, and after undergoing [them], then he ascended, that he might be able to sympathize.

Heb. 4:15. But [one] tempted in all things in like manner, without sin. That is, he was persecuted, spat upon, slandered, driven away, and at last crucified. All these things he endured according to our likeness—that is, in the same manner as we—yet without sin; for neither did he simply commit sin, nor, when he suffered these things, did he say or do anything sinful. So that you too are able, in your afflictions, to pass your life without sin. How then are you unstrung and slackened? But some understood the “without sin” thus: that, they say, he did not suffer these things as paying penalties for sins.

Heb. 4:16. Let us therefore come with boldness to the throne of grace. Since, he says, we have a sinless High Priest who has overcome the world—“For be of good cheer, he says, I have overcome the world”—we ought to come with boldness, that is, not having an evil conscience, nor doubting, but being confident in the High Priest. For even if we have sins, yet he is sinless. And besides, it is a throne of grace, not of judgment; so that we must approach with boldness, being confident that he will grant us the things we desire. For there are two thrones: the one now, of grace, at which those who approach receive by divine grace the redemption of their sins; the other, the throne of the Second Coming, not of grace—for no one then receives remission—but of judgment. And he made mention of a throne, lest, hearing “High Priest,” you should suppose that he stands. For even if he is called High Priest, as man, on account of his grace and condescension toward us, yet he also sits upon the divine throne.

Heb. 4:16. That we may receive mercy, and find grace for timely help. For now, if we approach, we shall find mercy and grace; for we approach in good time; but if then, no longer; for there is then no throne of grace. Now the King sits bestowing grace; then he rises up to judgment. For arise, he says, O God, judge the earth.

Chapter 5

Heb. 5:1. For every high priest, taken from among men, is appointed on behalf of men in the things pertaining to God. He wishes, then, to show that the New Covenant is far better than the Old; and he begins first to compare the priesthoods—both that of the priests of old, and that of Christ—and shows the great superiority of Christ’s. But meanwhile, since it was objected against him that many of the things which ought to belong to priests do not belong to Christ—for he was neither of a priestly tribe, nor a priest upon earth, nor appointed by men, nor, to speak simply, did the form of his priesthood have any bodily display, such as bells and plates, but all things spiritual—he first enumerates the things which are common to Christ with the rest of the high priests, then sets down also the things that are distinctive. For superiority by comparison truly comes about then, when in some things one has community, but in others excels. Now to be taken from among men is common to Christ with the rest. For he too, being man, became High Priest. And to be appointed on behalf of men in the things pertaining to God—that is, to mediate—this too is common.

Heb. 5:1. so that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He explains what it is to be appointed on behalf of men toward God: it is, he says, to propitiate God for sins. And this too is common to Christ with the others; yet not wholly: for he offered himself, but those others offered certain other things. And how gift and sacrifice, according to the precise account, differ, but in the Scripture are taken without distinction, you will learn below.

Heb. 5:2. Being able to deal measuredly with the ignorant and erring. That is, to be moderate with, to suffer along with, to condescend to, and to be forbearing toward those who sin out of ignorance. And observe that every sin is begotten by ignorance and error. For even if one seem to know the evil, yet at the moment of the act, being darkened, he is sick with ignorance and error, bewitched by the smoothness of the pleasure.

Heb. 5:2. Since he also is compassed with weakness. The simpler interpretation—and, I think, the truer—is this: that the High Priest deals measuredly with the ignorant for this reason, because he too is compassed with weakness, and knowing in himself the measure of human weakness, he metes out forgiveness accordingly. Some, however, understood it thus: that in this alone the high priest differs from the people, in being forbearing; since in other respects he too is perhaps compassed with weakness like the many.

Heb. 5:3. And on account of this he is bound, as concerning the people, so also concerning himself, to offer for sins. Behold, all things are no longer common to Christ with the rest, but in these he excels. For neither did the Lord have weakness—that of sins—nor did he offer for himself, but for the rest of men.

Heb. 5:4. And no one takes the honor to himself, but he who is called by God. He sets down yet another mark of a high priest, seen also in Christ: not to leap upon the priesthood of oneself, but, being called by God, so to receive it. And here he hints at the high priests of the Jews at that time, who leaped upon the honor, acquiring it for a price and corrupting the law.

Heb. 5:4. Even as also Aaron. For Aaron too, at the beginning being called by God through Moses, so served as priest, not leaping upon it of himself. And again, when the rod budded, it was shown that he was put forward by God; and when the fire devoured those who leaped upon the priesthood.

Heb. 5:5–6. So also Christ glorified not himself to become High Priest, but he who spoke to him: You are my Son, today I have begotten you. As also in another place he says: You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. That which Christ everywhere said—that “I was sent from the Father, and I have not come of myself”—this Paul too now shows, that he was sent from God, and did not glorify himself, but he who spoke to him—that is, that One—glorified him; for take this in common to both clauses. Since, then, the priest after Aaron had many perceptible proofs of being put forward by God, as has been said before, but Christ none perceptible—nay rather, even those who opposed him and killed him were for the time in good repute, and carried and bore away all things—he shows the greater thing, that he is witnessed by prophecy to be put forward by God. But the prophecy from the second Psalm seems to be unfitted to the matter in hand. For it was proposed, surely, to demonstrate Christ a high priest put forward by God, but this testimony declares his being begotten of the Father. Most of all, then, the being begotten of God is a preparation for the being ordained by God. Then reckon also this in addition: that since in the hundred and ninth Psalm he had said, From the womb before the morning star have I begotten you, then after a little he subjoined, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek; Paul here united the things spoken in both Psalms concerning the begetting, as though saying this: Do not suppose that the words “You are a priest forever” are spoken concerning some other, but rather concerning him who was begotten before the morning star; and this is none other than he who in the second Psalm is said to be begotten “this day.” For there, “before the morning star” signifies the timelessness; and “this day” signifies the from-the-beginning—that is, from the Father. And that the second Psalm refers all things to Christ is manifest. Concerning Christ, therefore, is also the “You are a priest forever.” But let the Jews say what other priest after the order of Melchizedek there ever was, save Christ. Were not all under the law? Did not all keep the Sabbath and offer the sacrifices? Most manifestly, then, these things are spoken of Christ; for he alone consecrated the sacrifice with bread and wine, as did Melchizedek also. But how did he say “forever”? Because even now, with the body which he sacrificed on our behalf, he intercedes for us with God and the Father—that is, the very sufferings on our behalf put forth a great supplication, speaking ineffably to the Father, that “On behalf of human nature your Son underwent these things; have mercy, then, on these for whom I endured to suffer.” Or, because the offering made every day, and to be made forever, through the ministers of God, has the Lord himself as High Priest and Priest, and as victim, sanctifying himself on our behalf, and broken, and given. For as often as these things come to pass, the death of the Lord is proclaimed.

Heb. 5:7. Who in the days of his flesh. “The days of his flesh” signifies the days in his fleshly life; not that he has now put off the flesh—away with the thought!—for he has it, though incorruptible and superior even to the fleshly and blameless passions themselves: hunger, thirst, weariness, and the like. And this usage the Apostle took from David, who says in the hundred and fourteenth Psalm, In my days will I call upon him. For the Apostle takes the whole Psalm as referring to Christ.

Heb. 5:7. Having offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, to him who was able to save him from death. These things are said concerning the flesh, for surely not as God did he make entreaty. But grant even that he did make entreaty—surely not with crying and tears; for these are not of God, but must beyond contradiction be ascribed to the human nature of the Son, Christ: at once both that the truth of the assumed nature might be shown, and at the same time that both his care for us and the exceeding greatness of his love might appear. For on our behalf he prayed these things, making ours his own, that in himself he might consume the nature’s cowardice toward death. For consider that nowhere in the Gospels is it written that he prayed concerning his being raised, but on the contrary he declares with authority, saying: Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up; and, I have power to lay down my life.

Heb. 5:7. And having been heard for his godly reverence, though he was a Son. This too on account of the flesh, and on account of the weakness of the hearers; for they did not yet have a great opinion concerning him. What he says, then, is of this kind: that So great was his reverence, that his being heard was rather an achievement of it than of the grace of God; and on account of this God respected him and was moved to compliance, even though he was a Son, and had toward him natural boldness; so great and worthy of reverence was it. Wherefore, be not distressed, having a Master who is heard by the Father. If, then, you ask him for anything, he will do it for you; which Christ himself also says in the Gospel to the disciples: If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to my Father, for my Father is greater than I; and, Whatever you shall ask in my name, he will give you.

Heb. 5:8. He learned, from the things which he suffered, obedience. He learned, he says, to obey God and the Father, being taught this from his sufferings. But the saying seems plainly absurd. For how did he learn obedience from the things he suffered, who even before suffering was so obedient to the Father that he undertook the very sufferings on account of his obedience? For he became, he says, obedient to death. Learn, then, that since they seemed to be restive, as faint-hearted, he says these things concerning the Son of God, that out of abundance he might persuade them to be subject and to obey the law of God, and not to be impatient toward afflictions, but to await the help from above. For indeed, he says, the Son also, having endured the suffering, on account of his obedience was heard by the Father, and his soul was rescued from death. And from this he learned by experience to obey God, since long-suffering avails much. If, then, that One gained from his sufferings, much more shall you. Have you seen how, for the benefit of the hearers, he so condescended as even to appear to say things that are absurd? Hear also what follows.

Heb. 5:9. And being made perfect. Observe, then: perfection comes about through sufferings. How, then, do you take it hard at the afflictions that make perfect?

Heb. 5:9. He became to all who obey him the cause of eternal salvation. That is, not only was he himself saved, but he also procured salvation for others—not a temporary one, such as from wars, but eternal. To whom, these? To those who obey. How, then, do you disobey and run the risk of falling from salvation? Do you see how the whole of the discourse has been so fashioned on account of the faint-heartedness of the hearers? Yet observe here too the lofty thing. For he became the cause of salvation, which belongs to Godhead. For no other, save God, is the cause of such salvation.

Heb. 5:10. Being addressed by God as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Because, he says, he suffered, on this account he was addressed as high priest, as having offered himself; yet even if he offered blood, it was nevertheless not after the order of the Jewish high priests, but after the order of Melchizedek. For just as that one was not anointed by men, so neither was Christ, but by God, with his consubstantial Spirit. For just as that one offered no legal sacrifices, so neither did this one; that one was a king, so also this one; and a thousand other things.

Heb. 5:11. Concerning whom we have much discourse, and hard of interpretation to utter, since you have become dull in your hearing. Being about to draw down his discourse to the difference of the priesthood, he first rebukes them, showing that it was their childishness that made him utter so many lowly things and tarry on the discourse according to the flesh. For if they had not been weak, he would long ago have made mention of the loftier things.

Heb. 5:12. For when by reason of the time you ought to be teachers. He mingles the accusation with praise, by saying that, You ought to have been teachers to others also. For he shows them to have believed long since, and to have heard mysteries; and both these things are worthy of praise, if only they themselves had not grown slack. Time, he says, rather makes men strong; but you used it to no purpose, having become enfeebled.

Heb. 5:12. You have need again that one teach you what are the first elements of the beginning of the Oracles of God. By “elements” he means the things concerning the humanity of Christ. For just as with outward letters one must first learn the elements, so here too one had first to be taught concerning the humanity, and to be habituated to the lowly things, then to be bound to the things of the Godhead, which require a more perfect understanding. Behold, you have learned, indirectly, from Paul himself, for what reason he tarries on the lowly words, but rarely says anything lofty, and that he does this for the sake of the weakness of the hearers. Behold, then, this Epistle too is full of the lowly things. But if it has anything lofty also, this is brief.

Heb. 5:12. And you have become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. He did not say, You have need, but, You have become—that is, you yourselves established yourselves in this state, having become such of your own choice. And by “milk” he here too, as also in the Epistle to the Corinthians, calls the lowly word; and by “solid food,” the more perfect and loftier things. It was not necessary, then, he says, now to bring in the legal matters, and from these to make the comparison of the incomparable Christ—that he is High Priest, and that he sacrificed, and that he made entreaty with crying and tears; but nevertheless, since you are nourished by these things, I set these forth also. And note that the things which he sets before us now nourished those others then, and that the true food is the Oracles of God. For I will give to them, he says, to hear the word of the Lord.

Heb. 5:13. For everyone who partakes of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. By “righteousness” here he means either the exact life, as though saying this: that The imperfect man is unskilled in the higher philosophy, and is unable to receive the highest life, which Christ also required, saying: Unless your righteousness abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees. Or by “righteousness” he means Christ himself, saying this: that He who partakes of the lowly words and those concerning the incarnation does not receive the lofty words worthy of Christ, being as it were a babe and incapable of receiving these.

Heb. 5:14. But solid food is for the perfect. That is, the lofty doctrines, those concerning the Godhead of Christ. Do you see another childishness, with which even old men are sick—that of the understanding—and a perfection which nothing hinders even the young from having?

Heb. 5:14. Who by reason of habit have their senses exercised for the discernment of both good and evil. By “habit” he means the perfection and fixity of character. He, then, who is fixed in character, this man also has the senses of his soul exercised by the divine Scriptures, for the discernment of doctrines lofty and lowly, sound and corrupted. For he does not speak here concerning conduct; for this everyone discerns, and knows that vice is base and virtue good. But observe that there is need of exercise, and of discipline, and of experience of the Scriptures, if we are to discern which of teachings are heretical and which not, and not simply to lend our ears to all. For the throat tastes meats, but the soul tests words.

Chapter 6

Heb. 6:1. Therefore, leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be borne on to perfection. He said above that “you have become dull,” and that “you are babes,” and that you came to have need of learning again the first elements of the faith; and so now he says that, You ought henceforth to be minded as perfect, and to pass beyond the word of the beginning of Christ—that is, the first principles of the faith—and to be borne on to perfection—that is, to be receptive of the loftier things. Or you will understand this also thus: that since these men seemed to be lame in their manner of life, he now speaks to them concerning a blameless life, as though saying this: It is not necessary for you always to be turning about the beginning—that is, to be taught concerning faith, like certain beginners—but also to be borne on to perfection—that is, to the best life. For he is perfect who, together with faith, has also an upright life. For faith is the beginning and foundation, and without it nothing will be made firm, just as without the elements no one would become skilled in letters. Yet one must neither always be turning about the elements, nor always be taught concerning faith as babes and imperfect. But if anyone accepts the former interpretation, yet rejects this one as being inconsistent with the things foretold by Paul, let him consider that it is his custom, when speaking of one thing, to leap over to other things; as in the Epistle to the Corinthians, speaking concerning the suppers, he cast himself into the discourse concerning the mysteries. So, then, here too, reproaching these men at the outset for their dullness and weakness to receive the more perfect things, he plunges into the discourse concerning the manner of life, calling them imperfect, and on this account—because they had not added the life to the faith.

Heb. 6:1. Not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God. That is, not again from the beginning doing such things as you did when you were about to be baptized—such as the repentance from dead works, that is, the renunciation of the works of Satan. For he who draws near to Christ does so, clearly, repenting of his former life as well; thus he comes. If not in both respects, how is he worthy of the former? But being of the former, how is he in need of the second discourse? “And of faith toward God.” For after the repentance over dead works, then comes faith. It is not necessary to teach you concerning faith now; for you have already believed. And through these things he hints that they were also being shaken, and on this account had need of a foundation.

Heb. 6:2. Of the teaching of baptisms. Not as though the baptisms were many did Paul say this in the plural; for there was One baptism; but he said it as a consequence. For if one were again to catechize, and again to baptize—and again to baptize those who had fallen—then again baptisms would be necessary; but this is absurd. Therefore one must not re-baptize you, but remain upon the former baptism. Perhaps these men, as clinging to the law, were advocating many baptisms in Jewish fashion even within grace. And observe that after repentance comes baptism. For since repentance by itself was not strong enough to show men clean, on this account we are baptized, that the whole may be of the grace of Christ.

Heb. 6:2. And of the laying on of hands. Through which they received the Spirit, so as to prophesy and to work wonders. For when Paul laid his hands upon them, he says, they received the Holy Spirit.

Heb. 6:2. And of the resurrection of the dead. For this too comes to pass in baptism, through the figure of the coming-up from the water, and is confirmed in the confession; for we confess that we believe in the resurrection of the dead.

Heb. 6:2. And of eternal judgment. That is, of the judgment which gives either eternal good things or eternal punishments. These things he seems to say because it was likely that they were being shaken, although they had already believed, or were living wickedly and slothfully. Be sober, he is saying. It is not possible to say that, if we live slothfully, or fall from the faith, we shall be baptized again, and shall again be able to wash away our sins and to obtain the same things as before. For you err, he says, in supposing these things.

Heb. 6:3. And this we will do, if God permits. “This will we do”—what? The being borne on to perfection, if God also will. And this he said, not as though God did not permit these things, but as we are accustomed to say, that, If God also will, I purpose to do such a thing; and at the same time he teaches us thereby to make the whole depend on his will, and not, even in things confessedly good, to be confident in one’s own judgment and power. And this the apostle Jude also expressly admonishes.

Heb. 6:4. For it is impossible, in the case of those once enlightened, He did not say that it is inexpedient, or unseemly, but, impossible; so as to cast them into despair of hoping for a second laver.

Heb. 6:4. who have tasted the heavenly gift, That is, of the forgiveness of sins. For no one is able to give such things, save God alone.

Heb. 6:4. And have become partakers of the Holy Spirit. After the forgiveness of sins, then comes the partaking of the Holy Spirit; for he does not dwell in a body that is in debt to sins. And it was given through the laying on of hands, as has also been said above.

Heb. 6:5. and have tasted the goodness of God’s word, He did not say openly what this is; he gives us, however, to understand that he says this concerning all spiritual teaching.

Heb. 6:5. And the powers of the age to come. Either he so calls the working of wonders, or the living angelically, by needing nothing of things present, but looking toward the things to come, and already having, as a pledge of the life to come, the prize here below, which is also spiritual.

Heb. 6:6. And to renew again to repentance those who have fallen away. That is, through repentance. What then? Has repentance been cast out? God forbid; but what is cast out is the renewal through a second laver. For to renew belongs to the laver alone, as also the prophet says: Your youth shall be renewed as the eagle’s; but it belongs to repentance to release from the oldness, and to make men firm. To lead them back, however, to that former brightness is not possible. For grace had the whole of it. “To repentance,” then, he says—the repentance of baptism. For first one repents over his former life, then is baptized, as he himself also said before, “Of repentance from dead works.” And it is clear also from what follows, that it is in forbidding the second laver that he says these things.

Heb. 6:6. Crucifying afresh to themselves the Son of God. Baptism is a cross. For our old man was crucified together with him, and we have become planted together in the likeness of his death. And again: We were buried together with him through baptism. For just as that One died on the cross in the flesh, so we in baptism died to sin. He, therefore, who is baptized a second time, so far as in him lies, crucifies Christ a second time. But indeed this is absurd. For once he died and rose, and death no longer has dominion over him. There is, then, no second baptism, since neither is there a second cross. For what hinders a third also and a fourth, and this to infinity? And he did not say, “crucifying afresh,” and stop there; but he added also the “to themselves,” that he might show that, ordering our life slothfully, we transact all things as though there were another baptism, having established in ourselves this wicked opinion.

Heb. 6:6. And putting him to open shame. That is, triumphing over him, shaming him; and this you will understand in two ways: either that those who then crucified the Lord devised such a manner of death for his shame—the accursed and reproachful one, namely, set apart for malefactors; or that Christ, having once been crucified, is thereafter believed to be immortal. He, therefore, who crucifies him afresh makes this a falsehood; which brings shame to Christ, who after dying once has thereafter tasted immortality. In two ways, then, he says the thing is impossible: first, because he who has been counted worthy of such things, and has cast all away, is not worthy to enjoy the same again; and by the other, the more dreadful, because it is impossible for the Son of God to be crucified afresh.

Heb. 6:7. For the earth which has drunk the rain that comes often upon it. By “earth” he calls the soul, and by “rain” the teaching, as also elsewhere, I will command the clouds, says God, that they rain no rain upon the vineyard. And again: The river of God was filled with waters, that is, he who has been graced by God in the matter of teaching has been filled with the waters from above, namely, the gifts of grace. And he hints also at these men, as having both received and drunk in the word, and having often obtained it, and not even so having profited—which he also said above: “Owing to be teachers by reason of the time.”

Heb. 6:7. And brings forth herbage fit for use. That is, a virtuous life. For nothing is so fit—that is, becoming and well-suited—as purity of life.

Heb. 6:7. For those on whose account it is also tilled. The herbage, he says—that is, the good manner of life—the earth brings forth for those on whose account it is also tilled, and to those it is fit for use. For those very ones who bear the fruit of virtue shall also enjoy it. But some understood the “for those” as meaning “for the teachers”; for indeed the best manner of life is tilled on their account also, inasmuch as they too partake of the virtue of the disciples.

Heb. 6:7. Partakes of blessing from God. Here he gently strikes at the Greeks, who ascribe the bearing of the fruits to the power of the earth. For it is not the husbandman’s hands that make the fruits, but the whole, he says, is of God; he it is who blesses, and gives the good yield.

Heb. 6:8. But that which bears thorns and thistles. He did not say “brings forth,” as above concerning the herbage, but “bears up,” as one might say, casting up and throwing off as it were a kind of refuse. And thorns and thistles are the cares of life, and the deceit of wealth, and simply every sin; as David also says: I was turned to misery while a thorn was fixed in me. For it does not simply come upon one, but is fixed in; and though we pluck not out all of it, but a little remain within, it pains, and there is need of healing and of care. But it is also a thistle; from wherever you take hold of it, it pricks, and on every side it is unpleasant, both here bringing shame, and most of all in the age to come.

Heb. 6:8. Is rejected, and near to a curse. The good earth he said was blessed by God; but the unfruitful one he did not call simply accursed, but near to a curse, that we might not despair. For he who is near to a curse will be able also to come to be far from it.

Heb. 6:8. Whose end is to burning. This too, that we might not despair. For he did not say, “which shall be burned up,” but, “whose end is to burning”—that is, if it persist in unfruitfulness to the end. So that it is possible to stand off from unfruitfulness, and to put a stop to the thorns, and to become approved, and to partake of blessing.

Heb. 6:9. But we are persuaded concerning you, beloved, the better things, and things that belong to salvation, though we thus speak. Having laid hold of them sufficiently and frightened them, he again heals them, lest he render them altogether supine. For he who strikes the sluggish man too hard makes him more sluggish. He says, then, that, Not as condemning you do I say these things, nor as supposing you to be full of thorns, but fearing lest this come to pass. And he did not say, We expect concerning you, but, We are persuaded—that is, We are in certainty concerning you, that you are not so disposed, but better, and that you take thought for your own salvation, even though we have thus spoken strikingly. Either, then, he says this concerning their manner of life, that, You are not such thorny ones; or concerning recompense, that, You are not near to a curse, nor to burning, but some other reward is laid up for you. And observe what is added.

Heb. 6:10. For God is not unjust to forget your work. See how he recovered them and strengthened them to hope for the better things, by reminding them of their former deeds, and of the righteousness of God. For if God is righteous, he will not forget your work—that is, your compassion, your love of the brethren—but will recompense you. So that, be not faint-hearted, but by all means hope for the better things, since God is also by all means righteous. So then, concerning you I said what I said, strikingly; for I know that you are not worthy of a curse.

Heb. 6:10. And the labor of the love which you showed toward his name, having ministered to the saints, and ministering. He bears them great witness, not of works only, but of works with eagerness. For ministering is a sign of eagerness. By “love” he means also the almsgiving which they displayed, not toward the brethren merely, but toward the name of God. Observe the greatest exhortation, that we do it not to men, but to God; as also Christ in the Gospel: You did it to me, he says. For he who cares for his brother on account of the name of God does this to God. And “to the saints”—that is, to the faithful. For every faithful man is a saint, even though he be a worldling. For the unbelieving husband, he says, is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the husband. Faith, then, here works the sanctification. So that let us be zealous not toward those in the desert alone, as saints, but also toward the worldly; for those indeed are saints both by faith and by life; but the laity also are saints by faith, and many also by life. And observe how he heals them. For he did not say, “having ministered,” and stop; but he added, “and ministering”—that is, and still doing the same thing.

Heb. 6:11. But we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end. As though someone said: For what reason, then, did you say these things, O Paul, if you were not going to strike us? he says that, These things I said, desiring that you may run well toward the future also; not as condemning the former things, but as fearing on behalf of the things to come. And he did not say, “I will,” which would have belonged to a teacher; but, “I desire,” which belongs to fatherly tenderness. For I do not wish this merely as far as words, but my soul is on fire on your behalf. For understand the “I desire” to mean some such thing. And not simply on behalf of you all, but on behalf of each single one; thus he cared for all, both small and great, and knew them all. He desires this, that you may be diligent to the full assurance of hope—that is, that you may show your hope full and perfect, and not be despoiled of it. And observe how he does not strike openly, nor say that, You have despaired, and recover yourselves henceforth; but as though he says some such thing: I wish you to be ever diligent, and such as you were before, to be such also now and in the time to come.

Heb. 6:12. That you become not dull. This too is toward their healing; for he carries it over into the time to come. And yet above he had said, “Since you have become dull”—but “in your hearing”; for he limited the dullness as far as the hearing. But now, he says, I take forethought lest this lay hold of your soul. For just as idleness and immobility harm the body, so also does idleness in good things make the soul more supine.

Heb. 6:12. But imitators of those who through faith and long-suffering inherit the promises. He reminded them above of the things which they themselves had set right before, bringing them the examples from their own house. But now he leads them up also to the patriarch. For lest they should suppose that, as worthy of no account, they had been despised by God and forsaken, he shows that it belongs most of all to noble men—this, the being tried—and that God has so dealt with great men. For if he had immediately given the things he had promised, their faith would not have been displayed; but now he defers the gifts, that their faith may appear through their endurance. For then is a man shown to believe the one who promised, when, much time having passed without his receiving, he nevertheless believes that he will receive, and does not slumber. On this account, then, I speak to you these striking things, that I may rouse you up, and that you may become imitators also of those who inherited the promises through faith and long-suffering. And who these are, he will say hereafter. And observe how he first named faith, then long-suffering, because long-suffering is from faith. For unless a man believe that the one who promised will by all means give, neither does he show long-suffering.

Heb. 6:13–14. For when God made promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, saying, Surely, blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you. Though there were many who through faith inherited the promises, the others he passes by for the present, reserving them for what follows, and makes mention of Abraham alone, both on account of the dignity of the person, and because this man especially was both counted worthy of a promise and obtained it. And on this account he shows that one must not be faint-hearted, but await God, who has the custom not to bring quickly to pass the things promised, but to bring them after a long time. But when did God swear by himself? Either in the very words in which he says, By myself have I sworn; and perhaps also the “Surely,” one might say, is an oath of God by himself; for the “truly” signifies “in very truth.” Which is nothing else than a confirmation of the truth; and what other truth could there be, save God? Thus also in the Gospels the Lord, saying “Truly, truly,” swears the same oath, namely by himself, from his not having any greater to swear by—swearing by himself, as also the Father. And yet some understood that the Son himself then conversed with Abraham; for the Scripture says that, The angel said to Abraham. And this one, they say, would be the Father—the Angel of great counsel.

Heb. 6:15. And so, having long-suffered, he obtained the promise. How is it that toward the end of the Epistle he says that all these did not receive the promises, but saw them from afar and greeted them; but now he says that Abraham obtained the promise? He does not speak of the same things here and there, but here concerning the things promised in this life, which Abraham obtained after a little while; and there concerning the heavenly things, which he has not yet obtained. Both, however—both his obtaining, and his not yet obtaining—are for the consolation of the faint-hearted: the one, that we too, if we long-suffer, shall attain; the other, that, since that man, perfected so many years ago, has not yet attained, we are thereafter senseless in being vexed that we attain in such a manner. And observe how he said that, “having long-suffered, he obtained the promise,” that he might show the great power of long-suffering, and that it was not the promise alone that wrought the whole, but also the long-suffering. And here he also frightens them, giving them to understand from the contrary, that the promise is hindered through faint-heartedness. And this very thing happened to the people of old in the wilderness, who, being faint-hearted, did not attain the promise at all. One might say, then: And how is it that the saints, although they long-suffered, did not attain, as he says toward the end? But they shall by all means attain. The murmurers of the people, however, neither attained, nor shall attain.

Heb. 6:16. For men swear by the greater, and the oath for confirmation is to them an end of all gainsaying. That is, by the oath the dispute of all gainsaying is resolved. For indeed many things are said, and gainsaid on either side, but the oath, coming in last and confirming, resolves all things doubtful.

Heb. 6:17. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath. That is, because—since to men also the oath brings all credence—on this account God too swears. Or, “wherein,” instead of “in the swearing,” he says: God, by himself, out of abundance showed us that he will by all means and immutably do the things he promised. For it was necessary that God be believed even without an oath, but nevertheless on our account he condescends, and does not regard his own dignity, but, that he may persuade us, endures to have things unworthy of himself said concerning him. For we, the faithful, are the heirs of the promise—we who are blessed in his seed, which is Christ. Observe how here too he says that the Son became mediator of God and men. For through him, as his Word, did God and Father swear.

Heb. 6:18. That through two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie. Which two? Both the simply saying and promising, and the adding of an oath to the promise. For since among men the oath seems more to be trusted, on this account he too added this. “In which,” instead of “from which”—from these two—the promise is shown most trustworthy, and it is shown impossible for God to lie. As, then, he swore on our account, although swearing is unworthy of him, so understand also the “he learned from the things he suffered.” For men too account this more worthy of credit—the coming through experience.

Heb. 6:18. We might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. That is, a great exhortation and encouragement. For this is said not so much on account of Abraham as on account of us, who have fled for refuge to him—that is, who have hoped. And wherein have we the encouragement? To the laying hold of the hope set before us—that is, that from those things given to Abraham we may be fully assured also concerning the things that pertain to us, and may not doubt concerning the things to come and heavenly, which we hope for, but may firmly and securely lay hold of this hope, and not let it go. For indeed the promise to Abraham is also to us, and properly to us who have believed in Christ, as has been said above.

Heb. 6:19. Which we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast. Which hope we have as an anchor. For just as that one holds the ships steady in time of storm, so also hope makes those who are tossed by trials steadfast and patient. And he did not simply say “anchor,” but “sure and steadfast.” For there is an anchor that does not keep the vessel unshaken, either when it is rotten, or when it is too light. And fittingly he made mention not of a foundation, but of an anchor; because the one is set as a figure for those who are exceedingly firm and philosophical, but the anchor for those who are in a storm, such as these men were, tossed by trials.

Heb. 6:19. And entering into that which is within the veil. He said above, “Wait; for the things hoped for shall come to pass”; now, giving fuller assurance, he says that even already we have them by hope. For this hope, having entered within heaven, made us to be already among the things promised, even though we are still below, even though we have not yet received them. So great is the strength of hope, that it makes those of earth heavenly. And just as in the Old Covenant the veil separated the holy place from the rest of the tabernacle, so also heaven is for us a veil, separating the things below from the more divine and supercelestial things.

Heb. 6:20. Where as forerunner Jesus entered on our behalf. Having said that our hope enters into heaven, he confirms what was said, assuring it by the very facts. For Christ himself entered there; and not simply entered, but entered as a forerunner—that is, as we too being bound to enter. For the forerunner is a forerunner of certain who follow, and the space between the forerunner and those who follow is not very great, just as neither between John and Christ. Be not, then, vexed; very soon we shall enter where our forerunner is. And he was not content to say “forerunner,” but added also the “on our behalf,” for greater assurance, as though saying this: He himself had no need to go there—for how, being God?—but just as he took flesh on our account, so also on our account he entered within heaven, that he might open for us the way. So that we too shall of necessity enter. Or the “on our behalf” means “that he may intercede on our behalf with the Father,” as the high priest also entered into the Holy place once a year, making propitiation on behalf of the people.

Heb. 6:20. After the order of Melchizedek, having become a High Priest forever. This too is the greatest consolation, seeing that our High Priest is above, and far better than those among the Jews. And in manner: for he is not after their order, but after the order of Melchizedek. And in place and in tabernacle: for he is above and in heaven. And in covenant: for it rests upon greater and more perfect things; and in permanence: for he is eternal, and not temporary; and in person: for he is Son of God. So that, be not despondent. And all these things are said on account of the flesh; for according to this he became High Priest.

Chapter 7

Heb. 7:1–2. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God the Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth of all. The apostle’s aim is to show the difference between the Old and the New; and this he showed at once, even in the opening, when he said that to those of old God spoke through his servants, the prophets, but to us who are in the New, in the Son. But since the hearers were weak, as having grown faint-hearted in their trials, he restored their faint-heartedness in the meanwhile; and thereafter, when he had sufficiently restored them, he again introduces the discourse concerning the New surpassing the Old. And observe his wisdom. He shows that Melchizedek, who was a type of Christ, surpasses Abraham. For unless he surpassed him, he would not have blessed him, nor received tithes from him. And since the priests of the law were descended from Abraham, it is clear that Melchizedek surpasses these also, as one who both blesses them and takes tithes of them, in that he blessed and tithed their forefather. But if the type of Christ, Melchizedek, so far excels the priests of the law, how much more does the true Melchizedek, Christ? This, then, is the whole meaning of the passage. And having compressed the narrative concerning Melchizedek, he brings in the contemplation, allegorizing the history mystically and spiritually.

Heb. 7:2. First being interpreted king of righteousness. He shows here how Melchizedek is a type of Christ. And first, he says, from the very name learn the exactness. For “Melchi” means king, and “Sedek” righteousness. And who else is king of righteousness, but our Lord Jesus Christ?

Heb. 7:2. And then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. And from the city, he says, this also is plain. For “Salem” is interpreted peace. And who else is king of peace but Christ, who made peace for the things in the heavens and the things on the earth? To no man does it belong to be king of righteousness and of peace, save to Christ alone.

Heb. 7:3. Without father, without mother, without genealogy. You have yet another likeness. For just as Melchizedek is without father and without mother—not that he had no father or mother, for he too had them, as one of mankind, but because he was not genealogized in the Scripture, nor was the name of his parents made apparent—so also Christ is without father according to the birth below; for according to the flesh he was begotten of the Virgin Mary alone; and without mother according to the birth above, for he was begotten of the Father alone before all ages, ineffably and inconceivably. But he is also without genealogy. For who shall declare his generation? Since both the Father who begot him above is past interpreting, and the very manner of the begetting; and the mother who bore him below does not fall under reason, at least as to the manner of the begetting—such as, how a virgin gave birth, how without birth-pangs, and the like. Christ, then, is truly both without mother and without father. But Melchizedek is without father and without mother not truly—for this is impossible—but in that his parents are not brought forward in the Scripture; so that “without genealogy” is, as it were, explanatory of “without father and without mother,” the Apostle as it were saying: In this sense I called Melchizedek without father and without mother, namely as without genealogy, and as one whose lineage is not mentioned in the Scripture.

Heb. 7:3. Having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but made like to the Son of God, he abides a priest perpetually. This too you will understand as the things said before. For as a man, Melchizedek altogether had both a beginning of days and an end of life; only, inasmuch as we know neither when he was born nor when he died, as regards our knowledge he has neither beginning nor end. Christ, however, truly, inasmuch as he is God, has neither beginning of days—for he is without beginning as to a beginning from time, even if he has the Father as beginning, in the sense of cause—nor end, for he is without end; and, to say the whole in a word, he is everlasting. Where, then, are the Arians? Let them hear that the Son has no beginning. Thus, then, Paul gives us to resolve that which one might be at a loss about: how Christ is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, seeing that Melchizedek had died, and did not become a priest forever. For we shall resolve it from this point, saying this, that Christ, being eternal and without end, is ever a priest in truth. For even now he is believed to offer himself for us at every time through his ministers, and moreover as one interceding with the Father on our behalf; and then he will perform for us the more perfect and more mystical priestly rites, setting himself before us for food and drink in a new manner and beyond all conception. But Melchizedek is said to have an unending priesthood, not because he lives forever—for he had died—but inasmuch as his end is not brought forward in the Scripture, that from thence we might be able to know when his priesthood ceased. As, then, also in the names: in his case there were appellations only, both “Melchizedek” and “king of Salem,” but in the case of Christ the truth of the realities; so also the having neither beginning nor end, in his case is because of its not being written, for he was a type, but in the case of Christ according to truth. For if the likeness were to be everywhere, there would no longer be type and truth, but either both a type, or both truth. Or do we not observe this also in the case of images? For here too the outline-sketch has something like to the image already completed, inasmuch as it dimly delineates the character through its lines; and it has something unlike, inasmuch as the image, through its colors, has received the character more vividly and more manifestly.

Heb. 7:4. But behold how great this man was, to whom even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth out of the spoils. Since he had fitted the type to the truth—that is, the things of Melchizedek to Christ—he is thereafter confident, and demonstrates that the type, that is, Melchizedek, is more illustrious than the very true priests among the Jews; and not only than these, but also than their patriarch himself. And if the type is so, much more will the true High Priest, Christ, surpass these. See, then, he says, how great this man is, and how greatly he surpasses, to whom there offered gifts not some chance man, but Abraham, so great a one, the patriarch—for not without reason did he add “patriarch,” but that he might exalt the person—and “out of the spoils,” that is, out of the better and more honorable plunder. And it cannot be said that, as to one who had campaigned and toiled together with him, he apportioned some recompense for his labor; rather it was to one sitting at home. For on this account he said above that he met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings. And if he was greater than the patriarch—and this the giving of the tenth shows—much more was he greater than the priests of the law.

Heb. 7:5–6. And those indeed from among the sons of Levi who receive the priesthood have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, although these have come forth out of the loins of Abraham. But he who is not genealogized from among them has taken tithes of Abraham. Now he establishes how Melchizedek is greater than Abraham; and he says that those of the tribe of Levi who exercise the priesthood used to tithe the people, it being evident that they are better and more honorable because of the dignity of the priesthood. For on what other account do the people, who are themselves worn down and afflicted, offer to the priests, who do not toil nor till the soil, the tithes from every kind, save altogether as to men who are more divine and occupied with a greater work? So great is the dignity of the priesthood, and thus are those who have it loftier than their own brethren, who have come forth from the same loins. And Melchizedek therefore, since he tithed Abraham, and that without being genealogized from him—that is, not being of the same race, for he was of another tribe—is better and loftier than he. For how would Abraham have given tithes to one of another tribe, unless the honor were great? But if Melchizedek, the type, surpasses, and that, Abraham, much more does the true High Priest surpass the priests of the law.

Heb. 7:6. And he has blessed him who had the promises. Since up and down this was the thing that magnified Abraham—the receiving of the promises from God—he adds this now, that the type of Christ blessed him who was counted worthy of so great and so high a converse with God, and who had God as a debtor.

Heb. 7:7. But without any contradiction, the less is blessed by the better. He said that Melchizedek blessed so great a one as Abraham. And we all in common and indisputably know that the one who blesses is better than the one who is blessed; better, therefore, is Melchizedek also, who prefigured Christ, than the patriarch.

Heb. 7:8. And here indeed men who die receive tithes; but there one of whom it is witnessed that he lives. And there is another reasoning, demonstrating Melchizedek to be greater than the priests of the law. For those here, that is, those who receive tithes in the law, die; but there, that is, in the order after Melchizedek, he received tithes of whom it is witnessed by the Scripture that he lives. For you, he says, are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And the living forever of Melchizedek understand thus, as has been said above; that is, as of one whose death is not mentioned in the Scripture. But some understand the dying of the Levites, and the living of Melchizedek, thus: that the manner of the priesthood of the Levites was mortal, for it has been abolished; but that of Melchizedek—that is, of the life according to Christ—lives and abides, and shall be forever.

Heb. 7:9. And, so to speak, through Abraham, Levi also, who receives tithes, has been tithed. That the priests of the law might not be able to say, And what is it to us, if Abraham has been tithed? he says that through the medium of Abraham, Levi also has been tithed—Levi, the head of the priesthood that is among us, the one who receives tithes. So then, is not Melchizedek greater than Levi also, as one who is seen to have received tithes even from him, through the medium of Abraham? And the “so to speak” either signifies this, that he speaks summarily, or it stands for “if I may so say.” For since it seemed a daring thing to say that Levi, not yet brought forth into birth, was tithed by Melchizedek, he tempered this.

Heb. 7:10. For he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. He establishes how Levi was tithed, and says that, the forefather having been tithed, he too was potentially tithed, inasmuch indeed as he was in the loins of Abraham, and was destined to come to be of his seed, even if he had not yet been born. And he did not say “the Levites,” but “Levi,” that he might show the pre-eminence. Papai! what did he dare? He cast forth the Jewish things. On this account he foretold that they had become dull of hearing, since he was about to say such things, that they might not start away. Having therefore prepared them beforehand, and put them in readiness as he wished, he thus now says what he wishes. For not as the earth, which, receiving the seed, makes it grow, so also does the soul hold and nourish the word. For there is nature, which has the stable; but here free choice, a most versatile thing and easily shifting. Wherefore the teacher must arrange much beforehand.

Heb. 7:11. If, then, perfection were through the Levitical priesthood—for the people had received the law upon it—what further need was there that another priest should arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron? He showed that Melchizedek was much better than both Abraham and Levi, himself having come to be in the rank of priests. Now again he introduces another argument, showing that the priesthood according to Christ far surpasses that of the Levites, and that the one of Christ is perfect, but that of those others imperfect. For indeed, if the priesthood of the law were perfect, a priest ought to have arisen after the order of Aaron; for Aaron was of the Levitical tribe. But surely it is not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek, that a priest is said to arise. It remains, then, that, as the one being imperfect, another is introduced in its place. And the word “yet” has much emphasis; for it is as if he says this: If Christ were after the order of Melchizedek first, and then the law were given, one might reasonably say that, the priesthood after Melchizedek being imperfect, the priesthood according to the law was given, that is, the one of Aaron. But now Christ is later, and takes another type of priesthood. It is plain, then, that, the one of Aaron being more imperfect, another is introduced in its place. And what is “the people had received the law upon it”? This is it: one cannot say that the priesthood according to Aaron is indeed perfect, but was given otherwise, and not to the Hebrews, but was altogether given to the people, and the people received the law upon it—that is, were appointed to use it, and to walk by it, and to do all things through it. Why, then, was it cast out, save evidently as being without strength?

Heb. 7:12. For the priesthood being transferred, of necessity there comes to pass a transference of law also. Now he shows the law also being abolished accordingly, and another covenant introduced in its place. For if the priesthood was transferred, of necessity there is another law also, for a priest is not without a covenant and laws and ordinances. And the priesthood was transferred not only in its manner—that is, in its not being after the order of Aaron, but after that of Melchizedek—but also in its tribe. For indeed it was transferred from the priestly tribe of Aaron to the royal tribe of Judah. And behold the mystery. First it was royal, and then it became priestly; as also Christ is ever king, but at the last became high priest, when he took the flesh, when he offered the sacrifice.

Heb. 7:13. For he of whom these things are said has partaken of another tribe. He shows how the priesthood was transferred as to the tribe, and says that Christ, “he of whom”—in the sense of, concerning whom these things are said, and to whom it issued—is of another tribe, that of Judah.

Heb. 7:13. From which no one has given attendance at the altar. “From which,” that is, from the tribe of Judah, “no one has given attendance”—that is, has stood at the altar, and busied himself with the priestly works.

Heb. 7:14. For it is evident that our Lord has sprung out of Judah. The word “has sprung” is a dignified one, and is taken from the prophecy of Balaam, who says, A star shall arise out of Jacob, and from Malachi, who calls him the Sun of righteousness. Through which it is shown that the coming of the Lord came to pass for the enlightenment of the world.

Heb. 7:14. Of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. For all the things of the priesthood he assigned to the Levitical tribe; but to that of Judah, the things of leadership in wars.

Heb. 7:15. And it is yet far more evident, if after the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest. What is evident? The distinction between the two priesthoods; or that the changing of both the priesthood and the covenant is shown not only from this, from the priest who arises being of another tribe, and no longer of the Levitical, but also from that which we shall mention it appears yet more abundantly: that is, “if after the likeness of Melchizedek,” and what follows—namely, since after the order of Melchizedek a priest arises.

Heb. 7:16. Who has become so not after a law of fleshly commandment, but after the power of an indissoluble life. “Who”—Melchizedek—did not become so as the priests of the law; for those received the priesthood from a law that had fleshly commandments. For circumcise the flesh, and wash the flesh, and let the flesh rest, and you will obtain fleshly goods. But Melchizedek not so, but by a divine power, so as to live forever, and that his priesthood should be indissoluble. And the “live” understand thus, as also above, namely because his death is unknown. Or take the “who” concerning the priest, as if he said: Whatever other priest, that is, Christ, received the priesthood not after a fleshly commandment of the law, but through the power of the Father, or rather his own, and has an indissoluble priesthood. And it were consequent, after “fleshly,” to bring in “spiritual”; how, then, did he bring in, “after the power of an indissoluble life”? Because the temporary was signified through the “fleshly.” And fittingly, over against the temporary, he brought in “of an indissoluble life”—that is, by his own power Christ lives.

Heb. 7:17. For it is witnessed: You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. He establishes how he said “of an indissoluble life,” and says that the Scripture declares him to be a priest forever. But some understood the Scripture to establish not this, but the “how he has become so not after a law of fleshly commandment.” For if, he says, he had become so according to the law, he ought to have been called after the order of Aaron; but now, since he is written after the order of Melchizedek, it is plain that it is not according to the law, but in some other, more divine manner.

Heb. 7:18–19. For there comes to pass a disannulling of the foregoing commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness. For the law made nothing perfect. He said that a transference of law comes to pass, and showed this; thereafter he seeks also the cause. For we men then find rest, when we learn the cause. And he says that on this account a disannulling came to pass—that is, a change, and a casting out of the foregoing commandment, that is, of the preceding Covenant, through which also it was weak. What then? It profited no one; rather, toward making men perfect it did not profit. For he adds: “For it made no one perfect.” And how was it weak? Because they were letters only, declaring, Do this, and do not this; but it put in no power toward the accomplishing, which now comes to pass for us through the Spirit. But the heretics who slander the law leap upon this: Behold, they say, Paul too slanders the law. But he did not say, O senseless men, that it is evil, but unprofitable and weak—namely, as toward making perfect. For just as milk is profitable to infants in the seasons that befit them, but to the perfect unprofitable, so also the law was profitable to the imperfect Jews, leading them away from the idols, and bringing them to God, and delivering commensurate commandments, but to those who needed more perfect things, no longer. For it enjoined fleshly things, both sacrifices and purifications, of which the spiritual have no need. On this account it has now been disannulled. And the disannulling is a disannulling of those who use it. So that the law once prevailed, when there was a season for it.

Heb. 7:19. But a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. The commandment of the law was disannulled, he says, but a hope was brought in, not such as the Jewish; for those too had a hope, namely, by being well-pleasing to God, to gain possession of the land, superiority over their enemies, and altogether they hoped for bodily goods. But our hope is not such, but better; for we hope for heaven, and to be near God, and to stand by him, and to minister to him with the angels. Above, then, he said, “Entering into that which is within the veil”; but now, “Through which we draw near,” he says, “to God.” For hope leads us to the very divine throne, and sets us with the Cherubim.

Heb. 7:20. And inasmuch as it was not without an oath. Behold yet another difference, both of the new priest from the old, and of the Covenant from the old Covenant. For the priesthood of Christ was not promised simply, but with an oath, that the word of God might be confirmed out of abundance; which also he said above, that “God swore to Abraham, for the sake of fuller assurance.”

Heb. 7:20–21. For those indeed have become priests without an oath; but he with an oath, through him who said to him: The Lord swore, and will not change his mind: You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. For the priests of the law, he says, are appointed without an oath; for in the case of none of them is God found to have sworn that you shall be a priest according to the law; but Christ with an oath, made through him who said to him, “You are a priest,” in a new manner. For not after Aaron, but after Melchizedek.

Heb. 7:22. By so much was Jesus made the surety of a better covenant. That is, inasmuch as he swore that it should be forever; for he would not have sworn, unless it were better. So that the New Covenant also is greater than the Old. And what is “surety”? A guarantor, a mediator.

Heb. 7:23–24. And those indeed have become many priests, because they were hindered by death from continuing; but he, because he abides forever, has an inviolable priesthood. Here too he shows the pre-eminence which Christ has over the high priests of the law; and he says that there they are many, because they are mortal; but here one, because he is immortal. He has, then, an inviolable priesthood—that is, an unbroken, an unsucceeded one. Do you see how much greater he is? as much as the immortal is than the mortal.

Heb. 7:25. Therefore he is able also to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him. Since, he says, he is immortal, he is able to preside over all and to save to the uttermost—that is, to give not a temporary salvation, but a complete one, both here evidently, and in the life to come. For under the Old, the high priest, even if he was admirable, offered to God only up to that season in which he was, such as Samuel and the like; but after these things no longer, for they have died. But here the High Priest is eternal and ever-living. He is able, then, also to save completely—that is, everlastingly—those who come through him, that is, through faith in him. For he who believes in the Son comes altogether to the Father; for he himself is the way to the Father, and he who has laid hold of this way comes to rest there.

Heb. 7:25. Ever living to make intercession for them. Because of the flesh this has been said thus humbly. For according to the flesh he is high priest, surely; and inasmuch as he is high priest, in that respect he is said to intercede. Since how does he who raises the dead, and quickens as the Father does, intercede where he must save? How does he who has all judgment intercede? He who sends the angels, so as to cast some into the furnace, and to save others? Because of the manhood, then, he said “to intercede.” For Paul, condescending to the hearers, says: Fear not; do not say, Yes, he loves us indeed, and has boldness with the Father, but he cannot always preside over us. Do not say this. For he lives, and is ever able to do the high-priestly work on our behalf. And whenever I say “manhood,” I do not divide it from the Godhead; for one is the hypostasis of both; but I give the hearers to conceive the things befitting concerning each nature. And this very thing, that the Son, bearing flesh, sits together with the Father, is an intercession on our behalf; as if the flesh, on our behalf, were entreating the Father, as having been assumed for this very thing, altogether for our salvation.

Heb. 7:26. For such a high priest became us, holy, harmless. It is plain from these things that he speaks the things before this, and these, concerning that which is according to the flesh. For who would say such things concerning God, and not be ashamed, attributing these things to that incomprehensible nature? “Holy,” then, is he who leaves undone nothing of the things owed to him; and “harmless” is the guileless and free from malice. For there was found no guile in his mouth.

Heb. 7:26. Undefiled. Neither would one call these the praises of God; for it is his nature not to be defiled. But it is plain that these things are concerning the manhood of the one Christ.

Heb. 7:26. Separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. The high priests of the law, he says, even if they were holy in all else, yet, as men, draw to themselves something of evil, and are not wholly separated from sinners. For how could they be, who themselves also are liable to sins? And besides, none of them came to be in heaven; but our High Priest, together with being above all full of every virtue, and with being separated from sinners, has moreover become higher than the heavens, having sat upon the very paternal throne. And the “made” is plain to all, that it is concerning that which is according to the flesh. For as God the Word, he was ever higher than the heavens.

Heb. 7:27. Who has no need daily, as the high priests, to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins, and then for those of the people. Having said that our High Priest is separated from sinners, he enlarges upon this, and says that he is so free from sins that, even when he had offered for a sacrifice his own body, he did not offer this for himself—for how could he, who did no sin?—but for us. But also another thing. The high priests of the law offered every day, as not being able to cleanse once for all; but this one offered such a sacrifice, and one able to accomplish things so great, that through it he cleansed the world once for all. So then in this also he surpasses those.

Heb. 7:27. For this he did once for all, when he offered up himself. What is “this”? The offering for the sins of the people, not for himself. Once, he says, he offered; but after these things he sits as Master. For that you, hearing ‘priest,’ might not suppose that he ever stands, and is a minister, he shows that he became a priest by dispensation. And the dispensation being accomplished, he again laid hold of his own height.

Heb. 7:28. For the law appoints men high priests, having weakness. That you might not suppose that he indeed offered once, but yet also for himself, he now establishes that he did not offer for his own sins. For the law appointed mere men as high priests, having weakness—that is, not able to withstand sin, but themselves also, as weak, falling under faults. But he who is so mighty, as the Son, how could he have sin? or, having it, on what account would he have offered for himself? nor for the others many times, but once. For being mighty, it sufficed him through the once-offering to accomplish the whole. And you will understand by “weakness” sin itself, as in many places this same Paul says, or also death. For being mortal, and weak, the high priests of the law were neither themselves sinless, nor able to cleanse others; but he is immortal and strong. And hear also the things that follow.

Heb. 7:28. But the word of the oath, which was after the law, the Son, perfected forevermore. Behold the contrasts: there a law, here a word of an oath—that is, most sure, most true; there men, servants altogether, here the Son, Master surely; there weak ones—that is, stumbling, having sin, subject to death; here one perfected forevermore—that is, everlasting, mighty, not now only sinless, but ever. If, then, he is perfect, if he never sins, if he ever lives, on what account would he have offered for himself, or at all for others many times?

Chapter 8

Heb. 8:1. Now of the things spoken the chief point is this: We have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. “Chief point” always denotes the greatest thing; whenever one is about to take up in brief the more principal matters, he says that he makes the discourse “in chief”—just as the head also, being small, is the more principal part of the body. So then the Apostle says now: “Now the chief point of the things spoken”—that is, that I may say the greatest and most comprehensive thing, We have God as High Priest. For the sitting belongs to none other than God. And see how, having said many lowly things—the “high priest,” the “he intercedes,” and all that belongs to the manhood—he ascended to the lofty, that is, to what belongs to the Godhead. And he does this ever, just as his teacher also in the Gospel; that through the lowly things he may lead the hearer by the hand to receive the discourse—for otherwise he does not follow in hearing, unless he ascend little by little—and through the lofty things he may teach that those were a condescension. And by “throne of the Majesty” he means the paternal one; or because the Father might be called his “Majesty”; or because, simply, a “throne of majesty” is the greatest throne.

Heb. 8:2. A minister of the holy things. Just as the high priests below, entering into the Holy of Holies, ministered, so also this one is a minister of the truly holy things, the true sanctuaries, the heavenly ones. But Paul seems here to contradict himself. For in the opening he said: “To which of the angels said he, Sit? Are they not all ministering spirits?”—as though the minister ought not to sit; but now, having said that he sat down at the right hand of the throne, he again introduces him as a minister. How, then, does he say this, save altogether condescending, and mingling the lowly with the lofty? But some understood “a minister of the holy things” thus, in the sense of, of the men sanctified by him; for he is, he says, our high priest.

Heb. 8:2. and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, and not man. Here he rouses up those of the Jews who had believed. For since it was likely that they were at a loss, because we have not such a tabernacle: Behold, he says, a greater tabernacle and a true one—heaven. For the old was a type of this; and that one a man pitched, either Bezaleel or Moses, but this one God. And from this take note, according to the blessed John, that heaven neither moves, nor is spherical; for the “pitched” does away with both.

Heb. 8:3. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; whence it is necessary that this one also have something to offer. Since he said that he sits, that you might not think it a deception that he was called a priest, he says that, even if he sits, yet for all that he did not lose the being a high priest; for he has all the things of the high priests, and just as those offer, so also he offered himself. For the sitting belongs to his dignity; but the exercising of the high priesthood, to his great love for mankind. And otherwise too, since one is at a loss for what cause he died, seeing he was Son and eternal, he resolves this, and says that, Since he is a priest, and a priest is not without a sacrifice, it was necessary that this one also have something to offer; and this was nothing other than his own body. Necessarily, then, he died. And between a gift and a sacrifice there is, by the exact account, a difference. For sacrifices are the offerings made through blood and flesh; or, what is yet more exact, all the things offered as incense through fire; for “sacrifice” is properly from the “being sacrificed,” which is, “being made smoke.” But gifts are such as fruits, and whatever other things are bloodless and without fire. Yet they are also found laid down indifferently in the Scripture, as this: God looked upon Abel, and upon his gifts, although they were of the firstborn of the sheep. But upon Cain and upon his sacrifices he did not give heed, although they were of the fruits of the earth. But if anyone should try to smooth this out by frigid solutions, of which we ourselves also are not ignorant, yet I know not how he will release himself from the charge laid against him touching the careful reading of the Scriptures. For in many other places these things lie indifferently, and I would have set down ten thousand upon ten thousand, were not the thing to seem a want of taste. Yet this same apostle will suffice us, who in what follows has simply named “gifts” all the things that are offered. And hear.

Heb. 8:4. For if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, there being priests who offer the gifts according to the law. Still he establishes that, even if he has not a tabernacle below, but is above, nevertheless he is not on this account hindered from being a priest. And see his wisdom. From that whence one might rather establish that he is not a priest—I mean, from his not having a place on earth in which he ministered as priest—from this rather he himself establishes that he is a priest; and he says that for this very thing he is a priest, because he had no place on earth: For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest. For there were others, and the thing would have seemed an insurrection. But now, having heaven as his place, and having led up his own body there, there he intercedes with the Father for us. So that, since he is above, on this account he is rather a priest.

Heb. 8:5. Who serve to an example and shadow of the heavenly things. Here he shows the pre-eminence of the priesthood according to Christ, calling the old one an example and shadow, but our things heavenly. For when there is nothing earthly, but all things spiritual accomplished in the mysteries, where there are angelic hymns, where the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and remission of sins, and again bonds, when our citizenship is in the heavens, how are the things that concern us not heavenly? Of these, then, types were and examples—that is, dim representations, and as it were outline-sketches—the things shown to Moses in the Old.

Heb. 8:5. As Moses was admonished, being about to complete the tabernacle. For See, he says, that you make all things according to the type shown to you on the mountain. Since the things seen by us through the eyes we apprehend rather than the things we learn through hearing, on this account God showed to Moses all things, not only the construction of the tabernacle, but also the things concerning the sacrifices and the rest of the service.

Heb. 8:6. But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry. Upon that thought these things depend, the “For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest.” But now, not being on earth, he says, but having heaven as his sanctuary, he obtained a more excellent ministry; and his ministry was not such as that of the high priests on earth, but heavenly, inasmuch as it has heaven for the place of its own rite.

Heb. 8:6. inasmuch as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, Having exalted the priesthood according to Christ, from the place, and the priest, and the sacrifice, so also he sets forth the superiority of the Covenant. And though he said before that the Old was weak and unprofitable, because of the childishness of the hearers, yet perhaps he was even quit of it. But now he dwells upon the discourse concerning it, and shows that the New Covenant is better than that one—that is, the Gospel, of which Christ is mediator and giver; for he himself became for us a minister of the Gospel, having taken the form of a servant, just as Moses was mediator of the law.

Heb. 8:6. Which also was enacted upon better promises. That which especially revived those of the Jews who believed, this he sets down, that our Covenant is upon better promises. For not goods of earth, and a good and numerous offspring, but the kingdom of the heavens has been promised to those who keep the Gospel. Be not, then, faint-hearted; the promises of the Gospel are better; and it is senseless for one who has the better things to grow weary.

Heb. 8:7. For if that first one had been faultless, no place would have been sought for a second. See the order. He said that the Covenant according to Christ is better than the Old. And whence is it plain? Because, he says, it was enacted upon better promises. For if the promises and the recompenses are greater, it is quite plain that the Covenant also is better, and the injunctions more divine. Whence is it plain that the promises are better? From these things, he says: that the one was cast out, and the other was introduced in its place. For on this account the New prevails, because it is better and more perfect. For if that one had been faultless—that is, if it made men faultless—a second would not have been introduced. And just as we are wont, in more common speech, to say, The house is not faultless, in the sense of, it has a flaw, a rottenness; so also he means that the Old is not faultless, not as evil, but as not able to make better, such as having been given to infants; not blaming it, but blaming them—that is, the Jews, who were not able to be perfected through the ordinances of the law.

Heb. 8:8. Behold, days come, says the Lord, and I will conclude upon the house of Israel, and upon the house of Judah, a new covenant. More clearly here he shows that the Old has been cast out. For he brings forward God, through Jeremiah, saying that I will conclude another covenant, a new one—that is, wholly new; not as the Hebrews suppose, that Ezra renewed the Scripture. For the Scripture did not become new, but remained old, even if it was set down from memory by him.

Heb. 8:9. Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day when I took hold of their hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt. That no one might suppose that there comes to pass a casting out of that covenant which was made with Abraham, he added, “In the day when I took hold of their hand.” For the covenant in the Exodus, he says, I am about to cast out, the one given in the mount Sinai to your fathers who made themselves hard-hearted; whereas the covenant with Abraham received its fulfillment in Christ. For in your seed, he says, shall all the nations be blessed—who is Christ.

Heb. 8:10. Because they did not abide in my covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. Do you see that evils begin first from us? They, he says, did not abide, and on this account I disregarded them. But the good things, and the benefits, begin from him. And as it were making a defense, he sets down the cause for which he forsakes them: that it is because of their own instability.

Heb. 8:10. For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. “After those days”—what days? Some say, those of the Exodus, in which the Mosaic law was given. But to me it seems that he speaks concerning those days of which he spoke above: “Behold, days come.” After, then, those days are passed through, I will make such a covenant as you will hear next.

Heb. 8:10. Putting my laws into their mind, and I will write them upon their hearts. Let the Jew show this, when he received an unwritten law. For indeed after the return from Babylon, it came to be in writing under Ezra; but the apostles received it not written, but received the law of the Spirit in their hearts. Wherefore also Christ said, that The Comforter, when he comes, shall bring all things to your remembrance, and shall teach you all things.

Heb. 8:10. And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. This was accomplished through the Gospel. For those who formerly served idols, now, having recognized the true God, have become his people.

Heb. 8:11. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying: Know the Lord; for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. Here he speaks of the more laborious teaching. For we see that we do not need many words toward those who are sound in mind, to persuade them to believe in Christ. For the Jewish legislation was shut up in one corner, and few knew it; but the sound of the apostles went out into all the earth. And otherwise too: God having tarried on the earth in the flesh, and having deified our nature by the assumption, the light of the true knowledge of God shone in the souls of all, and a kind of divinity was implanted in human nature by grace, toward the truly knowing God.

Heb. 8:12. Because I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more. Having washed us through baptism from the filth of the foregoing sins, he no longer remembers those that were washed away beforehand.

Heb. 8:13. In that he says, new, he has made the first old. He interprets the prophetic saying, and says that this very thing, the naming it at all “new,” is indicative of the first being thereafter accounted old.

Heb. 8:13. But that which is being made old and is waxing aged is near to vanishing away. Taking occasion of boldness from the prophet, he thereafter lays hold of the law, showing that our things now flourish. From the prophetic saying, then, he procured the putting away of the old; but from himself he added the “of age,” and thereafter necessarily brought in the vanishing away as owed to the law; saying this: Not unseasonably did the new put down the old, but because of its age, because of its oldness—that is, because of its weakness and unprofitableness; as he also says elsewhere: For what was impossible to the law, in that it was weak through the flesh.

Chapter 9

Heb. 9:1. The first, then, indeed had ordinances of divine service. He showed from the priest, from the priesthood, from the covenant, that it was about to have its end there; now he shows it also from the very fashion of the tabernacle. For there were three places. The one outside, set apart for all, both Jews and Greeks; then there was a veil, within which the priests entered, performing the services every day. This place was called “the Holies”; which things were a type of the Old, inasmuch as the sacrifices through blood were there accomplished. But the Holy of Holies were a type of the mystery that is among us. The first, then, he says—that is, the Old Covenant—had ordinances—that is, symbols, or statutes and legislations; but then it had them, and now it has them not, for it has ceased.

Heb. 9:1. And the worldly sanctuary. He called it “worldly,” because it was permitted to all to set foot in it, and it was a manifest place, since in the same house where the Jews were, were also the Nazarenes, the proselytes, the Greeks. Since, then, it was accessible to Greeks also, he calls it “worldly.”

Heb. 9:2. For a tabernacle was prepared, the first, in which were both the candlestick and the table, and the setting forth of the loaves, which is called Holy. He calls this the “first,” as compared with the Holy of Holies, since indeed this was the middle one. And before it was the brazen altar, that of the whole burnt offerings, standing in the open air; then, a veil being stretched—or rather a curtain—this was the middle tabernacle, in which were both the candlestick, and the table, and the setting forth of the loaves.

Heb. 9:3. And behind the second curtain was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies, Do you see that there was a first veil, which the Scripture calls a “curtain,” as being drawn and pulled, which divided off the court into which all entered in common, in which they also sacrificed at the brazen altar, the tabernacle receiving on each occasion the priests who performed the services? And after you had passed through this, there was again another veil, and within this a tabernacle, the one called Holy of Holies, into which no other entered save the high priest alone, and he once in the year. And he everywhere calls it “tabernacle,” because of God’s dwelling there.

Heb. 9:4. Having a golden censer, and the ark of the Covenant overlaid round about on every side with gold. He calls this the ark of the Covenant, as having the tablets, which contained the law.

Heb. 9:4. In which was a golden pot having the manna, and the rod of Aaron that budded, and the tablets of the Covenant. All these were memorials of the Jewish ingratitude. The pot having the manna, because they murmured while being fed with it in a new manner, that to their descendants also might be handed down the memory both of God’s kindness and of their own bitterness. The rod of Aaron, because of the gainsaying that came to pass against him. The tablets of the Covenant, because they broke the first ones through the idolatry. And you will inquire: How is it that in the Books of Kingdoms it is written that there was nothing else in the ark save the tablets, but now the Apostle says that both the pot and the rod of Aaron had been laid up in it? Perhaps, then, as one excellently instructed in the Hebrew things by Gamaliel, he had this from tradition; since even now those of the Hebrews who play the Pharisee agree that it is so. Only, not from the beginning, but when the ark was about to be hidden under Jeremiah, perhaps these things too were then laid up in it, they say.

Heb. 9:5. And above it. That is, the ark.

Heb. 9:5. Cherubim of glory. Either the glorious ones, or the ministering ones of God, and existing for his glory. And these he purposely exalts, that he may show the things that concern us to be the greater.

Heb. 9:5. Overshadowing the mercy-seat. The cover of the ark was called the mercy-seat, as you will learn more exactly from the Scripture itself, and, not being deceived by the words of some, suppose this to be something else. Eat, however, Christ, who became the propitiation of our sins. And he set his seal upon all the things in the Old, and ratified them.

Heb. 9:5. Concerning which it is not now possible to speak in detail. He intimates here that these were not the only things seen, but there were certain riddles, which to contemplate and expound needs a longer time.

Heb. 9:6. Now these things being thus prepared, into the first tabernacle the priests enter continually, accomplishing the services. These things were, he says; but the Jews were driven away from them, inasmuch as the veil shut them off. For these things were being kept for us, to whom they were prophesied.

Heb. 9:7. But into the second the high priest alone, once in the year. Do you see the types already prepared beforehand? For that they might not say, The sacrifice according to Christ came to pass once, and how did it sanctify all? he shows it to be a thing from of old, seeing that the sacrifice offered once, even in the Old by the high priest, was the holier and the more awful.

Heb. 9:7. Not without blood. Since he called the cross a sacrifice, which had neither fire nor wood, nor was offered many times, he shows that the old sacrifice also was such; for it was offered once in blood. But some inquired how it is that in the Exodus it is written: That Aaron shall burn incense upon it, the golden altar—which, namely, was in the Holy of Holies—incense of fine composition every morning; in the morning when he trims the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it; and when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn perpetual incense; so that, they say, every day twice the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies to burn incense, where the golden altar was. How, then, does the Apostle here say that this one enters once in the year? And they resolve it, that with blood he entered once in the year, but with incense twice in the day. But know that they were at a loss wrongly, and unscientifically; for it was not upon the golden censer that Aaron burned incense twice in the day, but upon the golden altar; and this was not in the Holy of Holies, but in the middle tabernacle, in which were both the candlestick and the table. Since, with the golden censer, he entered once in the year into the Holy of Holies. For the censer is one thing, and the altar another. And I have set down the difficulty also, that the reader of these things, hearing it from others, may not be led astray, supposing it to be sound.

Heb. 9:7. Which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people. And again the “for himself.” For the high priest of the law, he says, offered for himself; but Christ, not for himself. For how, since he is separated from sinners? So that very great is the difference of this one from that one. And he said “errors,” not “sins,” casting greater fear both upon the Jews of old, and upon all, and abating their high-mindedness. For even if not willingly, but unwillingly and in ignorance, yet one is not clean. But some have said that, showing whence comes the difference of the sacrifice according to Christ from those of the law, he spoke thus. For the sacrifices of the law pardoned the trespasses committed in ignorance; but that of Christ remits even the sins committed knowingly.

Heb. 9:8. The Holy Spirit signifying this, that the way of the holy places had not yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle was yet standing. He begins thereafter to contemplate the things concerning the tabernacles, and shows that the Holy of Holies was inaccessible to the other priests, which things are a type of heaven; but the first tabernacle—that is, the one which, after the outer brazen altar, was immediately first—was accessible to them continually, being a symbol of the service according to the law; and it was shown symbolically that, so long as this tabernacle stands—that is, so long as the law prevails, and the services according to it are accomplished—the way of the holy places is not accessible—that is, the entrance into heaven—to those who perform such services; but to these it is unseen, and shut off, while to the one High Priest, Christ, alone was this way set apart.

Heb. 9:9–10. Which is a parable for the time then present, according to which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, that cannot, as touching the conscience, make perfect him who does the service; only in meats and drinks, and various washings, and ordinances of the flesh, imposed until a time of reformation. That which I said before, this he now says, that that tabernacle, into which the priests entered continually, was a parable—that is, an image and outline-sketch of the time present according to the law, before the coming of Christ; according to which sacrifices are offered, and are so weak that they cannot, as touching the conscience—that is, according to the inner man—make perfect those who offer. For it was only a bodily defilement that they cleansed, not the filth of sin. For they could not remit adultery, or murder, or sacrilege. “Only,” he says, “imposed” upon the men of that time, and ordained concerning meats and drinks. For this, he says, eat, and this do not eat. And how did he say “drinks”? and yet the law made no distinction concerning difference of drinks. Either, then, he speaks concerning the priest’s not drinking wine when he was to enter into the Holy place; or also concerning the vows—that is, of those who made promises concerning abstinence from wine, like the Nazarenes; or simply, making light of and ridiculing such ordinances. And there were various washings. For indeed, whether one touched a corpse, or whether one had an issue, he was washed, and thus seemed to be cleansed. And the ordinances were of the flesh—that is, fleshly commandments, cleansing flesh, and fleshly justifying those who according to the flesh seemed unclean. They were not, however, to be imposed until the end, but until a time of reformation—that is, until the coming of Christ, who was about to reform these things, and to bring in the true and spiritual service. And since the law was a heavy yoke, fittingly he said “imposed.” As also in the Acts it is written: Why tempt you to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers were able to bear?

Heb. 9:11. But Christ being come, a High Priest of the good things to come. The Old service, he says, did not bring into heaven; but Christ, being come, entered once for all into the Holies; for there the thought is rendered. And he did not say “having become a high priest,” but “being come a High Priest”—that is, having come to this very thing. He did not first come, and then, it so falling out, become a High Priest; but the aim of his having come to the earth was the high priesthood. And he did not say “a High Priest of the things sacrificed,” but “of the good things to come,” since the word was not able to set forth the whole exactly; simply and indefinitely he called “good things” the things that came to pass for us. And these he called “to come,” as relative to the time of the law. For just as he called that one “present,” so he names the things according to Christ “to come”; as relative to the comparison with that one, or also relative to the mysteries that shall be uncovered to us in the age to come.

Heb. 9:11. Through the greater and more perfect tabernacle. He speaks here of the flesh, which is greater, inasmuch as both God the Word, and all the energy of the Spirit, dwells in it. For not by measure did God give the Spirit. And more perfect, as accomplishing more perfect things.

Heb. 9:11. Not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Here the heretics leap in, saying that the body is heavenly and ethereal. And yet, even if the Apostle held it to be heavenly and ethereal, how did he say that it is not of this creation? For heaven is not outside the things created. What, then, is it that he says? That the old tabernacle the hands of the craftsmen about Bezaleel made; but the tabernacle of God the Word, the Spirit framed. Wherefore he said that it is not of this creation—that is, not of these created things, but spiritual and divine. For of the created things none has in itself God the Word according to hypostasis; but that one was united to him according to hypostasis. According to the matter, then, the body of the Lord was according to us, and of one substance with us, as compacted of the undefiled blood of the holy Virgin; but according to the manner of its constitution, above us, and because it was united according to hypostasis to God the Word. Or, since the matter of the old tabernacle was wood and skins, and gold, and silver, and brass, and certain woven stuffs, the Apostle, looking to those things, said that it is “not of this creation,” of which the old tabernacle had need. For he brings the whole discourse forth comparatively, and shows the pre-eminence that is according to Christ. And he calls the body of the Lord both a “tabernacle” here, because the Only-begotten tabernacled in it, and a “veil,” as hiding the Godhead. He calls also heaven by these same names: a “tabernacle,” as the high priest being there; a “veil,” the holy things being walled off through it.

Heb. 9:12. not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, Behold, all things changed, and a pre-eminence. How great is that of divine blood over against that of the irrational beasts, with which the high priest of the law entered.

Heb. 9:12. He entered once for all into the Holies. That is, into heaven.

Heb. 9:12. Having found eternal redemption. Not a temporary cleansing did those have, but an eternal freedom from the sins of the soul. Or, because, having entered once, through a single entrance he laid up for us an everlasting benefit. And observe also the “having found,” as of a thing that came to pass beyond expectation; thus he used this word. For the matter of our freedom was past finding; but he himself found it.

Heb. 9:13–14. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctifies to the purity of the flesh. Since he said that through a single entrance, through a single blood, he furnished eternal redemption, he establishes this, and shows it to be persuasive to Jews. For if you, he says, believed that you were cleansed when sprinkled with the blood of the heifer, and again with the ash kneaded with water (for the ash was kept for the cleansing of those who were defiled—that is, of the polluted), how shall the blood of Christ not cleanse the souls? And observe his prudence. He did not say that the blood of the goats cleansed, but sanctified; not as glorifying the things of the law, but that he might accomplish what he wishes. For if the blood of a goat furnished sanctification, as you believe, much more be you persuaded that the blood of Christ furnishes sanctification. For that it was not in order to exalt the Jewish things that he said this, observe how he added: “To the purity of the flesh.” For it was holy, he says, not to the cleansing of the souls, but of the flesh.

Heb. 9:14. how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, Not some high priest offered Christ, but he himself offered himself; and not through fire, as Aaron, but through the eternal Spirit, so that both the grace and the redemption are made everlasting. And “without blemish”—that is, sinless. For indeed even in the Old the heifer was required to be without blemish.

Heb. 9:14. Shall cleanse our conscience from dead works. There he said “sanctifies”; but he added also, “to the purity of the flesh”; here, however, having said “shall cleanse,” he immediately showed the pre-eminence. For he adds, that it cleanses the conscience—that is, the inner man—which there was not. And there indeed he who touched a corpse was cleansed; but here the cleansing is from dead works, which are truly able to defile, and to lead away from God.

Heb. 9:14. To serve the living and true God? So that he who touches dead works does not serve the living and true God, but makes gods of those works which he chooses. Thus the glutton makes a god of his belly; thus the covetous man is an idolater. Dead, then, are such things, not only as being alien from eternal life, but because even in the very doing they are abominable, and false too, as enticing us, and seeming pleasant, but not being so.

Heb. 9:15. And on this account he is the mediator of a New Covenant. That which troubled many of the weaker sort—the death, namely, of Christ: For if he died, they say, how shall he give the things he has promised? this Paul now heals, showing that for this very thing his covenant is sure, namely because he died; for over the living a covenant is not spoken of. On this account, he says, in order to cleanse us, he died, and in a covenant he left to us the remission, and the enjoyment of all manner of good things, having become a mediator of the Father and of us. For the Father did not wish to leave us an inheritance, but was angry as with sons who had set him at nought and become estranged. Christ, then, became a mediator, and reconciled him. And how? That which we ought to have suffered, for we owed it to die, this he himself underwent for us, and made us worthy of the covenant, and thereafter the covenant became sure through the death of the Son, as not having transmitted the inheritance to unworthy persons. For indeed the covenant has both its heirs—hear, then, of the covenant according to Christ: I will that where I am, they also may be; and its disinherited: I pray not concerning all, but concerning those who believe on me through their word. The covenant has witnesses: He who sent me bears witness concerning me; and, The Comforter shall bear witness concerning me; and, And you also bear witness.

Heb. 9:15. That, a death having come to pass for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant. Do you see that the death of Christ came to pass for our redemption? How, then, do you think him to be of weakness who was so strong, as even to heal the transgressions under the law? How, then, do you run to the law, which is so powerless, as not even to be able to set right the transgressions committed against itself? Not that it was evil, but that it was weak.

Heb. 9:15. They who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Of eternal life and inheritance. For if the death of Christ had not freed us from the sins, on account of which we made the Father our enemy, how should we have received the heavenly inheritance? And the “called” shows this, that in the beginning God was disposed toward us as toward sons, and we were called to the inheritance; but afterward we ourselves made ourselves, through our sins, unworthy of it.

Heb. 9:16. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be brought in the death of the one who covenanted. For a covenant is sure over the dead. Let not, then, the death of Christ trouble you; for unless he had died, he would not have made a covenant, so that we should inherit. For it is beyond doubt that the covenant prevails after death; nor should we at all be worthy of the inheritance, the enmity not being loosed.

Heb. 9:17. Since it has no force at all while the one who covenanted lives? Read and understand this interrogatively.

Heb. 9:18. Whence neither the first was inaugurated without blood. Not only from common custom did he confirm what he said, but also from the things that came to pass in the Old, which the more drew over the Hebrews. Whence, he says, this—because it is necessary that death precede the covenant—on this account the first covenant also was not inaugurated without blood. And blood is a symbol of death. But there indeed it was a compounded blood, for it was a type; here, however, the truth having shone forth, the Son of God died in the flesh for us. What is the “was inaugurated”? This is it, that it received the beginning of its constitution and confirmation. For it received no otherwise the beginning of its working, save when an outpouring of blood went before.

Heb. 9:19. For when every commandment according to the law had been spoken by Moses to all the people. “According to the law”—that is, as God legislated, that it might be spoken in the ears of all the people; or, “of every commandment that is according to the law”—that is, of that which was legislated.

Heb. 9:19. He took the blood of the calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people. For what cause were the book and the people sprinkled? Either with the precious blood being figured beforehand from above, by which we were sprinkled, and our hearts; for these are books, as he also said above: “Putting my laws upon their heart.” And the water is a symbol of baptism. And here the blood and the water are taken, perhaps both because of that which flowed from the side of the Lord—blood and water; and perhaps also because baptism, of which the water is a symbol, proclaims the death of the Lord, of which the blood is indicative. And the hyssop was taken as being apt to hold together, because of its density; and the wool likewise; or because Christ is a sheep, on this account also scarlet, that even by its color it might bear a type of the blood.

Heb. 9:20. Saying: This is the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined toward you. But Christ: This is the blood of the New Covenant. That which is to remission of sins. But there, neither “new,” nor remission of sins. Do you see, then, how he named the blood “covenant”? So that of necessity a death must be conceived, where a covenant is spoken of.

Heb. 9:21. And the tabernacle also, and all the vessels of the service, he sprinkled in like manner with the blood. These too were a type; for we are the tabernacle, according to this: I will dwell in them, and walk in them. And we are the vessels of the great house of God, some golden, some silver. We were sprinkled, then, with the true blood of Christ, and were sanctified, being baptized into his death.

Heb. 9:22. And nearly everything is purified with blood according to the law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Why did he add the “almost”? Because those things were not a perfect cleansing, nor a perfect remission. For how could they be, the sins not being remitted?

Heb. 9:23. It was necessary, then, that the patterns of the things in the heavens should be purified with these. He calls the things that concern us “heavenly,” the things of the Church. And it has been said above, how the Church is heaven. Of these, then, the Jewish things were patterns and types; on this account they also were purified with the blood of calves, and the ashes of a heifer, and the other things so cheap.

Heb. 9:23. But the heavenly things themselves. That is, the things of the Church, our things.

Heb. 9:23. With better sacrifices than these. Since they are both better than the Jewish, and by so much as heaven is than earth—seeing that to those the good things were earthly, but to us the lot is heaven—fittingly they were counted worthy of a greater and more magnificent sacrifice, that of the blood of the Son of God, who cleansed us more perfectly. So then the death of Christ came to pass not only for the confirming of the covenant, but also for the working of the true cleansing, that of the soul. And on this account he makes mention of the benefits of the death, because to the many it seemed most dishonorable, and especially that through the cross.

Heb. 9:24. For Christ entered not into holy places made with hands, antitypes of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us. The Jews were highly minded about the temple; for there was nowhere on earth such a temple, neither for beauty nor for costliness. For since the Jews were drawn by bodily things, God commanded it to be constructed most magnificently. Wherefore also from the ends of the earth they came to it. What, then, does Paul do? Just as in the case of the sacrifices he did and overthrew them, setting against them the death of Christ, so also here, setting heaven against the temple, he shows the difference. For the other high priests entered into the holy places made with hands, which were antitypes of the true—that is, were a type of heaven. For this one is the true holy places. But Christ entered into heaven itself, although he fills all things, and is present everywhere; but because of the human he says these things. And not only through this does he show the difference, but also through showing that our High Priest has come nearer to God. For the high priests of old saw God through symbols, but Christ sees God himself, having appeared before his face. And this too is said condescendingly, because of the human. What is the “for us”? With a sacrifice, he says, he entered, one able to propitiate the Father; but also to reconcile us to the angels. For these too were at enmity with us as with enemies of their own Master. Now, then, he appears on our behalf; for this is the “now,” that he entered as High Priest; for it was for the sake of our reconciliation that he entered.

Heb. 9:25. Nor that he should offer himself often. Neither did he now enter into heaven, that at another time also he should enter, offering himself.

Heb. 9:25. As the high priest enters into the Holies yearly. Behold the pre-eminence. That one yearly, Christ once.

Heb. 9:25. With blood of another. And this too belongs to the pre-eminence. For the one with blood of another, of bulls and goats; but the other with his own.

Heb. 9:26. For then he must often have suffered since the foundation of the world. Since, if he was about to offer often, he says, he must also have died often, because he must offer his own blood.

Heb. 9:26. But now once, at the consummation of the ages, to the putting away of sin, he has been manifested through his sacrifice. Here he also reveals a certain mystery: why at the consummation of the ages, after many sins. For if his death had come to pass at the beginning, when sin was not yet so poured out, and then no one believed, and he must not die a second time, all would have been to no profit. But now, since later the sins were many, fittingly God was manifested at the consummation of the ages, that he might put away—that is, cast down, and make void of boldness—sin through his sacrifice, that is, through the death of his flesh. Such a thing he said also elsewhere: Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more. And how did sin become void of boldness? In that those who work it were let go unpunished. For the boldness of sin is the bringing on of punishment. And the man of Nyssa too was at a loss, both in the Catechetical Oration, and in the discourse on the Nativity of Christ, concerning this very thing: Why at the consummation of the ages was the Son made flesh? And he resolves it, that, just as the best physicians, when the fever smolders the body within, and is kindled through the disease-producing causes, bring no help to the sick man from food, awaiting the malady to come to its height, so also in our case, the Physician of souls awaited the disease of all wickedness to be wholly uncovered, that nothing of the hidden things might remain unhealed, the physician healing only that which has appeared. And you will learn this more amply, O divine man, if it be your wish to meet with the very words of that man.

Heb. 9:27. And inasmuch as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this judgment. Now he also gives the cause why Christ died once: because, he says, he became a ransom for one death. For it was appointed to men once to die. This, then, the “once,” he died for all. What then? Do we not now die? Yes; but we are not held fast as before, but, through the hope of the resurrection, of which he became the leader who died for us, Christ, neither is death any longer death, but a sleep. Since, then, death was about to hold all fast, on this account he died, that he might set us free. Or rather, the Apostle does not now wish to show this, that he paid the death owed by us to punishment, but that, since Christ was truly a man, together with being also God, just as men die once, and then is the judgment, so also he himself died once. Hear, then, the things that follow.

Heb. 9:28. So also Christ, once offered. By whom? Himself by himself. For even if he is a high priest, yet he is also a victim, and a sacrifice.

Heb. 9:28. To bear the sins of many. Just as in the holy liturgy we bring up our sins, and say, Whether unwillingly or willingly we have sinned, pardon; that is, making mention of them first, and then asking the pardon; so also he himself said to the Father: For their sake I consecrate myself, Or, he bore up the sins, taking them upon himself from men, and offered them, that he might remit them. And for what cause did he say “of many,” and not “of all”? Because not all believed. For his death indeed was a counterpoise to the perdition of all, and as far as lay in him, he died for all; but he did not bear the sins of all, because of their not willing. So that they made the death of the Son of God useless to themselves, which is also worthy of shuddering. So speaks the blessed John. But I found in the Gospel, upon the and to give his life as a ransom for many, a marginal note taking the “many” in the sense of “all”; for “many” also are “all.”

Heb. 9:28. A second time without sin shall he appear to those who look for him to salvation. He died indeed, he says, bearing our sins, and offering them to the Father, that he might blot them out, for whom also he died. For “him who knew no sin,” he says, “the Father made sin,” as appropriating our things. But he shall be seen a second time no longer bearing sin, nor needing a second death because of them, but as a judge, to salvation to those who look for him—that is, to those who believe in him, and hope for his coming; and it is plain that they also live worthily of it. And yet, not only to salvation will he come, but also to the punishment of the unbelieving and of sinners; but nevertheless he spoke the gladsome thing.

Chapter 10

Heb. 10:1. For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come. That is, a figure of the good things which, under the New Covenant, were to be given by Christ to those who received it.

Heb. 10:1. Not the very image of the things themselves. That is, not the truth itself. The things of what sort? Of the sacrifice, of the remission. For the old things resembled a shadow-sketch, being faint; but the new resemble an image, that is, the truth, as being splendidly subsistent and brought to full accomplishment. Thus, then, John who is among the saints. But it is not unprofitable to take in also what Gregory the Theologian suggests for our understanding in this place. For he says, both elsewhere and, more plainly, in his oration on Pascha, that: “The legal Pascha—I dare even to say it—was a fainter figure of a figure.” So that he gives us to understand that the law is called a shadow by the Apostle, while an image are the things now accomplished in the Church, as being intimations of other and more perfect things—of those that are to be partaken by the worthy in the age to come, which the Apostle now also calls realities. As, then, the image falls somewhat short of the original reality, so also the present mysteries fall short of the more perfect realities in the age to come; and as the shadow-sketch is inferior to the image, so also the law is left behind by the new.

Heb. 10:1–2. Year by year with the same sacrifices, which they offer continually, they can never make perfect those who draw near. The sense of the passage is this: If the legal sacrifices had had power, they would not have been offered continually; for once offered, and having done their benefit, they would have ceased. But now, since they were offered year by year continually, it is plain that they were too weak to make perfect. And for this reason, after the first sacrifice they offered a second, and yet another after it—just as among medicines the strong ones are those that, applied once, heal, while those applied many times are weak. But it is inquired: What then? Do not we also continually offer bloodless sacrifices? Yes; but we make a remembrance of His death. And this is one sacrifice, not many, since it was offered once. For we always offer the same one—or rather, we make a remembrance of that offering, as though it were now taking place. So that the sacrifice is one. Since, as far as the question goes—because He is offered in many places—are there then many Christs? By no means; but one everywhere, both here being complete and there complete, one body. As, then, being offered in many places He is one body, and not many bodies, so also is there one sacrifice. For we offer that which was then offered. But there, under the law, it was another that was offered—the one offered yesterday, a lamb perhaps, alongside today’s; and today’s was not brought as a remembrance of yesterday’s, but as itself by itself accomplishing a sacrifice. How, then, does the Apostle say “with the same sacrifices”? They were indeed the same sacrifices, inasmuch as the same kinds were brought—for instance, a lamb today and a lamb tomorrow—yet other in number. But some have said that these were the same in the manner of their bringing, that is, ordained to be performed either by slaughter or by whole burnt offering, but other in kind—such as sheep, oxen, turtledoves, pigeons. As for the word “they can”: even though the copies have it with the ν, nevertheless I found a marginal note requiring this to be written without the ν: “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, can never make perfect those who draw near.” And truly, as far as the consistency of grammatical precision goes, the Scripture ought to read thus, so that no solecism may arise. But since there is no concern for technical rules in Scripture, let us understand it also as the copies have it: “For they can never”—that is, those who offer—“make perfect those who draw near.”

Heb. 10:2. Since they would have ceased to be offered, because the worshippers, once purged, would have had no more consciousness of sins. Read it as a question. For if sins had ceased, he says, why would not these too have ceased to be offered, seeing that those needing their benefit had been sufficiently benefited, and had no longer any consciousness of sins?—that is, being no longer conscious in themselves of anything deserving treatment, because they had once for all been healed, having been purged.

Heb. 10:3. But in them there is a remembrance of sins year by year. The sacrifices accomplish nothing else, he says, except only a remembrance of sins—that is, a conviction. For they do not furnish remission, but rather demonstrate, by being offered continually, that the sins of the people are not loosed. For if the sins had been loosed, what need was there of sacrifices? And by saying “remembrance,” he has given you to understand that the sacrifices were brought not for sins newly committed, but also for those previously committed, as not having been remitted. For year by year, let us say, the blood of the calf was brought for the people. Was it, then, as though the sins were the same, that the same sacrifice was brought? Surely the sins newly arisen were nowhere the same as those previously committed. But it is plain that those former sins remained unloosed, and on this account the same sacrifice was always offered—just as a medicine always brought, being the same, shows that the same disease always troubles the sick man.

Heb. 10:4. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. He makes the argument more secure from the cheapness of the things brought and the magnitude of the disease. As if someone experienced in medicine, seeing the herb called mercury applied to one suffering from elephantiasis, should say, “It is impossible that mercury should rid a man of the elephant-disease.”

Heb. 10:5. Therefore, coming into the world, He says. Christ, coming into the world in a body, says through David. And the Apostle’s aim here is this: Since he had shown the sacrifices to be weak and unprofitable, lest anyone should say to him, “How is it, then, that the Jews still perform these?”—for at that time the temple still stood for them, and all the legal observances were carried out; how is it that they did not cease?—this he now shows, and says that they had indeed ceased according to the will of God, but the Jews, being contentious and ever resisting the Holy Spirit, still cling to them. And he shows also that even before the Lord’s incarnation they had been cast off by God. And observe that this is what the Apostle intends. For he did not say “having entered,” but “coming into the world,” that he might show that even before He entered, they were already hateful.

Heb. 10:5. Sacrifice and offering You did not desire. Those ordained through the law, evidently. But “offering,” as distinct from “sacrifice,” signifies here something else, and I think that by the term are signified the things without blood.

Heb. 10:5. But a body You prepared for me. That is, You appointed my body to become a prepared and perfect sacrifice.

Heb. 10:6. Whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You did not delight in. Neither did You delight in—that is, desire, or count acceptable—the whole burnt offerings, nor the things brought for sin. And there were different names of sacrifices, according to their different causes, evidently: some for sin, some for trespass, some for salvation, some for praise, some for vows, some for purification. All of them, then, were abolished, since “sacrifice and offering You did not desire.”

Heb. 10:7. Then I said: Behold, I have come; in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do Your will, O God. Do you see that the sacrifices had been cast out even before the incarnation? For after You had rejected the sacrifices, then said I, Christ: Behold, I have come for the sake of doing Your will. And the will of God the Father is that the Son be sacrificed for the world, and that men be justified, not in sacrifices, but in the death of His Son. For “I have proclaimed the good tidings of righteousness,” He says, “in the great congregation.” Then, by way of parenthesis: “In the volume of the book it is written of me”; for thus must the sentence be construed. And by “the volume of the book” He means the scroll of the law, that is, the book of the Old Testament. In this Scripture, then, it is written concerning my coming, and that I am to be sacrificed for the world. Or by “the volume of the book” He means the beginning of the books of the Old Testament. For indeed in the first book of Moses, that of Genesis, when He says, Let us make man according to our image, He discloses beforehand the knowledge of the Godhead of Christ.

Heb. 10:8–9. Saying above that, Sacrifice and offering and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You did not desire, neither did You delight in—which are offered according to the law—then He said, Behold, I have come to do, O God, Your will. Paul himself interprets the Davidic saying. But you will ask: What then? Were the sacrifices according to the law not God’s will? They were a will; but the meaning of “will” is twofold. For a man wills a certain thing primarily, as Paul: “I would that all men were even as I myself”—that is, unmarried. But he wills also by way of concession, as the same Paul: “I would have the younger widows marry”; this is a concessive will. For lest they wax wanton against Christ, on this account he condescended. So also God primarily did not desire the savor of fat and blood. But since He saw that the Hebrews, like those who sacrifice to demons, clung exceedingly to the sacrifices, He condescended to them, that they might bring the sacrifice in honor to Him. For what reason did Paul bring forward this testimony, when he had countless others? Because of the shamelessness of the Jews. For since they said that the old polity had been abolished not on account of its imperfection, but on account of the sins of those who offered the sacrifices, and adduced that Isaiah too lays the blame on their sins, saying, “Your hands are full of blood”; and David himself, after saying, “I will not accept calves out of your house,” and what follows, adds, “But to the sinner God said”—since, then, the more contentious of the Hebrews said these things, Paul adduces a testimony in which the polity itself, by itself, is reckoned cast off by God on account of its imperfection, not on account of the sins of the people. For nowhere in the fortieth Psalm, from which the testimony is taken, does the Prophet make mention of the people.

Heb. 10:9. He takes away the first, that He may establish the second. What is the first? The sacrifices. What is the second? The will of the Father, that is, the sacrifice through the cross of the body of Christ. Those, then, are cast out, that the offering through the slaying of Christ, which the Father willed, may be established and confirmed. So that it was not on account of the sins of those who offered that the sacrifices were judged, but on account of their own imperfection.

Heb. 10:10. By which will we have been sanctified, who are so through the offering of the body of Christ once for all. By which will, he says, the will of God, we have been sanctified, who have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ that took place once for all; for this must be supplied from without. For we who have believed that we are sanctified through the offering of the Only-begotten, have been sanctified in the will of the Father. So that it is not the legal wills of God, but the offering according to Christ, and the sanctification through it.

Heb. 10:11. And every priest stands daily ministering and offering many times the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. So then, to stand is a sign of ministering; but to be seated, as Christ is, is a sign of being ministered to.

Heb. 10:12. But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins forever. But He, Christ, offered one sacrifice, his own body, for our sins, sufficient for us forever, so as to need no second.

Heb. 10:12. Sat down at the right hand of the Father. So that He is not only High Priest, but also God. For after fulfilling the work for which He had also been appointed by the divine economy to bear the name of High Priest, He then sat down, as God.

Heb. 10:13. Henceforth waiting, until His enemies be made the footstool of His feet. So that He is not only High Priest, but also God, and He awaits that His enemies be made the footstool of His feet. And His enemies are both all the unbelievers and the demons, who themselves also shall be subjected—that is, their wickedness remains inactive, as they are delivered over to the unquenchable fire. But for the present Paul especially calls “enemies” the unbelieving Hebrews, comforting the believers from among the Jews, who had suffered countless dreadful things at their hands. For do not be faint-hearted, he says; they shall be subjected—or rather, what is greater, those who now rise up against you shall be trodden underfoot. And this is plain from Christ’s having sat down at the right hand of the Father. For since this has come to pass, that also shall come to pass, according to what is said in the Psalms. How, then, were they not at once made the footstool of His feet—that is, why were they not put out of the way? On account of the believers who were to be born from among them.

Heb. 10:14. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. Perfectly, he says, He has freed from sins those who are sanctified and anointed with His blood, through being baptized into His death. For all who are baptized, having become planted together in the likeness of His death, are clearly sanctified by His blood.

Heb. 10:15. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us. Bears witness to what? That He has perfectly freed us from sins, through the one offering, so that no other is needed.

Heb. 10:16–17. For after saying, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: putting my laws upon their hearts, and upon their minds I will inscribe them; and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more. Do you see that God bears witness that He has given remission of sins? And He gave it then, when He gave the New Covenant. And the New Covenant He both gave and confirmed through the death of His Son, as has been demonstrated above.

Heb. 10:18. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer offering for sin. For if remission of sins has been given through the one sacrifice, what further need is there of a second sacrifice? So that it has been demonstrated that through the one offering of Christ we have been perfected, having received remission of sins, and we no longer need another sacrifice. Superfluous, then, are the Jewish sacrifices, performed in contentiousness; and now their uselessness is condemned even by those who have long performed them.

Heb. 10:19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness. Since he had shown the surpassing excellence of our High Priest in regard to the covenant, and of the offering of Christ in regard to the legal sacrifices, and that through it we have been freed from sins, he gives the doctrinal discourse a rest, allowing the hearer to take breath, and most opportunely passes over to the moral. For having just made mention of the remission of sins, he then exhorts that they fall no more into the same: Having therefore boldness, he says, from the fact that our sins have been remitted to us. For as sin produces shame and the loss of boldness, so remission gives confidence.

Heb. 10:19. For entrance into the holies. For indeed, since our sins have been remitted, we have boldness to enter into the Holies, that is, into heaven.

Heb. 10:19. by the blood of Jesus, That is, through the blood. For through the cross and the blood of Christ, having been counted worthy of remission, we received the boldness.

Heb. 10:20. Which He inaugurated for us as a new and living way. Which entrance into the holies He Himself inaugurated for us, that is, made a new way, having Himself begun it, and Himself walked it first. And “new” is used instead of “fresh,” and as having appeared in our times. And this is our boast, that what Abraham was not counted worthy of, we have been counted worthy of, and now heaven has been opened to us. And “living,” because the first way was death-bearing—the way, that is, into the legal holies. For that one no longer has any place, and became to those who received it a cause of death. But this one so leads to life that it itself also lives and abides forever. Or understand “living” similarly to “new,” instead of “fresh and flourishing,” by way of contrast with the entrance into the old holies; for that one has been deadened.

Heb. 10:20. Through the veil, that is, His flesh. He inaugurated for us this way into heaven through His flesh; for when it was lifted up on the cross and taken up, then He revealed to us the heavenly things. Wherefore also He fittingly called it a veil. For this is proper to the veil: that, when it is lifted, it uncovers the things within.

Heb. 10:21. And a great priest over the house of God. Having, that is, as priest Christ, and as house ourselves the faithful, according to the saying, I will dwell in them and walk among them. Or, what I rather think, heaven; for that He also calls the Holies, and in it He says the High Priest ministers, interceding on our behalf.

Heb. 10:22. Let us draw near. To what? To the faith, and to the spiritual worship; or to heaven, where our High Priest is.

Heb. 10:22. With a true heart. That is, a guileless one, unfeigned toward the brethren; or an undoubting one, in nothing wavering, in nothing hesitating concerning the things to come, and on that account becoming faint-hearted. He adds, then:

Heb. 10:22. In full assurance of faith. He teaches us how we shall not be faint-hearted: if we have full assurance of faith, that is, a faith completed and most perfect. For it is possible to believe, yet not in full assurance. Just as some say that there will be a resurrection of certain men, but of others there will not be—this is not full faith, but imperfect. In full assurance of faith, then, let us draw near. For since nothing is visible—neither the temple, which is heaven, nor the High Priest, who is Christ, but it is hidden, just as of old the high priest was hidden from view when he entered—on this account there is need of a faith that is full and undoubting.

Heb. 10:22. our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, Having spoken of faith, he now shows that not faith alone, but also a virtuous life is required. The Jews, then, sprinkled the body, but we our hearts, so that we may be conscious in ourselves of nothing evil. And we shall be sprinkled by virtue itself, or also by the grace of the Spirit, which remits to us our sins in the washing, and strengthens us, so that, if we are diligent, we fall no more into the same.

Heb. 10:22. and our bodies washed with pure water. The water of baptism; and “pure,” either as making pure, or as not having blood mingled with it, as the old water of the ashes did. For even if the grace of the Spirit in the washing cleanses the souls also, nevertheless Paul has here coordinated the visible with the visible. Since indeed in the very use of baptism, the water is taken on account of the body. For, since we are twofold, the cleansing too is twofold.

Heb. 10:23. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. That is, the hope that has been confessed by us, let us hold it fast and firm. For we hoped, at the beginning of the faith, that we too should enter into heaven; and we confessed, when we made the covenants of the faith, that we believe in the resurrection of the dead, and in life everlasting. This confession, then, let us hold fast.

Heb. 10:23. For He who promised is faithful. He gives strength as to how we shall hold our hope firm, namely, if we consider the trustworthiness of Him who promised. For faithful—that is, true—is Christ, who said, Where I am, there shall my servant also be.

Heb. 10:24. And let us consider one another, to provoke to love and good works. He adds the perfection of love. For let us consider one another, he says—that is, let us observe whether anyone is virtuous, that we may imitate him; not that we may envy, but that we may rather be provoked to do the same good works as he. And this provocation is of love, not of envy. For as iron sharpens iron, so also a soul, conversing with a soul, provokes it to the same things, only in love. Or also because you come together to one another, so as to be kindled to love and to be loved.

Heb. 10:25. Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together. He knows that coming together to one another begets love; wherefore he exhorts not to forsake the gathering together, nor to practice divisions and rival assemblies. For where two or three are gathered, there I am among them. And the prayer of the Church both loosed Peter from his bonds, and released him from the prison.

Heb. 10:25. As the manner of some is. Here he glances at those who divide themselves off.

Heb. 10:25. But exhorting one another. That is, being to one another for consolation, and setting before one another the one law, and teaching, and comforting. For a brother helped by a brother is like a strong city.

Heb. 10:25. And so much the more, as you see the day approaching. The day of the consummation. For inasmuch as we are now all but parted from this world, he says, why do we part ourselves one from another? And this was a consolation to them, who had grown weary under their trials, as he says also elsewhere: The Lord is near; be anxious for nothing.

Heb. 10:26. For if we sin willfully. He began from the more cheering things—that we have boldness, that we have been counted worthy of remission; now he also frightens by the more somber things. And observe how merciful it is: “For if we sin willfully,” he says; implying that if it were unwillingly, there is some measure of pardon. And observe how he did not say “having sinned,” but “sinning”—that is, persisting in the sin impenitently. For if we do not persist, but show repentance, there will be pardon. Where, then, are those who here do away with repentance?

Heb. 10:26. After receiving the knowledge of the truth. Either of Christ, or of all the doctrines.

Heb. 10:26. There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. He says this not to do away with repentance, as some have misunderstood, but he shows that there is no second baptism; wherefore neither is there a second death of Christ. For he calls this a sacrifice, as also in what went before: “For by one sacrifice He has perfected forever.” Our baptism images the death of Christ. As, then, that death is one, so also is this one. Why, then, do you sin so fearlessly, when there is no hope that through baptism you shall painlessly wipe away your sins? Lay hold, then, of good works.

Heb. 10:27. But a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a zeal of fire which is about to devour the adversaries. Observe how he has, as it were, given soul to the fire. For just as a beast, when provoked, does not cease until it seizes someone, and devouring him satisfies its rage, so also that fire, being zealous on behalf of the commandments of God that have been transgressed, and growing savage on their behalf, whomever it seizes, such a one it devours forever. For he did not say “about to eat,” but “to devour”—everlastingly, that is. And by “adversaries” he means not only the unbelievers, but also the believers who work the things contrary to the commandments of God.

Heb. 10:28. A man that has set at naught Moses’ law. From the lesser he shows that the punishment will justly come about, that the argument may be the more trustworthy. And he says “Moses’ law,” because Moses ordained many things.

Heb. 10:28. Dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. The construction is thus: A man that has set at naught Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses—that is, if it be attested by two or three witnesses that he transgressed the law.

Heb. 10:29. Of how much worse punishment, do you think, shall he be counted worthy, who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant a common thing? He commits the judgment to them—which we are accustomed to do in matters greatly agreed upon, making the hearers the judges. And what is “trampled underfoot”? This is, “despised.” For just as of things trampled underfoot we make no account, so we too, making no account of Christ, in this way come to sin. And “counted the blood of the covenant a common thing”—that is, having nothing more than the rest. And “of the covenant,” because through it the covenant with us was confirmed, the covenant that gives us the inheritance of the good things, as we said above. And these things were said concerning the mysteries. For when, partaking of the undefiled body and blood, we wallow the partaking flesh in the mire of bodily uncleanness, do we not trample underfoot the Son of God? For the clay of the earth is not so unworthy of the divine body as is uncleanness. And you will use this saying also against the Nestorians. For these, supposing Christ to be a mere man, suppose also that His blood is common, and in nothing different from the rest.

Heb. 10:29. By which he was sanctified. Here he shows his insensibility and ingratitude; for he ought, he says, to have stood in awe of the sanctification of which he was counted worthy in the blood.

Heb. 10:29. And has done despite to the Spirit of grace? For he who has not administered worthily the benefit given has done despite to the giver. He made you a son of God, and do you become a slave of the passions? He came to dwell in you, and do you bring in upon yourself the devil? Are not these things, then, a despiting of the Spirit?

Heb. 10:30. For we know Him who said: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again: The Lord shall judge His people. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, and The Lord shall judge His people—these things he has said both according to the sequence of the argument, to prove that the Lord is about to take vengeance upon the things sinned; for He said this through the prophet. And he also comforts them as they were faint-hearted on account of the trials from the Jews who afflicted them; for he says, as it were, such things as these: Do not fall down; you have one who avenges and repays, who lives forever, and from whom in no way shall those who insult you wholly escape. You indeed fell into their hands through men; but they fall into the hands of God who lives forever, and on this account is inescapable.

Heb. 10:31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. These things he has said both according to the sequence of the argument, to prove that the Lord is about to take vengeance upon the things sinned; for He said this through the prophet. And by these things he also comforts them as they were faint-hearted.

Heb. 10:32. But remember the earlier days, Not in vain, then, were we saying that the “Vengeance is mine” he introduces, in a hidden way, for their comfort. For behold, he now speaks to them more openly, exhorting them not to depart from their endurance. He says, then, that they should imitate no others, but their own selves. For at the beginning of your faith you contended; this contest ever call to mind; do not through sloth lose what you have already striven for. And observe his spiritual wisdom: having first shaken their souls by reminding them of Gehenna, he now softens them—not by flattery, but by exhorting them through these very things. For he who counsels them to imitate himself, and the works he has already wrought, is the more trustworthy.

Heb. 10:32. In which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great contest of sufferings. Either he means baptism by “enlightened,” or simply the knowledge of the mystery and of the good things that had been received by the faithful. For being enlightened with the knowledge of the things to come, you thus endured. He did not say “trials,” but “contest,” which is indicative of nobility and of fortitude, and that a great one.

Heb. 10:33. Partly, while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and by afflictions. Observe the praise. For it needs in truth a noble soul to endure reproaches, as the Prophet also testifies: My tears have become my bread, while it is said to me, Where is your God? And: If an enemy had reproached me, I would have borne it. And: You have made me a reproach to the foolish. And Job too was sorely vexed at the reproach, although in all else he endured like adamant. And if the reproach come openly and before many, there is still more need of a nobler soul; which here too he indicated, by saying “made a spectacle.” Consider, then, how great these men were, who through Christ despised both glory and wealth, but being insulted and made a spectacle—that is, set up for example as upon a stage, and that by cold and worthless and contemptible men—nevertheless bore it.

Heb. 10:33. And partly, while you became partakers with those who were so treated. Not only, he says, did you endure your own afflictions, which seemed to be brought upon you against your will, but you were so noble that you became partakers also of the apostles, who were so treated—that is, in afflictions and reproaches—and you willingly subjected yourselves, so as to suffer evil together with them, and to share in the same sufferings. And he did not say “of me alone,” but “in common, of all,” that he might enlarge their praise.

Heb. 10:34. For you sympathized also with my bonds. Not only in your own afflictions did you not need consolation, but you became consolation also to others, and I am witness.

Heb. 10:34. And you accepted with joy the plundering of your goods. He told particularly how they shared with others; now again he tells how they also endured the afflictions against themselves. For to be plundered is a great thing; for because you believed, on this account you were plundered. For it was wholly possible for you not to have believed. And the further fact that you accepted it shows the voluntariness of the endurance, and that they chose it gladly. And the “with joy” makes you equal to the apostles, who departed rejoicing that they were dishonored for the name of the Lord.

Heb. 10:34. Knowing that you have in yourselves a better and abiding possession in the heavens. And this too, he says, you did with judgment and reasoning and faith. For you knew that you have a better and abiding possession, not perishing and plundered, like this one.

Heb. 10:35. Cast not away therefore your boldness. By saying “cast not away,” he shows that they had not yet fallen out, but they have need, nevertheless, of confirmation and of securing. And he said “boldness,” because those who have endured such things with patience for God’s sake have great boldness.

Heb. 10:35. Which has great recompense of reward. For you are witnesses, who have recognized that you have a better possession in the heavens.

Heb. 10:36. For you have need of endurance. Of nothing else have you need, but only of endurance; all else you have; nothing need be added.

Heb. 10:36. That, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise. The will of God is to endure to the end. For he that endures, He says, to the end, the same shall be saved. And the Apostle exhorts them to these things, as if someone, seeing an athlete who had vanquished all his antagonists, then not awaiting those who were slow to crown him, but wishing to flee away because he could no longer bear the thirst and the burning heat, should say to him: You have accomplished everything; wait a little, and you will receive the crowns. Contend also against the delay of the crowns; conquer this too by your endurance.

Heb. 10:37. For yet a little while, how very little, and He that comes will come, and will not tarry. He brings forward the prophet Habakkuk, saying that near is the Judge who is about to recompense. And if Habakkuk even then said, “Yet a little while, how very little, and He that comes will come,” it is plain that now He is nearer. And the “how very little” signifies the very brief.

Heb. 10:38–39. But the just shall live by faith; and if he draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him. One must, then, believe, if we are to be just. But if the just man draw back—that is, suffer some doubt and hesitation; or “draw back” instead of “be brought low by the trials”—“my soul has no pleasure,” that is, is not well pleased in him. And whose soul? God’s, according to the idiom of Scripture; as in, My soul hates your feasts. Or Christ’s.

Heb. 10:39. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of faith to the saving of the soul. Since he had frightened them by saying, “My soul has no pleasure,” he says that we are not of those who perish through drawing back and growing slothful or doubting, but of those who are steadfast in the faith, so as to gain their own souls—that is, to acquire, to guard, and to save them. For “gaining” is the acquiring, the procuring.

Chapter 11

Heb. 11:1. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, He sketches faith for us, and says that it is a giving of being to things that do not yet exist, and a substance of things that do not yet subsist. For example, the resurrection does not yet subsist, but faith gives it subsistence and sets it before our eyes.

Heb. 11:1. The proof of things not seen. “Proof”—that is, a showing, a manifestation of things unseen. For it makes these to be seen by our mind as though present. If, then, faith can do such things, why do you wish to see them in actual fact, that you may fall away from faith? And this is nothing other than to fall away from being righteous. For the righteous shall live by faith.

Heb. 11:2. For in it the elders were borne witness to. That is, in this same faith all the ancients were borne witness to by God; it was acknowledged of them that they served him.

Heb. 11:3. By faith we understand that the ages were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which appear. Since faith is slandered by those who do not perceive its power—who call it a thing undemonstrable and a manifest deception—he shows that the greatest things are accomplished through faith, and not through reasonings. For that God by his word made the things that are out of things that are not, what demonstration has set before us? None at all, but faith alone. By faith, then, we understand that the ages were framed—that is, came to be—by the word of God. Why “by faith”? Because the things that are seen came to be out of things that do not appear; which is a matter requiring faith. Or thus also: that they came to be by the word of God, in that the things that are were brought forth out of things that are not. And when you hear “ages,” understand also the things contained in them to be everlasting, and indeed times too and all things in time—the term “ages” by an extension of usage signifying the times as well; since the age in the proper sense is something other than time, and is one, not many.

Heb. 11:4. By faith Abel offered to God a fuller sacrifice than Cain. Since faith is a great thing, and needs a noble soul, and the Hebrew believers had grown faint—at the beginning indeed they had displayed faith, but afterward, from the continuance of their afflictions, they were becoming faint-hearted—he encouraged them, both from the things they themselves had accomplished and from the Scripture, saying, that the righteous shall live by faith; and from reasonings, saying, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; and now from the great men of old. For whenever a man finds those who share his sufferings, he is given rest and breathes again. He brings forward, then, Abel, and says that by faith he offered a fuller sacrifice—that is, a more honorable one than his brother’s. For whom else had he seen before him? His father, or his mother—and indeed they too offered to God—but his brother; and this one dishonored God. By faith alone, then, was he guided to offer the better of what he had, believing that he would receive his reward.

Heb. 11:4. Through which he was borne witness to as being righteous, God bearing witness over his gifts. For the God who said to Cain, If you offer rightly, but do not rightly divide, bore witness to Abel, that he both offered rightly, in that he brought it to the Giver from whom he had it, and divided rightly, in that he brought the better portion, as to a Master. And it is said that fire also came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, and from this Cain too recognized that Abel had been preferred. For how else? Wherefore one of those who translated the Hebrew tongue into Greek rendered it thus: The Lord looked upon the sacrifices of Abel, and set them on fire.

Heb. 11:4. And through it he, being dead, still speaks. That is, through this same faith he still speaks; that is, faith made him to be still living, and to be set up as a teacher to all, all but saying aloud: “Imitate me, O men, and be well-pleasing to the One who fashioned you, by becoming righteous.” He speaks, then—that is, being glorified, being spoken of, being remembered, he speaks; just as the heaven also speaks, merely by being seen. For a word does not accomplish so much as does that man’s suffering. And this he said in order to show the faint-hearted that even here the righteous man enjoys honor in part. So that you too shall enjoy it. But some of the copies have “is spoken of,” not well, I think.

Heb. 11:5. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. For before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God. This man displayed a greater faith than Abel. For the things that befell Abel were enough to scandalize him, that being righteous he was permitted to be slain by his brother. For what, if the murderer was punished? What benefit was that to the one who had been put out of the way? A great faith, then, did he display, believing that God is a rewarder in the age to come, even if not now; and through it he pleased God, and having pleased him he was translated. By faith, then, he was translated—that is, faith translated him, through which he pleased God. And observe how through Abel God showed the sentence concerning death to be true, but through Enoch he showed again that the sentence is temporary and shall be done away. That he was translated alive, then, and that he still lives, we know; but where, or how, is uncertain, since the Scripture did not say.

Heb. 11:6. And without faith it is impossible to please him, For if one does not believe that there is a recompense of good things and of evil, he will not please God. For how should he tread the toilsome road of virtue, if he is not persuaded that in the age to come the rewards are many times greater and more abiding? But hear also what follows.

Heb. 11:6. For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he becomes a rewarder to those who seek him out. That God is, and becomes a rewarder, we hold by faith; for some say that the things that are came to be of themselves. But what he is according to his essence is altogether not to be attempted, at least by those who are sober-minded. And what is meant by “those who seek him out”? That is, those who are eager throughout their life to please him, not those who busy themselves through outward wisdom. And observe Paul’s wisdom, how everywhere he sows underneath the word “rewarder,” on account of the faint-hearted Hebrew believers.

Heb. 11:7. By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not yet seen, moved with reverent fear, prepared an ark for the salvation of his house. Noah, he says, was warned by God—that is, was instructed concerning things unseen—and did not disbelieve. But although the sky was clear, and all were living in luxury and expecting nothing dreadful—for nor was any such thing to be seen—nevertheless he, believing God, took reverent heed of the flood, and prepared an ark, through which he saved from the flood all those of his house. And note that God gives warning, and the Spirit also gives warning, according to what is written concerning Simeon: It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, therefore, is God.

Heb. 11:7. Through which he condemned the world. That is, he showed them to be worthy of punishment, who, even when they saw the ark being prepared over so long a time, did not come to any awareness, nor believe that there would be a flood.

Heb. 11:7. And became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. That is, he gained this, to be shown righteous before God; which name of righteousness, he says, faith bestowed upon him.

Heb. 11:8. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. Since the believers from among the Hebrews looked to this man and the rest of the patriarchs as having enjoyed countless good things, he is about to show that no one yet has received anything. He says, then, that by faith Abraham obeyed when he was commanded to leave his fatherland. For whom had he seen, that he should emulate him? His father was an idolater, and of the prophets he heard nothing. So that it belonged to faith to obey God as one who spoke truly concerning what he promised, and to leave the things at hand.

Heb. 11:8. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. And yet, even if he had known, who compelled him, leaving the things ready to hand, to pursue the things not ready? But he did not even know at all what that land was to which he was called.

Heb. 11:9. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land. That land, he says, which God promised to give to him and to his seed, this he dwelt in as in a foreign land. How “as foreign”? For indeed he even bought the burial-place of Sarah; and yet he did not waver, nor say, “God has lied,” but believed that, beyond all doubt, the One who had spoken would give it.

Heb. 11:9. Dwelling in tents. So far did he dwell in it as in a foreign land, that he did not even have a house, but dwelt in tents, which belongs to strangers, to those who move now to one place and now to another, because they have nothing of their own.

Heb. 11:9. With Isaac and Jacob, the fellow-heirs of the same promise. Both Isaac, he says, and Jacob, dwelt in it thus, as in a foreign land. Isaac, being envied by the Philistines, and having his wells taken away by those around Abimelech, and his very wife also, and moving now to one place and now to another. And Jacob, not only as one driven by fear of Esau, but because also, having come up from Mesopotamia, he bought the place and pitched his tent; and now he moved to Bethel, now to Ephrath, unsettled like a sojourner. And yet they too were heirs of the promise, as was their father also. For to you will I give it, and to your seed. But nevertheless they did not disbelieve.

Heb. 11:10. For he was awaiting the city which has the foundations. For this reason, he says, they sojourned in the land in tents, which have no foundation, because they were awaiting the heavenly city, which has true foundations, unbending and never to be made to totter. Wherefore God also, seeing them despise the earthly promises, deferred these, preparing for them the greater ones, as for those worthy of them, and not of the things of earth. Then those men, though receiving a promise of earth, despised it and reached after heaven. But you, O believers, having received a heavenly promise, desire earth; and how are you not ashamed?

Heb. 11:10. Of which God is the craftsman and maker. Ah, what an encomium of that city is this—to have God as its master-builder!

Heb. 11:11. By faith Sarah herself also, being barren. The phrase “Sarah herself also” is meant to shame, as though he said: The woman believed, and are you not ashamed, if you are found more faint-hearted than a woman? But how did she believe, who laughed? Yes, she believed, even though she laughed; for afterward, being rebuked, she was afraid; which belonged to faith. For it is plain that she believed the One who conversed with her to be someone great and above man.

Heb. 11:11. She received power to conceive seed. That is, she was empowered to receive and to hold fast the seed of Abraham that was sown into her. Or, since those who have examined these matters closely say that the woman too contributes from herself a kind of seed, perhaps “to conceive seed” is to be understood thus, as meaning “to cast down seed herself also.”

Heb. 11:11. And beyond the season of age she gave birth. He said above that she was barren; now he says that she gave birth even beyond the season of age. So that she had a double disability—the one from nature, in that she was barren, and the one from old age.

Heb. 11:11. Since she counted him faithful who had promised. “Faithful”—that is, true. For he had promised: At this season I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.

Heb. 11:12. Therefore also there sprang from one, and that one as good as dead, descendants as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand which is by the shore of the sea, innumerable. Not this alone did faith accomplish—the begetting—but that he begot also so many as not even fruitful women do. So that there were two wonders. But how were they innumerable? For they were numbered many times. Either, then, this is said hyperbolically, according to the custom of Scripture, as the saying, Cities up to heaven; or, on account of those ever being added in succession, he called them innumerable.

Heb. 11:13. These all died according to faith, not having received the promises. Two things are inquired into here. How, having said concerning Enoch that he was translated, that he should not see death, does he now say, These all died? And again, how does he now say that they did not receive the promises, when yet he said that Abel still speaks, through being glorified among all; and that Enoch was translated, that Noah received a reward, namely to be saved with his house, and to be called righteous; and that Abraham begot children from Sarah? Now the phrase “These all died” take as meaning “those who have died,” excepting, of course, the one who did not see death. But that they did not receive the promises is said truly of them all. For it was not upon these things alone that the bountiful God paid out the rewards of the great labors of faith—to Abel, glory among men; to Enoch, the translation; to Noah, the salvation from the flood; and to Abraham, the begetting of children—but it is plain that these are foretastes and pledges of the true promises, granted beforehand to us who are faint-hearted, for the sake of the holy ones, that from these we may believe concerning those also. But certain other great things, even things which have not entered into the heart of man, have been prepared for them, which they have not yet received; just as the Lord also says in the Gospel, that in this present age he who has renounced shall receive a hundredfold, and in the age to come life everlasting.

Heb. 11:13. But having seen them from afar and greeted them. Here he hints at their having both seen and greeted the mysteries concerning the kingdom of heaven, and the resurrection, and the unspeakable good things—that is, having delighted in them—by a metaphor from sailors, who even from afar behold the longed-for cities, and before they enter into them, anticipating, make them their own by the greeting. Or he means those around Abraham, that they themselves did not receive the promises concerning the land, but foresaw them from afar—that is, before four generations—namely, that their descendants, coming up out of Egypt, would inherit them. But this interpretation does not follow upon what was said in the words “These all,” since it suits only those around Abraham.

Heb. 11:13. And having confessed that they are strangers and sojourners upon the earth. Not only of the promised land, but of the whole inhabited world. For this reason they did not even deem it worthy to receive this; for they were not worthy of it, but of heaven. And their descendants received it; for those were worthy of the earth. And Abraham confessed that he was a stranger and a sojourner to the Hittites, in these very words. But indeed all of them were such, and David also bears witness: I am a sojourner, he says, as all my fathers were.

Heb. 11:14–15. For those who say such things make it plain that they seek after a fatherland. And if indeed they had been mindful of that from which they came out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they reach after a better one, that is, a heavenly one. By calling themselves strangers, he says, they make it plain—that is, they show—that they seek after a fatherland. Let us see, then, what sort of fatherland they seek: the earthly one which they left, as Abraham left Mesopotamia? And indeed it was possible for him to return to that one. But since he did not return, it is manifest that he neither was mindful of it, nor was it a fatherland to him, but he desired another, a better one—that is, a heavenly one—into which he did not yet have opportunity to go up.

Heb. 11:16. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God. On account of such a desire of theirs, God, he says, holds them so great that, being God of the whole world, both the invisible and the visible, he is not ashamed to be called especially their God, as though they were of equal honor with all creation; or rather, of the visible world God is called God as its Maker and Lord—and in this sense he is God of the Greeks also—but of these he is God as a friend, which is the greater thing.

Heb. 11:16. For he prepared for them a city. So far is he from being ashamed of them, but holds them as his own, that he prepared for them even the city which they desired, the one in the heavens.

Heb. 11:17. By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac, Greatest of all in faith was Abraham. For here not only did nature do battle, but also the word of God by a divine command did battle against itself. For the One who said, To you and to your seed will I give the land, this same One commands, “Slay your child.” Wherefore Abraham is said to be tried, not as though God needed to learn his virtue, but that we, by the very trial and by the deeds, might learn his virtue. And note that trials are so profitable, that not only does God permit them to be brought upon the faithful by others, but he himself also tries them, that he may show them more approved.

Heb. 11:17–19. And he who had received the promises offered up his only-begotten, to whom it was said, In Isaac shall your seed be called; reckoning that God was able to raise him up even from the dead. This is the marvel, that having no other child, through whom he expected the promise to come to pass, but this one alone, he nevertheless offered him up. Whence, then? From great faith. For he believed that God was able, even after the slaying, by raising him from the dead, to fulfill the promise, and through him restored to life to multiply the seed. But how was Isaac the only-begotten, seeing that he had Ishmael also? Only-begotten, that is, as far as concerns the word of the promise; for this one is also seed in the proper sense. For in Isaac shall your seed be called.

Heb. 11:19. Whence also he received him back in a parable. What is the meaning of “in a parable”? It stands for “in a figure,” for the showing forth of the mystery concerning Christ. For just as then Isaac was let go, but the ram was slain, so the one Christ, being God and the same also man, according to the human was sacrificed for us, while the Godhead remained impassible. And in another way: Abraham was a figure of God and Father, Isaac of the Son of God; since God was about to dispense this great mystery that surpasses understanding, and to give his Son for us, being exceedingly loving toward mankind, he did not even will to give this as a private favor of his own, but to pay it back as a debt. As though saying such things as these: “I give nothing new to human nature in sacrificing my Son on its behalf. For Abraham offered up his son to be sacrificed for me. So that I pay back the debt; I do not give a favor.” Or “in a parable” stands for “in the ram”—Abraham received him back, that is, in the recompense of the ram, which ram was a figure of Isaac; that is, as the antitype of Isaac was the ram slain.

Heb. 11:20. By faith, concerning things to come, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. For whence did he promise to his sons so many good things, himself sitting in a foreign land, unless he believed that God would give the things promised? And what is meant by “concerning things to come”? Either that the blessings were of the things in the age to come—for they knew the resurrection, and the blessings were spiritual—or concerning the good things on earth, which either they themselves were to receive, or those who should be born of them. And he sets Jacob before Esau, as the virtuous one, and as one who had received the birthright, and as worthy to be set first in all things.

Heb. 11:21. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshipped upon the top of his staff. The sons of Joseph were Manasseh and Ephraim; and Manasseh was the elder, Ephraim the younger; yet Jacob blessed Ephraim with the greater blessings, and with the crosswise laying-on of his right hand, and he so believed that the blessings would come to pass, and that the tribe of Ephraim would reign, that he showed it even by the very deeds. For he worshipped toward Joseph, signifying the worship of all the people; which worship he did upon the top of his staff—that is, leaning upon the staff because of his old age. But some say that he worshipped upon the top of the staff of Joseph, signifying that the scepter of the kingdom would, through the staff, come to be worshipped.

Heb. 11:22. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention concerning the departure of the sons of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones. So greatly, he says, did he believe that the Israelites would be set free from Egypt, that he even put them under oath to carry up his bones with them. And this he did, not because he was concerned about monuments—for who that was so wise did not know that the earth is the Lord’s?—but that he might give the people full assurance that the promise of God would by all means come to pass, and that they would go out. And that it is so pleasing to God that they should not remain behind in Egypt because of the impiety there, that not even to himself was the laying of his bones in Egypt acceptable.

Heb. 11:23. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they did not fear the decree of the king. Having recounted great men who by faith wrought what they did, he speaks also concerning the parents of Moses, certain obscure persons, putting to shame those faint-hearted ones, since they carry off the second place to such men. And going on, he brings even a harlot into the midst, that he may shame them the more. He says, then: For what reason did they hide him three months, and that too when there was a command that the males be killed? How did they not fear? Clearly because they believed that he would be saved. And whence did they believe that he would be saved? Because they saw that the child was beautiful—that is, comely, graceful to the sight—and they believed that God had graced it from the very swaddling-clothes. For they say indeed that they were even about to cast it away, but it smiled with grace, and they let it be; so wholly divine were all things about it.

Heb. 11:24–25. By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin. He came to the example most especially proper to them, Moses, wherefore he also dwells at length, enlarging upon his matters. And the construction is thus: By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. When? When he was grown—that is, having already come to manhood. For it is plain that he expected to receive in return something greater. And the word “refused” shows the intensity of his hatred, and the inward estrangement from the royal household. And observe how he names it sin, not to suffer affliction together with one’s brethren. This God also reproaches through the prophets: They were not grieved at all over the affliction of Joseph. And again: He did not go forth to stay the house that bordered upon her. And to those who groan, in Ezekiel the sign is given; but those who suffer nothing of the kind the angels are commanded to cut down. And if those who do not willingly suffer affliction together with the afflicted are sinning, what must be thought concerning those who afflict and do evil? “The temporary enjoyment of sin,” then, signifies the participation in the luxury of the kingdom.

Heb. 11:26. Counting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. He did not say “the good things laid up in heaven,” but, both showing that man’s virtue and winning them over, he said “the reproach of Christ.” For just as later those who were benefited by Christ reproached him, and at the last crucified him, so also formerly those benefited by Moses reproached him. For the Hebrew who had been delivered from the Egyptian by Moses, that very man on the morrow said to him: Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian? For, in general, to be reproached or ill-treated by one’s own people and by those one has benefited is a reproach of Christ. And every reproach that comes against the doer of a good deed on account of that good deed, and simply every unjust assault, is a reproach of Christ. For so the Lord too was ill spoken of, being called a friend of tax-collectors, because he ate with them for their salvation. As, then, ease belongs to sin, so reproach belongs to Christ. Do not, therefore, be vexed, you who are afflicted by your fellow-countrymen, looking to Moses who was so glorious, and, what is greater, to Christ. A reproach of Christ also was the murmuring against Moses at the rock. For Christ was the rock.

Heb. 11:26. For he looked away to the recompense of reward. With the eyes of faith, that is.

Heb. 11:27. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. What do you say? And yet in Exodus it is written: And Moses was afraid, because the matter had become known. But “not fearing” here take with reference to his standing again over Egypt, and undertaking the leadership of the Hebrews. For it would have belonged to one who feared not to return at all, nor to take in hand those whom he had before. But since he did return, he showed that he believed God. How, then, did he not remain in Egypt, but left Egypt, if indeed he did not fear? Because to throw oneself into manifest danger, and to say, “If perhaps God will save me,” belongs to one who tempts God, and is of the devil; just as the devil also said to the Lord, Cast yourself down. Or “not fearing the wrath of the king” understand thus: that he fled, believing that he would escape, and that the king would not pursue him, as being enraged against him, nor, even if he should pursue, would overtake him. And a sign of this is that he chose to dwell even among his neighbors, and was not detected. So that this belonged to faith.

Heb. 11:27. For he endured as seeing the Invisible. For as though seeing God present with him, so he endured all things. For it is productive of great endurance to have God ever in mind; as David also says: I foresaw the Lord ever before me; and what follows.

Heb. 11:28. By faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that he who destroyed the firstborn might not touch them. Everywhere Paul, in passing, inserts a mystery, just as here too, in the manner of an exhortation, he recounts the mystery of the Passover. For the sprinkling of that blood—that is, the smearing of the doorposts—signified the smearing with the Master’s blood, by which, being anointed, we flee from the one who, in the darkness of this life, destroys the firstborn of the unanointed. Moses, then, believing at that time that the smearing of the blood would guard the firstborn, charged the people to do this. And yet that was the blood of a lamb; but nevertheless, in that it was a figure of the blood of Christ, it displayed so great a power. But you, having been anointed with the true blood, do you not take courage to be walled about by it? Yes indeed. And he accomplished the Passover—that is, the eating both of the unleavened bread and of the bitter herbs—and he believed that the people, going out of Egypt, would be brought safely through. For the manner of that supper was one of departure.

Heb. 11:29. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land. That they might not say, “Why do you bring into the midst men who cannot be imitated?” he brought forward a whole people also as an example. “For imitate,” he says, “at least these of the multitude, who believed that the water would not overwhelm them, and so dared, taking courage in God, that they would go through as on dry land.” So does faith make the impossible possible; and how is it that you disbelieve?

Heb. 11:29. Of which the Egyptians, having made trial, were swallowed up. And no one can say, he says, that it was according to appearance, that there was no water; for that it was a sea the Egyptians showed, when they made trial of entering, but were swallowed up by it, when it was moved all at once against them—the sea which, in the crossing of the Hebrews, stood like a wall; just as later the flame in the case of the three children showed that it was flame, when it passed over the Babylonians; and the lions in the case of Daniel devoured his accusers.

Heb. 11:30. By faith the walls of Jericho fell, having been encircled for seven days. By faith; for, God having commanded it, neither Joshua nor the people wavered, nor said, “What is this? Does the sound of trumpets have a nature to cast down stones and battlements?” But they believed that it would be, and it came to pass.

Heb. 11:31. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish together with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace. Behold, as I said also above, he brings forward a most dishonored person, that through this too he may shame them, if indeed they should appear inferior to such a woman, and at the same time may show the power of faith to be great, if indeed it accomplishes such things even among the condemned. Faith, then, did this woman also display, hiding the men who were sought as spies. And she would not have hidden them, had she not believed that the city would be taken. For thus she said: I know that you will take this land; for we have heard of your works. And she indeed believed the things she had heard; but those who did not believe the wonders of God perished.

Heb. 11:32. And what more shall I say? Having brought his discourse down to the harlot, and having sufficiently put them to shame by the quality of the person, he no longer, for the sake of brevity, goes through them all in detail, lest he should seem tasteless; yet neither does he keep wholly silent, but, seeming to pass them over, he does not pass them over; and thus he neither wears out the hearer, nor any the less establishes, through many instances, what he wishes.

Heb. 11:32. For the time would fail me to tell. The whole of it; or all of it. And this is said, as it is our custom to speak, hyperbolically; or the time commensurate with the Epistle.

Heb. 11:32. Of Gideon, and Barak, and Samson, and Jephthah, of David also, and Samuel, and the prophets. Some inquire for what reason he places Jephthah and Samson and Barak here. What do you say? Having placed the harlot, will he not place these? Do not tell me of any other matter of their life, but consider only this—whether they shone in faith. For he does not make an examination of lives, but a showing forth of faith.

Heb. 11:33. who through faith conquered kingdoms, Those around Gideon.

Heb. 11:33. Wrought righteousness. Who? These same men and Samson. For they avenged their kinsmen and fellow-tribesmen against their enemies, showing themselves kind toward their own, but going forth against the enemies who did them wrong. And this belongs to righteousness, to render to each according to his desert.

Heb. 11:33. Obtained promises. Such as David. For the Lord swore, he says, to David: Of the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne. Which came to pass perceptibly indeed in Solomon, but spiritually in the Lord Jesus, the true Solomon, the peaceable one, who is peace itself. For Solomon is interpreted “peaceable.”

Heb. 11:33. shut the mouths of lions, Daniel and Samson.

Heb. 11:34. Quenched the power of fire. The three children. And he did not say “Quenched fire,” but “the power of fire,” which is greater; for though it was kindled, it had no power at all to burn against them.

Heb. 11:34. Escaped the edge of the sword. The three children also, or rather Elijah, more properly to speak, from Jezebel, and David himself from the sword of Saul.

Heb. 11:34. Out of weakness were made strong. Those also who returned from Babylon; for they differed nothing from dead bones, as is said in Ezekiel. But indeed Hezekiah also, having fallen sick, received an addition of life.

Heb. 11:34. Became mighty in war, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. These things fit those very men who returned from Babylon. For though the neighboring nations were ever envious of them, and assailed them the more at that time, yet taking courage in the power of God, through faith they warred them down. And it fits Samson most especially.

Heb. 11:35. Women received their dead by resurrection. The woman of Zarephath through Elijah, and the Shunammite through Elisha.

Heb. 11:35. And others were tortured. That is, were cut off, as John, as James the son of Zebedee. But some said that “to be tortured” meant to be beaten with cudgels.

Heb. 11:35. Not accepting deliverance. That is, they were able not to reprove those whom they reproved, and to be ransomed from the punishment brought upon them, but they did not will this.

Heb. 11:35. so that they might attain a better resurrection. A better one—not such as that of the children of the women, but better than that of the rest of mankind. For the holy ones shall be caught up in splendor in the clouds to meet the Lord, which elsewhere he names a rising-out; and in another way, because it is to life everlasting. But the rest shall both remain below, and theirs is a resurrection to punishment.

Heb. 11:36. And others had trial of mockings. As Elisha, mocked by the children, or Samson by the foreigners, after his eyes had been put out.

Heb. 11:36. And had trial of scourges. Many of the prophets also, and Peter later, and John.

Heb. 11:36. And moreover of bonds and imprisonment. As Jeremiah and Micaiah, and the apostles later.

Heb. 11:37. They were stoned. As Naboth, and Stephen also later.

Heb. 11:37. They were sawn asunder. Among whom was Isaiah, by Manasseh, who they say was sawn even with a wooden saw, that the punishment might be more painful to him, being chastised the longer.

Heb. 11:37. They died by the slaughter of the sword. As Micaiah, Zechariah, and John, and James. And observe that some, from faith, escaped the edge of the sword, but others died by the slaughter of the sword. For such is faith: it both accomplishes great things, and suffers great things, and thinks it suffers nothing. How then is it that you, having not yet suffered any such thing, are in distress?

Heb. 11:37. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins. As those around Elijah, so destitute of possessions were they. For since they did not yet hold so great an opinion concerning the apostles, after making mention of them, he comes to the glorious prophet who was taken up. And “they went about” signifies their being persecuted and unsettled. And a sheepskin is the skin of a sheep, that is, of the flock.

Heb. 11:37. Being destitute. As this same Elijah and Elisha. For women fed them.

Heb. 11:38. Afflicted, ill-treated. For Jezebel afflicted Elijah not a little, persecuting him.

Heb. 11:38. of whom the world was not worthy— You cannot say, he says, that being sinners they suffered such things, but they were such men as to be even better than the world itself. And Scripture calls the world both the multitude and the creation. Here, then, it means both. If, therefore, he says, you set the whole creation, together with the men in it, over against these, you will find nothing worth as much as these. And here he rouses up their hearts, so that they should seek nothing of the things in the world, if indeed the world is not worthy of the holy ones. For it is an outrage to you, if here you should receive your reward; for you would show yourself to be worth nothing at all. If the whole world is not worthy of one holy man, why do you seek a portion of it?

Heb. 11:38. Wandering in deserts, and in mountains, and in caves, and in the holes of the earth. As Elijah, and the prophets too who were fed by Obadiah, hidden in the cave. They were not even permitted, he says, to inhabit the desert in security, but from there too they were driven by fear, and wandered now to one place, now to another. But nevertheless they believed that they would receive everlasting consolation from God, and endured these things.

Heb. 11:39. And these all, having been borne witness to through their faith, did not receive the promise. Why, he says, are you faint-hearted, that being still in the contest you have not yet received the rewards? All the holy ones aforesaid, although already borne witness to through their faith as having pleased God, have not yet obtained the promises in the heavens. For there were some below who obtained promises, as David. But this is not the thing in question; for the things in the heavens, these are truly the promises.

Heb. 11:40. God having provided some better thing concerning us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. “Some better thing”—that is, for our honor. For that they might not seem to have the advantage over us by being crowned first, he appointed one season of the crowns for all. And he did not say, “That they should not be crowned,” but, “That they should not be made perfect.” So that even then they are shown to be perfect. Besides, even now they have the pledges of the honor. For whence comes to them the power to help those who call upon them? Whence the boldness to intercede? But the perfect thing they shall receive then. Does God, then, not do those men wrong, if indeed they went before in the labors, but in the crowns await us? Nay, but to them too this is welcome, to be made perfect together with their brethren. We are all one body; and the pleasure is greater to the body when it is crowned in common. God is a tender-loving Father, having different sons: some returned from the fields sooner, having finished their work; others still remain there laboring. He has given to those who have labored a kind of foretaste, telling them to await their brethren for the perfect banquet; and they, being loving toward mankind, await with rejoicing, that they may also be gladdened in common.

Chapter 12

Heb. 12:1. Therefore let us also, having so great a cloud of witnesses encompassing us. He did not say, lifted up above us, but, encompassing—that is, surrounding us on every side. And by witnesses he calls not only those in the New [Covenant], but also those in the Old. For these too bore witness to the majesty of God, like the three children, and Daniel, and all the prophets. And he did not say, a multitude, but, a cloud, most fittingly to the present subject. For since they had a burning heat of afflictions, like some cloud, he says, the memory of the witnesses will refresh you, encompassing you on every side.

Heb. 12:1. Laying aside every weight. That is, the burden of earthly affairs and of the prides set upon them. For they are nothing else, he says, than a vain weight. Why, then, are you vexed at being rid of these?

Heb. 12:1. And the sin that so easily besets us. Either that which easily surrounds us, or that which is easily able to suffer reverse. For it is easy, if we will, to get the better of sin. Or that on account of which one easily falls into straits, for nothing is so perilous as sin.

Heb. 12:1. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. He did not say, Let us box, nor, Let us wrestle, but that which was lighter than all, the matter of running, this he set forth in the midst. Nor did he say, Let us add to the running, but, In this very thing let us endure. For some are bound to run through self-control, others through almsgiving, others through some other virtue; but you, through patience. For of this you have need, as has also been said above.

Heb. 12:2. Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of faith. That is, if we wish to learn to run with patience, let us look to Christ, just as those who learn crafts look to their teachers; which indeed he himself also said: Learn from me; and again: If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household? and, The disciple is not above his teacher. And what is, author and finisher? That is, He himself both implanted faith in us from the beginning—For you did not choose me, he says, but I chose you—and he himself will set the end upon it, so that you may have it most perfect.

Heb. 12:2. Who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. For it was in his power not to suffer, not to die; for being without sin, he was not subject to death; which he himself also says, The ruler of the world comes, and in me he has nothing. If, therefore, he had not willed it, he would not have been crucified; which he himself also said: I have power to lay down my life. But nevertheless he endured the cross—that is, not death simply, but the reproachful [death]—and despised the shame of such a death. And he did not say, Despising grief; for neither did he bear these things with grief.

Heb. 12:2. And has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Do you see to what the end of patience leads up? Which he says also elsewhere: Therefore God also highly exalted him, speaking of that according to the flesh. So that he is able to requite you also for the afflictions [endured] for his sake. For the sitting at the right hand declares the equality of honor with the Father.

Heb. 12:3. For consider him who endured such gainsaying of sinners against himself. And indeed, if one who considers the sufferings of fellow-servants is sufficiently comforted, how much more those of the Master, who endured such gainsaying? That is, mockings, jeerings, revilings, blows in the face, all that they spoke against his teachings, the outcries before Pilate, and last of all the cross. For the word “such” is emphatic—that is, [gainsaying] reaching to death, and that with robbers, and that by sinners, namely the Gentiles, or even the Jews themselves.

Heb. 12:3. Lest you grow weary, fainting in your souls. For to consider Christ will brace and nerve your souls, and will not allow them to be unstrung and to give up before the afflictions.

Heb. 12:4. You have not yet resisted to blood. Two kinds of exhortation are contrary to one another: the one, when someone says to a person, You have suffered great things; remember those things; the other, when one says, You have as yet suffered nothing great. For the former restores the soul that is toiling, as having many that share knowledge of its sufferings; but the latter pulls down the soul that is about to be puffed up, and rouses the one that is slothful. Paul uses both of these now toward the Hebrews. For having said above that You endured a great contest of sufferings, and having exhorted them to imitate themselves, now, on the contrary, he shows them as having undergone nothing yet worthy of mention, that they may not be lifted up. And mark his wisdom. After he made mention of the ancient saints who underwent great things, and of the Lord himself, then he shows that their own [sufferings] are nothing. For not yet, he says, have you come to death, but to persecutions, to plunder. But Christ came to death. And by saying, “resisted,” he shows both that sin breathes something vehement and is set against [us], and that they themselves are standing and contending, yet not in the more critical [conflicts], but in the lighter ones.

Heb. 12:4. Striving against sin. Against the devil, who is sin itself, as its inventor and teacher; or against sin itself and its dishonorable passions, which are hostile and destructive to us.

Heb. 12:5. And you have forgotten the exhortation. You have been so relaxed and unstrung that you have even forgotten the words that exhort to manliness, although you have not yet suffered anything great. For great and notable sufferings often produce forgetfulness of the necessary things.

Heb. 12:5. Which speaks to you as to sons: My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord. For Solomon spoke not to his own sons, but to all who were able to hear, and to you also by all means; for this reason the word “as” is set down.

Heb. 12:5. Nor faint when you are rebuked by him. So then are temptations brought upon [us] by God? And if by God, then assuredly for our profit. For he himself either primarily is well-pleased that we be tempted for the putting away of sins, or permits it for proving and for more crowns.

Heb. 12:6. For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. For it is impossible to find any one of those loved by the Lord without afflictions. Are robbers, then, and thieves not scourged also? Are these too sons? No. For he did not say that everyone who is scourged is a son, but that every son is scourged. Robbers, then, are scourged not as sons, but punished as evil men. But here, having said before, “He chastens,” then he added, “He scourges,” that you may understand the scourging of the son not as a requital of wickedness, but as instruction. And “whom he receives”—that is, whom he accepts, whom he takes to himself beyond the rest, whom he makes his own.

Heb. 12:7. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons. From the very things by which they thought themselves to be forsaken by God, from these he shows them to be cared for by God. For if you were without afflictions, you would appear to be bastards and not sons. For what father takes thought for the instruction of bastard sons, and for their orderliness? But since you are afflicted, and from this there comes to you the living in an orderly and composed manner, just as also all the aforesaid, namely the righteous, who were also called sons of God—it is manifest and indisputable that God deals with you as with sons, and holds you in his care, that you may not die untaught, and from this he should thrust you out as disinherited.

Heb. 12:9. Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh as chasteners, and we reverenced them. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? From the things that concern themselves he again proves that one ought to endure. For if, when our fleshly fathers chastened us, we did not dare to leap away, but reverenced them and endured whatever they brought upon us—how much more now, when God chastens? And observe, he did not say, How much more shall we endure, but, shall we be in subjection; showing that it belongs to a rebel and an enemy of God not to endure affliction. And “Father of spirits,” either of the gifts of grace, or of the bodiless powers, or, what is also more fitting, of souls. For in contradistinction to the fleshly fathers, he said the spiritual. And he added, “and we shall live,” to show that he who is insubordinate does not even live. For he is outside of God, who is life.

Heb. 12:10. For they indeed for a few days. For neither are they able to chasten us throughout, so as to make us perfect. For either the death of the father, or the growth, or the hardness of the child, puts a stop to the chastening; but God, ever chastening, is able to make [us] perfect.

Heb. 12:10. Chastened us according to what seemed good to them. But what seems good to the father does not by all means profit the son; for many teach even shameful crafts.

Heb. 12:10. But he for [our] profit, that we may partake of his holiness. But God brings the chastening for that which is profitable to us; not that he may receive anything from us, but rather that he may impart of his holiness—that is, of his purity; so that, he says, we may become receptive of his good things. So then chastening is a partaking of holiness; and reasonably so; for it gathers the soul together to the holy God, not allowing it to rove about toward anything human.

Heb. 12:11. Now no chastening for the present seems to be of joy, but of grief. Again from the common notion he took the starting-points of the exhortation, and says: Now all chastening, both divine and human, seems to be not of joy, but of grief. Well [said] the word, “Seems”; for it is not truly of grief. For how could it be properly of grief, being the mother of gladness? But the word “Seems” is said with reference to us who are vexed at chastenings.

Heb. 12:11. But afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been exercised thereby. What is “peaceable”? That is, untroubled, smooth, sweet. For he that grieves is troubled; but he that rejoices has a certain smoothness and calm. And this fruit is of righteousness, because God, being righteous, gives rest to those who were grieved in this present age. And observe that he calls chastening an exercise, strengthening the faithful, and making them like certain athletes, and more vigorous. Why, then, do you flee from that which strengthens your souls?

Heb. 12:12. Therefore strengthen your drooping hands and weakened knees, He speaks as to certain boxers and combatants. And he took this from the Scripture of Isaiah, showing by a metaphor from the more principal members, that they are wholly relaxed in soul. For the hands are a symbol of activity, and the feet of motion. So in the case of one who is despondent, the instruments of the soul are relaxed primarily, and the bodily ones consequently.

Heb. 12:13. and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Here he speaks as to runners, just as he also said above: Let us run with patience. He says, then, Make straight paths. A “path” is either the track of the chariot-wheel which is cut along the ground, or the ground that lies beneath the feet of those who run. Let your paths, then, he says—that is, your ways—be smooth and even; that is, let there be nothing rough and grievous and uneven in your souls, but run evenly and without grief and smoothly, that being lame—that is, by nature rather faint-hearted, as Jews; for such is that nation; or also limping in respect of believing the things to come—you may not further stumble, and your feet be turned aside—that is, become utterly crooked. For he who gives way to the natural faint-heartedness, or to that which befell from the beginning, and does not hold himself up, but yields, falls all unawares into the precipice of despair, and is hard to recover thence. But rather be earnest, that what is lame in you may be healed—that is, even if you have some unbelief until now, be corrected rather. For where is there unbelief in the one who endures? And observe how he plainly introduces repentance, and mark this on account of the Novatians.

Heb. 12:14. Pursue peace with all men. That which he said above, “Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together,” this he does now also, gathering them into love. And not only toward their own, but also toward enemies, he exhorts them to be at peace. For “with all,” he says, both Greeks, and Jews, and enemies. For as much as in you lies, he says, be at peace with all men. And if you have such a purpose, you will in no way be faint-hearted when insulted. And observe also the word “Pursue”—that is, though peace be far off, be earnest to overtake it, drawing it to yourselves.

Heb. 12:14. And holiness. That is, purity; if one is unmarried, keeping virginity; but if in marriage, chastity; not that marriage is holiness, but that it keeps the holiness from baptism unforfeited through lawful intercourse. For marriage is honorable, yet not holy, but a guardian of holiness.

Heb. 12:14. Without which no one shall see the Lord. For neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And the Lord also in the Gospel: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Heb. 12:15. Looking diligently lest any man fall short of the grace of God. As though they were journeying along a certain long road in a great company, he says: See that no one has been left behind. For I seek not this only, that you should arrive, but that you should also watch over the others—that is, look upon, overtake, observe—which holds in the case of the weak; even if there be but one who falls short, neglect not even him. And by “grace of God” he means faith, and the most excellent manner of life, and the good things to come. For all these are of the grace of God.

Heb. 12:15. so that no root of bitterness springing up may cause trouble, This is set down in Deuteronomy. And he took it by a metaphor from plants. And that which he writes elsewhere, A little leaven leavens the whole lump, this he says here also. Let no wicked man be permitted to be for the ruin of the many; cut off the root of bitterness—that is, of sin—that it may not bring forth shoots—that is, may not make others such. And that sin is bitter, or rather that nothing is more bitter than it, they know who, after committing it, are wasted by conscience. And observe, he did not say “a bitter root,” but “a root of bitterness”; for the bitter root may bring forth sweet fruits; but the root of bitterness—that is, the source and ground [of it]—can never bring forth sweet fruit.

Heb. 12:15. And by it many be defiled. For seeing the ungodly, the slothful come to emulate them, and are defiled in their souls. Let such roots, then, be cut off.

Heb. 12:16. that no one be sexually immoral, or godless like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. He does not say this, that Esau was a fornicator, but stop at this point. Let there be no fornicator among you. For he hints that there were some such among them, yet he does not wish to convict them, but feigns ignorance, that they may be set right. Then from another beginning say, “Nor profane, as Esau”—that is, a glutton, worldly, profaning and trampling spiritual things. For he sold the honor of the birthright given by God, and that for one morsel of meat. And this is profanation, the contempt of divine things. Here he shows them how great an evil is slothfulness, in that the first became last by being faint-hearted, and by not resisting the desire of food.

Heb. 12:17. For you know that even afterward, when he wished to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He was rejected by the father, who said to him: If I have made him your lord, what then shall I do for you, child? But some have said that he was rejected by God. The first, then—he was rejected by God. For God was the cause of Isaac’s blessing Jacob when deceived. But the being rejected afterward, when he sought the blessing, is to be understood of the father; or even then by both; for it is clear that the father too rejected him according to God.

Heb. 12:17. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it earnestly with tears. Does Paul, then, cast out repentance here? God forbid. How then does he say that he found no place of repentance, though he sought it earnestly with tears? First, then, receive this, that by “it” one must understand not repentance, but the blessing; and the words “For he found no place of repentance” are parenthetical. Then too, he did indeed seek repentance, but not as one ought. For how is it [a mark] of repentance to say: Let the days of mourning for my father draw near, and I will slay my brother? So that on this account he found not repentance, because he sought it not as he ought. For even if he had tears, yet the tears were not of repentance, but of envy and bitterness, [in one] who neither bore nor loved the being surpassed. Just as neither was the grief of Cain of repentance, but of envy, and the murder made it manifest. Either, then, this is what I said, or that most wisely Paul frightens those who have not yet fallen, saying that for great sins there is no place of repentance—doing this by way of [wise] management, that by fear he may preserve them, so that they fall not. But when he sees any that have fallen, he again calls them back, that they despair not; as toward the Galatians: My little children, he says, of whom I again travail in birth, until Christ be formed in you. Therefore Paul does not here cast out repentance, but secures the believers from among the Hebrews against falling.

Heb. 12:18. For you have not come to a mount that may be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet. He shows that they are liable to greater [punishment], if they do not endure, but stand against him who promised, than those in the Old [Covenant]. And observe how he makes the comparison. After he showed the superiority of the New over the Old through many points, as has been recognized, he now sets down also the great and wonderful things among the ancients, those that came to pass on Mount Sinai, and declares them to be small and not worthy of mention beside those of the New. For there, he says, [there was] much display for the astonishment of that childish people. For indeed the fire was added, that the punitive [character] of the lawgiver might be shown, and that he might at once appear terrible. The blackness and the darkness showed the shadowedness of the Old. For if that was a type, it is clear that until the truth came the types were obscure, not being known as to what they signified. And the invisibility of God was also shown through these things. For “blackness,” he says, “[was] under his feet.” And the tempest roused the Hebrews, who were slothful, so that they should give heed. And the trumpets, as of a king present. For this also will be at the second coming.

Heb. 12:19. And the voice of words, which they that heard entreated that no word should be added to them. For God was heard speaking, that the legislation might become worthy of belief, and that the words might not seem to be Moses’. Assuredly the voice of God was terrible, but that of Moses thin. Wherefore those men declined God, saying to Moses: Speak you to us, and let not God speak to us.

Heb. 12:20. for they could not bear what was commanded: That is, that which was spoken by God they were not able to bear with their ears, being terrible. So then they themselves became the cause of God’s appearing through flesh, that he might become containable by them.

Heb. 12:20. And if even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned. And so terrible was that which appeared. He shows in this also the superiority of the New. For the Old, although it had nothing great, such as the New, was something terrible, and not even a beast was permitted to touch the mountain—that is, some beast from among those which the people had. But the New, having all things perfect, displays nothing terrible, but all things gentle.

Heb. 12:21. Moses said: I am exceedingly afraid and trembling. But if Moses, who entered into the blackness, the great one, [was] thus, how much [more] the people?

Heb. 12:22. But you have come. Those men did not come near, but stood afar off; but you have come near. Do you see the superiority?

Heb. 12:22. To Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Instead of Sinai, we have Sion, a spiritual mountain, and a spiritual city, Jerusalem—that is, heaven itself, not desolate, as those [had].

Heb. 12:22. And to myriads of angels, to a festal assembly. Instead of the people we have myriads of angels; instead of the place, joy—for this is signified through “festal assembly.” For where there is a festal assembly, there is joy. This festal assembly, then, consists of myriads of angels.

Heb. 12:23. And to the Church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. He calls the faithful “firstborn,” those consecrated to God, those sanctified, whose names are in the book of life, just as the Lord also said to the disciples: But your names are written in heaven. And since God is the common Father of all, all men indeed are his sons in common; but the firstborn of these are those who have believed, and are worthy of the adoption according to [his] purpose. Or also all who simply believe are sons; but firstborn are those who are well-pleasing, and counted worthy of the rights of elders in word and conduct before God.

Heb. 12:23. And to God the Judge of all. Here he also frightens them. For he is Judge of all—not of Jews only, but also of the faithful. Fear him, then. And he shows at the same time also their superiority over those of old, seeing that those men endured not even loving words, nor dared to approach even the mountain; but you have come near to the Judge himself—that is, to Christ. For the Father judges no man, but has given all judgment to the Son.

Heb. 12:23. and to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, That is, to the souls of those who were approved and shown perfect before God, namely through faith, as he proved; with whom you are about to be ranged, if you emulate them.

Heb. 12:24. And to Jesus the mediator of a New Covenant. Not to Moses the servant, but to Jesus our Lord.

Heb. 12:24. and to the sprinkled blood That is, of cleansing. For the blood of Christ, sprinkled upon us, cleansed and sanctified.

Heb. 12:24. Speaking better things than [that of] Abel. For what did Abel speak? Yes. For the voice, he says, of your brother’s blood cries to me. Or, as has also been said above, that he speaks even now, being celebrated and sung among all. But that of Christ sends forth a brighter and more significant voice, crying through deeds, that it has sanctified all. And in another way also it speaks: wherever it finds a sincere mind, it raises it up, and makes it speak. For the Spirit speaks in groanings unutterable. And the holy Cyril also understood it somewhat thus, that the blood of Abel cried out against the murderer; but that of Christ speaks on our behalf to his own Father.

Heb. 12:25. See that you refuse not him that speaks. Through disbelieving his promises, and despairing. And who is he that speaks, but Christ? For if his blood speaks, much more does he himself live.

Heb. 12:25. For if they escaped not, who refused him that uttered oracles on earth. What did they not escape? The punishment, the destruction. And by “him that uttered oracles on earth” he means Moses, or also God, who came down indeed from heaven, but nevertheless uttered oracles on earth through Moses. For on Mount Sinai he uttered oracles—that is, conversed, discoursed, gave commands.

Heb. 12:25. Much more we, who turn away from him that [speaks] from heaven. That is, Christ, who utters oracles from heaven—that is, who after being taken up gave us the law through the Spirit. And not that there was another then and another now did he say this, but the manner of the legislation differs. For then, uttering oracles on earth, he gave the law; but now, having been taken up, as has been said. So that he would be more terrible. For that there was not another then and another now, hear from this very one in what follows.

Heb. 12:26. whose voice then shook the earth, Do you see that even then he himself was the one speaking, who now utters oracles to us from heaven? For his voice then, at the time of the giving of the law, shook the earth.

Heb. 12:26. But now he has promised, saying: Yet once more I shake, not the earth only, but also the heaven. We have from Scripture two former shakings: first, that at the legislation on Sinai—For the earth, says David, was shaken; second, that at the sojourning in the flesh. For “all Jerusalem was shaken,” he says; and, The things made by hands of Egypt shall be shaken. For they were shaken—that is, they were moved from the standing whereby they deceived those who worshipped these things, and their strength was cast down. So then, “Yet once more” signifies a third shaking, that which shall come to pass after the second, namely the renewal at the consummation of the world, when all things shall be transferred, being changed from corruption to incorruption. And the saying is Haggai’s.

Heb. 12:27. And the word, Yet once more, signifies the removal of the things that are shaken, as of things that have been made. That is, the removal of the corruptible creation, which has a nature to be shaken, inasmuch as it has been made—that is, has taken a beginning of being, and necessarily, of course, has also an end. For everything that has been made began, and on this account, so far at least as concerns its own nature, has also an end. For indeed the angels too are by nature not without end, since neither are they without beginning; but by divine grace they received endlessness.

Heb. 12:27. That the things which cannot be shaken may remain. That is, the good things to come. For when these corruptible things shall be changed, all the things that shall then be for the righteous will be incorruptible and unshaken, undergoing no removal or change.

Heb. 12:28. Therefore receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace. Since, he says, we are about to be counted worthy of such good things, unchangeable and unshaken, and we receive such a kingdom, already from hence receiving the pledges of it, the spiritual gifts of grace, let us have grace—that is, let us not be pained, nor be impatient, but let us give thanks to him who has both already given such things, and is about to give them.

Heb. 12:28. By which we serve God acceptably. By which—that is, by thanksgiving. For if we are thankful, then we also serve acceptably, and as those who know what kind of Master we have. For if we are not thankful both for relief and for affliction, neither do we serve acceptably. For what servant who murmurs against his master (for he murmurs who serves him not as he ought) serves acceptably? Wherefore this same one also says elsewhere, Murmur not; and again, Do everything without grumbling, And the Israelites also fell in the wilderness, as murmurers.

Heb. 12:28. With reverence and godly fear. That is, let us utter nothing rash, nothing shameless, but let even the outward demeanor have reverence toward men, and godly fear toward God.

Heb. 12:29. For our God is a consuming fire. Since he showed the things of the Old to be terrible, but those of the New to have nothing of the kind—that they may not despise the gentleness, he says: With reverence and godly fear let us give thanks to God. For the soul in afflictions grows shameless, falling into despair. Or because our service is by nature to be done with reverence and godly fear. For indeed our God is fire, and we must be reverent, that we be not consumed as despisers and indifferent ones. For “Make the sons of Israel reverent,” he says. And this also brings them consolation, seeing that we have such a God, able to consume our adversaries.

Chapter 13

Heb. 13:1. Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful of hospitality. He did not say, Acquire brotherly love and hospitality; for they had these, as it seems. But since, by reason of their continual afflictions, they were in danger of being harmed in respect of these virtues, he says that Brotherly love must continue, let it be firmly settled, do not allow it to slip away from you. And Of hospitality, he says, be not forgetful. For as men who had been plundered of their goods, they would perhaps have been sparingly disposed. Or else he is also securing them for the time to come.

Heb. 13:2. For by this some have entertained angels unawares. So great a thing is hospitality, and the receiving of all without distinction, and the making of no nice judgment of persons, that to Abraham also and to Lot it became an occasion for entertaining angels. And the word Unawares stands for, they did not know that those whom they were entertaining were angels, and yet they entertained them munificently; which also makes them great, since, had they known, they would have done nothing great.

Heb. 13:3. Remember those in bonds, as bound together with them. For he who is bound together with someone, even though he should wish to forget, cannot.

Heb. 13:3. Those who are evil-treated, as being yourselves also in the body. Those evil-treated either in prisons, or in famine, or in some other affliction. For he who considers that he too is encompassed with a body subject to the like passions will take their part, both on account of sympathy, and through fear lest he himself also be permitted to fall into the like sufferings because of his lack of compassion.

Heb. 13:4. Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled. See how much discourse he has concerning chastity. For indeed, although above, when making mention of sanctification, he was speaking of this, yet again, after these things, he will speak concerning fornicators and adulterers. In all, then—not in the elder indeed, but in the young not so; but in all. Or also in all manners, and in all seasons. Not in affliction indeed, but in ease not so; not honorable in this part, but in another not so; but let it be wholly and throughout honorable. And here the heretics who slander marriage are put to shame. For lo, it is named honorable, in that it keeps one in chastity.

Heb. 13:4. But fornicators and adulterers God will judge. And here too the forbidding of fornication comes with penalties. For God will judge stands for, will condemn. And with reason. For if marriage is permitted, justly are the fornicator and the adulterer punished.

Heb. 13:5. Let your manner of life be without covetousness. He did not say, Possess nothing, but, Even if you have, do not be enslaved to it, but possess these things freely, so that even if at some time you should fall away from them, you may not be grieved—which also he said above, that You received with joy the plundering of your goods. And in another way: since many, after they have emptied out their possessions, are eager to recover them again, under the pretext that one must give alms, he says, Let your manner of life be without covetousness. Wherefore he also adds:

Heb. 13:5. Being content with the things present. He shows how we may be without covetousness. If we are content with the things present, if we seek nothing more than need and the necessaries. For he who seeks more than what he has is plainly a lover of money.

Heb. 13:5. For he himself has said: I will not leave you, neither will I forsake you. There it was likely that some would say: What then, if we should not have even the necessaries? He says: This is not so, it is not. For God, through Isaiah, says, I will not leave you; and he by no means lies. But it was likely also that these very men from among the Jews would say, With what present things shall we be content? We have been plundered, we have nothing left. He says, then, that You are able to be content with the things left over, even if they be but few. For God has said, I will not leave you—that is, I will not let you go. And even if perhaps the Apostle understood this of necessary things, do you nevertheless, in every matter, receive this saying spoken by God.

Heb. 13:6. so that we can confidently say: The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid of what man can do to me. Since God said these things, they are by all means trustworthy. Henceforth, then, let us boldly say that those who plunder our goods will not straiten us.

Heb. 13:7. Remember those who have the rule over you, who have spoken to you the word of God. This also he enjoined upon the Thessalonians, namely, to hold them in honor exceedingly. And just as those impart the word, so too, if it is possible, [you should] help them in their bodily needs. For this he hints at through the word, Remember. Or else he is rousing these to the imitation of them.

Heb. 13:7. Whose end of conversation considering, imitate their faith. That is, examining more closely. And just as the disciples of a painter look to the original, so do you, ever looking to the issue—that is, to the end of their conversation, which is their manner of life, that it had a good end—imitate their faith. For from faith comes the pure life. For unless they had believed in the things to come, but had doubted, they would not have displayed a blameless manner of life. And again he heals their faint-heartedness; or he means the faith of the doctrines. He adds, then:

Heb. 13:8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today, and to the ages. For, as it seems, there were some who were counterfeiting the faith, and saying that Another will come, whom even until now the Hebrews await. He says, then, that He himself is Christ yesterday—that is, throughout all the time past—and today—that is, in the present—and to the ages, the ages to come and without end; and no other will come. Be not, therefore, led astray. Or else [he means] that, just as he did not forsake your leaders, but in all things laid hold of them, so he will lay hold of you also. For he is the same.

Heb. 13:9. Be not carried about with various and strange doctrines. Various, those that are now of one kind, now of another, and from different teachers; but also strange to the right doctrine. For it is possible for a teaching to be various, yet not strange, and on this account not disapproved. But when it is both various—that is, this from one, that from another—and strange—that is, alien to the truth—then one must be on guard. For the truth is of one form, and looks to one thing. And observe the word, Carried about, as of certain light things wheeled easily here and there.

Heb. 13:9. For it is good that the heart be confirmed by grace, not by foods, in which those who walked were not profited. These are the strange teachings. For he hints at those who were introducing the Jewish observance of foods. He says, then, that By grace—that is, by faith—we must be confirmed, and be fully assured that nothing is unclean, but that all things are clean to him who believes. Faith, then, is needed, not the observance of foods. For those who walked in foods—that is, who marched continually by the observance of foods—were in no way profited as to the soul, as being outside of faith, and in bondage to the unprofitable law. And in another way: what were they profited from the observance, he says, seeing that they were so disposed as not even to be able to partake of the sacrifices?

Heb. 13:10. We have an altar whereof they have no authority to eat who serve the tabernacle. Since he said that one must not observe foods, lest our things should seem to be contemptible because of their not being observed, he says that, We too have an observance, yet not over such foods, but over the altar—that is, the bloodless sacrifice of the life-giving body. For of this it is not permitted even to the legal high priests to partake, so long as they serve the tabernacle—that is, the legal types, which are grown old, which are being abolished; for such is the tabernacle—or so long as they serve the world. For the peoples did not partake of the legal sacrifices, as being unworthy.

Heb. 13:11–12. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought for sin into the holy place by the high priest, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate. He shows the things held in reverence among the Jews to be types of ours, and he says that those sacrifices were nothing, seeing that the people were able to partake of them; but of our sacrifice not even the high priests of the law partake. For those sacrifices were the type of this. For just as, of the beasts offered for the sin of the people, the high priest brought the blood into the holy place, while the bodies were burned outside the camp; so also Christ, having suffered for the sins of the world, brought his own blood into the holy place to the Father as High Priest, while his body was crucified outside the camp. As a memorial, therefore, of that sacrifice, the high priests among us bring the blood of the Lord into the holy things among us, and into the altar, as into heaven. Wherefore it is not permitted to the legal high priests to eat of this altar, as being of another race, and as not minded for the things above this world; but we are not so.

Heb. 13:13. Let us therefore go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. Since Christ suffered outside the gate, let us too go forth to him outside the gate—that is, of the world—bearing his reproach—that is, suffering the same things as he. He was crucified outside as a condemned man and a robber; let us, then, not be ashamed to go forth outside the world and its splendors, even if this seem a dishonor. And again he urges them to bear the things brought upon them by the Jews, even if they be insults, even if plunderings.

Heb. 13:14. For here we have no abiding city, but we seek the one to come. He establishes the point that one must go forth outside the gate—that is, of the world. For we have no share in this world, since it does not even abide. We ought, therefore, to flee from it, and to run toward the city to come—that is, heaven.

Heb. 13:15. Through him, then, let us offer up the sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing to his name. Through him, as through the High Priest according to the flesh, we offer up the sacrifice of praise—that is, thanksgiving. We give thanks to the Father, as to him who gave his own Son for the sanctifying of us. And this [he says] on account of the weak; for that the grace is the Son’s is plain from the honor being equal. For that, he says, all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. This thanksgiving, then, is the fruit of lips confessing—that is, making acknowledgment to his name. So that not even of this sacrifice is it permitted to the legal high priests to partake. For they cannot give thanks for the blood of Christ, who have in no way been sanctified by him, because of their remaining in that very unbelief. And observe again how he urges them on to give thanks, and not to murmur, nor to utter anything bold and audacious out of faint-heartedness.

Heb. 13:16. But of doing good and of fellowship be not forgetful. Those who plead poverty, and on this account do not impart—let them hear that it is to the very poorest, to those who had been plundered, that Paul exhorts not to be forgetful of almsgiving. And this he names fellowship, by reason of which we are, in many respects, under obligation.

Heb. 13:16. for God is pleased with such sacrifices. With those of thanksgiving and of doing good. For he who is thankful is plainly also ready to impart, knowing of what things he has been counted worthy.

Heb. 13:17. Obey those who have the rule over you. He speaks concerning such men. But having first praised them, in calling them faithful and worthy to be emulated by those who consider them, he then adds: Obey. What then? Must one obey every ruler, even if he be wicked? In what sense do you say, wicked? If it be in respect of the faith, flee from him, even if he be an angel from heaven. But if he be wicked in respect of his life, obey him. For all things whatever they bid you to do, do; but according to their works do not. But concerning those corrupted in respect of the faith he says: Be not carried about with various and strange doctrines. Why so? Because he who acts wickedly would not counsel others to live wickedly; for he himself, doing these things, is ashamed; and this is plain from his contriving in every way to hide the things he does. But he who is wicked in respect of the faith would proclaim his own mind even to the people.

Heb. 13:17. And submit yourselves. By the word, Submit yourselves, he indicates the intensified obedience, so as to serve them even by deeds.

Heb. 13:17. For they watch over your souls, as those who must give account. Let the rulers hear that, just as the people must be obedient, so too the priest must be watchful over the people, as one who is to give account for the things in which they sin.

Heb. 13:17. That they may do this with joy, and not groaning; for that is unprofitable for you. If you submit yourself, he says, and serve your ruler, you make light for him the burden of his care for you, since he rejoices at your subjecting yourself. But if you behave shamelessly, he indeed will even so be watchful over your soul; yet, if you do not correct your insubordination, he will groan against you to God; which is unprofitable for you. And observe: he does not permit the ruler to avenge himself otherwise than by a groan. And this, on the one hand, establishes a gentleness of disposition in the ruler; but for that uncorrected man it kindles up a greater fire of punishment, since it moves God to be a more severe chastiser. So that do not, because it is but a groan, despise it, you who are disobedient to your ruler, but fear the more, because he delivers you over to God.

Heb. 13:18. Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience in all things. Since some slandered the Apostle, as teaching apostasy from the law, on this account many of the Hebrews were hostilely disposed toward him. Wherefore he did not even set his name at the beginning of the Epistle, since they could not bear so much as to hear it. Making his defense, then, now toward them, first he asks them to pray for him, which we are accustomed to ask of those who love us; and then he also shows himself guiltless. For in all things—not only toward the Gentiles, but also toward you—we have done nothing with hypocrisy, but our conscience is pure, and we are not conscious to ourselves that we plotted against you, or wrought anything wicked against you, or slandered you.

Heb. 13:19. Willing to conduct ourselves rightly. That is, being eager to live without giving offense and without scandal. For this very thing which I say, that the law has been abolished, is not the saying of an enemy or of a foe. For rather I am introducing the fulfillment of the law, and showing its shadow-sketch as having received its own reality. How, then, is this [the teaching] of apostasy? And how am I not your benefactor, leading you to perfection, and wholly removing you from the shadow and the childish disposition?

Heb. 13:19. But I exhort you the more to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. This belonged to one who loved them exceedingly, namely, to wish that they should so pray, fervently and with all earnestness, that he might the sooner be restored to them. And at the same time he also shows that he is confident in his conscience, and on this account hastens to them; which he would not have done, had he been conscious to himself of anything wicked.

Heb. 13:20. Now the God of peace. Having first asked their prayers, and having honored them in this also, so he too in turn prays for them. Since, he says, God is the God of peace, you ought not to be at variance with us, and that upon a mere hearsay.

Heb. 13:20. Who brought again from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep. He confirms the discourse concerning his resurrection, taking the testimony from the prophecy of Isaiah. And as though there were other shepherds also, yet small ones, he said, great. For many prophets are teachers, but one is the Master, Christ.

Heb. 13:20. In the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus. That is, he raised him from the dead—him who had died and poured out his own blood, that he might give us a Covenant, not one being abolished, like the legal, but one abiding for ever. Or also thus: He raised him from the dead together with the blood of the eternal Covenant. For, he being raised, his blood was bestowed upon us for a covenant. For had he not been raised, his blood would not have been for us a covenant.

Heb. 13:21. Make you perfect in every good thing. He shows that they had begun in good works, but needed to be perfected in them; which also he prays for them. And observe that we must first begin, and then ask the end from God.

Heb. 13:21. To do his will. For he who has been perfected in every good work, he it is who does the will of God, not he who pursues the good but halfway.

Heb. 13:21. Working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ. So that, whenever we do the good, God works this in us through Jesus Christ—that is, using him as Mediator and as Worker. For he who from the beginning wrought our salvation, what wonder is it if in the working of the virtues also he becomes Mediator, and himself fulfills the Father’s will in us, strengthening us and empowering us for good deeds? And having said, well-pleasing, he added, in his sight. For then are we truly well-pleasing, when in the sight of God we appear good, not when in the sight of men. Which David also says: According to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes. And Isaiah: Put away your wickednesses from your souls, from before my eyes.

Heb. 13:22. And I beseech you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation. Do you see? He who had written to no one else, this he writes to these. And he does not say, of admonition, but, of exhortation—that is, of consolation, of the urging to endurance—because his word was addressed to those who were afflicted.

Heb. 13:22. For indeed I have written a letter to you in few words. Having said so much, he nevertheless says, few, as compared with the things he had to say. And he says this to them, as it were: Even if one might be wearied at the length of the things said—which, even when many, prove but few. For it is the mark of men of such dignity not to bear with a long discourse.

Heb. 13:23. Know that our brother Timothy is set at liberty. Toward Timothy, rather, they were not hostilely disposed, wherefore he also put him forward. But set at liberty from where? Either he was in prison, and was released; or he was released from Athens, for there he was.

Heb. 13:23. With whom, if he come the sooner, I will see you. And this too was sufficient to relax the cause of their hostility toward him, seeing that he is ready to come with his disciple. And perhaps it is likely that this came to pass, and that he went up again into Judea from Rome. For he was released the first time by Nero, as we also said in the proem of the Epistle.

Heb. 13:24. Salute all those who have the rule over you, and all the saints. See how he carefully tends even the weaker.

Heb. 13:24. Those from Italy salute you. He was so disposed that not I alone should salute you, but that he should establish in others also so great a longing toward you, that even from so great a distance those men love you, and on this account salute you.

Heb. 13:25. Grace be with you all. Amen. Since grace is something common, he prays for it in common upon all, both those who are advanced and those who are beginning. And what is grace? The remission of sins, the cleansing, the imparting of the Spirit. And how might it be with you? If you do not insult it, if you do not live unworthily of it. For it abides whenever we have good works; but it flies away whenever we do not live according to the commandment of him who gives it to us. But may it be ours, recognizing this grace, and all that we received through it, not to live to the insult of him who freely bestowed upon us so many good things, but, glorifying him through good works, and showing that he did not lay up this grace among ungrateful and senseless men, to hold it undiminished in our souls, in Christ himself, the benefactor of our souls. With whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Commentary on the Epistle of James

Introduction

James and His Letter

The Church has long received this letter as the work of James, called “the brother of the Lord,” who governed the church at Jerusalem and presided at its council in the days of the apostles. He wrote, as Theophylact notes at the head of his commentary, to the twelve tribes scattered abroad—Jewish believers dispersed among the nations—and he wrote in a plain, sententious style closer to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament than to the argumentative prose of Paul. Short exhortation follows short exhortation: on trial and temptation, on hearing and doing the word, on the tongue, on the rich and the poor, on prayer. A reader coming to James after Paul’s epistles notices the change of register at once; this is not sustained argument but a string of counsels, each weighed and each meant to be carried away and used.

Theophylact’s own summary, set at the opening of his exposition, catches the letter’s shape accurately: James teaches the difference between the trials that come from God and those that arise from a man’s own heart; he insists that faith must show itself in deeds and not in profession alone; he warns the rich against presuming upon their wealth; and he closes by commending patience, the example of Job, and the calling of the elders to pray over the sick. It is a letter for the whole of the Christian life rather than for one controversy in particular, and Theophylact’s commentary follows it point by point, in the same unhurried, practical spirit.

A Commentary Without Chrysostom

Something should be said here, at the threshold of the seven letters James opens, about the shape of the Greek patristic record behind them. For the four Gospels, Acts, and the letters of Paul, Theophylact’s habit is to distill the vast preaching of Saint John Chrysostom into a form a reader can take in at a sitting. On James, the two epistles of Peter, the three of John, and Jude, that resource largely fails him: Chrysostom left no homilies on these letters at all. The principal Greek exposition of the Catholic Epistles before Theophylact’s own time was instead the work associated with Oecumenius, a compiler who had gathered and arranged the scattered patristic comment on James through Jude a century or so earlier. Theophylact’s relationship to that material is close—closer, in places, than his relationship to any single predecessor in the Gospel commentaries—though he writes throughout in his own voice and with his own pastoral concerns. The result is that the Catholic Epistles show Theophylact working in a different register than the volumes on Matthew or Luke: less the distiller of one towering forebear, more the last link in a shorter and thinner chain of Greek commentary.

Faith Perfected by Works

The best-known passage in the letter is also its most contested: James’s declaration that faith without works is dead, and that Abraham was justified by his works when he offered Isaac upon the altar. Read against the Apostle Paul’s teaching that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law, the two statements have often been set against one another. Theophylact will not have it so. He distinguishes two senses of “faith”—the bare assent to a truth, which even demons possess, and the faith joined to a settled disposition of the soul, which cannot help but issue in good works—and two senses of “works,” the moral works that faith of the second kind naturally produces, and the ritual works of the Mosaic law from which Paul frees the believer. On this reading Paul and James answer different questions rather than contradicting one another, and Theophylact sums up the point in a single phrase worth carrying away from the whole letter: in Abraham, he says, “faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect.” Faith and effort are not rivals for credit but partners in a single life, each incomplete without the other—a reading of the passage that keeps James and Paul, and grace and human striving, bound together rather than pulled apart.

The Prayer of Faith

The letter closes with the instruction that a sick believer should call for the elders of the church, who are to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, so that the prayer of faith may save him and the Lord may raise him up. Theophylact treats this not as a novelty but as a continuation of what the apostles themselves did while the Lord was still among men, anointing the sick and healing them—the letter’s closing counsel resting, in his reading, on a practice as old as the Gospel itself. He joins to it the confession of sins one to another and the example of Elijah, whose prayer closed and opened the heavens: ordinary men, he insists, and not only apostles, may pray with like effect if their striving is joined to the same earnestness. Read in that light, James’s brief, plainly worded letter—so unlike the sustained argument of Paul, so close in tone to the Wisdom books that formed its author—asks to be taken up the way Theophylact himself takes it: verse by verse, each counsel weighed and carried into practice before the reader moves on to the next.

Chapter 1

Why these epistles are called catholic. These Epistles are called catholic: one of James, two of Peter, three of John, and one of Jude—as it were, encyclical letters. For the company of those disciples of the Lord does not address these Epistles to a single nation or city in particular—as the divine Paul writes, for instance, to the Romans or to the Corinthians—but to the faithful universally, that is, to the Jews in the dispersion, as Peter also does, or indeed to all Christians who live under the same faith.

The Argument of the Catholic Epistle of James. Since James himself writes this letter to those who had been scattered abroad from the twelve tribes and had come to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ; and since he writes the Epistle in a didactic manner, teaching about the difference among temptations—which kind is from God, and which kind is from men’s own heart; and that faith must be shown not by word alone but also by work, and that it is not the hearers of the law but the doers of the law who are justified. Concerning the rich he gives charge that the rich should not be preferred above the poor in the churches, but should rather even be rebuked as proud. And at the end, having consoled those who are wronged, and exhorted them to be longsuffering until the coming of the Judge; and having taught about patience, and shown from Job the usefulness of patience, he gives charge to call for the elders to those who are sick, and to be diligent to turn back those who have gone astray to the truth—for the reward of this from the Lord is the forgiveness of sins. And thus he brings the Epistle to its completion.

An Exposition of the chapter-headings of the Catholic Epistle of James.
1. Concerning patience, and unfeigned faith, and humility toward one’s neighbors; wherein also concerning the burning that is among you, and the passions that arise from it, that God is not the cause of it—for whatever good we have is from Him. Concerning gentleness, and purity, and good deeds shared with others to blessedness, and concerning understanding and a due measure in speech. Concerning love toward each one, without respect of persons, according to the law. That a man is justified not from faith alone, nor from works alone, nor from each of these taken separately, but from both together. That the rash and disordered tongue puts to death the one who possesses it, which tongue it is necessary to master to the good repute and glory of God.
2. Concerning good conduct, free of contention toward one another, arising out of vainglory over human wisdom.
3. Concerning divine wisdom.
4. And that out of slothfulness and love of pleasure arise strife, and disorder, and enmity toward God.
5. Concerning repentance to salvation.
6. Concerning not judging one’s neighbor.
7. That it is not in man, but in God, that the steps of a man are directed.
8. Concerning the greed of the rich and their luxury in the world, and concerning the righteous judgment of God.
9. Concerning longsuffering and the patient endurance of sufferings, and concerning the truth.
10. Particular exhortations befitting each person, joined with faith. And that one must minister to the salvation of one’s neighbor.

Jas. 1:1. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the dispersion: greeting. Of God, that is, the Father; and of the Lord, that is, Jesus—so that, if he is equally the servant of the Father and of the Son, then the Son too is of equal honor with the Father, both according to essence and according to honor. And above every worldly dignity the apostles of the Lord adorn themselves with being the servants of Christ.[1]

Jas. 1:2. Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various temptations. The temptations that are according to God, and the sorrow they bring, these he knows to be both praiseworthy and worthy of joy; for they are an unbreakable bond and a growth in love and compunction. Whence this too has been said: My child, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptations. And Christ said: In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. For it is not possible, apart from contests—whether worldly ones or those that are according to God—to be counted worthy of crowns. And in his modesty he calls them brethren, not children. Temptations are an occasion of all joy to the earnest, because through them the proof of them is made manifest. For the proof leads on to a perfect work. But someone will say: If such is the work of temptations, how is it that Christ in the prayer teaches us to ask God that we not be led into temptation? We say, then, that temptations are of two kinds: some that take their beginning from ourselves, and others that are brought upon us from God for the sake of training and of public proclamation. And those that take their beginning from ourselves are also of two kinds: those that come through unreasoning boldness, which we also call rashness—which the Lord enjoins us to guard against, since though the spirit is willing, in the midst of the contests the willingness is quenched and ends not in good for those who employed it; and those brought on through sin, as destruction came upon the Sodomites. These temptations are to be fled with all one’s might by those who would live without sin; whereas those that come from God—as to Job, as to Abraham—are not only not to be fled, but, if possible, to be drawn to oneself through patience and thanksgiving, as worthy of public proclamation and of crowns. And he said various temptations because the temptations, as we have said, are partly from God and partly from ourselves.

Jas. 1:3. Knowing that the proving of your faith works patience. Since the temptations are of two kinds, as we have noted, patience profits in either case: in the case of those from God, because here we obtain public proclamation, as did Abraham, as did Job; and in the case of those from ourselves, because, enduring them with thanksgiving, we bring this as a kind of counterweight for our sins. For he who acknowledges his own faults has laid in himself a beginning of salvation, and has conformed himself to the character of a righteous man, if indeed: A righteous man is his own accuser in the first plea.

Jas. 1:4. But let patience have a perfect work. Observe that he did not speak of patience in a declarative way, that it has a perfect work, but in an imperative way, Let it have. For he is not announcing a virtue already laid down beforehand, but one now being worked out, which he lays down as law that it ought to come to be. That you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. The cause of the perfect work he says is wisdom. Since he knows that the proving of faith and of the patience that is in temptations is no achievement of ordinary men, but of those who are wise according to God, for this reason he spurs on to the asking of wisdom those who long to accomplish this very thing.

Jas. 1:5. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all simply and does not reproach; and it shall be given him. Spiritual wisdom, he means, not human wisdom. For he names it as the cause for us of the perfect work also. And this is the wisdom that is from above, by which, being empowered, we shall be able to do the good entire.

Jas. 1:6. But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For if he believes, let him ask; but if he does not believe, let him not even ask, for he will receive nothing of what he asks. And the doubter is the one who asks with contempt. By common confession he is insolent, the one who doubts. For if you have not believed that He will bring your request to fulfillment, do not approach at all, lest you be found an accuser of Him who is able to do all things, having become double-souled against your own will. Therefore one must shun this so shameful a disease. For the doubter is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed about.

Jas. 1:7. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord. The doubter is the one who sets himself apart from a sure thing, and hesitates whether it shall be, or not. For this man will not even receive, since he becomes of two minds concerning the thing hoped for.

Jas. 1:8. A double-souled man, unstable in all his ways. Double-souled — that is, confounded, ill-furnished, unprofitable, self-opinionated, a hypocrite. By ways he means the movements of the soul, upon which hopes are suspended, whether good or not; just as David also said: You have foreseen my ways. In another sense: he calls a double-souled man the one who is unsteadied, who is firmly grounded neither toward the things to come nor securely toward the things present, but is carried about here and there, now clinging to the things to come, now to the things present. And such a man he likens both to a wave of the sea, which has no fixedness, and to the flower of the grass, which has no permanence, but withers when the sun has risen—wherefore he did not compare him to the grass, which is more lasting, but to the flower, displaying his short duration. And why is he called double-souled? Because he is directed with confidence neither toward the present life nor toward the life to come. For in Scripture the soul is called the life, as in this: All that a man has he will give for his soul. Put away from yourself double-mindedness, and do not at all be of two minds about asking from God, saying within yourself, How can I ask from the Lord and receive, having sinned so greatly against Him? Do not reckon thus, but confess out of your whole heart, and turn back to the Lord, and ask of Him without wavering; and you shall know His tender compassion, that He will by no means forsake you, but will fulfill the request of your soul. For God does not remember evil, and He has compassion upon His own works.[2]

Jas. 1:9. Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation. Since he knows humility to be the storehouse of all good things, and that without it none of the earnest things is accomplished, for this reason he adds, Let the lowly glory in his exaltation. For since he likens the doubter to a wave of the sea, which is lifted up, swollen by the winds, but is laid to rest sooner than it is raised; the doubter suffers likewise, who out of pride props his own requests upon none of the things that are needful. For this reason he adds, Let the lowly brother glory, saying something like this: He who wishes to ask for anything, let him first ask the things that are needful, in which he will not miss the things sought; and these are the kingdom of heaven and righteousness. Then let him persevere in asking for such things; let him not, having prayed for a little while, immediately withdraw (for this belongs to the boastful), but let him await the receiving, persevering in lowliness of soul.

Jas. 1:10–11. But let the rich man glory in his lowliness, because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun rose with its burning heat, and withered the grass, and its flower fell. He likens riches to the flower of the grass, wishing to display its ephemeral nature.

Jas. 1:11. And the comeliness of its appearance perished. He used face loosely; for this is said of man alone, but not of the other living creatures.

Jas. 1:11. So also shall the rich man wither in his goings. By goings he means the courses of the present life.

Jas. 1:12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been proved he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love Him. Since the temptations are of two kinds, as we have noted, patience profits in either case. Then, having called to mind the Lord’s prayer—which, beseeching that we not fall into temptation, commends to us the better course—he takes up the argument again by means of what lies before him, making clear which is the temptation from God and which is the self-chosen one from ourselves. Yet it is well that the Lord and God, looking to the weaker part of human nature, should propose that the onset of temptations be prayed against, the disciples being as yet too imperfectly disposed. But since by the knowledge that came through His resurrection, and by His being taken up into the heavens, our weak nature has been strengthened, his brother according to the flesh urges that the temptations be no longer dreaded.

Jas. 1:13. Let no one who is tempted say, I am tempted from God. If the temptations are of two kinds, then he casts every temptation out of being caused by God. But observe that he did not say the one who has been tempted, but the one being tempted. For the man who procures temptations for himself through fault and intemperance, and who, as it were, tumbles amid circumstances in a continual surge, this man he says is tempted not from God but from his own desire. For he who has conquered the temptation brought upon him, having established himself more securely, becomes thereafter hard to consume by temptations, especially those moved from himself. For, having inclined toward a more philosophic life, he continues thenceforth at ease from temptations.

Jas. 1:13. For God is untempted by evils, and He Himself tempts no one. God is untempted by evils, according to him who said: The divine and blessed is neither itself troubled with affairs nor causes trouble to others. For all these things belong to the mortal and earthbound nature, about which alteration is seen and decay, the things that take their beginning in our nature. But desire, and sin, and the death that through desire takes root in the soul, are certain steps of man’s ruin. For desire, having found room for reception, wrought sin, which brought forth death—unless, having uprooted it through repentance, we lay for ourselves a beginning of a second life.

Jas. 1:14–15. But each one is tempted by his own desire, being drawn away and enticed. Then desire, having conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is brought to completion, brings forth death. Since he has shown that the divine nature is neither itself tempted nor furnishes this to others, he here calls temptations the thoughts that disturb the soul; for those that come from God do not confound but, being settled, make the soul radiant. For this reason he says what follows.

Jas. 1:17. Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, from the Father of lights; inasmuch as the things brought on by ourselves have imperfection.

Jas. 1:16–17. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. By the Father of lights understand God, or [the Father] of the angelic powers, which have been illumined through the Holy Spirit.

Jas. 1:17. With whom there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning. There is not, he says, with the Father of lights any variableness; for He Himself cries out through the prophet: I am, and I am not changed. And shadow of turning means that there is not even the suggestion of any surmise of change.[3]

Jas. 1:18. Of His own will He brought us forth by the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. He said of His own will because of those mad ones who say that the world came into being of its own accord. For since above he said with whom there is no variableness, and showed thereby that the Divine is unchangeable, he adds, of His own will He brought us forth. For if we have come into being, it is clear that we are also changeable. For how could that be unchangeable which came forth from non-being, through alteration, into being? Then, since he said He brought forth, lest anyone suppose that He begot the Son also in the same manner as us, he adds, by the Word of truth. For all things, according to John the Theologian, came into being through Him; that is, through the Word of truth. So that, if our coming forth is through the Word, we are not of the same kind as He from whom we have our being. And a kind of firstfruits means first and most honored. And by creature he means the visible nature.

Jas. 1:19. Therefore, my beloved brothers, let every person be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. The swift he does not confine to bare hearing, but to an active hearing, one that hastens, after hearing, to the handling of the things heard. For he knew the one who lends his ear with eagerness, and who would render himself ready also for the working of these things; just as, on the contrary, the one who disposes himself toward something with slowness by delay, and who is at times wholly hindered from the undertaking. Therefore in the teaching of divine things he enjoins swiftness; but in the things that have a perilous handling, slowness. And these are speaking and being angry. For speech under anger does not end in good. Wherefore a certain man wise in divine things said: He who spoke repented often; but he who kept silence, never. And the blessed David: Be angry, and sin not; that is, do not, being angry, immediately bring in also the madness that comes from anger. In harmony with these is also the present passage, both as concerns speaking itself and as concerns being angry; but especially concerning anger, which, being brought forth unreasoningly, deprives one of the righteousness of God. Wherefore he also says: Anger does not work the righteousness of God.

Jas. 1:20. For the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. Righteousness is a state in the soul that renders to each according to his desert; but anger destroys even the prudent. How could this anger, darkening the mind through its excessive passion, establish that righteousness which renders to each, by judgment, what is according to his desert? But observe that he did not speak simply of the one who does not work the righteousness of God, but of the one who plays the man over things ruinous to himself. For this reason he also brought forth the saying without the addition of the article; and that this is his intent, the following shows: Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly. For the application of the subjunctive article shows that he wishes man to signify those who have an inclination both ways, toward good things and toward evil. And it must be noted that he did not say works in the simple form, but with the addition of the preposition, works out. That is to say, one is not wholly deprived of what is fitting. For it is possible to discern in anger a certain usefulness, inasmuch as in no other movement of the soul either is that which is in some way to be cast off bereft of the praiseworthy, but it is possible to find something serviceable as well.

Jas. 1:21. Therefore, putting away all filthiness and superfluity of malice, in meekness of heart receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. To filthiness he adds also superfluity of malice, wishing to display this: that even if one has often fallen into some filthiness, he should swiftly withdraw from it, and not, by persisting in it through habit, work the evil more firmly; for it is natural that the things done by us more continually and more abundantly settle the deed into a nature, that is, procure for it the fixed state of a nature. And he said in meekness because of the teaching word, which makes its reception not in tumult and disturbance. And he calls implanted word that according to which we have become rational, able to discern the better and the worse.

Jas. 1:22–23. But become doers of the law, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man considering the face of his birth in a mirror. To consider the face of his birth is to have come to know himself through the law. Therefore he added of birth to face. For through the law we learn what sort of beings we have become, and we consider what sort the spiritual law renders us through the washing of regeneration. Then, not abiding in such a contemplation through action, we forget also the gift. For he who gives himself over to wicked deeds does not even remember that he has been benefited by God. For if he remembered that he had been born from above, and justified, and reckoned among the sons of God, he would not give himself over to works that nullify the grace. And from this familiar mirror he carries the argument over to the spiritual mirror, taking away nothing of the things that mark off what is said as an example. As though he were to say thus: If anyone is a hearer of the law and not a doer, he is like a man considering his own face in a mirror. For as that man considered himself and went away, and immediately forgot what sort he was, so also this man—who, through the law of Moses, considered for what he had come into being, namely, for the glory of God and to become according to the image of God his Maker—after considering, wrought none of the things considered, but was in the same case as the one considering his own face. Though it was needful to use it thus, he did not so use it. And not in vain does the apostle do this, gathering up the hearer and straining him toward not hearing these things carelessly. For not those hearers are blessed, but those who join action to the hearing. Since the Pharisees also became hearers, but, since they were not doers, they were no longer blessed. Deceiving yourselves — that is, beguiling, despising their own salvation.

Jas. 1:24. For he considered himself, and went away, and immediately forgot what sort he was. To the hearing he joined the forgetting, since the hearing of the law alone does not suffice for the soul’s salvation, unless doing also follow upon it for the confirmation of the hearing.

Jas. 1:25. But he who looked into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and continued therein, this man, being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his doing. He said looked into, and not entered in; for the spiritual law, having everywhere what is desirable and magnificent, knows how to draw a man even from a brief encounter. And having said perfect law, he added of liberty, making the liberty its distinguishing mark. For the law that is according to Christ, having set free from the bondage that concerns the flesh, establishes in liberty the one who comes to it, and through its liberality has made him attentive, and has freed him from the forgetfulness that ruins all good things.

Jas. 1:26. If anyone among you seems to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, this man’s religion is vain. Religious, among the Jews, is the one who has faith in works in a way that seems unpublicized; and since the Jews thought highly of themselves over their observances, and supposed that in these consisted the whole of godliness toward God, and, busying themselves with these alone, reckoned that they procured blessedness for themselves; while toward others they were rather disposed to reproach, as is clear from the Pharisee in the Gospels, and from the insolent things he presumed concerning the publican—the apostle, restraining this conceit, says what lies before us. For having made mention of a doer of works, and blessed him, he immediately corrects also the evil that grows up in the doing among the many, and says: Do not suppose, you who boast over your doing of the law, that you have blessedness according to the doing alone. For this is not acceptable to God; but that man is acceptable who indeed does, but not out of conceit is carried reproachfully against those who do not do. And deceiving his heart means, as it were, strangling, and not, out of conceit as a doer of the law, deceiving his own conscience. For this is what heart means here, as also in the phrase a heart contrite and humbled.

Jas. 1:27. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. Religion seems to have something more than faith. For the name promises a knowledge of certain hidden things, and a firmness of the things contemplated according to faith. For this reason the Apostle also used this expression, saying religious, as though he were to say: You suppose yourself a knower of the secret things in the law and an exact keeper of them. How is it, then, that you who do not know how to bridle your tongue accuse your neighbor, and, living haughtily, pity none of those in want—though the law neither admits the slanderer, but commands us to pity even our enemies? If, therefore, you wish to be religious, do not display the religious man in the reading of the law, but in the doing. And this is to pity one’s neighbors. For pity toward one’s neighbor is a making of oneself like to God. For, He says, become merciful, as also your heavenly Father. But let your pity also be without respect of persons; since God too does not make His own benefits to be portioned out, but makes His sun to rise upon rich and poor, and sends rain upon the righteous and the unrighteous.

Jas. 1:27. To keep oneself unspotted from the world. World is here to be understood as the common and rabble crowd, which is corrupted according to the desires of its deceit.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact reads a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (genitives in apposition), the basis of his point that James serves Father and Son equally.

[2] Translator’s note: Theophylact takes ψυχή here in the biological sense, life, citing Job 2:4 (LXX), where the word denotes the mortal life rather than the spiritual soul.

[3] Mal 3:6 (LXX).

Chapter 2

Jas. 2:1. My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For whoever acts with partiality fills himself with great defilement, dishonoring one of his own kind, and himself even before that other; for the show he makes toward his fellow rebounds upon the very man who does it.

Jas. 2:2–3. For if there enter into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in splendid clothing, and there enter also a poor man in shabby clothing, and you give regard to the one wearing the splendid clothing and say, Sit here in a good place, and to the poor man you say, Stand there, or, Sit here under my footstool— The wearing of rings seems to have been especially a custom among the Hebrews. Perhaps someone will object here: If James is a teacher of the covenant according to Christ, how is it that he does not now abolish the things of the Law, but rather upholds them, approving of those who are still in the worship of the Law and not rebuking them? To him we will say this: that he is now speaking to them in a more introductory manner, condescending to their weakness, lest, by overturning the Law at the very threshold, he should make them draw back from the newness of the teachings. Managing the matter with greater prudence, and yielding—so far as it did no harm to the New Covenant—to their scruples about the Law (for what injury did it do to the faith in Christ to keep the Sabbath, or to fast and abstain from foods?), and so for the time making them more attentive to his own discourse by these concessions, he thus little by little exhorts them to withdraw from the things of the Law as useless and as calling men to bondage rather than to freedom, the freedom that is in Christ. Wisely, then, employing these slight accommodations, when he had won over those who were not put off by what he said, he then set before them the things befitting Christians.

Jas. 2:4. And did you not make distinctions among yourselves? The conjunction and is superfluous here, after an archaic manner of speech; for since this is the apodosis of what was stated above, the conjunction is redundant. For it runs thus: If anyone enter into your assembly, and so on; then, Did you not make distinctions among yourselves? Since this is the apodosis, the construction requires that it be brought in without the conjunction and, so that the sense is: Inasmuch as you did not judge what was right, you became judges with evil thoughts. And you did not make distinctions stands for you corrupted your power of discernment, making no examination beforehand whether a man were poor but earnest, or rich but slothful; rather your want of discernment led you into partiality, to praise the one for his wealth and to dishonor the other for his poverty. And you became judges with evil thoughts—that is, unjust judges, having of malice set yourselves up out of partiality.

Jas. 2:5–6. Listen, my beloved brethren: Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor. Do not the rich oppress you, and do they not themselves drag you into the courts? Since poverty is a hard thing for most people even to hear of, on this account, having said the poor of this world, he at once added rich. But rich in what? In faith; for so it is. For the fact that the poor are undistracted by the world makes them, once they have come to the faith, more active than the wealthy. Therefore the Lord too chose disciples of this kind, whom He also declared to be heirs of the kingdom.

Jas. 2:7–9. Do they not themselves blaspheme that good name which was invoked over you? If, however, you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the Law as transgressors. A new name, in accordance with the prophetic word which says: To those who serve Me a new name shall be given, which shall be blessed over all the face of the earth.

Jas. 2:10–13. For whoever keeps the whole Law, but stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all. For He who commanded, You shall not kill, also commanded, You shall not commit adultery. And if you do not commit adultery, but do kill, you have become a transgressor of the Law. So speak and so act, as those about to be judged by the law of liberty. For the judgment is merciless to him who has shown no mercy; and mercy triumphs over judgment. But stumbles in one point—that is, in not having perfect love; for this is the chief of all good things. If one lacks the head, the whole remaining body is useless. That he is speaking about this is plain from the foregoing argument. The words You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill were given by way of example. And observe that even the examples are drawn from the Law as it tends toward love. For he who loves his neighbor will not commit adultery, nor kill; for these are the deeds of an enemy. For if it were not so, no human being could be saved, since no one possesses an unbroken perfection through all the commandments. Rather, he who has achieved purity is at times overcome by anger, and he who gives alms often harbors envy. Therefore it was said not of every perfection in the virtues without exception, but concerning love—that one ought not, while showing partiality, to accomplish it defectively, but wholly and completely. And this we say of the other virtues as well. For whoever does not hold to the things of temperance, or of righteousness, to the end, but practices them more defectively, this man, limping in his conduct, has marred the whole body of virtue. The whole Law, then, must be understood as the law concerning love, with which his aim is chiefly occupied. And he calls the law of liberty the law that is free of partiality; for the one who shows partiality is not free, but a slave. For by whatever a man is overcome, to that also is he enslaved.

Jas. 2:14. What is the profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but has not works? Can that faith save him? When we have forgiven our neighbors the sins they have committed against us, and have shared the giving of our goods with the needy, the mercy that is from God will receive us at the examination of our manner of life; for great is such amendment, just as, on the contrary, the condemnation is heavy for those who have not been conscientiously disposed toward their own kind. For upon those who have borne themselves without compassion toward the offenses committed against them by their neighbors, the condemnation of the wicked servant will close in, together with the recompense given in the prayer. For there our petition is that God forgive us, even as we also forgive those who have offended against us. And for those who are unmerciful, that is, hard, toward those who need bodily consolation, the judgment will meet them without mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment; for the merciful, according to the Lord’s pronouncement, shall obtain mercy. Besides, if mercy toward the poor can procure forgiveness even for idolaters, as we heard in Daniel, what would it not accomplish for believing men? And this mercy seems to me to work much as the oil from the trees does for those who contend in the arenas: rubbed upon the athletes, it makes the grasp of their adversaries slip off; so too in the judgment, the mercy we show toward the poor will enable us to elude the assaults of the demons.

Jas. 2:15–16. But if a brother or sister be naked and lacking the day’s food, and one of you say to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, yet give them not the things needful for the body, what is the profit? Observe his spiritual insight. For he did not say merely, If he has faith, but, What is the profit?—as though he said: Show me the thing from which I am to reckon you worthy of this title. For this is the work of faith. And what he says is this: Unless a man show by his deeds that he believes in God, the very claim to be called a believer is superfluous. For it is not the one who simply says he belongs to the Lord that is a believer, but the one who so loves the Lord that, for his faith in Him, he dares even death. And that this is the aim of what lies before us, the examples make clear. For Abraham, he says, showed by deed that he believed God, when he offered up his firstborn as a whole burnt offering. And in like manner Rahab too, having believed, despised death.

Jas. 2:17–19. So too faith, if it has not works, is dead in itself. But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith from your works, and I will show you my faith from my works. You believe that God is one; you do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. These words do not contradict the blessed Paul. For the name of faith is used in two senses: of the mere assent to what appears—for we are accustomed to call this too faith, in the sense in which we know that the demons believe in Christ, that He is the Son of God—and again, of the consequent commitment of disposition together with firm assent, which we call by the appellation of faith. It is the simple assent that the divine herald declares to be a dead faith, as having no part in the works that quicken it. But Paul speaks of that faith which springs from disposition, which most of all is not deprived of works; for such a faith could never come to be empty of noble works. For neither did Abraham obtain it without having first struggled to thrust off the weakness of his fathers, in which contest faith was awarded to him as the prize. Rather, Paul preferred this faith to the works according to the Law—Sabbath-keepings, and circumcision, and the rest of the purifications. For in the case of works also two meanings are to be seen. For works is said both of the works that confirm faith, deprived of which faith is left dead, and again of the works of the Law, apart from which both Abraham and all who are in Christ are justified. For that faith could never arise in an unclean man—I mean the faith of works—who will deny? For neither could ointment be stored in a vessel full of filth, nor could the faith of God arise in an unclean man. The divine apostles, then, are not at variance with one another; rather, dealing each with the differing sense of the term according to his need, each carries through the matter set before him.

Jas. 2:20. But do you wish to know, O empty man, that faith apart from works is dead? He called empty the man who boasts in bare faith alone, possessing nothing of the substance that comes through works for its fulfillment.

Jas. 2:21–23. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? You see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says— Both apostles bring forward Abraham as an example of the doctrine of faith: the one, showing faith to be greater than works through the example of Abraham; the other, again, showing works to be greater than faith. And it has been said above how each turns about the twofold sense of the term, taking what contributes to his own demonstration. Some of the Fathers, however, have understood the matter in this way also. For they say that Abraham, distinguished according to the times, is an image of both kinds of faith: of the faith before baptism, which does not require works, but only faith and the confession of salvation, and the word by which we who believe in Christ are justified; and of the faith after baptism, which is joined together with works. In this way the Spirit, who spoke in these passages, is shown not to be at variance with itself; rather, the one faith justifies the one who comes to it by confession alone, if he immediately departs this life (for to such a one works are not present, but the cleansing through baptism was sufficient for him); while the other faith requires of the one already baptized the showing forth of good works as well. And with this Paul too agrees, speaking thus elsewhere, and teaching that the faith after baptism requires perfection through works, where he says: Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. And love needs much wisdom to be fulfilled. And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. Of justification by faith alone Abraham was an image, when he believed and it was reckoned to him for righteousness; and of justification by works, when he offered up his son upon the altar. For he not only did the work, but also did not depart from his faith concerning Isaac, in whom his seed was to be multiplied as the stars, reckoning that God is able to raise him even from the dead. Yet Paul also brings forward David as a witness. For David knew by the divine Spirit the faith that was to come in Christ in due season. Therefore he says: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will in no way reckon sin.

Jas. 2:24. You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. By works—not those of the Law, as has already been said, such as circumcision and the like, but those of virtue, of righteousness, and the like.

Jas. 2:25–26. And in like manner was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Chapter 3

Jas. 3:1. My brothers, do not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment. Having said and taught above that believers should hold a faith not empty of diligent works, he passes on to another injunction of equal weight. For there are some who undertake to teach the very things they have not themselves accomplished. And he says that for such people the judgment is greater, even while they gain nothing. For the one who teaches things that are not present in him, as though they were his own, stands condemned, since he slips through his own tongue; and he confirms this from the circumstance, saying: For if even apart from this the tongue is naturally prone to slip through inattention—and the one who possesses it does not escape the judgment for such slips (as Solomon teaches: Through the sin of his lips the sinner falls into a snare)—how then could the one who sins deliberately, teaching with his tongue the things he has not learned by experience, flee the inescapable sentence?

Jas. 3:2. For we all stumble in many things. Being negligently disposed toward life out of inattention.

Jas. 3:2. If anyone does not stumble in word, this man is perfect, able to bridle the whole body as well. The impossibility of any human being living free of sin is established from the proneness of the tongue to slip; and from this he also shows that perfection belongs to no one. For who is there who has not sinned with his tongue? But if anyone should master the slipperiness of his own tongue, how is such a man not also capable of governing the whole body well? For the one who has prevailed over what is so easily led into stumbling would surely also rule over what is more sluggish.

Jas. 3:3. Behold, we put bridles into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. This is the exemplary confirmation of the saying, able to bridle the whole body as well, drawn from the bridles of horses and from the rudders of ships. The word behold stands for observe. And the bridles of horses must be construed thus, inverting the syntax: we put the bridles into the mouths of horses. For unless it be so construed, the sentence is unintelligible: Behold, we put the bridles of horses, and the ships with a small rudder, just as we also turn the horses, by means of a small bridle, wherever we wish. So then let the tongue also be turned by right reason; for even though it is a world of unrighteousness, carried away as it were and gazing toward the rabble crowd (for here by world he means the multitude); or even because, though it is a world—that is, something that adorns human nature (for by it we share our thoughts with one another, since some also wish to take world in this sense)—yet still, being carried away toward the common mob, it does wrong, defiling at times the whole body, and setting on fire the whole wheel of becoming, and itself set on fire by Gehenna. Nevertheless it is not hard to handle it so that it is moved reasonably, and as the one who handles it wishes. For if every kind of beasts and creeping things and birds and creatures of the sea has been tamed and is being tamed by human nature, then I would not say of the tongue—that it is an unrestrainable evil, that it is full of deadly poison which no human being can tame. For if it were untamable and not yet led to the better, how is it that with it we bless God and the Father, and with it we curse human beings? Behold, it is led to the will of the one who uses it. But these things, my brothers, ought not so to be. For if with it we bless, are we then not ashamed to curse human beings who have come into being according to the likeness of God? It is unjust that blessing and cursing should come out of the same mouth. Therefore guard your tongue more than the apple of the eye. The tongue is a royal horse. If, then, you put a bridle on it and train it to walk gracefully, the King will rest upon it and take His seat. But if you let it go unbridled, to rush and leap about, it becomes the chariot of the devil.

Jas. 3:4. Behold also the ships, though they are so great and are driven by fierce winds, are turned about by a very small rudder, wherever the impulse of the helmsman wills. These too still concern the point that the tongue ought not to be moved at random, but directed toward the better. For as we check the boldness of a horse with a bridle, and shift the impulse of a ship with a rudder, so too we ought to redirect the tongue into a good course. For the words so too the tongue mean this: that so too the tongue ought to be turned by right reason; for though it is small, it does great things, and therefore it kindles a great blaze for us, since it is itself fire. And what does it do? It adorns unrighteousness through the eloquence and cleverness of its words; it defiles the body, winning over weak women by its enticements; it works murders through deceit; by false oaths it reaps what belongs to others; and it sets on fire the wheel of Gehenna; and it too is set on fire by Gehenna, as is clear from the rich man whose tongue is seared in the frying pan. If, then, the text has of Gehenna, as some of the copies have, the passage is to be unfolded in this way. But if it has the wheel of becoming, it admits of the following resolution: by wheel of becoming he means our life. So in setting on fire the wheel of becoming, the tongue defiles our life. For this the Melodist too named a crown, saying [to God: Bless the crown of the year of Your goodness]. Now a crown and a wheel do not differ in their circular shape. And life too is a wheel, as one that winds back upon itself.

Jas. 3:5. So too the tongue is a small member and boasts great things. Behold, how small a fire kindles how great a forest. In this way too the tongue ought to be moved in due measure. For it is a small member, yet it accomplishes great things—evil, that is, and good; and boasts great things stands for has great works to its account.

Jas. 3:6. And the tongue is a fire, the world of unrighteousness. So is the tongue set among our members, the one that defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the wheel of becoming, and is itself set on fire by Gehenna. The sense in order is this: So then the tongue, being the world of unrighteousness, is a fire. For as fire destroys all things, so too does it. Some here take world to mean the multitude, just as in the saying, The world did not know Him. So the tongue too is a world—that is, a multitude of unrighteousness.

Jas. 3:7–8. For every kind of beasts and creeping things, of birds and of creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by human nature. But the tongue no human being can tame. It is an unrestrainable evil, full of deadly poison. The force of this reasoning must be understood in relation to what was stated above. For having spoken and taught by means of the bridle and the rudder—things which are small, yet accomplish great results when well directed—and having added that so too the tongue ought to be turned by right reason, he shows through what follows, by the examples set before us, that he does not enjoin impossible things. It is as though he said: But someone will say that, even granted the tongue is a small member, yet, since it works great things both good and evil, it is not readily obedient to our wishes. This is no excuse at all. For if a man tames wild beasts foreign to his own nature, much more can he tame his own member. The words no human being can tame are to be read not as a statement but as a question, so that the sense is this: If a man tames untamed beasts and makes them docile, will he then not tame his own tongue? It is to be read in this way. For if it were taken as a statement, he would not appear, in what follows, to make fitting use of the admonition—I mean the words, These things, my brothers, ought not so to be. For if it were impossible to reform the tongue, then one who urges men to attempt the impossible makes an unsafe exhortation, someone might say. But the words an unrestrainable evil, full of deadly poison are to be taken as a statement.

Jas. 3:9–10. With it we bless God and the Father, and with it we curse human beings who have been made according to the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things, my brothers, ought not so to be. Surely a spring does not pour out the sweet and the bitter from the same opening?

Jas. 3:11–12. Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a vine figs? So neither can one spring produce salt water and sweet. This too is to be understood as a question, for it is meant to shame the hearers; as also is what follows, Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. For if we are commanded to bless all (for revilers shall not inherit the kingdom of God), then are you not ashamed to use the same instrument as a servant of both wickedness and goodness? No one of sound mind would stir up filth and perfume with the same instrument. Are you praying? Do not curse your enemy. For prayer and cursing have a great gulf between them. If you do not forgive the one who has grieved you, neither will you be forgiven; but in cursing you will catch yourself when you pray that your debts be forgiven you, even as you also forgive your own debtors.

Jas. 3:13–16. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show his works out of good conduct, in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish rivalry in your heart, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom is not one that comes down from above, but is earthly, soulish, demonic. For where there is jealousy and selfish rivalry, there is disorder and every base deed. Being lovers of power, and priding themselves on the wisdom of this world, these people preached out of strife and jealousy against the orthodox teachers, bearing envy toward them, and mixing human things with the divine, so that by the novelty of what they said they might draw their hearers after them—whence also heresies arose. So then, having completed his discourse on rashness and incontinence of the tongue, he now proceeds also to the envy that arises in men from a like foolishness, and says that such teachings are not those of stable men, since they spring not from divine wisdom but from demonic. And he said these things after first praising the good teacher. But since the word jealousy is seen as a mean between things good and base (for jealousy is an ardent movement of the soul toward something, with some likening of itself to that for which the zeal is felt), for this reason he added bitter, showing toward what end the jealousy was directed. And selfish rivalry is blameworthy contentiousness; it is also called slander joined with evil-speaking.

Jas. 3:17–18. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easily entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Clean and undefiled, clinging to none of the things of the flesh. Without partiality—not making distinctions of foods and of various washings. Paul discusses these matters precisely in his Epistle to the Colossians. [1]

[1] Translator’s note: On Jas 3:6, Theophylact preserves both readings he found in the manuscripts: the wheel of becoming (τροχὸς τῆς γενέσεως, the modern critical text) and the wheel of Gehenna (τροχὸς τῆς γεέννης). In p5 he comments on a lemma reading wheel of Gehenna, and in p7 the lemma reads wheel of becoming; he explicitly offers the resolution for each, glossing wheel of becoming as our life — the cyclical round of human existence (cf. the crown of the year of Ps 64:12 LXX). Both have been rendered as printed rather than harmonized.

Chapter 4

Jas. 4:1. From where come wars, and from where come fightings among you? Is it not from this, from your pleasures that war in your members? He shows that, even though they put on the guise of a teacher’s discourse, they are nonetheless wholly carnal, and do the most grievous things, procuring pleasures for themselves: some craving a more sumptuous table (which Paul also condemns when he says, For such serve not the Lord, but their own belly); others reaching out after the acquisition of fields; others after splendid houses; one man after one thing, another after another, in those very matters about which the evil one puts before them, contriving to strip them of their salvation.

Jas. 4:2–3. You desire, and have not; you kill and envy, and cannot obtain; you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. He proceeds by setting forth a thesis and then refuting it, the thesis being overturned because of its absurdity. (And the absurdity is this: that the things observed in the thesis are bound to become kindling for pleasure.) For desire ends in the consummation of pleasures. And murder, and envy, and fighting, and war are not good things; and therefore neither do they obtain those things for the sake of which they pursue them. But one must understand that he does not here speak of murder and war in the bodily sense. (For this would be a grave thing to suppose even of robbers, much less of believers, in any degree, who are drawing near to the Lord. Rather, as it seems to me, he calls murderers those who slay their own soul by such undertakings, on account of which there is also waged in them this war against godliness. And just as, going on, he said adulterers and adulteresses, not because they were altogether such, but as committing fornication against the divine commands by introducing spurious doctrines—for no one would tolerate a fornicating teacher, even were he filthier than swine—so too he speaks of murders and wars not as bodily but as belonging to the soul.)

Jas. 4:3. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your pleasures. Like the Pharisee in the Gospel according to Luke. For the more he recounted his own good deeds, the more he stripped bare the divine hearing, and the swelling mass of his words was empty about his lips, and ran down into froth and dissolved like a seething wave. But someone will say: If the promise of the Lord Jesus, the teacher who cannot lie, is true—the saying, Everyone who asks receives—how does the present Apostle now say these things? But we answer that the one who proceeds to ask by the proper road has the promise undiminished, failing in none of the things he asks. But if anyone, having strayed outside the aim of the manner of asking that was handed down, should seem to ask, yet not asking in the way that he ought, this man does not really ask at all; and therefore neither will he receive. For suppose a teacher—say, a grammarian—promises to teach the whole science of grammar to everyone who comes to him, but the student approaches carelessly and, in his wish to learn, does not strain himself toward grasping what was promised, and then turns out to match his own negligence: would anyone justly charge the teacher with falsehood? He who did so would not be acting sensibly. For the would-be learner did not approach as the teacher had urged. But how, or what ought one to ask? someone might say. Listen to the very One who made the promise: Ask for the kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is clear, then, that whoever asks in this way, and first of all for such things, will not fail of the rest either; and whoever receives these will not fall outside his own salvation. But the one who asks for what is harmful and ruinous will not find Him a giver, from whom every good gift comes. And indeed, even one who asks for divine knowledge and does not receive it, or who asks for some spiritual gift out of love of pleasure, will not receive it. For he asks amiss, and asks for an evil thing to his own destruction; and God is not a provider of evil things.

Jas. 4:4. Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Since a little earlier he reproved certain false-wise men who prostituted the divine Scripture and used it perversely to their own purpose (that from this they might have provision for their own life of pleasure)—and this evil is nothing other than a species of boastful pride—for this reason he now proceeds more weightily (and uses reproachful words more foreign to his own gentleness), calling such men adulterers and adulteresses, employing reproofs of nearly this kind: Tell me, you vain man, do you wish to declare yourself wise? And whence comes this living of yours amid strife and unceasing war, this perpetual clinging to present things, and this pursuit of the sweetness of the present life without ever turning back? This is not the mark of wise men, but of vulgar men, and of those who have inclined toward the friendship of the world; which also shows you to be adulterers (preferring what is common, profane, and shameful to the inward, divine, and chaste beauty, and by your passionate attachment to the present taking up enmity against God). Or do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity toward God, alienating from the divine friendship and rendering us enemies? For by world he here calls all material life, as the mother of corruption; and whoever hastens to share in it becomes an enemy of God. (For through his zeal for unprofitable things he holds the divine in slight regard and with contempt—which we suffer only toward those whom we hate and our enemies.) Since, then, there are two objects of human zeal, God and the world, and toward each of these two there is set, respectively, friendship and hatred, whichever of these we may be found zealous for, we are surely seen to be sparing nothing of the other. Now zeal produces friendship, and neglect produces hatred. Whoever, therefore, holds fast to the divine things both is and is called a friend of God; but whoever, having slighted God, has loved the world, this man will be reckoned among the enemies of God. And since all these things were shown to spring from the boastful pride (and arrogance) of the false-wise teachers, he uses yet a second reproof, wishing to sober such men from their drunkenness (and to free them from their stupor); and he says what follows.

Jas. 4:5–6. Do you suppose that the Scripture speaks in vain? The Spirit that dwelt in you yearns even to envy? But He gives more grace. Therefore it says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Saying and signifying some such thing through these words, he again uses speech elliptically, because of his habit of compressed expression. I, he says, I have set you before your own discourses concerning the rightness and the blameworthiness of your use of wisdom, that you may not, abusing it out of arrogance, adulterate and corrupt the word of teaching. But if you seek this also from the Scripture, then hear: The Lord resists the proud. If, then, He resists the proud, and we are accustomed to resist our enemies, then surely the proud too would be reckoned among the enemies. For not in vain, that is, idly, nor to envy, does the Scripture proclaim to us things impossible, but yearning for the grace that, through its exhortation, is established as a dwelling within us. So that, if you are obedient to the Scripture, humble yourselves before God, and you will find the grace that comes through His exalting. Now boastful pride is wickedness raised to its uttermost—differing from conceit in this, that boastful pride exalts itself over things it actually possesses, whereas conceit exalts itself over things that do not exist at all. And humility, or modesty, differs from this too, in that modesty—that is, humility—being diametrically opposed to boastful pride, is a great good; and since both come to be in us by our own choice, everyone who in boastfulness exalts himself, besides being put down by the Lord, is moreover humbled in due time by Him who exalts the man that has humbled himself in modesty, inasmuch as the prizes won for that humility have led the one who possesses it upward to spiritual height. Otherwise, from Cyril. If by the envy of the devil death entered into the world, and if Christ dwelt in our inward man, according to the Scriptures, He dwelt there for this reason: that He might abolish the death that comes from envy. And not only this, but He also gives more grace. For I came, He says, that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly. And that it was out of yearning for us that God dwelt in us, Isaiah made plain when he said: No angel, no ambassador, but the Lord Himself saved us (through loving us and caring for us). And how, in saving us, did He give more grace? By casting down the Satan who had plotted against us. For this reason he added: God resists the proud. For how is he not proud who cries out: I will seize the whole inhabited world with my hand as a nest?

Jas. 4:7–10. Submit yourselves therefore to God; resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-souled. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. By double-souled he means those who do not choose to live in a single manner, but are continually led and persuaded by the compulsion of men; for they are not single-minded, dwelling in the house of the Lord. And that the soul is also called life, the passage in Job will teach us, namely: Skin for skin, and all that a man has will he give for his soul, that is, for his life.

Jas. 4:11–12. Do not speak evil one of another, brethren. He that speaks evil of his brother, or judges his brother, speaks evil of the law, and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge, who is able to save and to destroy. He knows that boastful pride moves men, out of contempt and evil-speaking, to press hard against the gentle, to their utter contempt. Drawing them away from this, then, he wishes to bring them to soberness through what lies before him. And to judge the law stands for condemns, despises. For he who condemns does this out of contempt. And what law? First, the one that proclaims, Judge not, that you be not judged; then also the one in the Psalms: Whoever secretly speaks evil of his neighbor, him did I drive out; and to show that this comes from contempt, he adds: But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law. For what a man despises, how will he endure to go on living under it? Do not, then, he says, be disposed to treat it with contempt and, as it were, to set up a rival law. For it is not permitted to you, since God alone is the one lawgiver, He who is able to save and to destroy the transgressors of His law; for this belongs to law and lawgiver—to punish those who transgress it; but not to you, who have nothing more than empty babble, and who moreover bring the verdict against yourself. For by doing the very same things as the one you speak evil of, in the measure that you condemn him, you condemn yourself.

Jas. 4:12. But who are you that judge your neighbor? Contemptuously, as if to say: Being such as you are, how do you dare to judge one who is subject to the same passions?

Jas. 4:13. Go to now, you that say: Today and tomorrow we will go into such a city, and spend there one year, and trade and make gain. He does not do away with man’s power of action, but shows that the whole is not his own, but that he stands in need also of the grace from above. For it is indeed possible to run about and to trade and to do all the things that pertain to living, but not to reckon this to one’s own labors, but rather to the lovingkindness of God. For Jeremiah says: O Lord, the way of man is not in himself; and the author of the Proverbs: Boast not of the things of tomorrow; for you know not what the coming day will bring forth.

Jas. 4:14. You that know not what shall be on the morrow. Hereby he hints at the vanity of our life, and puts us to shame as wearing away upon this the whole of life, in that all our toil is spent on transient evils. This David also says: Surely man walks about in an image; surely he is troubled in vain. That is, about that which is not, but only has subsistence as in a phantom—for such is an image—or about that which has no being of itself, but only as in a likeness and a semblance of the life that truly goes forward.

Jas. 4:14–15. For what is our life? It is a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. Instead of your saying: If the Lord wills, and we live, we will do this, or that. A vapor is an airy composition, exhaled from moisture by fiery warmth, having the slightest substance. For by reason of its extreme thinness it is quickly dispersed by the surrounding air, passing into it and being dissolved, like a little moisture into water. To such a thing he has likened our life, and most aptly. And having interrupted his discourse in the middle with such an illustration, he then, returning, renders what follows upon it. For it runs thus: Go to now, you that say: Today and tomorrow we will go into such a city, and spend there one year, and trade and gain—whereas you ought to say: If the Lord wills, and we live, we will do this and that.

Jas. 4:16. But now you boast in your boastings. Although this is the proper sequence, he does not do this, but having broken the continuity of the discourse with the illustration, he afterward brought in what was lacking, having first shown, through the image of the matter, the vanity of the distraction that comes from boastful pride about this world. For it runs thus: You boast in your boastings. Who? You that know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? and so forth. And by the words, What is your life? having thus prepared the way through this lowly illustration, he so brings in the example, doing this most opportunely: But now you boast in your boastings. The boaster and boastfulness consist in zeal for things that have no real existence. Hence the boaster (ἀλαζών) is so called as one who lives with wandering, that is, with error. Every such boasting is evil.

Jas. 4:17. Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin. He takes up again the empty boasting, which loves to be born of boastful pride, and, as if drawing his discourse to a conclusion, he infers that it is evil. And if evil, then surely it is also from the Evil One. But those who have been dedicated to the Lord through holy baptism ought not to receive the sowings of the Evil One. And he also brings in the following words.

Jas. 4:17. Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin, he again instructs the false teachers not to dare to teach those things which they themselves have not first accomplished. For blessed, he says, is not the one who shall teach, but the one who shall do and teach. For works must take precedence over words, inasmuch as the righteous man proclaims a faith that is also displayed in deed. For whoever breaks, says the Lord, one of these least commandments, and so teaches men—that is, in those matters in which he himself has not labored—shall be called least; but great is he who teaches after he has done. For the God-man Himself also made His teaching concerning the very things that He had begun to do. Such, it seems to me, is also the saying, He that boasts, let him boast in the Lord, meaning, according to the Lord, using Him as teacher and example. For indeed, when David says, In the Lord shall my soul be praised, he means nothing other than that he who walks according to the commandments of the Lord shall be praised.

Chapter 5

Jas. 5:1. Come now, you rich, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you. He makes a lament over the stinginess and miserliness of the rich, charging them to wail—that is, to mourn—as men who hoard their wealth to its own ruin and do not spend it on the needy. For only that expenditure of wealth which is laid out upon these is never lost. This is why the author of Proverbs also says: Send forth your bread upon the face of the water[1]—that is, upon what seems to be its dissolution and ruin. [For this is seen to happen to loaves cast upon the water,] yet they are not in fact lost, but by their dissolution they procure refreshment for us. And the refreshment will come at the very hour when our tongue is about to be scorched by the flame yonder.

Jas. 5:2–3. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded with rust, and their rust will be a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh. The rotting of the wealth, he says, or the moth-eaten state of the garments, and the rust upon the silver and the gold, bear witness against you, convicting your ungenerous unwillingness to share. Therefore in the last days as well (he means the coming of the Lord) you will find your wealth, hoarded up for you like fire, turned to your destruction—the very thing the rich man in the Gospels suffered. Like fire, which you have laid up in the last days. This is to be construed together with the phrase your riches, so that it reads thus: Your riches, which you have stored up like fire, and you reveled upon the earth and lived in wanton luxury.

Jas. 5:4–5. Behold, the wages of the laborers who reaped your fields, which has been fraudulently withheld by you, cries out; and the cries of those who harvested have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have reveled upon the earth and lived in wanton luxury. You have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. This is an outcry and an onslaught against the Jewish rulers, who devour the poor and grow fat on the honors paid them by all—yet are being readied for slaughter at the hands of the Roman authorities and by their hands; and this above all because they condemned and put to death the Lord, the only righteous one, who did not wrangle nor cry out.

Jas. 5:6. You condemned, you murdered the Righteous One, who does not set himself against you. Beyond all dispute, in saying You murdered the Righteous One, he refers this to Christ. By the added clause, who does not set himself against you, he extended the word also to the others who suffered the like at the hands of the Jews. And perhaps he speaks of the Passion concerning him in a prophetic manner as well.

Jas. 5:7. Be longsuffering therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the earth. Having denounced the wanton luxury of the Jewish rulers and their harshness toward the poor, he turns also to the faithful and says: Do not, brethren, on seeing these things, be scandalized and dispirited, as though no vengeance were laid up. He means the assault of the Romans and the captivity of the Jews under them, which he also calls the coming of the Lord—just as John too, when he reclined upon the breast of the Lord, in the words by which he brings in the same Lord speaking concerning his own departure from life: If I will that he remain until I come. For to him likewise the span of this life was prolonged until the capture of Jerusalem, and a little beyond. And that the coming of the Lord, both here and in the case of John, is the utter destruction of Jerusalem, is plain also from the prophet who says: Behold, the Lord is coming; and who shall endure his threat?—that is, since the coming of God brings punishment upon the impious. Moreover John the golden-tongued, in certain of his expository works, unfolding this very phrase, Until I come, means it to signify this saying: the utter destruction of Jerusalem; and he confirms this from the prayer of the three children, who say: So let our sacrifice be in your presence today, and let it be accomplished behind you. For he says: What is the meaning of behind you? After your wrath has passed by. And when did it come to pass? When Nebuchadnezzar was laying Jerusalem waste. So much, then, concerning the coming. And some of the Fathers say this also: that by longsuffering here he means longsuffering toward one another, and by endurance, endurance toward those outside. For a man is longsuffering toward one whom he is also able to requite, but he endures one whom he cannot requite. For this reason endurance is never spoken of with respect to God, but longsuffering; whereas with respect to men, endurance.

Jas. 5:7. Being longsuffering over it, until it receive the early and the latter rain. The early rain is repentance in youth, accompanied by tears; the latter, that in old age. But all things hang upon the lovingkindness of God; therefore he says, Until it receive.

Jas. 5:8–12. Be longsuffering, you also; establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord has drawn near. Do not groan against one another, brethren, that you be not judged. Behold, the Judge stands before the doors. Take, my brethren, as an example of suffering hardship and of longsuffering, the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we call blessed those who endure. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the end of the Lord, that he is very compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brethren, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your yes be yes, and your no be no, that you fall not into hypocrisy. That is to say: let your affirmation be sure and resting upon what is sure, and your denial likewise. Otherwise: Let the witness of your life, he says, be more sure than an oath. But if some shameless person, not put to shame by your manner of life, dares to press an oath upon you, let your yes be yes, and your no be no, in place of the oath. Above all, my brethren, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath. But let your yes be yes, and your no be no, that you fall not into hypocrisy. By hypocrisy he means condemnation, which follows upon those who swear without restraint and, through the habit of oath-taking, are carried away into perjury; or else the very name signifies here the act of dissembling, which, being one thing, appears as another. How, then, does the one who swears fall into hypocrisy? Being believed, through his oaths, to be truthful, yet, when transgression follows, being shown to be a liar. He forbids swearing by God on account of perjury; and by heaven and the rest, because these too are not to be brought into a place of honor that belongs to God. For all who swear, swear by what is greater. But someone will say: If a man is forced to swear, what is to be done? We will answer that the fear of God is stronger than the constraint of the one compelling. And one might raise a further difficulty regarding the old Law: if the old Law commends the one who swears by the name of the Lord, how is it that grace forbids the doing of this? We will answer, then, that the old Law, leading the Jews away from swearing by idols, enjoined swearing by God—just as it also commanded sacrifice to God, drawing them away from sacrifice to idols; but when it had sufficiently taught them to worship God, then it thrust away the sacrifices as unprofitable, seeking for a sacrifice not the one made through animals, but the contrite soul. And what is this soul? The one wholly consumed, through humility, by the fire of love, such as was Paul’s, who, because some of the faithful were being scandalized, was burning beyond measure.[2]

Jas. 5:13–14. Is anyone among you suffering hardship? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him. Let prayer accompany the suffering of hardship, so that the way through the trials may be lighter for the one being tried. Then, once through prayer the things that trouble us have been calmed, and the soul has come back to its proper state, let him at that point sing praise, that good things may be multiplied to him. For, according to Basil the Great, it is the language of hymns that bestows the cheerful and griefless condition upon the soul. For whoever has not so advanced, nor first attained such a condition (which David also calls holiness, when he says, Sing praise to the Lord, you his holy ones, exhorting them), accomplishes only long idle babble.

Jas. 5:14–16. Anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, it will be forgiven him. Confess your transgressions to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. This the apostles did even while the Lord was still living among men, anointing the sick with oil.

Jas. 5:16–18. The supplication of a righteous man, when it is made effectual, avails much. Elijah was a man of like nature with us, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain upon the earth for three years and six months. And again he prayed, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit. The prayer of the righteous man is made effectual when the one on whose behalf he prays also works together with the one praying, through spiritual self-affliction. For if, while others pray on our behalf, we give ourselves over to wanton luxury and ease and a dissolute life, by this we undo the earnest intensity of the prayer of the one who contends for us, and there comes to pass in our case the saying of the blessed Peter: One building up, and one tearing down—they gain nothing else but toils for their pains.[3]

Jas. 5:19–20. My brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who has turned back a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. This Jeremiah too says, namely: And if you bring forth what is precious out of what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. For everyone who proclaims his words becomes a mouth of God. For what does he say? For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of my Father that speaks in you. For this reason he also forbids the sinner, through David, to recount his ordinances.

The Catholic Epistle of James: 242 stichoi.[4]

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact’s term ὁ Παροιμιαστής (the Proverbialist) here introduces a verse of Ecclesiastes (Eccl 11:1 LXX), not Proverbs; he uses it loosely for the Solomonic wisdom corpus, applying it correctly to a Proverbs verse at 4.13 above.

[2] Translator’s note: The clause from the contrite soul through burning beyond measure follows the lead’s col-1188 reconstruction, restored from Migne’s footnote 56 together with the facing Latin; the printed Greek is defective here.

[3] Translator’s note: Theophylact attributes this verse of Sirach (Sir 34:23 LXX) to the blessed Peter; the words stand in no surviving Petrine text, and he is likely citing from memory a homiletic tradition that itself quoted Sirach.

[4] Translator’s note: στίχων here counts scribal stichometric lines (stichoi)—standard measured lines used to gauge a manuscript’s length and a scribe’s pay—not the verses of the modern chapter-and-verse division.

Commentary on the First Epistle of Peter

Introduction

Peter, Writing to the Scattered Churches

The Church has always received this letter as the work of the Apostle Peter, addressed to believers scattered through the provinces of Asia Minor—Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia—communities largely Gentile but shaped throughout by the language and imagery of Israel: they are “sojourners of the Dispersion,” a “chosen race,” “a royal priesthood.” They were suffering for their faith, not yet, it seems, under a systematic imperial persecution, but through the daily hostility, slander, and social pressure of neighbors who found the Christian way strange and its exclusiveness offensive. Peter writes to steady them: to remind them what they have been given, to teach them how to bear reproach without giving cause for it, and to set their present trial against the “living hope” that Christ’s resurrection has secured for them.

Theophylact’s commentary moves through the letter’s counsel to households and to the church as a body—to wives and husbands, to servants, to elders and to the young—always returning to the same ground note: that a Christian’s good conduct under unjust suffering is itself a form of witness, silencing ignorant slander more effectively than any argument could. As with the other Catholic Epistles, Chrysostom left no homilies on this letter, and Theophylact draws here on the older Greek exposition associated with Oecumenius, sharpening and compressing it into his own close, verse-by-verse reading.

Peter closes the letter by naming his companions: Silvanus, through whom he says he has written “briefly,” and Mark, whom he calls “my son.” Theophylact takes up the ancient report that this Mark is the same Evangelist who had earlier written down Peter’s own preaching as a Gospel, and he reads Peter’s greeting from “she that is at Babylon” as a veiled reference to the church at Rome, Rome bearing, in his account, something of Babylon’s old renown. Small as these closing details are, Theophylact treats them with the same care he gives the letter’s central teaching, since for him even the epistle’s greetings carry real information about the community Peter addressed and the hands through which his words had passed.

Suffering, Hope, and the Living Stone

The letter’s argument runs from the believer’s new birth through the discipline of a suffering Church to the household duties that make that discipline visible in daily life. Christ is the “living stone,” rejected by men but precious to God, and the Church built upon him a “spiritual house” and “holy priesthood” offering not animal sacrifice but a transformed manner of life. Because that identity sets believers apart from their neighbors, suffering follows as a matter of course, and Peter’s central pastoral move is to reframe it: not as a sign that God has abandoned them, but as a participation in the sufferings of Christ himself, to be met with the same patience he showed, and even with a certain gladness, since it purifies faith as fire purifies gold.

The Descent to the Dead

One verse in the letter has occupied commentators, East and West, more than any other. Peter writes that Christ, “put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit,” went and “preached to the spirits in prison”—those who had perished in the days of Noah, before the flood. Theophylact takes this as a plain statement of what later ages would call the harrowing of hell: between his death and his resurrection, Christ descended to those who had died before his coming and proclaimed his victory even there, so that those among them who had lived rightly, in the measure given to them, might share in the salvation his death had won. He reads it, moreover, not as an isolated flourish but as bound to a second, related statement later in the letter—that “the gospel was preached even to the dead”—treating both as parts of a single teaching about how the age before Christ’s coming was reached by his saving work. It is, on Theophylact’s reading, one of the letter’s most doctrinally consequential moments: a claim, made almost in passing, that the reach of Christ’s victory extends backward into the world of the dead and not only forward into the world of the living.

How to Read This Commentary

Because so much of the letter addresses concrete social situations—the conduct owed by a Christian wife to an unbelieving husband, by a servant to a harsh master, by a whole community to a hostile city—the commentary rewards a reader who keeps that original audience in view rather than abstracting the counsel into general moral maxims. Theophylact is at his best precisely where he ties Peter’s instructions back to their situation: not to why suffering exists in the abstract, but to how a particular scattered and suspect community was to conduct itself so that its accusers would, in time, have nothing true to say against it. Read that way, a letter written for believers under daily, low-grade hostility becomes, in Theophylact’s hands, a durable guide for any Christian community that finds itself a minority among neighbors who do not share its hope.

Chapter 1

Argument of the First Epistle of the holy Apostle Peter. Peter himself writes this didactic Epistle to the Jews who were of the Dispersion and had become Christians. For since they had come to faith from among the Jews, he strengthens them. And first he expounds and demonstrates that faith in Christ was proclaimed beforehand by the prophets, and that through them was made known the redemption that comes through His blood; and that to them and to the Gentiles all things were preached, into which the angels desire to look. Then, having counseled them[1] to conduct themselves worthily of Him who called them, he urges them also to honor kings. He commands harmony between wives and husbands; and after a few exhortations concerning manners, he indicates that this proclamation of salvation and resurrection was made by the Lord even in Hades, so that those who had died beforehand might indeed rise and be judged in the body, yet by the grace of the resurrection abide. And he teaches that the end of all things has now drawn near, and that all are bound to be ready, as those who will render an account to the Judge; and thus he brings the Epistle to its completion.

Chapters of the same Epistle.
1. On the regeneration that is in Christ; and on endurance of trials; and on the saving faith proclaimed beforehand by the prophets.
2. On hope and love, and on the secure manner of life that is owed in consequence of our adoption as sons.
3. On living in Christ worthily of our adoption, to the benefit also of those outside, for the glory of God.
4. On submission to rulers, and on brotherly love, and on godliness. In which: 1. On the submission of servants, and on patient endurance of evil for Christ’s sake. 2. On the obedience of wives, and on concord with their husbands, and on salvation in the Spirit after the pattern of Sarah. 3. On the conduct of husbands toward their wife. 4. On forbearing gentleness toward all, of which the type is God’s loving-kindness in the days of Noah; and toward us, the compassion shown through the baptism of Christ.
5. On the putting away of base deeds, and the taking up of the fruits in the Spirit according to the diversity of the gifts of grace.
6. That by communion with Christ one must master the natural passions, and by hope in Him bear the injuries inflicted by others.
7. Exhortations to the presbyters concerning the oversight of the flock.
8. On the humility common to all toward each, to victory over the devil; in which there is a prayer for the perfecting of the believers.

1 Pet. 1:1–2. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia; according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. He said strangers because of the Dispersion; or also because all who live according to God are called strangers upon the earth, as David too says, We are sojourners and strangers, as were all our fathers.[2] Now the word does not signify the same as “proselyte” (for that signifies one who has come from elsewhere), but something more and of humbler degree. For just as the by-work is of less account than the work, so too is the “sojourning stranger” in comparison with the “resident.” And the prefatory address set before us must be heard with a transposition, reading thus: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”; and the rest let be placed between these clauses, for it makes plain those to whom the Epistle is addressed. He used the phrase “according to the foreknowledge of God” to make clear that he falls short of the prophets in nothing, save in time only—for they too were sent. And that the prophets also were sent, Isaiah says, He has sent me to preach good tidings to the poor.[3] But even if he falls short in time, he does not fall short in the foreknowledge of God; rather, in this respect he declares himself equal to Jeremiah, who before he was formed in the womb was known and sanctified and appointed a prophet to the nations.[4] And since the prophets, among other things, also proclaimed beforehand the coming of Christ (for it was for this that they were sent), he adds the purpose of his own apostleship, and says that “in sanctification” of “the Spirit” I was sent, “to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”—making this plain, that the manner of my apostleship is this: to set apart. For this he indicates through the word “sanctification,” as also in the saying, You shall be to me a peculiar people, sanctified;[5] for it stands for “set apart from the other nations.” The manner, then, of his apostleship is to set apart, through spiritual gifts of grace, nations obedient to the Cross and sprinkled by the Passion of Christ—not with the ashes of a heifer, when need should require, to cleanse away the defilement that came from fellowship with the Gentiles, but with the blood that flows from the Passion of Jesus Christ. And at the same time he sounds beforehand, through the mention of blood, the martyrdom of those who believe in Him for Christ’s sake. For he who in obedience follows in the footsteps of his teacher will assuredly not himself shrink from pouring out his own blood for the sake of Him who poured out His own for the whole world.

1 Pet. 1:2. Grace to you, and peace, be multiplied. “Grace,” because we are saved freely and having brought nothing of our own; “peace,” because we had given offense to the Master and had been ranked among His enemies.

1 Pet. 1:3–4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away. He blesses God, rendering Him this thanksgiving in return for the good things He gives. And what are the things given? A hope—not such as was the dwelling in the land of Canaan through Moses, which was mortal, but a living one. And whence does it have its life? From “the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” For in that resurrection in which He rose,[6] He will deem worthy of the same also those who draw near to Him through faith in Him. A living hope, then, is the thing given—an inheritance incorruptible, laid up not on earth, as for the fathers, but in the heavens, whence also it has obtained its perpetuity; which is greater than the inheritance on earth. And in addition to these there is the preservation and guarding of the believers. For this too the Lord prayed, when He said, Keep them, holy Father.[7] But also “in power.” And what is this power? The things that reach to the revelation of the Lord. For if the guarding were not mighty, it would not be prolonged to that time. Since, then, the things given are so many and of such a kind, it is nothing strange that gladness should follow upon those who receive them.

1 Pet. 1:4–5. Reserved in the heavens for us, who are guarded by the power of God through faith, to a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. If the inheritance is “in the heavens,” then the thousand-year restoration upon earth is a fable.

1 Pet. 1:6–7. Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold trials; that the proof of your faith, much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried by fire, might be found. The sequence is thus: Being now in heaviness, “if need be”—that is, if indeed this also must be (for not all the saints are afflicted)—“in the last time” you shall greatly rejoice; for the word “you rejoice” is taken in place of the future, or else according to the present, as has been noted below. And since the promise of the Teacher introduces into the world not joy but heaviness, declaring that “you shall have tribulation,” he adds to the gladness the word “little”; and since this is grievous, he adds the word “now,” speaking in agreement with his own Master. For He too says, In the world you shall have tribulation, but your grief will turn into joy.[8] Either, then, the word “now” was added on account of the gladness, since the gladness that is to succeed it is not for a little while but for a long and boundless time; or else the word “little” is to be reckoned with the heaviness that follows, so that it would read thus: “If now it must needs be that you be a little while in heaviness through the manifold trials.” But since the tumult of the trials caused disquiet, on this account he subjoined the cause of the trials: that through them “your proof” becomes more manifest and “more precious than gold, since gold too, when tried by fire, is the more eagerly sought by men.” And he adds the words “if need be,” teaching that neither is every believer tried through afflictions, nor every sinner. Yet neither of the two is called to account[9] forever; but the righteous who are afflicted suffer to the increase of their crowns, while the sinners suffer that they may pay the penalty for their sins. Yet not all the righteous are afflicted, lest, supposing the evil state to be praiseworthy, you should come to hate virtue. Nor are all sinners afflicted, lest the resurrection be disbelieved, as though all received here what is their own.

1 Pet. 1:7–9. To praise, and honor, and glory, at the revelation of Jesus Christ; whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. The reason for the righteous who suffer evil here he makes plain through these words: at once consoling them, in that they become more illustrious through their afflictions, and at the same time making them more earnest by adding the words “at the revelation of Jesus Christ”; since that season, by the display of their labors, will furnish great renown to those who have striven through to the end. And he adds yet another thing alluring them to the endurance of afflictions. What is this? The words “whom having not seen, you now love.” For if, “not having seen” Him with the eyes of the flesh, you “love” Him from hearing alone, he says, consider what manner of love you will display when you behold Him, and that revealed in glory. For if His Passion has so drawn you to itself, what then will the manifestation of Him in unsurpassable splendor work in you, when He will also bestow upon you the prize, the salvation of your souls? Therefore, as those who are about to appear before Him and to be deemed worthy of such glory, if you now display an endurance counterbalancing it, you shall have the whole of the goal set before you.

1 Pet. 1:10. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come to you. Since he had made mention of the salvation of the soul, and this was obscure and strange to the hearing, he brought forward the prophets as having both sought and searched concerning it. For indeed they did seek, as Daniel concerning the things to come, who for this very reason was called “a man of desires” by the angel who gave him oracles;[10] and that they sought, he adds: “to what or what manner of time the Spirit that was in them did signify.” “To what” time, namely the time at the consummation; “what manner of” time, namely that in which, when the Jews through their several captivities had inclined toward perfect godliness, they became well-disposed to receive the mystery according to Christ. And observe that, having said the Spirit of Christ, he confesses the divinity of Christ. And this Spirit signified the sufferings of Christ: through Isaiah saying, As a sheep He was led to the slaughter;[11] and through Jeremiah, Come, and let us cast wood upon His bread;[12] and the resurrection, through Hosea, who said, On the third day we shall rise up in His presence, and we shall press on to know the Lord; as the morning dawn ready prepared shall we find Him.[13] And it was revealed to them, he says, not for their own sakes, but for ours.[14] And by these words he accomplishes two things: he both shows the forethought of the prophets, and shows that those now called to the faith according to Christ were foreknown to God even before the foundation of the world. By the forethought of the prophets, then, he leads them not to dispose themselves disobediently toward the things prophesied to them by the prophets; for not even prudent sons hold in contempt the labors of their fathers. For if those men, who were destined to gain nothing thereby, sought and found—nay, and having found, deposited it in books,[15] as though handing down an inheritance to us—then we, he says, would not be righteous were we disposed contemptuously toward these things. For this very reason, then, do not, by accounting these things as trifling,[16] render void our Gospel—we who preach these glad tidings to you. By the forethought of the prophets, then, he urges these things; but by their having been foreknown by God he instills fear, lest they show themselves unworthy of the foreknowledge of God, and of the calling that comes from Him, but rather that they press one another forward to become worthy of the gift of God.

1 Pet. 1:11–12. Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings appointed for Christ, and the glories that should follow. To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to us they did minister these things. Even if both others and the prophets wrought in the Holy Spirit—the latter prophecy, the former the Gospel—there is no difference in these respects between them and the prophets. You must therefore, he says, bring in the same earnestness which they who hearkened to the prophets brought in, lest you be subjected to the punishment of those who disobeyed the prophets. And it must be noted that through these words Peter reveals the mystery of the Trinity: by saying “the Spirit of Christ,” the Son and the Spirit; and the Father, by saying “from heaven.” And the phrase “from heaven” do not take in a local sense, but according to the preeminence of God who has the precedence.

1 Pet. 1:12. Which things are now reported to you by them that have preached the Gospel to you with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. The exhortation proceeds by way of cause from the things that have been held in honor. For having said that the prophets ministered to us the things of our salvation—and these were so marvelous as to become objects of longing even to the angels (and that these things were objects of longing to them, he showed from the fact that out of exceeding joy at the Nativity of Christ they sang in melody, Glory to God in the highest)[17]—having said these things, he subjoins the cause in this manner, and says: Since, then, these our things are objects of longing to all, not only to men but also to angels, neither do you dispose yourselves carelessly toward them, but, straining yourselves and bearing yourselves like men (for this he indicates by the words “gird up your loins”), which is also enjoined upon Job by God;[18] and what loins he means, he made clear, that he speaks of those “of the mind”—being thus, then, prepared and sober, hope perfectly upon the joy that is being brought to you. And this is that joy of which a little earlier he speaks, the joy at the second coming of the Lord.

1 Pet. 1:13–16. Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope perfectly for the grace that is being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; but as He who has called you is Holy, so be you yourselves also holy in all manner of conduct. Because it is written, Be you holy, for I am holy.[19] By “fashioning” he means conformity to present circumstances—which some of the foolish say, that one conducts oneself according to circumstances.[20] This, then, he commands them to abandon as vain, whether in knowledge or “in ignorance” they were entangled in it before this;[21] “but” now, he says, being “fashioned” to Him who called you, who is Holy, “be you yourselves also holy.”[22]

1 Pet. 1:17–19. And if you call upon the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver or gold, from your vain manner of life received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even of Christ.[23] Scripture knows a twofold fear: the one preparatory, the other perfecting. The preparatory, which is also elementary, is that which calls a man, through fear of the things he has done, toward sobriety; the perfecting is that whereby, because one has been perfected in love toward Him to whose friendship he hastens, he fears lest he fall short of any of those things which are owed to those who love greatly.[24] An example of the first, which is also elementary, is what is said in the Psalms: Let all the earth fear the Lord,[25] that is, those who have no care[26] for a heavenly mind, but only for earthly vanity. For what would they suffer, when He arises to crush the earth?[27] But of the second, the perfecting fear I mean, this too may be found in David, where he says: Fear the Lord, all you His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him;[28] and again, The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever and ever.[29] According to this perfecting fear, then, Peter too now exhorts those subject to him to dispose themselves, declaring: Since through the unspeakable compassion of God your Maker you have been taken up into His sons, let this fear be your constant companion, inasmuch as you have become His who made you out of love, and not out of works. And having made his exhortation from many grounds (first through the angels who are disposed with longing toward these things, then from Scripture, then from necessity—for since they call upon God as Father, it is necessary for one who desires the adoption of sons to do things worthy of the Father; and fourthly, that they received countless good things through the price laid down on their behalf, which is the blood of Christ, given as a ransom for the sins of men)—he therefore commands them, throughout all the time of their life, to keep the perfecting fear as a fellow-dweller. For there is ever a fear in men who have been perfected, lest they fall short in any of the things that belong to the perfect. And observe that, though it has been said by Christ, The Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son,[30] how it is that now Peter says the Father judges. To which we shall reply that Christ also said this: For the Son can do nothing of Himself, except He see something the Father doing.[31] And this sets forth the inborn unity of the Holy Trinity, and that there is there all identity and a peaceful, unfactious concord. He said without distinction that the Father judges, since whatever may be predicated of any one of the three Persons is reckoned common to all. Moreover, since the Lord calls the apostles “children,” and said to the paralytic, Child, your sins are forgiven you,[32] it is in no way out of keeping that He too should be called Father of those begotten, whom He begot by the imparting of holiness.

1 Pet. 1:20–21. Who truly was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these last times for you, who through Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory. To the death of Christ he joined also the resurrection; for he is wary of the inclination of the newly converted to fall away into unbelief, because of the reproach attaching to the sufferings of Christ. But that the mystery according to Christ is not a recent thing either (and this too troubles the foolish), but is from above, “before the foundation of the world,” treasured up for the season suitable to it—it was manifested both to the prophets who inquired concerning these things, as he said a little below; and now too he says that what was “before the foundation of the world” known was, namely, now manifested, that is, accomplished. And on whose account was it accomplished? “For you.” “For you,” he says, He raised “Him from the dead.” And why “for you”? That, he says, having purified yourselves in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit, you may have your faith and hope in God. And why “having purified”? Because, having believed in Him who through the resurrection from the dead has been prepared beforehand for you to incorruptible life, you yourselves also are debtors, according to Him who called you to incorruption, to walk in newness of life.[33] And if Paul too in this way says that the Father raised up the Lord from the dead, be not troubled.[34] For he speaks these things now in a more elementary use of teaching. Since—hear Christ saying that He Himself raised Himself, in the words: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up;[35] and again Christ Himself: I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again.[36] More by way of dispensation, then, do they at times ascribe to the Father the raising up of the Son, that they may show the energy of Father and Son to be one. “So that your faith and hope might be in God.”

1 Pet. 1:22–25. Having purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently; being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower thereof falls away; but the word of God endures for ever. And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached to you. Having said, “being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever,” he sets alongside it, by way of disparagement, the readily-corrupted nature of human glory, thereby enticing the hearer to cleave to the things he has set before him—since the one sort have what is stable and abiding, while the other have their very substance overtaken by corruption. “Grass” here and “flower of grass” are brought forward to faith as that which is even feebler than the existence of grass, to which David also likens our life.[37] And having thus made our glory of small account, he takes the matter up again and teaches more clearly what it is that begot them again “by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever,” and says: “And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached to you.” That it “abides for ever” he affirms, even as the Lord also says: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.[38] And one must know that the phrase “to unfeigned love of the brethren” ought to be construed thus: Love one another fervently with a pure heart, to unfeigned love of the brethren. For the outcomes of things are wont to follow upon those who labor for their sake. Since, then, upon the fervent love of one another out of a pure heart there follows unfeigned brotherly love, it is well to set first “out of a pure heart,” and to make follow “to love of the brethren.” It must, however, be noted that the preposition “to” must here be taken in the sense of “through,” so that it would read: Through love of the brethren.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne adds the marginal conjecture [ἴσως συμβουλεύσας] (“perhaps συμβουλεύσας”) for the body συμβουλεύσας; no change in sense.

[2] Psalm 39:12 (LXX 38:13).

[3] Isaiah 61:1.

[4] Jeremiah 1:5.

[5] Cf. Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2; Exodus 19:5.

[6] Translator’s note: Migne’s body reads ἐν οἷς with a marginal conjecture [ƒ. ἣν] (“perhaps ἣν”); the translation follows the conjecture (“in which [resurrection]”).

[7] John 17:11.

[8] John 16:33 and 16:20.

[9] Translator’s note: Migne prints εὐθυνεῖται with marginal [ƒ. εὐθύν.] (abbreviated conjecture, “perhaps εὐθύνεται/εὐθυνεῖ”); rendered “be called to account.”

[10] Daniel 9:23 (also 10:11, 19), “man greatly beloved / of desires.”

[11] Isaiah 53:7.

[12] Jeremiah 11:19.

[13] Hosea 6:2–3.

[14] Translator’s note: Migne prints ἡμᾶς (“us”) with marginal [ƒ. ὑμ.] (conjecture ὑμᾶς, “you”); the translation follows the body reading.

[15] Translator’s note: Migne prints ἐγκατέθεντο with marginal abbreviated conjecture [ƒ. ἐγκατέθ.]; no change to the rendering.

[16] Translator’s note: Migne prints περὶ φαύλων with marginal conjecture [ƒ. παρὰ φαῦλον] (“perhaps παρὰ φαῦλον,” ‘as a trifling thing’); the translation follows the conjecture.

[17] Luke 2:14.

[18] Job 38:3 (also 40:7).

[19] The internal Scripture citation is Leviticus 11:44; 19:2 (LXX), via 1 Peter 1:16.

[20] Translator’s note: Migne secludes [καὶ νῦν] and [δεῖ] as editorial; the translation omits the secluded words.

[21] Translator’s note: Migne secludes [κελεύει] as editorial; “he commands” is supplied in sense by the translation.

[22] Translator’s note: Migne secludes [λέγει]; “he says” is supplied in sense.

[23] Translator’s note: Migne prints ὡς ἀμνοῦ καὶ ἀμώμου with the marginal note [vulg. om. καὶ] (the vulgata lectio omits the καὶ after ἀμνοῦ); the lemma follows the AV, “as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

[24] Translator’s note: Migne carries marginal conjectures here: [ƒ. τό] for τόν, [ƒ.—οὔσθαι] (i.e. τελειοῦσθαι) for τελειῶσθαι, and [ƒ. τοῖς] for τις; the translation follows the smoother sense (“which is owed to those who love greatly”).

[25] Psalm 33:8 (LXX 32:8).

[26] Translator’s note: Migne prints μελλει with marginal conjecture [ƒ. μέλει] (“perhaps μέλει,” ‘cares for’); the translation follows the conjecture.

[27] Isaiah 2:19, 21.

[28] Psalm 34:9 (LXX 33:10).

[29] Psalm 19:9 (LXX 18:10).

[30] John 5:22.

[31] John 5:19.

[32] Matthew 9:2 (cf. Mark 2:5).

[33] Romans 6:4.

[34] Cf. Galatians 1:1; Romans 10:9.

[35] John 2:19.

[36] John 10:18.

[37] Cf. Psalm 103:15 (LXX 102:15); the quoted “all flesh is grass” is Isaiah 40:6–8.

[38] Matthew 24:35 (cf. Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33).

Chapter 2

1 Pet. 2:1–6. Therefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the rational and guileless milk, that you may grow thereby to salvation: if so be you have tasted that the Lord is good. To whom coming, as to a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, you also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Therefore also it is contained in the Scripture: Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believes on him shall not be confounded.[1] Having shown the superiority of spiritual rebirth over birth according to the flesh, and having set forth the worthlessness of mortal glory—that such birth is corruptible and transitory, and that such glory in no way differs from the springtime blossoms—he adds that the word of the Lord does not suffer the same fate; for every human opinion swiftly passes away, but not so the word of God: rather, this endures forever. For this is the very point of the addition, “which by the gospel is preached to you.” He says, then: “Laying aside all malice.” For he signifies all these things through these few words. For it is not just that those who have been reborn to incorruptible life should be caught in the snares of malice, nor that they should prefer that which is not to that which is. For evil is not a substance, but something that arises through a fault, turning the begotten substance aside; and great is the difference between life that has its own subsistence and that which merely exists alongside it as a parasite. And these same persons are likewise worthy to be declared free of guile, he says, and of hypocrisy, and of envy, and of all evil speaking. For both guile and hypocrisy are far from the truth and from the word that was preached to you as glad tidings: since guile proceeds to the ruin of the one deceived, and hypocrisy advances in a state contrary to what truly is; whereas the saving word that instructed you comes forward in the opposite direction. And what place shall envy and evil speaking have among you, who, being bound fast by the unbreakable bond of brotherly love, can be harmed by none of the things that divide? That envy and evil speaking are causes of dissension and of hatred of the brethren, that man makes plain who, through envy, both was torn away from brotherly union and conceived guile, and hypocrisy, and murder—namely Cain and the tragedy enacted in him.[2] But neither is the envious man clean of evil speaking, if indeed the brethren of Joseph suffice to confirm the word, who uttered countless slanders against him to their father. For this very reason, he says, having been cleansed of all these things, desire, “as newborn babes” (for the King himself declared that the kingdom belongs to such), and being nourished by the guileless word, you shall grow to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. “For having tasted”—that is, having advanced by the handling of the sacred things that pertain to the Gospel—you have come to know by perception the excellence of the teaching. For perception is nearer to knowledge than any verbal account, since that which comes to actual trial is more delightful than every word. “Having tasted,” then, of the goodness of the Lord, and showing forth among one another the good of that very goodness, dedicate yourselves to the “living stone,” “the chief corner stone, disallowed indeed of men, but precious and chosen in the sight of God,” and proclaimed also by the prophets; be bound fast together one with another, being united and framed together through love to the completion of the spiritual house, taking no thought of men’s contempt, since not even by them was Christ, the rejected chief corner stone, brought to nought. And being framed together,[3] and having fitted yourselves into a “spiritual house,” and declared yourselves an “holy priesthood,” “offer up spiritual sacrifices.” For do not suppose that, lacking the bond toward one another that is strengthened through love, you can offer unblemished sacrifices to God. For, he says, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing. For how shall the one who through prayer strives to unite himself to God attain this, while he tears himself away from his brother through wrath and evil disputings?

1 Pet. 2:7–8. To you therefore who believe is the honour: but to them who are disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; who stumble at the Word, being disobedient, to which they were appointed. — “To you therefore is the honour,” where we must supply the words “shall be.”[4] And the sequence is thus: “To you therefore is the honour”—from God who said, I lay; and the honour, plainly, is awarded; “but to them that are disobedient,” this too God says even now: I lay for you in Zion a stone of stumbling, which is also a rock of offence. But it shall be “a stone of stumbling” to “them that are disobedient, who also stumble,” being disobedient, “at the Word, to which also they were appointed.” The whole meaning, therefore, will be thus: Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, precious, elect: and he that believes on him shall not be confounded. — “Precious” to you that believe; “but to them that are disobedient, a stone of stumbling.” This stone the builders indeed disallowed, but the same is made the head of the corner, joining together those who believe in him; “but to them that are disobedient, a stone of stumbling, who stumble at the word”—plainly the word of the Gospel—“to which also they were appointed.” But this, “To which also they were appointed,” is not said as though they were set apart for this by God (for no cause of perdition is brought about by him who wills that all men should be saved), but rather it followed upon disobedience for those who had fitted themselves to be vessels of wrath, and they were appointed to the rank for which they had prepared themselves. For if man has been made self-determining, inasmuch as he is of a rational nature, and one cannot do violence to free will, then no one could with good reason find fault with him who has accounted such a one worthy of the lot which the doer of these deeds, by his own works, has betrothed to himself. And Christ is called the “chief corner stone” because, by contact with himself, he joins together the two walls that constitute the “spiritual house”—that is, those from the Gentiles and from the Jews—and binds them fast into a single framework, abolishing the unprofitable sacrifices of the one and transferring the demonic superstition of the other into true piety.

1 Pet. 2:9–10. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a people for a possession; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Having censured the perversity of the disobedient, and how they made themselves the authors of their own disobedience, he now passes over to the praise of those who have done well, and says that “You” who have done well are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood;” as though he were saying: They indeed, through hardness and disobedience, “stumbled at the chief corner stone,” but were not built up together with it. “But you,” through ready obedience, were built up together into a “royal priesthood,” as a “chosen generation,” as an “holy nation.” Yet, lest he weaken them by excessive praise, and especially lest they should seem to possess the title “holy nation”—and all that follows—arbitrarily, and as though they were accounted worthy of this honour because they are descended from Abraham and have never stumbled, he goes on to abate their pride, and says: Be not high-minded over your descent. For it is not on Abraham’s account that you are chosen to a “royal priesthood;” for those who came forth from him had the priesthood set apart from the kingship. Not on Abraham’s account, then, are you an “holy” “nation” and a “chosen generation,” and set apart to a “royal priesthood,” but on Christ’s account, who is named both a Priest after the order of Melchisedek, and a King meek, righteous, and bringing salvation. Reborn, therefore, through holy baptism, from him who possessed both these dignities, fittingly are you named both “a chosen generation” and “a royal priesthood.” And this you “have out of darkness into his marvellous light” by the mercy of him who called you. Wherefore, through the works of light, you proclaim his praises to other men. This, he says, you have from his love for mankind; since, so far as concerns yourselves, you are “a people” “which in time past were not a people,” and “have obtained mercy, which had not obtained mercy.” And rendering his word less burdensome, he confirms the word of reproach out of Hosea. Proclaim, therefore, his praises through good works. And how do men proclaim them? The Lord himself teaches, in the words: Thus let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works. — “A people for a possession” means, for an acquisition, that is, for an inheritance. For all are the creation of God, but his possession are those alone who, through their own good works, have been accounted worthy of it.

1 Pet. 2:11–12. Beloved, I urge you, as strangers and exiles, to abstain from fleshly desires, which wage war against the soul, keeping your conduct honorable among the Gentiles. The sequence is thus: “Beloved, I urge you as strangers” being “and exiles” of this world, “abstain from fleshly desires, which wage war against” your “soul;” and I urge this also, “that you keep your conduct honorable among the Gentiles;” for the infinitive “to keep” is here used in place of the participle “keeping.” Now it is the custom of teachers, after doctrinal discourse, to introduce moral exhortation, which this blessed man now also does. And he calls them “beloved,” not “loved on some account”; for they are objects of longing through and through. For those who are said to be loved for some particular reason are not “beloved.”—And he says that the fleshly desires make war “against the soul,” since, according to the blessed Paul also, The flesh lusts against the spirit. For the desires of the flesh, being occupied about the enjoyment of pleasures, muddy the reasoning faculty and reduce the soul to slavery.

1 Pet. 2:12. so that, though they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may witness your good works and glorify God in the day of visitation. By those who speak against us he means the heathen. And by the “day of visitation” he means the world’s scrutiny. For when an examination of our life is made by them, and then the matters are found to be the contrary of their supposition, they themselves are set right in the very things wherein they were put to shame, and God is glorified.

1 Pet. 2:13–15. Submit yourselves, then, to every human institution for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme, or to governors, as sent by him for the punishment of wrongdoers and the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.[5] By “human institution” he means the magistracies appointed by kings, or even the kings themselves, inasmuch as they too were ordained, that is, established, by men. For Scripture is wont to call an “establishing” a “creation” as well, as in the words, That he might create the two into one new man. He says, then: Submit yourselves to the worldly rulers; and submit for God’s sake, as the Lord commanded. And what did the Lord command? Render to Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. So that whatever they may command beyond the ordinance of God, they are not to be obeyed therein. This both Christ and now his disciple commanded, lest the Greeks should be able to say that Christianity brings about the overthrow of common life, and is the cause of disorder and confusion. And he adds the words, “For the Lord’s sake,” also for the sake of the faithful. For it was likely that some of them would say: He who accounts us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, and through this invests us with great dignity—why does he again make us of little account, subjecting us to worldly rulers? If anyone, then, shall say these things, let him learn, he says, that the word of this command is not mine, but the Lord’s. And Peter himself also showed to what manner of rulers one must be subject—namely to those who vindicate justice. For he adds the reason as well, that this is both “the will of God,” and that our submission to the rulers is a proof of nobility of character, and, what is more, puts the unbelievers to shame. For in the very matter wherein they speak against us as arrogant, when they see us both humble and obedient in the things that are fitting, they are the more put to shame.

1 Pet. 2:16. As free—not treating your freedom as a pretext for wrongdoing. The sequence is thus: “Submit yourselves as free, not treating your freedom as a pretext for wrongdoing, but as servants of God.” Not only the rulers, but “honour all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the king.” Now the words, “As free,” John Chrysostom unfolded thus, saying: “Lest they should say, We have been set free from the world, we have become citizens of heaven, and do you again subject us to the rulers, and bid us obey? For this cause, then, he says: Obey as free, that is, as those who have believed in him who set you free and commanded this to be done. For thus you will not seem to have liberty as a pretext for malice according to your own will—that is, for the disobedient and unheeding temper—whereby you might refuse obedience.” And it is possible, by another approach, to say something concerning this: He is free according to the Lord who yields to nothing improper. Since, therefore, to live in hypocrisy belongs not to a free man, but to one subject to passions—whether of the desire to please, or of some other shameful pleasure—and this is alien and foreign to the servants of God, he now commands that submission to the rulers be shown from a good and guileless disposition; and not that men, being ill-disposed toward them so as to render obedience under compulsion, and that maliciousness lurking within you, should make the guilelessness, forsooth, and simplicity of their manner a pretext for an obedience that is merely apparent, while not in fact performing it from genuine disposition. For the saying, “not treating your freedom as a pretext for wrongdoing,” means, to put it briefly: “Passing themselves off in outward appearance as simple and guileless, as under the cloak of liberty, but in actual trial found to be dangerous and the very contrary of what they appear.”

1 Pet. 2:16–22. But as servants of God: honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear—not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is a grace before God, if for conscience toward God someone endures grief, suffering unjustly. For what credit is it, if you endure a beating when you have sinned? But if you endure suffering for doing good, this is acceptable to God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in his steps—he who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. Mark the exactness, how he says that fear is to be rendered to God, but honour to the king. So that, if fear is to be rendered to God, who is able to destroy both soul and body, we should not yield to kings when they summon us to improper things. For the fear toward God is able to overcome even the honour toward kings. Rather, the one who is forced by them into evils will even deprive them of their honour, according to the saying of the holy man: In whose sight a vile person is contemned. And with the words, “Servants,” we must supply the verb “be”; that it may read thus: Servants, be subject. Likewise also in the passage, “Wives.” Now “fear” is spoken of in many senses. For there is a fear that goes together with knowledge, which he here calls conscience, and which is also termed reverence. There is also a passive fear, that is, the one that arises through the experience of punishment, which even the beasts feel. Again, there is spoken of a preparatory fear, which attends those who come to the Lord, because they are conscious to themselves of many things that call down chastisement—the fear which the harlot in the Gospels also felt when she came to the Lord. And there is spoken of, again, a perfecting fear, which is ever present to all the saints, who dread lest they fall short of those things which it is fitting should be present in such as have been taken up into perfect love. Since, then, fear is spoken of in so many senses, if it is right that servants should conduct themselves toward their own masters through all of these, the one who now exhorts servants to be subject to their masters with all fear would not forbid it. For both the preparatory and the perfecting fear, when present, dispose them well: the one, that they never suffer any irremediable thing through being suspected by reason of a fault; the other, that nothing distasteful be conceived against the master they serve. Now at any rate he speaks of the fear that comes through conscience—that is, the fear that arises together with knowledge of right reason—which consists in the servants’ committing no sin against their froward masters. This fear, then, accounting it worthy of praise, he charges them to receive with patience. For those who, on account of sins either committed or even guarded against being committed, endure with fear whatever they may suffer because of them—this too belongs to right-minded servants who incline toward amendment, yet not to so great a philosophy as that of patiently enduring with thanksgiving when one is conscious of no evil in oneself. This is a great thing, a thing accomplished by few, a thing that meets with acceptance even with God, as vying with the sufferings of Christ. For he himself also suffered not for his own sins (“he committed no sin”), but suffered on behalf of us and of what is ours. For the transgressions of my people,—that is, on account of the transgressions of the people—was he led to death, says the prophet. This fear, then, he sets down as praiseworthy. But assuredly he wishes servants to be possessed by the other fears as well. And this is plain from his saying, “With all fear.” And surpassingly well did he set over against the other fears the fear that comes through conscience, declaring by a most truthful argument that this alone is what is praiseworthy: since those who have the other fears have within themselves the occasion of their masters’ wrath against them, but the one who fears through conscience has nowhere any such occasion.

1 Pet. 2:23–24. Who, when reviled, did not revile in return; when suffering, did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges justly. Who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that, having died to sin, we might live to righteousness. Perhaps someone will say: How does Peter now say that the Lord, “when reviled, did not revile in return,” and that, “when suffering, did not threaten”? And yet we see him calling the Jews dumb dogs, and the Pharisees blind, and saying of Judas: It would have been good for that man if he had not been born; and, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom than for that city. We shall reply, then, that he does not say this, that the Lord did not revile or threaten; but, “When reviled, did not revile in return,” nor in his suffering did he “threaten;” but if indeed he did revile, it was not as retaliating against those who reviled him, but as rebuking and exposing the incorrigible. When he was reviled by hearing, You have a devil, from those who behaved abusively toward him; and again, that By the prince of the devils you cast out devils; and, Behold a man, a glutton and a drunkard;—did he then revile them in return? By no means. But to the former he said: If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? And against the charge a glutton and a drunkard he set the game of the children playing in the marketplace, who say: We have piped to you, and you have not danced; we have mourned to you, and you have not lamented.[6] But when he was crucified and grievously suffering, he prayed rather on behalf of those who wronged him, and threatened not; yet against Judas he threatens, restraining him from the betrayal. Likewise also he declared that those who would not receive the disciples should suffer something worse than the men of Sodom—the one charge concerning hospitality, the other exhorting the hearers through fear to their own salvation. So that most true is the word of Peter, since the Lord by his examples urges men on to forbearance. As for the words, “He committed himself to him who judges justly,” he means plainly to God, who will repay each according to his works, judging without respect of persons according to righteous judgment in the tribunal to come.

1 Pet. 2:24–25. By whose stripes you were healed. For you were as sheep going astray; but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. For having been scourged by Pilate, he bore stripes also in his body.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne prints «Χριστὸς ὁ Κύριος» (“Christ the Lord”) with the marginal correction «lege χρηστὸς» (“read χρηστὸς, good/kindly”); the translation follows the correction, which 1 Pet 2:3, echoing Ps 33[34]:9 LXX, requires.

[2] Translator’s note: Migne flags the verb «ἐνεκύησε» (“conceived”) with the marginal conjecture «[ƒ. ἐνεκύησε]», which here merely repeats the same form; the reading is kept as printed.

[3] Translator’s note: Migne flags «συναρμολογισθέντες» with the marginal conjecture «[ƒ. γηθέντες]» (“rejoicing”); the translation follows the body text (“framed together”), consonant with the building imagery.

[4] Translator’s note: At «εἰς ὃ ἐτέθησαν» Migne notes the Vulgate-attested reading «εἰς ὃ καὶ» (“to which also”); Theophylact’s own comment below quotes the longer form «εἰς ὃ καὶ ἐτέθησαν», which the translation follows there.

[5] Translator’s note: At «ἀγαθοποιοῦντας ὑμᾶς» Migne notes that the Vulgate-attested reading omits ὑμᾶς (“you”); the translation retains it as Theophylact prints it.

[6] Translator’s note: Migne’s body reads «ἀνατέθηκε» (“he referred/applied”), with the marginal conjecture «[ƒ. ἐντέθεικε]» (“he inserted”); the sense (“set over against, applied”) is the same and the translation follows the body.

Chapter 3

1 Pet. 3:1–3. Likewise, wives, being subject to your own husbands—so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your reverent, pure conduct. Let your adornment not be the outward adornment of braided hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine clothing.[1] Having brought the moral discourse to its conclusion through all these—through kings, through rulers, through masters, through servants—and having laid down for the subjects that they are to submit to kings and rulers in the things and in the manner that they ought, and having shown thereby that the rulers themselves, possessing in the laws some kindling spark of righteousness, shall not be condemned for whatever they do in accordance with them, but for whatever they do contrary to them, lawlessly and without judgment and tyrannically, in these very things they shall also perish—for the law was given to the nations for their benefit, as Paul also cries aloud; and the rulers likewise, even as the laws, were given for our benefit, and not, as some wrongly will have it, that the authority upon the earth belongs to the devil (thus pleading the devil’s cause when he said to the Lord, All this is delivered to me, and to whomever I will I give it); for kings are not established by his command, since they are given for the correction of evils, whereas the devil is bent upon admitting no such thing among men. For authorities and rulers were given by God: some for the preservation of what is just, and for the correction and benefit of their subjects; others, through fear, for the punishment and rebuke of sinners; and others, that they who have done outrage may pay a worthy penalty. Having shown this, then, and that to submit to these is good, but to be disobedient is evil—and having likewise admonished concerning servants and masters, as we have said—he now passes also to the women’s quarters. He says, therefore, concerning women, that they must be zealous for these two things: “being subject to their own husbands,” and to show themselves strangers to every adornment and embellishment, imitating the holy women. For these too, he says, esteemed this their only adornment: obedience toward their own husbands. And what is the gain from these things? That good zeal on the part of those outside the faith, which is begotten even from our submission to the rulers, and the thanksgiving which they render to Christ on our account; which is also a great boast of Christians, when the name of God is blessed on our account, even by the nations, because of our good conversation. And his saying, “won without a word,” means either that all speech and all dispute is set aside, or, as it were, that the demonstration through works is more authoritative than word and elaborate argument. For a silent work is better than an idle word—as the holy man said.

1 Pet. 3:4. But let it be the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For the king’s daughter is all glorious within, clothed in garments of gold woven about with various colors;[2] these things, as it were, furnish unstudied symbols both of our inward disposition and of our outward condition. For such is the fringe: being the residue of the woven fabric, it has obtained the beginning of the warp-threads, is parted from the interweaving of the woof, and discloses the working of the original substance. And he calls the fringes of gold, because that which is openly displayed is to appear, in distinction from that which lies hidden, not in a chance manner, but preciously and with dignity.

1 Pet. 3:5–7. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands: even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose children you are become, as long as you do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, you husbands, dwelling with them according to knowledge, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.[3] By adornment here he means subjection, through his saying, “they adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands.” And having spoken indefinitely of “the holy women,” he also calls them “daughters” “of Sarah,” whether according to faith or also according to descent. For it is necessary that daughters imitate their mothers. And along with the adornment befitting Christians, he exhorts them also to be merciful, in no way regarding with suspicion what might on this account be reckoned against them by their husbands. This is what he means to make plain by, “not afraid with any amazement.” For it is likely that husbands sometimes demand of them an accounting even of their expenditures. Having thus elevated his discourse, and having exhorted the slothful and faint-hearted disposition of the female to a more liberal use of the household goods, he then restrains also the harshness of husbands toward them, and says, “You husbands, dwelling with them according to knowledge;” that is, taking perception of the levity of the female and of her slipping into faint-heartedness, be long-suffering toward them, not bitterly demanding an accounting of the household goods entrusted to them for keeping; and this, as we have said, he counsels because the women, being liberal toward the poor in their giving, the husbands ought not to be exact examiners. But to me it seems that through these words he is introducing something deeper, and is hinting more decorously than Paul at the conjugal use. [For Paul indeed cries out openly, Defraud you not one the other, except it be with consent, and so forth; but this man, more decorously, as we have said,] in saying “knowledge” and thereby hinting at the matter, counsels that, since the female sex is more readily inclined to this also, men should not effect their abstinence from them reprovingly and with vehemence, but should first, as with the weaker, deal with them in a spirit of forbearance, and then persuade them, with a certain sparing, to accept abstinence from such intercourse. For this is what he means to signify (the sparing, I say) by saying, “giving honor.” For unless honor is perceived toward something, neither does sparing follow upon it. And so then, as toward a weaker vessel, and as toward fellow-heirs of the living grace, one must so deal with them in matters of such conjugal converse. And that we do not apply ourselves to such a handling of the present text in a chance manner, the words that follow make plain, “saying, that your prayers be not hindered.” For what hindrance of prayer does a husband’s harshness toward his wife bring? Much indeed of attentiveness and of zeal does the neglect of these things at the time of prayer require. Thus it seems to me concerning this.

1 Pet. 3:8–9. Finally, be you all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, courteous, humble-minded; not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that you are thereunto called, that you should inherit a blessing. The sequence, taken with the construction set forth above, is thus: “Finally,” that is, as the most comprehensive thing, “be you all of one mind,” and so forth, “knowing that you are thereunto called,” namely, that all should “bless.” For bless, Paul also says, them that persecute us. And doing this, “you shall inherit” the name of being called by all “those who bless.” For it is not just that one who lays hold of eternal life should with his tongue revile any man. For this cause David also exhorts those who wish to be lovingly disposed toward the life which truly is, to keep the tongue pure of railing. For being thus prepared, you shall have the Almighty One ready to hear and gentle. And if this be so, who is he that is able to harm you? But even if affliction be brought upon you who are workers and imitators of the good, be not faint-hearted. Rejoice rather, first, because these things are not evils; and then, because you are also blessed on this account. Wherefore, sanctifying God in your hearts, fear not the fear of man, neither be troubled. Otherwise. Looking off from the admonitions addressed to the husband and to the wife severally, he makes the remaining exhortation common to all, both men and women, and says, “Finally,” as much as to say, What need is there to speak privately to each? I speak simply to all. For this is the “end,” and to this the aim of salvation looks for all, and this is the law of love for all; from which springs every virtue—humility, compassion, tenderness of heart, and the rest. Of these, oneness of mind is an undivided concurrence with zeal toward some end; compassion is the mercy shown toward those who suffer ill as though upon ourselves; brotherly love is the disposition owed toward our neighbors as toward brethren; tenderness of heart is the movement, proceeding from the soul, toward the well-doing of those of our own kind; courtesy is the gentleness and affability toward all, such as might be shown even toward those of like character and toward friends; lowliness, that is, humble-mindedness, is to bear with one who reproaches, to acknowledge one’s fault, to bear accusations—which would be good sense; and railing is that ambition for slander which rises up out of an evil habit. Being adorned, therefore, with these virtues, besides being declared not captive to vice, you shall also be objects of emulation, directed by a divine manner of life. For he who is blessed by all is also emulated.

1 Pet. 3:10–11. For let the one who wills to love life and see good days keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good, let him seek peace and pursue it.[4] Bringing forth the word of his admonition so as to be beyond all dispute, he furnishes it with credibility from David, and says, “For the one who wills to love life,” that is, he who transforms himself toward the life which truly is and would render it an object of love—for to this tends the phrase “willing to love,” as it were, to render it desirable and worth contending for among men—let him hold fast to these things without turning back, in which the prophetic word also joins forces with me.

1 Pet. 3:12–15. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if you are followers of that which is good? But if you suffer for righteousness’ sake, blessed are you. And be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.[5] Having concluded the prophetic citation, since within it lie the words, the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and, the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, he adds to them that, if you so live, you shall have God favorable and ready to hear. And this being so, who could be brought against you to do you harm? For all things are in His hand—death, life. Yet, since to some the circumstances that come for the faith’s sake seemed to be evils, Peter, correcting these, says: Reckon not these things to be evils, when they are even worthy of being called blessed. For the fear that comes from men is worthy of no account, but is fleeting. For if the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears to their prayer; but against them that do evil is his face, threatening destruction upon the wicked—then assuredly, if this be so, the Steward of good things would not requite with evils us who are loved by Him. For He sends down evils upon the wicked. So that the afflictions endured for piety’s sake are not evils. And to sanctify the Lord in your hearts he enjoins along with Isaiah; that is, Boast not in the things that appear, but, having wrought the sanctification of the Lord in the hidden storehouse of your heart—He who, by separation from the defilements, that is, from the wicked customs of the nations, prevails—so sanctify Him. And He is sanctified through your good conversation, when other men glorify Him, as the God-man Himself also commands: Thus let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works.

1 Pet. 3:15–16. Always ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence, keeping a good conscience, so that when they slander you as wrongdoers, those who abuse your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. Now the words, “ready to give a defense,” and what follows, go together with the showing forth of a good practice; for doing this meekly and with reasonableness, you shall then both confirm to yourselves a good conscience and put to shame those who hold wicked suppositions concerning you. And by this saying there is to be understood, together with that which went before, the words, “Be you all of one mind”; for the “you shall be” is supplied in common to this also, so that the sense is, You shall be “ready.” He wishes the faithful man to be ever prepared concerning the word of the faith, so that, being at all times and on every occasion required to give the account concerning it, we may answer readily; and in common also belongs the phrase “with gentleness,” namely, to do this as though God Himself were present. For no well-disposed servant grows insolent while his master is present. And he brings in, as the gain from this, the recognition and good regard of the unbelievers toward us. But it must be observed that these things are not contrary to what was said by the Lord—if He, on the one hand, bids us not to be anxious—saying, when they bring us before the magistrates and the authorities, what we shall answer in our defense;[6] while Peter, on the other, now charges us to “be prepared” for this. For the words from the Lord were spoken concerning martyrdom, but the word from Peter concerns teaching. For to seem to know something without understanding and examination brings reproach. For the knowledge of the unintelligent is unexamined words. Moreover, since they accused us of many unlawful things, and declared our hopes to be vain, he says that concerning these things we are to bring well-reasoned answers, having the divine approval, which he also calls conscience.

1 Pet. 3:17–18. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that you suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also has once died for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. This explanation refers not to what was said immediately before, but to what was a little above, namely, that “if you suffer for righteousness’ sake, blessed are you,” because “it is better to suffer ill for well doing than for evil doing.” But if one wishes to refer the cause to what immediately precedes, the word “well doing” must be taken not with respect to another, as benefiting him, but absolutely [in the sense of, working good things], and likewise also the word “evil doing.” And he adds the words, “if the will of God be so,” showing that nothing comes upon us apart from God’s inclination, but rather either for the relief of sins, or for our renown and glory, or also for the salvation of others. And this is twofold. For either some righteous man is afflicted for the chastening of other sinners, according to that which is said, If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner appear?[7] And this too shows a twofold benefit: to the suffering righteous man, for an increase of righteousness through his endurance; and to the sinner, toward conversion, as has been said. Either, then, for these reasons does the righteous man suffer—namely, for his own glory, or for the conversion and salvation of others—even as did Christ also. For this cause Peter now sets down the example of Christ: “For Christ also once suffered,” not for His own sins, but for yours. Wherefore he adds, “the just for the unjust.” For Christ Himself did no sin. And showing also the power of Him who suffered, he adds the word “once.” Since, then, He suffered for the sake of our bringing to God and His Father, He showed that not all who suffer, suffer for sins. And since Christ is twofold, God and man, He bestowed also a twofold grace upon us by His suffering. For having died as man, He delivered us from death, inaugurating the resurrection for us, and giving, through His own example, that they who die no longer go down to a death without hope of resurrection. “And being quickened,” that is, having risen from the dead by the power of the Godhead (for He rose from the dead not as man, but as God), He quickened together with Himself all those in Hades, raising them up with Himself. For many bodies, according to the divine evangelist, of the saints which slept arose, and appeared to many.

1 Pet. 3:18–19. Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison. “Being put to death in the flesh”—this is as much as to say, as man; but “quickened by the Spirit,” as God. For by “Spirit” he means to set forth “God,” just as by “flesh,” “man.” Of the first the evangelist is witness, saying, God is a Spirit, in the passage where he introduces Christ, the true Wisdom, discoursing with the Samaritan woman; and of the second, all divine Scripture is witness. And from this it is clear that Christ is twofold, not in hypostasis, but in nature. The phrase “by which” stands here in the sense of “wherefore.” For having said that He died for our unjust selves, he then says that He also preached to those held fast in Hades. For having advanced thus far, it remained for him to show how Christ, having died, benefited those who had fallen asleep before; and at the same time, a question arising—namely, if the incarnation of the Lord was for the salvation of all men, what salvation did those who died beforehand obtain?—he solves both by one stroke, and says that the Lord’s death wrought both these things: the hope of resurrection, through His own rising, and the salvation of those who had fallen asleep before. For those who had lived well the time of their life, these also then, through the Lord’s descent into Hades, obtained salvation, as it seems also to the divine Gregory. For he says: “Christ, having appeared to those in Hades, does not save all without distinction, but there too only those who believed.” For it was the work of each one’s free choice—having become a rational being—not to be without perception of the bounteous gift of the Maker, but to render himself worthy of the goodness of the Giver.

1 Pet. 3:20. who were disobedient long ago, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few—that is, eight souls—were brought safely through water. This he set down to resolve a certain objection; for it is likely that someone might say: And what other one having preached before Christ, were then those who disobeyed condemned? And though he had it ready at hand, as Paul also did, to refute them from the rational powers exalted within you, he does not do this. For having become judges of good and evil, and then not having wrought the good, such men are worthy of condemnation. Yet he does not proceed in this way. Why? Because this is of a higher reasoning and belongs to a philosophic mind, rather than to the grovelling notion of the Jews. From Scripture, then, he confirms the disobedience, and not from prophetic times, but well-near from the very creation of the world. From this he established that from the beginning salvation was proclaimed to men, but was overlooked because of their inclination toward vain things. For though the men of that time were beyond number, only eight men, having been persuaded by the things proclaimed through the building of the ark, were saved. And since salvation was in water, he fitly takes this with reference to holy baptism, and says that that water foreshadowed baptism for us, since this also drowns the disobedient demons and saves those who faithfully draw near to the ark, that is, to the Church; and at the same time, that as water washes away the filth, so also does baptism—yet it does not effect the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but symbolically the washing away of the stain of the soul. And it is also, as it were, a kind of pledge and earnest of a good conscience toward God.

1 Pet. 3:21–22. which, as an antitype, now saves us also—baptism, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God. The sequence is thus: this antitype, baptism, does also now save us—not as the removal of dirt from the flesh, but as the pledge of a good conscience toward God, that is, an inquiry [or, examination, or, earnest seeking]. For those who are conscious of good things in themselves, that is, those who lay hold of a blameless life, these also run to holy baptism. And what, he says, does this baptism furnish? The resurrection of Christ. For before His resurrection and His passion He declares, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit; but having risen, He commands to baptize all the nations that draw near, into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. “Angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.” “To him”—to whom? Plainly, to Him as man.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne prints οἵτινες in the body with a marginal variant (vulgata lectio) εἴ τινες (“if any”); the translation follows εἴ τινες, the reading of the canonical text.

[2] Psalm 45:13 (LXX Ps 44:14).

[3] Translator’s note: At ἐγενήθητε (“you are become”) Migne notes the vulgata lectio ἐγενήθη (“she became”); the translation follows the body reading ἐγενήθητε.

[4] 1 Peter here quotes Psalm 34:12–14 (LXX Ps 33:13–15).

[5] 1 Peter 3:12 quotes Psalm 34:15–16 (LXX Ps 33:16–17); 3:14–15 echoes Isaiah 8:12–13.

[6] Translator’s note: The Greek of this clause is corrupt in Migne (ἐμὴ μεριμνῶν φήτιν); the sense is supplied from the evident allusion to the Lord’s command not to be anxious what to answer when brought before the authorities (Luke 12:11).

[7] 1 Peter 4:18, citing Proverbs 11:31 (LXX).

Chapter 4

1 Pet. 4:1. Since then Christ has suffered for you in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.[1] “The same mind” stands for: according to the same impulse, according to the same aim. For the preposition “according to” is wanting; it is said elliptically. And since he had gone through the account of the divine economy—I mean the Lord’s descent into Hades, and for whose sake He journeys even there: namely, for the salvation also of those in Hades—he now takes yet another occasion, from the death of the Lord, for an exhortation to virtue, and says: If Christ died “in the flesh” “for us” (for surely not in His immortal and divine nature), then we too, requiting Him, ought to die for His sake to sin, so that you will no longer be taken captive by human desires, but will live the remaining time in the flesh according to the will of God alone.[2]

1 Pet. 4:2. For he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin; that he should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. “He that has suffered” stands for “he that has died,” and he speaks much as Paul does: If we be dead with Christ, we shall also live with Him; and we shall indeed be dead to sin, but living to God.

1 Pet. 4:3. For the time past of your life may suffice you to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when you walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries. It is as if he said: What then? Were you not sated, for so long a time, with the passions weighed together with this present life? Or did you not live as lasciviously as the Gentiles? And what were these lascivious things? He goes on to name them by kind.[3]

1 Pet. 4:4. At this they are astonished, that you do not run with them into the same flood of dissipation—and they slander you. The “at this” stands for “wherefore,” as also above when he said: “wherein also to the spirits in prison.” And “are astonished” stands for “they marvel.” What he means is this: Having once for all been cut off from the practices of the Gentiles, in which you once lived, you must hold fast to the venerable life you have taken up. For thus even the Gentiles themselves will marvel at you, since you no longer run together with them into the like outpouring—or rather confusion—of impiety. Wherefore, together with marveling and being utterly perplexed at your change, they not only are put to shame, but also speak evil. For the worship of God is an abomination to a sinner. Yet these men shall not have such blasphemy go unpunished; rather, they “shall give account” to the Judge of all, who is seated unalterably and firmly upon this very office. For this is what “ready” signifies here, as also in the saying, Which by His strength sets fast the mountains; and in the saying, Your throne is established. Therefore to Him who unalterably and surely judges the living and the dead “shall they give account,” who now mock you. But in what sense He is the judge of living and dead, the writer of these things will set forth in what follows.[4]

1 Pet. 4:5. who will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. The connection runs thus: These men who speak evil of you “will give account to Him who judges all, the living and the dead.” For the dead also are judged, and this is plain from the Lord’s coming into Hades. For there too, having sojourned by His death after the cross, He preached, just as He did upon the earth. Yet He preached not by word, but by deed. And just as, when He came into the world, He came to justification for those who were ready to acknowledge Him, but to condemnation for those who were ignorant of Him; so also among those in Hades, He came to judgment for those who had lived after the flesh, but to glory and salvation for those who had lived after the spirit—that is, according to the spiritual and virtuous life. So that He may justly be called the Judge of both the living and the dead. Otherwise. [OF CYRIL.] By “the dead” here he calls those among the Gentiles who were deadened by the sins enumerated above, whom also the Apostle prays that, having turned back, they may “give” a blameless “account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” And again by “the living and the dead” he means the righteous and sinners, to whom the divine Word, having sojourned among them, preached the kingdom of heaven. And those sinners, receiving His commandments, judge themselves as men in the flesh—that is, in this human life they condemn their own flesh with fastings, and sleeping on the ground, and tears, and the rest of hard affliction, that they may live according to God in the spirit, calling to mind the apostolic saying that declares: Even though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.[5]

1 Pet. 4:6. For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead. The ancient among the Fathers expounded this saying, “the gospel was preached to the dead,” as a separate pericope, taking no thought of its connection with what goes before, nor that, being uttered as an explanation of cause, it must be referred to what precedes it. For what is said by way of cause ought to bear such a reference; but, as has been said, they expounded it as a self-standing passage in this way. For they said that divine Scripture speaks of “the dead” in two senses: either those who have died in their sins, who never even beheld life; or those who have been conformed to the death of Christ, and have died indeed to the world—that is, to worldly desires—but live to Christ alone, as Paul also says: But the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. They say, then: Those who have thus died to Christ condemn themselves in the flesh for their former negligent and slothful life. And this is for them to live in the spirit—that is, in the life that is according to Christ. For the condemnation of their former ways makes them more cheerful concerning the things now in hand. So those Fathers. But even if one should say that this is well put, the saying does not yet embrace the whole. For since it was said above, concerning those in Hades, that to them also “He preached, to the spirits in prison,” it is to this that the present statement, introduced as an explanation of cause, ought to be referred, and one must not regard it as spoken of the present matter only. Whence we shall say that, since he had just said, “to Him that is ready to judge the living and the dead,” and the objection raised against this was: And where are the living judged, and where the dead? he brings forward the proof of his statement from what he had said above, namely that “He preached also to the spirits in prison,” and that this preaching became to “judgment”—or rather condemnation. Of these, those who were conscious to themselves of an upright life were immediately joined to the goodness of Him who appeared there, and so forth; but the wicked were forthwith filled with shame and awaited the just condemnation. This, then, is His being judge of the dead. As for “of the living”: when the Lord came into this corruptible life, men had His presence as their condemnation—the good running to Him for discipleship, but the evil drawing back and willingly closing their eyes against the truth. Wherefore also it is said, For judgment I have come into this world, that is, to condemnation. Thus, then, Christ is judge of the living and the dead. “That they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” The phrase “judged in the flesh” has this sense: when the Lord had sojourned among those in Hades, those who had lived in the world after the flesh were condemned; but those who had lived spiritually came to life, either in the rising again with the Lord (for many bodies of the saints which slept were raised), or in good hope. And “be judged” and “live” stand, by interchange, for past tenses instead of future—which is customary to the divine Scripture—for “they lived and were judged.” “And the end of all things is at hand”—that is, both of those justified in their life and of those in Hades. For in the second coming what is laid up for each shall be rendered. But if anyone sets aside the Lord’s preaching in Hades, saying that this profits nothing the dead who are in Hades, according to the saying, Who shall give You thanks in Hades?—such a one will simply give ear to the preaching in Hades, and will reckon “confession” not as a thanksgiving to God, but as a mere acknowledgment, being deaf to the saying, The dead praise not You, O Lord. Now the saying, “Who in Hades shall give You thanks?” means this: confession is thanksgiving to God for the things from which one has been delivered when in distress. Since, then, in the present life all deeds are accomplished by active doing (for to those who die all things are idle), it is fittingly said—seeing that none of those things is being done for which one, having been delivered, would give thanks—“Who in Hades shall give You thanks?”[6]

1 Pet. 4:7–9. But the end of all things is at hand: be you therefore sober, and watch to prayer. And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. “End” stands for “fulfillment,” “consummation.” He says that “the end of all things is at hand”; and this, in true reckoning, is Christ, for He is the perfection of all things—but not as the Greeks idly prate, some declaring pleasure to be the end, as Epicurus did, and others knowledge—that is, contemplation—or virtue. Since, therefore, Christ, the perfection of all things, has come, do you also, he says, being conformed to this perfection, show yourselves in everything lacking in nothing, praying in temperance and in sobriety. For the prayer of the sober consists in love toward one another. And this love Paul called the fulfilling of the law; but this Apostle says it is able to “cover sins.” For mercy toward one’s neighbor renders God merciful to us. And having spoken of “love,” he adds also the things that follow upon love, namely “hospitality,” which he commands to be carried out “without grudging.” But also, that each, abounding in some gift, should share it with the brother who has it not: as he who has the gift of teaching the word (for this is what “as the oracles of God” signifies) should share with him who has need of it; and he who has a supply of food should give to him who has none, not in pettiness of soul, but as the strength “of the supply that is from God provides.” And these things I exhort, he says, “that in all”—whether among the Gentiles, or also among those near you—“God may be glorified.”[7]

1 Pet. 4:10–11. Each one, as he has received a gift from God, should use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. If anyone speaks, let it be as one speaking the oracles of God; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength that God supplies—so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. For not to do those things which lie within our power, and of which we are masters, this incurs the charge of every injustice. For it is not only in the possession of money, but also in the possession of the other natural advantages, that a man is bound to give to him who has not; seeing that he himself, having nothing, received from God, that he might give to him who has not.

1 Pet. 4:12–13. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is among you, which came to you for a temptation, as though some strange thing happened to you: but rather, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that, when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. Having thus arranged what concerned the things promised before, since he saw certain ones being offended on account of the afflictions brought upon them—seeing that in the Law a promise of an untroubled life was laid up for those who served the Lord—and since above he had made his exhortation about this briefly, when he was giving instruction to servants, now he employs his discourse more at length, and says: “Beloved”—at once by the name signifying that these things befall them not as men hated, but as men exceedingly loved. And “think it not strange” stands for “do not marvel.” Then, having called the afflictions a “fiery trial,” he made it plain that these are brought upon them for the sake of testing. And the testing renders the thing tested most precious, even as it does gold and silver. And having brought upon them that which is most blessed of all—that those who suffer these things are numbered with Christ the Teacher, and with Him those who are now dishonored, that they may also be glorified together with Him in the age to come—he brings the whole matter to rest in this his aim.[8]

1 Pet. 4:14–15. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you; for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. That is, in being called Christians. On their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a railer, or a thief, or an evildoer. One must supply the subject of the clause “on their part He is evil spoken of”—namely, the Spirit of God: on the part of the impious He is evil spoken of, “but on your part He is glorified.” How? Because, when they falsely accuse you, shame is poured out upon them, but glory upon you.

1 Pet. 4:15–16. Or as a meddler in others’ affairs. But if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. A “meddler in others’ affairs” is one who meddles with what belongs to others, that he may have occasion for railing. And this belongs to a defiled and malicious soul, ready for every evil.[9]

1 Pet. 4:17–18. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who disobey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? “Judgment” here means not condemnation, but the examination, the scrutiny. And he makes them fearful, rousing them up from their slothful life. Wherefore he goes on: If, then, the examination of the things done in life “first begins at you,” what end must one suppose for those who have not obeyed? And it begins first at the house of God; for, according to Basil the Great, we are naturally vexed with those most akin to us when they sin against us. And none are most akin to God save the faithful, who fill up His house—that is, the Church. Wherefore the Saviour also said that He will first say to them on the right hand. But “judgment” here means the testing, the afflictions brought by the impious upon the faithful—the bringing of which the Lord also foretold, saying: They will hand you over to councils, and so forth. Then, as one consoling them, he goes on: If, then, He does not spare you, who are thus most akin to Him, consider what end shall be for the impious; and he confirms this from Scripture: If the righteous is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? And what he says is of this kind: If the righteous attains salvation with toil and labor (for the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and one attains it through many afflictions), what shall they obtain who live a life of ease and pleasure? And what concerns the impious is to be understood as referring to the age to come. For this cause let us also, “suffering according to the will of God,” not be faint of heart, but “commit our souls to Him as to a faithful Creator in well-doing.”[10]

1 Pet. 4:19. So then, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in well-doing, as to a faithful Creator. “The will of God”—either, showing that our sufferings are not outside the providence of God, but are bestowed upon us by Him as a kind of testing; or because, suffering as it were for the sake of His will, we yield to Him also the vindication. For He is faithful, that is, incapable of falsehood, according to His promises, and will not suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able. And how must one commit himself to God? “In well-doing,” he says. And what is this? It is to entrust oneself in humility, not thinking great things over what one suffers, but rather, the greater one seems to suffer, so much the more let him reckon himself unprofitable, saying to the Lord, You are righteous in all that You have done to us. Now “ungodly” and “sinner” differ in this. For the “ungodly” is one wholly outside of God; but the “sinner” is one who holds fast to faith in God, yet despises His laws. And the same man may be both ungodly and a sinner. For he who works iniquity is also altogether ungodly, in that he reckons God not to be present while he sins.[11]

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact’s lemma prints ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν (“for you”); the AV reads “for us.” His comment below follows the body’s ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν (“for us”).

[2] Translator’s note: Migne prints «ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν» / «ἡμεῖς» in the body with the marginal conjecture [f.] ὑμ. / ἡμ. (“you”); the translation follows the printed reading.

[3] Translator’s note: Migne prints κατειργάσασθε (“you wrought”) with the vulgata lectio [vulg.] κατεργάσασθαι (infinitive); the translation follows the printed κατειργάσασθε. The lemma also follows Theophylact’s printed second person (ὑμῖν, “your/you”) against the AV’s “our/us.”

[4] Translator’s note: Migne brackets [οὐδὲ] and the expansion [ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ … τῷ πάντων]; the translation retains the negating force of οὐδὲ, which the sense requires (“shall not… go unpunished”), and renders the bracketed phrase as a supplement to “the Judge.”

[5] Translator’s note: [ΚΥΡΙΛΛΟΥ.] is an editorial source-attribution in Migne marking the following “Otherwise” (an alternative exposition) as drawn from Cyril; it is retained and rendered here. The bracketed [ἐκήρυξεν] is an editorial supplement.

[6] Translator’s note: Migne flags variants [f.—νον], [f.—αν], and the editorial supplement [ἀργὰ]; the body readings are followed. The Greek «ἐξομολόγησιν οὐκ … Θεοῦ» is corrupt in Migne (a word is dropped); the intended sense, supplied from the following sentence, is “not a thanksgiving to God,” which the translation follows. Ps 6:6 and Ps 115:17 are given by LXX numbering (= MT Ps 6:5; Ps 115:17).

[7] Translator’s note: “Love shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8) echoes Prov 10:12 (LXX). On “the fulfilling of the law” cf. Rom 13:10.

[8] Translator’s note: Migne prints γενομένῃ and καθὸ with the vulgata lectiones [vulg.] γιν. (γινομένῃ) and καθὼς; the translation follows the printed γενομένῃ / καθὸ.

[9] Translator’s note: Migne prints «Ἡ ὡς ἀλλοτριοεπίσκοπος»; the disjunctive ἢ (“or”) is intended, continuing the list of 4:15; the translation reads “Or as a meddler.”

[10] Translator’s note: “If the righteous scarcely be saved…” (1 Pet 4:18) quotes Prov 11:31 by LXX wording. The Greek reads τουτέστιν τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν (“that is, the Church”); the article τὴν, lost at the right margin of the column in the first transcription pass, was restored from the page image. The bracketed [τῶν ἀπειθησάντων] and [πιστοῦται … Γραφῆς] are editorial supplements.

[11] Translator’s note: The bracketed [ὅτι] and [ταύτῃ] are editorial supplements in Migne; the translation reads the sense they supply.

Chapter 5

1 Pet. 5:1–5. I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow-elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory about to be revealed: shepherd the flock of Christ among you, exercising oversight not by compulsion but willingly, as God would have it; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not lording it over your allotted portion, but becoming examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.[1] Since it lay before him to treat of humility—which he had already struck up beforehand, when he said in well-doing — he calls himself a fellow-elder, either on account of his age or on account of the honor of the episcopate. For the Book of Acts likewise calls bishops “elders.” Then, wishing to set forth his own preeminence even while for humility’s sake he calls himself a “fellow-elder,” he adds his own dignity, that he is “a witness of the sufferings of Christ”; as though to say: If I, who am the expounder to you of such sights, do not disdain to call myself a “fellow-elder,” neither is it right that you should exalt yourselves over those who are subject to you.[2] This the Lord too declares, speaking of humility: If then I, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, And the words “a partaker of the glory about to be revealed” he adds in order to set forth what is choicest in humility, as Paul also says: When Christ shall appear, then shall we also appear. — He shepherds “not by compulsion” who, setting himself before those under him as an “example” of well-doing, spurs on his disciples to a zeal for their Teacher in their dealings with one another. And he is free of “shameful gain” who does not advance through arrogance and exalt himself over his subordinates, but lives in frugality, if one does not seek after costly garments and a table to match—things which produce arrogance and the supply that comes from base gain. By “portion” he means the sacred body of the Church; and by adding “becoming examples to the flock,” he means not to shepherd by compulsion. In the phrase “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear,” the “and” stands as a causal conjunction, in the sense of “in order that”; for the “and” is equivalent to: that, “when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive the crown” of incorruption. — Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.[3] The word “be clothed” stands for: wrap yourselves about, put on; or gird up, tuck up.

1 Pet. 5:6–7. Humble yourselves, then, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your anxiety upon him, because he cares for you. By “due time” he means the fitting time, as David also says: He that shall give his fruit in his season. And the phrase “in due time” is added advisedly; for he defers it to the exaltation in the age to come, which alone is the true exaltation, as being unchangeable and everlasting. For the exaltation here is neither secure nor sure, but is brought low sooner than it is raised. Of this humbling, which produces exaltation, the Lord himself also says: Every one that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted; and, Whoever will be first among you, let him be last of all. And he hinted, by the phrase “in due time,” as we have said, that the exaltation which comes from humbling is promised for the age to come. For the season of unchangeable things is in the age to come. Then, taking away the fear that attends humbling, he says: Be not afraid, having cast all your care upon the Lord. For to Him it is a concern, that is, the care of all these things rests upon Him.

1 Pet. 5:8–9. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith. Upon those who are wont to sleep in the spiritual sense—and this means to gape after vain things—and who thereby weigh down the soul’s sobriety, the wicked beast of despair sets itself. Therefore, guarding against this, the disciple of Christ exhorts us to be ever watchful, and to be on guard against the sower of the tares, lest, while we sleep—that is, while we live carelessly and slothfully—he secretly sow evil thoughts and thus lead one truly astray from life.[4] For he does not cease, Peter says, to go about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Concerning such relentless plotting, Justin the holy martyr too, setting forth the cause of the devil’s assiduous cunning, says that before the coming of the Lord the devil did not so plainly know the force of his own punishment—since the divine prophets had declared it only in riddling fashion (as Isaiah, under the person of the Assyrian, dramatized in tragic strain and so veiled the whole drama touching the devil)—but that, once the Lord had come and it was plainly made known that the eternal fire was laid up and prepared for the devil and his angels, he ceases not to plot against the faithful, wishing to have many partners in his own apostasy, that he may not be put to shame alone in bearing it, propping himself up with this cold and envious consolation.[5]Knowing that the same afflictions of sufferings are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. It seems that those to whom Peter wrote these things were held fast by many afflictions for Christ’s sake; and throughout the Epistle, above and below, he consoles them in this matter: there, by their becoming partakers of the Lord’s sufferings and heirs of the glory that is revealed; here, by their not suffering alone, but together with all the faithful throughout the world.

1 Pet. 5:10–11. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you, establish you, strengthen you, and ground you. To him be the glory and the dominion, forever and ever. Amen. Both at the beginning of the Epistle he said that the Father had shown us mercy through the Son, and now, in concluding, he teaches that the same Father has called us through the Son; for this is their aim, to proclaim the mystery, even though they do this together with exhortation.

1 Pet. 5:12–14. By Silvanus, a faithful brother to you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein you stand. The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, salutes you; and so does Marcus my son. Greet you one another with a kiss of love. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.[6] Exceedingly faithful was this Silvanus, and he strove eagerly for the preaching of the Gospel, seeing that Paul also makes mention of him and takes him as a fellow-worker together with Timothy in his Epistles, writing: Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus. — And he names Rome “Babylon,” on account of the renown which Babylon too possessed for a long time; and by “elect” he means the Church of God that was established in Rome. By “Marcus” he means the Evangelist, whom he also calls “son” according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh. To him also he entrusted the writing of the Gospel. And whereas Paul, writing “Salute one another,” says “with an holy kiss,” this man says “with a kiss of love,” meaning the same thing as Paul. For Paul too knows that love according to the Lord is greater than all the virtues, and greater even than martyrdom for Christ’s sake. The one, then, says “an holy kiss,” that is, the kiss in God; and this one says “a kiss of love,” the kiss of true love. Therefore he also adds: Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus; not speaking of the common peace that is among men, but he prays that they may attain that peace which Christ also vouchsafed to them as He went forth to His Passion, saying: Peace I leave with you; and adding the difference, not as the world gives. For we must be at peace not through carnal passion, but because, being bound together by love, we may thus await the darts of the adversaries. And everywhere the disciples of the Lord, setting their closing prayer like a seal at the end, and so displaying the genuineness of their own holiness—some of those before us ventured to declare this Mark to be the son of the divine Peter[7], taking as evidence what is said by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, that this Peter, when he had been marvelously cast out of the prison by an angel of God into which Herod had thrown him, and was released from the angel’s charge, came to the house of the mother of John whose surname was Mark; as though he had returned to his own house and to the wife who bore the same name.[8]

The First Catholic Epistle of the Apostle Peter; written from Rome; 216 stichoi.[9]

[1] Translator’s note: The vulgata lectio reads the present “becoming” for “being made” (ensamples), and omits “And” in 5:5; neither affects the sense translated.

[2] Translator’s note: Migne offers the conjecture “it is right that you should not exalt yourselves”; the translation follows it.

[3] The closing clause, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble,” is Proverbs 3:34 LXX.

[4] Translator’s note: The Greek of the final clause is corrupt in Migne; the sense given is “and thereby lead one truly astray from life.”

[5] The veiled prophecy of Isaiah under the person of the Assyrian is Isaiah 14; “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” is Matthew 25:41. The citation of Justin Martyr is from his Dialogue with Trypho.

[6] Translator’s note: “Church” is an editorial supplement in 5:13, where the Greek has only “she that is at Babylon, elected together with you”; the implied subject is the Church.

[7] Translator’s note: Migne secludes [καὶ σαρκικὸν] (“and carnal”) here; the translation omits the secluded words—the sense being that some ventured to make Mark the (bodily) son of Peter, whereas Peter calls him “my son” spiritually (1 Pet 5:13).

[8] Translator’s note: Migne offers the conjecture “of those before us” (ἡμῶν) for “of those before you” (ὑμῶν); the translation follows it.

[9] Translator’s note: στίχων σιϚ´ = 216 stichoi (scribal lines), a colophon line-count used to gauge a manuscript’s length and a scribe’s pay—not a count of biblical verses.

Commentary on the Second Epistle of Peter

Introduction

A Farewell Letter

The Church has received this second letter, like the first, as the Apostle Peter’s own—written, on its own testimony, as he sensed his death drawing near, and meant to fix in his readers’ memory the teaching they had already received from him, so that after his departure they would have something to hold to. Its authorship has been debated since antiquity, largely on grounds of style; Theophylact shows no awareness of the question and reads the letter throughout as Peter’s own testament, and that is how his commentary treats it here. Where the first epistle addressed believers under the pressure of external hostility, this shorter, more urgent letter turns inward, toward a danger the community was generating on its own: false teachers rising up within the church itself, denying the reality of Christ’s promised return and using that denial to excuse a life of unrestrained appetite.

Guarding Against False Teachers

The letter’s central chapter is a sustained warning, drawing heavily on the same material Jude uses independently: the fallen angels, the flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, all cited as precedents for a God who both judges the wicked and rescues the righteous out of trial. Against teachers who mock the promise of Christ’s coming—“where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were”—Peter answers that a single day is with the Lord as a thousand years, that the delay is patience toward sinners rather than the world’s abandonment, and that the day will come nonetheless, sudden as a thief, with the created order itself dissolved and renewed. Theophylact follows this argument closely, treating the scoffers’ complaint as a permanent temptation for any generation whose expectation outlasts its patience, not merely a problem confined to the apostolic age.

Partakers of the Divine Nature

Before any of this, though, the letter opens with one of the boldest single statements in the New Testament: that God’s divine power has granted believers “exceedingly great and precious promises,” so that through them they might become “partakers of the divine nature,” having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Theophylact does not soften the claim into metaphor. He reads it as the ground of the whole Christian life that follows—the foundation on which Peter then builds his call to add virtue to faith, knowledge to virtue, and so on up through the list of graces to love—and he explains it through the mystery of the incarnation itself: it is because the Lord took up the first fruits of human nature into himself and sanctified it that believers, joined to him, come to share in what is his by nature and theirs only by gift. “If the first-fruits are holy,” Theophylact writes, “so also is the lump.” This is the seed of what later ages would call theosis, the deification of the human person through grace, and Theophylact treats it not as a poetic flourish but as the doctrinal hinge on which the letter’s entire moral exhortation turns: growth in virtue is not self-improvement pursued for its own sake but the outworking, in a life, of a nature already given a share in God.

How to Read This Commentary

A short letter, written under the shadow of an apostle’s approaching death, asks to be read with that urgency in view. Theophylact keeps the letter’s two halves in constant conversation with each other: the doctrine of the opening chapter is not detached theology but the very reason the moral warnings that follow carry such weight, since a nature already made a partaker of God’s own has everything to lose by surrendering to the teachers Peter condemns. Read as Theophylact reads it, the letter’s trajectory—from the height of divine promise, through the danger of corruption from within, to the certainty of a coming judgment and a renewed creation—is less a miscellany of concerns than a single arc, drawn by an apostle intent on leaving his last word to the churches in the right order.

Chapter 1

Argument of the Second Epistle of Peter. Peter himself writes this also to those who have already believed. The Epistle is a reminder of the former things. For knowing that the putting off of his body would be swift, he was earnest to remind them all concerning the teaching in which they had been instructed. And first he expounds concerning the faith, showing that it was proclaimed beforehand by the prophets, and that the prophecies concerning the Savior are not human, but were spoken from God. Then he charges them not to give heed to those who deceive, saying that their destruction will come, as it also came upon the angels who transgressed. He foretells in the Epistle that there will be days in which mockers will walk about and will wish to deceive some, saying that the coming of the Savior is proclaimed by us in vain, because it is always being spoken of and has not yet come to pass. From these especially, therefore, he charges them to keep away, teaching them not to grow careless in the meantime. For all time is as nothing before the Lord, since one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. He firmly affirms and demonstrates that the day of the Lord will come swiftly, and he commands that all be ready for it in good works, and that they love what was written by the apostle Paul, and not give heed to those who slander these writings—since such men slander all the divine Scriptures as well. Having reminded and taught them all to know these matters beforehand, he exhorts them not to fall away from the aim of the faith; and so he brings the Epistle to its close.

Chapter-headings of this same Second Epistle.
1. Concerning the calling that is confirmed in faith by the works of virtue, and concerning the hope of the good things to come.
2. An exhortation to the remembrance of the teaching after his departure. And how on Mount Tabor he heard the voice of God concerning Christ.
3. The foretelling of the deceitful uprising of heretics, and of their impiety and coming punishment.
4. A recapitulation concerning the wickedness of heretical men. Wherein: first, that Christ will come suddenly at the consummation of this age; second, that one must therefore make oneself ready with every virtue.

2 Pet. 1:1. Symeon Peter and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal honor with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.[1] The name Simon is the diminutive of Symeon, as Metras is of Metrodorus, Menas of Menodorus, and Theudas of Theodosius. From the very outset he raises up the minds and souls of believers, stirring them to the same zeal for the preaching that the apostles had. For those who have obtained a grace of equal honor would not justly (or: would not, being equal,) fall short in any of those things in which they have been shown to be equals. Everywhere he girds them about with peace, which Christ also bestowed when he rose from the dead and went up to the Father, crying, Peace be to you. And in the Church we too pray that the angel of peace may be given. And the priest bestows this on the people from the holy altar, for it is the mother of all good things. Therefore the Lord also charged his own disciples to bestow this first when entering houses.

2 Pet. 1:2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord. The sense, in order, is this: To you who have obtained a faith of equal honor with us in the knowledge of God and of Christ Jesus our Lord, through the righteousness of our God, grace and peace be multiplied.

2 Pet. 1:3–4. Seeing that his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue; whereby are granted to us the precious and exceedingly great promises. The sense, in order, is this: Grace and peace to you, inasmuch as all things that pertain to life and godliness, in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, have been granted to you by his divine power, which bestowed this grace upon you to the knowledge of his glory and virtue—whereby the greatest promises have been granted—that, having escaped the corruption of the world which comes through lust, you might become partakers of the divine nature. Otherwise: the construction runs at length, but the sense is this: Inasmuch as we have received countless good things through the power of Christ, we are able to become partakers also of the divine nature and to be raised to life and godliness; we ought so to order our lives as to add virtue to faith, and through virtue to advance in godliness, until we come to the perfection of good things, which is love. And we became partakers of the divine nature through the sojourning of the Lord and God, who took up the first-fruits of our nature in himself and sanctified it by the assumption. And if the first-fruits are holy, so also is the lump. By corruption he means that which comes from worldly lust, as being composed of corruptible things and concerned with corruptible things.

2 Pet. 1:4. That through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world in lust. The sense, in order, is this: That, being delivered from the corruption that is in the world, which is accomplished in fleshly lust, you might become partakers of the divine nature. For having escaped stands for having been delivered.

2 Pet. 1:5–7. And for this very reason, bringing in all diligence, supply in your faith virtue, and in virtue knowledge, and in knowledge self-control, and in self-control patience, and in patience godliness, and in godliness brotherly love, and in brotherly love charity. He knows the degrees of advancement: first, faith, which is the foundation and groundwork of good things; then second, virtue—that is, works; for without these faith is dead, as James says. Upon these comes knowledge. And what is this? The discernment of the hidden mysteries of God, which does not lodge with just anyone, but with him who has trained his habit through better works. Upon these comes self-control. For this too is needed by him who has come to the measure of knowledge, lest he grow insolent at the greatness of the gift. And since one cannot keep the gift secure by self-control in a short time—the passions ever loving, when freedom restrains them, to be drawn on to the worse—patience, coming in, accomplished the whole, and procured godliness, perfecting the trust toward God. Therefore to godliness was added brotherly love, and upon all the fullness of all good things, love, as it seems both to Paul and to the truth. For love constrained both the Son of God and his Father: the Father, to give his beloved Son; the Son, to pour out his blood for us.[2]

2 Pet. 1:8. For if these things are yours and abound, they make you neither idle nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. These things—which? Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly love, charity; which must not only be present, but also abound. For if their presence profits, much more their abundance. And what is the profit from them, but to have boldness toward the second coming of the Lord? For upon the one who does not have these, when the Judge comes in glory and flashes like the sun, blindness follows; since even if his sight were sound, not even so could he gaze undisturbed upon that surpassing brightness, for what shines too exceedingly with light naturally (dims the eyes of those who can bear it but feebly).

2 Pet. 1:9–10. For he in whom these things are not present is blind, shortsighted, having forgotten the cleansing of his former sins. Therefore the rather, brethren, be diligent to make your calling and election sure. To be shortsighted is said for to be blind, from the moles under the earth that remain wholly blind. And this is like what was said by the blessed James, that If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man beholding the face of his birth in a mirror. For this man too, having come to know himself through being cleansed by holy baptism—that he was washed from a multitude of sins—ought to have known that, having been cleansed and having received holiness, he should be sober, that thereby he might keep the sanctification without which no one shall see the Lord; but he forgot it. Therefore the rather, he says, my brethren, be diligent, showing your calling and election to be abiding—that is, the catechetical word which you heard at your election—and to be without reproach in your calling, lest you be judged as having forgotten the gift of God, but rather remain holding your calling sure.

2 Pet. 1:10–11. For doing these things, you shall never stumble. For so an entrance shall be richly supplied to you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore I will not be negligent always to put you in remembrance of these things. Doing these things—which? The aforesaid: namely, virtue, knowledge, and the rest. And observe how, having first exhorted them from the more fearful things—the tribunal of the Judge—he now exhorts them from the good things, the entrance into the eternal kingdom of God.

2 Pet. 1:12–14. Though you know these things and are established in the present truth. Yet I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle is swift, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. Lest, being continually reminded of the same things, they should think they were hearing these things as men condemned to idleness, and be grieved, he added, Though you know these things and are established in the present truth. And, giving the reason for his continual reminding, he added that he knew the departure from this body of his would be swift.

2 Pet. 1:15. Moreover I will be diligent that you may always have these things, and that after my departure you may keep them in remembrance. Some, taking this in a transposed order—as, I will be diligent that even after my departure you may always have (that is, daily and continually) the remembrance of these things—wish to establish from it that even after death the saints remember those here, and intercede on behalf of the living, since those who call upon their divine grace are not outside the faith that plainly sees this happening day by day. So those, in this way. But others wish to take the saying simply about this, and to understand it thus: that I will be diligent that after my departure you may always have the remembrance of these things means, for this reason I am continually pressing upon you, chanting the same things to you, that, having formed in you a habit concerning these matters—and not a condemnation of disobedience and ignorance—you may have, by the constancy and unshakableness of your grasp of them, even after my departure from life, the ordinances concerning these things sure and indelible.

2 Pet. 1:16. For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Having said that they ought to be most earnest about the things he had preached to them, and having stretched out his discourse at length about this—though they knew it and had heard it variously—he now says: It is not in vain that I show my diligence about these things, but knowing their critical importance, I do not hold back from it. And what is this? Not to have used human wisdom toward us (or: you), and, by bewitching your hearing with embellished words, to have made known to you the power and coming of the Lord—as the Greeks and the heretics do: the Greeks, attending to beauty and to poems, deceiving; the heretics, by their fabrications. For it is likely that even then they were already beginning to spring up. Nothing of the kind, then, can be discerned among us; for with plain speech we made our teaching to you, as Paul also says to the Corinthians—and the things we held from our own eyewitness, we who went up with him on the holy mountain. He means the glory shown to them in the Transfiguration by the Only-begotten, and the voice which they heard borne from heaven by the Father on account of the Lord. And since through the events we came to know the things foretold beforehand by the prophets, we judge, he says, their prophecy the more sure through these. For the events followed upon the words. Therefore you also do well to give heed to the prophecy, that is, to the things spoken beforehand by the prophets, even if they were spoken dimly by the prophets at that time.[3]

2 Pet. 1:17. For, having received from God the Father honor and glory. This he set down either in place of a finite verb—having received, for he received—since the sequel of the participle does not, by the rule of the construction of the discourse, carry the apodosis into a finite verb. Or, if not this, but if one will not here take having received as that man does, then by the participle the discourse will necessarily slip into something unconstrued; but if having received is taken as standing for the finite he received, the following clause will be consistent: as, For he received from God the Father glory.

2 Pet. 1:17–18. When such a voice was borne to him by the majestic glory: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice we heard borne from heaven, being with him on the holy mountain. Not that there is any prophecy from above concerning the voice borne by the Father; but that, from the Father’s voice from above bearing witness to the Sonship, we were made firm that all the oracular utterance through the prophets refers, beyond contradiction, to him who is witnessed to by the Father. Three times we know our Lord Jesus Christ to have been witnessed as Son by the Father: at the baptism; in the Passion, in the words I have glorified it, and will glorify it again; and on the mountain.

2 Pet. 1:19. And we have the prophetic word more sure, to which you do well to give heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn and the morning star arise in your hearts. Giving heed, he says, to these things spoken by the prophets, you will not miss the hope. For when the events come to pass each in its own season (which he also called day, persisting in the figure; for he said lamp, and a place, namely dark, which is also night)—when the day comes, that is, the coming of the events, you will have the morning star rising in your hearts; that is, the coming of Christ, foretold beforehand by the prophets, and brightening your hearts as a true light.

2 Pet. 1:20–21. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture comes of its own interpretation. For prophecy was never brought by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were borne along by the Holy Spirit. The prophets knew both the things they were inspired with by the prophetic Spirit and the subject of them; yet not exactly so, nor as it was fulfilled in each particular. Therefore they also desired to see the outcome, as the Lord foretold. And he explains why the prophets did not interpret the things spoken by them. And by this he also distinguishes true prophecy from the demonic and counterfeit kind, which is found also among the heretics. That no prophecy of Scripture comes of its own interpretation means this: that the prophets receive their prophecy from God, yet not as those men wish, but as the divine Spirit works; and they knew and understood the prophetic word sent down to them, yet they did not make its interpretation. And that the prophets, being worked upon by God, knew that the word is sent down to them from the divine Spirit, is plain: for they ministered willingly, and what they wished they spoke, and what they did not wish, they kept silent—which is not so with the false prophets. For these did not know in their being worked upon, but, becoming frenzied with madness, were ignorant of what they suffered, like men drunk. The holy prophets, on the contrary, although they knew, had no need to interpret their own utterances, but ministered them to others (for to us, he says, and at the same time also) that the coming of the Lord might not be hidden, nor be plotted against by the ungodly. For when plotted against, it was able to escape, through the power of the Lord. But it is likely that, the escape sometimes happening through marvelous means, what was accomplished of the Incarnation seemed prodigious. And that this is true is plain from the prophets in the New Covenant, who also interpreted themselves when prophesying—if not all of them—for there was no suspicion of any such thing in the New. But that the prophets did not utter their oracles in ecstasy is plain from this also. For since those in the Old and in the New prophesied from one Spirit, Paul says, But if anything be revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For it is clear from this that the prophets, standing in their natural state, prophesied willingly. Therefore, when another rose up inspired, the first who was speaking was permitted to be silent—which one could not find in the case of madmen. For how shall he be silent who does not even know what he is doing? And that there is an energy of the Holy Spirit in the prophets, Paul himself says, declaring, To one is given the word of wisdom, and to another prophecy.

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact’s lemma reads Συμεών (“Symeon”) and lacks δοῦλος (“servant”) found in the received text; “Symeon” is kept because the comment immediately glosses “Simon” as its diminutive.

[2] Translator’s note: Migne col. 1257 prints this verb over-inked; read as ἐξεβιάσατο, “constrained/compelled,” supported by the facing Latin, “huic quidem ut Filium suum dilectum nobis daret.”

[3] Translator’s note: The clause “borne from heaven by the Father” bridges the column break (PG cols 1261→1264), echoing 2 Peter 1:18.

Chapter 2

2 Pet. 2:1–3. But there were also false prophets among that people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who shall bring in heresies of destruction, and denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their licentious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be blasphemed. And through covetousness shall they make merchandise of you with fabricated words. By false teachers he means the followers of Nicolaus and of Cerinthus. And since the name of prophecy is applied in common both to the prophets and to the false prophets, he now makes them secure, that they should not give heed to the false prophets. And what makes the distinction, Paul taught, that No one says “Lord Jesus” except in the Holy Spirit. And from here he begins his assault upon the heresy of the Nicolaitans, saying that their wickedness is twofold. For they are most impious concerning doctrines, which he showed by their blasphemy against the Master Christ; and concerning life, most licentious. And this he also sets forth now through their foul deeds; but going on a little further, he will bring it out more plainly. For in saying covetousness now, he signified their base love of gain. For covetousness sometimes signifies injustice, and sometimes simply base gain. Hence fittingly he added to make merchandise; and, alienating them utterly from the divine teaching, he said that they use fabricated words. But they shall have, he says, the wages of impiety—death. And the word of old is significant of the foreknowledge of God. And just as for the good he foreknowingly prepared good things, so also for the wicked the place suited to them. For their judgment of old does not linger.

2 Pet. 2:3. Whose judgment of old does not linger, and their destruction does not slumber. Not simply does he proceed from the more honored cases, but wishing to show that these men, in sinning, are the more liable to judgment. Since, then, these men too have the more honored standing—as having been called first to apostleship, yet having turned aside from the straight way—they shall have the greater condemnation too. Having raised hypothetically the exemplary proof, he did not render the consequence of the figure, but mingled the example with the assumption of the righteous. And while he ought to have made the apodosis upon what was first set forth—that is, concerning those who sinned, for whose sake also the example was given—and to say, If he did not spare these, will he then spare the licentious men of the present? (by way of denial: Much more will he not spare these either)—he does not do this. Why? Because this apodosis is found, when two examples are set forth, of the good and of the evil, to apply to the evil alone, and no longer to the good as well; for evils are not requited to the good. In cases, then, where a single apodosis did not suffice to complete what was set forth, he managed it otherwise in the phrasing, and by an exclamation accomplished what was owed. And why does he add to the evil the examples of the good? It shall be told in the fitting place. As, then, we have said in anticipation, neither does the sense follow the prior matters according to the figure of the apparent discourse. For the apodosis that is wont to follow such constructions does not here apply; but there is a simple exemplary proof, both of those punished for sin and of those honored for righteousness. As if he were saying: God knows both how to punish without sparing, inexorably, those who live in sins—as the angels that sinned, as at the Flood, as the cities of Sodom—and again how to honor those who work righteousness, as Noah, as Lot. And the construction is of this kind: Having said that the false teachers shall be punished for their blasphemies and for their licentious life, he brings in the examples: For God did not spare the angels that sinned, nor the ancient world. And again he expounds those who practiced righteousness, that he preserved both Noah and Lot for their chastity from the destruction of the men of their time. For Noah was not carried away by the impiety of those before the Flood; and Lot, having in no way emulated the licentiousness of those in Sodom, but rather, when the angels in the form of men were lodged with him, did not deliver them up to those who demanded them for licentiousness—although he was outraged in countless ways by those who demanded them. For this he indicated by the word oppressed.

2 Pet. 2:4–9. For if God did not spare the angels that sinned, but, casting them into Tartarus with chains of darkness, delivered them up to be kept to judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, the eighth person, a herald of righteousness, bringing a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with overthrow, reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who should afterward live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the conduct of the lawless in licentiousness—for that righteous man, dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, day by day vexed his righteous soul with their unlawful deeds—the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unjust to the day of judgment to be punished. This too he says concerning Lot: The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and what follows. And having said nothing beforehand concerning the righteous, but only concerning the ungodly and their punishment, he inserted the examples of these also: first, because history records together both the destruction of the ungodly and the salvation of the righteous; then, because by the comparison of these—exalting the evil of those who sinned, making bright the good deeds of those who did well; and further, persuading the hearers, on the one hand, to hate licentiousness because of the punishments, and on the other, to draw to themselves the good deed because of the salvation.

2 Pet. 2:10. But chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise lordship. From here, deftly, from the foregoing examples, he came to the present subject. He speaks concerning the accursed Nicolaitans, and Naasenes, and Cerdonians. For their wickedness is of many names, and is found confused (in foul deeds, so also in names). For these men, as we have already said, having posited Bythos (Depth) and Sige (Silence) as the primal sources of the world’s generation, and having spun monstrous tales of certain mothers and aeons from these—as did Marcion also, who took evil seeds from them—then, putting away through these the Dominions of the world’s creation, and casting off all reverence, went off without fear into every fleshly uncleanness. And if anyone wishes to learn about these things, taking in hand the book composed about them by Irenaeus the Celt (or: of the Celt), entitled Against Knowledge Falsely So Called, he will find their sins—above all through Mark the most licentious, and the women corrupted by him—and the other unlawful deeds done by the rest, which one could not set forth even in writing, since they harm even through the memory. For those who, out of contempt, do not fear lordship—what wonder, if they went off without fear into every wickedness? The apostle Jude, the blessed one, will speak about these things more plainly, where he also makes mention of the body of Moses. For he himself now only struck upon it in passing, touching and at the same time breaking off the discourse about it. From him, then, and taking the occasions from the matters before us, they have made use of them.

2 Pet. 2:10–11. Presumptuous, self-willed, they do not tremble to blaspheme glories. One must supply who they are. And they do not tremble at glories stands for contemptuously they are not afraid to blaspheme every glory.

2 Pet. 2:11. Whereas angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not bring against them a blasphemous judgment before the Lord. Wishing to restrain them from their boldness in these matters, he says, Whereas angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not bring against them a blasphemous judgment before the Lord—saying the same as the blessed Jude, as we said; since he too, in chastising the loose talk of certain men, makes his admonition from the same example. More fully, however, in what he says: But Michael the archangel, and so forth, did not dare to bring a blasphemous judgment. Such a thing, then, Peter too wishes to say now: that these wretched men have nothing of restraint in blaspheming glories, whereas not even the angels themselves, being greater in power and strength—namely than these abominable men—do not bring, that is, do not put forward against them, concerning the glories, a blasphemous judgment before the Lord. For since the devil too partakes of some glory, by reason of being the first of God’s creation, the angel did not utter a blasphemous word against him. For if the one more worthy to be blasphemed—I mean the devil—nevertheless, because he partakes of glory, did not meet with this from Michael before the Lord, then those who readily blaspheme glories, being borne far behind the honor of the angels, could in no way be sober. By glories he means the divine powers, or also the ecclesiastical authorities, against whom these blasphemers continually set themselves.

2 Pet. 2:12–13. But these, as irrational animals, born by nature for capture and corruption, blaspheming in the things they do not understand, shall utterly perish in their own corruption; receiving the wages of unrighteousness, counting it pleasure to revel in the daytime. Some expounded this thus: As irrational animals born by nature, they shall be corrupted in their own corruption—that is, differing in nothing from beasts, which came into being only for corruption. As irrational animals by nature—that is, living by sense alone, not by mind and the intellectual life; therefore also easily captured by the round of corruptible life, led and carried about by anger and lust. In the things they do not understand—that is, blaspheming in the ignorance proper to them—they shall be corrupted in the corruption they deserve, receiving the wages of unrighteousness, which they willingly procured for themselves. Counting it pleasure to revel in the daytime. That which is truly desirable, and the true and lovely gladness and pleasure, they place in the daily enjoyment of the gullet. One must note, however, that the divine Scripture, when it reproaches the things naturally present in men—that is, the things present as in animals—likens them to the irrational beasts, saying, Man, being in honor, did not understand; he was compared to the senseless beasts, and was made like them; and, Do not be as the horse and the mule; and, They became as lust-maddened stallions; and, Be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves; not transforming the natures by saying these things, but only exhorting men to turn aside their natural impulses. But when it commands something for salvation, it sends the likeness up to the better things; as, Be merciful, as your Father who is in heaven. Neither here does it transform the natures, but commands them to do this so far as their strength allows.

2 Pet. 2:13–16. Spots and blemishes, reveling in their deceits while they feast together with us; having eyes full of an adulteress and of unceasing sin; enticing unsteadfast souls; having a heart trained in covetousness; children of a curse; who, forsaking the straight way, have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. But he had a rebuke for his own transgression: a dumb beast of burden, speaking with a man’s voice, restrained the madness of the prophet.[1] The sense, in order, is this: Spots and blemishes, having a heart trained in covetousness (that is, trained by covetousness), children of a curse, feasting together with you; having eyes full of an adulteress and of unceasing sin, they entice unsteadfast souls—whom Paul also called little women laden with sins; and these same men, forsaking the straight way, went the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, and so forth. Their voices are waterless springs, clouds vanishing away by the storm, and so forth. And for what cause is the gloom laid up for them to the age to come? Because of their swollen vanity, by which they entice those who formerly were turned about in error, drawing them back into that very relapse—into licentiousness and into the lusts of the flesh—so that they return like a dog to its own vomit. The intervening clauses are declarations and confirmations of their vanity. And the sense is this: Having nothing that pertains to purity, but, like spots fastening on a clean garment, fastening on the unsullied way of life, when they have deceived some and have been able to make their companions and women licentious in other ways, they count the deed a delight, fulfilling their own licentiousness. And in feasting together with you, they do this not out of love, he says, nor for the sharing of bread, but because they find this an opportune time for their deceit toward women. For these, having eyes, look at nothing else but adulteresses; and looking and sinning unceasingly in this, as children of a curse, they entice unsteadfast souls. For their heart has been trained for nothing else but covetousness (that is, of licentiousness and of possessions, for the sake of which), having forsaken both these and the way that guides them to salvation, they went astray from it, suffering the same thing as Balaam the son of Bosor; since he too, for bribery and the wages of unrighteousness, loved these things. And he had as a rebuke of his own transgression a dumb beast of burden, which, speaking with a man’s voice, restrained the madness of the prophet. From this we learn that, because of his natural passion which Balaam fostered through his frenzied sorcery, having once been hindered by God, he was eager a second time, in contentiousness, to go to Balak; and being bound by the fear of God and by the terrors along the way, he did not pervert the word of blessing—which was not a matter of divination. For the prophets, knowing, utter what they utter. Therefore he also called him a prophet, as one who knew what he uttered. For he would not have been in the choice of the better things, being ignorant of what he uttered. The blessing, then, was not of divination, but of the power of God.[2]

2 Pet. 2:17–19. These are waterless springs, clouds driven by a tempest, for whom the gloom of darkness is kept to the age. For uttering swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, in licentious ways, those who were truly escaping from those who live in error. Promising them liberty, while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whatever a man is overcome, to that he is also enslaved. Having digressed at length, in the course of which he brought forward the example of Balaam, he took up again the discourse concerning the unclean Gnostics. And he likens them to waterless springs, as having lost the pure and drinkable water of life that belongs to the preaching; but he also compares them to clouds driven by a wind—the wind of the adversary; therefore he also called it a tempest, as whirling about and confounding that which is driven. They are not, then, he says, translucent clouds, like the saints, but mists full of gloom; and as to why, he added the cause: that they utter swelling words out of vanity, enticing through fleshly lust, in licentious ways, those who had truly and once for all escaped the people who formerly lived in error, and had thereafter been brought under the Lord. But also, he says, being themselves slaves of the aforesaid uncleanness, which he justly calls also corruption, they promise liberty to those they deceive; therefore he adds a marvelous argument, that they are slaves of sin. For by whatever a man is overcome—by what passion—to that he is also enslaved. They themselves promise liberty to others. This will be known more fully through what follows.

2 Pet. 2:20–22. For if, having escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returning to its own vomit, and a sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. By the foregoing he establishes two things: that the one overcome must of necessity serve the one who overcomes; and that those who, after the knowledge of the truth, are again held fast by their former ways, have fallen into evils worse than the former. And to these he adds the proverb as a witness. The discourse runs thus: For if, having escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome by them, they assuredly also serve them, and have become, in respect of slavery to them, worse than before the knowledge—Satan zealously striving to bring them round to worse things. Therefore the Apostle also says that, since this lies in store for those who sing the recantation of evils, it would have been better for them not to have known at all than, having known, to be taken in worse things; since a dog too, returning to its own vomit, is the more abominable, just as also a sow seeking to roll, when it does this in the mire, appears more filthy than its former filth.

[1] Translator’s note: The lemma reads συνευωχούμενοι ἡμῖν (“feasting with us”), rendered above; Theophylact’s restatement in the comment reads ὑμῖν (“with you”).

[2] Translator’s note: The lemma’s closing image (the dog returning to its vomit) recurs at 2 Pet 2:22, where Migne cites Proverbs 26:11; see chapter-2 ¶10.

Chapter 3

2 Pet. 3:1–2. This second epistle, beloved, I now write to you, in both of which I stir up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you may be mindful of the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of your apostles of the Lord and Savior. From this we learn that Peter’s epistles are two in all. And the phrase in both of which I stir you up means this: In which epistles—that is, through which epistles—I stir up the sincere mind in you. For it belongs to a pure mind to be mindful of the saving things already heard or laid up, and to be stirred up to the renewal of the working of them with all power and eagerness. And they were laid up through the proclamations of the prophets and the apostles. Therefore Paul also says, Built on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets. For all of them proclaimed the coming of the Lord; and it is not possible to disbelieve so many witnesses. And why, he says, do I speak of prophets and apostles? Because they proclaimed both the first and the second coming of the Lord himself, our Savior. And the construction is thus: To be mindful of the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets, of the commandment of your apostles, of the commandment of the Lord and Savior. For the preposition by applies in common. And as to why he urges that this remembrance be rekindled, he adds that those who live according to the passions, after their own lusts, seeing some who fear the coming of the Lord—which he, with other God-bearing men and the Lord himself, foretold—and on its account setting aside their unseemly way of life; and chiefly because the experience does not come hard upon the heels of the words, but is prolonged for the sake of the salvation of those written in the book of the saved—these men fasten shamelessly upon believers, mocking them.

2 Pet. 3:3–4. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last of the days mockers, walking after their own lusts, and saying: Where is the promise of his coming? For since our fathers fell asleep, all things continue thus from the beginning of creation. For this they willingly fail to know. That the experience of the Lord’s coming does not follow hard upon the heels of the words, he says, is for the sake of the salvation of the many who are enrolled in the book of the living—yet they fasten upon believers as mockers, jeering and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? Through this, then—the coming not yet having arrived, for the reasons we have stated—it is not right also to disobey the other saving commandments of the Lord, being dragged headlong by the counsels of evildoers. Now these things the Gnostics of those times—that is, the Naasenes, and Lampetians, and Euchites—prated. He says that all these willingly fail to know; for of their own will they shut their eyes to the truth. And what is it that escapes them? That, just as at the Flood there were heavens, according to the account of Moses’ antiquity, out of water (for he says that God himself commanded a firmament to come to be in the midst of the water), and the earth likewise, holding together out of the waters by his command, being wholly submerged for them, and as the heaven and earth consisted of waters, the Flood came upon them unexpectedly—so also now corruption is laid up for the whole through fire, with which the ungodly too shall perish. For there being two most cohesive elements of the whole, water and fire, from which the two other elements take their being—air being seen when waters are vaporized, earth when waters are condensed, its generation being as from fire and from condensation, with none of the sensible doubting it (for the nature of fire received this power from God the Maker)—there being, then, two, and the former corruption of the ungodly having come through the waters, it is wholly necessary, he says, that the corruption of the ungodly come about through fire.

2 Pet. 3:5. For of this they are willingly ignorant, that the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and through water, by the word of God. Out of water, as from a material cause; through water, as through a final cause. For water is what holds the earth together, binding fast its dust as with glue, and providing it with subsistence. For if not for this, it must needs dissolve into dust and be turned to air. But someone, talking foolishly, will perhaps assail us: Why, then, did God, when he gave the visible world its subsistence, not make it stable from the beginning—from which there would be need to restore it to the right state, once by the Flood in the time of Noah, and at the consummation by fire, as Peter now says? To this we shall say that it is not possible for it to be unchangeable. For how should that be unchangeable which received its being out of change? For it was brought from non-being into being—which no sensible man will deny is alteration. And since the alteration advanced to the worst, being mixed up with the worse, the Maker of it, necessarily leading it back to the better, made the cleansing in Noah’s time through water, and at the consummation through fire. For we too are accustomed to smelt materials with fire, not that we may give them non-existence, but that we may bestow on them what is pure and unalloyed; and this no one will disbelieve. In the same way God also promised to act through fire at the consummation; for it destroys the superfluous things, and those that contribute nothing to human constitution—such as plants, cattle, herbage. These superfluous things, then, shall be destroyed for the sake of the incorruptible life. Since, then, these things are so, those talk in vain who seek that this visible world should not have been incorruptible from the beginning. If this is so, let one not suppose it should be reckoned also of the intellectual essence—since it too was brought forth out of things that were not—but he does not yet understand how that simplicity procures imperishability and the being ranked near the blessed and divine nature in its existence.

2 Pet. 3:6. By which the world that then was, being flooded with water, perished.[1] Through the heaven and the earth: the earth flooding it with water, and the heaven loosing its cataracts of water upon the earth. And the word perished—do not understand it of the whole world, but only of the living creatures, which give form, as it were, to the whole world. For when bereft of these, it would no longer be a world.

2 Pet. 3:7. But the heavens and the earth which are now, by his word are stored up, kept for fire to the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. That the corruption of the whole comes about through fire seems good not only to Christians, but also to the wise men of the Greeks. But someone will say: And what is the point of its having a subsistence, if the world must again pass into corruption? We shall say, then, that the world will not pass utterly into corruption, but to renewal. Therefore the Prophet also says, And you shall renew the face of the earth. For just as the sensible creation, having received its subsistence from God, is fair; but, because of man’s transgression, the creation itself also was subjected to vanity—that is, to not having its being secure—then through the Flood, there being few God-fearing men on the earth, and the world receiving as it were a second beginning, through Noah and the living creatures preserved in the ark, that seed might again be established for the world; yet even so, the nature of men that had gone before not recovering, but flowing away to things worse than the former—from which neither the law given through Moses turned it back, nor the coming of the Lord—since, then, the calling to salvation is manifold, and the destruction from disobedience is of many kinds, for this reason the deluge of fire shall be necessary: a corruption, indeed, even if not complete; for it is not a corruption of souls, nor even of bodies; for we must all be brought before the judgment seat of Christ—not without bodies, with souls alone, but with incorruptible bodies. For how could the soul be punished, naked of the body, when it receives back the things done through the body? For it is not the part of a just judge, when two have offended together, to release the one, and to lay the whole of the charge upon the other. And besides, because we too are accustomed to cleanse impure materials with fire, and to restore them to purity. And the phrase kept to the day of judgment and destruction—thus the “to the day” is to be taken in common: that is, to the day of judgment, and to the day of destruction. And of judgment stands for of condemnation.

2 Pet. 3:8–9. But of this one thing be not ignorant, beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Having concluded the discourse concerning the consummation—that it will be, both from water and from fire (all of which we too have set forth more at length)—he passed over to the prolonging of the time of the world’s consummation, and says that the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering, awaiting your salvation and the fullness of those to be saved. Inasmuch as he is infinite, nothing is prolonged for him, but even the thousand years are as one day with him; or rather, according to David, not even the smallest fraction of a day (for he says thus, For a thousand years in your eyes, O Lord, are as yesterday, which is past, and as a watch in the night; by the watch indicating the briefest span), having likened the thousand years to a watch of the night. And the night is divided into four intervals, seeing that the Lord also stands by the holy apostles at the fourth watch of the night, as the Gospel says.

2 Pet. 3:10–12. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with burning heat, and the earth and the works in it shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things are being dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be, in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening to the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with burning heat? The uncertainty of the Lord’s coming and its unexpectedness he indicated by the coming of the thief and by the night: by the night, the uncertainty; by the thief, the unexpectedness; for no one who expects a thief will be robbed. Therefore the Lord also says that as in the days of Noah men were making merry with drinking and marriages, until the Flood came upon them, so also the coming of the Lord shall come unexpectedly upon the ungodly. With a rushing noise signifies with a sound; and such a sound is proper to things consumed by fire. And observe that he said the earth and the works upon it shall be burned up, but not men—unless he meant only the destruction of the ungodly, that is, of their ungodly deeds, for the way of the ungodly shall perish, but not the ungodly man as well.

2 Pet. 3:13–14. But according to his promise we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking for these things, be diligent to be found by him spotless and blameless, in peace; and count the longsuffering of our Lord to be salvation. The Lord will give subsistence to new heavens and a new earth, not in their existence and matter; for one who joins together a new house does not make it out of matter that did not exist beforehand. And so God, having once given the matter its subsistence and shaped it into all kinds of forms and combinations, sends away as much as was necessary for the need of that time, but for the incorruptible state hereafter is unprofitable and superfluous; but whatever is profitable, having reshaped it with incorruptible and inconceivable beauty, he will have wherewith to complete the second and incorruptible world.

2 Pet. 3:15–18. Even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to understand, which the unlearned and unsteadfast wrest, as also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware, lest, being led away with the error of the lawless, you fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and God the Father. To whom be glory both now and to the day of the age. Amen. This too Paul said, in the words, The goodness of God leads you to repentance. And if the longsuffering of God leads to repentance, and repentance is to our salvation, then assuredly the longsuffering of God is for our benefit and to salvation. By things hard to understand he means those things which, he says, are also perversely reported by the ungodly. For this is what to wrest signifies; and, that from one instance we may set forth the whole: the divine Paul having said, Where sin increased, grace overflowed even more, they, perverting his words, said that Paul means this: Let us sin the more, that we may be the more forgiven; and this they do to their own destruction. For as those who killed the prophets and the apostles, so also those who do away with their words through perversion, are subject to the same judgment. Since those men killed them in order to stop them, that the saving things might not profit those discipled by them; and these likewise wrest their words, that men might not lay hold of salvation through them. And by his own steadfastness he means faith in the Lord. For as in the other Epistle he ends in a prayer, so also in this one, praying that they may grow in faith in the Lord.

The end of the Second Epistle of the holy Apostle Peter; one hundred fifty-four stichoi.[2]

[1] Translator’s note: Migne’s lemma prints the form κατακλυθεὶς (without the sigma), with the received reading κατακλυσθεὶς noted in the margin as the vulgata lectio; the sense (“flooded/deluged”) is the same.

[2] Translator’s note: PG 125 col. 1288 ends with this stichometric colophon. στίχοι are scribal line-units (a measure of length), not the 61 biblical verses of 2 Peter; ρνδ΄ = 154.

Commentary on the First Epistle of John

Introduction

The Beloved Disciple’s Last Letter

There is no formal salutation here, no naming of sender or recipients—only the voice of an elder, late in a long life, writing to “little children” he loves and fears for. The Church has always received that voice as the Apostle John’s, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” writing to churches he knew well and evidently as pastor rather than stranger. Theophylact reads it as a companion to John’s Gospel: where the Gospel establishes who Christ is, the letter draws out what follows from that confession for how a believer must live, above all in love toward the brethren and in resistance to teachers who had begun to deny that Christ had truly come “in the flesh.” Those teachers, forerunners of what later ages would call docetism, held that the divine Word could not have taken on real, suffering flesh; John’s answer runs through the whole letter, tying right belief about Christ to the practical love of the community with a directness that leaves no room to separate the two.

Early tradition—Irenaeus of Lyons is the first to record it, writing within a century of the letter—names Cerinthus, a teacher active in Asia Minor in John’s own lifetime, as the kind of opponent John had in view: a figure who separated the man Jesus from a divine “Christ” that supposedly descended upon him only at his baptism and departed before the crucifixion. Whether or not Cerinthus himself is the precise target, the shape of the error John opposes is unmistakable throughout the letter, and Theophylact reads every affirmation that Jesus Christ has “come in the flesh” as a direct answer to it.

Walking in the Light

John organizes his counsel around a handful of tests by which a believer may know that he is truly in the light rather than merely claiming to be: keeping the commandments, loving the brethren, and refusing the love of the world. Theophylact follows each test as John repeats and deepens it across the letter’s rounds of teaching, and he gives particular weight to the claim that “he who says he abides in Christ ought himself also to walk even as he walked”—a standard, on his reading, that admits no exception and no merely notional faith. Against this stands John’s warning about “antichrists,” already present among his readers as teachers who had gone out from the community because they had never truly belonged to it; Theophylact treats their departure itself as a kind of proof, a visible sign that separates the counterfeit from the genuine article.

The Witness of the Spirit, the Water, and the Blood

Near the letter’s close, John gathers three witnesses to the truth of who Christ is: the Spirit, the water, and the blood, all agreeing in one testimony. Readers of English Bibles descended from the later Latin tradition may know this passage in an expanded form, naming the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit as heavenly witnesses alongside the three earthly ones—a reading, sometimes called the Johannine Comma, that entered the Latin text in the medieval West but is absent from the Greek manuscript tradition on which Theophylact’s commentary rests. His own text and exposition move directly from the three earthly witnesses to their united testimony concerning the Son, without the disputed clause. This is simply a fact about the Byzantine text Theophylact used, which at this point represents the Greek manuscript tradition as a whole with unusual consistency; nothing has been removed from it, and nothing needs to be supplied to complete it.

How to Read This Commentary

John’s letter circles rather than marches—the same themes of light, love, and right confession return again and again, each time carried a little further—and Theophylact’s commentary follows that same rhythm, returning often to points made earlier rather than treating the letter as a single linear argument. A reader who expects steady forward progress may find this repetitive; a reader who instead lets each return deepen what came before will find, as Theophylact clearly intends, that the letter’s persistence is itself part of its teaching: love, confession, and obedience are not achievements completed once but a rhythm to be lived and relived for as long as a Christian life continues.

Chapter 1

Argument. Since it is John himself, the very one who wrote the Gospel, who also sends this Epistle, calling to remembrance those who have already believed in the Lord. And first of all, just as in the Gospel, so too in this Epistle, he treats of the theology of the Word, demonstrating that He is forever in God, and teaching that the Father is light, that by this very thing we may also know the Word to be the radiance [1] of Him. And in setting forth this theology he explains that the mystery that concerns us is not something newly arisen, but is from the beginning and forever, and has now been made manifest in the Lord, who is eternal life and true God. He also sets down the cause of His coming and appearing, saying that this was for the dissolving of the works of the devil, and that we might be set free from death, and that we might know the Father and the Son Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ. He writes therefore to every age—to little children, to young men, to the aged—that God has been made known, and that the working of the devil has now at last been overcome, death being abolished. Then for the remainder, throughout the whole Epistle, he teaches concerning love, wishing us to love one another, and demonstrating that we ought to love one another, since Christ also loved us. He sets forth, then, the distinction between fear and love, between the children of God and the children of the devil, and concerning sin that is to death and sin that is not to death, and the distinction of spirits. And further he distinguishes which spirit is from God and which is of error; and when we are known as children of God, and when as children of the devil; and concerning what kind of sin we ought to pray on behalf of those who sin, and concerning what kind we ought not to pray; and that he who does not love his neighbor is not worthy of the calling, nor can he be called Christ’s. He shows also the unity of the Son with the Father, and that he who denies the Son does not have the Father either. And in this Epistle he draws a distinction, saying: This too is proper to the antichrist, namely to say that the Son is not Himself the Christ Jesus—so that it may be plain that the liar declares himself to be the Christ on the supposition that the Other does not exist. Throughout the whole Epistle he exhorts those who believe in the Lord not to lose heart if they are hated in the world, but rather to rejoice, because the hatred of the world shows that those who believe have passed over from the world itself, and now belong to the heavenly commonwealth. And at the end of the Epistle he again calls to remembrance, saying, “that the Son of God is eternal life,” true God, and that we should serve in Him, and that we should “guard ourselves from idols.” [2]

Chapter-headings. 1. The evangelical theology concerning Christ. In which there is treatment of confession and of taking heed not to sin. That keeping of the commandments of God confirms knowledge.
2. Concerning love, without which there is impiety. In which there is exhortation concerning the grace belonging to each according to his age, and concerning the turning away from love toward the world.
3. Concerning false brethren who deny God; and that piety toward Christ is confession of the Father, for the glorifying of the Father is theology of the Son. In which there is treatment of the divine and spiritual gift in sanctification, in hope, to knowledge of God. That everyone who is in Christ is apart from sin, for he who sins is of the devil.
4. Concerning love toward one’s neighbor, and a disposition ready to share. In which there is treatment of a good conscience in the faith of Jesus Christ. Concerning the discernment of spirits through confession of the Lord’s incarnation.
5. Concerning brotherly love to godliness.
6. Concerning the theology of the Son in the glory of the Father; and concerning the victory over the evil one through faith in Jesus Christ to life.
7. Concerning the relief of a sinning brother through prayer; and concerning not sinning. In which there is treatment of abstinence from demonic worship.

1 Jn. 1:1. What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our own eyes. This is directed both against the Jews and against the Greeks, who slander the mystery that concerns us as though it were newly arisen. He shows, therefore, that this also is ancient; for it is from the beginning, and together with the very beginning that can be conceived—a beginning that is above not only the Law but also the visible creation itself.[3] For the creation had a beginning, whereas this was even before that beginning. For of the things of the Greeks, which are of yesterday and the day before, what could one even say?—things which, applauded amid licentiousness, came late into existence, when impurity already had its place among men, of which this is both the lesson and the memorial, and the down-flowing from that which is better in us toward the night that has been poured out. Presenting, then, the grandeur of the mystery that concerns us by means of its antiquity in these respects, he adds that this is also life—and a life not measured by any temporal interval, but subsisting in itself (enhypostatic), as being forever toward the Father; just as he also says in the Gospel: “And the Word,” he says, was toward God.[4] This word “was” does not present a temporal existence, but the essence of a thing subsisting in itself, and the beginning and foundation of all things that have received being, and that apart from which these things could not subsist. For each of the generated things [5] is said to be something—for instance, to be an angel, to be heaven, to be the sun, and all the rest; but the Son alone is the One who absolutely is,[6] by partaking of whom [7] all things come into existence. Wherefore Paul also says: For in Him we live, and move, and are.[8] When one has first received the hearing of this by way of introductory instruction, he comes to the point of seeing Him—not bodily, but with understanding, and not with the bodily eyes, but with the eyes of the mind. “Handle” [9] has been said also concerning the Word of life, who said: I am the life.[10] And so it will be said likewise concerning the Word who is in the beginning, that we have heard of Him through the Law and the prophets, that He would come. This One, when He had come visibly in a body, we saw and handled; for no one has ever seen God naked. For not at random did we give our assent to the One who appeared, but after a handling—as has already been said, that is, after an inquiry both legal and prophetic concerning Him—we believed in the Word who appeared in the flesh; not that we beheld or handled that which He was (for who shall declare His generation?),[11] but that which He had become, whether by intellectual contacts or also by sensible ones; as also Thomas did after the resurrection. [12] For He was one and indivisible, the same both seen and unseen, both grasped and not encompassed, both untouchable and palpable, both speaking after the manner of men and, as God, working the wonders. And this we say on account of the utmost unity of the Word with the flesh.

1 Jn. 1:1–2. That which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life. And the life was made manifest, and we have seen, and we bear witness, and we declare to you the eternal life, which was toward the Father, and was made manifest to us. This is equivalent to: That which we have seen, we beheld with our own eyes, and we marveled. For “to behold” is taken in the sense of “to marvel” and “to look with amazement.” And “we handled” is equivalent to “we searched out.” The sequence runs thus: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard and seen, and beheld with our eyes, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life—which life was made manifest, which also we have seen and bear witness and declare to you; I mean the eternal life, which is toward the Father and was made manifest to us. That, therefore, which we have seen, this also we declare to you. Here is the apodosis, in the words “That, therefore, which we have seen.” Yet he did not frame his proclamation as we would have, first because of his use of compressed speech, and then also because he despised the Greek babbling, and showed that our salvation lies not in words but in deeds; and besides this, because he was making us more attentive, lest, finding the matter at hand ready to our grasp on the spot, we should grow slack. And furthermore, in treating of theology, he wished by obscurity to hide things too high for profane ears, and not to make them safely public to such ears.[13] For to cast the holy things to the dogs, and to throw the pearls before the swine, is not the part of a sober mind. [14]

1 Jn. 1:3. That which we have seen and heard, we also declare to you. What is this? That, being eternal life, He was made manifest to us, and we became beholders of Him, both before the cross and after the resurrection. For the same One was both nailed to the cross in the flesh, and rose again in that same flesh. And what gain, he says, do we bring you from this proclamation? This: that, just as we take you as partakers, through the word, of the things we have seen and heard, so also we have you as partakers both of the Father and of His Son Jesus Christ. And having obtained this, we should be filled with joy, as being joined to God.

1 Jn. 1:3–4. That you also may have fellowship with us. And indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you, that your joy may be made full. For when we have you in fellowship, we possess in fullest measure our own grace,[15] which the rejoicing sower will bestow upon the reapers in the receiving of their wage, these also rejoicing because they enjoy the fruit of their labors.

1 Jn. 1:5–8. And this is the proclamation which we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not do the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. He takes up the discourse again, making clear what the message is that he has heard, and says that it is this: that God is light, and in Him is no darkness. And where did he hear this? From Christ Himself, who said: “I am the light of the world,” and, “I have come as light into the world.” [16] Light, then, He is, and in Him is no darkness—an intelligible light, rousing the eyes of the soul to the apprehension of Him, and turning them away from all these material things, and urging the desire onward toward Him alone with a love-impassioned longing. By “darkness” he means either ignorance or sin. For in God neither ignorance is seen nor sin; for these belong to matter and to the disposition that is ours. But if it is somewhere said, “He made darkness His hiding-place,” [17] — yet he said He made, not There is darkness, as he said There is light. For that which is set in place is other than the one who sets it. The darkness here, then, signifies our ignorance of God that lies in incomprehensibility. And this belongs to us, not to God. For something that is not inherent in someone is set in place, and not for its own sake, but for the sake of one of those who are about Him. And that he calls sin also “darkness” is plain from the things said by him in the Gospel. For he says: “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not” [18] — by “darkness” indicating our sin-prone substance, which, because of its proneness to slip, yields to our envious demon who calls us forth to sin. The light, therefore, having come to be in our substance—a substance so easily overpowered—became to the one who assails it utterly impregnable. For “He did no sin,” and what follows. [19] Since, then, he says, we take you as partakers of God, who is light, and in such a light no darkness could subsist, as has been shown—let us also, who are partakers of the light, not admit darkness within ourselves, lest we pay the penalty of falsehood, and along with the falsehood be torn away from the fellowship of the light. So that, by holding fast to the fellowship of one another (and plainly also to the fellowship between us and the light), we render ourselves uncaptured by sin. But how, he says, shall this be for us who were formerly entangled in many sins? For no one who is truthful and has resolved to speak the truth would dare to say that he is sinless. If, then, anyone is gripped by this fear,[20] let him take courage, he says; for by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, poured out for us, he who has embraced fellowship with Him has been cleansed. And observe that, because of the utmost union, he calls “Son of the Father” even that which He took from us, of which beyond all doubt the blood is, and not the blood of the Godhead. How, then, is Nestorius not a babbler and impious, dividing the flesh of the Son, and not enduring to call His Mother Theotokos? [21] And it should be known that the whole sense of the saying is a refutation of the blasphemy of the Jews. For they kept asserting concerning Christ that “We know that He is a sinner.” [22] He says, therefore, that if we do the works of light, we are partakers of Him; but if we do them not, we are made strangers to Him. How, then, is He not truly light, and did no sin at all, even if by you He was reckoned among the lawless? [23] If, then, he says, we who said, “His blood be upon us and upon our children,” [24] should shamelessly say, “We have not sinned,” we deceive ourselves—that is, we lead ourselves astray—as though the crucifying of Christ were no sin. Wherefore he did not say “We lie,” but “We deceive ourselves”; for error lies outside the truth. But if we acknowledge the sin and confess it, He will forgive us.

1 Jn. 1:9–10. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word finds no place in us. He takes up the discourse again, employing it more earnestly, so that, by the unremitting application of his reproofs, he may both fix their attention on the magnitude of the charge and summon them to confession. And how great is the good that is born of confession, he made plain when he said: “Declare your sins first, that you may be justified.” [25] And this too is a custom of the teacher of the disciple here present,[26] to say the same things many times—first more moderately, then more fully—wishing to make the knowledge clearer. He has called God “faithful” in the sense of “true.” For “faithful” is said not only of one who is trusted, but also of one who inspires trust; who, from His own truthful character, has it also to impart this to others. In this way, then, God is “faithful”; and “just,” in that He does not push away those who come to Him, whatever sins they may have committed. He forgives sins, therefore, beyond all doubt, to those who through repentance run to holy baptism, whether they have offended against Him [27] or against others. If, then, we confess, he says, we shall also obtain the corresponding pardon; but if, acting shamelessly, we say that we have not sinned, we shall work a twofold evil, both proving ourselves liars and blaspheming against God. For He Himself says through the prophet: “They rendered me evil for good”;[28] and again through Himself: “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike me?” [29] And if, while these things stand thus, we ourselves say that we have not sinned, we deny His word, which is spirit and life. For “the words,” He says, “that I speak are spirit and life.” [30]

[1] Translator’s note: ἀπαύγασμα, “radiance/effulgence”; cf. Heb 1:3.

[2] Translator’s note: This sentence echoes 1 John 5:21, “guard yourselves from idols.”

[3] Translator’s note: rendering the editorial conjecture [ἀνώτερον], “above,” within the phrase “above… the visible creation itself.”

[4] John 1:1.

[5] Translator’s note: γεννητῶν, “begotten/generated”; Migne notes a conjecture γενητ-, “things that have come to be.”

[6] Translator’s note: rendering the editorial supplement [καθάπαξ], “absolutely.”

[7] Translator’s note: rendering the editorial supplement [οὗ], “of whom.”

[8] Acts 17:28.

[9] Translator’s note: Migne conjectures the noun “handling” (ψηλάφησις) for the imperative “handle” (ψηλάφησον); the word denotes the touching/handling of the risen Christ. See John 20:27.

[10] John 11:25; 14:6.

[11] Isa 53:8.

[12] Translator’s note: “Thomas” supplied by the editor [Θωμᾶς]; cf. John 20:27.

[13] Translator’s note: rendering Migne’s conjecture [οὐκ], “not,” for the manuscript μὴ ἄν.

[14] Matt 7:6.

[15] Translator’s note: Theophylact’s prose here has χάρις (“grace, favor”), denoting the gratifying reward of their shared apostolic fellowship; the sower-and-reaper image that follows turns on the cognate χαίρω (“rejoice”; cf. John 4:36).

[16] John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46.

[17] Ps 17:12 LXX (= MT Ps 18:11).

[18] John 1:5.

[19] 1 Pet 2:22; cf. Isa 53:9.

[20] Translator’s note: Migne conjectures προκατ-, “fore-gripped/already gripped,” for περικατ-.

[21] Translator’s note: Theophylact reads the verse christologically: the blood belongs to the assumed humanity, yet because of the hypostatic union it is rightly called the blood of the Son of God—hence Nestorius errs in dividing Christ and refusing the title Theotokos.

[22] John 9:24.

[23] cf. Isa 53:12; Luke 22:37.

[24] Matt 27:25.

[25] cf. Isa 43:26.

[26] Translator’s note: “the teacher of the present disciple” = Christ, the Master of John; the saying just quoted is referred to Christ’s manner of teaching.

[27] Translator’s note: Migne adds a conjectural εἴτε, “whether,” here, balancing the following clause.

[28] Ps 34:12 LXX (= MT Ps 35:12).

[29] John 18:23.

[30] John 6:63.

Chapter 2

1 Jn. 2:1–2. My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.[1][2] Knowing the unsteadiness and the proneness to fault in our nature, and that, since we always have dwelling alongside us both an inclination toward what is worse and the envious demon who lies in wait against our salvation, it is inevitable that those who do not live watchfully should sin—even those already made intimate with God through confession—he adds these words: that even if, after the remission, we should stumble, we should not despair of ourselves. For by turning back we may yet again obtain salvation through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. For He, interceding with the Father on our behalf, will make propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. And he said this because he was writing to Jews; and so that he might not confine the things of repentance to those alone, but might extend it also to the nations; or because the promise belonged not only to those of that time, but to all who should come after. And he calls Him an Advocate as calling upon the Father, that is, exhorting Him, on our behalf. But these things are said in a more human and more economic manner [3] —like the saying, “The Son can do nothing of Himself”;[4] for He says these things lest He should seem to be set against God. Since that the Son also has authority to forgive sins, He showed in the case of the paralytic.[5] And indeed, by giving to the disciples this power to forgive sins, He made it plain that He bestows this as one having sovereign mastery in Himself. But, as we have said, the Apostle now says this in an economic manner, or else to present the oneness of nature (connaturality) and equal power of the Son with the Father, and that whatever one of the three sanctifying hypostases does is common also to the rest. [6]

1 Jn. 2:3. And by this we know that we have known Him, if we keep His commandments. It is the custom of this blessed man to use words of the same form in one and the same place, just as also: “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world knew Him not” [7].[8] So then here also he employs “to have known” in this manner of like-sounding senses. For “to know” is said both of being acquainted with something and of being wholly commingled with someone; in which latter sense is the saying, “The Lord knew those who are His”;[9] and the saying, “Him who knew no sin He made to be sin on our behalf”.[10]

1 Jn. 2:4–5. He who says, “I have known Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and in him the truth is not. But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him. And from the contrary he establishes the same point, using the demonstration in a more abundant way.

1 Jn. 2:6. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also so to walk, just as He walked. By works, he says, perfect love is shown. Yet since it is possible for some to make commandments upright and exact while remaining themselves the more sluggish in disposition—which is far from God—for this reason he says that he who has been made intimate with God should live worthily, according to his intimacy with God.

1 Jn. 2:7. Beloved, I write to you no new commandment, but an old commandment, which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. He turns next to the love that is toward one’s neighbor, and says that the commingling with God—that is, love for Him[11]—is first known from love toward one’s neighbor. For it is not possible that one enlightened by the knowledge of God, and filled with His love, should have the darkness that comes from hatred of his brother. For light and darkness are, in one and the same subject and concerning the same thing, things that cannot coexist. So that he who is enlightened by love toward God, and has God, has also the light toward his brother, which is kindled from love of the brother. But he who says indeed that he loves God, while hating his brother, dwells in perpetual darkness, ever blind in his cognitive eyes, inasmuch as he has lost the light of the commingling both toward God and toward his brother. And he no longer knows what use to make of himself.

1 Jn. 2:8–11. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in the darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no stumbling-block in him. But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and knows not where he goes, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Since the Epistle is catholic and common to all alike, both Jews and Greeks, with respect to the Jews there is good reason to say that he writes to them no new commandment concerning love, but an old one. For indeed in the tablets of Moses it is written, “You shall love—after God—also your neighbor as yourself”.[12] But with respect to the Greeks, what could one say about an old commandment, since this is nowhere to be found among them? We say, then, that to these also the law concerning love toward neighbors has been written. And how? Written in the tablet of the heart by natural notions. And that the notions sown within us are called a natural law, Paul is sufficient to confirm the statement, saying, “But I see another law warring against the law of my mind, the one that is in me”.[13] A law, then—that is, an old commandment—the Greeks also received, nature legislating that they be gentle toward one another and toward all that is akin to them, inasmuch as man is also a herd-dwelling animal, which could not exist apart from love. Moreover, the old histories record many men who died for one another [14] —which our Savior declares to be the mark of the greater love, saying, “Greater love than this has no one, than that a man lay down his life for his friends”.[15] Thus, since love toward neighbors is a commandment laid down for both Jews and Greeks, he says that, in addition to the old commandment which you heard concerning love of neighbor, I still write to you also a new commandment—the one that has the truth in the God who has made you His own through fellowship with Him, and in you who have entered into fellowship with Him. For since He says, “I have come as light into the world”,[16] and “the true light,” according to His word, already shines, and in the light there is no darkness,[17] let the true light of love henceforth shine forth, in true and unfeigned disposition toward the brethren, and let the darkness of hatred be put away—that is, let it vanish. For this too, “is passing away,” has its meaning also in the blessed Paul, where he says, “For the fashion of this world is passing away.” [18]

1 Jn. 2:12. I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. Since he had said, “A new commandment I write to you,” he indicates also the disposition of those who would receive the Epistle. And he indicates it by means of an advancement and progress corresponding to bodily growth. For he knew that not all would receive the word with equal honor, nor with equal earnestness, but some more as beginners, like children—to whom he also pledges forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ; and others as having advanced to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,[19] and so as to be able even to beget others as children—to whom he testifies that they also have the knowledge of Him who is from the beginning. And who is this, if not the Word of God, who was also in the beginning with God?[20] And others as young men, to whom, as being youthful and full of vigor, he testifies the victory over the passions of dishonor. Then again, by another approach, he takes up the same point, fitting his teacherly discourse to the measure of the spiritual age. Since therefore, he says, I thus know that you will receive what is written by me according to the differences of your ages, it is necessary that I too measure out my teaching to the disposition of your age: and to those of you who, as little children, have come to know the Father (and he means God) to speak in one way; but to those who are as fathers, who have more than the little children in respect of knowledge—namely, that they have known Him not as Father only, but, beyond this, have learned [21] in knowledge and come to know His existence as from the beginning and without end (for He was from the beginning)—to these it is fitting to render a more perfect discourse concerning God. And to the young men, being strong and apt for wrestling and contests, to whom he says belongs also the renown that comes from victory, he shows that there is need of words that are noble and more befitting a general.

1 Jn. 2:13. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.[22] — Little children: as having sinned through the unripeness and want of discernment of infancy. Wherefore they are also accounted worthy of pardon, he says, when it has come to pass for you to have known that “the Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works”.[23] — Fathers: as having taken up, through their advance in age, the knowledge of Him who is from the beginning. Young men: those who are experienced, by reason of their being in their prime, and who readily carry off the prize against their adversaries.

1 Jn. 2:13–14. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the Evil One. I have written to you, children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the Evil One. The aforementioned names he fitted, from the standpoint of age, to his moral discourse; but the present ones he takes up from the standpoint of disposition, administering his admonition without omission.

1 Jn. 2:15. Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Having thus apportioned his discourse to the ages of the spirit, he next brings forward the word of exhortation, and says: “Do not love the world.” These things he says as to little children; for children are always frightened [24] about the seeming-sweet thing. Then, having stated the cause of why one ought not to love the world and the things in the world, he next brings his teaching to bear upon the fathers and the young men; for such men are of a more perfect condition. And lest you suppose that “world” signifies the system composed of heaven and earth, he goes on to explain what the world is and what the things in the world are. And by “world” he means the rabble crowd, which does not even have the love of the Father in itself. And what are the things in the world? The things accomplished according to the evil desire of the flesh, which, being worked through the senses, stir up desire. For through the eyes, the most sovereign of the senses, it lays hold of the rest as well. And about desire every evil is seen to gather—adultery, drinking-bouts, unseemly passions, murders: some through covetousness, others through the wish to do away with adversaries. Deceits too are these, that we may make subject to our deceit everything that stands in the way; and, in a word, all things hateful to God are accomplished in us through fleshly desire.

1 Jn. 2:16–17. For all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and the desire of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. We have already said that he calls the rabble crowd “the world,” wherefore the Lord also says to His disciples, “You are not of the world, even as I am not of the world”.[25] And of this world the father is the devil—of the worldly love of pleasure, I mean, and of its confusion. Wherefore the Lord also says concerning His disciples to the Father, “I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one” [26] —that is, from the world, which He says elsewhere also lies in the evil one.[27] At the same time, if the evil one is set against the good Father, and he who is a slave to the desires of the world is not from the Father but from the world, it is plain that he who is not from the Father but from the world is from the devil; as also in the Gospels He says to the Jews, “You are from your father the devil” [28] —that is, from the fleshly pursuits, of which the devil is both sower and gardener. And these worldly desires, he says, do not have what is abiding and standing fast; but the things according to the will of God are enduring and everlasting. And it is not the part of sober men to run past the things that stand fast and to cling to the things that pass into nothing—doing the same as one who builds [29] a house upon phantoms.

1 Jn. 2:18. Little children, it is the last hour; and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come to be; whence we know that it is the last hour. The saying, “It is the last hour,” is taken in this way, without harshness: Since it is a catholic Epistle, suited to every man, and since the appointed boundary of life is not one and the same for all, and the proper end is uncertain to each—he reasonably set each man before his own end, so that, as though the last hour of life were at hand for each, watchfulness might follow; and so a blameless life and purity of deeds might forever be the citizenship of Christians. Otherwise: there is no room for the man who, out of melancholy, would mock at these things. For since every matter is divided into three—first, and middle, and last—it is in no way unfitting that all that comes from the middle onward be called “last.” So that if the Lord came at the middle of the ten-thousand-year span (for His coming upon earth occurred at nearly the five-thousand-five-hundredth year, i.e. its midpoint), no one could find fault if all that follows from this point, as from the middle, be called “last.” Since therefore the ten-thousand-year span has passed beyond its midpoint from the coming of the Lord, all that follows from this might well be called “last.” This indeed is most true, and according to the golden John [30] as well.

1 Jn. 2:19. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but that they might be made manifest that not all are of us. Having spoken concerning the antichrists, he brings in also from whom they came, and says, “From us.” And he brings this in without making any distinction for the clarity of the statement. I mean, it is as though, having asked himself, “And whence are these antichrists?” he thus says, “From us.” So then, though he ought to have done it in this way, he did not so handle it, displaying by the very confusedness of the statement the distastefulness of their case. But why are the antichrists from the disciples of the Lord? So that they might be able to bring credibility to those who are led astray, as being from the disciples and acting, in the message of the preaching, according to the mind of the teacher, and not at all carried in a wholly contrary direction to the preaching. For this reason he says, “From us.” And the “went out” means that, having become disciples, they departed from the truth and devised blasphemies of their own. For they were not of us—that is, of the portion of those being saved. For if this had been so, they would have remained with their own. But now, he says, they have done this so that they might be made manifest—that is, become evident—that they are wholly estranged from us. For there are some among these who are also not of us, to whom plainly those who went out from us have joined themselves. On whose account, he says, I have said also, “Not all are of us.”

1 Jn. 2:20–25. And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar, if not he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. He who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Father and in the Son. And this is the promise which He Himself promised us, the eternal life. Having said the things prepared beforehand, lest anyone should suppose that he assigns the knowledge of these things to himself alone, and through them vaunts himself over the other faithful as being the only one who knows it, he reasonably brings in, “And you have an anointing”—as if he were saying: But why do I go through these things to you as to those who are ignorant of them? And there is among you no ignorance of these matters. For you received from holy baptism the sacred anointing, and through it the divine Spirit. And since you know this, that I wrote these things to you not as to those who are ignorant but as to those who know—the last time, the rush of antichrists, the fact that all are full of falsehood. Because, then, falsehood has multiplied, for this reason I say, he says, that the antichrists also have become many. For if Christ is truth, whom you also, having known, have the truth in yourselves, then surely the liar, being contrary to the truth—that is, to Christ—is an antichrist. And who is the liar? He who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This Simon the all-defiled babbled,[31] that Jesus was one and Christ another: Jesus being the one from the holy Mary, and Christ the one who came down from heaven upon the Jordan. He, then, who is associated with this falsehood, this man, he says, is an antichrist. But also he who denies the Father and the Son—this man too, he says, is a liar and an antichrist. For there were others again, sectaries (from whom the accursed Valentinus was spawned),[32] who said that there was another, unnameable Father besides the one called the Father of Christ. And these same men also deny the Son, by calling Him a mere man and not God by nature, as being God from God. Wherefore he goes on: “Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either”—just as the Jews, who deny the Son while pretending to know the Father. But let these men know that they have not yet known the Father either. For if they had known Him, they would have known the Son also, since He is the Father of an only-begotten Son. And the followers of Simon prated the same thing. Those men, then, were thus. But as for you, the things you heard from the beginning—that is, Christ confessed as God [33] —keep with yourselves. For this he means by “Let it abide in you.” For if this abides in you, which you heard from the beginning, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father—that is, you will be partakers of Him. For this is the promise which says, “As I am in You, Father”;[34] and again, “That they may have eternal life: You, the only true God, and Him whom You sent”.[35]

1 Jn. 2:26. These things I have written to you concerning those who lead you astray. Having completed his discourse concerning the things aforementioned,[36] he adds also the discourse concerning those who lead them astray—that is, on account of the heresies that have flooded in. Then again he brings in what we said also before this, securing for them the freedom from harshness: that “You too have the anointing which you received”; and what is this? It has already been explained that he means the Holy Spirit; and this Spirit which you received, since you hold it firm with yourselves, you have no need that anyone teach you; but as that same Spirit teaches you concerning all things, even as it also taught you, you will abide in it. For what it taught you is true and no lie.

1 Jn. 2:27. And as for you, let the anointing which you received from Him abide in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and it is true and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will abide in Him. The sense in order is thus: The anointing which you received from Him, since it abides in you, you have no need that anyone teach you; but even as it taught you, you must abide in Him.

1 Jn. 2:28–29. And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He is made manifest we may have boldness, and not be put to shame before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, know that everyone who does righteousness has been begotten of Him.

[1] Translator’s note: Παράκλητος; also rendered “Paraclete.”

[2] 1 John 2:1-2.

[3] Translator’s note: kat’ oikonomian—according to the divine dispensation; said with condescension to our human capacity.

[4] John 5:19.

[5] Matt 9:6; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24.

[6] Translator’s note: Trinitarian point: the common operation of the three hypostases.

[7] John 1:10.

[8] Translator’s note: Migne marks “and” (καί) as a conjectural addition before “the world knew Him not.”

[9] cf. 2 Tim 2:19; Num 16:5.

[10] 2 Cor 5:21.

[11] Translator’s note: “Commingling” renders ἀνάκρασις (a blending into union)—Theophylact’s term for the soul’s union with God through love, deliberately distinct from κοινωνία (“fellowship”).

[12] Lev 19:18; cf. Matt 22:37-39.

[13] Rom 7:23.

[14] Translator’s note: Migne conjectures the compound “died on behalf of” (ὑπεραποθανόντας).

[15] John 15:13.

[16] John 12:46.

[17] cf. 1 John 1:5.

[18] Translator’s note: The clause quotes 1 Corinthians 7:31: “for he says: The fashion of this world is passing away.”

[19] Eph 4:13.

[20] John 1:1.

[21] Translator’s note: Migne offers alternatives “been initiated into” / “gone deep into.”

[22] 1 John 2:13b.

[23] Ps 144(145):9.

[24] Translator’s note: Migne conjectures “are made to spit out / loathe” (ἐπτύηνται) for “are frightened.”

[25] John 17:16.

[26] John 17:15.

[27] 1 John 5:19.

[28] John 8:44.

[29] Translator’s note: Migne conjectures “builds” (οἰκοδομοῦντι) for “manages.”

[30] Translator’s note: St. John Chrysostom (“Chrysostom” = “golden-mouthed”).

[31] Translator’s note: Simon Magus; cf. Acts 8:9-24.

[32] Translator’s note: Valentinus, the Gnostic heresiarch (2nd c.).

[33] Translator’s note: “Christ theologized”—proclaimed in His divinity.

[34] John 17:21.

[35] John 17:3.

[36] Translator’s note: Migne conjectures “concerning the things aforementioned” (τὸν περὶ τῶν προειρημένων) for “concerning the aforesaid.”

Chapter 3

1 Jn. 3:1. See what manner of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God—and we are. Having spoken of the onslaught of the antichrists and all their perverse teaching, and having sufficiently established his readers to hold unshakably to the things in which they had been instructed, he goes on now to set before them as well the reward laid up for these things, strengthening them, as it were, by the splendor of the prizes; and he says, “Abide in Him.” For what reason? “That we may have boldness in Him when He is made manifest.” For what is more glorious, or more to be desired, than boldness—when, in the presence of Him to whom we are about to display our labors in this life, we do so with boldness, in no way put to shame at His coming? [1] And since it is likely that some would ask what they must accomplish in order to become well-pleasing to Him, he teaches this also, saying: “If you have known Him, that He is righteous, you surely know this too, that everyone who does righteousness has been begotten of Him.” For the righteous one begets the righteous. [2] And how great this is toward your boasting and boldness no one is ignorant—nor yet of the love and kindness of Him who bestows it upon you, how great and of what sort it is. For you know that He has granted you both to become and to be reckoned His children. And if this is unclear to those in the world—I mean, that you are sons of God—do not marvel at it. For the world does not know you for this very reason, that neither did it know Him who adopted you; and by “world” he means the common rabble. Then, since he has built up the matter of the adoption, he speaks upon this still more plainly of the glory and boldness laid up for those who have been adopted.

1 Jn. 3:1. Beloved, now we are children of God. For this reason the world does not know you, because it did not know Him. — By “world” he means the common and swinish rabble, which is roused only toward this passion-ridden life, as a swine toward the mire.

1 Jn. 3:2–3. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been made manifest what we shall be. But we know that, if He is made manifest, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure. It is as though he were saying: You have surely come to know through what has gone before that we have been taken up to be sons of God. And if this has not yet been made manifest, do not be troubled;[3] for what is now unclear will become manifest when He is revealed. For appearing like Him, we shall display the splendor of the adoption; for sons are altogether like the father. But having boldness toward Him as sons, we shall see Him as He is—not according to His nature (for this is impossible for a created nature), but how? Pure, being pure; righteous, being righteous; for like things will cleave to the like. For this reason a little further back he said [4] that we are like Him, not according to nature. For otherwise he would have said, not “like,” but “the same.” But now, since this latter is not to be, he said like, that is, according to the quality of the glory. And it must be observed that above he did not say, “Everyone who has done righteousness,” nor “who will do it,” but “who does it.” For the active virtues have their being in the doing; once they have ceased, or are still to come, they do not even have being.

1 Jn. 3:4–5. Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness also, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was made manifest in order to take away our sins; and in Him there is no sin. Having built up his discourse on righteousness through what precedes, from the goods that belong to righteousness, now he advances his demonstration from the contrary as well and from the things inherent in it, saying: “Everyone who commits sin.” He means something like this: You who have been adopted, work righteousness, and do not render yourselves idle in it. For just as, in the matter of sin, it is not the one who has sinned, nor the one who will sin, that is the sinner or the lawless one, but the one who is held fast by evil and is active in it—so too the righteous man is not the one who is inactive, but the one who is active. Yet by no means, he says, may you have any room for sinning; for since Christ has come for the abolition of sin, inasmuch as He had no share in sin, neither does it remain for you any longer to sin, you who have come to be in Him and have been confirmed in faith toward Him—which he signifies by the words “Everyone who abides in Him.” And it should be known that sin is the falling away from the good, while lawlessness is the transgression concerning the positive law. And each of these has this as its origin: the one, the falling away from the good; the other, the transgression concerning the positive law. But these coincide in the same point; for the one who sins has failed of the goal that is according to his nature and within his nature (for the goal for human nature is to live according to reason, far removed from unreason), and likewise the one who acts lawlessly transgresses concerning the law given within his nature, being carried away without self-control.

1 Jn. 3:6. Everyone who abides in Him does not sin. That is, the one who unremittingly pursues the virtues and never leaves off their practice.

1 Jn. 3:6–7. And everyone who sins has not seen Him, neither has he known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. Having said that He was made manifest, and the cause for which He was made manifest—namely, that, as one who had committed no sin, He might take away our sin, that is, do away with it—he adds: “Everyone who sins has not seen Him.” For if you, he says, who upon His being made manifest have seen Him, and have received as a sign of having seen Him the fact that you are not easily mastered by sin, as being perfectly established in Him—then surely those who sin have not seen Him, and therefore neither have they known Him. By “having seen” he does not mean the mere contact of bare sight, nor that they were active toward the object of knowledge by some ready-made fancy, but that they made their approach to Him with a certain discernment and understanding, as we have said above. And having said this, he proceeds in a confirming manner: “Let no one deceive you.” For it is no otherwise than thus: he who does righteousness has known the Righteous One and is righteous as He also is—that is, God; just as, conversely, he who commits sin is from the sinful one, who is the devil, who sins from the beginning. Therefore also God, caring for His own creature, being righteousness and sanctification, was made manifest—that is, appeared in the world—in order to do away with the works of the devil.

1 Jn. 3:8. He who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil sins from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God made manifest, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Since the devil, having been turned aside [5] into sinning, everyone who sins takes his name from him. For he takes the lead within the one who sins by the prompting of wicked thoughts, as in the case of Judas. But someone will say: How does the devil come to be in those who sin, when they have sinned before him, in giving him a place? To which it must be answered that to commit sin is the same as to sin by giving a place to the devil; for the one who sins gives him a place, being led under by desire together with receiving him, accomplishing the sin in deed. For this is what “to commit” it signifies. And it is well said, “He who commits,” but not “He who has committed,” since the one who has repented is no longer of the devil, but only the one who is still working it. For in this way too the one who commits sin is a slave of sin, but not the one who has committed it. For everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.

1 Jn. 3:9–10. Everyone who has been begotten of God does not commit sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been begotten of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are made manifest. Everyone who does not do righteousness is not of God, neither he who does not love his brother. Since everyone who commits sin is of the devil, in the very act of sinning, and is called a son of the devil—as the blessed Paul says to Elymas, “Son of the devil, will you not cease to pervert the ways of the Lord?” [6][7] — it is plain that the one begotten of God, as a son of God, does not sin, because the seed of God Himself is in him, that is, the Spirit which we received through the grace of which we were deemed worthy; and this, abiding in us, makes our mind unsusceptible to sin. Or it is Christ Himself who, dwelling in the faithful, makes them sons of God—just as Christ Himself is a son of Abraham in the seed of Abraham; and in the seed of Abraham, that is, in Christ, the nations are blessed. Chrysostom. As often as we sin, we are begotten of the devil; and again of God, as often as we accomplish virtue. “Because His seed abides in him.” By “seed” he means the Spirit, which we receive through baptism; and this, abiding in us, makes the mind unsusceptible to sin. But unless one is begotten of God, he does not receive the Holy Spirit. Another. The seed is divine—it is Christ, who, dwelling in the faithful, makes them become sons of God. Thus in the seed of Abraham, which again is Christ, all the nations are blessed. Otherwise: By “seed” he means the original lineage of the founding ancestor, which springs from an abundance of virtues; this ancestor, having as it were channeled to his clan the gift of praiseworthy things, in which he himself was illustrious, grants to these and to his own successors to take pride in them—provided especially that they keep the paternal advantages unblotted, advantages which procure no ordinary renown; even as the Jews too, though emptily, nonetheless said to Christ, “We are the seed of Abraham.” [8]

1 Jn. 3:11–14. For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the Evil One and slew his brother. And for what cause did he slay him? Because his own works were wicked, but those of his brother were righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death into life, because we love the brethren. How great the evil of hating one’s brother is, he confirms by an example. For see, he says, how Cain, having himself hated his brother, killed him, and that though he was his own brother—but since he had the works of his father, the devil, which were wicked, whereas Abel, doing righteous deeds, was named a son of God. And the devil is set against God, and wicked works against good ones. For this reason Cain too, being set against his brother, killed him. Such is the course of the argument according to its natural sequence. The blessed John, however, altered the order, being ever governed by what was most pressing. For it pressed upon him, since he had made mention of the devil and of those who are adopted by him through wicked action, to put forward as an example the one who from the beginning of the world, through wicked works, ran off to become a child of the Evil One. And having done with Cain, and with the things which those who emulate him stand to inherit, he runs back again to love.

1 Jn. 3:14–18. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and we know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. In this we know love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the goods of this world, and beholds his brother having need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word, nor with the tongue, but in deed and in truth.[9] Having done with Cain and with the wicked works that pertain to him, he runs back again to love, and says that love persuaded the Lord to lay down His life for us, and that from this example we too ought to lay down our life for the brethren. And since this is a rare thing and found in but few, he begins, as though to shame them, to make his exhortation to brotherly love from the more moderate cases, ordering his discourse somewhat thus: Why do I speak of laying down one’s life for one’s brother, where we see men not even supplying the brethren’s need of necessities? And I do not mean those who are scant of livelihood, but even those who possess the wealth of a whole world’s substance. Let them therefore be ashamed; for if over these small things they have shut up their bowels of compassion and shown themselves unworthy of the love of God, what would they have displayed regarding the greater thing—to die for one’s brother? Then he brings to bear yet another thing to shame them—those who accept love in word and display it with the tongue alone.

1 Jn. 3:18. Let us not love in word and with the tongue, but in deed and in truth.

1 Jn. 3:19. And in this we know that we are of the truth. — And from this—in what? In not loving one’s brother in word, but in deed and in truth. And what do we know? That we are of the truth. How so? For he who confesses one thing but does another, not having his action in agreement with his word, is a liar and not truthful.

1 Jn. 3:19–22. And before Him we shall assure our hearts. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have boldness toward God. And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.[10] This he says: that through being truthful—and we shall be truthful when our deeds advance in keeping with our words—we shall assure our conscience. For this is what he means by “heart.” And how shall we assure it? By setting this before ourselves, that we make our words as under God for a witness. For this is what “before” signifies. For if, he says, we do not do thus, but our conscience—that is, our heart—condemns us, we do not escape notice in our sinning. For if we do not escape the notice of our own conscience, small as it is, as belonging to a small creature, in our sinning, much more shall we not escape the notice of the boundless God who is present everywhere. The discourse, then, is of this kind: Little children, let us not lie to one another in loving with the tongue alone, but let us display love in deed as well; for in this we shall know that we are of the truth, that is, of God. And whatever we say, let us say it as in the sight of God; and no one—not even were he more shameless than all the demons—would bring himself to lie with God for a witness. For if we do not act thus, but, while we say that we love, our heart condemns us of falsehood, we sin. How? By supposing that we escape the notice of God who is present everywhere. Thus, then, beloved, he says, having so prepared ourselves, uncondemned before our own selves—in being truthful, that is to say, toward one another—we shall come to have boldness toward God; and from this boldness, whatever we ask we shall surely receive from Him. For what reason?

1 Jn. 3:22. Since we keep his commandments. For the greatest thing for summoning the one petitioned to obedience is the ready compliance on the part of those who petition, when it is rendered without ambiguity toward Him to whom the petition is made. Since, then, we too keep His commandments and do the things pleasing to Him, let us be confident that we shall not fail of our petitions, since the exact disposition on both sides loves to give in return, without delay, to the one who comes to the need of the other. [11] And which commandment of His have we kept? The one that says, “Have love among one another.”

1 Jn. 3:23. And this is His commandment, that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ. — The word “this” is to be understood as giving a reason: that we have, he says, a commandment to love one another by faith in the name of Jesus Christ His Son; and if we have done this, from it we know that the grace which is of His Spirit has been firmly established in us. Wherefore His commandment is to believe—since this is what He has given us. And it should be known that in many places of Scripture there stands the phrase “to believe in the name of our Lord.” And what does this signify? Nothing else at all than His will, His glory, His renown. The glory and renown, as in the verse, “How wondrous is Your name in all the earth”;[12] and the will, as here, and as in the verse, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”,[13] in the sense of “in His will.” And what is the will of the Lord Jesus? To baptize all the nations into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. [14]

1 Jn. 3:23–24. And let us love one another, even as He gave us commandment. And he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him; and by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He gave us. That is to say: he means that we are to love one another with a true disposition. And where is this commanded? In the place where He says, “As you wish that men should do to you, do you likewise to them.” [15] If, then, we love our neighbors, truly and without guile to be disposed toward us, then in the very same way we ought surely also to be disposed toward them. But if this is a commandment of the Lord, much more, when we abide in Him, will He also offer Himself to us; for He cannot deny Himself—that is, He cannot have given His commandments to us upon empty terms, but rather He first confirms these things in Himself. [16] And if this is so, then surely, if we do the things He commands, we too shall have Him obedient to us in whatever we ask of Him, and His gift will be sure to us. The whole sense is thus: That we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another truly, as is His commandment. For he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And from this we know that He abides in us—from the Spirit, that is, the gift, which He gave us. For while this remains inviolate, we have it beyond dispute that His gift cannot be taken away. And how shall it be inviolate? In our doing no harm to ourselves through neglect of the things He commanded us concerning love.

[1] Translator’s note: Migne notes a variant παρους[ίᾳ] for παῤῥουσίᾳ; rendered as “coming.”

[2] Translator’s note: The bracketed clause “begets the righteous. How great this is toward your boasting and boldness, no one is ignorant,” is an editorial supplement in Migne.

[3] Translator’s note: Migne offers the variant δεῖσθε (“be in want”) for θορυβῆσθε (“be troubled”); “be troubled” is rendered.

[4] Translator’s note: Migne notes a variant εἶπεν (“he said”) for εἶπον; “he said” is rendered.

[5] Translator’s note: Migne offers the variant περιτραπείς (“overturned”) for παρατραπείς (“turned aside”).

[6] Acts 13:10.

[7] Translator’s note: Migne marks “the straight ways” (τὰς εὐθείας) as an editorial addition to the quotation.

[8] John 8:33.

[9] Translator’s note: Migne notes a vulgata reading κλείση for κλείσει (“shall shut up”); “shuts up” is rendered.

[10] Translator’s note: Migne offers the vulgata reading πείσομεν (“we shall assure,” future) for πείσωμεν; the future is rendered. The vulgata likewise reads τηροῦμεν (“we keep”) for τηρῶμεν.

[11] Translator’s note: The phrase rendered “loves to give in return” stands for ἀντι[διδόσθαι φιλούσης], an editorial supplement in Migne; the clause is somewhat compressed.

[12] Psalm 8:1 (LXX 8:2).

[13] Acts 2:38.

[14] Matthew 28:19.

[15] Luke 6:31.

[16] Translator’s note: The bracketed clause “but rather He first confirms these things in Himself” is an editorial supplement in Migne; cf. 2 Timothy 2:13, “He cannot deny Himself.”

Chapter 4

1 Jn. 4:1–2. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this is the Spirit of God known: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh is of God. Having gone through his discourse concerning love toward one’s neighbor, and having declared this to be the mark of the abiding of the Spirit, which we received, he now adds also a discrimination between those who are truly brethren and one’s neighbors, so that, while keeping this love, we may not, on account of the commandment concerning love, fall in with false brethren and false apostles and false prophets [1] — thereby procuring for ourselves the greatest harm. For if we attach ourselves to those of like ways, we shall first of all harm ourselves, sharing the word of the faith unreservedly with the impious and setting holy things before dogs;[2] and then we shall harm also those who look to us. For our love toward them will persuade many to take them as teachers and to believe unguardedly the things spoken by them, being stolen away from their fellowship with us. And what is the mark of these men, but this? “Every spirit”—that is, every dignity of prophecy or of apostleship—“which confesses the Lord Jesus to have come in the flesh, is of God”; but that which does not confess this is not of God, but its dignity is from the antichrist, “of whom you have heard.” When? In what he said a little before, that “there are many antichrists in the world” [3] — that is, the forerunners of the antichrist. And he says that the confession of Christ’s coming in the flesh is made not by the tongue but by works, as the blessed Paul says: “Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be made manifest in your body” [4][5] He, therefore, who has Jesus working in him, and has died to the world and no longer lives to the world but to Christ, and carries Him about not only in the flesh of Christ but also in his own flesh—this man is of God. But he who lives not to Christ but to himself and to the world—that is, to the pleasures of the world—such a one is not of God. Wherefore Paul again says: “For where there are strifes and divisions among you, are you not carnal and walking according to man?” [6] And he who walks according to man does not have the Spirit of Christ; and he who does not have the Spirit of Christ—that is, he who does not live according to Christ—this man is not Christ’s. [7]

1 Jn. 4:3. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that of the antichrist, of whom you have heard that he is coming, and now he is already in the world. — He said, he says, that the antichrist is in the world, not bodily, but by reason of the false prophets and false apostles and heretics who prepare the way for his coming. And this antichrist will be a man who carries Satan about within him, exalting himself above every god or object of worship [8][9] that is named. Wherefore he will also set at naught the worship of the idols (whom he signified by “those called gods”; and by “object of worship” he signified Christianity), and will undertake to declare himself alone to be god.

1 Jn. 4:4–6. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are of the world; therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us. He who is not of God does not hear us. Having, through the things set forth beforehand, made known the prophets and apostles of the Lord, he adds: But you, being of God, little children, have overcome them—that is, the false prophets. How? Because the God who is in you is greater than he who is in the world, according to whom the false prophets chose to live. Then to these things he adds yet another mark of the false prophets, one which especially grieved also the simpler among the faithful. For it was likely that some of these were even distressed, seeing those men eagerly sought after by the many, while they themselves were despised. And he says: Do not be grieved if you are despised by many, while those men are received by these; for like runs to like. “They are of the world, and speaking of the world”—that is, teaching according to the carnal desires—they have these men as their hearers, the perverse hearkening to the perverse. But we, inasmuch as we are of God and estranged from the desires of the world, are rendered unacceptable to them. But that man hears us who lives soberly and on that account acknowledges God, ready to lend his ear; which Christ also says: “He who has ears”[10] prepared, bearing witness to that man, and the ears […]

1 Jn. 4:6–10. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; and everyone who loves has been begotten of God and knows God. He who does not love has not known God, because God is love. In this was the love of God made manifest in us, that God has sent His only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. Having distinguished, by the things he has already said, those to whom one must hold fast and those to whom one must not, he goes on to add, as a seal upon what has been said, that by this we know those who have the Spirit of truth and the deceiving spirit, that of false prophecy; and after this he takes up again the discourse concerning love. For having shown whom one must love—namely, those of like character—he holds thereafter to his first points, saying that both love is of God, and that the one who loves is begotten of God, and—and he alone who loves—knows God;[11] while the one who does not have love is ignorant also of God. But how is it that he who does not love has not known God? He establishes this thus: God is love. From what is this plain? He sent His only-begotten Son into the world, that He might furnish us with true life, and that we might live through Him. For just as He is called goodness, because through goodness He gave subsistence to the intelligible world and to the sensible; so also, through His love toward us, by giving His only-begotten Son into the world, He showed by this too that He is love. Wherefore he himself adds: “In this is love” [that is, in this it is shown that God is love]. Then, exalting the goodness of God’s love, he says: Not because we loved Him did God do this, in giving His own Son for us, but rather, taking the initiative of His benefaction toward us through love, He sent His Son; and not only did He send Him, but also that He might make propitiation for our sins through His own blood. If, then, says he, God so loved us, even though we share nothing with Him in nature, how much more ought we also to love our kinsmen, and, having come to know the good that comes from love, to minister this also to others. For just as it is a reproach to him who does not choose what is to be chosen, so it procures praise for those who love the ones worthy of love, because they are beloved. And being so disposed, we have both: that we are beloved, because we are loved by God and received by Him; and that we are loving, through our love toward our neighbors.

1 Jn. 4:11–14. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever beheld God. For if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. — We have said before this that it is the custom of this blessed one to take up the same matters concerning the same subjects. Employing his discourse in this same manner now also, he says: “No one has ever beheld God.” For since, in making his discourse concerning the love of the brethren, he had brought forward God as an example, who gave His only-begotten Son to death because of His love for us—it would follow that someone might say: And how do you say this concerning things unseen? Concurring, then, with those who so speak, he himself also says that no one indeed has ever beheld God—this I myself affirm too; “but from our love toward one another,” he says, “we know that God is in us.” [12] And he says this well; for many of the things unseen by us we apprehend from His workings. Indeed, just as no one has ever seen the soul, yet from its workings and movements it is perceived that it is in us and dwells within us, so also we know His love toward us as though through a certain movement and working. And if this is not outside what is reasonable, neither does this divine man show, contrary to reason, that God is, and is in us, from His working. And what is the working? Our pure love toward our neighbors. This is the mark both of our abiding in Him and of His abiding in us, and that, he says, He has given us this of His Spirit; for the pure One lends things pure and undefiled. Since, then, through pure love we have fellowship with Him, from this we too, he says—we who have beheld Him according to the flesh—have known and bear witness that the Father has sent Him to be the Savior of the world. But besides our knowledge, He Himself also expounded it, bringing us more perfectly into such knowledge: at one time saying, “I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world” [13] — this concerning the sending down from heaven of His only-begotten Son into the world for the sake of love toward us. And again, through other words, more plainly: “For God so loved the world,” he says, “that He gave His only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him should not perish”;[14] and, “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” [15] We have, therefore, both from the eyewitness sight itself, he says, and from the exposition of the Only-begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father, as is said in the Gospels,[16] and from the working through our love toward one another, that God is in us, and has given us of His Spirit, and that we have fellowship with Him.

1 Jn. 4:15–16. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love which God has in us. God is love; and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. — This refers back to what was said a little before, namely, that “every spirit that confesses the Lord Jesus as having come in the flesh.” For since he had sufficiently shown that they are both children of God and that God abides in them—and he showed this through their love toward one another, that the Holy Spirit was given to them—he brings the discourse back again to those points, and says: Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him; just as he said above, that “every spirit confessing Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh is of God.” But the discourse disclosed yet another thing: that those who confess these things and have the Spirit—that is, God—abiding in themselves, themselves also abide in God. And how is this? Through their love toward one another. And having made mention of love, he adds also all the things concerning love which he has said, furnishing much confirmation to his discourse concerning love.

1 Jn. 4:17–18. In this is love perfected with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because, even as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. — God is light, and His saints are light in the world, according to the Gospel,[17] and there is in them no fear of punishment, because they abound in the love of God. I wish, he says, that you be perfected in love, that we may have boldness toward God in the day of judgment; because He Himself also is the one who judges, according to His own declaration, that “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son.” [18] And that the boldness will be toward Him who became man for us, he made clear through what follows, saying that “even as He is, so also are we in this world”—meaning this: It having been shown beforehand that God is in us and we in Him, we bear witness, he says, to the perfection of love in ourselves as well. As, therefore, He was without blemish and pure in the world (wherefore He also said: “The ruler of this world is coming, and in Me he will find nothing” [19] ), so also shall we be in God, and God in us. If, then, this is so, He is the guide and bestower of purity to us; and so we also carry Him about in this world purely and cleanly, always bearing about His dying in the body. [4] And living thus, we shall have boldness toward Him, and shall then be free of all fear. For, being perfected in love through good works, we shall be far from fear. And to these things he adds, as a confirmation, that “perfect love casts out fear.” But what kind of fear? He himself says: the fear that pertains to punishment. For it is possible for some even to love through fear of being punished; but this fear is not perfecting—that is, it does not belong to perfect love. Having said these things concerning perfect love, he also shows constrainingly that we ought to love God, because He Himself, he says, first loved us. And we ought—toward Him who takes the initiative of good toward us—to press the more earnestly to the requital of this. But certain ones have inquired: How is it that, when David says, “Fear the Lord, all you His saints, for there is no want to those who fear Him” [20],[21] how is it that now this one says, “Perfect love casts out fear”? For surely the saints of God, to whom fearing is enjoined, are not perfected in love? We say, then, that fear is twofold: the one preliminary, which has punishment as its companion, and which arises because of the dreadful things he has done—the one who approaches God being afraid, and on this account approaching, that he may not be punished; and this is the preliminary fear. But the perfecting fear is freed from such dread, wherefore it is also called “pure, and enduring to ages of ages” [22].[23] What, then, and on what account, is the perfecting fear? It is that, because of one’s being taken up perfectly into love, one is anxious lest he fall short of Him in any of those things which it is fitting for one who loves exceedingly to perform. [24]

1 Jn. 4:18–19. Because fear has punishment. And he who fears has not been perfected in love. We love Him, because He first loved us. — Here he calls fear the preliminary one. He, then, who genuinely loves God does the things pleasing to God not on account of the threat of punishments, but by the allurement of virtue and by his love toward God—securing himself, moreover, by the genuine fear[25], which is the desire of the good. Or again, the fear that does anything for the sake of not falling into punishment is the same as the former; wherefore he adds: “Fear has punishment.”

1 Jn. 4:20. If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? — Having shown constrainingly that love must be transmissive—both from God toward us, and from us toward Him—and having added this again, that, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another; and once more bringing the discourse back to this, he says: Since it lies upon us as a debt to love our brother, from the example of God’s love toward us—which, by rendering and repaying it back to God in turn, we shall be fulfilling the debt—it is necessary, he says, to love one’s brother without postponement, as the most perfect mark of love toward God. For if not this, neither would our love toward God be preserved, since the debt toward one another, which we have received from our love toward God, would be falling away. And he adds also this most evident argument for the refutation of those who attempt to adulterate divine love, saying something of this kind: Love is in every case constituted out of mutual familiarity, and familiarity has as its consequence the seeing of one’s brother, and by this especially being bound together to love of him; for sight is a thing that draws toward love. And if this is so, the one who counts as nothing what draws all the more toward love, and does not love his brother whom he has seen—how, while claiming to love God whom he has not seen, when he is neither familiar with Him nor apprehensible by any single sense, would he be detected as speaking truly? If, then, someone should shamelessly say, he says, that he loves God but hates his brother, not only does he adulterate divine love, but he is found besides to be a transgressor of His commandment, which says, “By this shall all know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” [26] He, therefore, who loves God and strongly maintains that he is His disciple, loves also his brother according to His commandment.

1 Jn. 4:21. And this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.

[1] Translator’s note: A bracketed clause in Migne, “thereby procuring for ourselves the greatest harm,” appears to be a marginal expansion; rendered here.

[2] Matt 7:6.

[3] 1 John 2:18.

[4] 2 Cor 4:10.

[5] Translator’s note: Migne’s vulgata reads “our body” for “your body”; “your” is rendered here.

[6] 1 Cor 3:3.

[7] Rom 8:9.

[8] 2 Thess 2:4.

[9] Translator’s note: For “above every,” Migne prints a forte variant “above everything called,” reflecting Paul’s “everything called God.” Rendered for the sense as “every.”

[10] Translator’s note: Matt 11:15; Mark 4:9. The Greek of Migne breaks off here mid-sentence; the segment is left incomplete in the source.

[11] Translator’s note: Migne prints a forte variant adding the particle “but”; the sense is unaffected.

[12] Translator’s note: Migne notes a forte addition of “concerning” or “toward,” confirming the construction rendered here.

[13] John 16:28.

[14] John 3:16.

[15] John 12:47.

[16] John 1:18.

[17] cf. Matt 5:14; John 8:12.

[18] John 5:22.

[19] John 14:30.

[20] Ps 33:10 LXX (= Ps 34:9 MT).

[21] Translator’s note: The Septuagint Ps 33 corresponds to the Masoretic Ps 34.

[22] Ps 18:10 LXX (= Ps 19:9 MT).

[23] Translator’s note: Echoing “the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever”; LXX Ps 18 = MT Ps 19.

[24] Translator’s note: The Greek here is difficult and probably corrupt in Migne. The rare/uncertain word κατωμεγεθοῦντα governs the clause; Migne’s forte reading “κατευμ.” (= κατευμεγεθοῦντα, the form attested in LSJ, “to make great, magnify”) is preferable. The sense rendered: the perfecting fear is the loving care of one wholly taken up into love, lest he leave undone anything that a fervent lover would do.

[25] Translator’s note: The Greek οὐ μὴν clause is compressed; the sense is that the true lover is kept safe not by slavish dread but by the “genuine fear” that is itself the desire of the good.

[26] John 13:35.

Chapter 5

1 Jn. 5:1–2. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten of God; and everyone who loves Him who begot loves also Him who has been begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and do His commandments. This too confirms what was said above, since we have received a commandment from the Master to love one another, then surely, if we believe that our Master Jesus is the Christ—who is Christ in this, that He is both God and man—let us keep His commandments as well, as the commandments of a master and of God. And believing in God, that we are His, we are called His sons, as it has also been said in the Gospels: As many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God[1] —that is, as many as believed in Him, these also were made His children. And if we have been begotten of Him, then assuredly we shall also render that which is due to Him who begot us. What is this? To love Him who begot us. And since this is so—since all we who have believed have been begotten of Him; and if we have been begotten of Him, we are bound to love one another, both as brothers and as those begotten of Him—he adds the proof of this, namely that “he who loves Him who begot loves also Him who has been begotten of Him”. Then again he says that love toward the brethren, that is, toward the children of God, confirms the love toward Him who begot them. For above he said: He who loves God loves also his brother; but now he says that he who loves the children of God loves God also. And he makes love toward one’s brother the proof of love toward God.

1 Jn. 5:3. For this is love for God: that we keep his commandments. This is to be understood thus: this is love for God, that we keep his commandments; for everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world. The phrase “they are not burdensome” has been inserted parenthetically. [2]

1 Jn. 5:3–5. And His commandments are not burdensome, because everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Since he had set forth the keeping of the commandments as the whole proof of love toward God, and since it seemed to some that the commandments of God were burdensome, for this reason he says: And His commandments are not burdensome. For what is burdensome in loving one’s brother? Or in visiting him in prison—what is burdensome in that? For he does not say to set free the one in prison, which is a hard thing, but only to visit him; nor to rid the sick man of his disease, but only to visit him; nor does he command us to set a costly table before the hungry, or to give the naked a garment elaborately wrought, but to supply the necessary need that the hungry and naked man seeks. Having spoken thus of this matter, he brings forward yet another inducement to love. What is it? Victory. For he says: Through love toward your brother, establishing yourselves as children of God, you have already, as a consequence of this good work, the further reward of overcoming the world. For that which has been begotten of God overcomes the world. Then he sets forth both the victory and that through which the victory comes, saying that faith is both—plainly the faith toward God, which, being itself begotten of God, has overcome all unbelief and driven it away; and neither Jew, nor Greek, nor heretic can prevail against it. And since faith does not overcome bare and by itself, but together with the one who possesses it, for this reason he adds: And who is he that overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? And—

1 Jn. 5:6. Who is this Jesus? Jesus the Christ, who came by water and blood.

1 Jn. 5:5–6. And who is he that overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood, Jesus the Christ. Since he had made mention of the begetting that is of God, and of victory—having said that everything begotten of God overcomes the world, and that this is brought about all at once through holy baptism—for this reason he says that this is He who came by water and blood, Jesus the Christ, regenerating us and making us sons of God. For this too is understood as following upon the discourse, namely: And everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world. And how was it begotten? By water, he says, and blood. For Jesus Christ, who came, regenerates by water and blood. And he adds further, taking up the discourse again, declaring that He regenerates not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood. For he wishes first to show forth the manifestation of Christ, who adopts us as sons: that the man assumed in Him, having first been adopted as a son by God[3], in this way, through His own adoption, bestowed upon us also this same dignity—a dignity that was manifested at three seasons at the baptism in the Jordan, when from above the Father testified that He who was baptized was His beloved Son. And who was this? He who went down into the water, that is, the man taken up together with God the Word, the visible one united to the hidden One; for it was to this one that the testimony had to be borne. By the water, then—that is, in the baptism that is by water—Jesus was manifested as Son of God through the Father’s testimony. By the blood, when, being about to be crucified, He said: “Glorify Me, You, Father”; and a voice came: “I have both glorified, and will glorify again” [4] —which voice those who heard it took to be thunder. And by the Spirit, when, as God, He rose from the dead. For this belongs to God alone: to raise Himself. And that by “the voice of the Spirit” God is signified, the word “Spirit” itself, here used, suffices to show. [5] Therefore, three things bearing witness to the adoption of Jesus—the baptism, the cross, the resurrection—the Lord’s adoption is beyond dispute; and through this adoption He has bestowed upon us also, being as we are the firstfruits of the whole human lump, the gift of being sons of God. And these three are to the one Christ. For this is what he signifies by saying: “The three are one”—that is, to the one testimony concerning Christ. [6] It should be known that some of the Fathers understood the Spirit not with reference to the resurrection of Christ, but with reference to the Father, when He cried out in the Jordan: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” [7] —seeing that God too is Spirit, as we have said before. Having said these things, he adds a proof of what has been said, arguing from the lesser thus: If we accept the testimony of men about anything whatever, would we not much more justly accept the greater testimony that is from God? For is not this testimony concerning His Son, that is, concerning Christ, from God Himself? He, then, who believes in the Son of God, that He is God, as Son of God, has the testimony in Him—that is, in himself—namely, that he too, by believing, has been adopted as a son, through Jesus who was adopted as a son by God. But he who does not believe is guilty of two evils: of unbelief, making God a liar, and also of robbing himself of adoption, and thereby of eternal life as well—the life that Christ Himself also has in Himself, as it is written also in the Gospel: “In Him was life”.[8] So that he who has the Son through baptism has also the life; “for as many of us as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ”.[9] But whoever does not have the Son of God through baptism does not have the life either, and has been put to death. For He takes us up dead in our trespasses and raises us through holy baptism. How? Because he who has been buried together with Christ through the immersion in baptism is dead to the world—that is, to worldly desires—and no longer lives in himself, but lives to Christ.

1 Jn. 5:6–8. Not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood. And it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Christ is the truth. For there are three that bear witness: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood. — The word “came” is to be supplied, so that the sense may be: He came not in the water only—that is, He furnished the proof by water.

1 Jn. 5:8–12. And the three are to the one. If we accept the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God, which He has testified concerning His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning His Son. And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life. And this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. And the three are to the one—that is, to the testimony concerning Christ, both that He was adopted as a son by God the Father, and that what He Himself possessed He imparted to us: His name. [10]

1 Jn. 5:13–15. These things I have written to you who believe, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God. And this is the boldness that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.[11] These things he gathers up, as in an epilogue, and says: I have written to you as heirs of eternal life; for these things would not be written to those who do not live in hope of eternal life, since one ought not “to give holy things to dogs”, nor “to cast the precious pearls before swine”.[12] And he repeats, as we have said, reminding them of what was spoken: first, that one must “believe without wavering” in the name of the Son of God—that is, in the worship of God that was delivered to us by Him (for this is what “the name of the Son of God” signifies, as we have said); then, that the sign of this unwavering faith is nothing else than the boldness which, through faultless faith, we find toward Him, as we have said above; and that, again, the sign of such boldness he has laid down to be the not failing of all that is asked by us. But since not all obtain all the things they ask, nor are heard in what they ask, he adds the words “according to His will”; for he who asks contrary to the will of the Master will not even be heard, just as it was with the blessed James—since he too says: “You ask, and you do not receive, because,” he says, “you ask amiss”.[13] And turning this same sign into a clearer mark of recognition, he says: And if we know that He hears us in everything that we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him; meaning something like this: If we ask according to His will, He hears us; and if He hears us in what we ask, we know that we are making our petitions according to His will, and that we have within ourselves the petitions that we have asked. And these are His kingdom and His righteousness, which He Himself also commanded us in the Gospels to ask. [14]

1 Jn. 5:16–17. If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not to death, he shall ask, and He will give him life—life, that is, to those who sin not to death. There is a sin to death; I do not say that he should make request concerning that one. All unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin not to death. Having said the things we have set forth, he now expressly sets forth one of the things which he wishes us to ask among those that are according to the will of God. And since he is, through almost the whole Epistle, abundant in extolling love toward one’s brother, and in teaching that God wills this—that love toward one’s brother be kept unadulterated—he now says that this is one of His wills, and the most excellent: If anyone sees his brother sinning not to death, let him ask, and He will give him life. And what will He give? Eternal life. To whom? To those who do not sin to death. For he makes the division as it were from the genus of sin taken simply, and says: All unrighteousness is sin, both that which is to death and that which is not to death. But concerning that which is to death, he says, let him not make request, that is, let him not ask; for he will not be heard, because he asks amiss—speaking of the one who shows no turning back. For this alone is a sin to death: the one that has no regard to repentance, with which Judas too, falling sick, was brought down to eternal death. But those also who bear grudges sin to death. For Solomon says: “The ways of the grudge-bearers are to death”.[15] For neither do these repent and turn back, holding fast to their grudges and keeping up their anger “against their neighbor”, but they sin in a way that admits of no change of mind.

1 Jn. 5:18–20. We know that everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin; but he who has been begotten of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, that we may know the true God; and we are in the True One, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and the eternal life. Having fixed our attention upon what the sin to death is, and what the sin not to death is, he goes on to indicate also whose it is to sin to death, and says that he who has been adopted as a son by God would never fall sick of sin, whether to death or not to death. For once he has given himself over to Christ, who dwells in him through the adoption, he remains untouched by sin. Yet, lest anyone suppose that such a one has been wholly transformed in his nature, so as to be henceforth incapable of being captured by sin, he adds the words “He keeps himself”—the meaning being that, if he does not keep himself and guard himself from the evil one, he will most certainly fall into sin. It is not by nature, then, that he advances into sinlessness, he says, but out of the great bounty of God, who, by adopting us as sons, has counted us worthy of this grace, so that, by guarding and keeping the gift that has been given us by Him, we may have also the not sinning. For otherwise, he says—the world lying in the evil one (and by “world” he means those who have not, through righteous works, transferred themselves into the adoption of God)—nothing would have hindered us from being numbered together with those who are perishing; “inasmuch as the mind of man is bent diligently upon evil things from his youth”,[16] as God declared at the time of the flood. But since, he says, the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding to know Him as the true God, and to be in His true Son Jesus Christ Himself, we have known, through this great bounty, that He is the true God and the eternal life; and knowing this, we remain unharmed by the evil one and his stumbling-blocks.[17]

1 Jn. 5:21. Little children, guard yourselves against idols. Amen. Some have inquired: For what reason, if these things were written to perfect believers, does he charge them to keep themselves from idols? We say, then, that since he was writing these things to the whole Church—which was not wholly made up of an approved people, but there was in it also someone of more sluggish disposition—it is to such as these that he addresses the charge, having regard to their proneness to stumble.

The end of the Catholic Epistle of John. It was written from Ephesus: two hundred sixty-four stichoi.[18]

[1] John 1:12.

[2] Translator’s note: Theophylact notes that the clause “His commandments are not burdensome” (5:3) is set in parenthetically; he reads the connected argument as running from “keep His commandments” (5:2) straight to “everything begotten of God overcomes the world” (5:4).

[3] Translator’s note: “The man assumed in Him” (the assumed humanity), hypostatically united to the Word, is not a distinct subject or person; the “adoption” is predicated of the one incarnate Son (by the communicatio idiomatum), not of a separate human son—guarding against the very adoptionism Theophylact condemns above (on 1:7).

[4] John 12:28; cf. 17:1, 5.

[5] Translator’s note: A play on πνεῦμα (Spirit) and νεῦμα (the beck or sovereign nod of God); the term “Spirit” itself betokens divinity, hence Christ’s raising Himself proves Him God.

[6] Translator’s note: Theophylact does not cite the Johannine Comma (the “three that bear witness in heaven”). He reads “the three are one” (οἱ τρεῖς ἕν εἰσι) not as a Trinitarian formula but as the threefold testimony to Christ’s sonship—at baptism, cross, and resurrection—converging upon the one witness concerning Christ.

[7] Matthew 3:17; cf. 17:5.

[8] John 1:4.

[9] Galatians 3:27.

[10] Translator’s note: The phrase rendered “to us … His name” restores a span lost in the page-gutter (⟨ἡμῖν … τὸ⟩ before ὄνομα αὐτοῦ); “to us” is supplied from the sense and the facing Latin, the construction being that Christ shared with us the name (sonship) that was His own.

[11] Translator’s note: The lemma’s clause “in the name of the Son of God” stands in the source within an editorial seclusion ([εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ]); it is retained here as in the running text below.

[12] Matthew 7:6.

[13] James 4:3.

[14] Matthew 6:33.

[15] Proverbs 12:28 (Septuagint). The exact Septuagint wording varies; Theophylact cites it as “Ὁδοὶ μνησικάκων εἰς θάνατον.”

[16] Genesis 8:21 (Septuagint).

[17] Translator’s note: The Greek reads this clause plainly, with no lacuna: “and knowing this, we remain unharmed by the evil one.”

[18] Translator’s note: στίχων σξδ΄ = 264 stichoi—measured scribal lines of ancient stichometry (a standard scribal line of about sixteen syllables), used to reckon a copyist’s pay and to certify a manuscript’s completeness—NOT the number of biblical verses.

Commentary on the Second Epistle of John

Introduction

A Note to “the Elect Lady”

Second John is the shortest letter in the New Testament after Third John, a single short paragraph’s worth of counsel addressed by “the Elder”—a title the Church has always understood to mean the Apostle John himself, writing in old age—to “the elect lady and her children.” Theophylact takes this address at something close to face value: a particular Christian woman, honored and known to John, and her household, rather than a cipher for the whole Church, though he notes that nothing in the letter forbids reading it that way as well. Whoever she was, the letter that reaches her is warm, brief, and entirely practical, the kind of note a pastor might send to a member of his flock he trusts but wishes to put on guard.

Truth, Love, and a Warning

In the space of thirteen verses John manages to repeat, in miniature, the two concerns that fill his longer first letter: that believers walk in truth and love one another, and that they be on guard against “deceivers” who deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh—the same denial John opposes at length elsewhere. Theophylact reads the letter’s most pointed instruction, that such a teacher should not be received into the house or even greeted, not as a call to rudeness but as a practical safeguard: hospitality in the ancient world lent a visiting teacher standing and a platform, and John will not have his “elect lady” unwittingly extend either to someone spreading a false Christ. The letter closes, as it opened, with the wish to speak further “face to face rather than with paper and ink”—a small, human touch Theophylact does not pass over, since it shows the same beloved disciple who wrote at such length elsewhere preferring, when he could, the presence of a friend to the page.

A Brief Letter, Briefly Read

There is no larger argument to trace here, and Theophylact does not manufacture one; his comments follow the letter clause by clause and are done almost as soon as they begin. That brevity is itself worth noting rather than apologizing for: not every apostolic word needed to be long to be worth keeping, and a Church that preserved this short note alongside John’s much longer first epistle judged that even a few verses of pastoral counsel, rightly aimed, deserved a place in the canon. Read in a single sitting, letter and commentary together amount to a brief, direct reminder of what the first epistle says at length: that truth and love cannot be separated, and that a Christian’s welcome is not owed to everyone who asks for it.

Chapter 1

Argument. This Epistle he writes, as “the elder,” to an elect lady and to her children. The occasion of the Epistle is this: seeing that her children were conducting themselves well in the faith, while many deceivers were going about and saying that there was no coming of Christ in the flesh, he writes the Epistle. And first he commends her children for walking well; then, teaching that the mystery we profess is no recent thing, he exhorts them again concerning love, and that they should remain in the teaching that has been delivered to them. And next he teaches that whoever says that Christ has not come in the flesh is an antichrist. He charges them, moreover, that such men are not to be received by anyone into the house, nor even to be greeted. And so he brings the Epistle to its close.

Chapter-headings. 1. After the prologue, concerning an upright life in the love of God, through a devout and unwavering faith; in which it is also shown that one must not take a heretic into one’s house, nor greet him, and so share in his sin. 2. A promise of his own coming, held out in hope, for their benefit.

2 Jn. 1:1. The elder, to the elect lady and to her children, whom I love in truth—and not I only, but also all those who have come to know the truth. Some have supposed that this Epistle and the one after it are not by John the beloved, but by another man of the same name as he, on the grounds that both here and in the one after it he calls himself “elder,” and writes to a woman, and to a single man, Gaius, just as to a single woman—which is not in keeping with a Catholic Epistle; and, further, that he has not framed the salutation after the manner of the first Epistle, for in that one he did not begin in this way. But we answer that in the first Epistle he did not do this—did not so write a salutation—because he was not writing to a determinate person, nor to the Church of any particular places, as the blessed Peter did, writing pointedly to those in the dispersion and indicating that he was writing to Jews, and before him the divine James; rather, making his discourse common to all the faithful, whether gathered in the assembly or not, he passed over the form of the salutation.[1] Here, however, he writes himself “elder,” and not “apostle,” nor “servant of Jesus Christ,” as the rest of the apostles do. He does not write himself “apostle,” perhaps because he was not the first to proclaim the word in Asia, but came after Paul—and not in passing, as Paul did, but remaining there and present. Nor yet does he write himself “servant of Jesus Christ,” for, because he was so greatly loved, he had the confidence to stand outside the fear that belongs to servitude. He saw fit to call himself “elder” only, either because he was already an old man when he wrote these Epistles, or because by the term “elder” he was also calling himself a bishop—it being customary, at that period, for the name “elder” (presbyter) to be borne by bishops as well.[2] In writing to a faithful woman, he held nothing back, since in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female.[3] And in writing to Gaius, a single man, he has Paul for a precedent, who wrote both to Titus and to Timothy, and to Philemon, a private individual. So much, then, concerning the salutation. The genuineness of the Epistles is shown also from the manner of expression and from the rest of the ordering of the discourse, since here too he often leads the argument back, saying the same things about the same matters, with the addition of some small occasion, and by this securing his argument. To this elect lady he bears witness on two counts: the one, that she walks in love; the other, that she turns away from the heretics. He calls her “elect” either from her name or from her zeal for virtue—her whom he says he loves in truth, and not only her, but also all who are of like character with her, those who have the truth firmly established within themselves. For this is what he signifies by the phrase “that abides in us,” that is, the faith in Christ. And he says that he loves “in truth”; for it is possible also to love feignedly, with the mouth alone, as he himself, in the first Epistle, made plain concerning certain sluggish believers. Having used the phrase “that abides in us,” he added the words, “and it shall be with us forever.” And to these he again subjoins, “Grace and mercy shall be with us,” displaying the goods that blossom forth from perfect love. “From God the Father,” he says, “and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” He went on to add, “the Son of the Father.” For He alone is properly the Father of the Son. Therefore Paul too says, from whom every fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named.[4] And again he adds “in truth” and “love,” securing his discourse and [giving] a mark of the love of which he speaks.

2 Jn. 1:2–3. For the sake of the truth that abides in us (and it shall be with us forever). Grace, mercy, and peace shall be with you from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. That is to say, a love that is true and steadfast, and not counterfeited in outward show.

2 Jn. 1:4–6. I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, even as we received commandment from the Father. And now I beseech you, lady, not as though writing to you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. And indeed it is truly a cause of the greatest joy to find a man journeying without stumbling along the course that is run in the faith of Christ, according to His commandment. And what is the commandment? The one concerning which Christ says in the Gospels, He who loves Me will keep My commandments.[5] And here he calls Christ “father,” since He too is a father—of the sons given to Him, through the economy, by the Father—as it is said, Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.[6] Observe, too, the genuineness of this Epistle: that through these words it agrees with what was said in the first Epistle, to the effect that he who loves God keeps His commandments.[7] For to walk according to the commandments is the same as to keep them. For the virtues are practical, and have their being in being put into action; so that he who has ceased to journey according to them does not even keep them. And “to walk” is said with reference to progress. For insofar as a man is active in virtue, he presses on to what lies ahead, acquiring for himself an ever greater habit of the good. It is in this sense, I think, that the words too are spoken, into which the angels long to look.[8] For so great is the magnitude of the goods given to us by Him who became man, that even for angels it is a thing to be desired to gain some brief comprehension of them; for this is what is meant by “to look into.” And one who is prudent desires this—not that which will come to an end, but that which advances everlastingly. And since it is not possible to grasp the whole of what is inexhaustible, it is at least desirable to come to partake of it in some measure. Having said, “I do not write to you as a new commandment,” he says this too in agreement with what is in the first Epistle. And he adds the work of the commandment: “that we love one another.” And he expounds love, [saying] that it has its very being in being lived out according to it, and that the commandment “from the beginning” was given for no other reason than this—that, he says, “you may walk in it.”

2 Jn. 1:6–7. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have entered into the world, who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. He turns the same matters over and over. By means of love he provides for their steadfastness, [warning them] not to break away after the deceivers who are already walking about in the world and who set at naught the Lord’s sojourn in the flesh; and by means of walking according to the commandment that is “from the beginning,” he shows that the opinion of the erring heretics is a recent thing, and he exhorts these believers to hold fast to the commandment that is from the beginning, and not to be led away by their deceit. For Christ too charged the disciples concerning these deceivers, saying, Many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ’; and they shall deceive many. Do not, then, go after them.[9] He commands, therefore, that all who keep the commandments not be deceived, but rather regard the one who says these things as an antichrist. “For this one,” he says, “is the antichrist and the deceiver.” And in saying, “Those who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in the flesh”—but not “having come”—he makes it plain that there were some who rejected the second coming of Christ; since the Lord Himself also says, “Many shall come in My name,” speaking not of His first coming, but of the second. Yet, by a true reckoning, those who reject the second coming cast away the first as well. For if He who came in the flesh also promised the second coming, then assuredly the one who rejects the second rejects the first also. For if he believes that He came, he will also hold trustworthy the promise of the One who came; but if he rejects the promise, there is no reason why he should not reject the first coming too. For this reason, I think, the beloved disciple also used this expression as he did—saying “coming,” but not “having come”—so that he might embrace those who deny both comings of the Lord in the flesh.

2 Jn. 1:7. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. To these words there must be supplied, for fuller clarity, the phrase, “Whoever, then, does not confess these things,” so that the clause “This is the deceiver and the antichrist” may follow aptly upon it. For without this the sentence is disjointed.

2 Jn. 1:8–9. Look to yourselves, that we lose not the things we have worked for, but receive a full reward. Everyone who transgresses and does not abide in the teaching of Christ has not God. He charges them to guard themselves against those who deny both comings of the Lord; and he adds the reason: “Lest,” he says, “by mingling with them, you lose what you have worked for, but rather receive your reward undiminished.” But perhaps one of these people will say: “What, then? If I do not believe in the coming of Christ in the flesh, but live by doing good, am I not able—with these works—to be ranked among the godly, and to receive the reward for them?” Anticipating this objection, the Apostle says that no one who sets aside the sojourn of Christ in the flesh should suppose either that he will receive the perfect recompense of works—which is owed even to the faithful—or that he will be reckoned godly at all; but everyone who transgresses His commandment—that is, the commandment of Christ, who has come—and does not abide in His teaching, has not God. For if the one who has come to teach men the perfect knowledge of God should be set at naught, how could he still be godly who drives away the expositor of things divine? Such a one, then, is godless; whereas, on the contrary, the one who is firmly established in the teaching of Christ is filled with God and dear to God, and has within himself all the fullness of the Godhead—namely, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. For Christ Himself teaches: concerning the Father, saying, All that the Father has is Mine[10] (and in many places He teaches concerning Himself and concerning the Father, that the one is Father and the other Son); and concerning the Spirit, when He says, The Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father;[11] and more perfectly than these, when He says, Baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.[12] And if here, by the disciple of the Lord, only the Father and the Son are mentioned, and not indeed the Holy Spirit, be not scandalized; for it was pressing to speak here only of this—of the Father, I mean, and of the Son.

2 Jn. 1:9. He who abides in the teaching of Christ, this one has both the Father and the Son. He abides in the teaching of Christ—that is, in the evangelical instruction—who thinks, and teaches, and acts according to it, living at once contemplatively and actively; but he who withdraws himself from it is godless. For just as the one who, by an exact manner of life, makes himself God’s own—like Abraham, inasmuch as he heard from Him, “I am your God”[13]—so too the one who lives outside the commandment of the Gospel is godless, having cut himself off from having God. And this man being godless—the one, I mean, who has estranged himself from the divine instruction—he who abides in it has both the Father and the Son. For concerning such a one the Son also said, We will come to him and make Our abode with him[14]—together with the Father, that is. For out of the keeping of the commandments he has made himself a temple and dwelling-place of God, and has God dwelling within him. Now since “to have God” is twofold—for all created things also are said to have God, with reference to which Paul too has said, For it is in him that we live and move and exist,[15] and this is understood according to the mode of their subsistence; whereas in another sense we say that the one who serves God through moral nobility “has” God, in which signification He is called “the God of Abraham” also, and of Isaac, and, in general, of the God-loving Hebrews[16]—we must therefore give heed now to the words, “He who has the Son has the Father also.” For he who has seen the Son, as He Himself says, has seen the Father;[17] and conversely, I am in the Father, and the Father in Me, the same Lord says.[18] So that from this too the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son is made known. But if anyone should say that on this principle the one who receives the disciples also has the Father and the Son—inasmuch as it is said, He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me[19]—let such a one know that he speaks wrongly, and presses his objection in a manner that is not fitting. For these words were spoken concerning the teaching: since the one who received the apostles and their teaching with assent received, through them, the Father and the Son as well, as teachers. And in another way: since he who abides in the teaching has both the Son and the Father, and the apostles abode in the teaching, so as even to proclaim it, the one who received them—they being temples of God—has, through them, the Father also.[20]

2 Jn. 1:10–12. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into the house, and do not bid him welcome. For he who bids him welcome shares in his evil works. Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and to speak mouth to mouth, that our joy may be full. He gives firm assurance to those to whom the Epistle is addressed, that if anyone comes to them without this confession, he should not only obtain no shelter from them, but should not even be granted a greeting—and he says this precisely, since this greeting is owed only to those of like character and like faith with us. For to whom should we wish “welcome,” save to those of like character and like faith? So that if such a greeting were offered by us to the impious, it would assuredly be offered to them as though to those of like character and like faith with us, and we would thereby have made them our partners, and these men would have dragged us down into their own pit. And the reason for setting out the Epistle so concisely—both here and in the one after it—he himself taught: namely, his hope of coming in person, and of supplying through a face-to-face meeting whatever is lacking.

2 Jn. 1:13. The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen. Some wish by this to establish that this Epistle is not [written] to a woman, but to a Church; concerning which there need be no contention for anyone who is so inclined.[21]

The end of the Second Epistle of John: thirteen stichoi.[22]

[1] Translator’s note: The “first Epistle” is 1 John, which (unlike 2 and 3 John) opens with no epistolary address. James and 1 Peter are addressed “to the twelve tribes in the dispersion” (James 1:1) and “to the elect sojourners of the dispersion” (1 Peter 1:1).

[2] Translator’s note: In the early Church the title πρεσβύτερος (“elder,” presbyter) was at times used of bishops; cf. Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1.

[3] Galatians 3:28.

[4] Ephesians 3:15.

[5] Cf. John 14:15, 23; 15:10.

[6] Translator’s note: Isaiah 8:18, applied to Christ at Hebrews 2:13. Theophylact calls Christ “father” analogically, in the order of salvation (the economy): the faithful are His “children”; this does not confound the Persons of the Trinity.

[7] Cf. 1 John 5:2–3; 2:3–5.

[8] 1 Peter 1:12.

[9] Matthew 24:5; the warning “Do not go after them” is from Luke 21:8.

[10] John 16:15.

[11] Cf. John 15:26.

[12] Matthew 28:19.

[13] Translator’s note: Genesis 17:1 (cf. Genesis 26:24); the Migne apparatus cites Genesis at this point.

[14] John 14:23.

[15] Acts 17:28.

[16] Cf. Exodus 3:6; Matthew 22:32.

[17] John 14:9.

[18] John 14:10–11.

[19] Matthew 10:40.

[20] Translator’s note: The Greek of this final clause is elliptical—the Migne text reads only “through… also the Father” (δι᾽ καὶ Πατέρα), an anacoluthon with no finite verb and no relative pronoun. The verb “has” is supplied from the paragraph’s governing logic (ὁ μένων… ἔχει, “he who abides… has”).

[21] Translator’s note: The closing verb is textually uncertain in PG 126 (the Migne apparatus offers an alternative reading); the sense is that one may hold either view without dispute.

[22] Translator’s note: στίχων ιγ΄ = thirteen stichoi (scribal measured lines of ancient stichometry), not biblical verses; here the count coincides with the verse total.

Commentary on the Third Epistle of John

Introduction

Three Men and a Household Dispute

Third John is the shortest book in the New Testament, a private letter from “the Elder”—again received as the Apostle John, writing near the end of his life—to a Christian named Gaius, and it reads exactly like what it is: one leader’s note to a trusted friend about a local church quarrel. Theophylact’s own summary states its whole content in a sentence: John commends Gaius, well known for his hospitality to traveling brethren, and urges him to keep it up; he then rebukes a certain Diotrephes, “who loves to be first,” refuses to receive John’s own messengers, and even expels from the church anyone who does welcome them; and he closes by commending a third man, Demetrius, of good repute with everyone. No doctrine is argued and no error refuted—the letter’s entire concern is a practical one, the right and wrong use of Christian hospitality within a single congregation.

A Small Letter, Honestly Read

Theophylact’s comments run to only a handful of remarks, and there is no reason to expect more from so short a text; he pauses mainly to explain how John’s plain warning that he will “call attention” to Diotrephes’s conduct squares with the general Christian command not to repay evil with evil—answering that a wrong done to the faith and to the whole community, and not merely to oneself, may rightly be exposed rather than quietly absorbed. He also lingers, briefly and warmly, on the letter’s closing wish to speak “mouth to mouth” rather than by letter, the same preference for presence over paper that closes Second John as well. Read together with its companion letter, Third John shows the apostolic Church working out something very ordinary—how a traveling teacher should be received, and what to do about a local leader who will not receive him—in words few enough to fit on a single page, but weighty enough that the Church kept them.

Chapter 1

Argument. This Epistle is about hospitality. First John commends Gaius, who is attested by everyone for his hospitality, and urges him to remain in the same resolve—to send the brethren on their way and to welcome them. Then, while he accepts Gaius’s generosity, he finds fault with Diotrephes, who not only fails to provide for the poor himself but even hinders others, and indulges in much idle talk. Such people, he says, are strangers to the truth and do not know God. Demetrius, however, he commends, bearing him the finest witness.

Chapter-headings. 1. A prayer for Gaius’s perfection, and thanksgiving for his acknowledged hospitality to the brethren for Christ’s sake; in which there is also mention of the baseness and hatred of the brethren shown by Diotrephes. 2. Concerning Demetrius, to whom he bears the finest witness. 3. Concerning John’s coming to them speedily, for their benefit.

3 Jn. 1:1–2. The elder, to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth. Beloved, in all things I pray that you may prosper and be in health. He loves in truth who loves according to the Lord. John writes this Epistle to commend certain brethren. He writes to Gaius, and bears witness to his great hospitality, for which he also counts him worthy of high praise; for he says that the one who does good is of God. And he rouses him still more by the very words in which he denounces Diotrephes, who had not learned to act in this way. He praises Demetrius too, who did the same, and furnishes a trustworthy testimony of his virtue.

3 Jn. 1:2–3. Even as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified to your truth, even as you walk in truth. And the soul prospers in a manner of life lived according to the Gospel. He walks in truth who walks according to the simplicity of the Gospel. And “walks,” he means, not the movement of the legs—the kind of transition from place to place that is one and the same for every creature that has feet—but the well-ordered and temperate advance that follows the soul’s own impulses, which few attain, namely those who possess full knowledge.

3 Jn. 1:4–7. I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in truth. Beloved, you act faithfully in whatever you do for the brethren and for the strangers, who have testified to your love before the Church; you will do well to send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, taking nothing from the Gentiles. The word meizoteran (“greater”), by the strict standard of the Greek language, is improper, since it heaps one comparative upon another.[1]

3 Jn. 1:8–9. We therefore ought to welcome such people, that we may become fellow workers for the truth. I wrote to the Church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not receive us. “To welcome” (apolambanein) stands here for “to take up, to receive as a guest,” as in the verse, They took me up like a lion ready for prey.[2] And by this he teaches us not to wait for the needy until they come to us, but to run out to them ourselves and seek them out, as Abraham and Lot did.

3 Jn. 1:10. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to the works he does, prating against us with evil words; and not satisfied with this, he refuses to welcome the brethren himself, and he hinders those who wish to, and casts them out of the Church. If it has been commanded not to render evil for evil, how is it that the Evangelist now threatens such things? We answer that the former—not to render evil for evil—is a commandment with respect to one who sins against himself; but if the sin is against us and also brings a hindrance to the faith, then requital is due to such a person, just as Paul also dealt with Elymas, who was perverting the ways of the Lord.[3] His prating against us with evil words is, as it were, reviling, speaking evil, and disparaging.[4]

3 Jn. 1:11. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God; but he who does evil has not seen God. Since there is no fellowship of light with darkness, nor any concord of Christ with Belial,[5] the one who has been enlightened by the knowledge of Christ must not be mingled with the darkness by imitating the ungodly—that is, by sharing in their works. For the good man, he says, who does good is of God; and having the noetic eye of his soul illumined by the light of the knowledge of Him, and thereby being wholly light, he both sees the true Light—God—and is seen by others as a luminary in the world, holding forth the word of life.[6] So too the one who does evil, journeying in darkness, can himself neither see God—that is, do the things of God—nor make himself a visible example to others; rather he is hateful to all and abominable, according to the verse, I have hated and abhorred the sinner.[7]

3 Jn. 1:12–15. Demetrius has been attested by all, and by the truth itself; and we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true. I had many things to write to you, but I do not wish to write to you with ink and pen; rather I hope to see you soon, and we shall speak mouth to mouth. Peace to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name. Amen. “By all”—that is, by those who possess the truth; “and by the truth itself”—that is, by effective reality, not by mere repute. For there are some to whom virtue is attested, but falsely, resting on mere words with nothing to back them. Yet if anyone should take the phrase “by all” to extend even to the testimony of both believers and unbelievers—on account of the inclusive force of the word “all”—he would not be mistaken; for Paul says that the faithful are to be without offense to all—to Jews and to Greeks and to the Church of God—even as I myself please all men in all things.[8]

The end of the Third Epistle of the holy Apostle John: fifteen stichoi.[9]

[1] Translator’s note: 3 John 4 uses μειζοτέραν, a non-classical double comparative (μείζων “greater” already being comparative, with the further comparative ending -τερος added). Theophylact notes the irregularity.

[2] Translator’s note: Psalm 16:12 (LXX; 17:12 MT). Theophylact links the verb in the lemma with ὑπολαμβάνω (“take up”) in the Psalm.

[3] Acts 13:8–11 (Paul and Elymas the magician); cf. Acts 13:10, “perverting the straight ways of the Lord.”

[4] Translator’s note: The one who “threatens” is the Evangelist John, who warns in v. 10 that he will expose Diotrephes—hence the difficulty Theophylact raises (Scripture forbids returning evil for evil). The Greek of this comment is rough in PG 126 (col. 84); the readings were confirmed against a higher-resolution render of the scan.

[5] 2 Corinthians 6:14–15.

[6] Philippians 2:15–16.

[7] Translator’s note: Theophylact adapts Psalm 118:163 (LXX; 119:163 MT), where the LXX reads “I hated and abhorred unrighteousness” (ἀδικίαν); his text substitutes “the sinner” to fit the argument. The substitution stands in the Migne text itself, confirmed against the scan.

[8] 1 Corinthians 10:32–33.

[9] Translator’s note: στίχων ιε΄ = fifteen stichoi (the scribal measured-line count of ancient stichometry), not biblical verses; for so short an epistle the count happens to coincide with the verse total.

Commentary on the Epistle of Jude

Introduction

Jude, Brother of James

The letter names its author simply as “Jude, servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,” and the Church has received him as one of the Lord’s brethren, close kin to James who led the church at Jerusalem. It is one of the briefest letters in the New Testament, a single urgent paragraph’s worth of warning against teachers who had crept into the community, turning “the grace of our God into licentiousness” and denying, in effect if not in open word, the authority of Christ. Theophylact’s exposition is correspondingly compact, but he does not rush past the letter’s two most distinctive and demanding features: its use, twice over, of material drawn from outside the books that Jews and Christians alike counted as Scripture.

Contending for the Faith

Jude’s warning follows a pattern later echoed, almost verse for verse, in Second Peter: a roll call of God’s past judgments—the angels who did not keep their proper place, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the generation that perished for its unbelief in the wilderness—held up as proof that grace does not exempt the wicked from consequence. Theophylact follows Jude’s charge against the false teachers closely: they are “dreamers” who defile the flesh, “murmurers” who complain of their lot, flatterers of the powerful for the sake of gain, men who have gone “in the way of Cain,” rushed after “the error of Balaam for hire,” and perished “in the gainsaying of Korah.” His comments identify these teachers with the licentious sects the early Church knew well, drawing at one point on Epiphanius of Salamis’s Panarion to make plain exactly what shameful practice Jude’s carefully guarded language was describing.

Quoting Beyond Scripture

Twice Jude reaches for an example the Old Testament itself does not record. He tells how the archangel Michael, disputing with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring against him a reviling judgment but said only, “The Lord rebuke you”—an episode preserved not in the Pentateuch but in a Jewish work outside the canon, the Assumption of Moses, which survives now only in fragments and citations like this one. And a few verses later he quotes Enoch, “the seventh from Adam,” foretelling the Lord’s coming in judgment “with His holy myriads”—a prophecy from the book that circulated under Enoch’s name, likewise outside the Hebrew canon. Theophylact treats both citations as simply true and useful: he explains the Michael story as a lesson that no one, however wronged, has license to hurl abuse even at the devil, and he reads the Enoch prophecy as a straightforward warning of judgment to come, without pausing to justify Jude’s use of writings that the Church did not receive as Scripture in their own right. On his reading, an apostle citing a source outside the canon is no more remarkable than a preacher today quoting a true saying from a book he would not otherwise commend: the citation stands or falls on its own content, not on the status of the book it is drawn from, and Jude’s readers plainly knew and accepted both stories already.

A Short Letter’s Long Reach

Jude closes with one of the most quoted doxologies in the New Testament—praise to “Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to set you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy”—and Theophylact lets that note of confidence stand as the letter’s true close, after so much warning. A brief letter, easily read in a few minutes, it earns its place in Theophylact’s commentary series not for its length but for the two unusual citations that ask a reader to think carefully about how Scripture uses truth wherever truth is found, and for a final doxology that has outlived every controversy the letter was written to address.

Chapter 1

Argument. He writes this Epistle to those who have already believed. The occasion was this: when certain men had crept in, teaching that sin was a matter of indifference and denying Christ, he found it necessary to write and to make the brethren secure. And first he exhorts them to strive and to remain in the faith delivered to them. Then he disowns such men as deceivers, and charges the brethren to have no fellowship with them, knowing that it is not enough merely to be called, unless we also walk worthily of the calling. For indeed the Lord, after bringing the former people out of Egypt, also destroyed those who did not remain in the faith; and He did not spare the angels who failed to keep their own rank. We must therefore withdraw from such people. For even Michael the archangel did not endure to utter blasphemy against the devil. He teaches, then, that the destruction of these men will be like that of Sodom. After this he exhorts them concerning their conduct; and, having prayed that they may receive firmness of faith from the Lord, he brings the Epistle to its close.

Chapter-headings of this Epistle.
1. Concerning attentiveness to the faith in Christ, because of the uprising of ungodly and licentious men.
2. Concerning their coming punishment, after the likeness of the sinners and wicked men of old.
3. The denunciation of them for their error, their impiety, their licentiousness, their blasphemy, and their feigned hypocrisy—the taking of bribes to deceit.
4. Concerning the security of the faithful in the faith, and concerning compassion and forbearance toward the neighbor to salvation in holiness.
5. A prayer on their behalf for sanctification and pure boldness, together with the glorifying of God.

The Epistle of the holy Apostle Jude. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are sanctified in God the Father.[1] It was enough for him—for the apostle now before us, I mean—for the conspicuousness of his glory, after naming himself a servant of Christ, also to take dignity from James. For by presenting the brother of James—who was extolled by all for his virtue—he renders this man more readily received by his hearers for the teaching that comes through his words; since one who shares his birth and blood would not be seen to be estranged in character either from the man with whom he shares kinship. And especially, since he too is enrolled under one Master, Christ, bearing the yoke of servitude, he marks himself out as drawing in equal balance with his kinsman.

Jude 1:1–2. And to those called, who are kept by Jesus Christ. Mercy to you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. When the Lord had said, No one can come to me unless my Father draws him,[2] this blessed man shows that the saying is now proved true. For he says that those who are loved by the Father are kept for Jesus Christ. This is why he calls them “called”: for it is not of themselves, but from the Father, that they have both their being drawn and their being called. And he prays that mercy and peace and love may be multiplied to them: mercy, because it was through the tender compassions of God’s mercy that we were called back and taken up to be His servants; peace, because God Himself, our Father, bestowed this also upon us, reconciling us, who had given offense, to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ; and love, because it was out of love toward us that His only-begotten Son was given up to death for us. He prays, then, that these things may be granted to them above all measure, in harmony with the blessed David, who declares, Extend your mercy to those who know you.[3] For we too, spurred on by these saving examples, with an unfeigned disposition toward our own kind, should live worthily of Him who called us.

Jude 1:3. Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you. By these words he discloses the theme of the Epistle: that out of forethought for their salvation—lest through simplicity they be captured by those most abominable heretics—he sets forth the present discourse, as it were branding the heretics and making them plainly evident to those who do not know them, by exposing their licentious manner of life. Of these things Peter too has spoken, but this man now more fully. He calls them “written of beforehand,” since both Peter and Paul had said of them that in the last times such deceivers would come; and before these, Christ Himself had said, Many will come in my name, and will lead many astray. Do not, then, go after them.[4] For naming themselves Christians, they deceive many by that very name. He means the followers of Nicolaus, of Valentinus, and of Simon, those most abominable men. For these, being gluttons and licentious, counterfeited the teaching, so that by their stealing into households they might find little women laden with sins [and take them captive]. For having fabricated certain nocturnal rites, they gave themselves over to beds and to acts of licentiousness. And the phrase “transferring it into licentiousness” stands for “altering, counterfeiting from chastity into licentiousness”; whence it also comes about that they deny our Lord Jesus Christ. For how do they not deny, through the uncleanness of their life, the teacher of all chastity, as it were with a piercing voice making their breach with Him decisive? For what fellowship has light with darkness?[5]

Jude 1:3–4. Exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in, who were of old written of beforehand for this judgment, ungodly men, transferring the grace of our God into licentiousness, and denying the only Master, God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. He exhorts those who have once received our Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, and who have believed in Him, to contend earnestly. For having received the Word who became man, if we should say that the one begotten of the Father before the ages is one being, and the one born of the Mother and in His own subsistence another, how should we not be denying the one Lord and Master? For there is one Lord Jesus, according to the union of the economy. For the Word of God and God, who is before the ages, having the flesh that ascends into the glory of the Godhead—the flesh which He took up from the holy Virgin at the very beginning of the conception—is one and the same, the Master of all.

Jude 1:5–6. But I wish to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who kept not their own rank, but left their own habitation, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness, to the judgment of the great day. Having spoken of the licentiousness of the unclean Nicolaitans, Valentinians, and Marcionites, he adds these words: “that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt,” and so forth—showing at once that He Himself is the God of the Old Covenant and the Author of the New, and not, as these abominable men hold, that one God—vengeful and cruel—is the overseer of the Old, and another—gentle and benevolent—of the New; and showing at the same time that those of the present day will no more go unpunished than did those who came out of Egypt. For although, on account of His surpassing power and the oath sworn to their fathers, God delivered them from the violence of the Egyptians, yet when they transgressed they did not remain unpunished, but paid a fitting penalty; for God’s favor toward their fathers profited them nothing, nor did the marvelous working of wonders through that favor—those who, having passed through the Red Sea on dry ground, afterward fell away from faith and perished. And as for those who obtained the honor of the angelic rank, who out of sloth did not remain in their own dominion but set aside the heavenly mode of life given them in His goodness—these He has stored up for the judgment, that is, for the condemnation of the great day, with punishment (for this is what “he has kept” now means); even as the Lord also says, That which is prepared for the devil and his angels.[6] And indeed the men of Sodom too are set forth as proof of the unending fire that awaits them.

Jude 1:7. As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner to these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the penalty of eternal fire. The phrase “having gone after strange flesh,” and “having committed fornication,” means “having turned aside,” which is what fornicating signifies. By “strange flesh” he means the male nature, as not contributing to the intercourse of procreation. For the flesh that serves for procreative intercourse is that of the female, according to the saying of the forefather, Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.[7] But the flesh of males is “strange” to intercourse, I mean. Yet even in the case of the female: the one flesh that is joined to one according to the laws is a man’s own and proper flesh; but the flesh that is poured out and made common is strange and alien, and falls but little short of the male’s in defilement.

Jude 1:8. Yet in like manner these dreamers also defile the flesh, and set at nought lordship. Having set forth these examples, which he had already adduced, he left it to the hearer to infer what follows from them. And what is that? To add: “If, then, He so used these as a warning, in no way put to shame by their former good fortune—will He, then, deliver these men who now act licentiously?”—on the ground that the Son of God came into the world for the sake of men, and endured insults on their behalf, and was tested by sufferings? No one could say this. For though He is benevolent, yet He is also just in truth. And for the sake of true justice He did not spare those who had sinned; yet for the sake of His love for mankind He brought harlots and tax collectors into the kingdom. So, though it would have followed for Him to use such severity, He Himself let it pass—both for the reasons we have stated, and as it was foretold by the blessed Peter when he said, For if God did not spare the angels that sinned, and what follows.[8] And concerning these things, so much. As for the phrase “they defile the flesh as dreamers,” the gravity of the wording is worthy of admiration. For he veiled the exceeding shamefulness of the deed by the word “dreaming”; which we shall lay bare a little, and only so far as is fitting, having taken our knowledge from the work composed on these matters by the blessed Epiphanius of Cyprus, which he also entitled the Panarion.[9] For he says that these “Borborites” and abominable men, mingling shamefully with women, do not let the seed fall into the womb, but with abominable rite take it up in their own hands and bring it at once to the mouth, together with the women with whom they were corrupted, and that these unclean people thus depart from one another, supposing they have accomplished some great thing. This unclean deed, because it is unconsummated, he calls a “dream”; for such indeed are dreams. Defiling, therefore, their own flesh by this filthy offering, they rage still further, he says, against the divine nature also, setting at nought its lordship and its dominion over the whole. More fully concerning these matters has the blessed Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, spoken, in the book of his entitled A Refutation of Knowledge Falsely So Called.[10] Otherwise: he bears witness against their licentiousness, declaring that they are both unclean in life and most licentious in knowledge. And he says that they “set at nought lordship”—namely, the celebration of the mystery according to Christ. For they set it at nought, performing their own acts of licentiousness in the guise of angelic mysteries.

Jude 1:8. And they blaspheme glories. By “glories” we must understand the many opinions of approved men, which the reputable among the Greeks also call “theses,” defining them as paradoxical opinions—not of ordinary men, but of those distinguished in philosophy. Since, then, both Moses—in what was strange to the men who lived as citizens in those times—and the divine apostles introduced into life the things they brought in under God’s inspiration, and these seemed to be a telling of paradoxes because of their novelty to the men of that day, he did not shrink from naming these things “glories,” that is, “opinions.” A proof of this account is the divine Paul, who, when he was brought up by the Athenians to the Areopagus, and there expounded divine things to them, seemed to end in mere babbling. As, then, those teachings were called “babbling” by way of reproach, so too they named the aforesaid things “glories.” Therefore this divine man employed “glories” as something customary and familiar to all, calling them men taught of God. Another interpretation, to the same effect: by “glories” he means the Old and New Covenant, which Paul also calls so: For if that which was being abolished was through glory, much more that which is honored in glory; or else by “glories” he means the ecclesiastical authorities, against whom they spoke evil—as one may learn from the Third Epistle of the beloved John, from his saying that Diotrephes prated against them with evil words. And since he mentioned blasphemy, bringing to soberness not only these men but all people—that they keep their tongues pure from such an evil, and not employ blasphemy even against those who deserve it—he says: “But Michael the archangel,” and what follows. Saying what? That these men readily and without restraint employ blasphemy against everyone; but this ought not to be, seeing that it is not even right to blaspheme those who deserve blasphemy—as is plain from the archangel Michael. For though it was in his power, when contending with the devil concerning the body of Moses, to blaspheme the devil for his shamelessness, he did not do this, but only said, “May God alone rebuke you, devil,” and so dealt with him. Otherwise: For if the archangel acted thus, we should not in justice weave together blasphemy against a man who is a brother and of the same kind.[11] Now the dispute concerning the body of Moses is this: It is said in apocryphal writings that Michael the archangel ministered at the burial of Moses; and that the devil would not allow this, but brought against him the charge of the slaying of the Egyptian, alleging that, since Moses was guilty on this account, he should not be permitted to obtain burial. This the present apostle adduces, not only to instruct men not to be ready for blasphemy, but also through it, wishing to establish that there is a reckoning owed by all men after the soul’s departure from the body; and that He Himself is the God of both the Old and the New Covenant; and that, after our departure from here, the devil with his own wicked demons lies in wait for our souls, wishing to cut off their good journey. And the devil indeed sets himself against them, but the good angels fight on their behalf, as the blessed Anthony beheld. These things He then permitted to take place; yet Michael at that time drove off the devil, but did not rebuke him with authority of his own; rather, he yielded the judgment to the Lord of all, and said, “May God rebuke you, devil.”

Jude 1:9–11. But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring against him a judgment of blasphemy, but said, May the Lord rebuke you. But these men blaspheme whatever they do not know; and whatever they understand naturally, like the irrational animals, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and have rushed greedily after the error of Balaam for hire, and have perished in the gainsaying of Korah. Michael, he says, in this way did not endure the blasphemies of the devil even against a man, namely Moses; but these men compose blasphemous words concerning doctrines which they do not know; and whatever things they understand by natural impulse, without discernment, like the irrational animals, these they pursue, like lust-maddened stallions. Woe to them! for they went in the way of Cain through fratricide, because they too, teaching such things to the brethren—that is, to men of the same kind—kill them by their wicked teachings; or else, by devouring the seed, they kill in potency brothers whom the ripening of the seed would have brought into life. And they went in the way of Balaam, because they too, like him, do these things for the sake of gain. And in that of Korah, because these men too, like him, being unworthy, snatched at the dignity of teaching.

Jude 1:12. These are hidden reefs in your love-feasts, feasting together with you. There were still in those days tables held in the churches, as Paul also says in his Epistle to the Corinthians, which they called “love-feasts.” In these, he says, they come together, not for the need that is met in them, but that they may find opportunity to entrap unsteadfast souls, as Peter also says in his Second Epistle. He likens them to reefs, and to waterless clouds, and to autumn trees, and to wandering stars. For what belongs to those by nature, belongs to these by choice. For just as reefs are destructive to those who sail, appearing unexpectedly, so these too breed an unlooked-for evil for their fellow banqueters. And just as waterless clouds, driven by winds, do not refresh with rain in whatever places they are carried to (for they have none), but rather work gloom for them, so these too do not water the souls of those who meet them with a word of salvation, but cast gloom upon them by their most paltry suggestions, driven on by the wicked practices of the demons. But the autumn trees too, which die twice—both in the casting off of their fruit and in the falling of their leaves (for then they seem withered, stripped of their beauty, of the splendor that comes from the fruit and of the flowery comeliness of the leaves)—suffer something corresponding to these men. For these too die twice, casting off their own fruit by their devouring of the seed, and stripping away the good order that comes from a prudent manner of life. Therefore they are uprooted from the paradise of the Lord, the Church, and are cast outside, gathered for the eternal fire. For what rooting will he have who is abominated by all for the shamefulness of his life? And they are called “wandering stars” too—not because they shine conspicuously in the firmament of our faith, having the Sun of righteousness, Christ, passing through them and producing the seasons of the virtues and giving life to the faithful who live according to them; but because, seeming to be transformed into an angel of light, like the wicked demon who leads them, they are borne only contrary to the doctrines of the Lord; by whom they cast gloom on those who draw near them, and procure for themselves the eternal gloom. But they are likened to wild waves also.

Jude 1:12–13. Fearlessly shepherding themselves; waterless clouds carried about by winds; autumn trees, fruitless, twice dead, and uprooted; wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been kept to an age. Likened to wild waves, they do not disown the resemblance to them. For madly and uncontrollably they too, driven by the spirits of wickedness to blasphemies against God, foam out their own shame, ending in foam together with the ostentation of their blasphemy, out of the unstable and easily-dissolved shamefulness of their life. For such also is the foam of the waves to which they were likened. The phrase “fearlessly shepherding themselves” is to be construed either with “reefs,” so that the meaning is this: “reefs feasting fearlessly,” that is, expecting no fear for their fellow banqueters, suddenly, like reefs, bringing destruction upon their souls; or, construing “fearlessly themselves” with “shepherding,” we shall find this sense: “fearlessly shepherding themselves,” not dreading the judgment that comes from not knowing how to shepherd, blind men leading the blind, and into a pit—as the Lord’s word will say—falling together with those they shepherd.

Jude 1:14–18. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these men, saying: Behold, the Lord came with His holy myriads, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all their ungodly ones of all the works of their ungodliness which they have committed in ungodliness, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own desires; and their mouth speaks swelling words, marveling at men’s persons for the sake of advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how they told you that in the last time there would be mockers, walking after their own ungodly desires. Having spoken of the things prophesied to us, he brings in Enoch also, prophesying the affliction laid up for them by God in the last days—of the Lord’s righteous judgment, that is. Now the ungodly man differs from the sinner: in that the ungodly man has his fault concerning God, while the sinner falls short of the aim of righteousness in the things done in the course of life. After this, leaving aside the comparison with the ungodly of old, he now passes to the indictment of them in their own right, calling them “murmurers” and “complainers.” A murmurer is one who finds fault under his breath and without openness at what displeases him; a complainer is one who makes a practice of carping at everything always. Murmurers, then, and complainers are these abominable men, he says. For they have no boldness to make use of their teaching openly, because of its shamefulness; for it is not without danger to publish abroad their ungodliness, joined as it is with licentiousness and blasphemy. And they are “complainers” in that they slander both the affairs of others and the things of the truth, so that they may set up, as it were, their own evils and acts of licentiousness. As for what he said of Balaam—that these men too, for hire, like him, poured themselves out—he now states more plainly, that “they marvel at men’s persons for the sake of advantage”—by “marveling” meaning their flattering resort to those in office—and by “advantage” he means gain.[12]

Jude 1:19. These are they who set up divisions, sensual men, not having the Spirit. Behold yet another charge against these most abominable men. For not only do they themselves perish, he says, but they also plunder the nurslings of the Church (for this is what “setting up divisions” means)—that is, putting them outside the ecclesiastical bounds, namely those of the faith, or even of the ecclesiastical dwelling itself. For having made their own gatherings into dens of robbers, they lead men away from the Church, and draw them to themselves. And they do this, being sensual men—that is, living according to the conduct of the world. For we have already said that the divine Scripture is often wont to call “life” too by the word “soul,” as in Job: All that a man has he will give for his soul—that is, for his life.[13] And Paul too says that men who are sensual cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God.[14] Being sensual, then, they also employ a sensual teaching, of which it has been said: This is not the wisdom that comes down from the Father of lights, but is earthly, sensual, demonic, not having the divine Spirit that speaks.[15]

Jude 1:20–23. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the consummation of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And some, who are wavering, have mercy on; but others save in fear, snatching them out of the fire.[16] The sensual, he says, are as we have set forth. But you, building yourselves up in the Holy Spirit and on your most holy faith—that is, recovering yourselves in the Holy Spirit, namely according to the teaching of the Holy Spirit, making your gatherings in your prayers—keep yourselves [in the love of God; that is,] guard yourselves, awaiting the mercy that comes from the Lord, the mercy bestowed on you to the last day of eternal life. As for those others: if they have separated themselves from you (for this is what “wavering” signifies), reprove them—that is, make their ungodliness manifest to all; but if they look toward healing, do not thrust them away, but receive them with the mercy of your love, saving them out of the fire that has been threatened against them. Receive them, however, together with showing them mercy, and with fear, taking heed lest the receiving of them—if you are careless in your disposition toward them—become a cause of harm to you, when those already made firm are stolen by them into the very same outpouring of their ungodliness; for evil is highly contagious. Let there be, then, a receiving of them, he says, but receive them with fear—that is, with caution; and let hatred attend the mercy shown toward them—hatred toward their abominable works, while you hate and abhor [them], and the garment spotted from their flesh—[as it were, toward their flesh]—by its touch, and bring even these men, who are worthy of mercy, to fear of the punishment to come.

Jude 1:23–25. Hating even the garment spotted from the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you without stumbling, and to set you before the presence of His glory unblemished, without blame, in exultation—to the only wise God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and majesty, dominion and authority, before all the ages, and now and to all the ages. Amen. The life stained by many transgressions of the passions that arise from the flesh is a spotted garment. For just as from a garment—the manner of one’s conduct in life—each man is wont to be made evident, whether righteous or unrighteous: the one having a clean garment, the virtuous life; the other having gained a life spotted with wicked works. Or rather, “spotted from the flesh” is the garment which is the disposition and habit that shapes the soul, in conformity with conscience, through the memory of the wicked motions and workings that arise from the flesh; which the soul, beholding it continually like a kind of garment about itself, is filled with the foul odor of the passions. For just as, from the Spirit, by the virtues being woven together with one another according to reason, there comes to be for the soul the garment of incorruption, which she puts on and becomes fair and glorious; so too, from the flesh, by the passions being woven together with one another in like proportion, there comes to be a certain garment, unclean and spotted, which of itself reveals the soul plainly, having clothed her with another form and image alien to the divine one. And having said these things, he then sets his seal upon the Epistle.

The end of the Epistle of the holy Apostle Jude: sixty-eight stichoi.[17]

[1] Translator’s note: Theophylact’s lemma reads ἡγιασμένοις, “sanctified” (so the Byzantine text), where modern critical editions read ἠγαπημένοις, “beloved.”

[2] John 6:44 (in the form Theophylact quotes: “unless my Father draws him”).

[3] Translator’s note: Psalm 35:11 (LXX; 36:10 MT).

[4] Translator’s note: Conflating Matthew 24:5 (“Many will come in my name … and will lead many astray”) with Luke 21:8 (“do not go after them”).

[5] 2 Corinthians 6:14.

[6] Matthew 25:41.

[7] Genesis 2:23.

[8] 2 Peter 2:4.

[9] Translator’s note: Epiphanius of Salamis (in Cyprus), Panarion (“Medicine-chest [against heresies]”), where he describes the “Borborites” (from βόρβορος, “filth”) under the Gnostic sects.

[10] Translator’s note: Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (Greek title Ἔλεγχος τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως, “Refutation of Knowledge Falsely So Called,” after 1 Tim 6:20).

[11] Translator’s note: Migne col. 96 prints “ἐκ” in the body with a marginal correction “[ƒ. οὐκ]”; read with the latter, the clause negates the verb (“we should not weave blasphemy”).

[12] Translator’s note: “Poured themselves out” (ἐξεχύθησαν) echoes the lemma of Jude 11, “rushed greedily after (lit. were poured out for) the error of Balaam for hire.”

[13] Job 2:4.

[14] 1 Corinthians 2:14.

[15] Translator’s note: A conflation of James 3:15 (“this wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic”) with James 1:17 (“every perfect gift … comes down from the Father of lights”).

[16] Translator’s note: Migne’s lemma prints τέλος (“end, consummation”), where the received text of Jude 21—and Theophylact’s own comment just below (“the mercy that comes from the Lord”)—read ἔλεος, “mercy.” The lemma is rendered as the edition prints it; the comment follows ἔλεος.

[17] Translator’s note: The closing colophon gives the work’s length in στίχοι (stichoi), the standard scribal line-units of ancient stichometry, not the twenty-five biblical verses; ξη΄ = 68, a known stichometric count for Jude. (The 2 and 3 John colophons likewise count stichoi, which there happen to coincide with the verse totals.)

Scripture Index (Genesis–Daniel)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Genesis
Genesis 1:6Chapter 3 (2)
Genesis 1:26Chapter 10 (11)
Genesis 2:7Chapter 2 (2)
Genesis 2:9Chapter 4 (14, 17)
Genesis 2:17Chapter 13 (23); Chapter 2 (29)
Genesis 2:18Chapter 11 (10)
Genesis 2:22Chapter 5 (35)
Genesis 2:23Chapter 1 (8)
Genesis 2:24Chapter 5 (36)

Genesis 3:16Chapter 4 (17); Chapter 1 (4); Chapter 14 (31); Chapter 2 (21)

Genesis 3:19Chapter 7 (27); Chapter 1 (4); Chapter 15 (68)

Genesis 4:4Chapter 11 (6)
Genesis 4:4–5Chapter 8 (4)
Genesis 4:7Chapter 11 (6)
Genesis 4:10Chapter 12 (47)
Genesis 6:3Chapter 8 (8)
Genesis 8:7Chapter 1 (31)
Genesis 8:21Chapter 4 (35)
Genesis 9:25Chapter 6 (16)
Genesis 10:8–9Chapter 5 (14)
Genesis 10:10Chapter 5 (13)
Genesis 12:3Chapter 3 (9)
Genesis 12:7Chapter 2 (25)

Genesis 13:15Chapter 9 (5); Chapter 2 (17); Chapter 11 (18, 32)

Genesis 15:5Chapter 4 (10)

Genesis 15:6Chapter 2 (11)

Genesis 18:10Chapter 9 (6); Chapter 4 (28); Chapter 11 (24)

Genesis 18:21Chapter 2 (28)
Genesis 18:28Chapter 7 (1)
Genesis 19:24Chapter 1 (39)

Genesis 21:12Chapter 9 (6); Chapter 3 (36); Chapter 11 (33)

Genesis 22:4Chapter 15 (9)
Genesis 22:10Chapter 6 (31)
Genesis 22:15Chapter 6 (29)
Genesis 22:16Chapter 6 (29)
Genesis 22:18Chapter 3 (14); Chapter 8 (13)
Genesis 24:4Chapter 11 (3)
Genesis 27:36Chapter 7 (42)
Genesis 27:41Chapter 12 (33)
Genesis 28:16Chapter 1 (4)
Genesis 28:20–22Chapter 12 (6)
Genesis 28:21Chapter 4 (1)
Genesis 32:30Chapter 12 (5)
Genesis 35:1Chapter 12 (6)
Genesis 35:2–3Chapter 12 (6)
Genesis 42:38Chapter 4 (12)
Genesis 46:3Chapter 12 (6)
Genesis 49:10Chapter 5 (6)
Exodus
Exodus 2:14Chapter 11 (40, 42)

Exodus 3:6Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (4)

Exodus 3:7Chapter 1 (6)
Exodus 3:8Chapter 1 (7)
Exodus 3:14Chapter 2 (8)
Exodus 4:21Chapter 2 (3)

Exodus 4:22Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (7); Chapter 8 (16)

Exodus 15:1Chapter 3 (34)

Exodus 15:17Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (13); Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (1)

Exodus 20:4Chapter 13 (9)
Exodus 20:12Chapter 6 (5)
Exodus 20:13–14Chapter 6 (2)
Exodus 20:14Chapter 5 (3)
Exodus 20:191. Argument (5); Chapter 12 (35)
Exodus 23:3Chapter 3 (48)

Exodus 24:3Chapter 2 (23); Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (12)

Exodus 24:7Chapter 2 (29)
Exodus 30:7–8Chapter 9 (13)
Exodus 32:29Chapter 4 (10)
Exodus 33:13Chapter 4 (14)
Exodus 33:17Chapter 4 (14)
Leviticus
Leviticus 19:17Chapter 10 (27)
Leviticus 19:18Chapter 6 (8)

Leviticus 26:12Chapter 9 (36); Chapter 10 (28)

Numbers
Numbers 11:5Chapter 6 (3)
Numbers 15:32Chapter 3 (9)
Numbers 22:5Chapter 1 (12)
Numbers 22:6Chapter 3 (11)

Numbers 24:9Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (24)

Numbers 24:17Chapter 7 (17)
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 1:17Chapter 1 (5)
Deuteronomy 4:26Chapter 5 (36)
Deuteronomy 6:5Chapter 6 (8); Chapter 6 (7)
Deuteronomy 7:6Chapter 1 (3)
Deuteronomy 10:16Chapter 7 (30)

Deuteronomy 18:15Chapter 4 (5); Chapter 12 (17); Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (4)

Deuteronomy 19:15Chapter 13 (1)
Deuteronomy 27:26Chapter 3 (10)
Deuteronomy 28:4Chapter 1 (6)
Deuteronomy 28:6Chapter 1 (6)
Deuteronomy 28:8Chapter 1 (7)
Deuteronomy 28:66Chapter 4 (5)
Deuteronomy 32:1Chapter 3 (5)

Deuteronomy 32:9Chapter 1 (28); Chapter 3 (13)

Deuteronomy 32:15Chapter 13 (11)

Deuteronomy 32:18Chapter 8 (17)

Deuteronomy 32:21Chapter 1 (5); Chapter 10 (26)

Deuteronomy 32:33Chapter 3 (29)
Deuteronomy 32:35Chapter 10 (50)
Deuteronomy 32:36Chapter 10 (50)

Deuteronomy 32:39Chapter 14 (20); Chapter 1 (28); Chapter 1 (19)

Deuteronomy 32:42Chapter 8 (16)
Joshua
Joshua 1:5Chapter 5 (22)
Joshua 2:9Chapter 11 (48)
Joshua 2:9–111. Argument (2)
Judges
Judges 19:25Chapter 7 (8)
1 Samuel

1 Samuel 2:5Chapter 16.—On the Resurrection of Christ. To Whom the Lord Appeared After His Rising. How He Arranged for the Disciples the Preaching of the Gospel (2)

1 Samuel 2:10Chapter 3 (9)
1 Samuel 2:30Chapter 12 (7)
1 Samuel 4:81. Argument (2)
1 Samuel 16:7Chapter 3 (8)
2 Samuel
2 Samuel 18:14Chapter 7 (10)
1 Kings
1 Kings 18:21Chapter 2 (14)
1 Kings 19:18Chapter 3 (8)
1 Kings 20:28Chapter 1 (12)
1 Kings 21:13Chapter 6 (21)
1 Kings 22:241. Argument (1)
2 Kings
2 Kings 4:27Chapter 3 (8)
2 Kings 14:251. Argument (3)
Job

Job 1:1Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (21)

Job 1:9–10Chapter 3 (1)

Job 1:12Chapter 5 (7)

Job 2:4Chapter 1 (11); Chapter 4 (6); Chapter 1 (15)

Job 2:9Chapter 3 (1)
Job 7:1Chapter 3 (34)
Job 18:5Chapter 2 (11)
Job 19:21Chapter 2 (15)
Job 21:14Chapter 14 (23)
Job 38:3Chapter 2 (4)
Job 39:27Chapter 2 (1)
Job 42:6Chapter 1 (32)
Psalms
Psalms 1:1Chapter 1 (25)
Psalms 1:3Chapter 5 (2)
Psalms 1:6Chapter 4 (14); Chapter 3 (7)
Psalms 2:1Chapter 4 (19)
Psalms 2:8Chapter 15 (34); Chapter 1 (5)
Psalms 2:9Chapter 7 (29)
Psalms 2:11Chapter 2 (18)
Psalms 4:4Chapter 1 (24)
Psalms 6:6Chapter 4 (6)

Psalms 7:9Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath (3)

Psalms 7:14Chapter 13 (21)

Psalms 9:13Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (10)

Psalms 9:17Chapter 2 (17)
Psalms 10:2Chapter 11 (45)
Psalms 10:9Chapter 4 (2)
Psalms 10:11Chapter 3 (11)
Psalms 10:17Chapter 6 (29)
Psalms 13:3Chapter 3 (3)

Psalms 14:1Chapter 4 (1); Chapter 1 (34); Chapter 3 (32); Chapter 3 (22)

Psalms 14:2Chapter 2 (28)
Psalms 15:4Chapter 2 (8)
Psalms 16:4Chapter 2 (5)
Psalms 16:8Chapter 11 (43)
Psalms 16:10Chapter 15 (9)
Psalms 16:14Chapter 3 (25)
Psalms 17:12Chapter 1 (6)
Psalms 18:1Chapter 1 (7)

Psalms 18:2Chapter 2 (14); Chapter 1 (7); Chapter 1 (29)

Psalms 18:5Chapter 4 (1)
Psalms 18:10Chapter 13 (3)
Psalms 18:24Chapter 1 (10); Chapter 13 (35)
Psalms 18:44Chapter 5 (8)
Psalms 19:1Chapter 1 (30)
Psalms 19:8Chapter 3 (34)
Psalms 19:9Chapter 1 (13)
Psalms 21:7Chapter 4 (9)
Psalms 22:2Chapter 2 (19)
Psalms 22:13Chapter 5 (3)
Psalms 22:17Chapter 15 (7)
Psalms 25:12Chapter 5 (19)
Psalms 27:1Chapter 1 (7)

Psalms 27:4Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (1)

Psalms 28:1Chapter 4 (12)
Psalms 29:6Chapter 3 (10)
Psalms 29:7–8Chapter 2 (19)
Psalms 29:8Chapter 2 (19)
Psalms 30:4Chapter 5 (8)
Psalms 30:16Chapter 3 (9)
Psalms 31:6Chapter 1 (28)
Psalms 31:22Chapter 5 (11)
Psalms 32:2Chapter 2 (11)
Psalms 32:4Chapter 6 (20)
Psalms 32:5Chapter 13 (21)
Psalms 32:9Chapter 2 (7)
Psalms 33:8Chapter 1 (13)
Psalms 33:9Chapter 15 (74)
Psalms 33:10Chapter 13 (3)

Psalms 33:14Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (15)

Psalms 33:15Chapter 3 (11)
Psalms 33:17Chapter 7 (8); Chapter 3 (10)
Psalms 33:22Chapter 1 (30)
Psalms 34:2Chapter 4 (14)
Psalms 34:5Chapter 10 (26)
Psalms 34:9Chapter 1 (13)
Psalms 34:13Chapter 3 (4)
Psalms 34:15Chapter 3 (6)
Psalms 34:15–16Chapter 3 (6)
Psalms 34:16Chapter 3 (6)
Psalms 35:7–8Chapter 4 (8)
Psalms 36:2Chapter 2 (4)
Psalms 36:10Chapter 1 (4)
Psalms 36:35–36Chapter 2 (4)
Psalms 38:5Chapter 7 (1); Chapter 3 (32)
Psalms 38:8Chapter 2 (12)

Psalms 38:9Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (7)

Psalms 38:13Chapter 3 (27)
Psalms 38:21Chapter 7 (1)
Psalms 39:2Chapter 1 (17)
Psalms 39:2–3Chapter 1 (17)
Psalms 39:6Chapter 4 (10)
Psalms 39:8Chapter 10 (54)
Psalms 39:12Chapter 11 (28); Chapter 1 (3)
Psalms 40:6Chapter 3 (18)
Psalms 41:3Chapter 4 (10)
Psalms 41:8Chapter 4 (18)
Psalms 41:9Chapter 11 (39)
Psalms 42:3Chapter 10 (54)
Psalms 43:25Chapter 1 (14)
Psalms 44:6Chapter 3 (14)
Psalms 44:8Chapter 6 (18)
Psalms 45:2Chapter 3 (18)
Psalms 45:10Chapter 11 (3)
Psalms 45:11Chapter 1 (13)
Psalms 45:13Chapter 3 (2)
Psalms 47:3Chapter 1 (21)
Psalms 48:13Chapter 4 (17); Chapter 6 (9)
Psalms 49:12Chapter 2 (7)
Psalms 49:14Chapter 6 (7); Chapter 12 (1)
Psalms 49:18Chapter 3 (1)
Psalms 49:21Chapter 3 (11)
Psalms 49:23Chapter 12 (1)
Psalms 50:6Chapter 6 (4)
Psalms 50:7Chapter 7 (10)
Psalms 50:14Chapter 8 (17)
Psalms 50:19Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 6 (7)
Psalms 50:21Chapter 4 (2)
Psalms 51:3Chapter 2 (21)
Psalms 51:4Chapter 8 (4); Chapter 1 (31)
Psalms 51:8Chapter 3 (1)
Psalms 51:9Chapter 2 (3)
Psalms 51:10Chapter 3 (28)
Psalms 52:8Chapter 1 (10)
Psalms 53:5Chapter 13 (18); Chapter 3 (43)
Psalms 55:4Chapter 1 (8)
Psalms 55:12Chapter 10 (54)
Psalms 55:12–13Chapter 11 (39)
Psalms 57:8–9Chapter 1 (11)
Psalms 58:4Chapter 2 (18)
Psalms 62:9Chapter 12 (9)
Psalms 62:10–11Chapter 12 (10)
Psalms 64:13Chapter 3 (11)
Psalms 64:14Chapter 3 (11)
Psalms 65:5Chapter 1 (3)
Psalms 65:6Chapter 4 (4)
Psalms 65:9Chapter 6 (5); Chapter 6 (16)
Psalms 65:11Chapter 3 (5)
Psalms 68:8Chapter 12 (52)
Psalms 68:11Chapter 1 (8)
Psalms 68:24Chapter 2 (6)
Psalms 69:15Chapter 2 (20)
Psalms 72:11. Argument (1)
Psalms 72:2–31. Argument (1)
Psalms 72:16–171. Argument (1)
Psalms 72:181. Argument (1)
Psalms 72:22–231. Argument (1)
Psalms 73:22Chapter 1 (15); Chapter 4 (18)
Psalms 73:26Chapter 1 (12)
Psalms 74:6Chapter 2 (1); Chapter 3 (9)
Psalms 77:4Chapter 12 (7)

Psalms 77:19Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (15)

Psalms 78:19Chapter 4 (28)

Psalms 79:4Chapter 1 (14)

Psalms 79:15Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (1)

Psalms 80:11Chapter 11 (7); Chapter 1 (19)
Psalms 81:5Chapter 4 (14); Chapter 6 (15)
Psalms 81:6Chapter 7 (2)
Psalms 81:7Chapter 2 (23)
Psalms 82:8Chapter 4 (24)
Psalms 83:3Chapter 4 (10)
Psalms 84:9Chapter 1 (1)
Psalms 88:18Chapter 3 (32)
Psalms 88:33–34Chapter 7 (29)
Psalms 89:32Chapter 4 (15)
Psalms 90:4Chapter 3 (6)
Psalms 90:8Chapter 2 (3)
Psalms 90:11–10Chapter 1 (31)
Psalms 92:2Chapter 5 (5)
Psalms 92:10Chapter 12 (2)
Psalms 94:7Chapter 3 (11)
Psalms 97:3Chapter 1 (13)
Psalms 101:5Chapter 4 (7)
Psalms 102:9–10Chapter 7 (40)
Psalms 103:5Chapter 6 (13)
Psalms 103:10Chapter 11 (16)
Psalms 103:16–17Chapter 2 (22)
Psalms 103:29Chapter 3 (4)
Psalms 103:30Chapter 3 (4)
Psalms 104:2Chapter 4 (32)
Psalms 104:8–9Chapter 7 (42)
Psalms 104:15Chapter 5 (19)
Psalms 104:30Chapter 3 (5)
Psalms 105:15Chapter 1 (4); Chapter 1 (18)

Psalms 109:1Chapter 3 (7); Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (6)

Psalms 109:18Chapter 4 (32)

Psalms 109:19Chapter 6 (27)

Psalms 110:1Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men (5); Chapter 8 (6); Chapter 1 (11)

Psalms 110:3Chapter 5 (8)

Psalms 110:4Chapter 3 (18); Chapter 5 (8); Chapter 7 (10); Chapter 2 (3)

Psalms 115:1Chapter 1 (26)
Psalms 115:4Chapter 5 (5)
Psalms 115:17Chapter 4 (6)
Psalms 116:2Chapter 5 (9)
Psalms 116:10Chapter 4 (19)
Psalms 117:5Chapter 2 (8)

Psalms 117:16Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (7)

Psalms 117:22Chapter 3 (10)
Psalms 118:14Chapter 5 (6)
Psalms 118:18Chapter 6 (24)
Psalms 118:24Chapter 1 (16)
Psalms 118:32Chapter 3 (12)
Psalms 118:57Chapter 2 (12)
Psalms 118:61Chapter 2 (12)
Psalms 118:71Chapter 2 (6)

Psalms 118:91Chapter 28.—On the Resurrection of the Lord. On the Guards of the Tomb, Witnesses of the Resurrection. On the Appearance of Christ to the Apostles and the Women in Galilee (4)

Psalms 119:5Chapter 2 (17)
Psalms 119:33Chapter 5 (19)
Psalms 119:71Chapter 2 (3)
Psalms 119:91Chapter 1 (3); Chapter 1 (5)
Psalms 119:96Chapter 4 (18)
Psalms 119:126Chapter 1 (5)
Psalms 119:163Chapter 1 (8)
Psalms 120:1Chapter 1 (34)
Psalms 120:7Chapter 4 (20)
Psalms 123:2Chapter 10 (26)
Psalms 124:4Chapter 2 (20)
Psalms 125:4Chapter 5 (30)
Psalms 126:4Chapter 3 (20)
Psalms 127:1Chapter 1 (33)
Psalms 131:13Chapter 1 (4)
Psalms 132:11Chapter 11 (54)
Psalms 134:19–20Chapter 1 (28)
Psalms 136:1–4Chapter 1 (35)
Psalms 137:4Chapter 2 (16)
Psalms 138:7Chapter 1 (4)
Psalms 139:3Chapter 1 (11)
Psalms 139:4Chapter 1 (25)
Psalms 139:6Chapter 2 (12)

Psalms 140:2Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (3)

Psalms 146:4Chapter 4 (29)
Psalms 147:4Chapter 3 (36)
Psalms 147:8–9Chapter 1 (9)
Psalms 147:20Chapter 5 (5); Chapter 3 (5)
Proverbs
Proverbs 3:7Chapter 1 (30)
Proverbs 3:21Chapter 2 (2)
Proverbs 3:34Chapter 1 (4); Chapter 4 (5)
Proverbs 11:31Chapter 3 (8); Chapter 4 (12)
Proverbs 12:13Chapter 3 (1)
Proverbs 13:23Chapter 2 (19)
Proverbs 14:30Chapter 4 (11)
Proverbs 16:5Chapter 4 (19); Chapter 2 (19)
Proverbs 16:25Chapter 2 (6)
Proverbs 18:3Chapter 3 (11)
Proverbs 18:17Chapter 1 (6)
Proverbs 18:19Chapter 10 (39)
Proverbs 19:14Chapter 13 (2)
Proverbs 20:6Chapter 8 (8)
Proverbs 24:17–18Chapter 1 (24)
Proverbs 26:11Chapter 2 (10)
Proverbs 27:1Chapter 4 (9)
Proverbs 27:17Chapter 10 (36)
Proverbs 28:1Chapter 5 (16)
Proverbs 30:2Chapter 1 (33)
Proverbs 31:6Chapter 5 (19)
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 1:13Chapter 2 (6)
Ecclesiastes 7:29Chapter 7 (1)
Ecclesiastes 11:1Chapter 5 (1)
Song of Songs
Song of Songs 2:2Chapter 14 (11)
Isaiah
Isaiah 1:2Chapter 1 (6); Chapter 8 (16)
Isaiah 1:12Chapter 12 (1)
Isaiah 1:14Chapter 10 (64)
Isaiah 1:16Chapter 1 (10); Chapter 13 (35)
Isaiah 1:19Chapter 2 (18); Chapter 1 (7)
Isaiah 1:21Chapter 7 (2); Chapter 3 (11)
Isaiah 2:19Chapter 1 (13)
Isaiah 3:1Chapter 14 (23)

Isaiah 3:11Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (1)

Isaiah 3:12Chapter 7 (4)
Isaiah 5:2Chapter 4 (13)
Isaiah 5:3Chapter 2 (1)
Isaiah 5:6Chapter 6 (16)
Isaiah 5:7Chapter 3 (28)
Isaiah 5:20Chapter 7 (4)
Isaiah 5:21Chapter 1 (30)
Isaiah 6:10Chapter 6 (15)
Isaiah 7:9Chapter 2 (30)
Isaiah 7:14Chapter 1 (27)
Isaiah 8:13Chapter 3 (6)
Isaiah 8:14Chapter 2 (2)
Isaiah 8:18Chapter 11 (3)
Isaiah 9:2Chapter 3 (8)
Isaiah 9:6Chapter 1 (15); Chapter 1 (2)
Isaiah 10:12Chapter 1 (26)
Isaiah 10:14Chapter 1 (28); Chapter 4 (5)
Isaiah 10:15Chapter 1 (26)
Isaiah 10:16Chapter 2 (18)
Isaiah 10:22Chapter 7 (39)
Isaiah 10:23Chapter 1 (1)
Isaiah 11:2Chapter 5 (14)
Isaiah 11:9Chapter 1 (7)
Isaiah 14:11Chapter 1 (28)
Isaiah 14:13–14Chapter 1 (28)
Isaiah 19:1Chapter 12 (52)
Isaiah 20:2–3Chapter 1 (18)
Isaiah 22:13Chapter 15 (44)
Isaiah 23:1Chapter 1 (4)
Isaiah 23:4Chapter 2 (14)
Isaiah 26:15Chapter 3 (12)
Isaiah 26:16Chapter 11 (8); Chapter 2 (8)
Isaiah 28:16Chapter 3 (10); Chapter 2 (2)
Isaiah 35:1Chapter 14 (11)
Isaiah 36:13–15Chapter 1 (26)
Isaiah 43:25Chapter 7 (41)
Isaiah 43:26Chapter 2 (19)
Isaiah 45:1Chapter 11 (20)
Isaiah 49:15Chapter 11 (16)
Isaiah 50:4Chapter 2 (12)

Isaiah 50:6Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (6)

Isaiah 50:11Chapter 7 (6)
Isaiah 52:7Chapter 1 (8); Chapter 10 (8)
Isaiah 52:15Chapter 2 (12)
Isaiah 53:1Chapter 10 (9)
Isaiah 53:5Chapter 15 (7)

Isaiah 53:7Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (10); Chapter 1 (9)

Isaiah 53:8Chapter 15 (7); Chapter 2 (8)

Isaiah 53:10Chapter 15 (9)

Isaiah 53:12Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (3); Chapter 5 (25)

Isaiah 54:1Chapter 2 (20)

Isaiah 56:7Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord (4)

Isaiah 58:5–6Chapter 3 (8)
Isaiah 58:7Chapter 5 (13)
Isaiah 58:9Chapter 1 (19)
Isaiah 59:2Chapter 2 (22)
Isaiah 59:20–21Chapter 11 (11)
Isaiah 60:1Chapter 3 (8)
Isaiah 61:1Chapter 1 (3)
Isaiah 61:10Chapter 14 (11)
Isaiah 63:9Chapter 5 (8); Chapter 4 (5)
Isaiah 65:1Chapter 14 (22)
Isaiah 65:5Chapter 4 (2)
Isaiah 65:15Chapter 2 (5)

Isaiah 66:1Chapter 13 (8); Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (1)

Isaiah 66:2Chapter 11 (8)
Isaiah 66:12Chapter 2 (17)
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1:5Chapter 1 (7); Chapter 1 (3)
Jeremiah 2:13Chapter 7 (23)
Jeremiah 2:27Chapter 7 (13)
Jeremiah 4:3Chapter 3 (28)
Jeremiah 5:8Chapter 2 (7)
Jeremiah 5:14Chapter 1 (3)
Jeremiah 10:23Chapter 4 (9)
Jeremiah 10:24Chapter 11 (8)
Jeremiah 11:16Chapter 3 (28)
Jeremiah 11:19Chapter 1 (9)
Jeremiah 14:7Chapter 1 (26)
Jeremiah 15:17Chapter 1 (7); Chapter 7 (29)
Jeremiah 15:19Chapter 5 (11)
Jeremiah 17:16Chapter 1 (8)
Jeremiah 20:7Chapter 2 (16)
Jeremiah 23:29Chapter 1 (3)

Jeremiah 31:15Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (35)

Jeremiah 31:33Chapter 2 (21)
Lamentations
Lamentations 3:27–28Chapter 1 (7)
Lamentations 4:20Chapter 12 (2)
Ezekiel
Ezekiel 9:4Chapter 11 (39)
Ezekiel 16:3Chapter 12 (9)
Ezekiel 17:3Chapter 8 (1)
Ezekiel 33:10Chapter 3 (9)
Ezekiel 33:11Chapter 3 (9)
Ezekiel 37:1Chapter 11 (58)
Daniel
Daniel 2:47Chapter 14 (23)
Daniel 3:1–7Chapter 1 (28)
Daniel 3:27Chapter 4 (13)
Daniel 3:40Chapter 5 (5)
Daniel 3:50Chapter 1 (19)
Daniel 7:10Chapter 1 (13)

Daniel 7:13Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (27)

Daniel 9:23Chapter 3 (7); Chapter 1 (9)

Scripture Index (Hosea–Wisdom)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Hosea
Hosea 1:1Chapter 1 (1, 2)
Hosea 1:2Chapter 1 (3, 4, 5)
Hosea 1:3–4Chapter 1 (6)
Hosea 1:4Chapter 1 (7)
Hosea 1:5Chapter 1 (8)
Hosea 1:6Chapter 1 (9)
Hosea 1:7Chapter 1 (10)
Hosea 1:8Chapter 1 (11)
Hosea 1:9Chapter 1 (12)
Hosea 2:1Chapter 1 (13, 14)
Hosea 2:2Chapter 1 (15, 16)
Hosea 2:3–4Chapter 2 (1)
Hosea 2:4Chapter 2 (2, 3)
Hosea 2:5Chapter 2 (4, 5, 6)
Hosea 2:6Chapter 2 (7)
Hosea 2:7Chapter 2 (8, 9, 10)
Hosea 2:8–9Chapter 2 (11)
Hosea 2:9Chapter 2 (11)
Hosea 2:10Chapter 2 (12)
Hosea 2:11Chapter 2 (13)
Hosea 2:12Chapter 2 (14, 15)
Hosea 2:13Chapter 2 (16)
Hosea 2:14Chapter 2 (17, 18)
Hosea 2:15Chapter 2 (19)
Hosea 2:16Chapter 2 (20)
Hosea 2:16–17Chapter 2 (21)
Hosea 2:17Chapter 2 (22, 23)
Hosea 2:18–19Chapter 2 (24)
Hosea 2:20Chapter 2 (25, 26, 27)
Hosea 2:21Chapter 2 (28, 29)
Hosea 2:22Chapter 2 (30)
Hosea 2:23Chapter 9 (18)
Hosea 2:23–24Chapter 2 (31)
Hosea 2:25Chapter 2 (32)
Hosea 3:1–4Chapter 3 (1)
Hosea 3:5Chapter 3 (2)
Hosea 4:1–2Chapter 4 (1)
Hosea 4:3Chapter 4 (2)
Hosea 4:4–5Chapter 4 (3)
Hosea 4:5–6Chapter 4 (4)
Hosea 4:6Chapter 4 (5); Chapter 3 (42)
Hosea 4:7Chapter 4 (6, 7)
Hosea 4:8Chapter 4 (8)
Hosea 4:9Chapter 4 (9)
Hosea 4:10Chapter 4 (10)
Hosea 4:10–11Chapter 4 (11)
Hosea 4:11Chapter 2 (8)
Hosea 4:12Chapter 4 (13)
Hosea 4:12–13Chapter 4 (14)
Hosea 4:13Chapter 5 (21)
Hosea 4:13–14Chapter 4 (15)
Hosea 4:14Chapter 4 (15)
Hosea 4:15Chapter 4 (16, 17)
Hosea 4:16Chapter 4 (18)
Hosea 4:17–18Chapter 4 (19)
Hosea 4:19Chapter 4 (20)
Hosea 5:1Chapter 5 (1, 2)
Hosea 5:2–3Chapter 5 (3)
Hosea 5:4Chapter 5 (4)
Hosea 5:5Chapter 5 (5, 6)
Hosea 5:6Chapter 5 (7)
Hosea 5:7Chapter 5 (8)
Hosea 5:8Chapter 5 (9)
Hosea 5:8–9Chapter 5 (10)
Hosea 5:9Chapter 5 (11)
Hosea 5:10Chapter 5 (12)
Hosea 5:11Chapter 5 (13)
Hosea 5:12Chapter 5 (14)
Hosea 5:13Chapter 5 (15, 16, 17, 18)
Hosea 5:14Chapter 5 (19, 20, 21)
Hosea 5:15Chapter 5 (22)
Hosea 5:15–6:1Chapter 6 (1)
Hosea 6:1Chapter 6 (2); Chapter 11 (6)
Hosea 6:2Chapter 6 (3)
Hosea 6:2–3Chapter 1 (9)
Hosea 6:3Chapter 6 (4, 5)
Hosea 6:4Chapter 6 (6)
Hosea 6:5Chapter 6 (7)
Hosea 6:6–7Chapter 6 (8)
Hosea 6:8Chapter 6 (9)
Hosea 6:9Chapter 6 (10)
Hosea 6:10–11Chapter 6 (11)
Hosea 6:11Chapter 6 (12)
Hosea 7:1Chapter 7 (1)
Hosea 7:2Chapter 7 (2, 3)
Hosea 7:3Chapter 7 (4)
Hosea 7:4Chapter 7 (5, 6)
Hosea 7:5Chapter 7 (7)
Hosea 7:6Chapter 7 (8)
Hosea 7:6–7Chapter 7 (9)
Hosea 7:8Chapter 7 (10, 11)
Hosea 7:9Chapter 7 (12, 13)
Hosea 7:10Chapter 7 (14)
Hosea 7:11Chapter 7 (15)
Hosea 7:12Chapter 7 (16)
Hosea 7:13Chapter 7 (17, 18, 19)
Hosea 7:14Chapter 7 (20, 21)
Hosea 7:15Chapter 7 (22)
Hosea 7:16Chapter 7 (23, 24, 25)
Hosea 8:1Chapter 8 (1)
Hosea 8:2–3Chapter 8 (2)
Hosea 8:4Chapter 8 (3, 4)
Hosea 8:5Chapter 8 (5)
Hosea 8:7Chapter 8 (6, 7)
Hosea 8:8Chapter 8 (8)
Hosea 8:9Chapter 8 (9, 10)
Hosea 8:10Chapter 8 (11, 12, 13)
Hosea 8:11Chapter 8 (14)
Hosea 8:12Chapter 8 (15)
Hosea 8:13Chapter 8 (16, 17, 18)
Hosea 8:14Chapter 8 (19)
Hosea 9:1Chapter 9 (1, 2)
Hosea 9:2Chapter 9 (3)
Hosea 9:3Chapter 9 (4, 5)
Hosea 9:4Chapter 9 (6, 7, 8)
Hosea 9:5Chapter 9 (9)
Hosea 9:6Chapter 9 (10, 11, 12)
Hosea 9:7Chapter 9 (13, 14, 15)
Hosea 9:8Chapter 9 (16, 17); 1. Argument (1)
Hosea 9:9Chapter 9 (18)
Hosea 9:10Chapter 9 (19)
Hosea 9:11Chapter 9 (20)
Hosea 9:11–12Chapter 9 (21)
Hosea 9:12Chapter 9 (22)
Hosea 9:13Chapter 9 (23)
Hosea 9:14Chapter 9 (24)
Hosea 9:15Chapter 9 (25, 26, 27)
Hosea 9:16Chapter 9 (28, 29)
Hosea 9:17Chapter 9 (30)
Hosea 10:1Chapter 10 (1, 2)
Hosea 10:2Chapter 10 (3, 4, 5)
Hosea 10:3–4Chapter 10 (6)
Hosea 10:4Chapter 10 (7)
Hosea 10:5Chapter 10 (8, 9, 10)
Hosea 10:6Chapter 10 (11, 12)
Hosea 10:7Chapter 10 (13)
Hosea 10:8Chapter 10 (14, 15, 16)
Hosea 10:9Chapter 10 (17)
Hosea 10:9–10Chapter 10 (18)
Hosea 10:11Chapter 10 (19, 20, 21, 22)
Hosea 10:12Chapter 10 (23, 24, 25, 26)
Hosea 10:13Chapter 10 (27)
Hosea 10:13–14Chapter 10 (28)
Hosea 10:14–15Chapter 10 (29)
Hosea 10:15Chapter 11 (1, 2)

Hosea 11:1Chapter 11 (3); Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 1 (2)

Hosea 11:2Chapter 11 (4)
Hosea 11:3Chapter 11 (5, 6)
Hosea 11:4Chapter 11 (7, 8)
Hosea 11:5Chapter 11 (9)
Hosea 11:6Chapter 11 (10)
Hosea 11:7Chapter 11 (11, 12)
Hosea 11:8Chapter 11 (13, 14, 15)
Hosea 11:8–9Chapter 11 (16)
Hosea 11:9Chapter 11 (17, 18)
Hosea 11:10Chapter 11 (19, 20)
Hosea 12:1Chapter 11 (21, 22)
Hosea 12:2Chapter 12 (1, 2)
Hosea 12:3Chapter 12 (3, 4)
Hosea 12:4Chapter 12 (5)
Hosea 12:5Chapter 12 (6)
Hosea 12:6Chapter 12 (7)
Hosea 12:7Chapter 12 (8)
Hosea 12:8Chapter 12 (9)
Hosea 12:9Chapter 12 (10)
Hosea 12:10Chapter 12 (11)
Hosea 12:11Chapter 12 (12)
Hosea 12:12Chapter 12 (13, 14, 15)
Hosea 12:13Chapter 12 (16)
Hosea 12:14Chapter 12 (17)
Hosea 12:15Chapter 12 (18, 19, 20)
Hosea 13:1Chapter 13 (1, 2)
Hosea 13:2Chapter 13 (3, 4)
Hosea 13:3Chapter 13 (5)
Hosea 13:4Chapter 13 (6, 7, 8)
Hosea 13:4–5Chapter 13 (9)
Hosea 13:6Chapter 13 (10, 11)
Hosea 13:7Chapter 13 (12)
Hosea 13:8Chapter 13 (13, 14, 15)
Hosea 13:9–10Chapter 13 (16)
Hosea 13:10–11Chapter 13 (17)
Hosea 13:11Chapter 13 (18)
Hosea 13:12–13Chapter 13 (19)
Hosea 13:13Chapter 13 (20, 21)
Hosea 13:14Chapter 13 (22, 23)
Hosea 13:15Chapter 13 (24, 25, 26, 27)
Hosea 14:1Chapter 14 (1)
Hosea 14:2Chapter 14 (2)
Hosea 14:3Chapter 14 (3, 4, 5)
Hosea 14:4Chapter 14 (6, 7)
Hosea 14:5Chapter 14 (8, 9, 10)
Hosea 14:6Chapter 14 (11, 12)
Hosea 14:7Chapter 14 (13, 14, 15)
Hosea 14:8Chapter 14 (16, 17, 18)
Hosea 14:9Chapter 14 (19, 20, 21, 22)
Hosea 14:10Chapter 14 (23)
Joel
Joel 2:28Chapter 1 (23)
Amos
Amos 3:6Chapter 3 (12)
Amos 6:6Chapter 11 (39)
Amos 7:12–13Chapter 12 (6)
Amos 8:11Chapter 3 (29); Chapter 5 (19)
Obadiah

Obadiah 1:15Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (1)

Jonah
Jonah 1:1Chapter 1 (1)
Jonah 1:2Chapter 1 (2, 3)
Jonah 1:3Chapter 1 (4, 5)
Jonah 1:4Chapter 1 (6)
Jonah 1:4–5Chapter 1 (6)
Jonah 1:5Chapter 1 (7)
Jonah 1:6Chapter 1 (8)
Jonah 1:7Chapter 1 (9)
Jonah 1:8Chapter 1 (10)
Jonah 1:9Chapter 1 (11)
Jonah 1:10Chapter 1 (12)
Jonah 1:11Chapter 1 (13, 14)
Jonah 1:12Chapter 1 (15)
Jonah 1:13–14Chapter 1 (16)
Jonah 1:15–16Chapter 1 (17)
Jonah 1:17Chapter 15 (9)
Jonah 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
Jonah 2:2–3Chapter 2 (2)
Jonah 2:4Chapter 2 (3, 4)
Jonah 2:5Chapter 2 (5)
Jonah 2:6–7Chapter 2 (6)
Jonah 2:7Chapter 2 (7)
Jonah 2:8Chapter 2 (8)
Jonah 2:9–10Chapter 2 (9)
Jonah 2:11–3:3Chapter 3 (1)
Jonah 3:3Chapter 3 (2)
Jonah 3:4Chapter 3 (3)
Jonah 3:5Chapter 3 (4)
Jonah 3:6–7Chapter 3 (5)
Jonah 3:8Chapter 3 (6, 7, 8)
Jonah 3:9Chapter 3 (9, 10)
Jonah 3:10Chapter 3 (11, 12)
Jonah 4:1–2Chapter 4 (1)
Jonah 4:2Chapter 3 (3)
Jonah 4:3Chapter 4 (2); Chapter 1 (4)
Jonah 4:4Chapter 4 (3)
Jonah 4:5Chapter 4 (4)
Jonah 4:6Chapter 3 (12); Chapter 4 (5)
Jonah 4:7–8Chapter 4 (6)
Jonah 4:9–11Chapter 4 (7)
Micah
Micah 1:1Chapter 1 (1, 2, 3, 4)
Micah 1:2Chapter 1 (5, 6, 7)
Micah 1:3Chapter 1 (8)
Micah 1:3–4Chapter 1 (9)
Micah 1:4Chapter 1 (10, 11)
Micah 1:5Chapter 1 (12, 13, 28)
Micah 1:6Chapter 1 (14, 15)
Micah 1:7Chapter 1 (16, 17)
Micah 1:8Chapter 1 (18, 19, 20)
Micah 1:9Chapter 1 (21)
Micah 1:10Chapter 1 (22, 23)
Micah 1:11Chapter 1 (24)
Micah 1:12–13Chapter 1 (25)
Micah 1:13Chapter 1 (26)
Micah 1:14Chapter 1 (27)
Micah 1:14–15Chapter 1 (28)
Micah 1:15Chapter 1 (29)
Micah 1:15–16Chapter 1 (30)
Micah 1:16Chapter 1 (31)
Micah 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
Micah 2:1–2Chapter 2 (2)
Micah 2:2Chapter 2 (3, 4, 5)
Micah 2:3Chapter 2 (6)
Micah 2:4Chapter 2 (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
Micah 2:4–5Chapter 2 (12)
Micah 2:5–6Chapter 2 (13)
Micah 2:6Chapter 2 (14)
Micah 2:6–7Chapter 2 (14)
Micah 2:7Chapter 2 (15)
Micah 2:8–9Chapter 2 (16)
Micah 2:9Chapter 2 (17)
Micah 2:9–10Chapter 2 (18)
Micah 2:10Chapter 2 (19)
Micah 2:11Chapter 2 (20)
Micah 2:12Chapter 2 (21, 22)
Micah 2:13Chapter 2 (23)
Micah 3:1–4Chapter 3 (1)
Micah 3:5Chapter 3 (2, 3)
Micah 3:6Chapter 3 (4, 5)
Micah 3:7Chapter 3 (6)
Micah 3:8Chapter 3 (7)
Micah 3:9Chapter 3 (8, 9)
Micah 3:10Chapter 3 (10)
Micah 3:11Chapter 3 (11)
Micah 3:12Chapter 3 (12)
Micah 4:1Chapter 4 (1)
Micah 4:1–2Chapter 4 (2)
Micah 4:2Chapter 4 (3, 4, 5, 7)
Micah 4:3Chapter 4 (6, 7, 8)
Micah 4:4Chapter 4 (9, 10)
Micah 4:5Chapter 4 (11)
Micah 4:6–7Chapter 4 (12)
Micah 4:8Chapter 4 (13)
Micah 4:9Chapter 4 (14)
Micah 4:10Chapter 4 (15, 16, 17)
Micah 4:11Chapter 4 (18)
Micah 4:12Chapter 4 (19)
Micah 4:13Chapter 4 (20, 21, 22, 23)
Micah 4:14Chapter 5 (1, 2, 3)
Micah 5:1Chapter 5 (4, 5)

Micah 5:2Chapter 5 (6, 7); Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (13)

Micah 5:3Chapter 5 (8, 9, 10)
Micah 5:4Chapter 5 (11)
Micah 5:4–5Chapter 5 (12)
Micah 5:5Chapter 5 (13, 14)
Micah 5:6Chapter 5 (15)
Micah 5:7Chapter 5 (16)
Micah 5:8Chapter 5 (17)
Micah 5:9–10Chapter 5 (18)
Micah 5:11Chapter 5 (19, 20)
Micah 5:12–13Chapter 5 (21)
Micah 5:13–14Chapter 5 (22)
Micah 6:1Chapter 6 (1); Chapter 3 (5)
Micah 6:1–2Chapter 6 (1)
Micah 6:3Chapter 6 (2)
Micah 6:4Chapter 6 (3)
Micah 6:5Chapter 6 (4)
Micah 6:6Chapter 6 (5)
Micah 6:6–7Chapter 6 (6)
Micah 6:8Chapter 6 (7)
Micah 6:9Chapter 6 (8)
Micah 6:10Chapter 6 (9)
Micah 6:11–12Chapter 6 (10)
Micah 6:12Chapter 6 (11, 12)
Micah 6:13Chapter 6 (13)
Micah 6:14Chapter 6 (14, 15, 16, 17)
Micah 6:15Chapter 6 (18, 19)
Micah 6:16Chapter 6 (20, 21)
Micah 7:1Chapter 7 (1)
Micah 7:2Chapter 7 (2, 3, 4)
Micah 7:3Chapter 7 (5, 6, 7)
Micah 7:4Chapter 7 (8, 9)
Micah 7:5–6Chapter 7 (10)
Micah 7:7Chapter 7 (11)
Micah 7:8Chapter 7 (12, 13)
Micah 7:9Chapter 4 (11); Chapter 7 (14, 15)
Micah 7:10Chapter 7 (16, 17, 18)
Micah 7:11Chapter 7 (19, 20, 21)
Micah 7:12Chapter 7 (22, 23, 24)
Micah 7:13Chapter 7 (25, 26, 27)
Micah 7:14Chapter 7 (28, 29, 30)
Micah 7:15Chapter 7 (31)
Micah 7:16Chapter 7 (32, 33, 34)
Micah 7:17Chapter 7 (35, 36, 37, 38)
Micah 7:18Chapter 7 (39, 40)
Micah 7:19Chapter 7 (41)
Micah 7:20Chapter 7 (42)
Nahum
Nahum 1:1Chapter 1 (1, 2)
Nahum 1:2Chapter 1 (3, 4, 5)
Nahum 1:3Chapter 1 (6, 7, 8)
Nahum 1:4Chapter 1 (9, 10, 11)
Nahum 1:5Chapter 1 (12, 13)
Nahum 1:6Chapter 1 (14, 15, 16)
Nahum 1:7Chapter 1 (17, 18)
Nahum 1:8Chapter 1 (19, 20)
Nahum 1:9Chapter 1 (21, 22)
Nahum 1:10Chapter 1 (23, 24, 25)
Nahum 1:11Chapter 1 (26)
Nahum 1:12Chapter 1 (27, 28)
Nahum 1:13Chapter 1 (29, 30)
Nahum 1:14Chapter 1 (31, 32, 33)

Nahum 2:1Chapter 1 (34, 35, 36, 37); Chapter 2 (1)

Nahum 2:2Chapter 2 (2, 3, 4)
Nahum 2:3Chapter 2 (5)
Nahum 2:3–4Chapter 2 (6)
Nahum 2:4Chapter 2 (7)
Nahum 2:4–5Chapter 2 (9)
Nahum 2:5Chapter 2 (10)
Nahum 2:6Chapter 2 (11)
Nahum 2:7–8Chapter 2 (12)
Nahum 2:8Chapter 2 (13)
Nahum 2:9Chapter 2 (14)
Nahum 2:10Chapter 2 (15, 16)
Nahum 2:11Chapter 2 (17, 18)
Nahum 2:12Chapter 2 (19, 20)
Nahum 2:12–13Chapter 2 (21)
Nahum 2:14Chapter 2 (22, 23, 24)
Nahum 3:1Chapter 3 (1, 2)
Nahum 3:2Chapter 3 (3, 4, 5)
Nahum 3:3Chapter 3 (6, 7, 8)

Nahum 3:4Chapter 1 (3); Chapter 3 (8, 9, 10, 11)

Nahum 3:5Chapter 3 (12, 13, 14)
Nahum 3:6Chapter 3 (15, 16)
Nahum 3:7Chapter 3 (17, 18, 19)
Nahum 3:8Chapter 3 (20, 21, 22)
Nahum 3:9Chapter 3 (23)
Nahum 3:10Chapter 3 (24, 25, 26, 27)
Nahum 3:11Chapter 3 (28, 29)
Nahum 3:12Chapter 3 (30)
Nahum 3:13Chapter 3 (31, 32)
Nahum 3:14Chapter 3 (33, 34)
Nahum 3:15Chapter 3 (35, 36)
Nahum 3:16Chapter 3 (37)
Nahum 3:17Chapter 3 (37, 38)
Nahum 3:18Chapter 3 (39, 40, 41, 42)
Nahum 3:19Chapter 3 (43, 44)
Habakkuk
Habakkuk 1:1Chapter 1 (1)
Habakkuk 1:2Chapter 1 (3)
Habakkuk 1:3Chapter 1 (4, 5)
Habakkuk 1:4Chapter 1 (6)
Habakkuk 1:5Chapter 1 (7, 8)
Habakkuk 1:6Chapter 1 (9)
Habakkuk 1:7Chapter 1 (10, 11, 12)
Habakkuk 1:8Chapter 1 (13, 14)
Habakkuk 1:9Chapter 1 (15, 16)
Habakkuk 1:10Chapter 1 (17)
Habakkuk 1:11Chapter 1 (18, 19)
Habakkuk 1:12Chapter 1 (20, 21, 22)
Habakkuk 1:13Chapter 1 (23, 24)
Habakkuk 1:14Chapter 1 (25)
Habakkuk 1:15Chapter 1 (26, 27)
Habakkuk 1:16Chapter 1 (28)
Habakkuk 1:17Chapter 1 (29)

Habakkuk 2:1Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 2 (1); Chapter 3 (1, 27)

Habakkuk 2:2–3Chapter 2 (2)
Habakkuk 2:3Chapter 2 (3)
Habakkuk 2:4Chapter 2 (4); Chapter 3 (12)
Habakkuk 2:5Chapter 2 (5, 6)
Habakkuk 2:6Chapter 2 (7, 8)
Habakkuk 2:7Chapter 2 (9)
Habakkuk 2:8Chapter 2 (10)
Habakkuk 2:9Chapter 2 (11)
Habakkuk 2:10Chapter 2 (12, 13)
Habakkuk 2:11Chapter 2 (14)
Habakkuk 2:12Chapter 2 (15)
Habakkuk 2:13Chapter 2 (16)
Habakkuk 2:14Chapter 2 (17)
Habakkuk 2:15–16Chapter 2 (18)
Habakkuk 2:16Chapter 2 (19, 20, 21)
Habakkuk 2:17Chapter 2 (22, 23, 24)
Habakkuk 2:18Chapter 2 (25)
Habakkuk 2:19Chapter 2 (26, 27, 28)
Habakkuk 2:20Chapter 2 (29)
Habakkuk 3:2Chapter 3 (1, 2, 3, 4)
Habakkuk 3:3Chapter 3 (5, 6, 7)
Habakkuk 3:4Chapter 3 (8, 9)
Habakkuk 3:5Chapter 3 (10, 11)
Habakkuk 3:6Chapter 3 (12)
Habakkuk 3:7Chapter 3 (13)
Habakkuk 3:8Chapter 3 (14)
Habakkuk 3:9Chapter 3 (15)
Habakkuk 3:10Chapter 3 (16, 17, 18)
Habakkuk 3:11Chapter 3 (19, 20)
Habakkuk 3:12Chapter 3 (21)
Habakkuk 3:13Chapter 3 (22, 23, 24)
Habakkuk 3:14Chapter 3 (25)
Habakkuk 3:15Chapter 3 (26)
Habakkuk 3:16Chapter 3 (27)
Habakkuk 3:17Chapter 3 (28, 29, 30)
Habakkuk 3:18Chapter 3 (31)
Habakkuk 3:19Chapter 3 (32, 33, 34)
Zechariah
Zechariah 9:9Chapter 2 (3)
Zechariah 12:10Chapter 15 (7)

Zechariah 13:7Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (14); Chapter 1 (3)

Malachi
Malachi 1:2–3Chapter 9 (8)
Malachi 2:10Chapter 8 (17)
Malachi 3:2Chapter 5 (5)
Malachi 3:6Chapter 1 (22)
Wisdom
Wisdom 1:13Chapter 3 (25)
Wisdom 2:24Chapter 4 (5)
Wisdom 6:6–7Chapter 2 (5)
Wisdom 6:7Chapter 2 (5)

Scripture Index (Sirach)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Sirach
Sirach 1:25Chapter 4 (4)
Sirach 2:1Chapter 1 (5)
Sirach 2:10Chapter 1 (30)
Sirach 11:28Chapter 1 (18)
Sirach 15:9Chapter 3 (34); Chapter 2 (33)
Sirach 34:23Chapter 5 (10)

Scripture Index (Matthew)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Matthew
Matthew 1:1–1Chapter 1 (5)
Matthew 1:2–2Chapter 1 (6)
Matthew 1:2–3Chapter 1 (7)
Matthew 1:3–3Chapter 1 (8)
Matthew 1:3–5Chapter 1 (9)
Matthew 1:5–6Chapter 1 (11)
Matthew 1:7–11Chapter 1 (12)
Matthew 1:12–16Chapter 1 (13)
Matthew 1:17–17Chapter 1 (14)
Matthew 1:18–18Chapter 1 (15, 16)
Matthew 1:19–19Chapter 1 (17)
Matthew 1:20–20Chapter 1 (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
Matthew 1:21Chapter 3 (13); Chapter 2 (27)
Matthew 1:21–21Chapter 1 (23, 24, 25)

Matthew 1:22Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (18)

Matthew 1:22–22Chapter 1 (26)
Matthew 1:23–23Chapter 1 (27, 28)
Matthew 1:24–24Chapter 1 (29, 30)
Matthew 1:25–25Chapter 1 (31, 32, 33)

Matthew 2:1Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Matthew 2:2Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (6, 7, 8)

Matthew 2:3Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (9)

Matthew 2:4Chapter 5 (5); Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (10)

Matthew 2:5Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (11)

Matthew 2:6Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (12, 13, 14)

Matthew 2:7Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (15, 16)

Matthew 2:8Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (17)

Matthew 2:8–9Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (18)

Matthew 2:9Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (19, 20)

Matthew 2:10Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (21)

Matthew 2:11Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (22, 23, 24)

Matthew 2:12Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (25)

Matthew 2:13Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (26, 27, 28, 29)

Matthew 2:14–15Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (30)

Matthew 2:16Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (31, 32, 33)

Matthew 2:17Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (34)

Matthew 2:18Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (35)

Matthew 2:19Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (36)

Matthew 2:20Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (37)

Matthew 2:21–22Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (38)

Matthew 2:22Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (39)

Matthew 2:23Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (40, 41)

Matthew 3:1Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (1, 2)

Matthew 3:1–2Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (3)

Matthew 3:2Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (4)

Matthew 3:3Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (5)

Matthew 3:4Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (6, 7, 8)

Matthew 3:5–6Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (9)

Matthew 3:7Chapter 11 (2); Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (10, 11, 12, 13)

Matthew 3:8Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (14)

Matthew 3:9Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (16, 17)

Matthew 3:10Chapter 11 (2); Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (18, 19, 20, 21)

Matthew 3:11Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (22, 23, 24)

Matthew 3:12Chapter 4 (24); Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (25, 26, 27)

Matthew 3:13–14Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (28)

Matthew 3:14Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (29, 30, 31)

Matthew 3:15Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (32, 33)

Matthew 3:16Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (34, 35, 36)

Matthew 3:16–17Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (37)

Matthew 3:17Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven (38, 39)

Matthew 4:1Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (1, 2)

Matthew 4:2Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (3, 4, 5)

Matthew 4:3Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (6, 7)

Matthew 4:4Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (8)

Matthew 4:5Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (9)

Matthew 4:6Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (10, 11); Chapter 11 (42)

Matthew 4:7Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (12)

Matthew 4:8–9Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (13)

Matthew 4:9Chapter 1 (17); Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (14, 16)

Matthew 4:10Chapter 4 (23); Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (15)

Matthew 4:11Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (17)

Matthew 4:12–13Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (18)

Matthew 4:14–16Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (19)

Matthew 4:17Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (20, 21)

Matthew 4:18Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (22)

Matthew 4:19Chapter 1 (9)

Matthew 4:19–20Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (23)

Matthew 4:21Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (24, 25)

Matthew 4:22Chapter 7 (10); Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (26)

Matthew 4:23Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (27, 28)

Matthew 4:24Chapter 3 (10); Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (29)

Matthew 4:25Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee (30)

Matthew 5:1Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (1, 2)

Matthew 5:2Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (3, 4)

Matthew 5:3Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (5); Chapter 1 (7)

Matthew 5:4Chapter 1 (25); Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (6); Chapter 4 (5)

Matthew 5:5Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (7)

Matthew 5:6Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (8)

Matthew 5:7Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (9)

Matthew 5:8Chapter 12 (5); Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (10); Chapter 12 (27)

Matthew 5:9Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (11)

Matthew 5:10Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (12)

Matthew 5:11Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (13)

Matthew 5:11–12Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (13)

Matthew 5:12Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (13); Chapter 1 (7)

Matthew 5:13Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (14)

Matthew 5:14Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (15)

Matthew 5:15Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (16)

Matthew 5:16Chapter 3 (20); Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (17); Chapter 3 (18); Chapter 2 (3); Chapter 3 (6)

Matthew 5:17Chapter 6 (10); Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (18)

Matthew 5:18Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (19)

Matthew 5:19Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (20); Chapter 4 (14)

Matthew 5:20Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (21); Chapter 4 (32); Chapter 5 (20)

Matthew 5:21Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (22)

Matthew 5:22Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (23); Chapter 5 (5)

Matthew 5:23–24Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (24)

Matthew 5:24Chapter 7 (15); Chapter 1 (6)

Matthew 5:25–26Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (25)

Matthew 5:27Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (26)

Matthew 5:27–28Chapter 1 (22)

Matthew 5:28Chapter 1 (3); Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (27); Chapter 6 (30)

Matthew 5:29Chapter 1 (16)

Matthew 5:29–30Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (28)

Matthew 5:31Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (29)

Matthew 5:32Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (30)

Matthew 5:33Chapter 1 (11); Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (31)

Matthew 5:33–34Chapter 1 (31)

Matthew 5:34Chapter 1 (11); Chapter 2 (23)

Matthew 5:34–35Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (1)

Matthew 5:36Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (2)

Matthew 5:37Chapter 4 (17); Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (3)

Matthew 5:38Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (4)

Matthew 5:39–42Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (5)

Matthew 5:40Chapter 1 (34); Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (5)

Matthew 5:41Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (5)

Matthew 5:42Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (5)

Matthew 5:43–44Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (6)

Matthew 5:44Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (6)

Matthew 5:45Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (7); Chapter 1 (31)

Matthew 5:46Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (8)

Matthew 5:47–48Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (9)

Matthew 6:1Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (11)

Matthew 6:2Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (12)

Matthew 6:3Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (13); Chapter 2 (13)

Matthew 6:4Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (14)

Matthew 6:5Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (15)

Matthew 6:6Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (16)

Matthew 6:7Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (17)

Matthew 6:8Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (18)

Matthew 6:9Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (19, 20)

Matthew 6:10Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (21)

Matthew 6:11Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (22)

Matthew 6:12Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (23); Chapter 3 (10)

Matthew 6:13Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (24); Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (10)

Matthew 6:14Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (25)

Matthew 6:15Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (26)

Matthew 6:16Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (27)

Matthew 6:17–18Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (28)

Matthew 6:19–21Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (29)

Matthew 6:22–23Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (30)

Matthew 6:23Chapter 1 (12)

Matthew 6:24Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (31); Chapter 5 (5)

Matthew 6:25Chapter 4 (24); Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (32)

Matthew 6:26Chapter 4 (24); Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (33)

Matthew 6:27Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (34)

Matthew 6:28Chapter 14 (11)

Matthew 6:28–29Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (35)

Matthew 6:30Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (36)

Matthew 6:31–32Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (37)

Matthew 6:32–33Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (38)

Matthew 6:33Chapter 4 (24); Chapter 4 (3)

Matthew 6:34Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World (39)

Matthew 7:1Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (1); Chapter 4 (8); Chapter 4 (7)

Matthew 7:2Chapter 6 (15)

Matthew 7:2–5Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (2)

Matthew 7:3Chapter 5 (11)

Matthew 7:6Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (3); Chapter 4 (6)

Matthew 7:7Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 1 (11)

Matthew 7:7–8Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (4); Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (5)

Matthew 7:9–10Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (5)

Matthew 7:11Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (6)

Matthew 7:12Chapter 6 (8); Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (7)

Matthew 7:13Chapter 1 (21, 25); Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (8)

Matthew 7:14Chapter 5 (22); Chapter 1 (9); Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (9)

Matthew 7:15Chapter 11 (17)

Matthew 7:15–16Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (10)

Matthew 7:16–18Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (11)

Matthew 7:18Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (12); Chapter 8 (7)

Matthew 7:19–20Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (13)

Matthew 7:21Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (14)

Matthew 7:22–23Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (15)

Matthew 7:23Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (22)

Matthew 7:24–25Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (16)

Matthew 7:26–27Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (17)

Matthew 7:28–29Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets (18)

Matthew 8:1–2Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (1)

Matthew 8:3–4Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (2)

Matthew 8:5Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (3)

Matthew 8:6–7Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (5)

Matthew 8:8–10Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (6)

Matthew 8:11–12Chapter 7 (18); Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (7)

Matthew 8:13Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (8)

Matthew 8:14–15Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (9)

Matthew 8:16–17Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (10)

Matthew 8:18Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (11)

Matthew 8:19–20Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (12)

Matthew 8:21–22Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (13)

Matthew 8:23–24Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (14)

Matthew 8:25–26Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (15)

Matthew 8:26–27Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (16)

Matthew 8:28Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (17, 18)

Matthew 8:29Chapter 7 (36); Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (19)

Matthew 8:30–32Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (20)

Matthew 8:32–34Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father (21)

Matthew 9:1Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (1)

Matthew 9:2Chapter 12 (7); Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (2, 3); Chapter 1 (13)

Matthew 9:3–5Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (4)

Matthew 9:6–8Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (5)

Matthew 9:9Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (6)

Matthew 9:10–11Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (7)

Matthew 9:12–13Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (8)

Matthew 9:13Chapter 4 (12)

Matthew 9:14Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (9)

Matthew 9:15Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (10)

Matthew 9:16–17Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (11)

Matthew 9:18–19Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (12)

Matthew 9:20–22Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (13)

Matthew 9:23–24Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (14)

Matthew 9:25–26Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (15)

Matthew 9:27Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (16)

Matthew 9:28Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (17)

Matthew 9:29–30Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (18)

Matthew 9:30–31Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (19)

Matthew 9:32–33Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (20)

Matthew 9:33Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (21)

Matthew 9:34Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (22); Chapter 2 (9)

Matthew 9:35Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (23)

Matthew 9:36Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (24)

Matthew 9:37Chapter 2 (32)

Matthew 9:37–38Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners (25)

Matthew 10:1Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (1)

Matthew 10:2Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (2)

Matthew 10:2–4Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (3)

Matthew 10:5Chapter 3 (26); Chapter 1 (20)

Matthew 10:5–7Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (4)

Matthew 10:8Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (5)

Matthew 10:9–10Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (6)

Matthew 10:10Chapter 3 (9)

Matthew 10:11Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (7)

Matthew 10:12–13Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (8)

Matthew 10:14–15Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (9)

Matthew 10:15Chapter 2 (9)

Matthew 10:16Chapter 5 (7); Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (10, 11); Chapter 16 (29); Chapter 14 (18); Chapter 5 (15); Chapter 4 (6); Chapter 2 (7)

Matthew 10:17Chapter 4 (12); Chapter 4 (12)

Matthew 10:17–18Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (12)

Matthew 10:19Chapter 6 (38)

Matthew 10:19–20Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (13)

Matthew 10:20Chapter 5 (11)

Matthew 10:21Chapter 13 (24); Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (14)

Matthew 10:22Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (15); Chapter 10 (62)

Matthew 10:23Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (16)

Matthew 10:24Chapter 12 (5)

Matthew 10:24–25Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (17)

Matthew 10:25Chapter 12 (5)

Matthew 10:25–26Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (18)

Matthew 10:27Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (19); Chapter 1 (5)

Matthew 10:28Chapter 4 (9); Chapter 1 (29); Chapter 1 (7); Chapter 1 (3); Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (20); Chapter 1 (26); Chapter 2 (8)

Matthew 10:29–31Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (21)

Matthew 10:32–33Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (22)

Matthew 10:34Chapter 13 (24); Chapter 2 (23); Chapter 3 (15, 26)

Matthew 10:34–36Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (23)

Matthew 10:35Chapter 7 (10)

Matthew 10:37Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (24)

Matthew 10:38Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (25)

Matthew 10:39Chapter 10 (6); Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (26)

Matthew 10:40Chapter 1 (9)

Matthew 10:40–42Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (27)

Matthew 10:42Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles (28)

Matthew 11:1Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (1)

Matthew 11:2–3Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (2)

Matthew 11:3Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (3)

Matthew 11:4Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (3)

Matthew 11:4–6Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (3)

Matthew 11:7Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (4)

Matthew 11:8Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (5)

Matthew 11:9Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (6)

Matthew 11:10Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (7)

Matthew 11:11Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (8)

Matthew 11:12Chapter 1 (17); Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (9); Chapter 4 (12)

Matthew 11:13Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (10)

Matthew 11:14Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (11)

Matthew 11:15Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (12)

Matthew 11:16–17Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (13)

Matthew 11:17Chapter 1 (8); Chapter 2 (9)

Matthew 11:18–19Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (14)

Matthew 11:19Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (14); Chapter 2 (9)

Matthew 11:20Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (15)

Matthew 11:21Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (16); Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter (4)

Matthew 11:21–22Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (17)

Matthew 11:23–24Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (18)

Matthew 11:25Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (19)

Matthew 11:26Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (20)

Matthew 11:27Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (21, 22)

Matthew 11:28Chapter 1 (25); Chapter 2 (6, 19); Chapter 3 (12); Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (23); Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (3); Chapter 10 (13)

Matthew 11:29Chapter 4 (18); Chapter 1 (9); Chapter 3 (5); Chapter 2 (7); Chapter 6 (4)

Matthew 11:29–30Chapter 3 (12); Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (24)

Matthew 12:1Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (1)

Matthew 12:5–6Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (2)

Matthew 12:7–8Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (3)

Matthew 12:9–10Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (4)

Matthew 12:11–12Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (5)

Matthew 12:13Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (6)

Matthew 12:14Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (7)

Matthew 12:15Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (8)

Matthew 12:17–19Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (9)

Matthew 12:19Chapter 2 (23); Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (10)

Matthew 12:20Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (11)

Matthew 12:20–21Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (12)

Matthew 12:22Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (13)

Matthew 12:24Chapter 2 (14); Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (14)

Matthew 12:25–26Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (15)

Matthew 12:27Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (16); Chapter 2 (9)

Matthew 12:28Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (17)

Matthew 12:29Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (18)

Matthew 12:30Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (19)

Matthew 12:31–32Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (20)

Matthew 12:33Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (21)

Matthew 12:34Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (22)

Matthew 12:35Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (23)

Matthew 12:36–37Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (24)

Matthew 12:38Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (25)

Matthew 12:39–401. Argument (4); Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (26)

Matthew 12:40Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (16)

Matthew 12:411. Argument (4); Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (27)

Matthew 12:42Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (28)

Matthew 12:43–45Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (29)

Matthew 12:46Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (30)

Matthew 12:47–50Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren (31)

Matthew 13:1–2Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (1)

Matthew 13:3Chapter 4 (8); Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (2, 3); Chapter 1 (15)

Matthew 13:4–6Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (4)

Matthew 13:7Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (5)

Matthew 13:8Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (6)

Matthew 13:9Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (7)

Matthew 13:10–12Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (8)

Matthew 13:13Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (9)

Matthew 13:14–15Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (10)

Matthew 13:16–17Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (11)

Matthew 13:17Chapter 1 (9)

Matthew 13:18–19Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (12)

Matthew 13:20–21Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (13)

Matthew 13:22Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (14); Chapter 6 (19)

Matthew 13:23Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (15)

Matthew 13:24–30Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (16)

Matthew 13:31–32Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (17)

Matthew 13:33Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (18)

Matthew 13:34–35Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (19)

Matthew 13:36Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (20)

Matthew 13:37–42Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (21)

Matthew 13:43Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (22)

Matthew 13:44Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (23)

Matthew 13:45–46Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (24)

Matthew 13:47–50Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (25)

Matthew 13:51–52Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (26)

Matthew 13:53–54Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (27)

Matthew 13:54–57Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (28)

Matthew 13:57–58Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens (29)

Matthew 14:1–2Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (1)

Matthew 14:3–5Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (2)

Matthew 14:6–8Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (3)

Matthew 14:9–12Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (4)

Matthew 14:13Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (5)

Matthew 14:13–14Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (6)

Matthew 14:15–16Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (7)

Matthew 14:17–19Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (8)

Matthew 14:19–21Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (9)

Matthew 14:22Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (10)

Matthew 14:23–24Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (11)

Matthew 14:25Chapter 3 (6)

Matthew 14:25–27Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (12)

Matthew 14:28Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (13)

Matthew 14:29–30Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (14)

Matthew 14:31–33Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (15)

Matthew 14:34–36Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (16)

Matthew 15:1–2Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (1)

Matthew 15:3–6Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (2)

Matthew 15:7–9Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (3)

Matthew 15:10–11Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (4)

Matthew 15:12Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (5)

Matthew 15:13–14Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (6)

Matthew 15:14Chapter 1 (13)

Matthew 15:15Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (7)

Matthew 15:16–20Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (8)

Matthew 15:21–23Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (9)

Matthew 15:23–24Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (10)

Matthew 15:24Chapter 4 (13); Chapter 3 (22); Chapter 1 (20)

Matthew 15:25–27Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (11)

Matthew 15:28Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (12)

Matthew 15:29–31Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (13)

Matthew 15:32Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (14)

Matthew 15:33Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (15)

Matthew 15:34–38Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (16)

Matthew 15:39Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (17)

Matthew 16:1Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (1)

Matthew 16:2–3Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (2)

Matthew 16:4Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (3)

Matthew 16:5–6Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (4)

Matthew 16:7–12Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (5)

Matthew 16:13Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (6)

Matthew 16:14Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (7)

Matthew 16:15–16Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (8)

Matthew 16:16Chapter 4 (1)

Matthew 16:17Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (9)

Matthew 16:18Chapter 4 (1); Chapter 3 (23); Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (10); Chapter 3 (22)

Matthew 16:19Chapter 2 (28); Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (11)

Matthew 16:20Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (12)

Matthew 16:21Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (13)

Matthew 16:22Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (14)

Matthew 16:23Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (15)

Matthew 16:24Chapter 3 (36); Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (16)

Matthew 16:25Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (17)

Matthew 16:26–27Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (18)

Matthew 16:28Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (19)

Matthew 17:1Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (1)

Matthew 17:2Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (2)

Matthew 17:3Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (3)

Matthew 17:4Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (4, 7)

Matthew 17:5Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (5)

Matthew 17:6–8Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (6)

Matthew 17:9Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (7)

Matthew 17:10Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (8)

Matthew 17:11–13Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (9)

Matthew 17:14–16Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (10)

Matthew 17:17–18Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (11)

Matthew 17:19–21Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (12)

Matthew 17:20Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (12); Chapter 13 (4)

Matthew 17:22–23Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (13)

Matthew 17:24Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (14)

Matthew 17:25–26Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (15)

Matthew 17:27Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (16)

Matthew 18:1Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (1)

Matthew 18:2–4Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (2)

Matthew 18:5–6Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (3)

Matthew 18:6Chapter 4 (20)

Matthew 18:7Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (4)

Matthew 18:8–9Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (5)

Matthew 18:10Chapter 1 (31)

Matthew 18:10–11Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (6)

Matthew 18:12–14Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (7)

Matthew 18:15Chapter 5 (35)

Matthew 18:15–17Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (8)

Matthew 18:18Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (9)

Matthew 18:19–20Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (10)

Matthew 18:20Chapter 10 (37)

Matthew 18:21–22Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (11)

Matthew 18:23Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (12)

Matthew 18:23–34Chapter 3 (30)

Matthew 18:24–25Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (13)

Matthew 18:26Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (15)

Matthew 18:26–27Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (14)

Matthew 18:28–30Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (15)

Matthew 18:31Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (16)

Matthew 18:32–33Chapter 6 (15)

Matthew 18:32–34Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (17)

Matthew 18:35Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents (18)

Matthew 19:1–2Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (1)

Matthew 19:3–6Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (2)

Matthew 19:7–9Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (3)

Matthew 19:8Chapter 1 (22)

Matthew 19:10Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (4)

Matthew 19:11Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (5)

Matthew 19:11–12Chapter 4 (6)

Matthew 19:12Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (6); Chapter 7 (30); Chapter 4 (2); Chapter 1 (6)

Matthew 19:13–14Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (7)

Matthew 19:14Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (7)

Matthew 19:15–16Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (8)

Matthew 19:17–19Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (9)

Matthew 19:20Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (10)

Matthew 19:21–22Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (11)

Matthew 19:23–24Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (12)

Matthew 19:25–26Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (13)

Matthew 19:27Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (14)

Matthew 19:28Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (15); Chapter 2 (9)

Matthew 19:29Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (16); Chapter 11 (26)

Matthew 19:30Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (17)

Matthew 20:1–7Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men (1)

Matthew 20:8–16Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men (2)

Matthew 20:17–20Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men (3)

Matthew 20:22Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men (4)

Matthew 20:23Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men (5); Chapter 2 (9)

Matthew 20:24–28Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men (6)

Matthew 20:26Chapter 4 (8)

Matthew 20:28Chapter 9 (49)

Matthew 20:29–34Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men (7)

Matthew 21:1–5Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (1)

Matthew 21:6–7Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (2)

Matthew 21:8–9Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (3)

Matthew 21:10–11Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (4)

Matthew 21:12–13Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (5)

Matthew 21:14Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (6)

Matthew 21:15–16Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (7)

Matthew 21:17Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (8)

Matthew 21:18–20Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (9)

Matthew 21:21–22Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (10)

Matthew 21:22Chapter 2 (28)

Matthew 21:23–27Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (11)

Matthew 21:28–32Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (12)

Matthew 21:31Chapter 1 (9)

Matthew 21:33Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (13)

Matthew 21:34–39Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (14)

Matthew 21:38Chapter 6 (8); Chapter 1 (29)

Matthew 21:40–41Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (15)

Matthew 21:42–44Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (16)

Matthew 21:43Chapter 2 (18)

Matthew 21:45–46Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (17)

Matthew 22:1–7Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (1)

Matthew 22:8–10Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (1)

Matthew 22:11–12Chapter 1 (19)

Matthew 22:11–14Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (2)

Matthew 22:13Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (3)

Matthew 22:15–16Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (4)

Matthew 22:16–22Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (5)

Matthew 22:21Chapter 2 (6)

Matthew 22:23–28Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (6)

Matthew 22:29–33Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (7)

Matthew 22:34–40Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (8)

Matthew 22:37Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (9)

Matthew 22:37–39Chapter 12 (8)

Matthew 22:41–46Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings (10)

Matthew 23:1–3Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (1)

Matthew 23:3Chapter 13 (23)

Matthew 23:4Chapter 3 (3)

Matthew 23:4–5Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (2)

Matthew 23:6Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (3)

Matthew 23:6–7Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (3)

Matthew 23:7Chapter 6 (21)

Matthew 23:8–12Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (4)

Matthew 23:12Chapter 4 (8)

Matthew 23:13Chapter 1 (22); Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (5)

Matthew 23:14Chapter 2 (5); Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (6)

Matthew 23:15Chapter 1 (26); Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (7)

Matthew 23:16–22Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (8)

Matthew 23:23–24Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (9)

Matthew 23:25–26Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (10)

Matthew 23:27–28Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (11)

Matthew 23:29–31Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (12)

Matthew 23:32–33Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (13)

Matthew 23:34Chapter 12 (13); Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (14)

Matthew 23:35–36Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (15)

Matthew 23:37Chapter 11 (3); Chapter 14 (8)

Matthew 23:37–39Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (16)

Matthew 23:38Chapter 11 (12); Chapter 1 (29); Chapter 3 (29)

Matthew 23:39Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees (16)

Matthew 24:1–2Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (1)

Matthew 24:3Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (2)

Matthew 24:4–5Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (3)

Matthew 24:5Chapter 1 (6); Chapter 1 (5)

Matthew 24:6–8Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (4)

Matthew 24:9–13Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (5)

Matthew 24:12Chapter 1 (53)

Matthew 24:14Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (6); Chapter 2 (14)

Matthew 24:15Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (7)

Matthew 24:16–18Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (8)

Matthew 24:19Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (9)

Matthew 24:20Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (10)

Matthew 24:21–22Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (11)

Matthew 24:22Chapter 13 (22)

Matthew 24:23–25Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (12)

Matthew 24:26–28Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (13)

Matthew 24:29Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (14)

Matthew 24:30Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (15)

Matthew 24:31Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (16)

Matthew 24:32–33Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (17)

Matthew 24:34–35Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (18)

Matthew 24:35Chapter 1 (15)

Matthew 24:36Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (19)

Matthew 24:37–39Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (20); Chapter 3 (7)

Matthew 24:40–41Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (21)

Matthew 24:42–44Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (22)

Matthew 24:43Chapter 5 (2)

Matthew 24:45–47Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (23)

Matthew 24:48–51Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (24)

Matthew 24:51Chapter 1 (16)

Matthew 25:1–12Chapter 1 (19)

Matthew 25:1–4Chapter 25.—On the Ten Virgins. On Those Who Received the Talents. On the Coming of Christ (1)

Matthew 25:6–13Chapter 25.—On the Ten Virgins. On Those Who Received the Talents. On the Coming of Christ (2)

Matthew 25:14–19Chapter 25.—On the Ten Virgins. On Those Who Received the Talents. On the Coming of Christ (3)

Matthew 25:18Chapter 3 (17)

Matthew 25:20–30Chapter 25.—On the Ten Virgins. On Those Who Received the Talents. On the Coming of Christ (4)

Matthew 25:27Chapter 3 (17)
Matthew 25:30Chapter 1 (20)
Matthew 25:31Chapter 2 (25)

Matthew 25:31–33Chapter 25.—On the Ten Virgins. On Those Who Received the Talents. On the Coming of Christ (5)

Matthew 25:34Chapter 1 (29); Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (3); Chapter 4 (12)

Matthew 25:34–40Chapter 25.—On the Ten Virgins. On Those Who Received the Talents. On the Coming of Christ (6)

Matthew 25:40Chapter 6 (25)

Matthew 25:41Chapter 1 (29); Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (9); Chapter 1 (7)

Matthew 25:41–46Chapter 25.—On the Ten Virgins. On Those Who Received the Talents. On the Coming of Christ (7)

Matthew 25:45Chapter 1 (4)

Matthew 26:1–2Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (1)

Matthew 26:3–5Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (2)

Matthew 26:6–7Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (3)

Matthew 26:8–11Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (4)

Matthew 26:9Chapter 2 (17)

Matthew 26:11Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (4)

Matthew 26:12–13Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (5)

Matthew 26:14–16Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (6)

Matthew 26:15Chapter 6 (9)

Matthew 26:17–19Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (7)

Matthew 26:20–22Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (8)

Matthew 26:23–25Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (9)

Matthew 26:24Chapter 2 (9)

Matthew 26:26Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (10)

Matthew 26:27–28Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (11)

Matthew 26:29Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (12)

Matthew 26:30Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (13)

Matthew 26:31–32Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (14)

Matthew 26:33–34Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (15)

Matthew 26:35Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water (15)

Matthew 26:35–36Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (16)

Matthew 26:37–39Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (17)

Matthew 26:40–41Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (18)

Matthew 26:41Chapter 6 (18)

Matthew 26:42–44Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (19)

Matthew 26:45–46Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (20)

Matthew 26:47–50Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (21)

Matthew 26:51–54Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (22)

Matthew 26:55–56Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (23)

Matthew 26:56–58Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (24)

Matthew 26:59–60Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (25)

Matthew 26:60–63Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (26)

Matthew 26:64Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (27)

Matthew 26:65–66Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (28)

Matthew 26:67–68Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (29)

Matthew 26:69–75Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter (30)

Matthew 27:1–2Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (1)

Matthew 27:3–5Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (2)

Matthew 27:6–10Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (3)

Matthew 27:11–14Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (4)

Matthew 27:15–18Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (5)

Matthew 27:19–26Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (6)

Matthew 27:25Chapter 1 (8); Chapter 4 (8); Chapter 12 (20)

Matthew 27:27–30Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (7)

Matthew 27:31–32Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (8)

Matthew 27:33–34Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (9)

Matthew 27:35–37Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (10)

Matthew 27:38–40Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (11)

Matthew 27:42Chapter 12 (20); Chapter 15 (4)

Matthew 27:45Chapter 6 (15)

Matthew 27:45–49Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (12)

Matthew 27:46Chapter 2 (5)

Matthew 27:50–53Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (13)

Matthew 27:52Chapter 3 (8)

Matthew 27:54–56Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (14)

Matthew 27:57–61Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (15)

Matthew 27:62–66Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (16)

Matthew 28:1–8Chapter 28.—On the Resurrection of the Lord. On the Guards of the Tomb, Witnesses of the Resurrection. On the Appearance of Christ to the Apostles and the Women in Galilee (1)

Matthew 28:9–10Chapter 28.—On the Resurrection of the Lord. On the Guards of the Tomb, Witnesses of the Resurrection. On the Appearance of Christ to the Apostles and the Women in Galilee (2)

Matthew 28:11–15Chapter 28.—On the Resurrection of the Lord. On the Guards of the Tomb, Witnesses of the Resurrection. On the Appearance of Christ to the Apostles and the Women in Galilee (3)

Matthew 28:16–20Chapter 28.—On the Resurrection of the Lord. On the Guards of the Tomb, Witnesses of the Resurrection. On the Appearance of Christ to the Apostles and the Women in Galilee (4)

Matthew 28:18Chapter 15 (34)

Matthew 28:19Chapter 4 (3); Chapter 5 (16); Chapter 1 (28); Chapter 3 (20, 26); Chapter 5 (29); Chapter 3 (11); Chapter 1 (8)

Matthew 28:19–20Chapter 2 (19)

Matthew 28:20Chapter 5 (22); Chapter 1 (31); Chapter 3 (22)

Scripture Index (Mark–Luke)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Mark
Mark 1:1–3Chapter 1 (6)
Mark 1:4–5Chapter 1 (7)
Mark 1:6Chapter 1 (8)
Mark 1:7Chapter 3 (10)
Mark 1:7–8Chapter 1 (9)
Mark 1:9–11Chapter 1 (10)
Mark 1:12–13Chapter 1 (11)
Mark 1:14–15Chapter 1 (12)
Mark 1:16–20Chapter 1 (13)
Mark 1:21–22Chapter 1 (14)
Mark 1:22Chapter 5 (8)
Mark 1:23–28Chapter 1 (15)
Mark 1:24Chapter 2 (14)
Mark 1:29–31Chapter 1 (16)
Mark 1:32–34Chapter 1 (17)
Mark 1:35–39Chapter 1 (18)
Mark 1:40–45Chapter 1 (19)

Mark 2:1–5Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath (2)

Mark 2:6–12Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath (3)

Mark 2:7Chapter 1 (26)

Mark 2:13Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath (4)

Mark 2:14–17Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath (5)

Mark 2:18–20Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath (6)

Mark 2:21–22Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath (7)

Mark 2:23–28Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath (8)

Mark 3:1–5Chapter 3.—On the Man Having a Withered Hand. On the Choosing of the Apostles. On [His] Mother and Brethren (1)

Mark 3:6–12Chapter 3.—On the Man Having a Withered Hand. On the Choosing of the Apostles. On [His] Mother and Brethren (2)

Mark 3:13–19Chapter 3.—On the Man Having a Withered Hand. On the Choosing of the Apostles. On [His] Mother and Brethren (3)

Mark 3:23–27Chapter 3.—On the Man Having a Withered Hand. On the Choosing of the Apostles. On [His] Mother and Brethren (4)

Mark 3:28–30Chapter 3.—On the Man Having a Withered Hand. On the Choosing of the Apostles. On [His] Mother and Brethren (5)

Mark 4:1–2Chapter 4.—On the Parable of the Sower. On the Rebuking of the Waters (1)

Mark 4:13–20Chapter 4.—On the Parable of the Sower. On the Rebuking of the Waters (2)

Mark 4:24–25Chapter 4.—On the Parable of the Sower. On the Rebuking of the Waters (3)

Mark 4:26–29Chapter 4.—On the Parable of the Sower. On the Rebuking of the Waters (4)

Mark 4:30–34Chapter 4.—On the Parable of the Sower. On the Rebuking of the Waters (5)

Mark 4:35–41Chapter 4.—On the Parable of the Sower. On the Rebuking of the Waters (6)

Mark 5:1–5Chapter 5.—On the Legion. On the Daughter of the Ruler of the Synagogue. On the Woman With the Issue of Blood (1)

Mark 5:14–20Chapter 5.—On the Legion. On the Daughter of the Ruler of the Synagogue. On the Woman With the Issue of Blood (2)

Mark 5:21–29Chapter 5.—On the Legion. On the Daughter of the Ruler of the Synagogue. On the Woman With the Issue of Blood (3)

Mark 5:30–34Chapter 5.—On the Legion. On the Daughter of the Ruler of the Synagogue. On the Woman With the Issue of Blood (4)

Mark 6:1–3Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (1)

Mark 6:4–6Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (2)

Mark 6:6–11Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (3)

Mark 6:12–13Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (4)

Mark 6:14–16Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (5)

Mark 6:17–29Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (6)

Mark 6:30–33Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (7)

Mark 6:34–40Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (8)

Mark 6:41–44Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (9)

Mark 6:45–52Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (10)

Mark 6:53–56Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (11)

Mark 7:1–5Chapter 7.—On the Disciples Eating With Unwashed Hands. On the Transgression of the Commandment of God. On the Syrophoenician Woman. On the Deaf-mute (1)

Mark 7:6–13Chapter 7.—On the Disciples Eating With Unwashed Hands. On the Transgression of the Commandment of God. On the Syrophoenician Woman. On the Deaf-mute (2)

Mark 7:14–23Chapter 7.—On the Disciples Eating With Unwashed Hands. On the Transgression of the Commandment of God. On the Syrophoenician Woman. On the Deaf-mute (3)

Mark 7:24–30Chapter 7.—On the Disciples Eating With Unwashed Hands. On the Transgression of the Commandment of God. On the Syrophoenician Woman. On the Deaf-mute (4)

Mark 7:31–37Chapter 7.—On the Disciples Eating With Unwashed Hands. On the Transgression of the Commandment of God. On the Syrophoenician Woman. On the Deaf-mute (5)

Mark 8:1–9Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter (1)

Mark 8:10–12Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter (2)

Mark 8:13–21Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter (3)

Mark 8:22–26Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter (4)

Mark 8:27–30Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter (5)

Mark 8:31–33Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter (6)

Mark 8:34–37Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter (7)

Mark 8:38–9:1Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter (8)

Mark 9:2–3Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (1)

Mark 9:4–8Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (2)

Mark 9:9–10Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (3)

Mark 9:11Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (4)

Mark 9:12–13Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (5)

Mark 9:14–18Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (6)

Mark 9:19–27Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (7)

Mark 9:28–29Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (8)

Mark 9:30–32Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (9)

Mark 9:33–37Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (10)

Mark 9:38–40Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (11)

Mark 9:41–42Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (12)

Mark 9:43–50Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling (13)

Mark 10:1–9Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (1)

Mark 10:10–12Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (2)

Mark 10:13–16Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (3)

Mark 10:14Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (3)

Mark 10:17–22Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (4)

Mark 10:23–27Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (5)

Mark 10:28–31Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (6)

Mark 10:32–34Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (7)

Mark 10:35–38Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (8)

Mark 10:39–40Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (9)

Mark 10:41–45Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (10)

Mark 10:44Chapter 5 (2)

Mark 10:46–52Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (11)

Mark 11:1–6Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord (1)

Mark 11:7–10Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord (2)

Mark 11:11–14Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord (3)

Mark 11:15–18Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord (4)

Mark 11:19–23Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord (5)

Mark 11:24–26Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord (6)

Mark 11:27–33Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord (7)

Mark 12:1–9Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (1)

Mark 12:10–12Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (2)

Mark 12:13–17Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (3)

Mark 12:18–27Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (4)

Mark 12:28–34Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (5)

Mark 12:35–40Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (6)

Mark 12:41–44Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (7)

Mark 12:44Chapter 8 (17)

Mark 13:1–4Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour (1)

Mark 13:5–13Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour (2)

Mark 13:11–13Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour (2)

Mark 13:14–17Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour (3)

Mark 13:18–20Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour (4)

Mark 13:21–26Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour (5)

Mark 13:27–31Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour (6)

Mark 13:32–37Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour (7)

Mark 14:1–2Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (1)

Mark 14:3–5Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (2)

Mark 14:6–9Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (3)

Mark 14:10–11Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (4)

Mark 14:12–16Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (5)

Mark 14:17–21Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (6)

Mark 14:22–25Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (7)

Mark 14:26–31Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (8)

Mark 14:32–42Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (9)

Mark 14:43–49Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (10)

Mark 14:50–54Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (11)

Mark 14:55–61Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (12)

Mark 14:61–65Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (13)

Mark 14:66–72Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (14)

Mark 15:1–15Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (1)

Mark 15:16–21Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (2)

Mark 15:22–28Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (3)

Mark 15:29–32Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (4)

Mark 15:33–37Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (5)

Mark 15:38–41Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (6)

Mark 15:42–47Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (7)

Mark 16:1–8Chapter 16.—On the Resurrection of Christ. To Whom the Lord Appeared After His Rising. How He Arranged for the Disciples the Preaching of the Gospel (1)

Mark 16:9–13Chapter 16.—On the Resurrection of Christ. To Whom the Lord Appeared After His Rising. How He Arranged for the Disciples the Preaching of the Gospel (2)

Mark 16:14–20Chapter 16.—On the Resurrection of Christ. To Whom the Lord Appeared After His Rising. How He Arranged for the Disciples the Preaching of the Gospel (3)

Luke
Luke 1:1–4Chapter 1 (5)
Luke 1:5Chapter 1 (6)
Luke 1:6Chapter 1 (7)
Luke 1:7Chapter 1 (8)
Luke 1:8–10Chapter 1 (9)
Luke 1:11Chapter 1 (10)
Luke 1:12–17Chapter 1 (11)
Luke 1:18–20Chapter 1 (12)
Luke 1:21–23Chapter 1 (13)
Luke 1:24–25Chapter 1 (14)
Luke 1:26–30Chapter 1 (15)
Luke 1:31–33Chapter 1 (16)
Luke 1:32Chapter 1 (14)
Luke 1:33Chapter 2 (19); Chapter 15 (36)
Luke 1:34–35Chapter 1 (17)

Luke 1:35Chapter 5 (4); Chapter 2 (13); Chapter 1 (14)

Luke 1:36–38Chapter 1 (18)
Luke 1:39–42Chapter 1 (19)
Luke 1:43–45Chapter 1 (20)
Luke 1:46–48Chapter 1 (1)
Luke 1:46–50Chapter 1 (21)
Luke 1:51–56Chapter 1 (22)
Luke 1:52Chapter 1 (1)
Luke 1:57–64Chapter 1 (23)
Luke 1:65–75Chapter 1 (24)
Luke 1:76–80Chapter 1 (25)
Luke 1:79Chapter 1 (2)
Luke 2:1–7Chapter 2 (1)
Luke 2:8–14Chapter 2 (2)
Luke 2:14Chapter 1 (11)
Luke 2:15–20Chapter 2 (3)
Luke 2:21–24Chapter 2 (4)
Luke 2:25–32Chapter 2 (5)
Luke 2:26Chapter 11 (11)
Luke 2:33–35Chapter 2 (6)

Luke 2:34Chapter 1 (14); Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (13)

Luke 2:36–40Chapter 2 (7)
Luke 2:41–50Chapter 2 (8)
Luke 2:51–52Chapter 2 (9)
Luke 3:1–3Chapter 3 (1)
Luke 3:4–5Chapter 1 (34)
Luke 3:4–6Chapter 3 (2)
Luke 3:7–9Chapter 3 (3)
Luke 3:10–18Chapter 3 (4)
Luke 3:19–22Chapter 3 (5)
Luke 3:23–38Chapter 3 (6)
Luke 4:1–12Chapter 4 (1)
Luke 4:6Chapter 3 (1)
Luke 4:13–15Chapter 4 (2)
Luke 4:16–21Chapter 4 (3)
Luke 4:18Chapter 2 (21)
Luke 4:22–23Chapter 4 (4)
Luke 4:24–30Chapter 4 (5)
Luke 4:31–37Chapter 4 (6)
Luke 4:34Chapter 2 (11)
Luke 4:38–41Chapter 4 (7)
Luke 4:42–44Chapter 4 (8)
Luke 5:1–11Chapter 5 (1)
Luke 5:12–16Chapter 5 (2)
Luke 5:17–26Chapter 5 (3)
Luke 5:27–32Chapter 5 (4)
Luke 5:33–39Chapter 5 (5)
Luke 6:1–5Chapter 6 (1)
Luke 6:6–11Chapter 6 (2)
Luke 6:12–19Chapter 6 (3)
Luke 6:20–26Chapter 6 (4)
Luke 6:27–36Chapter 6 (5)
Luke 6:29–30Chapter 4 (8)
Luke 6:30Chapter 1 (34)
Luke 6:31Chapter 1 (3)

Luke 6:36Chapter 2 (7); Chapter 1 (31); Chapter 2 (7)

Luke 6:37Chapter 4 (45)
Luke 6:37–38Chapter 6 (6)
Luke 6:39–40Chapter 6 (7)
Luke 6:41–45Chapter 6 (8)
Luke 6:46–49Chapter 6 (9)
Luke 7:1–10Chapter 7 (1)
Luke 7:11–17Chapter 7 (2)
Luke 7:18–23Chapter 7 (3)
Luke 7:24–30Chapter 7 (4)
Luke 7:31–35Chapter 7 (5)
Luke 7:36–43Chapter 7 (6)
Luke 7:44–47Chapter 7 (7)
Luke 7:48–50Chapter 7 (8)
Luke 8:1–3Chapter 8 (1)
Luke 8:4–8Chapter 8 (2)
Luke 8:9–10Chapter 8 (3)
Luke 8:11–15Chapter 8 (4)
Luke 8:16–18Chapter 8 (5)
Luke 8:19–21Chapter 8 (6)
Luke 8:22–25Chapter 8 (7)
Luke 8:26–33Chapter 8 (8)
Luke 8:31Chapter 7 (36)
Luke 8:34–39Chapter 8 (9)
Luke 8:40–48Chapter 8 (10)
Luke 8:49–56Chapter 8 (11)
Luke 9:1–6Chapter 9 (1)
Luke 9:7–9Chapter 9 (2)
Luke 9:10–17Chapter 9 (3)
Luke 9:18–22Chapter 9 (4)
Luke 9:23–27Chapter 9 (5)

Luke 9:28Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma (1)

Luke 9:28–36Chapter 9 (6)
Luke 9:37–42Chapter 9 (7)
Luke 9:43–45Chapter 9 (8)
Luke 9:46–50Chapter 9 (9)
Luke 9:51–56Chapter 9 (10)
Luke 9:57–62Chapter 9 (11)
Luke 10:1–3Chapter 10 (1)
Luke 10:4–9Chapter 10 (2)
Luke 10:10–12Chapter 10 (3)
Luke 10:13–16Chapter 10 (4)
Luke 10:17–20Chapter 10 (5)
Luke 10:18Chapter 2 (11)

Luke 10:19Chapter 4 (9); Chapter 3 (33); Chapter 16.—On the Resurrection of Christ. To Whom the Lord Appeared After His Rising. How He Arranged for the Disciples the Preaching of the Gospel (3); Chapter 6 (26)

Luke 10:20Chapter 4 (4); Chapter 12 (42)
Luke 10:21Chapter 10 (6)
Luke 10:22–24Chapter 10 (7)
Luke 10:23Chapter 1 (2)
Luke 10:24Chapter 1 (2)
Luke 10:25–28Chapter 10 (8)
Luke 10:29–37Chapter 10 (9)
Luke 10:38–42Chapter 10 (10)
Luke 11:1–4Chapter 11 (1)
Luke 11:5–8Chapter 11 (2)
Luke 11:9–13Chapter 11 (3)
Luke 11:14–20Chapter 11 (4)
Luke 11:21–26Chapter 11 (5)
Luke 11:27–32Chapter 11 (6)
Luke 11:33–36Chapter 11 (7)
Luke 11:37–41Chapter 11 (8)
Luke 11:42–51Chapter 11 (9)
Luke 11:52Chapter 1 (17)
Luke 11:52–54Chapter 11 (10)
Luke 12:1–3Chapter 12 (1)
Luke 12:4–7Chapter 12 (2)
Luke 12:8–12Chapter 12 (3)
Luke 12:11Chapter 3 (7)
Luke 12:13–15Chapter 12 (4)
Luke 12:16–21Chapter 12 (5)
Luke 12:22–26Chapter 12 (6)
Luke 12:27–31Chapter 12 (7)
Luke 12:32–34Chapter 12 (8)
Luke 12:35–40Chapter 12 (9)
Luke 12:41–44Chapter 12 (10)
Luke 12:45–46Chapter 12 (11)
Luke 12:47Chapter 8 (15)
Luke 12:47–48Chapter 12 (12)
Luke 12:49Chapter 1 (17); Chapter 12 (13)
Luke 12:50Chapter 12 (14)
Luke 12:51–53Chapter 12 (15)
Luke 12:54–59Chapter 12 (16)
Luke 13:1–5Chapter 13 (1)
Luke 13:6–9Chapter 3 (28); Chapter 13 (2)
Luke 13:10–17Chapter 13 (3)
Luke 13:18–22Chapter 13 (4)
Luke 13:23–30Chapter 13 (5)
Luke 13:27Chapter 1 (29)
Luke 13:31–33Chapter 13 (6)
Luke 13:34–35Chapter 13 (7)
Luke 14:1–6Chapter 14 (1)
Luke 14:7–11Chapter 14 (2)
Luke 14:11Chapter 4 (19); Chapter 5 (2)
Luke 14:12–15Chapter 14 (3)
Luke 14:16–20Chapter 14 (4)
Luke 14:21–24Chapter 14 (5)
Luke 14:25–27Chapter 14 (6)
Luke 14:26Chapter 5 (24)
Luke 14:28–30Chapter 14 (7)
Luke 14:31–35Chapter 14 (8)
Luke 14:33Chapter 10 (6); Chapter 13 (15)
Luke 15:1–10Chapter 15 (1)
Luke 15:11–16Chapter 15 (2)
Luke 15:16Chapter 6 (14)
Luke 15:17–21Chapter 15 (3)
Luke 15:22–24Chapter 15 (4)
Luke 15:25–32Chapter 15 (5)
Luke 16:1–9Chapter 16 (1)

Luke 16:9Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (5)

Luke 16:10–13Chapter 16 (2)
Luke 16:14–15Chapter 16 (3)
Luke 16:16Chapter 5 (3)
Luke 16:16–18Chapter 16 (4)
Luke 16:19–22Chapter 16 (5)
Luke 16:23–26Chapter 16 (6)
Luke 16:27–31Chapter 16 (7)
Luke 16:29Chapter 3 (18)
Luke 17:1–4Chapter 17 (1)
Luke 17:5–10Chapter 17 (2)
Luke 17:10Chapter 1 (31)
Luke 17:11–19Chapter 17 (3)
Luke 17:20–25Chapter 17 (4)
Luke 17:26–30Chapter 17 (5)
Luke 17:31–33Chapter 17 (6)
Luke 17:34–37Chapter 17 (7)
Luke 18:1–8Chapter 18 (1)
Luke 18:9–14Chapter 18 (2)
Luke 18:15–17Chapter 18 (3)
Luke 18:18–23Chapter 18 (4)
Luke 18:24–30Chapter 18 (5)
Luke 18:31–34Chapter 18 (6)
Luke 18:35–43Chapter 18 (7)
Luke 19:1–10Chapter 19 (1)
Luke 19:9Chapter 12 (7)
Luke 19:11–14Chapter 19 (2)
Luke 19:15–28Chapter 19 (3)
Luke 19:27Chapter 1 (16)
Luke 19:29–40Chapter 19 (4)
Luke 19:40Chapter 2 (14)
Luke 19:41–44Chapter 19 (5)
Luke 19:45–48Chapter 19 (6)
Luke 20:1–8Chapter 20 (1)
Luke 20:9–16Chapter 20 (2)
Luke 20:17–19Chapter 20 (3)
Luke 20:20–26Chapter 20 (4)
Luke 20:27–40Chapter 20 (5)
Luke 20:41–47Chapter 20 (6)
Luke 21:1–4Chapter 21 (1)
Luke 21:5–11Chapter 21 (2)
Luke 21:8Chapter 1 (6); Chapter 1 (5)
Luke 21:12–19Chapter 21 (3)
Luke 21:19Chapter 1 (29)
Luke 21:20–27Chapter 21 (4)
Luke 21:24Chapter 7 (18)
Luke 21:28–33Chapter 21 (5)
Luke 21:34–36Chapter 21 (6)
Luke 21:37–38Chapter 21 (7)
Luke 22:1–6Chapter 22 (1)
Luke 22:7–13Chapter 22 (2)
Luke 22:14–20Chapter 22 (3)
Luke 22:15Chapter 4 (10)
Luke 22:21–27Chapter 22 (4)
Luke 22:28–34Chapter 22 (5)
Luke 22:35–38Chapter 22 (6)
Luke 22:39–46Chapter 22 (7)
Luke 22:47–53Chapter 22 (8)
Luke 22:54–62Chapter 22 (9)
Luke 22:63–71Chapter 22 (10)
Luke 23:1–5Chapter 23 (1)
Luke 23:6–27Chapter 23 (2)
Luke 23:28Chapter 10 (12)
Luke 23:28–31Chapter 23 (3)
Luke 23:32–38Chapter 23 (4)
Luke 23:34Chapter 2 (2)
Luke 23:39–43Chapter 23 (5)
Luke 23:40Chapter 3 (4)
Luke 23:43Chapter 1 (25); Chapter 12 (4)
Luke 23:44–49Chapter 23 (6)

Luke 23:46Chapter 2 (8); Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (13); Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (5)

Luke 23:50–56Chapter 23 (7)
Luke 24:1–12Chapter 24 (1)
Luke 24:13–24Chapter 24 (2)
Luke 24:25–35Chapter 24 (3)
Luke 24:36–44Chapter 24 (4)
Luke 24:45–53Chapter 24 (5)

Scripture Index (John)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

John
John 1:1Chapter 1 (4); Chapter 1 (7)
John 1:2Chapter 1 (5)

John 1:3Chapter 1 (6); Chapter 3 (12); Chapter 1 (40); Chapter 1 (23)

John 1:4Chapter 1 (7)
John 1:5Chapter 1 (8)
John 1:6Chapter 1 (9)
John 1:7Chapter 1 (10)
John 1:8Chapter 1 (11)

John 1:91. Argument (2); Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 1 (12)

John 1:10Chapter 1 (13); Chapter 3 (7)
John 1:11Chapter 7 (10); Chapter 1 (14)
John 1:12Chapter 1 (15); Chapter 5 (1)
John 1:13Chapter 1 (16)
John 1:14Chapter 1 (17); Chapter 2 (11)
John 1:15Chapter 1 (18); Chapter 1 (12)
John 1:16Chapter 1 (19)
John 1:17Chapter 1 (20); Chapter 1 (8)
John 1:19–20Chapter 1 (21)
John 1:21–23Chapter 1 (22)
John 1:24–25Chapter 1 (23)
John 1:26–27Chapter 1 (24)
John 1:28Chapter 1 (25)

John 1:29Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John (2); Chapter 1 (26); Chapter 15 (27)

John 1:30Chapter 1 (27)
John 1:31–34Chapter 1 (28)
John 1:35–37Chapter 1 (29)
John 1:38–40Chapter 1 (30)
John 1:41–43Chapter 1 (31)
John 1:44–46Chapter 1 (32)
John 1:47–49Chapter 1 (33)
John 1:49Chapter 1 (32)
John 1:49–51Chapter 1 (34)
John 2:1–4Chapter 2 (1)
John 2:5–8Chapter 2 (2)
John 2:9–10Chapter 2 (3)
John 2:11Chapter 2 (4)
John 2:12–17Chapter 2 (5)
John 2:18–22Chapter 2 (6)

John 2:19Chapter 6 (20); Chapter 13 (5); Chapter 2 (27); Chapter 5 (10); Chapter 1 (14)

John 2:23–25Chapter 2 (7)
John 3:1–2Chapter 3 (1)
John 3:3Chapter 3 (2)
John 3:4–5Chapter 3 (3)
John 3:5Chapter 3 (11)
John 3:6–8Chapter 3 (4)
John 3:9–12Chapter 3 (5)
John 3:13Chapter 3 (6)
John 3:14–15Chapter 3 (7)

John 3:16Chapter 13 (22); Chapter 3 (16); Chapter 2 (38)

John 3:16–17Chapter 3 (8)
John 3:17Chapter 3 (14)
John 3:18Chapter 4 (4)
John 3:18–21Chapter 3 (9)
John 3:19–20Chapter 2 (5)
John 3:20Chapter 3 (6); Chapter 6 (7)
John 3:22–24Chapter 3 (10)
John 3:25–27Chapter 3 (11)
John 3:28–30Chapter 3 (12)
John 3:31–34Chapter 3 (13)
John 3:35–36Chapter 3 (14)
John 4:1–4Chapter 4 (1)
John 4:5Chapter 4 (2)
John 4:6–8Chapter 4 (3)
John 4:9–11Chapter 4 (4)
John 4:12–15Chapter 4 (5)
John 4:14Chapter 1 (26)
John 4:16–22Chapter 4 (6)
John 4:22Chapter 6 (18)
John 4:23Chapter 1 (19)
John 4:23–24Chapter 4 (7)
John 4:25–27Chapter 4 (8)
John 4:28–30Chapter 4 (9)
John 4:31–34Chapter 4 (10)
John 4:34Chapter 3 (1)
John 4:35Chapter 2 (32)
John 4:35–38Chapter 4 (11)
John 4:39–42Chapter 4 (12)
John 4:43–45Chapter 4 (13)
John 4:46–50Chapter 4 (14)
John 4:51–54Chapter 4 (15)
John 5:1–4Chapter 5 (1)
John 5:5–7Chapter 5 (2)
John 5:8–10Chapter 5 (3)
John 5:11–13Chapter 5 (4)
John 5:14–16Chapter 5 (5)
John 5:17Chapter 1 (17)
John 5:17–18Chapter 5 (6)
John 5:19Chapter 1 (13)
John 5:19–21Chapter 5 (7)
John 5:20Chapter 11 (20)

John 5:22Chapter 2 (9); Chapter 12 (43); Chapter 1 (13)

John 5:22–24Chapter 5 (8)

John 5:23Chapter 3 (1); Chapter 2 (17); Chapter 7 (10); Chapter 13 (20)

John 5:24Chapter 4 (2)
John 5:25–29Chapter 5 (9)
John 5:30Chapter 5 (10)
John 5:31–35Chapter 5 (11)
John 5:36–37Chapter 5 (12)
John 5:37Chapter 9 (27)
John 5:38Chapter 5 (13)
John 5:39Chapter 3 (6)
John 5:39–42Chapter 5 (14)
John 5:43Chapter 2 (19)
John 5:43–47Chapter 5 (15)
John 5:44Chapter 1 (26)
John 5:46Chapter 3 (15); Chapter 3 (6)
John 6:1–4Chapter 6 (1)
John 6:5–9Chapter 6 (2)
John 6:10–13Chapter 6 (3)
John 6:14–15Chapter 6 (4)
John 6:16–21Chapter 6 (5)
John 6:22–26Chapter 6 (6)
John 6:27Chapter 6 (7)
John 6:28–30Chapter 6 (8)
John 6:31–34Chapter 6 (9)
John 6:35–38Chapter 6 (10)
John 6:39–40Chapter 6 (11)
John 6:41Chapter 5 (7)
John 6:41–44Chapter 6 (12)
John 6:44Chapter 1 (4)
John 6:45Chapter 4 (12)
John 6:45–47Chapter 6 (13)
John 6:48–51Chapter 6 (14)

John 6:51Chapter 7 (31); Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (7)

John 6:52–55Chapter 6 (15)

John 6:53Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest (7)

John 6:55Chapter 7 (21)
John 6:56–58Chapter 6 (16)
John 6:59–62Chapter 6 (17)
John 6:60Chapter 7 (21); Chapter 3 (11)
John 6:63–64Chapter 6 (18)
John 6:65–67Chapter 6 (19)
John 6:68–71Chapter 6 (20)
John 7:1–5Chapter 7 (1)
John 7:5Chapter 7 (10)
John 7:6–8Chapter 7 (2)
John 7:9–10Chapter 7 (3)
John 7:11–13Chapter 7 (4)
John 7:14–16Chapter 7 (5)
John 7:17–18Chapter 7 (6)
John 7:19–20Chapter 7 (7)
John 7:21–24Chapter 7 (8)
John 7:23–24Chapter 1 (6)
John 7:25–27Chapter 7 (9)
John 7:28–29Chapter 7 (10)
John 7:30–31Chapter 7 (11)
John 7:32–36Chapter 7 (12)
John 7:35Chapter 1 (12)
John 7:37Chapter 3 (17)
John 7:37–38Chapter 7 (13)
John 7:39Chapter 7 (14)
John 7:40–43Chapter 7 (15)
John 7:44–46Chapter 7 (16)
John 7:46Chapter 3 (25)
John 7:47–51Chapter 7 (17)
John 7:52Chapter 7 (18)

John 8:12Chapter 5 (22); Chapter 7 (13); Chapter 1 (2, 20); Chapter 8 (1); Chapter 1 (7)

John 8:13–14Chapter 8 (2)
John 8:15–16Chapter 8 (3)
John 8:17–18Chapter 8 (4)
John 8:19Chapter 3 (1)
John 8:19–20Chapter 8 (5)
John 8:21–24Chapter 8 (6)
John 8:24Chapter 4 (6)
John 8:25–27Chapter 8 (7)
John 8:28Chapter 1 (11)
John 8:28–29Chapter 8 (8)
John 8:30–32Chapter 8 (9)
John 8:33–36Chapter 8 (10)
John 8:37–38Chapter 8 (11)
John 8:39Chapter 5 (8); Chapter 12 (10)
John 8:39–41Chapter 8 (12)
John 8:40Chapter 5 (22)
John 8:42–43Chapter 8 (13)
John 8:44–45Chapter 8 (14)
John 8:46Chapter 1 (8)
John 8:46–50Chapter 8 (15)

John 8:48Chapter 3 (1); Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (16)

John 8:51–52Chapter 8 (16)
John 8:53–55Chapter 8 (17)
John 8:56–59Chapter 8 (18)
John 9:1–2Chapter 9 (1)
John 9:3–5Chapter 9 (2)
John 9:6–7Chapter 9 (3)
John 9:8–11Chapter 9 (4)
John 9:12–16Chapter 9 (5)
John 9:17–19Chapter 9 (6)
John 9:20–23Chapter 9 (7)
John 9:24–29Chapter 9 (8)
John 9:28Chapter 3 (11)
John 9:30–33Chapter 9 (9)
John 9:34–38Chapter 9 (10)

John 9:39Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 1 (21); Chapter 4 (6)

John 9:39–41Chapter 9 (11)
John 10:1–5Chapter 10 (1)
John 10:4Chapter 2 (23)
John 10:6–8Chapter 10 (2)

John 10:9Chapter 2 (23); Chapter 5 (8); Chapter 10 (3)

John 10:10Chapter 6 (10); Chapter 4 (5)

John 10:10–13Chapter 10 (4)

John 10:11Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain (14); Chapter 3 (15); Chapter 5 (31)

John 10:14–16Chapter 10 (5)
John 10:15Chapter 2 (38)
John 10:16Chapter 2 (38)
John 10:17–21Chapter 10 (6)

John 10:18Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb (13); Chapter 5 (10); Chapter 12 (6); Chapter 1 (14)

John 10:22–26Chapter 10 (7)
John 10:27–30Chapter 10 (8)
John 10:28Chapter 5 (22); Chapter 5 (16)
John 10:31–36Chapter 10 (9)
John 10:33Chapter 2 (17)
John 10:37–38Chapter 10 (10)
John 10:38Chapter 7 (38)
John 10:39–42Chapter 10 (11)
John 11:1–3Chapter 11 (1)
John 11:4–6Chapter 11 (2)
John 11:7–10Chapter 11 (3)
John 11:11–16Chapter 11 (4)
John 11:17–20Chapter 11 (5)
John 11:21–28Chapter 11 (6)
John 11:29–32Chapter 11 (7)
John 11:33–37Chapter 11 (8)
John 11:38–42Chapter 11 (9)
John 11:43–46Chapter 11 (10)
John 11:47–48Chapter 11 (11)
John 11:48Chapter 3 (10)
John 11:49–53Chapter 11 (12)
John 11:54–57Chapter 11 (13)
John 12:1–3Chapter 12 (1)
John 12:4–8Chapter 12 (2)
John 12:6Chapter 6 (9)
John 12:9–11Chapter 12 (3)
John 12:12–13Chapter 12 (4)
John 12:14–16Chapter 12 (5)
John 12:17–19Chapter 12 (6)

John 12:19Chapter 5 (14); Chapter 3 (16); Chapter 1 (26)

John 12:20–24Chapter 12 (7)
John 12:25Chapter 4 (43)
John 12:25–26Chapter 12 (8)

John 12:26Chapter 1 (25); Chapter 4 (4); Chapter 10 (35)

John 12:27–28Chapter 12 (9)
John 12:28Chapter 1 (15)
John 12:29–33Chapter 12 (10)
John 12:31Chapter 3 (9)
John 12:32Chapter 3 (19)
John 12:34–36Chapter 12 (11)
John 12:35Chapter 1 (20)
John 12:37–40Chapter 12 (12)
John 12:41–43Chapter 12 (13)
John 12:44–45Chapter 12 (14)
John 12:46–47Chapter 12 (15)
John 12:48Chapter 4 (6)
John 12:48–50Chapter 12 (16)
John 12:49Chapter 1 (34)
John 13:1Chapter 13 (1)
John 13:2–5Chapter 13 (2)
John 13:6–7Chapter 13 (3)
John 13:8–9Chapter 13 (4)
John 13:10–11Chapter 13 (5)
John 13:12–16Chapter 13 (6)
John 13:14Chapter 5 (1)
John 13:17–19Chapter 13 (7)
John 13:19Chapter 3 (6)
John 13:20Chapter 13 (8)
John 13:21–22Chapter 13 (9)
John 13:23–26Chapter 13 (10)
John 13:27–30Chapter 13 (11)
John 13:31–32Chapter 13 (12)
John 13:33Chapter 1 (12)
John 13:33–35Chapter 13 (13)

John 13:35Chapter 4 (8); Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (5)

John 13:36–38Chapter 13 (14)
John 14:1Chapter 14 (1)
John 14:2Chapter 10 (6)
John 14:2–3Chapter 14 (2)
John 14:4–6Chapter 14 (3)

John 14:6Chapter 14 (23); Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (3)

John 14:7Chapter 14 (4)
John 14:8–9Chapter 14 (5)
John 14:9Chapter 4 (1); Chapter 6 (8)
John 14:10–11Chapter 14 (6); Chapter 1 (9)
John 14:12–14Chapter 14 (7)

John 14:15Chapter 10 (6, 12); Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites (5); Chapter 1 (27); Chapter 1 (5)

John 14:15–17Chapter 14 (8)
John 14:18–20Chapter 14 (9)
John 14:21–22Chapter 14 (10)

John 14:23Chapter 5 (7); Chapter 3 (18); Chapter 4 (22); Chapter 1 (9)

John 14:23–24Chapter 14 (11)
John 14:25–26Chapter 14 (12)
John 14:26Chapter 8 (16)

John 14:27Chapter 2 (1); Chapter 4 (8); Chapter 14 (13); Chapter 2 (28); Chapter 4 (10); Chapter 5 (5)

John 14:28Chapter 5 (11)
John 14:28–29Chapter 14 (14)
John 14:30Chapter 12 (6)
John 14:30–31Chapter 14 (15)
John 15:1–3Chapter 15 (1)
John 15:4–6Chapter 15 (2)
John 15:5Chapter 14 (22); Chapter 1 (17)
John 15:7–8Chapter 15 (3)
John 15:9Chapter 15 (4)
John 15:10Chapter 15 (5)
John 15:11–13Chapter 15 (6)
John 15:13Chapter 3 (9)
John 15:14–15Chapter 15 (7)
John 15:15Chapter 3 (1); Chapter 10 (6)
John 15:16Chapter 15 (8); Chapter 12 (5)
John 15:17–19Chapter 15 (9)
John 15:19Chapter 6 (21)
John 15:20–21Chapter 15 (10)
John 15:22Chapter 3 (10)
John 15:22–25Chapter 15 (11)
John 15:26Chapter 9 (27); Chapter 1 (8)
John 15:26–27Chapter 15 (12)
John 15:27Chapter 9 (27)
John 16:1–4Chapter 16 (1)
John 16:5–7Chapter 16 (2)
John 16:8–11Chapter 16 (3)
John 16:12–15Chapter 16 (4)
John 16:13Chapter 1 (12)
John 16:15Chapter 1 (8)
John 16:16–18Chapter 16 (5)
John 16:19–22Chapter 16 (6)
John 16:20Chapter 1 (7)
John 16:23Chapter 5 (11)
John 16:23–24Chapter 16 (7)
John 16:25–28Chapter 16 (8)
John 16:28Chapter 1 (15)
John 16:29–32Chapter 16 (9)

John 16:32Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial (5)

John 16:33Chapter 2 (19); Chapter 5 (22); Chapter 1 (9); Chapter 16 (10); Chapter 2 (28); Chapter 1 (5); Chapter 1 (7)

John 17:1–3Chapter 17 (1)
John 17:4–5Chapter 17 (2)
John 17:6Chapter 6 (8); Chapter 2 (17)
John 17:6–8Chapter 17 (3)
John 17:9Chapter 9 (27)
John 17:9–10Chapter 17 (4)
John 17:11Chapter 2 (9); Chapter 17 (5)
John 17:12–13Chapter 17 (6)
John 17:14–16Chapter 17 (7)
John 17:17–19Chapter 17 (8)

John 17:19Chapter 1 (20); Chapter 2 (38); Chapter 9 (49)

John 17:20–21Chapter 17 (9)
John 17:21Chapter 1 (34); Chapter 15 (8)
John 17:22–23Chapter 17 (10)
John 17:24Chapter 17 (11); Chapter 9 (27)
John 17:25–26Chapter 17 (12)
John 18:1–2Chapter 18 (1)
John 18:3–6Chapter 18 (2)
John 18:7–9Chapter 18 (3)
John 18:10–11Chapter 18 (4)
John 18:12–14Chapter 18 (5)
John 18:15–16Chapter 18 (6)
John 18:17–18Chapter 18 (7)
John 18:19–23Chapter 18 (8)
John 18:24–27Chapter 18 (9)
John 18:28–32Chapter 18 (10)
John 18:30Chapter 6 (12)
John 18:33–36Chapter 18 (11)
John 18:37Chapter 6 (32)
John 18:37–39Chapter 18 (12)
John 18:40Chapter 18 (13)
John 19:1–7Chapter 19 (1)
John 19:7Chapter 2 (17)
John 19:8–11Chapter 19 (2)
John 19:12–13Chapter 19 (3)
John 19:14–18Chapter 19 (4)

John 19:15Chapter 2 (3); Chapter 13 (18); Chapter 6 (12); Chapter 3 (11); Chapter 1 (15)

John 19:19–22Chapter 19 (5)
John 19:21Chapter 10 (6); Chapter 3 (8)
John 19:23–24Chapter 19 (6)
John 19:25–27Chapter 19 (7)
John 19:28–30Chapter 19 (8)
John 19:31–34Chapter 19 (9)
John 19:35–37Chapter 19 (10)
John 19:38–42Chapter 19 (11)
John 20:1–4Chapter 20 (1)
John 20:5–13Chapter 20 (2)
John 20:14–18Chapter 20 (3)
John 20:17Chapter 2 (7)
John 20:19–23Chapter 20 (4)
John 20:20Chapter 2 (2)

John 20:23Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (11)

John 20:24–29Chapter 20 (5)
John 20:30–31Chapter 20 (6)
John 21:1–8Chapter 21 (1)
John 21:9–14Chapter 21 (2)
John 21:15–18Chapter 21 (3)
John 21:19–23Chapter 21 (4)
John 21:22Chapter 5 (5)
John 21:24–25Chapter 21 (5)

Scripture Index (Acts)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Acts
Acts 1:1Chapter 1 (4)
Acts 1:2Chapter 1 (5)
Acts 1:3Chapter 1 (6); Chapter 2 (27)
Acts 1:4–21Chapter 1 (7)
Acts 1:8Chapter 1 (23)
Acts 2:1–4Chapter 2 (1)
Acts 2:2Chapter 7 (27)
Acts 2:5–6Chapter 2 (2)
Acts 2:7–13Chapter 2 (3)
Acts 2:14–15Chapter 2 (4)
Acts 2:16–18Chapter 2 (5)
Acts 2:19–21Chapter 2 (6)
Acts 2:22–23Chapter 2 (7)
Acts 2:24Chapter 2 (6)
Acts 2:24–28Chapter 2 (8)
Acts 2:29–31Chapter 2 (9)
Acts 2:32–36Chapter 2 (10)
Acts 2:37–40Chapter 2 (11)
Acts 2:38Chapter 1 (10)
Acts 2:41Chapter 1 (18)
Acts 2:41–47Chapter 2 (12)
Acts 3:1–7Chapter 3 (1)
Acts 3:6Chapter 6 (33)
Acts 3:8–10Chapter 3 (2)
Acts 3:11–16Chapter 3 (3)
Acts 3:17Chapter 3 (4)
Acts 3:18Chapter 3 (5)
Acts 3:19–21Chapter 3 (6)
Acts 3:22Chapter 3 (18)
Acts 3:22–26Chapter 3 (7)
Acts 4:1–3Chapter 4 (1)
Acts 4:4Chapter 4 (2)
Acts 4:5–10Chapter 4 (3)
Acts 4:11–12Chapter 4 (4)
Acts 4:13–14Chapter 4 (5)
Acts 4:15–22Chapter 4 (6)
Acts 4:23–28Chapter 4 (7)
Acts 4:29–31Chapter 4 (8)
Acts 4:32Chapter 4 (9)
Acts 4:33Chapter 4 (10)
Acts 4:34Chapter 4 (11)
Acts 4:36–37Chapter 4 (12)
Acts 5:1Chapter 5 (14)
Acts 5:1–3Chapter 5 (1)
Acts 5:4–6Chapter 5 (2)
Acts 5:7Chapter 5 (3)
Acts 5:8–11Chapter 5 (4)
Acts 5:12–16Chapter 5 (5)
Acts 5:17–21Chapter 5 (6)
Acts 5:22–25Chapter 5 (7)
Acts 5:26–31Chapter 5 (8)
Acts 5:32Chapter 5 (9)
Acts 5:33–36Chapter 5 (10)
Acts 5:37–42Chapter 5 (11)
Acts 5:41Chapter 10 (57)
Acts 6:1Chapter 6 (1)
Acts 6:2–7Chapter 6 (2)
Acts 6:4Chapter 16 (38)
Acts 6:8–15Chapter 6 (3)
Acts 7:1–6Chapter 7 (1)
Acts 7:7–16Chapter 7 (2)
Acts 7:17–28Chapter 7 (3)
Acts 7:29–34Chapter 7 (4)
Acts 7:35–41Chapter 7 (5)
Acts 7:42–48Chapter 7 (6)
Acts 7:49–50Chapter 7 (7)
Acts 7:51–52Chapter 7 (8)
Acts 7:53Chapter 7 (9); Chapter 2 (3)
Acts 7:54–56Chapter 7 (10)
Acts 7:57–59Chapter 7 (11)
Acts 7:60Chapter 7 (12)
Acts 8:1–4Chapter 8 (1)
Acts 8:5–8Chapter 8 (2)
Acts 8:9–21Chapter 8 (3)
Acts 8:22–25Chapter 8 (4)
Acts 8:26–33Chapter 8 (5)
Acts 8:34–40Chapter 8 (6)
Acts 9:1–2Chapter 9 (1)
Acts 9:3–5Chapter 9 (2)
Acts 9:6–9Chapter 9 (3)
Acts 9:10–16Chapter 9 (4)

Acts 9:15Chapter 3 (14); Chapter 1 (26); Chapter 3 (2); Chapter 1 (24)

Acts 9:17–19Chapter 9 (5)
Acts 9:20–22Chapter 9 (6)
Acts 9:23–25Chapter 9 (7)
Acts 9:26Chapter 9 (8)
Acts 9:27–31Chapter 9 (9)
Acts 9:32–33Chapter 9 (10)
Acts 9:34–35Chapter 9 (11)
Acts 9:36–43Chapter 9 (12)
Acts 10:1–8Chapter 10 (1)
Acts 10:9–16Chapter 10 (2)
Acts 10:17–18Chapter 10 (3)
Acts 10:19Chapter 10 (4)
Acts 10:20Chapter 10 (5)
Acts 10:21–23Chapter 10 (6)
Acts 10:24–27Chapter 10 (7)
Acts 10:28–33Chapter 10 (8)
Acts 10:34–35Chapter 1 (2)
Acts 10:34–38Chapter 10 (9)
Acts 10:39–43Chapter 10 (10)
Acts 10:44–48Chapter 10 (11)
Acts 11:1Chapter 11 (1)
Acts 11:2–10Chapter 11 (2)
Acts 11:11–18Chapter 11 (3)
Acts 11:19–26Chapter 11 (4)
Acts 11:23Chapter 1 (2)
Acts 11:24Chapter 1 (2)
Acts 11:27–30Chapter 11 (5)
Acts 12:1–5Chapter 12 (1)
Acts 12:5Chapter 6 (37)
Acts 12:6–10Chapter 12 (2)
Acts 12:11–18Chapter 12 (3)
Acts 12:12Chapter 5 (5)
Acts 12:19–20Chapter 12 (4)
Acts 12:21–24Chapter 12 (5)
Acts 12:25Chapter 12 (6)
Acts 13:1Chapter 13 (1)
Acts 13:2Chapter 1 (12); Chapter 1 (2)
Acts 13:2–8Chapter 13 (2)
Acts 13:8Chapter 5 (14)
Acts 13:9–11Chapter 13 (3)
Acts 13:10Chapter 1 (7)
Acts 13:12Chapter 13 (4)
Acts 13:13–15Chapter 13 (5)
Acts 13:16–24Chapter 13 (6)
Acts 13:25–37Chapter 13 (7)
Acts 13:38–41Chapter 13 (8)
Acts 13:42–48Chapter 13 (9)
Acts 13:49–50Chapter 13 (10)
Acts 13:51Chapter 13 (11)
Acts 13:52Chapter 13 (12)
Acts 14:1–3Chapter 14 (1)
Acts 14:4–7Chapter 14 (2)
Acts 14:8–12Chapter 14 (3)
Acts 14:13Chapter 12 (9)
Acts 14:13–18Chapter 14 (4)
Acts 14:19–25Chapter 14 (5)

Acts 14:22Chapter 1 (25); Chapter 2 (19); Chapter 1 (10)

Acts 14:26–27Chapter 14 (6)
Acts 14:28Chapter 14 (7)
Acts 15:1Chapter 15 (1)
Acts 15:2–4Chapter 15 (2)
Acts 15:5–12Chapter 15 (3)

Acts 15:10Chapter 2 (19); Chapter 3 (12); Chapter 9 (16)

Acts 15:13–22Chapter 15 (4)
Acts 15:23–25Chapter 15 (5)
Acts 15:26–29Chapter 15 (6)
Acts 15:30–38Chapter 15 (7)
Acts 15:39–41Chapter 15 (8)
Acts 16:1–2Chapter 16 (1)
Acts 16:3Chapter 16 (2)
Acts 16:4–12Chapter 16 (3)
Acts 16:13–15Chapter 16 (4)
Acts 16:16–18Chapter 16 (5)
Acts 16:17Chapter 1 (19)
Acts 16:19–21Chapter 16 (6)
Acts 16:22–28Chapter 16 (7)
Acts 16:29–34Chapter 16 (8)
Acts 16:35–38Chapter 16 (9)
Acts 16:39–40Chapter 16 (10)
Acts 17:1–7Chapter 17 (1)
Acts 17:8–9Chapter 17 (2)
Acts 17:10–15Chapter 17 (3)
Acts 17:16–21Chapter 17 (4)
Acts 17:18Chapter 1 (10)
Acts 17:22Chapter 4 (9)
Acts 17:22–28Chapter 17 (5)
Acts 17:23Chapter 7 (21); Chapter 1 (67)

Acts 17:28Chapter 2 (12); Chapter 1 (33); Chapter 1 (3); Chapter 1 (9)

Acts 17:29Chapter 17 (6)
Acts 17:30–31Chapter 3 (26)
Acts 17:30–34Chapter 17 (7)
Acts 18:1–6Chapter 18 (1)
Acts 18:7–11Chapter 18 (2)
Acts 18:9–10Chapter 1 (1)
Acts 18:12–18Chapter 18 (3)
Acts 18:19–21Chapter 18 (4)
Acts 18:22–23Chapter 18 (5)
Acts 18:24–25Chapter 18 (6)
Acts 18:26–28Chapter 18 (7)
Acts 19:1–5Chapter 19 (1)
Acts 19:6–7Chapter 19 (2)
Acts 19:8Chapter 19 (3)
Acts 19:9–10Chapter 19 (4)
Acts 19:11–12Chapter 19 (5)
Acts 19:13Chapter 19 (6)
Acts 19:14–17Chapter 19 (7)
Acts 19:18Chapter 19 (8)
Acts 19:19Chapter 7 (21); Chapter 10 (9)
Acts 19:19–21Chapter 19 (9)
Acts 19:22Chapter 19 (10)
Acts 19:23–24Chapter 19 (11)
Acts 19:25–27Chapter 19 (12)
Acts 19:28–29Chapter 19 (13)
Acts 19:30–32Chapter 19 (14)
Acts 19:33–34Chapter 19 (15)
Acts 19:35–36Chapter 19 (16)
Acts 19:37–39Chapter 19 (17)
Acts 19:40–41Chapter 19 (18)
Acts 20:1–6Chapter 20 (1)
Acts 20:7–8Chapter 20 (2)
Acts 20:9Chapter 20 (3)
Acts 20:10–13Chapter 20 (4)
Acts 20:14–15Chapter 20 (5)
Acts 20:16Chapter 20 (6)
Acts 20:17–21Chapter 20 (7)
Acts 20:22–24Chapter 20 (8)
Acts 20:25–27Chapter 20 (9)
Acts 20:28Chapter 20 (10); Chapter 4 (13)
Acts 20:29Chapter 4 (12)
Acts 20:29–31Chapter 20 (11)
Acts 20:32Chapter 1 (29)
Acts 20:32–34Chapter 20 (12)

Acts 20:35Chapter 20 (13); Chapter 4 (21); Chapter 4 (19)

Acts 20:36–38Chapter 20 (14)
Acts 21:1–3Chapter 21 (1)
Acts 21:4–7Chapter 21 (2)
Acts 21:8–9Chapter 21 (3)
Acts 21:10–11Chapter 21 (4)
Acts 21:12–14Chapter 21 (5)
Acts 21:15–19Chapter 21 (6)
Acts 21:20Chapter 5 (7); Chapter 1 (18)
Acts 21:20–22Chapter 21 (7)
Acts 21:23–24Chapter 21 (8)
Acts 21:25Chapter 21 (9)
Acts 21:26Chapter 21 (10)
Acts 21:27–29Chapter 21 (11)
Acts 21:30–34Chapter 21 (12)
Acts 21:35–38Chapter 21 (13)
Acts 21:39Chapter 21 (14)
Acts 21:40Chapter 21 (15)
Acts 22:1–2Chapter 22 (1)
Acts 22:3–4Chapter 22 (2)
Acts 22:5–8Chapter 22 (3)
Acts 22:9–13Chapter 22 (4)
Acts 22:14Chapter 22 (5)
Acts 22:15–18Chapter 22 (6)
Acts 22:19–22Chapter 22 (7)
Acts 22:21Chapter 3 (2); Chapter 1 (2)
Acts 22:23–29Chapter 22 (8)
Acts 22:30Chapter 22 (9)
Acts 23:1Chapter 23 (1)
Acts 23:3–5Chapter 23 (2)
Acts 23:6–7Chapter 23 (3)
Acts 23:8Chapter 23 (4)
Acts 23:9–10Chapter 23 (5)
Acts 23:11–13Chapter 23 (6)
Acts 23:14–15Chapter 23 (7)
Acts 23:16–24Chapter 23 (8)
Acts 23:25–35Chapter 23 (9)
Acts 24:1–4Chapter 24 (1)
Acts 24:5–9Chapter 24 (2)
Acts 24:10–15Chapter 24 (3)
Acts 24:16–21Chapter 24 (4)
Acts 24:22–23Chapter 24 (5)
Acts 24:24–27Chapter 24 (6)
Acts 25:1–5Chapter 25 (1)
Acts 25:6–12Chapter 25 (2)
Acts 25:13–15Chapter 25 (3)
Acts 25:16–18Chapter 25 (4)
Acts 25:19–24Chapter 25 (5)
Acts 25:25–27Chapter 25 (6)
Acts 26:1–8Chapter 26 (1)
Acts 26:2Chapter 4 (7)
Acts 26:9–11Chapter 26 (2)
Acts 26:12–18Chapter 26 (3)
Acts 26:19–20Chapter 26 (4)
Acts 26:21–23Chapter 26 (5)
Acts 26:24–26Chapter 26 (6)
Acts 26:27–32Chapter 26 (7)
Acts 27:1–3Chapter 27 (1)
Acts 27:4–8Chapter 27 (2)
Acts 27:9–10Chapter 27 (3)
Acts 27:11–13Chapter 27 (4)
Acts 27:14–17Chapter 27 (5)
Acts 27:18–21Chapter 27 (6)
Acts 27:22Chapter 27 (7)
Acts 27:23–33Chapter 27 (8)
Acts 27:24Chapter 1 (2)
Acts 27:34–39Chapter 27 (9)
Acts 27:40–44Chapter 27 (10)
Acts 28:1–3Chapter 28 (1)
Acts 28:4Chapter 28 (2)
Acts 28:6Chapter 28 (3)
Acts 28:7–10Chapter 28 (4)
Acts 28:11–14Chapter 28 (5)
Acts 28:15–16Chapter 28 (6)
Acts 28:17–18Chapter 28 (7)
Acts 28:19–20Chapter 28 (8)
Acts 28:21Chapter 28 (9)
Acts 28:22–24Chapter 28 (10)
Acts 28:25Chapter 28 (11)
Acts 28:26–28Chapter 28 (12)
Acts 28:29Chapter 28 (13)
Acts 28:30–31Chapter 28 (14)

Scripture Index (Romans)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Romans
Romans 1:1Chapter 1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Romans 1:2Chapter 1 (8, 9)
Romans 1:3Chapter 1 (10)
Romans 1:4Chapter 1 (11)
Romans 1:5Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 1 (12, 13)
Romans 1:6Chapter 1 (14)
Romans 1:7Chapter 1 (15, 16, 17)
Romans 1:8Chapter 1 (18)
Romans 1:9Chapter 1 (19)
Romans 1:10Chapter 1 (20)
Romans 1:11Chapter 1 (21)
Romans 1:11–12Chapter 1 (22)
Romans 1:13Chapter 1 (23, 24)
Romans 1:14–15Chapter 1 (25)
Romans 1:16Chapter 1 (26, 27)
Romans 1:17Chapter 1 (28)
Romans 1:18Chapter 1 (29)
Romans 1:19–20Chapter 1 (30)
Romans 1:20Chapter 1 (31)
Romans 1:21–22Chapter 1 (32)
Romans 1:23Chapter 6 (10); Chapter 1 (33)
Romans 1:24–25Chapter 1 (34)
Romans 1:25Chapter 6 (10)
Romans 1:26Chapter 4 (6)
Romans 1:26–27Chapter 1 (35)

Romans 1:28Chapter 7 (15); Chapter 1 (36); Chapter 4 (27)

Romans 1:29Chapter 1 (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)

Romans 1:30Chapter 1 (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
Romans 1:31Chapter 1 (51, 52, 53)
Romans 1:32Chapter 1 (54)
Romans 2:1Chapter 4 (7); Chapter 2 (1)
Romans 2:1–3Chapter 1 (7)
Romans 2:2Chapter 2 (2)
Romans 2:3–6Chapter 2 (3)
Romans 2:4Chapter 1 (6); Chapter 3 (9)
Romans 2:6Chapter 2 (9)
Romans 2:7Chapter 2 (4)
Romans 2:8–9Chapter 2 (5)
Romans 2:10–11Chapter 2 (6)
Romans 2:12–13Chapter 2 (7)
Romans 2:14–15Chapter 2 (8)
Romans 2:15–16Chapter 2 (9)
Romans 2:17–18Chapter 2 (10)
Romans 2:19–20Chapter 2 (11)
Romans 2:21Chapter 3 (3)
Romans 2:21–24Chapter 2 (12)
Romans 2:25Chapter 2 (13)
Romans 2:26Chapter 2 (14)
Romans 2:27Chapter 8 (15)
Romans 2:27–29Chapter 2 (15)
Romans 3:1–3Chapter 3 (1)
Romans 3:4Chapter 3 (2)
Romans 3:5–6Chapter 3 (3)
Romans 3:7–8Chapter 3 (4)
Romans 3:9–18Chapter 3 (5)
Romans 3:16–17Chapter 1 (21)
Romans 3:19Chapter 5 (17)
Romans 3:19–20Chapter 3 (6)
Romans 3:20–21Chapter 3 (7)
Romans 3:22–24Chapter 3 (8)
Romans 3:23Chapter 7 (35); Chapter 3 (3)
Romans 3:24Chapter 7 (35)
Romans 3:25–26Chapter 3 (9)
Romans 3:27Chapter 3 (10)
Romans 3:28Chapter 3 (11)
Romans 3:28–30Chapter 3 (12)
Romans 3:31Chapter 3 (13)
Romans 4:1–3Chapter 4 (1)
Romans 4:4–8Chapter 4 (2)
Romans 4:9–10Chapter 4 (3)
Romans 4:11–12Chapter 4 (4)
Romans 4:13–14Chapter 4 (5)
Romans 4:15Chapter 7 (42); Chapter 4 (6)
Romans 4:16–17Chapter 4 (7)

Romans 4:17Chapter 7 (42); Chapter 2 (4); Chapter 4 (8)

Romans 4:18Chapter 4 (9)
Romans 4:19–22Chapter 4 (10)
Romans 4:23–25Chapter 4 (11)
Romans 5:1–2Chapter 5 (1)
Romans 5:3–4Chapter 2 (8)
Romans 5:3–5Chapter 5 (2)
Romans 5:5Chapter 5 (3); Chapter 1 (30)

Romans 5:6Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus (5)

Romans 5:6–9Chapter 5 (4)
Romans 5:7Chapter 1 (33)
Romans 5:10Chapter 5 (5)
Romans 5:11Chapter 5 (6)
Romans 5:12Chapter 5 (7)
Romans 5:13–14Chapter 5 (8)
Romans 5:14Chapter 7 (35); Chapter 2 (6)
Romans 5:15–16Chapter 5 (9)
Romans 5:17–18Chapter 5 (10)
Romans 5:19Chapter 5 (11)

Romans 5:20Chapter 3 (4); Chapter 5 (12); Chapter 9 (46); Chapter 3 (9)

Romans 5:21Chapter 5 (13)
Romans 6:1Chapter 3 (9)
Romans 6:1–2Chapter 6 (1)
Romans 6:2Chapter 1 (33)
Romans 6:3Chapter 7 (35)
Romans 6:3–4Chapter 6 (2)

Romans 6:4Chapter 1 (33); Chapter 6 (14); Chapter 1 (14)

Romans 6:5Chapter 6 (14)
Romans 6:5–6Chapter 6 (3)
Romans 6:6Chapter 6 (14)
Romans 6:7Chapter 6 (4)
Romans 6:8–11Chapter 6 (5)
Romans 6:12Chapter 6 (6)
Romans 6:13Chapter 6 (7)
Romans 6:14Chapter 6 (8)
Romans 6:15–16Chapter 6 (9)
Romans 6:17Chapter 1 (3); Chapter 6 (10)
Romans 6:18–19Chapter 6 (11)
Romans 6:20–21Chapter 6 (12)
Romans 6:22–23Chapter 6 (13)
Romans 7:1–3Chapter 7 (1)
Romans 7:4Chapter 7 (2)
Romans 7:5Chapter 7 (3)
Romans 7:6Chapter 7 (4)
Romans 7:7Chapter 7 (5)
Romans 7:8Chapter 7 (6)
Romans 7:9Chapter 7 (7)
Romans 7:10–11Chapter 7 (8)
Romans 7:12Chapter 7 (9)
Romans 7:13Chapter 7 (10, 11)
Romans 7:14Chapter 7 (12)
Romans 7:15Chapter 7 (13, 14, 15)
Romans 7:16Chapter 7 (16)
Romans 7:17–18Chapter 7 (17)
Romans 7:18–20Chapter 7 (18)
Romans 7:21Chapter 7 (19)
Romans 7:22–23Chapter 7 (20)
Romans 7:24Chapter 2 (17); Chapter 7 (21)
Romans 7:25Chapter 7 (22)
Romans 7:25–8:1Chapter 8 (1)
Romans 8:2Chapter 4 (5); Chapter 8 (2)

Romans 8:3Chapter 5 (14); Chapter 8 (3); Chapter 2 (10); Chapter 8 (21)

Romans 8:4Chapter 8 (4)
Romans 8:5Chapter 8 (5)
Romans 8:6Chapter 8 (6)
Romans 8:7Chapter 1 (6); Chapter 8 (7)
Romans 8:8–9Chapter 8 (8)
Romans 8:9Chapter 8 (9, 10)
Romans 8:10Chapter 8 (11)
Romans 8:11Chapter 8 (12)
Romans 8:12Chapter 8 (13)
Romans 8:13Chapter 8 (14)
Romans 8:14Chapter 8 (15)
Romans 8:15Chapter 8 (16, 17)
Romans 8:16Chapter 8 (18)
Romans 8:17Chapter 2 (12); Chapter 8 (19, 20)
Romans 8:18Chapter 8 (21)
Romans 8:19Chapter 8 (22)
Romans 8:20–21Chapter 8 (23)
Romans 8:22–23Chapter 8 (24)
Romans 8:24–25Chapter 8 (25)
Romans 8:26Chapter 8 (26, 27, 28)
Romans 8:27Chapter 8 (29)
Romans 8:28Chapter 8 (30)
Romans 8:29–30Chapter 8 (31)
Romans 8:30Chapter 8 (32, 33)
Romans 8:31Chapter 8 (34)
Romans 8:32Chapter 8 (35)
Romans 8:33Chapter 8 (36)
Romans 8:34Chapter 8 (37, 38)

Romans 8:35Chapter 5 (16); Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus (2); Chapter 8 (39)

Romans 8:35–39Chapter 4 (10)
Romans 8:36Chapter 8 (40)
Romans 8:37Chapter 2 (12); Chapter 8 (41)
Romans 8:38–39Chapter 8 (42)
Romans 8:39Chapter 9 (2)
Romans 9:1–2Chapter 9 (1)
Romans 9:3Chapter 9 (2)
Romans 9:4–5Chapter 9 (3)
Romans 9:5Chapter 6 (18); Chapter 8 (6)

Romans 9:6Chapter 5 (4, 16); Chapter 1 (32); Chapter 9 (4)

Romans 9:6–7Chapter 9 (5)
Romans 9:8–9Chapter 9 (6)
Romans 9:10Chapter 9 (7)
Romans 9:11–13Chapter 9 (8)
Romans 9:14Chapter 9 (9)
Romans 9:15Chapter 9 (10)
Romans 9:16Chapter 9 (11)
Romans 9:17Chapter 9 (12)
Romans 9:18Chapter 9 (13)
Romans 9:19Chapter 9 (14)
Romans 9:20Chapter 9 (15)
Romans 9:20–21Chapter 9 (16)
Romans 9:22–24Chapter 9 (17)
Romans 9:25–26Chapter 9 (18)
Romans 9:27–28Chapter 9 (19)
Romans 9:28Chapter 1 (19)
Romans 9:29Chapter 9 (20)
Romans 9:30–31Chapter 9 (21)
Romans 9:30–32Chapter 3 (31)
Romans 9:32Chapter 9 (22)
Romans 9:32–33Chapter 9 (23)
Romans 10:1Chapter 10 (1)
Romans 10:2–3Chapter 10 (2)
Romans 10:4Chapter 10 (3)
Romans 10:5Chapter 10 (4)
Romans 10:6–10Chapter 10 (5)

Romans 10:9Chapter 14 (6); Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 9 (19); Chapter 2 (23)

Romans 10:9–10Chapter 3 (19)
Romans 10:10Chapter 10 (6)
Romans 10:11–13Chapter 10 (7)
Romans 10:14Chapter 2 (12)
Romans 10:14–15Chapter 10 (8)
Romans 10:15Chapter 6 (29)
Romans 10:16Chapter 10 (9)
Romans 10:17Chapter 10 (10)

Romans 10:18Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour (2); Chapter 10 (11)

Romans 10:19Chapter 10 (12, 13)
Romans 10:20Chapter 10 (14)
Romans 10:21Chapter 10 (15)
Romans 11:1–2Chapter 11 (1)
Romans 11:2Chapter 1 (18)
Romans 11:4Chapter 4 (12)

Romans 11:5Chapter 2 (21); Chapter 4 (12); Chapter 5 (16)

Romans 11:5–6Chapter 11 (2)
Romans 11:7Chapter 11 (3)
Romans 11:8Chapter 11 (4)
Romans 11:9–10Chapter 11 (5)
Romans 11:11Chapter 11 (6, 7)
Romans 11:12Chapter 11 (8)
Romans 11:17Chapter 3 (28)
Romans 11:23–24Chapter 11 (9)
Romans 11:25–26Chapter 11 (10)
Romans 11:26–27Chapter 11 (11)
Romans 11:28Chapter 1 (20)
Romans 11:33Chapter 4 (9); Chapter 11 (12)
Romans 11:34–35Chapter 11 (13)
Romans 11:36Chapter 11 (14)

Romans 12:1Chapter 7 (30); Chapter 12 (1); Chapter 1 (39)

Romans 12:2Chapter 12 (2, 3)
Romans 12:4–5Chapter 12 (4)
Romans 12:6–8Chapter 12 (5)
Romans 12:9–10Chapter 12 (6)
Romans 12:14Chapter 12 (7); Chapter 3 (4)
Romans 12:18Chapter 1 (16)
Romans 12:19–21Chapter 12 (8)
Romans 13:1Chapter 13 (1)
Romans 13:1–2Chapter 13 (2)
Romans 13:3–7Chapter 13 (3)
Romans 13:8–10Chapter 13 (4)
Romans 13:11–14Chapter 13 (5)

Romans 14:1Chapter 14 (1, 2); Chapter 13 (5); Chapter 5 (19)

Romans 14:2Chapter 14 (3)
Romans 14:3Chapter 14 (4)
Romans 14:4Chapter 14 (5, 6)
Romans 14:5Chapter 14 (7, 8)
Romans 14:6Chapter 14 (9, 10)
Romans 14:7–8Chapter 14 (11)
Romans 14:8Chapter 14 (12)
Romans 14:9Chapter 14 (13)
Romans 14:10Chapter 14 (14)
Romans 14:11–12Chapter 14 (15)
Romans 14:13Chapter 14 (16)
Romans 14:14Chapter 14 (17)
Romans 14:15Chapter 14 (18, 19)
Romans 14:16Chapter 14 (20)
Romans 14:17Chapter 14 (21, 22)
Romans 14:18Chapter 14 (23)
Romans 14:19Chapter 14 (24)
Romans 14:20Chapter 14 (25, 26)
Romans 14:21Chapter 14 (27)
Romans 14:22Chapter 14 (28, 29)
Romans 14:23Chapter 14 (30, 31)
Romans 15:1Chapter 15 (1, 2)
Romans 15:2Chapter 15 (3)
Romans 15:3Chapter 15 (4)
Romans 15:4Chapter 15 (5)
Romans 15:5Chapter 15 (6)
Romans 15:6Chapter 15 (7)
Romans 15:7Chapter 15 (8)
Romans 15:8Chapter 15 (9)

Romans 15:9Chapter 3 (31); Chapter 15 (10); Chapter 1 (63)

Romans 15:9–12Chapter 15 (11)
Romans 15:11Chapter 15 (11)
Romans 15:12Chapter 15 (11)
Romans 15:13Chapter 15 (12)
Romans 15:14Chapter 15 (13)
Romans 15:15Chapter 15 (14)
Romans 15:16Chapter 15 (15, 16)
Romans 15:17Chapter 15 (17)
Romans 15:18–19Chapter 15 (18)
Romans 15:19Chapter 15 (19)
Romans 15:20Chapter 15 (20)
Romans 15:21Chapter 15 (21)
Romans 15:22Chapter 15 (22)
Romans 15:23–24Chapter 15 (23)
Romans 15:25–26Chapter 15 (24)
Romans 15:26–27Chapter 15 (25)
Romans 15:28Chapter 15 (26, 27)
Romans 15:29Chapter 15 (28)
Romans 15:30Chapter 15 (29, 30)
Romans 15:31Chapter 15 (31, 32)
Romans 15:32Chapter 15 (33, 34)
Romans 15:33Chapter 15 (35)
Romans 16:1Chapter 16 (1)
Romans 16:2Chapter 16 (2, 3, 4)
Romans 16:3Chapter 16 (5)
Romans 16:4Chapter 16 (6, 7)
Romans 16:5Chapter 16 (8, 9)
Romans 16:6Chapter 16 (10)
Romans 16:7Chapter 16 (11)
Romans 16:8Chapter 16 (12)
Romans 16:9Chapter 16 (13, 14)
Romans 16:10Chapter 16 (15, 16)
Romans 16:11Chapter 16 (17)
Romans 16:12Chapter 16 (18, 19)
Romans 16:13Chapter 16 (20)
Romans 16:14Chapter 16 (21)
Romans 16:15Chapter 16 (22)
Romans 16:16Chapter 16 (23, 24)
Romans 16:17Chapter 16 (25)
Romans 16:17–18Chapter 16 (26)
Romans 16:18Chapter 16 (27); Chapter 4 (1)
Romans 16:19Chapter 16 (28, 29)
Romans 16:20Chapter 16 (30, 31)
Romans 16:21Chapter 16 (32, 33)
Romans 16:22Chapter 16 (34)
Romans 16:23Chapter 16 (35, 36)
Romans 16:24Chapter 16 (37)
Romans 16:25Chapter 14 (33)
Romans 16:25–27Chapter 14 (32)

Scripture Index (1 Corinthians)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 1:1Chapter 1 (3, 4, 5, 6)
1 Corinthians 1:2Chapter 1 (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
1 Corinthians 1:3Chapter 1 (12, 13)
1 Corinthians 1:4Chapter 1 (14, 15, 16, 17)
1 Corinthians 1:5Chapter 1 (18, 19)
1 Corinthians 1:6Chapter 1 (20)
1 Corinthians 1:7Chapter 1 (21, 22)
1 Corinthians 1:8Chapter 1 (23)
1 Corinthians 1:9Chapter 1 (24)
1 Corinthians 1:10Chapter 1 (25, 26, 27)
1 Corinthians 1:11Chapter 1 (28, 29)

1 Corinthians 1:12Chapter 1 (30, 31, 32); Chapter 4 (8)

1 Corinthians 1:13Chapter 1 (33, 34, 35)
1 Corinthians 1:14Chapter 1 (36)
1 Corinthians 1:15Chapter 1 (37)
1 Corinthians 1:16Chapter 1 (38, 39)
1 Corinthians 1:17Chapter 1 (40)
1 Corinthians 1:18Chapter 1 (41, 42)
1 Corinthians 1:19Chapter 1 (43)
1 Corinthians 1:20Chapter 1 (44)
1 Corinthians 1:21Chapter 1 (45)
1 Corinthians 1:22–23Chapter 1 (46)
1 Corinthians 1:24Chapter 1 (47)
1 Corinthians 1:25Chapter 1 (48)
1 Corinthians 1:26Chapter 1 (49)
1 Corinthians 1:27–28Chapter 1 (50)
1 Corinthians 1:28Chapter 1 (51)
1 Corinthians 1:29Chapter 1 (52)

1 Corinthians 1:30Chapter 7 (15); Chapter 1 (53, 54)

1 Corinthians 1:31Chapter 1 (55); Chapter 4 (14)

1 Corinthians 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
1 Corinthians 2:2Chapter 2 (2)
1 Corinthians 2:3Chapter 2 (3)

1 Corinthians 2:4Chapter 2 (4); Chapter 1 (13)

1 Corinthians 2:5Chapter 2 (5)
1 Corinthians 2:6Chapter 2 (6)
1 Corinthians 2:7Chapter 2 (7, 8)

1 Corinthians 2:8Chapter 4 (24); Chapter 2 (9, 10)

1 Corinthians 2:9Chapter 2 (11, 12); Chapter 11 (26)

1 Corinthians 2:10Chapter 3 (2); Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (16); Chapter 2 (13); Chapter 1 (30)

1 Corinthians 2:10–11Chapter 2 (14)
1 Corinthians 2:12Chapter 2 (15, 16)
1 Corinthians 2:13Chapter 2 (17, 18)

1 Corinthians 2:14Chapter 2 (19, 20); Chapter 1 (30); Chapter 1 (15)

1 Corinthians 2:15Chapter 2 (21)
1 Corinthians 2:16Chapter 2 (22, 23)
1 Corinthians 3:1Chapter 3 (1)
1 Corinthians 3:2Chapter 3 (2)
1 Corinthians 3:3Chapter 3 (3)
1 Corinthians 3:4Chapter 3 (4)
1 Corinthians 3:5Chapter 3 (5, 6)

1 Corinthians 3:6Chapter 3 (7); Chapter 4 (13)

1 Corinthians 3:7Chapter 3 (8)
1 Corinthians 3:8Chapter 3 (9, 10)
1 Corinthians 3:9Chapter 3 (11, 12)
1 Corinthians 3:10Chapter 3 (13, 14)
1 Corinthians 3:11Chapter 3 (15)
1 Corinthians 3:12Chapter 3 (16)
1 Corinthians 3:13Chapter 3 (17)
1 Corinthians 3:14–15Chapter 3 (18)
1 Corinthians 3:15Chapter 3 (19)

1 Corinthians 3:16Chapter 6 (9); Chapter 3 (20)

1 Corinthians 3:17Chapter 3 (21, 22)
1 Corinthians 3:18Chapter 3 (23, 24)
1 Corinthians 3:19Chapter 3 (25, 26)
1 Corinthians 3:20Chapter 3 (27)
1 Corinthians 3:21–22Chapter 3 (28)
1 Corinthians 3:22Chapter 3 (29)
1 Corinthians 3:23Chapter 3 (30)
1 Corinthians 4:1Chapter 4 (1)
1 Corinthians 4:2Chapter 4 (2)
1 Corinthians 4:3Chapter 4 (3)
1 Corinthians 4:3–4Chapter 4 (4)
1 Corinthians 4:4Chapter 1 (10)
1 Corinthians 4:5Chapter 4 (5, 6, 7)
1 Corinthians 4:6Chapter 4 (8, 9)
1 Corinthians 4:7Chapter 4 (10)
1 Corinthians 4:8Chapter 4 (11, 12, 13)
1 Corinthians 4:9Chapter 4 (14, 15)
1 Corinthians 4:10Chapter 4 (16, 17)
1 Corinthians 4:11Chapter 4 (18, 19, 20)
1 Corinthians 4:12Chapter 4 (21)
1 Corinthians 4:12–13Chapter 4 (22)
1 Corinthians 4:13Chapter 4 (23)
1 Corinthians 4:14Chapter 4 (24)

1 Corinthians 4:15Chapter 4 (25, 26); Chapter 1 (4)

1 Corinthians 4:16Chapter 4 (27)
1 Corinthians 4:17Chapter 4 (28, 29, 30)
1 Corinthians 4:18Chapter 4 (31)
1 Corinthians 4:19Chapter 4 (32)
1 Corinthians 4:19–20Chapter 4 (33)
1 Corinthians 4:21Chapter 4 (34)

1 Corinthians 5:1Chapter 5 (1); Chapter 5 (26)

1 Corinthians 5:2Chapter 5 (2, 3); Chapter 7 (25)

1 Corinthians 5:3Chapter 5 (4)
1 Corinthians 5:4Chapter 5 (5)
1 Corinthians 5:4–5Chapter 5 (6)

1 Corinthians 5:5Chapter 5 (14); Chapter 1 (9); Chapter 5 (7); Chapter 12 (10)

1 Corinthians 5:6Chapter 5 (8, 9); Chapter 12 (29)

1 Corinthians 5:7Chapter 5 (10, 11)
1 Corinthians 5:8Chapter 5 (12, 13)
1 Corinthians 5:9Chapter 5 (14)
1 Corinthians 5:10Chapter 5 (15)
1 Corinthians 5:11Chapter 5 (16)
1 Corinthians 5:12Chapter 5 (17)
1 Corinthians 5:12–13Chapter 5 (18)
1 Corinthians 5:13Chapter 5 (19)
1 Corinthians 6:1Chapter 6 (1)
1 Corinthians 6:2Chapter 6 (2, 3)
1 Corinthians 6:3Chapter 6 (4)
1 Corinthians 6:4–5Chapter 6 (5)
1 Corinthians 6:6Chapter 6 (6)
1 Corinthians 6:7Chapter 6 (7)
1 Corinthians 6:7–8Chapter 6 (8)
1 Corinthians 6:9Chapter 6 (9, 10, 11, 12)
1 Corinthians 6:9–10Chapter 6 (13)
1 Corinthians 6:10Chapter 3 (10)
1 Corinthians 6:11Chapter 6 (14)
1 Corinthians 6:12Chapter 6 (15, 16)
1 Corinthians 6:13Chapter 6 (17, 18, 19)
1 Corinthians 6:14Chapter 6 (20)

1 Corinthians 6:15Chapter 6 (21, 22); Chapter 7 (15)

1 Corinthians 6:16Chapter 6 (23)

1 Corinthians 6:17Chapter 2 (11); Chapter 6 (24); Chapter 5 (37)

1 Corinthians 6:18Chapter 6 (25, 26)
1 Corinthians 6:19Chapter 6 (27)
1 Corinthians 6:19–20Chapter 6 (28)
1 Corinthians 6:20Chapter 6 (29, 30)
1 Corinthians 7:1Chapter 7 (1, 2)
1 Corinthians 7:2Chapter 7 (3)
1 Corinthians 7:3Chapter 7 (4)
1 Corinthians 7:4Chapter 7 (5)

1 Corinthians 7:5Chapter 7 (6, 7, 8); Chapter 3 (3)

1 Corinthians 7:6Chapter 7 (9)

1 Corinthians 7:7Chapter 7 (10, 11); Chapter 3 (4)

1 Corinthians 7:8–9Chapter 7 (12)
1 Corinthians 7:10Chapter 7 (13)
1 Corinthians 7:10–11Chapter 7 (14)
1 Corinthians 7:12Chapter 7 (22)
1 Corinthians 7:12–13Chapter 7 (15)

1 Corinthians 7:14Chapter 7 (16, 17, 18); Chapter 15 (38); Chapter 6 (25)

1 Corinthians 7:15Chapter 7 (19, 20)
1 Corinthians 7:16Chapter 7 (15, 21)
1 Corinthians 7:17Chapter 7 (22, 23)
1 Corinthians 7:18Chapter 7 (24, 25)
1 Corinthians 7:19Chapter 7 (26)
1 Corinthians 7:20–21Chapter 7 (27)
1 Corinthians 7:22Chapter 7 (28)
1 Corinthians 7:23–24Chapter 7 (29)
1 Corinthians 7:25Chapter 7 (30)
1 Corinthians 7:26Chapter 7 (31)
1 Corinthians 7:27–28Chapter 7 (32)
1 Corinthians 7:28Chapter 7 (33, 34)
1 Corinthians 7:29Chapter 7 (35)
1 Corinthians 7:29–31Chapter 7 (36)
1 Corinthians 7:31Chapter 7 (37)
1 Corinthians 7:32Chapter 7 (38)
1 Corinthians 7:32–33Chapter 7 (39)
1 Corinthians 7:34Chapter 7 (40, 41)
1 Corinthians 7:35Chapter 7 (42, 43)
1 Corinthians 7:36Chapter 7 (44)
1 Corinthians 7:37–38Chapter 7 (45)
1 Corinthians 7:39–40Chapter 7 (46)
1 Corinthians 7:40Chapter 7 (13)
1 Corinthians 8:1Chapter 8 (1)

1 Corinthians 8:2Chapter 11 (3); Chapter 8 (2)

1 Corinthians 8:3Chapter 8 (3)
1 Corinthians 8:4Chapter 8 (4)
1 Corinthians 8:5–6Chapter 8 (5)
1 Corinthians 8:6Chapter 8 (6)
1 Corinthians 8:7Chapter 8 (7, 8)
1 Corinthians 8:8Chapter 8 (9, 10)
1 Corinthians 8:9Chapter 8 (11)
1 Corinthians 8:10Chapter 8 (12)
1 Corinthians 8:11Chapter 8 (13)
1 Corinthians 8:12Chapter 8 (14)
1 Corinthians 8:13Chapter 8 (15)
1 Corinthians 9:1Chapter 9 (1)
1 Corinthians 9:2Chapter 9 (2, 3, 4)
1 Corinthians 9:3Chapter 9 (5)
1 Corinthians 9:4Chapter 9 (6)
1 Corinthians 9:5Chapter 9 (7)
1 Corinthians 9:6Chapter 9 (8)
1 Corinthians 9:7Chapter 9 (9, 10, 11)
1 Corinthians 9:8Chapter 9 (12)

1 Corinthians 9:9Chapter 3 (19, 30); Chapter 9 (13, 14); Chapter 7 (26)

1 Corinthians 9:10Chapter 9 (15, 16, 17)

1 Corinthians 9:11Chapter 9 (18); Chapter 4 (31)

1 Corinthians 9:12Chapter 9 (19, 20, 21)
1 Corinthians 9:13Chapter 9 (22, 23)
1 Corinthians 9:14Chapter 9 (24)

1 Corinthians 9:15Chapter 9 (25, 26, 27); Chapter 4 (21)

1 Corinthians 9:16Chapter 1 (25); Chapter 9 (28); Chapter 1 (6)

1 Corinthians 9:17Chapter 9 (29)
1 Corinthians 9:18Chapter 9 (30)
1 Corinthians 9:19Chapter 9 (31)
1 Corinthians 9:20Chapter 9 (32, 33)
1 Corinthians 9:21Chapter 9 (34, 35)
1 Corinthians 9:22Chapter 9 (36, 37)

1 Corinthians 9:23Chapter 9 (38); Chapter 1 (12)

1 Corinthians 9:24Chapter 9 (39)
1 Corinthians 9:24–25Chapter 9 (40)
1 Corinthians 9:25Chapter 9 (41)
1 Corinthians 9:26Chapter 9 (42, 43)

1 Corinthians 9:27Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 9 (44, 45); Chapter 3 (23); Chapter 5 (36)

1 Corinthians 10:1Chapter 10 (1)
1 Corinthians 10:2Chapter 10 (2)
1 Corinthians 10:3–4Chapter 10 (3)

1 Corinthians 10:4Chapter 7 (31); Chapter 10 (4); Chapter 11 (40)

1 Corinthians 10:5Chapter 10 (5)
1 Corinthians 10:6Chapter 10 (6)
1 Corinthians 10:7Chapter 10 (7)
1 Corinthians 10:8Chapter 10 (8)
1 Corinthians 10:9Chapter 10 (9)
1 Corinthians 10:10Chapter 10 (10)

1 Corinthians 10:11Chapter 3 (34); Chapter 10 (11)

1 Corinthians 10:12Chapter 10 (12); Chapter 3 (23); Chapter 3 (4); Chapter 1 (36)

1 Corinthians 10:13Chapter 10 (13)
1 Corinthians 10:14Chapter 10 (14)
1 Corinthians 10:15Chapter 10 (15)
1 Corinthians 10:16Chapter 10 (16, 17)
1 Corinthians 10:17Chapter 10 (18, 19)
1 Corinthians 10:18Chapter 10 (20)
1 Corinthians 10:19Chapter 10 (21)
1 Corinthians 10:20Chapter 10 (22, 23)

1 Corinthians 10:21Chapter 4 (17); Chapter 10 (24, 25)

1 Corinthians 10:22Chapter 10 (26)
1 Corinthians 10:23Chapter 10 (27, 28)
1 Corinthians 10:24Chapter 10 (29)
1 Corinthians 10:25Chapter 10 (30)
1 Corinthians 10:26Chapter 10 (31)
1 Corinthians 10:27Chapter 10 (32)
1 Corinthians 10:28Chapter 10 (33)
1 Corinthians 10:29Chapter 10 (34, 35)
1 Corinthians 10:30Chapter 10 (36)

1 Corinthians 10:31Chapter 4 (11); Chapter 10 (37)

1 Corinthians 10:32Chapter 10 (38); Chapter 1 (9)

1 Corinthians 10:33Chapter 10 (39); Chapter 1 (9)

1 Corinthians 11Chapter 6 (1)
1 Corinthians 11:2Chapter 11 (1, 2)
1 Corinthians 11:3Chapter 11 (3, 4)
1 Corinthians 11:4Chapter 11 (5)
1 Corinthians 11:5–6Chapter 11 (6)
1 Corinthians 11:6Chapter 11 (7)
1 Corinthians 11:7Chapter 11 (8, 9)
1 Corinthians 11:8–9Chapter 11 (10)
1 Corinthians 11:10Chapter 11 (11)
1 Corinthians 11:11Chapter 11 (12)
1 Corinthians 11:12Chapter 11 (13, 14)
1 Corinthians 11:13Chapter 11 (15, 16)
1 Corinthians 11:14–15Chapter 11 (17)
1 Corinthians 11:16Chapter 11 (18)
1 Corinthians 11:17Chapter 11 (19, 20)
1 Corinthians 11:18Chapter 11 (21, 22)
1 Corinthians 11:19Chapter 11 (23, 24)
1 Corinthians 11:20–21Chapter 11 (25)
1 Corinthians 11:21Chapter 11 (26, 27)

1 Corinthians 11:22Chapter 11 (28, 29, 30, 31)

1 Corinthians 11:23Chapter 11 (32)

1 Corinthians 11:23–24Chapter 11 (33)

1 Corinthians 11:24Chapter 14 (18); Chapter 11 (34)

1 Corinthians 11:25Chapter 11 (35, 36)
1 Corinthians 11:26Chapter 11 (37)
1 Corinthians 11:27Chapter 11 (38)
1 Corinthians 11:28Chapter 11 (39)
1 Corinthians 11:29Chapter 11 (40, 41)

1 Corinthians 11:30Chapter 11 (42); Chapter 2 (40)

1 Corinthians 11:31Chapter 11 (43)

1 Corinthians 11:32Chapter 2 (14); Chapter 11 (44); Chapter 1 (38)

1 Corinthians 11:33Chapter 11 (45)
1 Corinthians 11:34Chapter 11 (46, 47, 48)
1 Corinthians 12:1Chapter 12 (1)
1 Corinthians 12:2Chapter 12 (2)

1 Corinthians 12:3Chapter 2 (20); Chapter 12 (3); Chapter 2 (1)

1 Corinthians 12:4Chapter 3 (17); Chapter 12 (4)

1 Corinthians 12:5Chapter 12 (5)
1 Corinthians 12:6Chapter 12 (6)
1 Corinthians 12:7Chapter 12 (7)

1 Corinthians 12:8Chapter 1 (12); Chapter 12 (8, 9)

1 Corinthians 12:8–10Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 1 (17)

1 Corinthians 12:9Chapter 12 (10, 11)

1 Corinthians 12:10Chapter 12 (12, 13, 14)

1 Corinthians 12:11Chapter 12 (15); Chapter 4 (13)

1 Corinthians 12:12Chapter 12 (16)
1 Corinthians 12:13Chapter 12 (17, 18)
1 Corinthians 12:14Chapter 12 (19)
1 Corinthians 12:15–16Chapter 12 (20)
1 Corinthians 12:17Chapter 12 (21)
1 Corinthians 12:18Chapter 12 (22)
1 Corinthians 12:19–20Chapter 12 (23)
1 Corinthians 12:21Chapter 12 (24)
1 Corinthians 12:22–23Chapter 12 (25)
1 Corinthians 12:24Chapter 12 (26, 27)
1 Corinthians 12:25Chapter 12 (28)
1 Corinthians 12:26Chapter 12 (29)
1 Corinthians 12:27Chapter 12 (30)

1 Corinthians 12:28Chapter 12 (31, 32, 33, 34, 35); Chapter 4 (13)

1 Corinthians 12:29–30Chapter 12 (36)
1 Corinthians 12:31Chapter 12 (37, 38)
1 Corinthians 13:1Chapter 13 (1)

1 Corinthians 13:2Chapter 13 (2, 3, 4); Chapter 6 (30)

1 Corinthians 13:3Chapter 13 (5, 6)
1 Corinthians 13:4Chapter 13 (7, 8, 9, 10)
1 Corinthians 13:5Chapter 13 (11, 12, 13)
1 Corinthians 13:6Chapter 13 (14, 15)
1 Corinthians 13:7Chapter 13 (16, 17, 18)
1 Corinthians 13:8Chapter 13 (19, 20)
1 Corinthians 13:8–10Chapter 13 (21)
1 Corinthians 13:9Chapter 1 (39)

1 Corinthians 13:11Chapter 13 (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)

1 Corinthians 13:12Chapter 6 (3); Chapter 13 (27, 28, 29); Chapter 2 (20)

1 Corinthians 13:13Chapter 13 (30, 31, 32)
1 Corinthians 14:1Chapter 14 (1, 2)
1 Corinthians 14:2–3Chapter 14 (3)
1 Corinthians 14:4Chapter 14 (4)
1 Corinthians 14:5Chapter 14 (5, 6)
1 Corinthians 14:6Chapter 14 (7)
1 Corinthians 14:7Chapter 14 (8)
1 Corinthians 14:8Chapter 14 (9)
1 Corinthians 14:9Chapter 14 (10)
1 Corinthians 14:10Chapter 14 (11)
1 Corinthians 14:11Chapter 14 (12)
1 Corinthians 14:12Chapter 14 (13)
1 Corinthians 14:13Chapter 14 (14)
1 Corinthians 14:14Chapter 14 (15)
1 Corinthians 14:15Chapter 14 (16)
1 Corinthians 14:16–19Chapter 14 (17)
1 Corinthians 14:20Chapter 14 (18)
1 Corinthians 14:21Chapter 14 (19)
1 Corinthians 14:22Chapter 14 (20, 21)
1 Corinthians 14:23Chapter 14 (20, 22)
1 Corinthians 14:24Chapter 14 (21)
1 Corinthians 14:24–25Chapter 14 (23)
1 Corinthians 14:25Chapter 14 (23)
1 Corinthians 14:26Chapter 14 (24)
1 Corinthians 14:27Chapter 14 (25)
1 Corinthians 14:28Chapter 14 (26)
1 Corinthians 14:29Chapter 14 (27)
1 Corinthians 14:30Chapter 1 (17)
1 Corinthians 14:30–31Chapter 14 (28)
1 Corinthians 14:31Chapter 14 (28)
1 Corinthians 14:32Chapter 14 (29)
1 Corinthians 14:33Chapter 14 (30)
1 Corinthians 14:34Chapter 14 (31)
1 Corinthians 14:35Chapter 14 (32, 33)
1 Corinthians 14:36Chapter 14 (34)
1 Corinthians 14:37Chapter 14 (35)

1 Corinthians 14:40Chapter 3 (1); Chapter 14 (37)

1 Corinthians 15:1Chapter 15 (1)
1 Corinthians 15:2Chapter 15 (2, 3, 4, 5)
1 Corinthians 15:3Chapter 15 (6, 7)
1 Corinthians 15:4Chapter 15 (8, 9)
1 Corinthians 15:5Chapter 15 (10, 11)

1 Corinthians 15:6Chapter 5 (7); Chapter 15 (12, 13)

1 Corinthians 15:7Chapter 15 (14, 15)

1 Corinthians 15:8Chapter 15 (16)

1 Corinthians 15:9Chapter 15 (17); Chapter 11 (6); Chapter 3 (9)

1 Corinthians 15:10Chapter 2 (23); Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 15 (18, 19, 20); Chapter 1 (24)

1 Corinthians 15:11Chapter 15 (21)
1 Corinthians 15:12Chapter 15 (22)
1 Corinthians 15:13Chapter 15 (23)
1 Corinthians 15:14Chapter 15 (24)
1 Corinthians 15:15Chapter 15 (25)
1 Corinthians 15:16–17Chapter 15 (26)
1 Corinthians 15:17Chapter 15 (27)
1 Corinthians 15:18Chapter 15 (28)
1 Corinthians 15:19Chapter 15 (29)

1 Corinthians 15:20Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 15 (30)

1 Corinthians 15:21–22Chapter 15 (31)
1 Corinthians 15:23Chapter 15 (32)
1 Corinthians 15:23–24Chapter 15 (33)
1 Corinthians 15:24Chapter 15 (34, 35)
1 Corinthians 15:25–26Chapter 15 (36)
1 Corinthians 15:26Chapter 2 (21)
1 Corinthians 15:27Chapter 15 (37)

1 Corinthians 15:28Chapter 3 (34); Chapter 15 (38, 39)

1 Corinthians 15:29Chapter 15 (40)

1 Corinthians 15:31Chapter 15 (42)

1 Corinthians 15:32Chapter 15 (43, 44); Chapter 3 (35)

1 Corinthians 15:33Chapter 15 (45)
1 Corinthians 15:34Chapter 15 (46, 47)
1 Corinthians 15:35Chapter 15 (48)
1 Corinthians 15:36Chapter 15 (49)
1 Corinthians 15:37Chapter 15 (50)
1 Corinthians 15:38Chapter 15 (51, 52)
1 Corinthians 15:39Chapter 15 (53)
1 Corinthians 15:40Chapter 15 (54)
1 Corinthians 15:41Chapter 15 (55)

1 Corinthians 15:42Chapter 13 (27); Chapter 15 (56, 57)

1 Corinthians 15:43Chapter 15 (58, 59)
1 Corinthians 15:44Chapter 15 (60, 61, 62)
1 Corinthians 15:45Chapter 15 (63)
1 Corinthians 15:46Chapter 15 (64)
1 Corinthians 15:47Chapter 15 (65)
1 Corinthians 15:48Chapter 15 (66, 67)
1 Corinthians 15:49Chapter 15 (68)
1 Corinthians 15:50Chapter 15 (69, 70)
1 Corinthians 15:51Chapter 15 (71, 72)

1 Corinthians 15:52Chapter 15 (73, 74, 75); Chapter 4 (20)

1 Corinthians 15:53Chapter 15 (76)

1 Corinthians 15:54Chapter 15 (77)

1 Corinthians 15:55Chapter 2 (13); Chapter 15 (78)

1 Corinthians 15:56Chapter 1 (29); Chapter 15 (79, 80)

1 Corinthians 15:57Chapter 15 (81)
1 Corinthians 15:58Chapter 15 (82, 83)
1 Corinthians 16:1Chapter 16 (1)
1 Corinthians 16:2Chapter 16 (2, 3)
1 Corinthians 16:3Chapter 16 (4)
1 Corinthians 16:4Chapter 16 (5)
1 Corinthians 16:5Chapter 1 (33)
1 Corinthians 16:5–7Chapter 16 (6)
1 Corinthians 16:6Chapter 1 (34)
1 Corinthians 16:8Chapter 16 (7)

1 Corinthians 16:9Chapter 16 (8); Chapter 1 (16)

1 Corinthians 16:10Chapter 16 (9); Chapter 1 (2)

1 Corinthians 16:10–11Chapter 16 (10)
1 Corinthians 16:11Chapter 16 (11)
1 Corinthians 16:12Chapter 16 (12, 13)
1 Corinthians 16:13Chapter 16 (14, 15, 16)
1 Corinthians 16:14Chapter 16 (17)
1 Corinthians 16:15Chapter 16 (18, 19, 20)
1 Corinthians 16:16Chapter 16 (21)
1 Corinthians 16:17Chapter 16 (22)
1 Corinthians 16:18Chapter 16 (23, 24)
1 Corinthians 16:19Chapter 16 (25, 26)
1 Corinthians 16:20Chapter 16 (27)
1 Corinthians 16:21Chapter 16 (28)
1 Corinthians 16:22Chapter 16 (29, 30)
1 Corinthians 16:23Chapter 16 (31)
1 Corinthians 16:24Chapter 16 (32)

Scripture Index (2 Corinthians–Galatians)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 1:1Chapter 1 (2, 3, 4)
2 Corinthians 1:2Chapter 1 (5)

2 Corinthians 1:3Chapter 1 (6, 7); Chapter 1 (29)

2 Corinthians 1:4Chapter 1 (8, 9)
2 Corinthians 1:5Chapter 1 (10)
2 Corinthians 1:6Chapter 1 (11, 12, 14)
2 Corinthians 1:7Chapter 1 (13, 15)
2 Corinthians 1:8Chapter 1 (16)
2 Corinthians 1:9Chapter 1 (17, 18)
2 Corinthians 1:9–10Chapter 1 (19)
2 Corinthians 1:10Chapter 1 (20)
2 Corinthians 1:11Chapter 1 (21, 22)

2 Corinthians 1:12Chapter 1 (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)

2 Corinthians 1:13Chapter 1 (28)
2 Corinthians 1:13–14Chapter 1 (29)
2 Corinthians 1:14Chapter 1 (30)
2 Corinthians 1:15Chapter 1 (31, 32)
2 Corinthians 1:16Chapter 1 (33, 34)
2 Corinthians 1:17Chapter 1 (35)
2 Corinthians 1:18Chapter 1 (36)
2 Corinthians 1:19Chapter 1 (37)
2 Corinthians 1:20Chapter 1 (38)
2 Corinthians 1:21–22Chapter 1 (39)
2 Corinthians 1:23Chapter 1 (40)
2 Corinthians 1:24Chapter 1 (41, 42)
2 Corinthians 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
2 Corinthians 2:2Chapter 2 (2)
2 Corinthians 2:3Chapter 2 (3, 4, 5)

2 Corinthians 2:4Chapter 2 (6, 7); Chapter 1 (7)

2 Corinthians 2:5Chapter 2 (8)
2 Corinthians 2:6Chapter 2 (9)
2 Corinthians 2:7Chapter 2 (10, 11)
2 Corinthians 2:8Chapter 2 (12)
2 Corinthians 2:9Chapter 2 (13)
2 Corinthians 2:10Chapter 2 (14, 15)
2 Corinthians 2:11Chapter 2 (16)
2 Corinthians 2:12–13Chapter 2 (17)
2 Corinthians 2:13Chapter 2 (18)
2 Corinthians 2:14Chapter 2 (19, 20)

2 Corinthians 2:15Chapter 14 (11); Chapter 2 (21)

2 Corinthians 2:16Chapter 2 (22, 23)
2 Corinthians 2:17Chapter 2 (24, 25)
2 Corinthians 3:1Chapter 3 (1, 2)
2 Corinthians 3:2Chapter 3 (3)
2 Corinthians 3:3Chapter 3 (4, 5)
2 Corinthians 3:4–5Chapter 3 (6)
2 Corinthians 3:5Chapter 1 (2)
2 Corinthians 3:5–6Chapter 3 (7)
2 Corinthians 3:6Chapter 3 (8, 9)
2 Corinthians 3:7Chapter 3 (10, 11)
2 Corinthians 3:8Chapter 3 (12)
2 Corinthians 3:9Chapter 3 (13)

2 Corinthians 3:10Chapter 1 (22); Chapter 3 (14); Chapter 1 (29)

2 Corinthians 3:11Chapter 3 (15); Chapter 1 (10)

2 Corinthians 3:12Chapter 3 (16)
2 Corinthians 3:13Chapter 3 (17)
2 Corinthians 3:14Chapter 3 (18)
2 Corinthians 3:15Chapter 3 (19)

2 Corinthians 3:16–17Chapter 14 (6); Chapter 3 (20)

2 Corinthians 3:17Chapter 3 (21)

2 Corinthians 3:18Chapter 3 (22); Chapter 4 (9)

2 Corinthians 4:1Chapter 4 (1)
2 Corinthians 4:2Chapter 4 (2, 3, 4)
2 Corinthians 4:3Chapter 4 (5)

2 Corinthians 4:4Chapter 5 (3); Chapter 4 (6, 7, 9)

2 Corinthians 4:5Chapter 4 (8)

2 Corinthians 4:6Chapter 4 (9)

2 Corinthians 4:7Chapter 4 (10, 11); Chapter 2 (36)

2 Corinthians 4:8Chapter 4 (12, 13)
2 Corinthians 4:9Chapter 4 (14, 15)
2 Corinthians 4:10Chapter 4 (16)
2 Corinthians 4:11Chapter 4 (17)
2 Corinthians 4:12Chapter 4 (18)
2 Corinthians 4:13Chapter 4 (19)
2 Corinthians 4:14–15Chapter 4 (20)
2 Corinthians 4:15Chapter 4 (20)

2 Corinthians 4:16Chapter 1 (32); Chapter 1 (7); Chapter 4 (21); Chapter 4 (5)

2 Corinthians 4:17Chapter 4 (22)

2 Corinthians 4:18Chapter 1 (6); Chapter 4 (23)

2 Corinthians 5:1Chapter 5 (1)
2 Corinthians 5:2Chapter 5 (2)
2 Corinthians 5:3Chapter 5 (3)
2 Corinthians 5:4Chapter 5 (4)
2 Corinthians 5:5Chapter 5 (5, 6)
2 Corinthians 5:6Chapter 5 (7)
2 Corinthians 5:6–8Chapter 5 (7)
2 Corinthians 5:7Chapter 5 (7)
2 Corinthians 5:8Chapter 5 (7)
2 Corinthians 5:9Chapter 5 (8)

2 Corinthians 5:10Chapter 5 (9, 10); Chapter 3 (5)

2 Corinthians 5:11Chapter 5 (11)
2 Corinthians 5:12Chapter 5 (12, 13)
2 Corinthians 5:13Chapter 5 (14)
2 Corinthians 5:14Chapter 1 (20)
2 Corinthians 5:14–15Chapter 5 (15)
2 Corinthians 5:16Chapter 5 (16, 17)
2 Corinthians 5:17Chapter 5 (18, 19)
2 Corinthians 5:18Chapter 5 (20, 21)
2 Corinthians 5:19Chapter 5 (22, 23)

2 Corinthians 5:20Chapter 8 (38); Chapter 5 (24); Chapter 11 (3)

2 Corinthians 5:21Chapter 5 (25)
2 Corinthians 6:1Chapter 6 (1)
2 Corinthians 6:2Chapter 6 (2)
2 Corinthians 6:3Chapter 6 (3)
2 Corinthians 6:4Chapter 6 (4, 5, 6, 7)
2 Corinthians 6:5Chapter 6 (8, 9, 10)

2 Corinthians 6:6Chapter 6 (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)

2 Corinthians 6:7Chapter 6 (16, 17, 18)
2 Corinthians 6:8Chapter 6 (19, 20, 21, 22)
2 Corinthians 6:9Chapter 6 (22, 23, 24)
2 Corinthians 6:10Chapter 6 (25, 26, 27)
2 Corinthians 6:11Chapter 6 (28)
2 Corinthians 6:12Chapter 6 (29)
2 Corinthians 6:13Chapter 6 (30)

2 Corinthians 6:14Chapter 6 (31, 32); Chapter 1 (5)

2 Corinthians 6:14–15Chapter 6 (33); Chapter 1 (8)

2 Corinthians 6:15Chapter 6 (34)

2 Corinthians 6:16Chapter 4 (17); Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard (8); Chapter 6 (35, 36); Chapter 2 (34); Chapter 2 (20)

2 Corinthians 6:17Chapter 6 (37)
2 Corinthians 6:18Chapter 6 (38)
2 Corinthians 7:1Chapter 7 (1, 2)
2 Corinthians 7:2Chapter 7 (3)
2 Corinthians 7:3Chapter 7 (4)
2 Corinthians 7:4Chapter 7 (5, 6)
2 Corinthians 7:5Chapter 7 (7, 8, 9)
2 Corinthians 7:6Chapter 7 (10)
2 Corinthians 7:7Chapter 7 (11, 12, 13)
2 Corinthians 7:8Chapter 7 (14)
2 Corinthians 7:8–9Chapter 7 (15)
2 Corinthians 7:9Chapter 7 (16)

2 Corinthians 7:10Chapter 7 (30); Chapter 7 (17)

2 Corinthians 7:11Chapter 7 (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)

2 Corinthians 7:12Chapter 7 (26)
2 Corinthians 7:13Chapter 7 (27, 28)
2 Corinthians 7:13–14Chapter 7 (29)
2 Corinthians 7:14Chapter 7 (30)
2 Corinthians 7:15Chapter 7 (31, 32)
2 Corinthians 7:16Chapter 7 (33)
2 Corinthians 8:1Chapter 8 (1)
2 Corinthians 8:2Chapter 8 (2, 3)
2 Corinthians 8:3–4Chapter 8 (4)
2 Corinthians 8:4Chapter 8 (5)
2 Corinthians 8:5Chapter 8 (6, 7)
2 Corinthians 8:6Chapter 8 (8)
2 Corinthians 8:7Chapter 8 (9)
2 Corinthians 8:8Chapter 8 (10, 11)

2 Corinthians 8:9Chapter 8 (12); Chapter 2 (7)

2 Corinthians 8:10Chapter 8 (13)
2 Corinthians 8:10–11Chapter 8 (14)
2 Corinthians 8:11Chapter 8 (15)
2 Corinthians 8:12Chapter 8 (16)
2 Corinthians 8:13Chapter 8 (17)
2 Corinthians 8:14Chapter 8 (18)
2 Corinthians 8:15Chapter 8 (19)
2 Corinthians 8:16Chapter 8 (20)
2 Corinthians 8:17Chapter 8 (21)

2 Corinthians 8:18Chapter 8 (22); Chapter 4 (26)

2 Corinthians 8:19Chapter 8 (23, 24)
2 Corinthians 8:20Chapter 8 (25)
2 Corinthians 8:21Chapter 8 (26)
2 Corinthians 8:22Chapter 8 (27)
2 Corinthians 8:23Chapter 8 (28, 29, 30, 31)
2 Corinthians 8:24Chapter 8 (32)
2 Corinthians 9:1Chapter 9 (1)
2 Corinthians 9:2Chapter 9 (2, 3)
2 Corinthians 9:3Chapter 9 (4)
2 Corinthians 9:4Chapter 9 (5)
2 Corinthians 9:5Chapter 9 (6)
2 Corinthians 9:6Chapter 9 (7)
2 Corinthians 9:7Chapter 9 (8)
2 Corinthians 9:8Chapter 9 (9, 10)
2 Corinthians 9:9Chapter 9 (11)
2 Corinthians 9:10Chapter 9 (12)
2 Corinthians 9:11Chapter 9 (14)
2 Corinthians 9:12–14Chapter 9 (15)
2 Corinthians 9:15Chapter 9 (16)
2 Corinthians 10:1Chapter 10 (1, 2)
2 Corinthians 10:2Chapter 10 (3)
2 Corinthians 10:3Chapter 10 (4)
2 Corinthians 10:4Chapter 10 (5, 6)

2 Corinthians 10:5Chapter 5 (16, 22); Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 1 (16); Chapter 10 (7, 8, 9); Chapter 1 (28)

2 Corinthians 10:6Chapter 10 (10)
2 Corinthians 10:7Chapter 10 (11, 12)
2 Corinthians 10:8Chapter 10 (13)
2 Corinthians 10:9Chapter 10 (14)
2 Corinthians 10:10Chapter 10 (14)
2 Corinthians 10:11Chapter 10 (14)
2 Corinthians 10:12Chapter 10 (15, 16)
2 Corinthians 10:13Chapter 10 (17, 18)
2 Corinthians 10:14Chapter 10 (19)
2 Corinthians 10:15–16Chapter 10 (20)
2 Corinthians 10:17Chapter 10 (21)
2 Corinthians 10:18Chapter 10 (22)
2 Corinthians 11:1Chapter 11 (1)
2 Corinthians 11:2Chapter 11 (2, 3)

2 Corinthians 11:3Chapter 11 (4); Chapter 6 (43)

2 Corinthians 11:4Chapter 11 (5)

2 Corinthians 11:5Chapter 11 (6); Chapter 12 (18)

2 Corinthians 11:6Chapter 11 (7, 8)

2 Corinthians 11:7Chapter 11 (9)

2 Corinthians 11:8Chapter 11 (10); Chapter 4 (21)

2 Corinthians 11:9Chapter 11 (11, 12, 13)

2 Corinthians 11:10Chapter 11 (14); Chapter 4 (21)

2 Corinthians 11:11Chapter 11 (15)

2 Corinthians 11:12Chapter 11 (16); Chapter 4 (21)

2 Corinthians 11:13Chapter 11 (17)

2 Corinthians 11:14Chapter 2 (17); Chapter 11 (18)

2 Corinthians 11:15Chapter 11 (19)

2 Corinthians 11:16Chapter 11 (20); Chapter 12 (16)

2 Corinthians 11:17Chapter 11 (21)
2 Corinthians 11:18Chapter 11 (22)
2 Corinthians 11:19Chapter 11 (23)
2 Corinthians 11:20Chapter 11 (24, 25, 26)
2 Corinthians 11:20–21Chapter 11 (27)
2 Corinthians 11:21Chapter 11 (28, 29)
2 Corinthians 11:22Chapter 11 (30)
2 Corinthians 11:23Chapter 11 (31, 32, 33)
2 Corinthians 11:24Chapter 11 (34)
2 Corinthians 11:25Chapter 11 (35)
2 Corinthians 11:25–26Chapter 11 (36)
2 Corinthians 11:26Chapter 11 (37, 38, 39)
2 Corinthians 11:27Chapter 11 (40, 41)
2 Corinthians 11:28Chapter 11 (42, 43)

2 Corinthians 11:29Chapter 11 (44, 45); Chapter 2 (44)

2 Corinthians 11:30Chapter 11 (46)
2 Corinthians 11:31Chapter 11 (47)
2 Corinthians 11:32Chapter 11 (48)
2 Corinthians 11:33Chapter 11 (49)
2 Corinthians 12:1Chapter 12 (1)
2 Corinthians 12:2Chapter 12 (2, 3)
2 Corinthians 12:3–4Chapter 12 (4)
2 Corinthians 12:4Chapter 12 (4)
2 Corinthians 12:5Chapter 12 (5, 6, 7)
2 Corinthians 12:6Chapter 12 (8, 9)
2 Corinthians 12:7Chapter 12 (10)
2 Corinthians 12:8–9Chapter 12 (11)

2 Corinthians 12:9Chapter 12 (11, 12, 13); Chapter 1 (12)

2 Corinthians 12:10Chapter 14 (20); Chapter 2 (12); Chapter 12 (14, 15); Chapter 13 (5)

2 Corinthians 12:11Chapter 12 (16, 17, 18)
2 Corinthians 12:12Chapter 12 (19, 20, 21)
2 Corinthians 12:13Chapter 12 (22, 23)
2 Corinthians 12:14Chapter 12 (24, 25)
2 Corinthians 12:15Chapter 12 (26, 27)
2 Corinthians 12:16–17Chapter 12 (28)
2 Corinthians 12:18Chapter 12 (29, 30, 31)
2 Corinthians 12:19Chapter 12 (32, 33)
2 Corinthians 12:20Chapter 12 (34, 35)
2 Corinthians 12:21Chapter 12 (36, 37)
2 Corinthians 13:1Chapter 13 (1)
2 Corinthians 13:2Chapter 13 (2)
2 Corinthians 13:3Chapter 13 (3, 4)

2 Corinthians 13:4Chapter 2 (14); Chapter 13 (5, 6)

2 Corinthians 13:5Chapter 13 (7, 8)
2 Corinthians 13:6Chapter 13 (9)
2 Corinthians 13:7Chapter 13 (10)
2 Corinthians 13:8Chapter 13 (11)
2 Corinthians 13:9Chapter 13 (12, 13)
2 Corinthians 13:10Chapter 13 (14)

2 Corinthians 13:11Chapter 13 (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)

2 Corinthians 13:12Chapter 13 (20, 21)
2 Corinthians 13:13Chapter 13 (22)
Galatians
Galatians 1:1Chapter 1 (2, 3); Chapter 1 (14)
Galatians 1:2Chapter 1 (4, 5)
Galatians 1:3Chapter 1 (6, 7, 8)
Galatians 1:4Chapter 1 (9, 10, 11)
Galatians 1:5Chapter 1 (12)
Galatians 1:6Chapter 1 (13, 14)
Galatians 1:6–7Chapter 1 (15)
Galatians 1:8Chapter 13 (6); Chapter 1 (16)
Galatians 1:9Chapter 11 (5); Chapter 1 (17)

Galatians 1:10Chapter 1 (18, 19); Chapter 6 (9)

Galatians 1:11Chapter 1 (20)
Galatians 1:12Chapter 1 (21)
Galatians 1:13Chapter 1 (22, 23)
Galatians 1:14Chapter 1 (24)

Galatians 1:15Chapter 1 (7); Chapter 1 (25, 26)

Galatians 1:16Chapter 1 (27, 28, 29)
Galatians 1:17Chapter 1 (30, 31)
Galatians 1:18Chapter 1 (32, 33)
Galatians 1:19Chapter 1 (34)
Galatians 1:20Chapter 1 (35)
Galatians 1:21–23Chapter 1 (36)
Galatians 1:24Chapter 1 (37)
Galatians 2:1–2Chapter 2 (1)
Galatians 2:2Chapter 2 (2, 3, 4)
Galatians 2:3Chapter 2 (5)
Galatians 2:4Chapter 2 (6)
Galatians 2:5Chapter 2 (7)
Galatians 2:6Chapter 2 (8, 9)
Galatians 2:7Chapter 2 (10)
Galatians 2:7–9Chapter 2 (10)
Galatians 2:9Chapter 2 (10)
Galatians 2:10Chapter 2 (11)
Galatians 2:11Chapter 2 (12, 13)
Galatians 2:12Chapter 2 (14)
Galatians 2:13Chapter 2 (15)
Galatians 2:14Chapter 2 (16, 17)
Galatians 2:15Chapter 2 (18)

Galatians 2:16Chapter 2 (19); Chapter 2 (4); Chapter 2 (19)

Galatians 2:17Chapter 2 (20, 21)
Galatians 2:18Chapter 2 (22)
Galatians 2:19Chapter 2 (23, 24, 25)

Galatians 2:20Chapter 1 (15); Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer (16); Chapter 2 (25, 26, 27); Chapter 1 (33); Chapter 4 (6)

Galatians 2:21Chapter 2 (28, 29)
Galatians 3:1Chapter 3 (1, 2)
Galatians 3:2Chapter 3 (3)
Galatians 3:3Chapter 3 (4)
Galatians 3:4Chapter 3 (5)
Galatians 3:5Chapter 3 (6)
Galatians 3:6Chapter 3 (7)
Galatians 3:7Chapter 3 (8); Chapter 4 (22)
Galatians 3:8Chapter 3 (9)
Galatians 3:9Chapter 3 (10)
Galatians 3:10Chapter 3 (11)
Galatians 3:11Chapter 3 (12)
Galatians 3:13Chapter 5 (25); Chapter 3 (13)
Galatians 3:14Chapter 3 (14, 15)
Galatians 3:15Chapter 3 (16, 19)
Galatians 3:15–17Chapter 3 (17)
Galatians 3:16Chapter 3 (17)
Galatians 3:18Chapter 3 (18)

Galatians 3:19Chapter 3 (20, 21, 22); Chapter 1 (19)

Galatians 3:20Chapter 3 (23)
Galatians 3:21Chapter 3 (24, 25)
Galatians 3:22Chapter 3 (26)
Galatians 3:23Chapter 3 (27)
Galatians 3:24Chapter 3 (28)
Galatians 3:25–26Chapter 3 (29)
Galatians 3:27Chapter 3 (30)
Galatians 3:28Chapter 3 (31); Chapter 1 (3)
Galatians 3:29Chapter 3 (32)
Galatians 4:1–2Chapter 4 (1)
Galatians 4:3Chapter 4 (2)
Galatians 4:4Chapter 4 (3)
Galatians 4:4–5Chapter 4 (3)
Galatians 4:6–7Chapter 4 (4)
Galatians 4:8Chapter 4 (5)
Galatians 4:9Chapter 4 (6)
Galatians 4:10Chapter 4 (7)
Galatians 4:11Chapter 4 (8)
Galatians 4:12Chapter 4 (9, 10)
Galatians 4:13–14Chapter 4 (11)
Galatians 4:14Chapter 4 (12)

Galatians 4:15Chapter 6 (27); Chapter 4 (13, 14)

Galatians 4:16Chapter 4 (15)
Galatians 4:17Chapter 4 (16)
Galatians 4:18Chapter 4 (18)
Galatians 4:19Chapter 4 (19); Chapter 12 (33)
Galatians 4:20Chapter 4 (20)
Galatians 4:21Chapter 4 (21)
Galatians 4:22Chapter 4 (22)
Galatians 4:23Chapter 4 (23)
Galatians 4:24Chapter 3 (19); Chapter 4 (24)
Galatians 4:24–25Chapter 4 (25)
Galatians 4:26Chapter 4 (26)
Galatians 4:27Chapter 4 (27)
Galatians 4:28–29Chapter 4 (28)
Galatians 4:30Chapter 4 (29)
Galatians 4:31Chapter 4 (30)
Galatians 5:1Chapter 5 (1, 2)
Galatians 5:2Chapter 10 (1); Chapter 5 (3)
Galatians 5:3Chapter 5 (4)
Galatians 5:4Chapter 5 (5)
Galatians 5:5Chapter 5 (6)
Galatians 5:6Chapter 5 (7); Chapter 2 (11)
Galatians 5:7Chapter 5 (8)
Galatians 5:8Chapter 5 (9)
Galatians 5:9Chapter 5 (10)
Galatians 5:10Chapter 5 (11, 12)
Galatians 5:11Chapter 5 (13, 14, 15)
Galatians 5:12Chapter 5 (16)
Galatians 5:13Chapter 5 (17, 18, 19)
Galatians 5:14Chapter 5 (20)
Galatians 5:15Chapter 5 (21)
Galatians 5:16Chapter 5 (22)
Galatians 5:17Chapter 5 (23); Chapter 2 (4)
Galatians 5:18Chapter 5 (24)
Galatians 5:19Chapter 5 (25, 26)
Galatians 5:20–21Chapter 5 (27)
Galatians 5:21Chapter 5 (27)
Galatians 5:22Chapter 5 (29)
Galatians 5:22–23Chapter 5 (30)
Galatians 5:23Chapter 5 (31)

Galatians 5:24Chapter 7 (10); Chapter 5 (32); Chapter 3 (15)

Galatians 5:25Chapter 5 (33)
Galatians 5:26Chapter 5 (34)
Galatians 6:1Chapter 6 (1, 2)
Galatians 6:2Chapter 6 (4, 5)
Galatians 6:3Chapter 6 (6)
Galatians 6:4Chapter 6 (7)
Galatians 6:5Chapter 6 (8)
Galatians 6:6Chapter 6 (9)
Galatians 6:7–8Chapter 6 (10)
Galatians 6:8Chapter 6 (18)
Galatians 6:9Chapter 6 (10, 11)
Galatians 6:10Chapter 6 (12)
Galatians 6:11Chapter 6 (13)
Galatians 6:12Chapter 6 (14, 15)
Galatians 6:13Chapter 6 (16)

Galatians 6:14Chapter 7 (29); Chapter 2 (14); Chapter 6 (17, 18)

Galatians 6:15–16Chapter 6 (19)
Galatians 6:17Chapter 6 (20, 21)
Galatians 6:18Chapter 6 (22)

Scripture Index (Ephesians–Colossians)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Ephesians
Ephesians 1:1Chapter 1 (2, 3)
Ephesians 1:2Chapter 1 (4)
Ephesians 1:3Chapter 1 (5, 6, 7, 8)
Ephesians 1:4Chapter 1 (9, 10)
Ephesians 1:4–5Chapter 1 (11)
Ephesians 1:5–6Chapter 1 (12)
Ephesians 1:6Chapter 1 (13)
Ephesians 1:7Chapter 1 (14)
Ephesians 1:7–8Chapter 1 (15)
Ephesians 1:8–9Chapter 1 (16)
Ephesians 1:9Chapter 1 (17)
Ephesians 1:10Chapter 1 (18, 19)
Ephesians 1:11Chapter 1 (20)
Ephesians 1:12Chapter 1 (21)
Ephesians 1:13Chapter 1 (22, 23)
Ephesians 1:14Chapter 1 (24, 25, 26)
Ephesians 1:15–16Chapter 1 (27)
Ephesians 1:16Chapter 1 (28)
Ephesians 1:17Chapter 1 (29)

Ephesians 1:17–18Chapter 1 (30); Chapter 3 (19)

Ephesians 1:18Chapter 1 (31, 32)
Ephesians 1:19Chapter 2 (7)
Ephesians 1:19–20Chapter 1 (33)

Ephesians 1:20–21Chapter 1 (34); Chapter 2 (1)

Ephesians 1:21Chapter 1 (35)
Ephesians 1:22Chapter 1 (36, 37)
Ephesians 1:23Chapter 1 (38)
Ephesians 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
Ephesians 2:1–2Chapter 2 (1)
Ephesians 2:2Chapter 2 (1, 2)
Ephesians 2:3Chapter 2 (3, 4)
Ephesians 2:4Chapter 2 (1, 5, 6)
Ephesians 2:5Chapter 2 (1, 7, 8)
Ephesians 2:6Chapter 2 (9); Chapter 2 (21)
Ephesians 2:7Chapter 2 (10)

Ephesians 2:8Chapter 2 (23); Chapter 2 (11, 12)

Ephesians 2:8–9Chapter 13 (22)

Ephesians 2:9Chapter 2 (13)

Ephesians 2:10Chapter 7 (1); Chapter 2 (14, 15)

Ephesians 2:11Chapter 2 (15)
Ephesians 2:11–12Chapter 2 (15)
Ephesians 2:12Chapter 2 (16, 17, 18, 19)
Ephesians 2:13Chapter 2 (20)
Ephesians 2:14Chapter 2 (21, 22, 26)

Ephesians 2:15Chapter 7 (19); Chapter 2 (23, 24, 25, 26); Chapter 3 (5); Chapter 2 (6)

Ephesians 2:15–16Chapter 2 (17)
Ephesians 2:16Chapter 2 (26, 27)
Ephesians 2:17Chapter 2 (28)
Ephesians 2:18Chapter 2 (29)

Ephesians 2:19Chapter 2 (12); Chapter 2 (30, 31)

Ephesians 2:20Chapter 2 (32, 33); Chapter 3 (1)

Ephesians 2:21Chapter 2 (34)
Ephesians 2:22Chapter 2 (35)
Ephesians 3:1Chapter 3 (1)
Ephesians 3:2Chapter 3 (2)
Ephesians 3:3Chapter 3 (3, 4)
Ephesians 3:4Chapter 3 (5)
Ephesians 3:5Chapter 3 (6)
Ephesians 3:6Chapter 3 (7)
Ephesians 3:7Chapter 3 (8)
Ephesians 3:8Chapter 3 (9, 10)
Ephesians 3:9Chapter 3 (11, 12)
Ephesians 3:10Chapter 3 (13)
Ephesians 3:11Chapter 3 (14)
Ephesians 3:12Chapter 3 (15)
Ephesians 3:13Chapter 3 (16)
Ephesians 3:14–15Chapter 3 (17)
Ephesians 3:15Chapter 1 (3)
Ephesians 3:16–17Chapter 3 (18)
Ephesians 3:18Chapter 3 (19)
Ephesians 3:19Chapter 3 (20, 21)
Ephesians 3:20–21Chapter 3 (22)
Ephesians 4:1Chapter 4 (1)
Ephesians 4:2Chapter 4 (2, 3, 4)
Ephesians 4:3Chapter 4 (5)
Ephesians 4:4Chapter 4 (6, 7)
Ephesians 4:5Chapter 1 (28); Chapter 4 (8)
Ephesians 4:6Chapter 4 (9)
Ephesians 4:7Chapter 4 (10)
Ephesians 4:8Chapter 4 (11)
Ephesians 4:9–10Chapter 4 (12)
Ephesians 4:11Chapter 4 (13, 14, 15, 16)
Ephesians 4:12Chapter 4 (17)
Ephesians 4:13Chapter 4 (18, 19)
Ephesians 4:14Chapter 4 (20, 21)
Ephesians 4:15Chapter 4 (22)
Ephesians 4:16Chapter 4 (23)
Ephesians 4:17Chapter 4 (24)
Ephesians 4:18Chapter 4 (25, 26)
Ephesians 4:19Chapter 4 (27)
Ephesians 4:20–22Chapter 4 (28)
Ephesians 4:22Chapter 4 (29)
Ephesians 4:23Chapter 4 (30)

Ephesians 4:24Chapter 4 (8); Chapter 4 (31, 32)

Ephesians 4:25Chapter 4 (33)
Ephesians 4:26Chapter 4 (34, 35)
Ephesians 4:27Chapter 4 (36)
Ephesians 4:28Chapter 4 (37, 38)
Ephesians 4:29Chapter 4 (39, 40)

Ephesians 4:30Chapter 6 (18); Chapter 4 (41, 42)

Ephesians 4:31Chapter 4 (43)
Ephesians 4:32Chapter 4 (44, 45)
Ephesians 5:1Chapter 5 (1)
Ephesians 5:2Chapter 5 (2)
Ephesians 5:3Chapter 5 (3)
Ephesians 5:4Chapter 5 (4)
Ephesians 5:5–6Chapter 5 (5)
Ephesians 5:6Chapter 5 (5, 6)
Ephesians 5:7–8Chapter 5 (7)
Ephesians 5:8Chapter 3 (1); Chapter 5 (8, 28)
Ephesians 5:9Chapter 5 (9)
Ephesians 5:10Chapter 5 (10)
Ephesians 5:11–12Chapter 5 (11)
Ephesians 5:13Chapter 5 (12, 13)
Ephesians 5:14Chapter 11 (2); Chapter 5 (14)
Ephesians 5:15Chapter 5 (15); Chapter 6 (29)
Ephesians 5:16Chapter 5 (16, 17)
Ephesians 5:17Chapter 5 (18)
Ephesians 5:18Chapter 5 (19, 20)
Ephesians 5:18–19Chapter 5 (21)
Ephesians 5:20Chapter 5 (22)
Ephesians 5:21Chapter 5 (23)
Ephesians 5:22Chapter 5 (24, 26)
Ephesians 5:23Chapter 5 (25)
Ephesians 5:24Chapter 5 (26)
Ephesians 5:25Chapter 5 (27)
Ephesians 5:26Chapter 5 (28, 29)
Ephesians 5:27Chapter 5 (30, 31, 32)
Ephesians 5:28Chapter 5 (32, 33)
Ephesians 5:29Chapter 5 (33)
Ephesians 5:30Chapter 5 (34, 35)
Ephesians 5:31–32Chapter 2 (11)
Ephesians 5:32Chapter 2 (28); Chapter 5 (37)

Ephesians 5:33Chapter 5 (38, 39); Chapter 6 (7)

Ephesians 6:1Chapter 6 (1)
Ephesians 6:1–2Chapter 6 (2)
Ephesians 6:3Chapter 6 (3)
Ephesians 6:4Chapter 6 (4, 5)
Ephesians 6:5Chapter 6 (6, 7)
Ephesians 6:6Chapter 6 (8, 9)
Ephesians 6:6–7Chapter 6 (10)
Ephesians 6:7Chapter 6 (11); Chapter 2 (20)
Ephesians 6:8Chapter 6 (12)
Ephesians 6:9Chapter 6 (13, 14, 15, 16)
Ephesians 6:10Chapter 6 (17)
Ephesians 6:11Chapter 6 (18)
Ephesians 6:11–17Chapter 3 (20)

Ephesians 6:12Chapter 2 (17); Chapter 3 (34); Chapter 6 (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)

Ephesians 6:13Chapter 6 (25, 26)

Ephesians 6:14Chapter 2 (4); Chapter 6 (27, 28)

Ephesians 6:15Chapter 1 (21); Chapter 6 (29)

Ephesians 6:16Chapter 6 (30, 31)

Ephesians 6:17Chapter 5 (14); Chapter 6 (32, 33)

Ephesians 6:18Chapter 6 (34, 35, 36)
Ephesians 6:18–19Chapter 6 (37)
Ephesians 6:19Chapter 6 (38)
Ephesians 6:19–20Chapter 6 (39)
Ephesians 6:21Chapter 6 (40)
Ephesians 6:22Chapter 6 (41)
Ephesians 6:23Chapter 6 (42)
Ephesians 6:24Chapter 6 (43)
Philippians
Philippians 1:1Chapter 1 (2, 3, 4)
Philippians 1:2Chapter 1 (5)
Philippians 1:3–4Chapter 1 (6)
Philippians 1:4Chapter 1 (7)
Philippians 1:5Chapter 1 (8)
Philippians 1:6Chapter 1 (9, 10)
Philippians 1:7Chapter 1 (11, 12)
Philippians 1:8Chapter 1 (13)
Philippians 1:9Chapter 1 (14, 15)
Philippians 1:10Chapter 1 (16, 17)
Philippians 1:11Chapter 1 (18)
Philippians 1:12Chapter 1 (19)
Philippians 1:13Chapter 1 (20)
Philippians 1:14Chapter 1 (21)
Philippians 1:15Chapter 1 (22)
Philippians 1:16Chapter 1 (23, 24)
Philippians 1:17Chapter 1 (25)
Philippians 1:18Chapter 1 (26, 27)
Philippians 1:19Chapter 1 (28, 29)
Philippians 1:20Chapter 1 (30, 31, 32)
Philippians 1:21Chapter 1 (33)
Philippians 1:22Chapter 1 (34)
Philippians 1:23Chapter 6 (7)
Philippians 1:23–24Chapter 1 (35)
Philippians 1:25Chapter 1 (36)
Philippians 1:26Chapter 1 (37)
Philippians 1:27Chapter 1 (38, 39, 40, 41)
Philippians 1:28Chapter 1 (42, 43, 44)
Philippians 1:29Chapter 1 (44)
Philippians 1:30Chapter 1 (45)
Philippians 2:1–2Chapter 2 (1)
Philippians 2:2Chapter 2 (2, 3)
Philippians 2:3Chapter 2 (4, 5)
Philippians 2:4Chapter 2 (6)
Philippians 2:5Chapter 2 (7)
Philippians 2:6Chapter 2 (8)

Philippians 2:7Chapter 2 (9, 10); Chapter 1 (36)

Philippians 2:7–8Chapter 1 (30); Chapter 2 (11)

Philippians 2:8Chapter 5 (11); Chapter 2 (12); Chapter 5 (12)

Philippians 2:9Chapter 2 (13); Chapter 12 (7)

Philippians 2:10Chapter 13 (1); Chapter 2 (14)

Philippians 2:11Chapter 2 (15)
Philippians 2:12Chapter 2 (16, 17, 18)
Philippians 2:13Chapter 2 (19, 20)
Philippians 2:14Chapter 2 (21)
Philippians 2:15Chapter 2 (22, 23, 24)

Philippians 2:15–16Chapter 2 (25); Chapter 1 (8)

Philippians 2:16Chapter 2 (26, 27)
Philippians 2:17Chapter 2 (28)
Philippians 2:18Chapter 2 (29, 30)
Philippians 2:19Chapter 2 (31)
Philippians 2:20Chapter 2 (32)
Philippians 2:21Chapter 2 (33)
Philippians 2:22Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 2 (34)
Philippians 2:23Chapter 2 (35)
Philippians 2:24Chapter 2 (36)
Philippians 2:25Chapter 2 (37, 38)
Philippians 2:26Chapter 2 (39)
Philippians 2:27Chapter 2 (40, 41, 42)
Philippians 2:28Chapter 2 (43, 44)
Philippians 2:29Chapter 2 (45, 46)
Philippians 2:30Chapter 2 (47, 48)
Philippians 3:1Chapter 3 (1, 2)
Philippians 3:2Chapter 3 (3, 4, 5)
Philippians 3:3Chapter 3 (6, 7)
Philippians 3:4Chapter 3 (8, 9)
Philippians 3:5Chapter 3 (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)

Philippians 3:6Chapter 3 (15, 16); Chapter 1 (29)

Philippians 3:7–8Chapter 3 (17)
Philippians 3:8Chapter 3 (18)
Philippians 3:9Chapter 3 (19)
Philippians 3:10Chapter 3 (20, 21, 22)
Philippians 3:11Chapter 3 (23)

Philippians 3:12Chapter 1 (12); Chapter 3 (24, 25)

Philippians 3:13Chapter 3 (26, 27)
Philippians 3:14Chapter 3 (28)
Philippians 3:15Chapter 3 (29, 30)
Philippians 3:16Chapter 3 (31)
Philippians 3:17Chapter 3 (32)
Philippians 3:18Chapter 3 (33, 34)
Philippians 3:18–19Chapter 2 (5)

Philippians 3:19Chapter 3 (36); Chapter 3 (35, 36, 37)

Philippians 3:20Chapter 2 (23); Chapter 4 (8); Chapter 1 (33); Chapter 3 (38)

Philippians 3:21Chapter 7 (2); Chapter 3 (39, 40, 41)

Philippians 4:1Chapter 4 (1)
Philippians 4:2–3Chapter 4 (2)
Philippians 4:3Chapter 4 (3, 4)
Philippians 4:4Chapter 4 (5, 6)
Philippians 4:5Chapter 4 (7); Chapter 10 (40)
Philippians 4:5–6Chapter 4 (8)
Philippians 4:6Chapter 4 (9)
Philippians 4:7Chapter 4 (10)

Philippians 4:8Chapter 4 (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)

Philippians 4:9Chapter 4 (18, 19, 20)
Philippians 4:10Chapter 4 (21, 22, 23)
Philippians 4:11Chapter 4 (24, 25)
Philippians 4:12Chapter 4 (26, 27, 28)

Philippians 4:13Chapter 5 (6); Chapter 8 (7); Chapter 4 (12); Chapter 3 (32); Chapter 4 (29)

Philippians 4:14Chapter 4 (30)
Philippians 4:15Chapter 4 (31)
Philippians 4:16Chapter 4 (32)
Philippians 4:17Chapter 4 (33)
Philippians 4:18Chapter 4 (34, 35)
Philippians 4:19Chapter 4 (36)
Philippians 4:20Chapter 4 (37)
Philippians 4:21Chapter 4 (38, 39)
Philippians 4:22Chapter 4 (40)
Philippians 4:23Chapter 4 (41)
Colossians
Colossians 1:1Chapter 1 (2, 3)
Colossians 1:2Chapter 1 (4, 5)
Colossians 1:3Chapter 1 (6)
Colossians 1:4Chapter 1 (7, 8)
Colossians 1:5Chapter 1 (9, 10)
Colossians 1:6Chapter 1 (11, 12, 13, 14)
Colossians 1:7Chapter 1 (15, 16, 17, 18)
Colossians 1:8Chapter 1 (19)
Colossians 1:9Chapter 1 (20, 21, 22)
Colossians 1:10Chapter 1 (23, 24, 25)
Colossians 1:11Chapter 1 (26, 27, 28)
Colossians 1:12Chapter 1 (29, 30, 31, 32)
Colossians 1:13Chapter 1 (33, 34)
Colossians 1:14Chapter 1 (35)
Colossians 1:15Chapter 1 (36, 37)
Colossians 1:16Chapter 1 (38, 39, 40)
Colossians 1:17Chapter 1 (41)

Colossians 1:18Chapter 1 (2); Chapter 1 (42, 43, 44)

Colossians 1:19Chapter 1 (45)

Colossians 1:20Chapter 2 (17); Chapter 1 (46, 47, 48)

Colossians 1:21Chapter 1 (49)

Colossians 1:22Chapter 1 (50, 51)

Colossians 1:23Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour (6); Chapter 1 (52, 53, 54, 55)

Colossians 1:24Chapter 1 (56, 57, 58)
Colossians 1:25Chapter 1 (59, 60)
Colossians 1:26Chapter 1 (61, 62)
Colossians 1:27Chapter 1 (63, 64)
Colossians 1:28Chapter 1 (65, 66, 67, 68)
Colossians 1:29Chapter 1 (69, 70)
Colossians 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
Colossians 2:2Chapter 2 (2, 3, 4)
Colossians 2:3Chapter 2 (5)
Colossians 2:4Chapter 2 (6)
Colossians 2:5Chapter 2 (7, 8)
Colossians 2:6Chapter 2 (9, 10)
Colossians 2:7Chapter 2 (11, 12, 13, 14)
Colossians 2:8Chapter 2 (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
Colossians 2:9Chapter 2 (20)
Colossians 2:10Chapter 2 (21, 22)
Colossians 2:11Chapter 2 (23, 24)
Colossians 2:12Chapter 2 (25, 26)
Colossians 2:13Chapter 2 (27, 28)
Colossians 2:14Chapter 2 (29, 30)

Colossians 2:15Chapter 1 (29); Chapter 2 (31, 32, 33)

Colossians 2:16Chapter 2 (34); Chapter 3 (12)
Colossians 2:17Chapter 2 (35)
Colossians 2:17–18Chapter 2 (36)
Colossians 2:18Chapter 2 (37, 38)
Colossians 2:19Chapter 2 (39)
Colossians 2:20Chapter 2 (40)
Colossians 2:21Chapter 5 (3)
Colossians 2:21–22Chapter 2 (41)
Colossians 2:22Chapter 2 (42)
Colossians 2:23Chapter 2 (43)
Colossians 3:1Chapter 3 (1)
Colossians 3:1–2Chapter 4 (8)
Colossians 3:2Chapter 1 (14)
Colossians 3:3Chapter 3 (2)

Colossians 3:4Chapter 4 (11); Chapter 1 (17); Chapter 3 (3); Chapter 5 (1)

Colossians 3:5Chapter 4 (8); Chapter 3 (4, 5, 6, 7, 8); Chapter 3 (15)

Colossians 3:6Chapter 3 (9)
Colossians 3:7Chapter 3 (10)
Colossians 3:8Chapter 3 (11, 12, 13, 14)
Colossians 3:9Chapter 3 (15, 16)
Colossians 3:9–10Chapter 4 (8)
Colossians 3:10Chapter 3 (17, 18)
Colossians 3:11Chapter 3 (19, 20)
Colossians 3:12Chapter 3 (21, 22, 23)
Colossians 3:13Chapter 3 (24, 25)
Colossians 3:14Chapter 3 (26, 27)
Colossians 3:15Chapter 3 (28, 29, 30)
Colossians 3:16Chapter 3 (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
Colossians 3:17Chapter 3 (36, 37)
Colossians 3:18Chapter 3 (38)
Colossians 3:19Chapter 3 (39)
Colossians 3:20Chapter 3 (40)
Colossians 3:21Chapter 3 (41)
Colossians 3:22Chapter 3 (42, 43, 44)
Colossians 3:23Chapter 3 (45)
Colossians 3:24Chapter 3 (46, 47)
Colossians 3:25Chapter 3 (48)
Colossians 4:1Chapter 4 (1, 2)
Colossians 4:2Chapter 4 (3)
Colossians 4:3Chapter 4 (4)
Colossians 4:3–4Chapter 4 (5)
Colossians 4:5Chapter 4 (6, 7)
Colossians 4:6Chapter 4 (8, 9)
Colossians 4:7Chapter 4 (10, 11)
Colossians 4:8Chapter 4 (12)
Colossians 4:9Chapter 4 (13, 14)
Colossians 4:10Chapter 4 (15, 16, 17)
Colossians 4:11Chapter 4 (18, 19, 20)
Colossians 4:12Chapter 4 (21, 22, 23, 24)
Colossians 4:13Chapter 4 (25)
Colossians 4:14Chapter 4 (26, 27)
Colossians 4:15Chapter 4 (28, 29)
Colossians 4:16Chapter 4 (30)

Colossians 4:17Chapter 4 (31, 32); Chapter 1 (4)

Colossians 4:18Chapter 4 (33, 34)

Scripture Index (1 Thessalonians–2 Timothy)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 1:1Chapter 1 (1, 2, 3, 4); Chapter 5 (5)

1 Thessalonians 1:2Chapter 1 (5, 6)

1 Thessalonians 1:3Chapter 1 (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

1 Thessalonians 1:4Chapter 1 (12)

1 Thessalonians 1:5Chapter 1 (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)

1 Thessalonians 1:6Chapter 1 (18, 19)
1 Thessalonians 1:7Chapter 1 (20)
1 Thessalonians 1:8Chapter 1 (21, 22, 23)
1 Thessalonians 1:9Chapter 1 (24, 25)
1 Thessalonians 1:10Chapter 1 (26)
1 Thessalonians 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
1 Thessalonians 2:2Chapter 2 (2)
1 Thessalonians 2:3Chapter 2 (3, 4, 5)
1 Thessalonians 2:4Chapter 2 (6, 7)
1 Thessalonians 2:5Chapter 2 (8, 9)
1 Thessalonians 2:6Chapter 2 (10, 11)
1 Thessalonians 2:7Chapter 2 (12, 13)
1 Thessalonians 2:8Chapter 2 (14, 15)
1 Thessalonians 2:9Chapter 2 (16)

1 Thessalonians 2:10Chapter 2 (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)

1 Thessalonians 2:11Chapter 2 (22, 23)
1 Thessalonians 2:12Chapter 2 (24)
1 Thessalonians 2:13Chapter 2 (25, 26)
1 Thessalonians 2:14Chapter 2 (27, 28)

1 Thessalonians 2:15Chapter 2 (29, 30, 31, 32)

1 Thessalonians 2:15–16Chapter 2 (33)
1 Thessalonians 2:16Chapter 2 (34, 35)
1 Thessalonians 2:17Chapter 2 (36, 37, 38)
1 Thessalonians 2:18Chapter 2 (39)
1 Thessalonians 2:19Chapter 2 (40, 41)
1 Thessalonians 2:20Chapter 2 (42)
1 Thessalonians 3:1Chapter 3 (1)
1 Thessalonians 3:2Chapter 3 (2, 3)
1 Thessalonians 3:3Chapter 3 (4, 5)
1 Thessalonians 3:4Chapter 3 (6)
1 Thessalonians 3:5Chapter 3 (7, 8, 9, 10)
1 Thessalonians 3:6Chapter 3 (11, 12)
1 Thessalonians 3:7Chapter 3 (13, 14)
1 Thessalonians 3:8Chapter 3 (15)
1 Thessalonians 3:9Chapter 3 (16)
1 Thessalonians 3:10Chapter 3 (17, 18)
1 Thessalonians 3:11Chapter 3 (19)
1 Thessalonians 3:12Chapter 3 (20, 21)
1 Thessalonians 3:13Chapter 3 (22)
1 Thessalonians 4:1Chapter 4 (1)
1 Thessalonians 4:2Chapter 4 (2)
1 Thessalonians 4:3Chapter 4 (3, 4)
1 Thessalonians 4:4Chapter 4 (5)
1 Thessalonians 4:5Chapter 4 (6, 7)
1 Thessalonians 4:6Chapter 4 (8, 9)
1 Thessalonians 4:7–8Chapter 4 (10)
1 Thessalonians 4:9Chapter 4 (11, 12)
1 Thessalonians 4:10Chapter 4 (13)
1 Thessalonians 4:10–11Chapter 4 (14)
1 Thessalonians 4:12Chapter 4 (15)
1 Thessalonians 4:13Chapter 4 (16, 17)
1 Thessalonians 4:14Chapter 4 (18)
1 Thessalonians 4:15Chapter 4 (19, 20)
1 Thessalonians 4:16Chapter 4 (21, 22)

1 Thessalonians 4:17Chapter 4 (11); Chapter 6 (7); Chapter 3 (23); Chapter 4 (23)

1 Thessalonians 4:18Chapter 4 (24)
1 Thessalonians 5:1Chapter 5 (1)
1 Thessalonians 5:2Chapter 5 (2)
1 Thessalonians 5:3Chapter 5 (3)
1 Thessalonians 5:4Chapter 5 (4)

1 Thessalonians 5:5Chapter 6 (3); Chapter 5 (5, 6)

1 Thessalonians 5:6Chapter 5 (7)
1 Thessalonians 5:7–8Chapter 5 (8)
1 Thessalonians 5:8Chapter 5 (9, 10)
1 Thessalonians 5:9–10Chapter 5 (11)
1 Thessalonians 5:11Chapter 5 (12)
1 Thessalonians 5:12Chapter 5 (13, 14)
1 Thessalonians 5:13Chapter 5 (15, 16)

1 Thessalonians 5:14Chapter 5 (17, 18, 19, 20)

1 Thessalonians 5:15Chapter 5 (21, 22)
1 Thessalonians 5:16Chapter 5 (23)
1 Thessalonians 5:17–18Chapter 5 (24)
1 Thessalonians 5:18Chapter 5 (25)
1 Thessalonians 5:19Chapter 1 (12)
1 Thessalonians 5:19–20Chapter 5 (26)
1 Thessalonians 5:21Chapter 5 (27)
1 Thessalonians 5:22Chapter 5 (28)
1 Thessalonians 5:23Chapter 5 (29, 30)
1 Thessalonians 5:24Chapter 5 (31)
1 Thessalonians 5:25Chapter 5 (32)
1 Thessalonians 5:26Chapter 5 (33)
1 Thessalonians 5:27Chapter 5 (34)
1 Thessalonians 5:28Chapter 5 (35)
2 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians 1:1Chapter 1 (2)
2 Thessalonians 1:2Chapter 1 (3)
2 Thessalonians 1:3Chapter 1 (4, 5, 6)
2 Thessalonians 1:4Chapter 1 (7, 8)
2 Thessalonians 1:5Chapter 1 (9, 10)
2 Thessalonians 1:6–7Chapter 1 (11)
2 Thessalonians 1:7Chapter 1 (12)
2 Thessalonians 1:8Chapter 1 (13)
2 Thessalonians 1:9Chapter 1 (14, 15)
2 Thessalonians 1:10Chapter 1 (16, 17, 18)
2 Thessalonians 1:11Chapter 1 (19, 20, 21)
2 Thessalonians 1:12Chapter 1 (22, 23)
2 Thessalonians 2:1–2Chapter 2 (1)
2 Thessalonians 2:2Chapter 2 (2, 3, 4, 5)
2 Thessalonians 2:3Chapter 2 (6, 7)
2 Thessalonians 2:4Chapter 2 (8, 9, 10)
2 Thessalonians 2:5Chapter 2 (11)
2 Thessalonians 2:6Chapter 2 (12)
2 Thessalonians 2:7Chapter 2 (13)
2 Thessalonians 2:7–8Chapter 2 (14)
2 Thessalonians 2:8Chapter 2 (15)
2 Thessalonians 2:9Chapter 2 (16, 17)
2 Thessalonians 2:10Chapter 2 (18, 19)
2 Thessalonians 2:11Chapter 2 (20)
2 Thessalonians 2:12Chapter 2 (21)
2 Thessalonians 2:13Chapter 2 (22, 23)
2 Thessalonians 2:14Chapter 2 (24)
2 Thessalonians 2:15Chapter 2 (25)
2 Thessalonians 2:16–17Chapter 2 (26)
2 Thessalonians 3:1Chapter 3 (1)
2 Thessalonians 3:2Chapter 3 (2)
2 Thessalonians 3:3Chapter 3 (3)
2 Thessalonians 3:4Chapter 3 (4)
2 Thessalonians 3:5Chapter 3 (5)
2 Thessalonians 3:6Chapter 3 (6, 7, 8)
2 Thessalonians 3:7–8Chapter 3 (9)
2 Thessalonians 3:8Chapter 3 (10, 11)
2 Thessalonians 3:9Chapter 3 (12)
2 Thessalonians 3:10Chapter 3 (13)
2 Thessalonians 3:11Chapter 3 (14)
2 Thessalonians 3:12Chapter 3 (15, 16)
2 Thessalonians 3:13Chapter 3 (17)
2 Thessalonians 3:14Chapter 3 (18, 19)
2 Thessalonians 3:15Chapter 3 (20)
2 Thessalonians 3:16Chapter 3 (21, 22)
2 Thessalonians 3:17Chapter 3 (23, 24)
2 Thessalonians 3:18Chapter 3 (25)
1 Timothy
1 Timothy 1:1Chapter 1 (2, 3)
1 Timothy 1:2Chapter 1 (4, 5, 6)
1 Timothy 1:3Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 1 (7, 8)
1 Timothy 1:4Chapter 1 (9, 10, 11)
1 Timothy 1:5Chapter 1 (12, 13)
1 Timothy 1:6Chapter 1 (14)
1 Timothy 1:7Chapter 1 (15, 16)
1 Timothy 1:8Chapter 1 (17)
1 Timothy 1:9Chapter 5 (24); Chapter 1 (18)
1 Timothy 1:9–10Chapter 1 (19)
1 Timothy 1:10Chapter 1 (20)
1 Timothy 1:11Chapter 1 (21, 22)
1 Timothy 1:12Chapter 1 (23, 24)
1 Timothy 1:13Chapter 1 (25, 26)
1 Timothy 1:14Chapter 1 (27)
1 Timothy 1:15Chapter 1 (28, 29)
1 Timothy 1:16Chapter 1 (30)
1 Timothy 1:17Chapter 1 (31)
1 Timothy 1:18Chapter 1 (32, 33, 34)
1 Timothy 1:19Chapter 1 (35, 36)

1 Timothy 1:20Chapter 5 (14); Chapter 1 (37, 38)

1 Timothy 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
1 Timothy 2:2Chapter 2 (2, 3)
1 Timothy 2:3Chapter 2 (4)
1 Timothy 2:4Chapter 2 (5)
1 Timothy 2:5Chapter 2 (6)
1 Timothy 2:6Chapter 2 (7, 8, 9)
1 Timothy 2:7Chapter 2 (10, 11, 12)

1 Timothy 2:8Chapter 2 (13, 14, 15); Chapter 2 (1)

1 Timothy 2:9Chapter 2 (16, 17, 18)
1 Timothy 2:10Chapter 2 (19)
1 Timothy 2:11Chapter 2 (20)
1 Timothy 2:12Chapter 2 (21); Chapter 2 (7)
1 Timothy 2:13Chapter 2 (22)
1 Timothy 2:14Chapter 2 (23)
1 Timothy 2:15Chapter 2 (24, 25, 26, 27)
1 Timothy 3:1Chapter 3 (1, 2)
1 Timothy 3:2Chapter 3 (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
1 Timothy 3:3Chapter 3 (10, 11, 12)
1 Timothy 3:4Chapter 3 (13, 14)
1 Timothy 3:5Chapter 3 (15)
1 Timothy 3:6Chapter 3 (16, 17)
1 Timothy 3:7Chapter 3 (18, 19, 20)
1 Timothy 3:8Chapter 3 (21, 22, 23, 24)
1 Timothy 3:9Chapter 3 (25)
1 Timothy 3:10Chapter 3 (26)
1 Timothy 3:11Chapter 3 (27, 28, 29, 30)
1 Timothy 3:12Chapter 3 (31, 32)
1 Timothy 3:13Chapter 3 (33)
1 Timothy 3:14Chapter 1 (1)
1 Timothy 3:14–15Chapter 3 (34)
1 Timothy 3:15Chapter 3 (35, 36)

1 Timothy 3:16Chapter 1 (9); Chapter 3 (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)

1 Timothy 4:1Chapter 4 (1, 2, 3)
1 Timothy 4:2Chapter 4 (4)
1 Timothy 4:2–3Chapter 4 (5)
1 Timothy 4:3Chapter 4 (6, 7)
1 Timothy 4:4Chapter 4 (8)
1 Timothy 4:4–5Chapter 4 (9)
1 Timothy 4:6Chapter 4 (10, 11)
1 Timothy 4:7Chapter 4 (12, 13)
1 Timothy 4:8Chapter 4 (14, 15)
1 Timothy 4:9Chapter 4 (16)

1 Timothy 4:10Chapter 1 (3); Chapter 4 (17, 18)

1 Timothy 4:11Chapter 4 (19)

1 Timothy 4:12Chapter 3 (16); Chapter 4 (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27); Chapter 2 (44)

1 Timothy 4:13Chapter 4 (28, 29, 30)

1 Timothy 4:14Chapter 1 (4); Chapter 4 (31, 32)

1 Timothy 4:15Chapter 4 (33, 34)
1 Timothy 4:16Chapter 4 (35, 36)
1 Timothy 5:1Chapter 5 (1)
1 Timothy 5:2Chapter 5 (2, 3, 4)
1 Timothy 5:3Chapter 5 (5)
1 Timothy 5:4Chapter 5 (6, 7)
1 Timothy 5:5Chapter 5 (8, 9)
1 Timothy 5:6Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 5 (10)
1 Timothy 5:7Chapter 5 (11)
1 Timothy 5:8Chapter 5 (12, 13, 14)
1 Timothy 5:9Chapter 5 (15)

1 Timothy 5:10Chapter 5 (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)

1 Timothy 5:11Chapter 5 (22, 23)
1 Timothy 5:12Chapter 5 (24)
1 Timothy 5:13Chapter 5 (25, 26)
1 Timothy 5:14Chapter 5 (27)
1 Timothy 5:14–15Chapter 5 (28)
1 Timothy 5:16Chapter 5 (29, 30)
1 Timothy 5:17Chapter 5 (31)
1 Timothy 5:18Chapter 5 (32)
1 Timothy 5:19Chapter 5 (33, 34)
1 Timothy 5:20Chapter 6 (10); Chapter 5 (35)
1 Timothy 5:21Chapter 5 (36, 37)
1 Timothy 5:22Chapter 5 (38, 39, 40)
1 Timothy 5:23Chapter 5 (19); Chapter 5 (41)
1 Timothy 5:24Chapter 5 (42)
1 Timothy 5:25Chapter 5 (43)
1 Timothy 6:1Chapter 6 (1)
1 Timothy 6:2Chapter 6 (2)
1 Timothy 6:3Chapter 6 (3, 4)
1 Timothy 6:4Chapter 6 (5, 6)
1 Timothy 6:5Chapter 6 (7, 8, 9)
1 Timothy 6:6Chapter 6 (10)
1 Timothy 6:7Chapter 6 (11)
1 Timothy 6:8Chapter 6 (12)
1 Timothy 6:9Chapter 6 (13, 14, 15, 16)
1 Timothy 6:10Chapter 6 (17, 18, 19)

1 Timothy 6:11Chapter 6 (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)

1 Timothy 6:12Chapter 6 (26, 27, 28, 29)

1 Timothy 6:13Chapter 1 (7); Chapter 6 (30, 31, 32); Chapter 4 (1)

1 Timothy 6:14Chapter 6 (33, 34)
1 Timothy 6:15Chapter 6 (35, 36, 37)
1 Timothy 6:16Chapter 6 (38, 39, 40)
1 Timothy 6:17Chapter 6 (41, 42, 43, 44)
1 Timothy 6:18Chapter 6 (45, 46, 47)
1 Timothy 6:19Chapter 6 (48, 49)
1 Timothy 6:20Chapter 6 (50, 51, 52)
1 Timothy 6:21Chapter 6 (53, 54)
2 Timothy
2 Timothy 1:1Chapter 1 (2)
2 Timothy 1:2Chapter 1 (3, 4)
2 Timothy 1:3Chapter 1 (5, 6)
2 Timothy 1:3–4Chapter 1 (7)
2 Timothy 1:4Chapter 1 (8)
2 Timothy 1:5Chapter 1 (9, 10, 11)
2 Timothy 1:6Chapter 1 (12, 13)
2 Timothy 1:7Chapter 1 (14, 15, 16)
2 Timothy 1:8Chapter 1 (17, 18, 19, 20)
2 Timothy 1:9Chapter 1 (21, 22, 23)
2 Timothy 1:10Chapter 1 (24, 25)
2 Timothy 1:11Chapter 1 (26)
2 Timothy 1:12Chapter 1 (27, 28, 29)
2 Timothy 1:13Chapter 1 (30, 31, 32)
2 Timothy 1:14Chapter 1 (33)
2 Timothy 1:15Chapter 1 (34)
2 Timothy 1:16Chapter 1 (35, 36, 37)
2 Timothy 1:17Chapter 1 (38)
2 Timothy 1:18Chapter 1 (39, 40)
2 Timothy 2:1Chapter 2 (1, 2)
2 Timothy 2:2Chapter 2 (3, 4, 5)
2 Timothy 2:3Chapter 2 (6)
2 Timothy 2:4Chapter 2 (7)
2 Timothy 2:5Chapter 2 (8)
2 Timothy 2:6Chapter 2 (9)
2 Timothy 2:7Chapter 2 (10, 11)
2 Timothy 2:8Chapter 2 (12, 13)
2 Timothy 2:9Chapter 2 (14, 15)
2 Timothy 2:10Chapter 2 (16, 17, 18)

2 Timothy 2:11Chapter 4 (17); Chapter 2 (19, 20); Chapter 4 (2)

2 Timothy 2:12Chapter 2 (9); Chapter 1 (34); Chapter 2 (21); Chapter 2 (21, 22); Chapter 3 (12)

2 Timothy 2:13Chapter 2 (23, 24)
2 Timothy 2:14Chapter 2 (25, 26)
2 Timothy 2:15Chapter 2 (27, 28)
2 Timothy 2:16Chapter 2 (29)
2 Timothy 2:16–17Chapter 2 (30)
2 Timothy 2:17–18Chapter 2 (31)
2 Timothy 2:19Chapter 2 (32, 33)
2 Timothy 2:20Chapter 2 (34, 35)
2 Timothy 2:21Chapter 2 (36, 37, 38)
2 Timothy 2:22Chapter 2 (39, 40, 41, 42)
2 Timothy 2:23Chapter 2 (43)
2 Timothy 2:24Chapter 2 (44, 45, 46)

2 Timothy 2:25Chapter 2 (47, 48); Chapter 3 (14)

2 Timothy 2:26Chapter 2 (49, 50)
2 Timothy 3:1Chapter 3 (1)
2 Timothy 3:2Chapter 3 (2, 3, 4, 5)
2 Timothy 3:2–3Chapter 3 (6)
2 Timothy 3:3Chapter 3 (7, 8, 9, 10)
2 Timothy 3:4Chapter 3 (11, 12, 13, 14)
2 Timothy 3:5Chapter 3 (15, 16)

2 Timothy 3:6Chapter 3 (17, 18, 19); Chapter 2 (8)

2 Timothy 3:7Chapter 3 (20)
2 Timothy 3:8Chapter 3 (21, 22)
2 Timothy 3:9Chapter 3 (23, 24)

2 Timothy 3:10Chapter 3 (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)

2 Timothy 3:11Chapter 3 (31, 32, 33)
2 Timothy 3:12Chapter 3 (34)
2 Timothy 3:13Chapter 3 (35)
2 Timothy 3:14Chapter 3 (36)
2 Timothy 3:14–15Chapter 3 (37)
2 Timothy 3:15Chapter 3 (38)
2 Timothy 3:16Chapter 3 (39, 40, 41, 42)
2 Timothy 3:17Chapter 3 (43, 44)
2 Timothy 4:1Chapter 4 (1, 2)

2 Timothy 4:2Chapter 6 (20); Chapter 4 (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

2 Timothy 4:3Chapter 4 (9, 10, 11)

2 Timothy 4:4Chapter 4 (12)

2 Timothy 4:5Chapter 7 (9); Chapter 4 (13, 14, 15)

2 Timothy 4:6Chapter 4 (16); Chapter 1 (1)

2 Timothy 4:7Chapter 3 (33); Chapter 3 (26); Chapter 4 (17, 18, 19)

2 Timothy 4:8Chapter 4 (20, 21, 22)
2 Timothy 4:9Chapter 4 (23)
2 Timothy 4:10Chapter 4 (24, 25)
2 Timothy 4:10–11Chapter 1 (36)
2 Timothy 4:11Chapter 4 (26, 27)
2 Timothy 4:12Chapter 4 (28)
2 Timothy 4:13Chapter 4 (29, 30)
2 Timothy 4:14Chapter 4 (31, 32)
2 Timothy 4:15Chapter 4 (33, 34)

2 Timothy 4:16Chapter 4 (35, 36); Chapter 1 (1)

2 Timothy 4:17Chapter 4 (37, 38, 39, 40, 41); Chapter 1 (1)

2 Timothy 4:18Chapter 4 (42, 43, 44)
2 Timothy 4:19Chapter 4 (45, 46)
2 Timothy 4:20Chapter 4 (47)
2 Timothy 4:21Chapter 4 (48, 49, 50, 51)
2 Timothy 4:22Chapter 4 (52, 53)

Scripture Index (Titus–James)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Titus
Titus 1:1Chapter 1 (1, 2)
Titus 1:2Chapter 1 (3, 4)
Titus 1:3Chapter 1 (5, 6)
Titus 1:4Chapter 1 (7, 8, 9)
Titus 1:5Chapter 1 (10, 11)
Titus 1:6Chapter 1 (12, 13, 14)
Titus 1:7Chapter 1 (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Titus 1:8Chapter 1 (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
Titus 1:9Chapter 1 (27, 28)
Titus 1:10Chapter 1 (29, 30)
Titus 1:11Chapter 1 (31, 32)
Titus 1:12Chapter 1 (33)
Titus 1:13Chapter 1 (34)
Titus 1:13–14Chapter 1 (35)
Titus 1:14Chapter 1 (36)
Titus 1:15Chapter 1 (37)
Titus 1:16Chapter 4 (28); Chapter 1 (38)
Titus 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
Titus 2:2Chapter 2 (2, 3, 4)
Titus 2:3Chapter 2 (5, 6, 7)
Titus 2:4Chapter 2 (8, 9)
Titus 2:5Chapter 2 (10, 11)
Titus 2:6Chapter 2 (12)
Titus 2:7Chapter 2 (13, 14, 15)
Titus 2:8Chapter 2 (16, 17)
Titus 2:9Chapter 2 (18)
Titus 2:9–10Chapter 2 (19)
Titus 2:10Chapter 2 (20)
Titus 2:11Chapter 2 (21)
Titus 2:12Chapter 2 (22, 23, 24)
Titus 2:13Chapter 2 (8); Chapter 2 (25)
Titus 2:14Chapter 2 (26, 27, 28)
Titus 2:15Chapter 2 (44); Chapter 2 (29, 30)
Titus 3:1Chapter 3 (1)
Titus 3:2Chapter 3 (2, 3)
Titus 3:3Chapter 3 (4, 5)
Titus 3:4Chapter 3 (6)
Titus 3:5Chapter 2 (29); Chapter 3 (7)
Titus 3:5–6Chapter 3 (8)
Titus 3:7Chapter 3 (9)
Titus 3:8Chapter 3 (10, 11, 12)
Titus 3:9Chapter 3 (13)
Titus 3:10Chapter 2 (45, 47)
Titus 3:10–11Chapter 3 (14)
Titus 3:12Chapter 3 (15)
Titus 3:13Chapter 3 (16)
Titus 3:14Chapter 3 (17)
Titus 3:15Chapter 3 (18, 19)
Philemon
Philemon 1:1Chapter 1 (1, 2, 3)
Philemon 1:2Chapter 1 (4, 5)
Philemon 1:3Chapter 1 (6)
Philemon 1:4Chapter 1 (7)
Philemon 1:5Chapter 1 (8)
Philemon 1:6Chapter 1 (9, 10)
Philemon 1:7Chapter 1 (11, 12)
Philemon 1:8–9Chapter 1 (13)
Philemon 1:9Chapter 1 (14)
Philemon 1:10Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 1 (15)
Philemon 1:11Chapter 1 (16, 17)
Philemon 1:12Chapter 1 (18, 19)
Philemon 1:13Chapter 1 (20)
Philemon 1:14Chapter 1 (21, 22)
Philemon 1:15Chapter 1 (23, 24)
Philemon 1:16Chapter 1 (25)
Philemon 1:17Chapter 1 (26)
Philemon 1:18Chapter 1 (27)
Philemon 1:19Chapter 1 (28, 29)
Philemon 1:20Chapter 1 (30, 31)
Philemon 1:21Chapter 1 (32)
Philemon 1:22Chapter 1 (33, 34)
Philemon 1:23Chapter 1 (35)
Philemon 1:24Chapter 1 (36)
Hebrews
Hebrews 1:1Chapter 1 (2)

Hebrews 1:2Chapter 1 (22); Chapter 1 (3, 5, 6)

Hebrews 1:3Chapter 1 (14); Chapter 1 (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

Hebrews 1:4Chapter 1 (12)
Hebrews 1:5Chapter 1 (13, 14)
Hebrews 1:6Chapter 1 (15, 16)
Hebrews 1:7Chapter 1 (17)
Hebrews 1:8–9Chapter 1 (18)
Hebrews 1:10–12Chapter 1 (19)
Hebrews 1:13Chapter 1 (20)
Hebrews 1:14Chapter 1 (21)
Hebrews 2:1Chapter 2 (1, 2)
Hebrews 2:2Chapter 2 (3, 4)
Hebrews 2:3Chapter 2 (5, 6)
Hebrews 2:4Chapter 2 (7, 8, 9)
Hebrews 2:5Chapter 2 (10, 11)
Hebrews 2:6–8Chapter 2 (11)
Hebrews 2:8Chapter 2 (12)
Hebrews 2:9Chapter 2 (13, 14)
Hebrews 2:10Chapter 2 (15, 16)
Hebrews 2:11Chapter 2 (17)
Hebrews 2:11–12Chapter 2 (18)
Hebrews 2:13Chapter 2 (19, 20); Chapter 1 (5)
Hebrews 2:14Chapter 2 (21, 22)
Hebrews 2:15Chapter 2 (23)
Hebrews 2:16Chapter 2 (24, 25)
Hebrews 2:17Chapter 2 (26, 27)
Hebrews 2:18Chapter 2 (28)
Hebrews 3:1Chapter 3 (1, 2)
Hebrews 3:2Chapter 3 (3)
Hebrews 3:3–4Chapter 3 (4)
Hebrews 3:5–6Chapter 3 (5)
Hebrews 3:6Chapter 3 (6)
Hebrews 3:7–11Chapter 3 (7)
Hebrews 3:12Chapter 3 (8, 9)
Hebrews 3:13Chapter 3 (10, 11, 14)
Hebrews 3:14Chapter 3 (12, 13)
Hebrews 3:15Chapter 3 (14)
Hebrews 3:16Chapter 3 (15, 16)
Hebrews 3:17Chapter 3 (17)
Hebrews 3:18–19Chapter 3 (18)
Hebrews 4:1Chapter 4 (1, 2)
Hebrews 4:2Chapter 4 (3, 4)
Hebrews 4:3Chapter 4 (5)
Hebrews 4:3–4Chapter 4 (6)
Hebrews 4:6–7Chapter 4 (7)
Hebrews 4:9Chapter 4 (8)
Hebrews 4:10Chapter 4 (9)
Hebrews 4:11Chapter 4 (10, 11)

Hebrews 4:12Chapter 6 (33); Chapter 4 (12, 13, 14, 15)

Hebrews 4:13Chapter 4 (16, 17, 18)
Hebrews 4:14Chapter 4 (19, 20)
Hebrews 4:15Chapter 4 (21, 22)
Hebrews 4:16Chapter 4 (23, 24)
Hebrews 5:1Chapter 5 (1, 2)
Hebrews 5:2Chapter 5 (3, 4)
Hebrews 5:3Chapter 5 (5)
Hebrews 5:4Chapter 5 (6, 7)
Hebrews 5:5–6Chapter 5 (8)
Hebrews 5:7Chapter 5 (9, 10, 11)
Hebrews 5:8Chapter 5 (12)
Hebrews 5:9Chapter 5 (13, 14)
Hebrews 5:10Chapter 5 (15)
Hebrews 5:11Chapter 5 (16)
Hebrews 5:12Chapter 5 (17, 18, 19)
Hebrews 5:13Chapter 5 (20)
Hebrews 5:14Chapter 5 (21, 22)
Hebrews 6:1Chapter 6 (1, 2)
Hebrews 6:2Chapter 6 (3, 4, 5, 6)
Hebrews 6:3Chapter 6 (7)
Hebrews 6:4Chapter 6 (8, 9, 10)
Hebrews 6:5Chapter 6 (11, 12)
Hebrews 6:6Chapter 6 (13, 14, 15)
Hebrews 6:7Chapter 6 (16, 17, 18, 19)
Hebrews 6:8Chapter 6 (20, 21, 22)
Hebrews 6:9Chapter 6 (23)
Hebrews 6:10Chapter 6 (24, 25)
Hebrews 6:11Chapter 6 (26)
Hebrews 6:12Chapter 6 (27, 28)
Hebrews 6:13–14Chapter 6 (29)
Hebrews 6:15Chapter 6 (30)
Hebrews 6:16Chapter 6 (31)
Hebrews 6:17Chapter 6 (32)
Hebrews 6:18Chapter 6 (33, 34)
Hebrews 6:19Chapter 6 (35, 36)
Hebrews 6:20Chapter 6 (37, 38)
Hebrews 7:1–2Chapter 7 (1)
Hebrews 7:2Chapter 7 (2, 3)
Hebrews 7:3Chapter 7 (4, 5)
Hebrews 7:4Chapter 7 (6)
Hebrews 7:5–6Chapter 7 (7)
Hebrews 7:6Chapter 7 (8)
Hebrews 7:7Chapter 7 (9)
Hebrews 7:8Chapter 7 (10)
Hebrews 7:9Chapter 7 (11)
Hebrews 7:10Chapter 7 (12)
Hebrews 7:11Chapter 7 (13)
Hebrews 7:12Chapter 7 (14)
Hebrews 7:13Chapter 7 (15, 16)
Hebrews 7:14Chapter 7 (17, 18)
Hebrews 7:15Chapter 7 (19)
Hebrews 7:16Chapter 7 (20)
Hebrews 7:17Chapter 7 (21)
Hebrews 7:18–19Chapter 7 (22)
Hebrews 7:19Chapter 7 (23)
Hebrews 7:20Chapter 7 (24)
Hebrews 7:20–21Chapter 7 (25)
Hebrews 7:22Chapter 7 (26)
Hebrews 7:23–24Chapter 7 (27)
Hebrews 7:25Chapter 7 (28, 29)
Hebrews 7:26Chapter 7 (30, 31, 32)
Hebrews 7:27Chapter 7 (33, 34)
Hebrews 7:28Chapter 7 (35, 36)
Hebrews 8:1Chapter 8 (1)
Hebrews 8:2Chapter 8 (2, 3)
Hebrews 8:3Chapter 8 (4)
Hebrews 8:4Chapter 8 (5)
Hebrews 8:5Chapter 8 (6, 7)
Hebrews 8:6Chapter 8 (8, 9, 10)
Hebrews 8:7Chapter 8 (11)
Hebrews 8:8Chapter 8 (12)
Hebrews 8:9Chapter 8 (13)
Hebrews 8:10Chapter 8 (14, 15, 16, 17)
Hebrews 8:11Chapter 8 (18)
Hebrews 8:12Chapter 8 (19)
Hebrews 8:13Chapter 8 (20, 21)
Hebrews 9:1Chapter 9 (1, 2)
Hebrews 9:2Chapter 9 (3)
Hebrews 9:3Chapter 9 (4)
Hebrews 9:4Chapter 9 (5, 6)
Hebrews 9:5Chapter 9 (7, 8, 9, 10)
Hebrews 9:6Chapter 9 (11)
Hebrews 9:7Chapter 9 (12, 13, 14)
Hebrews 9:8Chapter 9 (15)
Hebrews 9:9–10Chapter 9 (16)
Hebrews 9:11Chapter 9 (17, 18, 19)
Hebrews 9:12Chapter 9 (20, 21, 22)
Hebrews 9:13–14Chapter 9 (23)

Hebrews 9:14Chapter 2 (6); Chapter 9 (24, 25, 26)

Hebrews 9:15Chapter 9 (27, 28, 29)
Hebrews 9:16Chapter 9 (30)
Hebrews 9:17Chapter 9 (31)
Hebrews 9:18Chapter 9 (32)
Hebrews 9:19Chapter 9 (33, 34)
Hebrews 9:20Chapter 9 (35)
Hebrews 9:21Chapter 9 (36)
Hebrews 9:22Chapter 9 (37)
Hebrews 9:23Chapter 9 (38, 39, 40)
Hebrews 9:24Chapter 9 (41)
Hebrews 9:25Chapter 9 (42, 43, 44)
Hebrews 9:26Chapter 1 (8); Chapter 9 (45, 46)
Hebrews 9:27Chapter 9 (47)
Hebrews 9:28Chapter 9 (48, 49, 50)
Hebrews 10:1Chapter 10 (1, 2)
Hebrews 10:1–2Chapter 10 (3)
Hebrews 10:2Chapter 10 (4)
Hebrews 10:3Chapter 10 (5)
Hebrews 10:4Chapter 10 (6)
Hebrews 10:5Chapter 10 (7, 8, 9)
Hebrews 10:6Chapter 10 (10)
Hebrews 10:7Chapter 10 (11)
Hebrews 10:8–9Chapter 10 (12)
Hebrews 10:9Chapter 10 (13)
Hebrews 10:10Chapter 10 (14)
Hebrews 10:11Chapter 10 (15)
Hebrews 10:12Chapter 10 (16, 17)
Hebrews 10:13Chapter 10 (18)
Hebrews 10:14Chapter 10 (19)
Hebrews 10:15Chapter 10 (20)
Hebrews 10:16–17Chapter 10 (21)
Hebrews 10:18Chapter 10 (22)
Hebrews 10:19Chapter 10 (23, 24, 25)
Hebrews 10:20Chapter 10 (26, 27)
Hebrews 10:21Chapter 10 (28)
Hebrews 10:22Chapter 10 (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
Hebrews 10:23Chapter 10 (34, 35)
Hebrews 10:24Chapter 10 (36)
Hebrews 10:25Chapter 10 (37, 38, 39, 40)
Hebrews 10:26Chapter 10 (41, 42, 43)
Hebrews 10:27Chapter 10 (44)
Hebrews 10:28Chapter 10 (45, 46)

Hebrews 10:29Chapter 1 (4); Chapter 10 (47, 48, 49)

Hebrews 10:30Chapter 10 (50)
Hebrews 10:31Chapter 1 (5); Chapter 10 (51)
Hebrews 10:32Chapter 10 (52, 53)
Hebrews 10:33Chapter 10 (54, 55)
Hebrews 10:34Chapter 10 (56, 57, 58)
Hebrews 10:35Chapter 10 (59, 60)
Hebrews 10:36Chapter 10 (61, 62)
Hebrews 10:37Chapter 10 (63)
Hebrews 10:38Chapter 11 (2, 5)
Hebrews 10:38–39Chapter 10 (64)
Hebrews 10:39Chapter 10 (65)
Hebrews 11:1Chapter 11 (1, 2, 5)
Hebrews 11:2Chapter 11 (3)
Hebrews 11:3Chapter 11 (4)
Hebrews 11:4Chapter 11 (5, 6, 7)
Hebrews 11:5Chapter 11 (8)
Hebrews 11:6Chapter 11 (9, 10)
Hebrews 11:7Chapter 11 (11, 12, 13)
Hebrews 11:8Chapter 11 (14, 15)
Hebrews 11:9Chapter 11 (16, 17, 18)
Hebrews 11:10Chapter 11 (19, 20)
Hebrews 11:11Chapter 11 (21, 22, 23, 24)
Hebrews 11:12Chapter 11 (25)
Hebrews 11:13Chapter 11 (26, 27, 28)
Hebrews 11:14–15Chapter 11 (29)
Hebrews 11:16Chapter 11 (30, 31)
Hebrews 11:17Chapter 11 (32)
Hebrews 11:17–19Chapter 11 (33)
Hebrews 11:19Chapter 11 (34)
Hebrews 11:20Chapter 11 (35)
Hebrews 11:21Chapter 11 (36)
Hebrews 11:22Chapter 11 (37)
Hebrews 11:23Chapter 11 (38)
Hebrews 11:24–25Chapter 11 (39)
Hebrews 11:26Chapter 11 (40, 41)
Hebrews 11:27Chapter 11 (42, 43)
Hebrews 11:28Chapter 11 (44)
Hebrews 11:29Chapter 11 (45, 46)
Hebrews 11:30Chapter 11 (47)
Hebrews 11:31Chapter 11 (48)
Hebrews 11:32Chapter 11 (49, 50, 51)
Hebrews 11:33Chapter 11 (52, 53, 54, 55)
Hebrews 11:34Chapter 11 (56, 57, 58, 59)
Hebrews 11:35Chapter 11 (60, 61, 62, 63)
Hebrews 11:36Chapter 11 (64, 65, 66)
Hebrews 11:37Chapter 11 (67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
Hebrews 11:38Chapter 11 (72, 73, 74)
Hebrews 11:39Chapter 11 (75)
Hebrews 11:40Chapter 11 (76)
Hebrews 12:1Chapter 12 (1, 2, 3, 4)
Hebrews 12:2Chapter 12 (5, 6, 7)
Hebrews 12:3Chapter 12 (8, 9)
Hebrews 12:4Chapter 12 (10, 11)
Hebrews 12:5Chapter 12 (12, 13, 14)

Hebrews 12:6Chapter 4 (15); Chapter 4 (10); Chapter 12 (15)

Hebrews 12:7Chapter 4 (10); Chapter 12 (16)
Hebrews 12:9Chapter 12 (17)
Hebrews 12:10Chapter 12 (18, 19, 20)
Hebrews 12:11Chapter 12 (21, 22)
Hebrews 12:12Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 12 (23)
Hebrews 12:13Chapter 12 (24)

Hebrews 12:14Chapter 2 (4); Chapter 12 (25, 26, 27); Chapter 1 (9)

Hebrews 12:15Chapter 12 (28, 29, 30)
Hebrews 12:16Chapter 12 (31)
Hebrews 12:17Chapter 12 (32, 33)
Hebrews 12:18Chapter 12 (34)
Hebrews 12:19Chapter 12 (35)
Hebrews 12:20Chapter 12 (36, 37)
Hebrews 12:21Chapter 12 (38)
Hebrews 12:22Chapter 12 (39, 40, 41)
Hebrews 12:23Chapter 12 (42, 43, 44)
Hebrews 12:24Chapter 12 (45, 46, 47)
Hebrews 12:25Chapter 12 (48, 49, 50)
Hebrews 12:26Chapter 12 (51, 52)
Hebrews 12:27Chapter 12 (53, 54)
Hebrews 12:28Chapter 12 (55, 56, 57)
Hebrews 12:29Chapter 12 (58)
Hebrews 13:1Chapter 13 (1)
Hebrews 13:2Chapter 13 (2)
Hebrews 13:3Chapter 13 (3, 4)
Hebrews 13:4Chapter 13 (5, 6)
Hebrews 13:5Chapter 13 (7, 8, 9)
Hebrews 13:6Chapter 13 (10)
Hebrews 13:7Chapter 13 (11, 12)
Hebrews 13:8Chapter 13 (13)
Hebrews 13:9Chapter 13 (14, 15)
Hebrews 13:10Chapter 13 (16)
Hebrews 13:11–12Chapter 13 (17)
Hebrews 13:12Chapter 2 (23)
Hebrews 13:13Chapter 2 (23); Chapter 13 (18)
Hebrews 13:14Chapter 13 (19)
Hebrews 13:15Chapter 13 (20)
Hebrews 13:16Chapter 13 (21, 22)
Hebrews 13:17Chapter 13 (23, 24, 25, 26)
Hebrews 13:18Chapter 13 (27)
Hebrews 13:19Chapter 13 (28, 29)
Hebrews 13:20Chapter 13 (30, 31, 32)
Hebrews 13:21Chapter 13 (33, 34, 35)
Hebrews 13:22Chapter 13 (36, 37)

Hebrews 13:23Chapter 1 (1); Chapter 13 (38, 39)

Hebrews 13:24Chapter 13 (40, 41)
Hebrews 13:25Chapter 13 (42)
James
James 1:1Chapter 1 (4)
James 1:2Chapter 1 (5)
James 1:3Chapter 1 (6)
James 1:4Chapter 1 (7)
James 1:5Chapter 1 (8)
James 1:6Chapter 1 (9)
James 1:7Chapter 1 (10)
James 1:8Chapter 1 (11)
James 1:9Chapter 1 (12)
James 1:10–11Chapter 1 (13)
James 1:11Chapter 1 (14, 15)
James 1:12Chapter 1 (16)
James 1:13Chapter 1 (17, 18)
James 1:13–14Chapter 3 (25)
James 1:14–15Chapter 1 (19)
James 1:16–17Chapter 1 (21)
James 1:17Chapter 1 (20, 22)
James 1:18Chapter 1 (23)
James 1:19Chapter 1 (24)
James 1:20Chapter 1 (25)
James 1:21Chapter 1 (26)
James 1:22–23Chapter 1 (27)
James 1:23Chapter 1 (9)
James 1:24Chapter 1 (28)
James 1:25Chapter 1 (29)
James 1:26Chapter 1 (30)
James 1:27Chapter 1 (31, 32)
James 2:1Chapter 2 (1)
James 2:2–3Chapter 2 (2)
James 2:4Chapter 2 (3)
James 2:5–6Chapter 2 (4)
James 2:7–9Chapter 2 (5)
James 2:10–13Chapter 2 (6)
James 2:14Chapter 2 (7)
James 2:15–16Chapter 2 (8)
James 2:17–19Chapter 2 (9)
James 2:20Chapter 5 (7); Chapter 2 (10)
James 2:21–23Chapter 2 (11)
James 2:24Chapter 2 (12)
James 2:25–26Chapter 2 (13)
James 2:26Chapter 1 (9)
James 3:1Chapter 3 (1)
James 3:2Chapter 3 (2, 3)
James 3:3Chapter 3 (4)
James 3:4Chapter 3 (5)
James 3:5Chapter 3 (6)
James 3:6Chapter 3 (7)
James 3:7–8Chapter 3 (8)
James 3:9–10Chapter 3 (9)
James 3:11–12Chapter 3 (10)
James 3:13–16Chapter 3 (11)
James 3:15Chapter 1 (15)
James 3:17–18Chapter 3 (12)
James 4:1Chapter 4 (1)
James 4:2–3Chapter 4 (2)
James 4:3Chapter 4 (3)
James 4:4Chapter 4 (4)
James 4:5–6Chapter 4 (5)
James 4:7–10Chapter 4 (6)
James 4:11–12Chapter 4 (7)
James 4:12Chapter 4 (8)
James 4:13Chapter 4 (9)
James 4:14Chapter 4 (10)
James 4:14–15Chapter 4 (11)
James 4:16Chapter 4 (12)
James 4:17Chapter 4 (13, 14)
James 5:1Chapter 5 (1)
James 5:2–3Chapter 5 (2)
James 5:4–5Chapter 5 (3)
James 5:6Chapter 5 (4)
James 5:7Chapter 5 (5, 6)
James 5:8–12Chapter 5 (7)
James 5:13–14Chapter 5 (8)

James 5:14Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea (4)

James 5:14–16Chapter 5 (9)
James 5:16–18Chapter 5 (10)
James 5:19–20Chapter 5 (11)

Scripture Index (1 Peter–Jude)

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

1 Peter
1 Peter 1:1–2Chapter 1 (3)
1 Peter 1:2Chapter 1 (4)
1 Peter 1:3–4Chapter 1 (5)
1 Peter 1:4–5Chapter 1 (6)
1 Peter 1:6–7Chapter 1 (7)
1 Peter 1:7–9Chapter 1 (8)
1 Peter 1:10Chapter 1 (9)
1 Peter 1:11–12Chapter 1 (10)
1 Peter 1:12Chapter 1 (11); Chapter 1 (5)
1 Peter 1:13–16Chapter 1 (12)
1 Peter 1:17–19Chapter 1 (13)
1 Peter 1:20–21Chapter 1 (14)
1 Peter 1:22–25Chapter 1 (15)

1 Peter 1:24Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed (16)

1 Peter 2:1–6Chapter 2 (1)
1 Peter 2:7–8Chapter 2 (2)
1 Peter 2:9Chapter 1 (25)
1 Peter 2:9–10Chapter 2 (3)
1 Peter 2:11–12Chapter 2 (4)
1 Peter 2:12Chapter 2 (5)
1 Peter 2:13–15Chapter 2 (6)
1 Peter 2:16Chapter 2 (7)
1 Peter 2:16–22Chapter 2 (8)

1 Peter 2:221. Argument (5); Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies (18); Chapter 15 (7)

1 Peter 2:23Chapter 1 (29)
1 Peter 2:23–24Chapter 2 (9)
1 Peter 2:24–25Chapter 2 (10)
1 Peter 3:1–3Chapter 3 (1)
1 Peter 3:4Chapter 3 (2)
1 Peter 3:5–7Chapter 3 (3)
1 Peter 3:8–9Chapter 3 (4)
1 Peter 3:10–11Chapter 3 (5)
1 Peter 3:12–15Chapter 3 (6)
1 Peter 3:15–16Chapter 3 (7)
1 Peter 3:17–18Chapter 3 (8)
1 Peter 3:18–19Chapter 3 (9)
1 Peter 3:20Chapter 3 (10)
1 Peter 3:21–22Chapter 3 (11)
1 Peter 4:1Chapter 4 (1)
1 Peter 4:2Chapter 4 (2)
1 Peter 4:3Chapter 4 (3)
1 Peter 4:4Chapter 4 (4)
1 Peter 4:5Chapter 4 (5)
1 Peter 4:6Chapter 4 (6)
1 Peter 4:7–9Chapter 4 (7)
1 Peter 4:10–11Chapter 4 (8)
1 Peter 4:12–13Chapter 4 (9)
1 Peter 4:14–15Chapter 4 (10)
1 Peter 4:15–16Chapter 4 (11)
1 Peter 4:17–18Chapter 4 (12)
1 Peter 4:19Chapter 4 (13)
1 Peter 5:1–5Chapter 5 (1)
1 Peter 5:2Chapter 11 (16)
1 Peter 5:5Chapter 5 (1)
1 Peter 5:6–7Chapter 5 (2)
1 Peter 5:8Chapter 2 (21)
1 Peter 5:8–9Chapter 5 (3)
1 Peter 5:9Chapter 5 (3)
1 Peter 5:10–11Chapter 5 (4)
1 Peter 5:12–14Chapter 5 (5)
1 Peter 5:13Chapter 1 (1)
2 Peter
2 Peter 1:1Chapter 1 (3)
2 Peter 1:2Chapter 1 (4)
2 Peter 1:3–4Chapter 1 (5)
2 Peter 1:4Chapter 1 (6)
2 Peter 1:5–7Chapter 1 (7)
2 Peter 1:8Chapter 1 (8)
2 Peter 1:9–10Chapter 1 (9)
2 Peter 1:10–11Chapter 1 (10)
2 Peter 1:12–14Chapter 1 (11)
2 Peter 1:15Chapter 1 (12)
2 Peter 1:16Chapter 1 (13)
2 Peter 1:17Chapter 1 (14)
2 Peter 1:17–18Chapter 1 (15)
2 Peter 1:19Chapter 1 (22); Chapter 1 (16)
2 Peter 1:20–21Chapter 1 (17)
2 Peter 2:1–3Chapter 2 (1)
2 Peter 2:3Chapter 2 (2)
2 Peter 2:4Chapter 1 (9)
2 Peter 2:4–9Chapter 2 (3)
2 Peter 2:10Chapter 2 (4)
2 Peter 2:10–11Chapter 2 (5)
2 Peter 2:11Chapter 2 (6)
2 Peter 2:12–13Chapter 2 (7)
2 Peter 2:13–16Chapter 2 (8)
2 Peter 2:17–19Chapter 2 (9)
2 Peter 2:20–22Chapter 2 (10)
2 Peter 3:1–2Chapter 3 (1)
2 Peter 3:3–4Chapter 3 (2)
2 Peter 3:5Chapter 3 (3)
2 Peter 3:6Chapter 3 (4)
2 Peter 3:7Chapter 3 (5)
2 Peter 3:8–9Chapter 3 (6)
2 Peter 3:10–12Chapter 3 (7)
2 Peter 3:13–14Chapter 3 (8)
2 Peter 3:15–18Chapter 3 (9)
1 John
1 John 1:1Chapter 5 (5); Chapter 1 (3)
1 John 1:1–2Chapter 1 (4)
1 John 1:3Chapter 1 (5)
1 John 1:3–4Chapter 1 (6)
1 John 1:5–8Chapter 1 (7)
1 John 1:9–10Chapter 1 (8)
1 John 2:1Chapter 1 (2)
1 John 2:1–2Chapter 2 (1)
1 John 2:3Chapter 2 (2)
1 John 2:4–5Chapter 2 (3)
1 John 2:6Chapter 2 (4)
1 John 2:7Chapter 2 (5)
1 John 2:8–11Chapter 2 (6)
1 John 2:12Chapter 2 (7)
1 John 2:13Chapter 2 (8)
1 John 2:13–14Chapter 2 (9)
1 John 2:15Chapter 2 (10)
1 John 2:16–17Chapter 2 (11)
1 John 2:18Chapter 2 (12)
1 John 2:19Chapter 2 (13)
1 John 2:20Chapter 6 (18)
1 John 2:20–25Chapter 2 (14)
1 John 2:26Chapter 2 (15)
1 John 2:27Chapter 2 (16)
1 John 2:28–29Chapter 2 (17)
1 John 3:1Chapter 3 (1, 2)
1 John 3:2–3Chapter 3 (3)
1 John 3:4–5Chapter 3 (4)
1 John 3:6Chapter 3 (5)
1 John 3:6–7Chapter 3 (6)
1 John 3:8Chapter 3 (7)
1 John 3:9–10Chapter 3 (8)
1 John 3:11–14Chapter 3 (9)
1 John 3:14–18Chapter 3 (10)
1 John 3:18Chapter 3 (11)
1 John 3:19Chapter 3 (12)
1 John 3:19–22Chapter 3 (13)
1 John 3:22Chapter 3 (14)
1 John 3:23Chapter 3 (15)
1 John 3:23–24Chapter 3 (16)
1 John 4:1–2Chapter 4 (1)
1 John 4:3Chapter 4 (2)
1 John 4:4–6Chapter 4 (3)
1 John 4:6–10Chapter 4 (4)
1 John 4:11–14Chapter 4 (5)
1 John 4:15–16Chapter 4 (6)
1 John 4:17–18Chapter 4 (7)
1 John 4:18–19Chapter 4 (8)
1 John 4:20Chapter 4 (9)
1 John 4:21Chapter 4 (10)
1 John 5:1–2Chapter 5 (1)
1 John 5:2–3Chapter 1 (5)
1 John 5:3Chapter 5 (2)
1 John 5:3–5Chapter 5 (3)
1 John 5:5Chapter 5 (3)
1 John 5:5–6Chapter 5 (5)
1 John 5:6Chapter 5 (4)
1 John 5:6–8Chapter 5 (6)
1 John 5:8–12Chapter 5 (7)
1 John 5:13–15Chapter 5 (8)
1 John 5:16–17Chapter 5 (9)
1 John 5:18–20Chapter 5 (10)
1 John 5:21Chapter 5 (11)
2 John
2 John 1:1Chapter 1 (3)
2 John 1:2–3Chapter 1 (4)
2 John 1:4–6Chapter 1 (5)
2 John 1:6–7Chapter 1 (6)
2 John 1:7Chapter 1 (7)
2 John 1:8–9Chapter 1 (8)
2 John 1:9Chapter 1 (9)
2 John 1:10–12Chapter 1 (10)
2 John 1:13Chapter 1 (11)
3 John
3 John 1:1–2Chapter 1 (3)
3 John 1:2–3Chapter 1 (4)
3 John 1:4–7Chapter 1 (5)
3 John 1:8–9Chapter 1 (6)
3 John 1:10Chapter 1 (7); Chapter 1 (10)
3 John 1:11Chapter 1 (8)
3 John 1:12–15Chapter 1 (9)
Jude
Jude 1:1Chapter 1 (3)
Jude 1:1–2Chapter 1 (4)
Jude 1:3Chapter 1 (5)
Jude 1:3–4Chapter 1 (6)
Jude 1:5–6Chapter 1 (7)
Jude 1:7Chapter 1 (8)
Jude 1:8Chapter 1 (9, 10)
Jude 1:9Chapter 2 (6)
Jude 1:9–11Chapter 1 (11)
Jude 1:12Chapter 1 (12)
Jude 1:12–13Chapter 1 (13)
Jude 1:14–18Chapter 1 (14)
Jude 1:19Chapter 1 (15)
Jude 1:20–23Chapter 1 (16)
Jude 1:23–25Chapter 1 (17)

Colophon

The Complete Commentaries
by Saint Theophylact of Ohrid.

This edition was produced by
Royal Archives.

The cover features
Saint Theophylact of Ohrid (17th-century miniature)
by Anonymous (17th century), Wikimedia Commons, which is in the public domain.

The text is set in Palatino and Georgia. Polytonic Greek is set in SIL Gentium.

The first edition of this ebook was released on
August 26, 2026.

Table of Contents

Title Page
Copyright
Introduction

Commentary on the Prophet Hosea

- Introduction
- Argument
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Life of the Prophet Hosea

Commentary on the Prophet Jonah

- Introduction
- Argument
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Life of the Prophet Jonah

Commentary on the Prophet Micah

- Introduction
- Argument
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Life of the Prophet

Commentary on the Prophet Nahum

- Introduction
- Argument
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- The Life of the Prophet Nahum

Commentary on the Prophet Habakkuk

- Introduction
- Argument
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Life of the Prophet

Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew

- Introduction

- Chapter 1

- Chapter 2.—On the Magi, and the Children Who Were Slain

- Chapter 3.—John First Proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven

- Chapter 4.—On the Temptation of Christ. On the Calling of Peter, and Andrew, and the Sons of Zebedee

- Chapter 5.—On the Beatitudes. On Not Being Angry With One’s Neighbor. On Not Committing Adultery. On Not Putting Away One’s Wife. On Not Swearing at All. On Bearing Insults, and Not Resisting the Evil One. On Loving One’s Enemies

- Chapter 6.—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. On Despising the Things of the World

- Chapter 7.—On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets

- Chapter 8.—On the Leper. On the Centurion. On the Mother-in-law of Peter. On Those Healed of Various Diseases. On Him Who Was Not Permitted to Bury His Father

- Chapter 9.—On the Paralytic. On Matthew. On the One Who Ate at Table Together With the Publicans and Sinners

- Chapter 10.—On the Sending Forth of the Apostles

- Chapter 11.—On Those Sent by John

- Chapter 12.—On the Disciples Plucking Ears of Grain on the Sabbaths. On the Man With the Withered Hand. On the Blind and Dumb Demoniac. On Those Who Ask for a Sign. On [His] Mother and Brethren

- Chapter 13.—On the Parables of the Sower and of the Kingdom of the Heavens

- Chapter 14.—On John and Herod. On the Feeding With the Loaves in the Wilderness. On Jesus Walking Upon the Water

- Chapter 15.—On the Transgression of the Commandment of God Through the Tradition of the Elders. And on the Strangers Who Were Healed

- Chapter 16.—On the Leaven of the Pharisees. And on Caesarea Philippi and the Confession of Peter. On the Things Which Christ is About to Suffer

- Chapter 17.—On the Transfiguration of Christ. On the Lunatic. On Those Who Demanded the Didrachma

- Chapter 18.—On Those Who Disputed Who is Greater. On Not Giving Offense. On the Hundred Sheep. On the Reproving of One’s Neighbor. On the Power of Binding and Loosing. On the Man Who Owed Ten Thousand Talents

- Chapter 19.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife. On the Rich Man Who Questioned Jesus

- Chapter 20.—On the Laborers in the Vineyard. On the Sons of Zebedee. On the Blind Men

- Chapter 21.—On the Ass and the Colt. On the Lame and the Blind. On the Withered Fig Tree. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord. The Parable of the Two Sons. On the Vineyard

- Chapter 22.—On Those Invited to the Wedding Feast. On the Denarius. On the Sadducees. On the Matter of the Lawyer. On the Lord’s Questionings

- Chapter 23.—On the Woe Pronounced Upon the Pharisees

- Chapter 24.—On the Consummation, the Day and the Hour

- Chapter 25.—On the Ten Virgins. On Those Who Received the Talents. On the Coming of Christ

- Chapter 26.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Ointment. On the Passover. On the Mystical Supper. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter

- Chapter 27.—On Pilate the Governor. On the Remorse of Judas. On the Scourging and Torments of Christ, and the Crucifixion. On the Request for the Body of the Lord, and the Guards of the Tomb

- Chapter 28.—On the Resurrection of the Lord. On the Guards of the Tomb, Witnesses of the Resurrection. On the Appearance of Christ to the Apostles and the Women in Galilee

Commentary on the Gospel of Mark

- Introduction

- Chapter 1

- Chapter 2.—On the Paralytic. On Jesus Eating With the Publicans. On the Disciples Plucking the Ears of Grain on the Sabbath

- Chapter 3.—On the Man Having a Withered Hand. On the Choosing of the Apostles. On [His] Mother and Brethren

- Chapter 4.—On the Parable of the Sower. On the Rebuking of the Waters

- Chapter 5.—On the Legion. On the Daughter of the Ruler of the Synagogue. On the Woman With the Issue of Blood

- Chapter 6.—On the Commissioning of the Apostles. On John and Herod. On the Five Loaves and the Two Fishes. On the Walking Upon the Sea

- Chapter 7.—On the Disciples Eating With Unwashed Hands. On the Transgression of the Commandment of God. On the Syrophoenician Woman. On the Deaf-mute

- Chapter 8.—On the Seven Loaves. On Those Seeking a Sign. On the Leaven of the Pharisees. On the Blind Man. On the Questioning at Caesarea. On the Rebuking of Peter

- Chapter 9.—On the Transfiguration of Jesus. On the Lunatic. On Those Disputing Who is Greatest. On Removing the Cause of Stumbling

- Chapter 10.—On Those Who Asked Whether it is Lawful to Put Away One’s Wife; and Concerning Children; and Concerning Bartimaeus

- Chapter 11.—On the Colt. On the Fig Tree That Was Withered. On the Moneychangers Driven Out of the Temple. On Boldness Toward God. On the Not Bearing of Malice. On the Chief Priests and Elders Who Questioned the Lord

- Chapter 12.—On the Vineyard. On Those Who Questioned the Lord Concerning the Tribute. On the Sadducees. On the Scribe. On the Lord’s Question. On Being on Guard Against the Hypocrites. On the Widow of the Two Mites

- Chapter 13.—On the Consummation. On the Day and the Hour

- Chapter 14.—On the Woman Who Anointed the Lord With Myrrh. On the Passover. On the Betrayal of Christ. On the Denial of Peter. On the Accusations Laid Against the Lord Before the High Priest

- Chapter 15.—On Those Things Which He Suffered Before Pilate. On the Custom. On the Request for the Body of the Lord. On the Burial

- Chapter 16.—On the Resurrection of Christ. To Whom the Lord Appeared After His Rising. How He Arranged for the Disciples the Preaching of the Gospel

Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24

Commentary on the Gospel of John

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21

Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 28

Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16

Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16

Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13

Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6

Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6

Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4

Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4

Commentary on the First Epistle to the Thessalonians

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5

Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3

Commentary on the First Epistle to Timothy

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6

Commentary on the Second Epistle to Timothy

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4

Commentary on the Epistle to Titus

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3

Commentary on the Epistle to Philemon

- Introduction

- Chapter 1

Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13

Commentary on the Epistle of James

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5

Commentary on the First Epistle of Peter

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5

Commentary on the Second Epistle of Peter

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3

Commentary on the First Epistle of John

- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5

Commentary on the Second Epistle of John

- Introduction

- Chapter 1

Commentary on the Third Epistle of John

- Introduction

- Chapter 1

Commentary on the Epistle of Jude

- Introduction

- Chapter 1

Scripture Index (Genesis–Daniel)
Scripture Index (Hosea–Wisdom)
Scripture Index (Sirach)
Scripture Index (Matthew)
Scripture Index (Mark–Luke)
Scripture Index (John)
Scripture Index (Acts)
Scripture Index (Romans)
Scripture Index (1 Corinthians)
Scripture Index (2 Corinthians–Galatians)
Scripture Index (Ephesians–Colossians)
Scripture Index (1 Thessalonians–2 Timothy)
Scripture Index (Titus–James)
Scripture Index (1 Peter–Jude)
Colophon