To the words from the book of the prophet Jonah, “Arise and go to the great city of Nineveh...”

“Arise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it according to the first preaching that I told you. And Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, as the Lord said” (Jon. 3:2-3) Here Jonah preaches in Nineveh, a Jew among the wicked. He entered the city with a menacing sermon and threw it into confusion with his terrible broadcasts. The pagan city is in confusion from the Jew preacher; like the sea he was troubled by Jonah, who came out of the sea, and is overwhelmed like the waves of the sea. Jonah entered the sea and disturbed it, came out onto land and threw it into confusion. The sea shook as he ran; The land shook when he began to preach. The sea was calmed by prayer, the land was calmed by repentance. Jonah prayed in the great whale, the Ninevites prayed in the great city. Prayer saved Jonah, and prayer saved the Ninevites. Jonah fled from God, the Ninevites fled from purity. Both Jonah and the Ninevites were bound by justice as guilty. Both Jonah and the Ninevites repented before Him and were delivered. Repentance preserved Jonah in the sea and the Ninevites on land. Jonah learned for himself that those who repent will be shown mercy. On himself, Goodness showed him an example of Her mercy towards sinners - showed that just as He was delivered by Her from the sea, so She would deliver the city mired in sins. Like the sea, Nineveh was agitated by Jonah, who came out of the sea. Righteous Jonah opened his mouth, Nineveh heard and was embarrassed. The whole city was thrown into confusion by one Jewish preacher. His mouth became full of words, and he announced to his listeners: “Woe!” He appointed death as their destiny. The wretched preacher appeared in the city of giants, and his voice tore the hearts of the kings, brought down the entire city on them, in one word took away all hope, poured out the cup of wrath. The kings heard and were embarrassed, put off their crowns and humbled themselves. The nobles heard and were horrified, and instead of their magnificent clothes they put on sackcloth. The venerable elders heard, and sprinkled ashes on their heads. The rich heard, and they opened their treasuries for the poor. The lenders heard, and, tearing up the manuscripts, began to lavish alms. The debtors heard, and in order not to remain in debt, they repaid their debt, and those who lent forgave their debts. Everyone, as he should, cared about his own salvation. There is no person who would intend to offend another. Everyone in pious deeds tries to win their soul. The tati (thieves) heard Jonah and left even what belonged to them. Everyone judges himself and is merciful to his neighbor. No one judges his neighbor, but everyone judges himself. Everyone blames himself, because God’s wrath finds everyone guilty. The murderers heard and admitted that now they were not afraid of the judges. The judges heard and stopped their judgment; The wrath of God has silenced their judgments; they no longer want to condemn what is right, lest they be condemned righteously. Everyone sows bounty in order to reap salvation from it. The sinners heard Jonah, and each confessed his sins. The obscene hail heard Jonah, and immediately he put off his abominations. The masters heard him and proclaimed freedom to their subjects. The slaves listened to him reverently, and increased their respect for their masters. At the voice of Jonah, the noble women humbled themselves in sackcloth. Repentance was true, and the proud were clothed with humility. And our repentance in comparison with this seems to me to be nothing more than a dream, our prayer in comparison with the prayer of the Ninevites seems to me to be nothing more than a shadow, our humility is only a weak semblance of their humility. Few of us left their iniquities during this Lent. The Ninevites gave alms, but what about us? Oh, if only they would stop making insults! The Ninevites gave slaves freedom, but what about us? Oh, if only we would become merciful to the free! When Jonah was sent to a lawless city, the truth of God deemed it necessary to send him with a terrible word for the city and gave it a terrible definition. A terrible doctor and with cruel healings was sent to the sick city, and he opened and showed his terrible and powerful healings. It was not for this that Goodness sent the prophet to destroy the city, but the preacher did not tell the inhabitants of the city to repent. This made it clear that every sick person must take care of his own healing. He closed the door of repentance in front of them so that they could see with what zeal they would strike it. Jonah announced a terrible definition to the Ninevites, and they agreed and recognized this definition as fair, in order to show how strong repentance is to appease God and how much contrition the repentant needs in order to receive mercy through his persistence. The cause of illness is sin, one’s own will, and not any necessity. A terrible word, menacing as a sword, terrified, so that fear would heal even the most stubborn of sinful illnesses. The sword is shown to the sick by a doctor who has come to heal; The city saw this sword and trembled. As the executor of the execution, the doctor stood in front of the sick, and they, frightened, rebelled and hastened to repentance. Jonah's word, like a sword, cut off old illnesses. He healed with a rod, and this healing became better than any other healing. Another doctor flatters the sick and heals, Jonah preaches and heals with cruel reproof. This wise doctor comes and by visiting his sick, he puts them in fear. The sick man leaves his bed because he sees the rod of wrath. Those who are sick with carnal lust are made healthy. Everyone abstains from carnal lust and becomes his own doctor. Feasts among kings and suppers among princes ceased. When even babies languish and do not eat milk, who will institute feasts? When water is not given to the draft animals, who will drink wine? When the king is clothed in sackcloth, who will clothe himself in magnificent garments? When harlots have become chaste, who will not abstain from the marital bed? When the incontinent are filled with terror, who will think of laughing? When the merry ones cry, who will console themselves with jokes? When the people began to keep the truth, who would offend his neighbor? When the whole city is in turmoil, who will take care of their home? Gold is thrown away, and no one steals; treasuries are opened, and there is no one who steals. And the foolish close their eyes, so as not to look at women, and women put away their ornaments, so as not to offend those who look at them; It became clear to them that this would cause mutual harm; if others are tempted by them, then there will be no salvation ourselves. The beautiful wives did not prevent the inhabitants from repenting; they learned that it was for their sake that the penitents were lamenting. So they healed each other and were healed from each other by repentance. No one led his neighbor into sin, everyone tried to get rid of his own untruth, everyone encouraged his neighbor to pray and petition. The whole city became one body, completely guarding itself. Everyone taught his neighbor not to sin against another, but tried to make him righteous. No one prayed there only for their own salvation, but everyone, as members of one body, prayed for each other. The whole city, like one body, was preparing for destruction. The blameless could not hope to survive without sinners, because both the good and the evil were connected to each other like members. The righteous prayed for sinners, so that sinners would be saved; sinners prayed for the righteous so that the righteous would be heard; the blameless prayed that the prayer of the righteous might be accepted. The beautiful cry of the babies prompted the whole city to cry, the cry of the children set both the heart and the entire inside into strong movement. The elders sprinkled themselves with ashes, the old women tore and threw their gray hairs to the ground, and venerable old age was clothed in disgrace. The children, looking at the elders, wept and cried even more. The elders cried for children - this good support of old age. Both of them were crying because everyone was preparing for the burial. The sobbing uncovered the heads of the chaste young men and maidens. In the middle stands the mother, she is surrounded by her beloved, holding on to the edges of her clothing to save them from death. The frightened child runs to her mother's bosom; from the wrath of God the baby takes refuge in the breast that fed him with milk. The day dawns and dusk. They count how many days are left until a certain date; counting the days that have passed; the day has passed, and they cry that their life has diminished, that with the passing of the day their life has passed. With tears and tears, the children ask their parents: “Tell me, our parents, how long is left until the day determined by the Jewish preacher? At what hour, according to his appointment, will we descend into Sheol (hell)? On what day will this beautiful city be destroyed? What day will be the last, and there will be no more of us? When will we all be overcome by darkness? On what day will the rumor spread throughout the universe that we have perished, and those passing by will see a city that has crushed its inhabitants?” Hearing this from the lips of their children, parents wet their babies with bitter tears. And who asks and who listens - everyone lost heart. Parents cannot speak because of lamentation; sorrow has closed a wide path for the word, the weeping of the beloved has held back their words. In order not to increase the torment of their children, so that the children do not die of grief before the appointed day, parents hold back their tears, although they weep and suffer internally, not knowing how to prudently reassure their questioning children. Parents are afraid to reveal the truth - that this day is not far and is already approaching, according to the word of the prophet, and, like Abraham, they console their children with prophecy. Isaac asked about the sacrifice: “Where is the sheep for a burnt offering?” (Gen.22:7). In order not to answer him with a sigh and thus not to humiliate his sacrifice, Abraham with gentle words kept his only begotten from asking questions until he raised the knife. Abraham saw that his son had asked him a difficult question, but he did not remain silent, so as not to sadden his son, and did not express sorrow, so that the sacrifice would not be made with sorrow. Abraham figures out how to calm his lover. Avoiding the obvious, he prophesies the hidden sacrament; not wanting to reveal the truth, he shows it in all its clarity: he is afraid to say: “You will be the victim,” and predicts that there will be another victim. He himself is confident that Isaac will be sacrificed, but he prophesies that he will not be the sacrifice. Abraham's mouth knows better than the heart; The mouth, which should learn from the heart, teaches the heart itself; The leading mind is silent because the tongue prophesies, and the mind that should teach wisdom itself borrows wisdom from the tongue. “I and my children will go as far as Onde,” Abraham said to his youths, “and... we will return to you” (Gen. 22:5). I thought to hide the truth and made a prophecy. And indeed: he who stands for the truth is not deceitful, and his word becomes a prophecy, because it was invented for his benefit. The Ninevites also used the same trick to calm their children. With tears in their eyes they said to their beloved: “God is good and abundantly merciful, He will not destroy the image He Himself created. And every sculptor carefully preserves the image he has made, since even more so (even more so) the Good One will preserve His living and verbal image. Without a doubt, children, the city will not perish, our fatherland will not be ruined. With the threat of destruction, God calls us to repentance, and with His terrible wrath He turns us to purity. How many times have you, dear children, endured admonitions, punishments, and beatings from us! And after punishment they became smarter! It was not anger that put the rod in our hands. And not to destroy you. We punished you because you committed wrongdoings, but we also rejoiced when we saw your correction. And you yourself understood that out of love we punished you, and you yourself clearly saw that out of goodwill we struck you. The punishments served to your benefit, through them you became worthy of our heirs. What offended you in punishments has turned into great joy for you; The blows were painful, but they became a treasure trove of pleasant things; your sorrow has been replaced by complete pleasure. Based on the experience of the punishments that you yourself suffered from the wise rod of your parents, now conclude that God, our Father who admonishes us, punishes us for our benefit. He lifts up (raises) His rod in wrath, both to frighten and to make us wise. Just as we, your parents, reprimanded you and punished you in order to teach and make you good, to cause you grief and thereby benefit you, so God, the Good and Merciful, admonishes and punishes us, in order through this to save us by His grace and pour out His abundant bounties on us. With His rod He proves His love for us, in His punishment He opens His treasury to us. If you are sure that we punished you out of love alone, then can we think that God is not punishing us out of love? Let the punishments that you suffered from us be a mirror for you: in it you will see that real punishment is a matter of mercy and goodness. Our love for you cannot be compared with the love that God, in His mercy, has for people. Our love for you is incomparably less than His love for us. And no matter how great His punishment, His goodness is incomparably greater. All His punishment is a gift to people. Be comforted, mourning children, hold back your tears. Fear will pass, anger will pass, the city will soon be consoled, our fatherland will rejoice. He who punishes will rejoice when he sees you, His children, corrected.” This and similar things the Ninevites said to their loved ones. Wanting to console, they prophesied real peace. And since they soon turned to repentance, they prophesied correctly: just as they showed their repentance in reality, so the prophecy was fulfilled in action. But, saying this, they did not stop crying and, while consoling, did not stop their lamentation. Fear aggravated fasting, horror - prayer. They reasoned rationally: “If the righteous have no peace, then how much should sinners grieve?” Since the end was at the door, the king came out and showed himself to the people, and the city was in awe when they saw his sackcloth. Which of the nobles, when faced with threatening anger, was not afraid to appear in fine linen (precious fine fabric)? The king cried, seeing the whole city mourning; the city cried when it saw the ashes on the king’s head; The king wept for the city, because it was all in sackcloth and in sorrow. The whole city cried, and the very stones of the walls called for crying. Who prayed like that? Whose prayers were so earnest? Who was so humble? Who was so humiliated? Who cleansed himself so much from defilements, secret and obvious? Who has ever so rejected pleasures so beloved as members? Who ever, hearing only the word, tormented his heart about sins? Who ever, having heard the voice of the mouth, groaned in spirit like that? Who, according to the word of the wretched man, was ever so overcome by mortal illnesses? Who has ever imagined God so vividly before their eyes in repentance? Who has ever seen so clearly the Just One, drawing His invisible sword? Who saw the great city all screaming and crying? Who can bear the screams and cries of children who wished for a long life and learned that their life was ending? Who is able to bear the cry of the elders who were looking for a coffin and burying themselves when they heard that the city would be destroyed? Who can endure the great cry of the young men who were preparing for the wedding feast and are suddenly doomed to death? Who can endure the cry and weeping of the newlyweds, who must go from the bridal chamber to the pits of the earth? Who can help but weep at the sight of a weeping king, who, instead of the royal palace, is forced to go to Sheol (hell) and, being a king among the living, become dust among the dead? He does not hear about a magnificent chariot, but about the fact that his city will be destroyed; He does not hear about pleasures and pleasantries, but about what will consume him in death; not about the deceased bed, but about the fact that both the king and the city are suddenly doomed to the abyss of wrath. The king called his armies, he mourned the soldiers, and the soldiers mourned him. He counted how many battles they won victorious crowns; reminded how many battles they became famous in. And now he is belittled, humiliated, and there is no salvation or help. “It’s not a fight now, beloved,” he began to say, “not a fight that we, according to our custom, would go to and, having won, would triumph as much as we like. Even giants (heroes, heroes) are awed by the terrible news that has been announced to us. We defeated many, but one Jew defeated us. We set the kings in awe, and by his voice we ourselves were thrown into confusion. We conquered many cities, but he defeated us in his own city. The mother of giants - Nineveh is terrified by one wretched one. The lioness in her lair was horrified by the Jew. Assyria thundered throughout the whole world, and the voice of Jonah thundered over it. This is how the seed of the strong Nimrod was humiliated!” The king gave good advice to his powerful warriors, saying: “I advise you, beloved, not to weaken now; Let us strive like giants, so as not to perish like despised people. He who is complacent and courageous in danger, even if he dies, then dies as a valiant one, and if he remains alive, he is glorified. Therefore, if death is famous and life is glorious, then the glorious one acquires two benefits for himself with his courage, just as the cowardly one receives double evil as his lot, because his death is shameful and his life is inglorious. Therefore let us arm ourselves, let us be of good cheer, let us be of good cheer, and let us be glorified. Even if we don’t gain anything, we will at least have a name ready for anything. From the ancient tradition of our fathers we heard that God has justice, but also goodness, that He threatens with His truth, but has mercy with His goodness. Let us appease His righteousness, and His goodness will glorify us, because if His righteousness is appeased, then His goodness is ready to help. If His righteousness is appeased, then His bounties are poured out on everyone. Even if the truth remains angry, then our prayer will not be condemned; even if the truth is not appeased, then our prayer will not be reproachful. Whether in truth or by God’s goodness, repentance will not be rejected. Let us prepare for ourselves, beloved, new weapons for the new city. We are called to invisible warfare, so let us also take up invisible weapons. From the ancestors who proclaimed the truth to the world, whose words and glorious deeds have come down to us by tradition, we have heard that humanity is not devoid of rational prudence; rumors spread throughout the world about the righteous who were saved in this way. The whole world knows that the reckless is condemned. We also heard that the wicked were destroyed for their insolence. As in the mirror it is represented that everyone who was shameless was put to shame. This is shown to the whole world, but repentance is also announced, so that those who hear about it will turn their eyes to it. Repentance is shown on earth so that sinners turn their gaze to it. Who doesn't know about the terrible flood? Not far from us is the event of the flood that occurred in the days of Noah, when, by a wave of truth, all of humanity perished in the waters. It was not devoid of prudence, and reason was not taken away from it. But since, my children, who lived in the days of Noah, even having reason, they dishonored, they deserved condemnation. And there was a sermon about the coming flood, but the wicked listened and angered God more and more, because they laughed at the sermon. The sound of the ax and chisel announced the flood, the sound of the cutting saw loudly cried out for the flood, but they laughed (mocked) the sound of the ax, mocked the sound of the chisel, until the ark was built and retributive justice was revealed. When justice was revealed, the shameless insolence was condemned. The water springs opened up and roared at the mocking wicked, and suddenly a flood roared at the mocking wicked. Those who mocked the sound of the axes were punished by the voice of thunder, those who laughed at the sound of the saw were blinded by the lightning flashing during the thunder. They rushed to the ark, at which they laughed, but it closed its doors to those who laughed at its construction. Let us not, brothers, neglect the word of the Jew Jonah. We should not look at his preaching with contempt, but should consider it judiciously and carefully examine it from all sides. The word of his sermon led me to great bewilderment. One could consider it impudence, recognize it as madness, and call him a mad man, but he is a great treasury of wisdom, knowledge and reason, an abundant source of intelligence. His appearance is despicable and simple, but his word is great and worthy of respect. I asked him all sorts of questions in front of you, so that I could test everything he said, as if on fire. But he did not tremble and was not afraid, he did not become confused, he was not embarrassed, he did not change the words of his mouth, as if bound by the truth itself, he did not deviate from his work, holding it firmly in memory. I tempted him with flattery, but he was not deceived; frightened him, but he was not afraid. Showed him wealth - he laughed; showed the sword - he laughed even more; He despised the sword, he despised the gifts even more. Some can be deceived by treasures, others can be intimidated by the sword. Neither the punishment frightened him nor the gifts seduced him. We acted on this Jew with both caresses and threats. Both of them had no power over him, and he laughed at the caresses and threats. I showed him the wealth, but he laughed at it. His lips mocked the sword, his love of money was conquered and the fear of death was despised. Every word he spoke cut through the stones like a sword. He was not afraid of my power, nor did he respect my glory. He counted all my glory as nothing more than umet (dung) spewed onto the ground, despised our wealth, and laughed even more at our sword. It was as if he had prepared a forehead for himself out of copper and came to our country. Nothing could make him respect our royal greatness. In his word, as in a mirror, we see our filth. We also see God in him, Who threatens us for our bad deeds; We see in him the truth, which is angered by our sins; We see in it that our city is facing a decisive judgment. We see that his preaching comes from the mouth of the righteous. This is not a fiction, not the invention of a cunning person. If he preached peace, then one would think that this is a fiction and he preaches good things in order to receive a good reward for it. He who loves profit has favorable predictions, and the promise of a soothsayer out of greed for profit is an empty promise. The Chaldean, suffering from hunger, calls the hour of birth prosperous in order to receive more from the foolish. He predicts a rich share not with the intention of giving anything, and indeed does not give anything, but with the promise of wealth he wants to captivate a person and take from him even what he had. Only a truthful doctor tells the patient the truth. Arriving at the patient’s house, he without reserve announces painful cauterizations; is not afraid to tell the sufferer that a tooth needs to be pulled out; he is not afraid to reveal his opinion to the king, he is not afraid to offer the king’s son a powerful medicine to drink; he is not afraid of a scary person when he performs bandages and sections; it does not tremble even strongly when its strength is relaxed by cauterization. Who would call such a prophet a liar who proclaims wrath? The one whose voice causes such confusion is not a deceiver. If his word is cruel, then his spirit is truthful. A good doctor, although he knows no fear, nevertheless works for reward. And this Jew is superior to doctors, he doesn’t even want to use his daily bread from our city. From the very day he came to us, the strict one has been fasting and grieving. Who forced him, without any benefit for himself, to preach great wrath to us? Why is he not afraid to preach this in our city? We heard from the Jews about Moses and Elijah that they fasted and went without food for forty days. Has this Jewish prophet really appointed himself the same post? If this righteous man fasts, then we who have sinned will also fast. If this saint prays, let sackcloth and ashes humble us too. Perhaps he is fasting and praying so as not to turn out to be a liar before us, and he wants the city to really collapse and his preaching to be true. Since he is arming himself against us with fasting, we will also fight him with fasting. And it is not with the prophet that we will fight with repentance, because it is not he who causes us harm, but our sins; It is not this Jew who will destroy the city, but our wickedness. You, beloved, have another invisible enemy, and you must fight it courageously. We know the legend about the ancient righteous Job; Probably even dumb animals heard about his glorious deeds. The temptation to which he was subjected proclaims his victory on earth like a trumpet. The tradition of our fathers says that Satan was his accuser. If the ancient righteous man was accused by the evil one, then how much more does he open his mouth to accuse sinners? His anger towards the righteous and sinners is different, it is true, but at the same time it is the same. The wicked one persecutes the righteous so that he will somehow become a sinner, and he kills the sinner so that he will somehow not be converted. He destroyed the church of the sons of Job, mixed their blood with their drink and their cups with their bodies. He threw both the feast utensils and the house onto the inhabitants. Maybe he was allowed to destroy both our city and our fatherland. You defeated kings in armor with weapons, overcome Satan with prayer. Therefore, let your troops go out to fight him. Take off your armor and throw it away, arm yourself against him with sackcloths (robes of repentance); break and throw away your bow and resort to prayers, put away the weak sword and choose the victorious sword. One blade of fasting can cut off the secret untruths of our city. The victories you acquired in battle mean nothing. If we achieve victory now, this victory will be greater than all others. And since I was in charge of those battles, let me be the first in this cruel battle. Arm yourself, like me, and go out to battle, my beloved warriors.” The king stood up, took off his magnificent garments, and everyone took off their clothes. The king hastened to put on sackcloth, and everyone, like him, put on sad clothes. The Assyrians, who loved to adorn themselves with the splendor of their vestments, suddenly appeared in sad clothes, and depicted the secret of Jacob with the hair of their sackcloths. Since they chose lamentation and surrendered to it, repentance prevailed. Satan was defeated as he was over Esau; over the teacher - just like over his student; The Ninevites became the winners, like Jacob, the disciples - just like the teacher. The king summoned his military commanders, led out and examined his army. The heralds went throughout the army and said: “Let everyone bring repentance. Let him who is defiled put away his defilement, so as not to be overcome by it in battle. Let the self-seeking man put aside his stinginess, so as not to fall into confusion during the battle. Let him who is angry with his neighbor be reconciled with him, so that the angry and Just One may be reconciled with him. Let there be no enmity in the heart, so that there is no obstacle to deliverance. Let no words of discord come out of our mouths, so that our city may receive blessings from God’s bounties. Let no one oppress or oppress, swear or deceive, so as not to experience the justice of the formidable decree that has been pronounced against us. Let us break the ties that bind our hearts so that there are no obstacles to our prayer. Let no one lust after sin, lest greater punishment befall us.” This and similar things were proclaimed by the heralds in the great city. The king stood in deep contrition, and the city called for the same contrition; Having appointed a post for his army, he gave him true weapons; called his troops to prayer, in which lies all salvation; He proclaimed that everyone should pray, that is, he gave a bow whose arrows are victorious; gave armor that covers during attacks; He gave a sword that is terrible in the hand of the one who has it. Having thus arranged and gloriously armed his troops, the king turned to the city to arm both husbands and wives, and so that all the people could struggle and save themselves. With his sackcloth he showed the city an example of how to arm himself with sackcloth. The cunning hunter, the son of the giant Nimrod, stopped killing animals, and instead of desert animals he strikes the filth of his people. It is not in the wilds that it pursues prey, but it cleanses the city from lawlessness; left the animals outside the city and lawlessness strikes inside it. He despises the bile of serpents and delights his spirit with fasting. Instead of a magnificent chariot, he walks around the city on foot and stirs up all the people to repentance. The king goes around the hidden places in order to cleanse them from defilements. He walks humbly to strengthen the city that has fallen into turmoil, and with his humiliating walk he sows (sows) peace on the haystacks. Jonah marvels when he sees this. He is ashamed of his people, seeing the triumph of the Ninevites. He wept for the seed of Abraham, seeing that the seed of Canaan was well-ordered, and the seed of Jacob was going mad; seeing that the uncircumcised have circumcised their hearts, and those of the circumcision have become hardened in heart. Those who magnified the Sabbath despised circumcision and made it neither saving nor killing. The King of Nineveh knows that the cause of anger is lawlessness, and cuts off the guilt of the evil; and immediately the storms ceased. A doctor visiting a city knows what kind of medicine he needs. And with fasting, this glorious medicine, he heals the disease of the city, with sackcloth and ashes he drives out sin from the city. Since the Ninevites forsook their sins, the Good One increased His grace. They renounced their wealth and profits, and both their city and their fatherland were saved. Jonah demanded that they pay off their debts for their crimes; fasting forgave them their sins. The Ninevites discussed in their assemblies how they could be saved, and the whole people imposed a fast on themselves in order to appease God with them. Who told the Ninevites the hidden secrets of God? Who announced that fasting can change God’s formidable decree? Jonah did not tell them this; he was afraid that they would not be forgiven. Jonah preached to the Ninevites that the judgment was immutable. They believed the words of Jonah and, however, turned away the terrible sentence. As wise men, they understood what God is and what man is; understood that man is always human, and God is merciful. They saw that the prophet was strict, but they knew that God was merciful; they did not contradict the strict one in order to appease the Merciful; the prophet was given truth, and God was given goodness. Jonah took away their hope, but fasting increased their hope. Jonah tore their hearts to pieces, but prayer strengthened their spirit. The anger was greatly inflamed, but the sackcloth cooled its strength. The clouds spread a thick haze, but at the sight of sackcloth they dispersed. The air was gloomy, but repentance made it bright. The inhabitants of Asia trembled, but they were strengthened by abstinence. The shocked city was ready to fall, but generous alms supported it. The same wealth that multiplied the crime also blotted out the sins. Babies were preserved in the arms of their mothers because they learned fasting and prayer. The elders cried out in their sackcloths and supported their lives. Since the young men wept painfully, they kept their wedding crowns. Because the brides were clothed with sorrow, they made their palace clean. And the animals, deprived of water, each cried out in its own way. The voices of people and animals merged into a hitherto unheard cry. Truth heard their cry, and goodness delivered the city from the day foretold by Jonah. The confusion did not cease, prayer was constant, fasting followed fasting, sackcloth was aggravated by sackcloth, ashes were added to ashes. The eyes there did not stop shedding tears of repentance, the tongue did not stop there, crying out and begging for bounties. There the ear heard nothing other than the voices of crying and screaming heard from all sides. The eyes there did not see the bright face and smiling lips. The sad and contrite constantly shed new tears, brought repentance, and distributed all kinds of alms. Divine services were performed there every day, great prayers were renewed there every day, saving prayers were visible there every day. And finally, by the mercy of God, a source of all consolation opened there. Husbands and wives have clothed themselves with chastity, which is not forbidden for all. Undisturbed purity was protected there by fasting. Mutual goodwill sweetened their speech; unanimity and agreement bound them together as members. And goodness bowed down to them; like the dew poured out bounties on them. Mutual love appeared among the young men for each other, among the husbands - righteousness towards their neighbors, among those who were angry - reconciliation, among those who quarreled - unanimity, among women - silence and useful silence, among the elders - the spirit of peace and advice for the benefit, among the young men - chastity, among the virgins - modesty, among the mistress and the maid - unanimity. No one there has a contemptuous look, everyone is in shabby clothes, no one has irritability there, envy and anger have stopped. Slaves and kings have the same reverence, servants and masters have the same drink, rich and poor have the same bread of humility, the mercenary and the noble have the same clothing - sackcloth, the whole city bears one yoke - repentance. Everyone has one thing to do, so that everyone can receive one deliverance. Every day there is weeping from all sorts of voices, there is daily groaning from many sorrows, everywhere there is a cry from various diseases. The whole city was thrown into confusion by the insurance that was being presented; all kinds of horrors attacked the whole city. He was all in fear, like a bird on an unsteady branch, and he wavered and trembled like a reed in the wind. At the dawn of the day they did not think that evening would come; when it got dark, they did not expect that the morning would dawn for them. Death was constantly before them. The whole people trembled, the whole city was on the edge of the grave. Jonah counted the days. The Ninevites counted their sins. Jonah counted the nights, Nineveh mourned her iniquities. She spent six weeks in weeping, vigil and crying. Jonah was in the bush, the Ninevites were weeping in the city. Jonah saw their tears, and was much afraid of their fasting. He had the shade of the pumpkin, and they had the heat of the day. His tabernacle was destroyed, and the right hand of the Most High covered them. Jonah saw how their souls, like water, were poured out before the Most High; I saw kings fall to the dust and fast; I saw babies crying, bulls and lambs screaming; I saw mothers shed tears for their children, and the wombs of babies were washed with the tears of their mothers. Jonah sees that the elders of Nineveh complain when the elders of his people indulge in lewdness. He sees that Nineveh is broken-hearted while Zion is in luxury. He sees Assyria and deepens his contempt for arrogant Jerusalem. He sees that the unclean become chaste when the daughters of his people are defiled. He sees that in Nineveh the demoniacs have become silent and have come to know the truth, and in Zion false prophets, full of deceit, are prophesying. He sees how the idols of the pagans are publicly crushed, and turns his gaze to the dwellings of his people - everything there is full of idolatry. The Jew is brought to his senses by the pagans, and ceases to be surprised at what they received - Moses the priest, Elijah the widow, and that the pagans honored David, who was persecuted by Saul. Jonah is afraid that the sermon with which he was sent might turn out to be false, for he knows that through repentance everything he has predicted can be averted. He sees that the daughters of the pagans reject the superstitions of their fathers, and he grieves for the daughters of his people who weep for Tammuz. He sees that in Nineveh the magicians and fortune-tellers have disappeared, and that sorcerers and Chaldeans walk in Judea. He sees that the priests with their own hands are destroying the Assyrian altars, and in Zion everyone builds an altar for himself at his door. Jonah sees that Nineveh, as a church, has gathered its sons, everything has been purified and the fast is glorious in it. And the Jews turned the holy temple in Zion into a den of robbers. He sees that the king of Nineveh worships God, and Jeroboam bows to the bulls. The Ninevites with a cry count their iniquities before God, and the Jews sacrifice their sons, and slaughter their daughters to the demons. The Ninevites shed their tears before God in fasting, while the Jews pour out their new wine before the idols. The Ninevites are fragrant with the stench of lamentation, and the smell of idolatrous incense wafts through Zion. The Jews' hope disappears, the pagans' hope increases. The Jews have pomp, the Ninevites have humility; in Judea - obvious wickedness, in Nineveh - great lamentation. The living mourn for the dead, and the Ninevites mourn for the living. Everyone weeps for his son, everyone weeps for his relative. The beauty of women faded from crying and fasting. Each one kisses his neighbor and sheds tears on his chest. There was great sadness there, great suffering there, the living were preparing to descend into the underworld of the earth. The fewer days remained, the more abundantly the tears were shed, as if they had already died and were no longer alive. The day was approaching when the city was to be destroyed, the day was approaching on which it was to perish. Throughout the city there is crying, sobbing and screaming. The earthly clay is wetted with the tears of those who cultivate it. The parents have placed their children before them, their inheritance before them, and they mourn both the heirs and the inheritance together. The brides and grooms stand opposite each other and cry for each other. Who can hold his soul at the sight of such a sad spectacle? The brides and grooms are standing, and their cries and tears are mixed. The young men and women stand, and at the sight of their beauty and slenderness, a cry reaches the heavens. Standing on the ground, they think that it has already opened up or is swaying under them, like a sailing ship. The elders and elders stand together with those who should have buried them, and sob loudly, crying out: “Who will close our eyes, who will give us up for burial?” They cry about their death, that there will be no one to bury and console them, they cry about their burial, that there will be no one to dig a grave for them and bury them. They cry about their magnificent clothes, because there will be no one to cover their nakedness with them. Each one imagines his death before his eyes with grief and, holding this in his thoughts and memory, weeps bitterly. Everyone thinks what kind of end they are doomed to, what kind of death is being prepared for them? Everyone's heart is tormented when they hear that the earth will open up; his face changes when he hears that the earth will collapse. Kings and queens stand, wearing sackcloth instead of scarlet, and the thought that tomorrow they will no longer be there aggravates their torment. Everyone embraces the dust (earth) and calls out to God; everyone prays with a cry and fills his handful with ashes. There is no sobbing that cannot be heard there. Even the walls would shed tears at the sight of sackcloths sprinkled with the ashes of sorrow. Everyone is in sackcloth, and the whole day is constant darkness. The air itself became clouded, the heavens were in turmoil. Suddenly - clouds and storms, thick and impenetrable darkness, blow after blow, thunder after thunder, lightning after lightning. Everywhere there is trembling and shuddering of the heart. Everyone looks at the earth, thinking that it is already collapsing. Everyone is crying for each other, imagining that they will soon die. Everyone weeps for his brother, everyone weeps for his beloved. Everyone calls his neighbor to him in order to look at him and be satisfied with the sight of him, because soon their meetings will end and they will descend together into Sheol (hell). When certain days came to an end, they stood holding each other's hands and prepared for death. At last the day came that took away all hope, the day on which wrath was to be accomplished; The night that followed the six weeks also came. Everyone is thinking with tears: at what time will the city be destroyed, will it be ruined in the evening or will it fall in the morning? At what watch will the painful voice be heard? They think that the city will fall in the evening, but the evening has come, and the city stands their ground. They think that they will be swallowed up at night, but the night also kept them alive. They think that they will be exterminated during the deepest darkness - but the darkness passed, and they did not perish. It is believed that the city will fall in the morning - and the morning has come, and hope has increased! At the very time when they considered themselves lost, deliverance suddenly came, and everyone looks with joy at his neighbor. For forty days the earth did not stop shaking. Jonah stood at a distance and was afraid of being a liar. Finally the shaking and hesitation stopped. At the very time when all hope had disappeared, the message of bounty was given. And they saw a sign of mercy, they saw that the earth stopped shaking, the thunder and lightning fell silent. Both hearing and sight are delighted. The Good One, seeing their tears, had mercy on their lives. Although they did not die, their torment was great; while still alive they tasted death. During these six weeks, the dead were calmer than they who remained alive. They were the same dead people, only not buried. A brother met his brother and did not recognize his face; met each other and did not distinguish his appearance; the ear was unable to distinguish voice from voice, and the eye was also unable to distinguish one image from another. From suffering they became like dark shadows, from strict fasting they became like burnt brands, from vigils their flesh melted, only skin and skeleton remained. When Jonah thought that the city was about to fall, on that very day and hour he was delivered from destruction. Both the cloud and the mist rushed by, dissipated and disappeared suddenly. There was silence, hope increased, and the dead city was resurrected. Jonah was clothed with great sorrow, but the faces of the Ninevites shone. The news of deliverance was given to all of them when they saw that the air had become bright. They knelt down in prayer, raised their hands to heaven, everyone’s lips gave thanks and everyone’s tongue praised the One who, with His wrath, restored them to life through repentance. Appeasing the Lord who is in heaven, they said: “You have made us glad, Your people on earth, by raising us from the dust; gave us new life; in Your hands we found the blessings that met us; You did not deceive our hopes and brought us back to life from destruction. In Your hand we have found the key of repentance, because good hope has been given to us from God’s treasury.” “What good would it do you, Jew, if we all died? What benefit would it be to you, preacher, if we were all put to death? What gain would you have, son of Amathi, if we all fell silent in Sheol? And what harm does it do to you now that you have become famous for our repentance? What sorrow do you have that you healed us and our entire congregation brings you gratitude? Why are you sad that you have acquired our city? Why do you complain, O conqueror, when we, the penitents, are your triumph? You should rejoice that you have become a restorer and not a destroyer. It is enough for your joy and that you have made the Angels in heaven glad. You should rejoice on earth, because God rejoiced in heaven. May it uplift your spirit that everyone knows God. May it comfort your soul that the city and the king honor you. Look at the saved young men and pray for the continuation of their lives. Look at the children, preserved so that your memory may be magnified. Bless the city that has been freed from the punishment that threatened it. Bless, Jonah, our fatherland, for from now on it will proclaim your name. For six weeks your mouth did not eat food; allow fasting, stop complaining. Rejoice with us, Jew, this is a great holiday, the memory of it will be preserved throughout all generations. Generation to generation will proclaim our lamentation and our deliverance.” This and many similar things were said to Jonah by the Ninevites. Jonah sat outside the city; The whole city came out to him, and everyone heard that Jonah was asking and he himself answered the questioner. The Holy Spirit, speaking through his mouth, contradicted him. Two persons were talking - God and the prophet. The whole city hears what the prophet says about the pumpkin, about himself, about the Lord and about the city; He hears that he is arguing with His Lord about the city. The speeches of two talking parties can be heard in his mouth. The Jew serves as a mediator for both sides. Numerous crowds gathered to listen to the words of the prophet. And since he spoke to the Lord in their language, they hear that he grieves and asks for death, because his pumpkin perished. And the Holy Spirit answers him, Who, through his own lips and his own tongue, fights with him on behalf of God. They hear God telling him in defense of the city: “You grieve so much, Jonah, because the worthless pumpkin, which you did not grow, is gone. One night raised the pumpkin, and one night dried it; compare this withered and dead pumpkin with this city. Let her be your teacher, learn prudence from her. From this worthless pumpkin, learn what mercy is. You feel sorry for the pumpkins, but I feel sorry for the city, which through you became a city of penitents. You set up a tabernacle on the earth and completely destroy the cities; you save the worthless pumpkin and overthrow the main stone. Where is your justice, Jonah, when you compare cities to pumpkins? You are kind to the bush, but cruel to the city. The pumpkin from which the food is prepared is more important to you than those who eat it. The pumpkin given as food is more valuable to you than those who repent. In your opinion, are the leaves of a pumpkin better than intelligent people, its branches and flowers better than young men and children?” The city hears this and unanimously gives praise to God, who enters into court for them and fights on their behalf. God makes the prophet a mediator: he was an accuser at the trial, but became the accused; justified, although he didn’t want to. God turned his words into a lie so that the inhabitants of the city could be saved. And Jonah repented, and God remained undeceitful. The righteous do not grieve over the repentance of sinners, and Jonah does not grieve over the repentance of sinners. He now has the opportunity to announce deliverance to the city, and it would be unfair to remain silent about it. Those who repent do not know the state of their affairs, how angry the truth of God is, how repentance bestows life. Jonah preached to show how angry God's righteousness was. The withered pumpkin loudly proclaimed how merciful the goodness of God is. The people surrounding Jonah loudly praised God for everything they heard with their ears and saw with their eyes. With our ears we heard the righteous man, with our eyes we saw the pumpkin. A supernatural sign was seen in the pumpkin that suddenly sprouted. In her death they learned even more, and learned that God’s mercy is above all. The Ninevites lovingly take the preacher, carry him in their arms like a king, seat him on the throne with honor and bow to him. Numerous hosts of penitents bring him their gifts, offer tithes of themselves, and whatever vows they made during their sorrows, they all take it and bring it to him. The young men bring him rings, the youths bring him chains; They give him necklaces, belts and shields. The king opens his great treasury before him and assigns him many of his riches as a gift. The lips of all praise God as the Merciful; the lips of all bless Jonah as a preacher. Gifts and tithes are placed on the chariot, men are given to escort him with honor to the land from which he came. Such honors were given to Jonah; As a king or as a son of kings, the son of Amathi is honored. It was carried by fish in the sea, and carried by the royal chariot on land. In the depths of the earth he was humiliated, on earth he was exalted. When he walked in the depths of the sea, he was preceded by fish; on land he was preceded by horsemen. He shook the sea when he descended, and the dry land when he ascended. The fish in the sea and the people on land were thrown into confusion by him. There was a terrible storm in the abysses and great excitement in the city. When he descended into the waves, the terrible sea animals were horrified. And when he ascended to land, strong cities received him. Enormous was the fish that swallowed him, powerful was the king who received him. The fish prepared a path for him, the king leveled the path. The fish were accompanied by fish, and the chariot by horsemen. The King of Nineveh sent messengers ahead to prepare a dwelling for the prophet along the way. God showed the fish where to go, and the king showed the way where to convey the prophet with honor and gifts. He walked with great honors, everyone came out to the meeting and bowed before him with awe. The kings trembled before him as a formidable preacher; fearing his preaching, they propitiated him with great honors. Every city, seeing him, was horrified, as if his coming threatened destruction. The cities paid homage to him, learning from the example of Nineveh. She became a mirror in which the whole world saw justice. When Jonah reached his land, the borders of his people, then he began to let his guides go, asking them to leave him in peace. He was afraid that they would see the idolatry of his people, that the pagans, corrected by repentance, would become corrupted among the wicked and learn wickedness from his people. He feared that the wound, which had been closed and healed, would open again. The vile example of lowly people is harmful, but how much more destructive is the example of one who stands at a high degree of development and falls? If a humiliated wicked man does harm, how much more harmful is a sinner who is ungodly and knows no shame? A shameless sinner, as it were, forcibly puts his leaven in others, and with his closeness and community drives others to insolence. Jonah was afraid that his lawless people, giving themselves over to all kinds of wickedness, would make the good-natured pagans who came wicked. But he was ashamed to let them go without any reason; it was rude not to take care of them. He was afraid to lead them with him, lest the seed of Canaan mock the sons of Abraham when they came to them. Jonah thanked those accompanying him, kissed them kindly, gave them a holy blessing, wisely instructed them, meekly advised them to return, urged them to follow the advice given to them and obey his words. But no matter how much he convinced, they did not respect his convictions; no matter how much he asked, they were not ashamed of his requests; advised, and no one heeded the advice; kissed and let go - and no one bowed. “We came with you to your land to gain benefit for ourselves in it, to learn good morals, statutes and rules. In your land we will learn righteousness, because a well-behaved people lives in it. Let us learn purity in it, because it is inhabited by lovers of purity. From the glorious people who live in it, we will learn glorious deeds. Let me come in and see the radiant men; let me come in and see the elect; let me enter and see the land where true faith resides; let me enter and see a country into which idolatry has not penetrated; let me enter, see and praise the country in which there are no sorceries; let me come in and see those who keep the Sabbath (free) from all wickedness; let me come in and see those who have been circumcised, having circumcised the heart along with the flesh; let me enter and see the blessed, with whom untruth does not live! The people, who expose others, undoubtedly have no lewdness. A people who condemns the wicked, how far should they themselves be from filth? A people who serves as a mirror for others, how beautiful must they be in themselves? Is it possible that those who teach fasting to foreigners themselves are intemperate? Is it possible that those who teach others to be truthful are themselves liars? If they despised us for our sins, will anyone dare to despise them? Do not deprive us, your guides, of such benefits, Jew! You made us repentant, let us become righteous through you. As a reward for the labor of our feet, allow us to enter among your people, borrow good examples from your country and bring them to our fatherland; let me come in and take good examples from there for my city; let me come in and see the young men serving as models of good behavior; let me come in and see children who are examples of all that is good; let me come in and see their kings, so that our king can be like them, see their judges, so that he can bring the same example to our country.” But who can list everything that the penitents said? When all this and much more like this, they said, Jonah listened and was silent, his head bowed to the ground, he was ashamed of the sons of his people, because they were wicked and indecent. The son of Amafiin found this more regrettable than the destruction of the pumpkin and the heat of the sun that scorched his head when he asked for death. To calm himself down, all he had to do was run, but where to run? The Jews plunged him into greater sorrow than those who took him and threw him into the sea. How could Jonah hide the vices of his people? He put into action the same trick that he used at sea and came up with an excuse on land. When he fled, he persuaded those on the ship to take him. And now he persuaded the Ninevites to part with him, saying: “There is now a great holiday in our land, on which it is impossible for a stranger to be present; Now the sons of my people have a festival at which it is impossible for any of the pagans to attend. Now is a great feast for the circumcised; the uncircumcised must not enter there; but you, although repentant, are uncircumcised. The pure holiday is desecrated by the presence of the uncircumcised. Go in peace, return to your country in peace, and come back when the holiday is over; accept my advice, do not reject my request.” The simple-minded heeded the convictions that Jonah provided them; They parted with him, bowed to him and accepted his blessing. The whole host was grieved. Everyone cried, parting with him, and grieved that the holiday that had happened to them prevented them. And he was not so much afraid of lying as he was afraid that they would refuse to part with him. Jonah had already gone far, but they still remained at the borders. And they saw a high mountain in front of them, and came up with an idea, and decided to climb it immediately, in order to at least get a glimpse of the land they were coming to. And they began to ascend, and had already reached the top to look at the land of promise, so that, although it was now impossible for them to enter it, they would not lose at least the opportunity to see it. They finally ascended, fixed their gaze, saw the whole earth, and trembled and were afraid. And terrible torment seized them, because on the mountains there are altars, on the heights there are idol churches, in the groves there is idolatry, among the trees there is fornication, on the doors there are idol images to which those who enter bow. There is no number of vices, countless defilements, at springs - ablutions, at wells - purification, in houses - covetousness, in gardens - adultery, on haystacks - wise men and sorcerers. They climbed even higher and saw; in houses there are countless altars; one bows to the idol, the other pours a libation to the demon. On the borders there are heifers cast by Jeroboam: one is placed in Beersheba, the other in Dan, incense is burned there, libations and sacrifices are made, living calves are slaughtered in front of the dead heifers. Each one bows to the ground to his idol, his idol. There is greed and its friend is insult to one’s neighbor; there is gluttony and its sister is drunkenness; there is voluptuousness and adultery associated with it; there is deception and theft close to it; there is astrology and fortune telling connected with it; there is obvious untruth and secret wickedness inseparable from it. They see openly committed sins, untruths and wickedness of the inhabitants: husbands - with harlots, wives - both mother and daughter - stand like nets in the streets. Everywhere there is death and behold Satan is his confidant. Princes are wicked, judges are lawless; their greed is like fire, their deceit is like hell, their dwelling is like a pit, their house is like an abyss. The lender is the fiery abyss, the debtor is Satan; both torture each other until they are taken to eternal torment. Their children swear by the names of their gods. The pagans have one share of wickedness, they have ninety-nine. Who is able to count the great multitude of their sins? The number of sins of these goats standing on their left has increased. The Ninevites trembled and trembled at the wickedness that appeared before their eyes. And they say to each other: “Are we not seeing a dream? Is this the Land of Promise or Sodom? Are we Abraham's seed or demons? Do we see people, or spirits in the form of people? Is it not here that the wickedness that we expelled from our country passed and resettled? Are not the same idols that we destroyed there restored here? Didn’t those altars that we overthrew grow wings and fly here? How desired by everyone here is the plague that has ceased in our country! How the star we rejected is honored here! Witchcraft, which is humiliated in our country, has a wide place here. The idolatry that has fled from us looks out from every window. On their doors are the houses of the sun that we have smoothed out (or more precisely: the crossroads of the sun, that is, the signs of the zodiac). The insolence we rejected settled on their foreheads, the voluptuousness that fled from us settled in their eyes, visible in the pupils of their eyes, noticeable in their nostrils. How they honor the sun here, to which they do not bow in other places! How they bow to heifers here, who are despised in other places! If someone says that this is our country or that everything that we have came here, then we will answer that there is a lot that is new here. The filth is endless: there are lawlessness here that has never happened in our country. Sins are committed here that you will not find here. Micah made a four-faced idol. In our country they did not bring libations and did not bow to the copper serpent. This people is under the curse of the ancient serpent. Like a living serpent, they are cursed because they bring a drink offering to a dead serpent. We did not sacrifice children to demons, but here we see that children are being slaughtered. In our country they sacrificed animals, here they sacrifice daughters. If such are the patrons of this people, then their morals must be equally wicked. If these are the laws of this people, then their deeds are even more shameless. If such are their fathers, then, of course, the present generation is equally obscene. If this is his God, then this people is a source of idols. Will a people who profess a single Creator really begin to make and sell idols? They glorify themselves by name, calling themselves sons of the righteous. In their opinion, it is enough to be called the sons of Jacob. The foolish consider themselves already saints, because they bear the names of saints. Their name is famous in the whole world, but their deeds are wicked. They think that they are righteous because they come from Abraham. All their pride is in their names, in the fact that the name of Israel belongs to them, all their glory is in the fact that they are circumcised, and yet they are sinners, in their way of life they do not resemble the sons of Abraham. For them, the name of Abraham and circumcision are more important than faith. The Sabbath given by God is greater to them than God Himself. They will reproach God if He abolishes His laws; they are ready to prescribe laws to the Lawgiver Himself. They themselves are without law, but God is under the law. The law is placed above the Legislator, but not in order to preserve the law, but only to blame the Lawgiver. In their eyes, Moses and the prophets are less important than drink offerings. All their glory is in sacrifices, all their greatness is in sacrifices. It seems enough to these proud people to boast about smoking. For these blind men it seems sufficient to sprinkle themselves with blood and the filth of their entrails. They think that God loves sacrifices more than the pure truth that He Himself taught.” This is how the repentant reasoned among themselves and talked about the Jews. And just as they had ardently desired to enter and see the earth, now, having had enough of their sight, they hated it and fled away in horror. Their minds were indignant at the sight of the lawlessness there. Those who repented saw that the Jews were covered with those filth that they had already removed. The pagans rejected idolatry, and this obscene people indulged in it. And they say to each other: “Let’s get up, let’s go from here, so that we too will not be swallowed up by the iniquity of this godless people. In Nineveh there is great hope, but here there is great horror. Perhaps instead of Nineveh, which escaped destruction, this country will be destroyed. Truly, this people is lost and rejected. There is nothing good in it, it is all covered with our abominations. May the memory of the blessed prophet be magnified in our country, he is the author of our salvation, from him we received everything useful.” So they spoke and departed with fear, completed their journey safely, and joyfully returned to their country. And in true joy they said judiciously: “Praise be to God, who has put this people to shame through the pagans! May the voice of praise rise up to Him from sinners who have become righteous! May they bring him pure fruits from the defiled, who repented and became pure! Let new praise be offered to Him by the minds that were in fear! Let the irritable and angry praise Him for His peace. Let the sensualists give Him praise and thanksgiving for being chaste. And let the oppressors praise him for teaching them alms. Let the intemperate praise the fact that they have learned to fast. Let those who indulge in drunkenness praise that they have been taught to drink in moderation. Let the predators praise that they have changed and become generous. Let the fornicators praise that they have ceased to satisfy their lust. May the adulterers bless Him because they are freed from lust. Let the self-willed glorify that they already preserve the rules of truth. Let the shameless praise those who have come to sense and meaning. Let the revilers praise Him because He has taught their lips to bless. May He bless the orphan, for whom He became a support. May the widow worship Him because, out of His mercy, He took care of her misfortune. May the beggar who fills his koshnik (basket) bless Him with blessings. Let the villager praise Him, who has multiplied the number of his subjects and filled his belly. May the farmer praise Him, may the heli-grader praise Him, may the artists who work at their work praise Him. Let the kings praise Him, seeing that there is peace in the cities and silence in the empire. Let the warriors praise that they have escaped death. Let the rulers praise themselves that they are once again invested with power. Let the rich praise that they have seen their treasures again. Let the parents praise that their hope for their sons has increased. Let the sons also glorify that they see their fathers. Let the innocent youths praise that their lives have been extended. Let the babies praise that there is someone to carry them on their shoulders. Let those who are pregnant praise that their fruit did not perish. Let the newlyweds glorify that they have entered the bridal chamber and are rejoicing. Let mothers be praised for being blessed with childbearing. Let those who feed praise the baby at their breast. Let the virgins glorify that they have been delivered from destruction. May the judges bless that they are not condemned according to the merits of their courts. May the torturers bless the Good One that they were not subjected to the tortures that they themselves were subjected to. Let debtors praise that the debt has not been collected from them. May the creditors bless you for tearing up the handwriting of debts. Let the robbers give thanks for not reaping what they sowed. May the kidnappers thank you for suddenly becoming generous. Let them praise God - both those who caused harm and those who were reduced to a miserable state, because they returned to unanimity. And the one who harmed is not defeated, and the one who suffered harm is saved. Let thanksgiving be offered in the palaces, that their inhabitants were in awe. May their boasting be increased that they have been delivered from destruction and the years of their life have been prolonged. Let slaves and slaves glorify and praise, because even hard slavery is better than freedom in the graves. May the mother rejoice and be comforted that she sees her beloved again. May all ages and conditions bring joyful praise to those who have escaped destruction and are, as it were, born again. And our repentance, as I said, in comparison with the repentance of the Ninevites is nothing more than a shadow. A truly repentant person is always in fear and in times of silence, when full of hope, constantly remembers punishment. A slave whom his master punishes daily does not forget his blows. And whoever forgets punishment as soon as his anger passes, at the beginning of his anger he repents, and at the end he becomes rebellious, feeding on the hope that misfortune will no longer befall him, and reassuring himself that the Almighty will no longer take revenge on him for his iniquities. The Ninevites, from beginning to end, repented with all their hearts. The whole city was in awe every day and praised God, the whole city was like a ship under storm and blessed the Lord. Reasonable and unreasonable, people and animals praised him. And with joy in their hearts, instead of sackcloths, they prepared for themselves bright vestments. Blessed is He who loves the righteous and multiplied the repentant in Assyria! You might be interested in: