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Mal.1:1. The prophecy of the word of the Lord against Israel by the hand of his angel. “Prophecy” (perception) “words” means, as it were, the acceptance of a prophecy from God, for the blessed prophets through the Holy Spirit received knowledge of the future, and gave both advice and reproaches to someone, not extracting words from their own hearts that they liked, or uttering lies against someone, but expressing suggestions from God and purely and impeccably conveying to others the highest words. So, the perception of the prophecy, he says, was from the Lord. This indicates that the word of prophecy does not have any prediction about a disastrous and sorrowful event that is about to happen among the Israelites, nor praise for those leading a righteous life, but a reproach for the priests and people. The expression “by the hand of his angel”, understand this: the perception (“prophecy”) against Israel was (done) by the person who was, as it were, entrusted or who performed the ministry of prophecy, named Angel. And Malachi is called an Angel for reasons that I have already spoken about. Mal.1:1–2. Lay this on your hearts 3: I have loved you, says the Lord. He commands you not to listen with distracted hearing to what is said, but diligently, with the greatest attention and understanding. Such a disposition (of spirit) should be in those who listen to divine words, from which there will be the greatest and most abundant benefit if they flow into the mind itself. So the divine David sings and says: “I have hidden your words in my heart, lest I sin against you” (Ps. 119:11). Yes, it is truly possible to admit that the listener would not have heard if the words did not touch the mind, but as if flying from the tongue of the speaker, then striking only the ear of the listener, they would turn out to be in vain and as if unuttered. Such were some, about whom one of the holy prophets said: behold, they are a foolish and heartless people: they have eyes and do not see, and ears they have and do not hear (Jer. 5:21). Therefore, the prophet necessarily urges, saying: “Put it on your hearts,” that is, imposing divine words on the inside of your mind and heart and understanding the meaning of the highest revelations, agree, of course, with the fact that “you have loved, says the Lord,” and have been worthy of all mercy and mercy, and benevolence due to those loved. This again rightly condemns them for repaying Him with evil for good, although they, as those worthy of love, should have on their part pleased Him with their good behavior and diligence, and zeal for everything pleasing to Him. After all, if it is absurd not to want to repay debts to those like us, then what can we say about God, who abundantly gives us everything for our well-being, if someone on his part did not want to repay Him for what was given? Yes, it is especially appropriate for truly sane people to say this: “What will I render to the Lord for all that I have rendered?” (Ps. 115:3). Mal.1:2–3. And you rest: why did you love us? Isn't Esau Jacob's brother? Says the Lord: And I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau, and made his borders disappear, and his heritage into desert places. Once upon a time, the Jews, as those who were ungodly in many ways, were subjected to blows of divine wrath: so they were driven into captivity, and their country was devastated, their houses were destroyed and Jerusalem, along with the divine church, was burned (2 Kings 25:9). Under the pretext of such suffering, they, he says, decided to evade (doing) what is characteristic of God and honored the law with very little importance. So, since when God said that He loved them, it was very natural to remember the misfortunes of captivity, and it was possible to say: “Why did you love us?”, then the God of all very prudently bypasses the events that happened in the middle (of Israeli history) and bypasses the narrative about them, but the proof of love (of His for them) leads back to the beginning of (their) tribe, I mean Jacob, whom He claims to have loved, and Esau became an outcast, although by the laws of nature he was bound in brotherhood with the venerable (by the love of God Jacob). So the divine Paul writes: “yet... not born, nor having done anything good or evil” (Rom. 9:11), Jacob was made the chosen one, from whom the Jewish tribe came, and Esau was rejected, not out of partiality, of course - for God is not (maybe) unjust and He does not judge each of us mortals unjustly or partially - but as God, having foreknowledge of the future affairs of both and of the disposition of each, honored the love of the best and most sacred. So, without a doubt, he knew blessed Jeremiah before he created him in the womb (of his mother), he says, and sanctified him before he came out of the womb (Jer. 1:5); for He knew, knew the future prophet and capable of serving to predict the future. In the same way, says the divine Paul, we ourselves are sanctified, justified by faith; For whom God and the Father knew (those) he predestined (to be) conformed to the image of His Son—them, it is said, he also called and sanctified (Rom. 8:29-30). So, according to foreknowledge, Jacob was favored with love, but Esau was justly hated. So, he says, Israel, “I will love” you. And I am by no means uttering a lie if I say this to you; on the contrary, that the word is true and true, you will know this by raising the image of love to the beginning of the race 4 . After all, they were both born of Isaac (born), but Jacob was kind in his morals and loving of God, while the other was cruel, stubborn and prone to defilement. Therefore, I bowed down to Jacob, and I destroyed the inheritance given to Esau and gave it to desolation, and I surrounded (the inheritance of) Jacob, that is, you or the country that you inhabited, with My mercy. You should know that Esau is interpreted (translated) as “oak,” for he was cruel and unyielding, and was not much inferior to oak trees. Having sold his birthright for food alone, he was also called “Edom,” that is, “earthly.” Therefore, the country of the descendants of Esau, says the Holy Scripture (Gen. 36:43), was called Idumea, which was once conquered by the Jews and made completely impassable and uninhabited. What does the meaning of this prophecy indicate to the Israelites? Here, I think, is what: he loved Jacob, he says, for no other reason than because he was a man “without wickedness, living in the house” (Gen. 25:27), but he hated Esau, for he was earthly and “a defiler,” according to the word of blessed Paul (Heb. 12:16). Thus, the Jews needed to know that they would not have to endure devastation and removal from their homeland to foreigners if they imitated Jacob. Since they became competitors and equals with Esau and found themselves following in the footsteps of his cruelty, they were finally given over to the enemies. If anyone wishes to apply spiritual contemplation to this saying, let him think about the fact that Jacob is interpreted (in translation): “suppressor,” why he can be an image (type) of anyone who reproaches sins. Esau, as I said, (interpreted) is “oak” 5 and Edom – “earthly” - he can serve as an image of everyone who thinks only about earthly things. God loves the reproachful Jacob and hated Esau, unyielding and cruel, or Edom, that is, inclined towards earthly and spiritual goods, recklessly preferring temporary and perishable ones. Thus, among those devoted to (earthly) life, our good-loving God will destroy the heritage, for earthly things are fragile and do not have unshakable stability, and that it will completely fall, as the image indicates this completely desolate heritage of the Edomites. But he who is devoted to God will have strong and sure hope and will proclaim to God the Giver of good things, saying: “My lots are in your hand” (Ps. 30:16). Mal.1:4. Zane says: Idumea is ruined, and let us turn and rebuild its desolation. To this the Lord Almighty says: These will build, and I will destroy, and they will be called the end of iniquity, and people, the Lord will fight against them forever. A very difficult combination of speech, however, not without its corresponding meaning. Into the disappearance and desolation, he says, I gave the property of Esau, which you, the descendants of Jacob, plundered. But the Edomite, perhaps, will say: although the country that we inhabit is completely ruined and has reached the end of troubles, we will “turn back” and raise desolate cities and villages, and we who have escaped will populate them. So what? - To this, he says, “the Lord says to this place...: these will build, and I will destroy,” and Idumea will be called: “the borders of iniquity,” as being ruined for the sake of (its own) greatest sinfulness, and (it will be called) “the people against whom the Lord has taken arms forever.” This, and not another, I think, is the literal meaning (of the interpreted passage). I would add that the wealth of those who have carnal and earthly thoughts will certainly fall - for the Edomite, as I said, in translation means: “earthly” - since God destroys (such wealth). After all, what should be done in this world does not have firmness and permanent residence; temporary well-being passes and changes like a shadow, since someone is either destroyed by death or an unexpected disaster overtakes. But if one of the (spiritual) Edomites wanted to build up his wealth, either by collecting wealth from unrighteousness, or by enjoying high positions in life, he would find the God of all Himself as if opposing him and taking up arms against him. So the divine disciple wrote: if anyone wants to be a friend of the world, he becomes an enemy of God (James 4:4). Yes, He will not leave (without retribution), as I said, those who love earthly thoughts, and He will not stop fighting against them, for He always hates the criminal and makes the sinner an outcast. Mal.1:5. And they see your hair, and you say: The Lord is magnified above the border of Israel. When, he says, you arrange things properly and, as if with open eyes, clearly see what I just said, then you, agreeing, will of course say that God has been glorified and magnified within the borders of Israel. Those descended from Jacob, that is, the Jews, having angered God, as I said, with their greatest wickedness, became exiles, captives and prey of enemies. Since God, after they were subjected to disasters and were sufficiently punished, had mercy on them, they returned to their former state, with their affairs changing to the better. Their country came to a good state, they populated the cities, erected a church, built walls around Jerusalem and found themselves again in a state that, although they wanted, they did not hope to have. It is necessary to know that in the inner meaning, even if one of those who know God offends Him, even if he is punished for sins, he will not suffer complete destruction: having punished enough, God has mercy and returns him to prosperity again. And against those who love earthly thoughts and look only at the carnal, He constantly takes up arms and will extend times of wrath against them, for “they will be called,” he says, “the end of iniquity, and people, the Lord will take up arms against them forever.” Mal.1:6. The son glorifies his father, and the servant his master 6. And if I am the Father, where is my glory? and if the Lord is, where is my fear? says the Lord Almighty. Everywhere he points to those who go beyond the limits of duty and decide to neglect what is least appropriate. After all, it is appropriate for worthy sons - and this is completely legal - to strive with all their might for the glory of their parent, so that they may be called children of a glorious father. And if someone were a faithful servant, then he, no doubt, would wish that his own ruler was famous and glorious, and not unknown and despised; for in this way he himself will receive happiness in this, make it an object of praise for himself and find the highest pleasure. But you, he says, although you should glorify Me as a Father and fear Me as a Master, have sinned immeasurably in relation to both duties. You will find yourself giving Me neither glory as the Father, nor fear as the Master, for “where... is my glory, where” and “fear”, if you do not accept to do anything related to My glory, nor, fearing punishment, follow the laws of the Master? He said something like this in the voice of Isaiah: “Hear, O heavens, and teach to the earth, that the Lord said: Sons have begotten and exalted, but they have rejected me” (Is. 1:2). Therefore, it behooves us to seek what pertains to the glory of God, and to strive for the right life, knowing what is written: As I live, “says the Lord..., that those who glorify me will be glorified, and those who disgrace me will be dishonored” (1 Samuel 2:30). God, the Father of all, will be glorified from us not when we try to do what is pleasant and kind to us, but when, on the contrary, we devote our minds to Him and follow His commands in everything. We will fear Him as the Lord if we begin to suppress the attraction to evil with the fear of angering Him and have a good thought about exposing ourselves before the divine judgment seat; “For it is fitting for us all to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that everyone may receive what he has done with his body, either good or evil” 8 (2 Cor. 5:10). Mal.1:6–7. You priests despise my name. And you ask: why is your name despised? Bringing the bread of filth to my altar. And ask: what desecration am I talking about? I will always say to you: the table of the Lord is profaned, and the food offered is despised. He strongly accuses the negligence of the priests, to whom the law proclaims: “Be reverent of the children of Israel” (Lev. 15:31). Subordinates usually follow the good example of their superiors and are excessively corrupted when they see their laxity in reverence for God, for they themselves soon become the same, become infected with the disease of frivolity in relation to reverence and imitate the negligence of their mentors. That this word is true, the God of all certifies, saying that “the shepherds bound and did not seek the Lord, for this reason the whole flock did not understand and was quickly scattered” (Jer. 10:21). So, the priests of the divine altars usually turn out to be the culprits for others of a virtuous life, if they lead a right life and properly honor God, - on the contrary, they are the culprits of shameful and abominable behavior (they serve as the culprits), if they are the first to be infected with such ailments. Therefore, the divine Peter wisely proclaimed to the teachers that they should be models for the flocks (1 Pet. 5:3). So, you, he says, adorned with the dignity of the priesthood, are “those who despise My name.” And if you want to know in what way you despise, then listen to him crying: by the fact that you bring “to My altar the bread of filth.” If they would say to this again: how am I “defiled,” then I will tell you: because you think, perhaps, but rather by your very deeds you cry out that “the Lord’s table is despised.” For a more detailed and clear interpretation of the saying, let’s talk about what the expression means: “defiled bread”? “Defiled” refers to unclean bread. It is necessary to know that by the will of the Lawgiver, bread was also offered along with the sacrifices, however, unleavened and pure; he commanded only one sacrifice of praise to be made with leavened bread (Lev. 7:13). What is the mysterious meaning of this, we have said enough about this in another work 9. But I will explain now, albeit briefly, so that I do not seem to have any inertia in such the most useful subjects. So, unleavened bread can be a symbol of unleavened and pure life. So the divine Paul says to those justified in the faith in his letter: “Let us also celebrate, not with leavened leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with unleavened purity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:8). And again: “Purge away the old leaven, so that you may be a new mixture, as you are without leaven” (1 Cor. 5:7). Christ also exhorts the holy apostles, saying: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). Therefore, this bread is a symbol of a pure, sanctified and unleavened life - and those who brought unleavened bread and unleavened bread according to the law brought them for themselves, as if still in types and shadows. And just as we do not expel those who have only been catechumens and have not yet washed away their sin through holy baptism from churches when we praise God, but on the contrary, we make them our fellow members by making a sacrifice of praise, therefore the law says that this sacrifice must be made on leavened bread, leavened bread, as I said, covertly calling someone who has not yet been purified through holy baptism, but who has, as it were, some kind of kvass, contains remnants of original sinfulness. So, “you,” he says, “are priests who despise My name” in that “you bring the bread of filth to My altar.” Therefore, those who have the divine priesthood should take care not to do anything similar in the church and know that accurate performance (of the priesthood) will please God, and negligence in such a holy matter will greatly sadden (Him). That this negligence will not go unpunished for the careless is easy to see from the words they listen to: “You are priests who despise My name”; for the negligence of the priests is, as it were, “contempt” for God, and this sin is directed against the glory that is due and due to Him. Mal.1:8. Even if you bring blindly to the sacrifice, isn’t it evil? And if you bring someone lame or sick, isn’t it evil? Bring it to your prince, will he accept food 10? will food accept your face? says the Lord Almighty. While the law commanded that deficiencies in sacrificial animals should be considered (Lev. 22:21) and the maimed should be rejected, and the blameless should be sanctified, at that time they offered everything indiscriminately and indifferently, and paid too little attention to the glory due to God, but diligently cared only about collecting as many victims as possible and having rams in abundance in their homes, and, perhaps, even in the most holy tabernacle. But, guardians of the law, is it really not a bad sacrifice if someone brings a lame (animal)? If it is lame or painful, how can one avoid the vice of mutilation? Don't you really consider them bad and unsuitable for sacrifice? But if you think to yourself that they are not so, then let someone take them as a gift and as a gift to one of the superiors (yours). “He will not accept it,” he says, and he will not show respect to the person bringing it for the gift he brought, but he will be very angry as if he had been insulted. Therefore, it is very unreasonable to dare to offer to God something that not one of our kind would be willing to accept. It is a great sin for us if, intending to bring something to God, we would begin to look for what we have that is worse and of lower dignity, not thinking, unfortunate ones, that Cain did not make a sacrifice (to God) acceptable, since he brought it incorrectly, keeping to himself the first and fair, and planning to honor God with the inferior. But the God of all “does not heed” his sacrifices (Gen. 4:5), for he does not count in honor the neglect of Himself on the part of those who offer them. The law made blind animals, as well as the lame and sick, unacceptable as sacrifices, and the blind (animal) covertly means those who do not have divine illumination in their hearts, and the lame means those who do not know how to walk upright in virtues, while the sick means not very firmly, as if they were relaxed and careless in performing their service to God. He said nowhere and through the mouth of the prophet: woe to those who do “the work of the Lord with negligence” (Jer. 48:10). Therefore, we must have a mind that walks correctly and is strong, for then we will be acceptable and sacred to the good-loving God. Mal.1:9. And now ye shall please the face of your God, and pray unto him. This was in your hands, if I received your face from you, says the Lord Almighty. He calls those who have committed wickedness to repentance and says that a change for the better should turn away the wrath of God against those who were in wickedness, for He is good and raises up the downtrodden (Ps. 144:14), and heals the broken (Ps. 146:3), and turns the lost (Ezek. 34:16). And saying: “Placate the face of your God,” indicates that God turns away, and this is quite fair, from those who dare to insult Him, and that He, as it were, turns His eyes away from those who do not seek His glory, not worthy of them with either mercy, or love, or His care, for “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous” (Ps. 33:16), according to what is written. He also said against some of the evildoers through the mouth of Isaiah: “If you stretch out your hands to Me, I will turn away My eyes from you: and if you increase your prayer, I will not hear you: for your hands are full of blood” (Is. 1:15). Therefore, those who have sinned must propitiate God, so that He will turn His face on them and so that the harm that should come from His aversion may be removed. Determines the sins of the clergy and prevents objection, and does not bear false witness, saying: “This happened in your hands.” When, he says, others sinned, you not only remained silent, but were, as it were, the perpetrators of wickedness against Me with your own hands and, without any intervention, sinned by negligence towards Me. And if anyone (among you) was afraid to reproach you for this, then I Myself will not be like one of you, and I will not accept the face of the wicked. A similar thing was said through the mouth of David: “Thou hast repented of iniquity, because I will be like thee: I will reprove (thee) and bring thy sins before thee” (Ps. 49:21), for the Judge is impartial, but as God He is right and incorruptible. Mal.1:10. Before the doors will be shut in you, too, and do not set my altar on fire. Very opportunely, as if still in prophecy, he foretells the beauty of life in Christ, since (he says) the shadow of the law and that ancient priesthood will soon cease, and in due time the priests of truth must appear, who will perform worship in the spirit and will very diligently seek the glory of God. The doors will be closed, he says, over them, since either there will be no incense among the clergy under the law - “if it closes” against a person, it is said who will “open” (Job.12:14; Is.22:22), - or with the appearance of the true tabernacle, that is, the Church, those who still continue to perform priestly service according to the law will not enter it. As if excluded through unbelief, they will remain outside and will not touch the shrine. And that they will be deprived of their priestly service is clear from the words of God, who speaks through the mouth of Hosea: “For many days the children of Israel will sit; So, the cessation of the lawful worship and the closing of the lawful priesthood can be indicated, in my opinion, by the saying that “the doors will be closed” on them and the Church will not allow them, for it is no longer the time to slaughter the calves, but the God of all is already honored with bloodless sacrifices. Since he added to this that “do not set my altar on fire,” then, we think, this has the meaning of moral instruction. He now wishes to point out that they were called to priestly service and to laying fire on the altar, not in order to weaken the power of Him who called them, but so that, by honoring Him in a proper manner, they would have the dignity of the priesthood. Those who do not care about such a holy service and, out of reverence for the sacred rite, do not refrain from angering God, will finally receive punishment according to justice. After all, truly no small guilt should be neglect of participation in the gifts of God and the extremely unreasonable rejection of honors from Him. Therefore, Esau is called “earthly” and “unclean” because he gave up his birthright for food alone. So, when he says: “Do not lift up my altar,” he wants to point out that the priesthood is not without reward, however, it will not be without punishment (will remain) if someone does not administer it in the proper manner and with proper attention. It should be noted that the Jewish edition has a different presentation of thoughts and combination of words. It says this: “you,” both the Levites and the priests, who have the last place in the church, appointed by you to close the gates, “you will not burn My altar freely,” that is, you do not perform the service and priesthood free of charge, since the people bring you tithes, firstfruits, and thanksgiving 11 . So, for the fact that God was neglected and was not in the utmost concern (with you). Mal.1:10–11. My will is not in you, says the Lord Almighty, and I will not accept sacrifice at your hands: because from the east of the sun to the west my name is glorified among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name and the sacrifice is pure: because my name is great among the nations, says the Lord Almighty. Finally, he clearly rejects the performance of religious services under the law and, as it were, moves away from love for the Jews, and makes the priesthood undesirable, the canopy unacceptable, I mean the sacrifices of oxen and smoke, because in the beginning this was not His goal. He made this clear to us through other prophets, saying through the mouth of Isaiah: “I am filled with burnt offerings of rams and the fat of lambs, and I do not want the blood of young men and goats. Come and appear below: who took this delight from your hands? Don't bother walking around my yard. And if you offer the hemp in vain: censer is an abomination to me" (Is. 1:11-13), - then through the mouth of Jeremiah: "Gather up your burnt offerings with your sacrifices and eat away the flesh: for you did not speak to your fathers ... about burnt offerings and sacrifices" on the same day I brought them out of the land of Egypt (Jer. 7:21-22). The law was, as it were, a type and foreshadowing of worship in spirit and true, and justifications of the flesh, as the divine Paul writes, “imposed until the time of correction” (Heb. 9:10). The time of correction, I believe, can be no other than the coming of our Savior, when the first covenant, it is said, in its integrity, was abolished, for it had become outdated, and a place was required for a new and second (testament), which is above all vice and guilt. For this reason, the One who was called an Angel of the Great Council also spoke (Is. 9:6). Therefore, he said: “I do not speak on my own, 12 but the Father who sent me gave me the commandment that I should speak and that I should speak” (John 12:49). Thus, he clearly told the clergy under the law that they were undesirable for Him, even more so, that His will was not in them 13 - in them, making sacrifices in the shadow and prototypes, and that He would not accept sacred rites (sacrifices) from them. He then predicts that His name will be great and glorious among all the inhabitants of heaven, and in every place and people pure and bloodless sacrifices will be offered to His name, and the clergy will no longer belittle Him and casually offer Him spiritual services, but will try with care, decency and sanctification to offer up the fragrances of spiritual incense, that is, faith, hope, love and decorations from good deeds, at the establishment of the obvious sacrifice of Christ - heavenly and life-giving, through which death is abolished, and this corruptible and flesh (taken from the earth) is clothed with immortality. Mal.1:12. But you defile it, for I have never said to you: the table of the Lord is profaned, and his food that is offered is despised 14. And through these words he clearly represents to us that those called from among the Gentiles will be better and more virtuous than the Israelites. Those have pure sacrifices and fragrant incense, and the name is great “from the east of the sun to the west,” but with you, he says, the altar is not in the great and befitting glory of God, for “you ... defile” it, saying: “the table of the Lord is defiled,” and what is on it is despised. And indeed, although the priests did not use these words, they cried out this by their very deeds. So, without a doubt, “the foolish one says in his heart: there is no God” (Ps. 13:1), for through those deeds in which he despises (God), even if he did not speak in words, but through the brutality of his life he seemed to shout out this “there is no God.” After all, those who are accustomed to living as if God does not see them, to doing everything carelessly and lawlessly ungodly, deny God by their very deeds and lives. In the same way, those who are not accustomed to preserving for the holy altar the respect that is completely befitting and appropriate for it say the very thing that they achieve (by their disrespect for the altar): “The Lord’s table is defiled.” Therefore, one must avoid negligence in this, and if anyone does not want to do this, he will certainly hear God saying: “My will is not in you... and I will not accept sacrifice” from you. And that it is very terrible to offend God, how could anyone doubt this if he has both the mind and the heart in due measure? Mal.1:13. And rest: this is from suffering: and I breathed, says the Lord Almighty. And despite the theft and the lame and the sick, and if you offer sacrifice 15, will I accept food from your hands? says the Lord Almighty. He strongly blamed the clergy for the fact that they decided to consider too little the shortcomings in the sacrifices brought; on the contrary, they carelessly and without consideration accepted the lame, blind and sick (animals), although the law clearly commanded that crippled sacrifices be rejected. And if, perhaps, one of the priests, strictly adhering to the law, began to remove the unsuitable animal who presented the sacrifice, then those presenting (the sacrifice) persisted, always and everywhere presenting the appearance of captivity and very boldly asserting that they (the victims) were not bad, but only suffered on the way, during the return from Babylon to Judea. They brought “theft and the lame and the sick.” Animals, attacking herds, sometimes harm them, and if they happen to steal something, the shepherd who comes running plucks the stolen goods from their teeth, either frightening them with the barking of dogs, or throwing his staff at them. This, I think, is theft. These were brought along with those who had injured legs and were no longer able to graze with others. They also brought in the “ill”, that is, those already dying, insulting more than honoring the God of all. But “I breathed away,” it says, “I am,” says the Lord Almighty. And since you decided, he says, to sacrifice so wickedly, then I will not at all “accept” sacrifices from you and will not count such illegal and ungodly offerings as a stench of fragrance. Therefore, we should reverently and diligently offer to God not what is worthless, despicable and worthless, but what is best and most valuable. If anyone would begin to serve himself as a priest to God, remembering 16 Blessed Paul, who writes like this: “present your body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, your verbal service” (Rom. 12:1), - let him carefully examine himself and let him be, as it were, some kind of accurate investigator of the vices of his soul. Let him see if he is not blind, that is, does not have the light of truth in his mind, is he lame in his leg and cannot go straight to any good, is he theft or sick? After all, it behooves us to be vigilant, “the devil is our adversary, like a lion prowling about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). When in this way we find ourselves vigilant and awake, the beast will run past (us). If he sees them sleeping and careless, then he commits theft and makes them sick, that is, weakened and completely inactive in the practice of virtue. May he be far from sickness, that is, above cowardice and firm in patience. After all, just as patience leads to life, so cowardice leads to death, for all this, we think, is weakness of the mind and weakening of the heart. Therefore, the blessed prophet Isaiah advises us to distance ourselves from such vices, saying: “Be strong, weak hands and feeble knees: be comforted, faint of heart, be strong, do not be afraid: behold, our God” (Is. 35:3-5) - “behold, the Lord comes with strength, and his arm with power” (Is. 40:10). Mal.1:14. And cursed is he who is strong 17 and 18 in his flock the male sex, and his vow is upon him, and eats the corrupted things of the Lord: I am a great King, says the Lord Almighty, and my name is bright among the nations. Finally, and quite rightly, he determines the curse on the unholy sacrificer. If someone, he says, made a vow and in his herds had a male animal without lack, as soon as this does not bring to God, but collects what would turn out to be worthless, then this would be an insult to God, and nothing else. After all, we have not become devoted servants of insensitive stones, like some who are in darkness, delusion and unclean service, but on the contrary, we serve God Almighty and Creator of all things, Whom the heavens tremble, the earth and all its inhabitants are terrified. He also testifies again to the great favor of the pagans, saying that the name of the deity came down among them, venerable and glorious; for we must have precisely this and not another disposition (of spirit). And our Lord Jesus Christ received the idolater-centurion and said: “Amen, I say to you: no one has gained much faith in Israel” (Matthew 8:10). So, “cursed” is the one who sacrifices to God and the “corrupt”, while he must honor Him with the best that he has in the herds, as I just said, blameless and male. It should be noted that the male sex requires sacrifice, although the law commanded that the female sex should also be sacrificed to God (Lev. 22ff.). And the fact that a blameless and male animal was accepted as a votive sacrifice, that is, a voluntary one, we believe, served as a symbol for the sacrificer, since the law seemed to inspire that those who wish to ascend into the stench of the fragrance of God should be courageous, conquerors of the passions and far from any vice. The sacrifices made for sins were also accepted as female ones from sheep and goat herds. The mystery was also the weakness of those who brought (the victims), for the female sex is powerless and is inferior in strength to the male. Any sin would intensify when it weakens the mind and no longer maintains spiritual strength. These words are not in Hebrew. and the Khaldians who depend on him, sire. Jerome says: “this (the saying: “set it on your hearts”) is not found in Hebrew, but, I think, it was brought in from Hagg. 2:15.” Those. You can recognize God’s love for yourself in the events at the beginning of the history of your people. The interpretation of the name in the meaning of “oak” is found in Philo in De congr. erud. gr. 12.t. 3. p. 83 Literally: “let everyone receive what he did through the body according to what he did,” or: according to what he did through the body. Slav. plural: “either good or evil.” In the essay: “On worship and service in spirit and truth,” Russian. translation Creations of St. Kirill, part 2, p. 374 Wed. interpretation of Hebrew text and an indication of its difference from the LXX of Jerome. col. 1549–1550 Slav. resp. authentic: I do not use verbs " ". Has no favor towards them. Slav.: “and the waste laid upon him was destroyed.” Slav.: “And I will bring you to the sacrifice.” Beech. “for let him remember.” In Hebrew: “and cursed is the deceiver”, Chald.: “who acts in deception” (by deceit, with deceit), – Syrian, African. 169. 7–9 and ephr. omission: “and cursed is he who has it in his flock.” Slav. approx. "him" as Alex. and some Syrian, African, Efr., but Feod. Mons., Hieron. do not have (in Hebrew no, as in Chald.). You might be interested in: