Книга 12 [глава 14, стихи 5–22, глава 15]

In which, after the fourteenth chapter of the book of Job has been explained, beginning with the fifth verse of the fifteenth chapter, everything is explained for the most part in a moral sense. It is the practice of the righteous to think about present life as a passing time, the more carefully the more seriously they learn to take the thought of the eternal blessings of the Heavenly Country; for the better they see the things that remain within, the more accurately they note the changeability of the things passing outside. Therefore, blessed Job, when he spoke about the running of time and man, said: A man born of a woman does not live long, and is full of many sufferings; and again: he runs like a shadow and is never in the same state; and further adds to the description of the hardships of his life: Verse 5. Man's days are short, the number of his months is with You (Job 14:5) 367. 1. For he sees that it all passes by with such great speed, but he also sees that even the things that pass by stand with Almighty God, he declares that "the number of our months is with Him." For, indeed, by “days” the lack of time is indicated, but by “months” the space into which the days are added up. Thus, for ourselves, “the days are short,” but seeing that our life is extended after this, “the number of our months” is to be with God. Therefore Solomon also said: Long days are in her right hand (Proverbs 3:16) 368. What follows: You have set a limit for him that he cannot pass (Job 14:5) 369. 2. Of all the things that happen to people in this world, not one will happen without the secret will of Almighty God; for God, before the time of the world came, foresaw all that was to follow, and how all these things were to be ordered in the world of time. Therefore, it is already appointed for man, and to what extent the prosperity of the world should visit him, and to what extent adversity will fall on him, so that His chosen one will not be exalted by unlimited prosperity, and, at the same time, will not fall irrevocably low due to excessive adversity; In addition, he is assigned mortality in this life, how long he will live in the temporary world. For, although God Almighty added fifteen years to Hezekiah's life, He foresaw the moment at which he suffered from the possibility of death, and the moment when he would actually die. However, the question immediately arises: how is it that the one who was told by the prophet: make a will for your house, for you will die and not live (Is. 38:1) 370, he, who was sentenced to death, immediately after his tears received an extension of life? But in this place the Lord spoke through the prophet only at what time a person himself deserves to die, and, out of the generosity of mercy, although He kept him exposed to death, he still added to him the time that He Himself knew in advance before the beginning of time. And therefore it cannot be said that the prophet was mistaken, since he made known the time of death at which a person deserved to die, and it cannot be said that the things ordained by the Lord were changed, since the fact that years of life should be added by the generosity of God was predetermined before the beginning of time; and the period of life, which was added externally as if unexpectedly, was internally predetermined even before the beginning of time in Foresight; and therefore he said well: Thou hast set a limit for him, that he cannot pass. 3. This may also be accepted in accordance with the spiritual sense that we sometimes strive to advance in virtuous achievements, having been granted certain gifts, hold back from some others, but fall into lower things. For there is no man who has achieved the degree of perfection that he desires for himself, and in this Almighty God, who discerns everything internally, sets boundaries even for the most outstanding spiritual achievements; and because a man tries to master something which he is not capable of, he cannot rise in those things in which he has power. Therefore even the great preacher, who was ascended to the Third Heaven, and penetrated into the secrets of Paradise, after this revelation, did not receive the strength to be in a state of peace, and without temptation; but while the Most High God “set a limit for him that he cannot pass,” He at the same time raised him up so that he recognized high things, and brought him down again, so that by weak things he looked at the measure of his limit, so that he did not disappear in a feeling of imaginary security, and did not fall into pride, but was forced in humility to still return to his own limits. What follows: Verse 6. Turn away from him a little, so that he can rest until his long-awaited day passes, like a hireling ( Job 14:6 ) 371 . 4. In this place, turning away from him means “removing the force of the blow from him,” but how can he rest when He turns away from him, the One Who Himself is peace, and the further a person is from Him, the more peace he loses? Therefore, in this place, “turn away from him,” we, of course, must understand in the sense of “turn away the punishment,” for he also immediately added: until his long-awaited day passes, like a mercenary’s. To the same extent that the mercenary is far from the end of his work, he is also far from being rewarded for his labors with remuneration. Thus every holy man in this life, while he sees that he is far from leaving the present life, laments that he is far from eternal bliss. What then is said by this: Turn away from him a little so that he can rest; if not “take away from him now the blows of this present life, and show him the blessing of eternal rest.” Therefore, it is also added in relation to peace itself: until his long-awaited day passes, like that of a mercenary; for the mercenary's long-awaited day comes when a man receives eternal rest as compensation for his labor. But for now, what belongs to real life is the hard path of man, full of suffering, and blessed Job goes even further and describes how much things seem to drive him when he says: Verse 7–10. For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, to become green again; and that its tender branches will sprout again. Though its root is old in the earth, and its stump dies in the dust; but sensing water, it sprouts and puts out leaves, just as when it was planted. But a man, when he is dead and naked and gnawed, where is he, I ask? ( Job 14:7–10 ) 372 . Mystical interpretation 5. Now, because it is self-evident according to what is written, we must convey the meaning of internal things, and seek what they mean in a spiritual sense. Thus, in the Holy Scriptures called “tree” we sometimes represent the cross, sometimes a righteous man, or even an unrighteous man, and sometimes the Wisdom of God incarnate. Thus the cross is signified by "wood" when he said: Let us put wood in his bread (Jer. 11:19) 373; ибо «положить дерево в хлеб» означает приложить Крест к Телу Господа нашего. Again, the name “tree” sometimes denotes a righteous person, or even an unrighteous person, as the Lord says through the prophet: I the Lord make low the high tree, and make the low tree high (Ezek. 17:24) 374: since, according to the word of the Truth Itself: everyone who exalts himself will be humiliated; he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11) 375: Solomon says: if a tree falls to the south, or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it must be (Eccl.11:3) 376. For on the day of death, the righteous man “falls to the south,” and the unrighteous “to the north,” because the righteous man is brought into joy by the Spirit, and the sinner, together with the apostate Angel, who said: I will sit on the mountain of the covenant, from the side of the North (Is. 14:13) 377, is thrown away in his cold heart. Again, the Wisdom of God incarnate is represented by a “Tree,” as what is written on this subject testifies: it is a tree of life to those who acquire it (Prov. 3:18) 378. And as She herself says: If they do these things to the green tree, what will be done to the dry one? (Luke 23:31) 379 and therefore in this place, while the tree is shown to be preferable to man, what then is meant by "man" if not the natural man? and what is signified by the name “tree” if not the life of the righteous? For the hope of a tree, if it is cut down, is that it will grow green again. Ибо, когда в смерти болезненной изменчивости праведному человеку трудно быть с истиной, но в зелени вечной жизни он снова восстановлен для нее; and the one who found himself here in the greenery of faith will continue to blossom. И ветви его прорастут в том, как это наиболее часто бывает, что в страданиях праведника, все верные растут в любви к Небесной Стране, и они получают зелень духовной жизни, в то время как они рады, что они перенесли мужественно здесь, во имя Бога. What follows: Verse 8, 9. Though its root is old in the earth, and its stump dies in the dust; но почуяв воды, оно дает побеги и пускает листья, как когда оно было только посажено ( Иов.14:8–9 ) 380 . 6. What is the “root” of a righteous man if not the holy sermon, since it is from this that he comes, and it is on this that he rests? And what is meant by the name "earth" or "dust" if not a sinner? to whom it is said by the voice of the Creator, You are earth, and to earth you will return (Gen. 3:19) 381. Or, as our translation says: You are dust, and to dust you will return. Thus, “the root of the righteous grows old in the earth, and his trunk dies in the dust,” because in the hearts of evil people who despise preaching, all the goodness of the preaching dries up, and “the stump dies in the dust,” because among the hands of the persecutors his body is deprived of life; in accordance with those words of wisdom: In the eyes of the foolish they seemed dead, and their departure is mistaken for suffering (Wis.3:2) 382. But those whose “root grew old in the earth, and whose stump died in the dust”, hearing the smell of water, come to life, because, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by the example of their behavior, they cause shoots of power to sprout in the hearts of the elect. For the word water sometimes denotes the irrigation of the Holy Spirit, and this should be remembered, because, for example, it is written: if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink (John 7:37) 383, but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never thirst (John 4:14) 384. Далее следует: и пускает листья, как когда оно было посажено . For to bring leaves after being cut down means that when a righteous man ends his life in the body, by the righteous example of his suffering, he lifts up the hearts of many, and by right faith shows ahead the greenery of truth. И это хорошо сказано: как когда оно было только посажено . Все, что делается здесь праведником – это, как бы, вторая посадка; ибо явно, что первая посадка не в практике дел, но в предвидении Творца; and because everything that the chosen one does is first settled internally, and only after that is performed externally, he said well: and puts out leaves, as when it was just planted, that is, shows its greenness in performing the practice, but only after having previously seen the Creator. 7. "The root of the righteous" may also be used to signify the very truth of the nature of man, by virtue of which he is now in a state where the same root has become stale in the earth, and when, in the course of natural causes, the stump of flesh dies and turns to dust - "whose stump dies in the dust," because the body, which maintained its own form and condition, disintegrates in time to nothing; but sensing water, it sprouts, because through the coming of the Holy Spirit it rises again; and it will bring forth shoots as when it was first planted, because man returns to the form for which he was created, if, when he was installed in Paradise, he had renounced sin. 8. This, perhaps, can also be understood as a designation of the Lord Himself, Who is the Head of all good; for according to what we have said before, He speaks of Himself: for if they did these things with the green tree, what should be done with the dry? (Luke 23:31) 385. He said that He Himself was a green tree, and we are a dry tree, because He contains in His Person the power of the Divine nature, but we, who are only ordinary people, are called a dry tree. And so, there is hope for the tree, if it is cut down, it will sprout again, in that, even if He was put to death in His Passion, by the glory of His Resurrection He came that the Green of Life would blossom again; “it gives shoots” in that faithfulness is multiplied by His Resurrection and has sprouted far and wide; Its root, as it were, remained on earth, because the response from the Jews to His preaching was meanness; “And his stump died in the dust,” because in the very heart of those who persecuted Him, Who was lifted up by the wind of their unbelief, He passed in their contempt and contempt of death in the flesh; but “having smelled the waters,” He “gives forth shoots,” in that through the power of God His Flesh returned to life after His death, in accordance with what is written: Whom God raised from the dead (Acts 3:15) 386. For God the Trinity, the Holy Trinity, that is, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, raised to life the dead flesh of the Only Begotten Son. And He “puts forth leaves as when it was first planted,” because after the weakness of the Apostles, who at the time of His death feared and denied, and, denying, turned out to be dry, by the glory of His Resurrection of Christ they were again strengthened in faith. Compared to such a tree, what is every person if not dust? From here it is added: Verse 10. But a man, when he is dead and naked and gnawed, where is he, I ask? (Job 14:10) 387. 9 . For there is no man without sin except Him, Who did not come into this world from sin; and while we are all bound firmly by the weight of guilt, we die from the loss of righteousness. Having taken off the robe of innocence given to us before in Paradise, we have stripped naked, and we are further naked, gnawed by the subsequent corruption of the flesh. Thus, a person, being a sinner, dies in the weight of his guilt, and, having undressed, stripped of his righteousness, is gnawed as punishment. The Father honored this nakedness of his lost son with a veil, who said, after returning: quickly give him clothes first (Luke 15:22) 388. For the “first garment” is the garment of innocence, which man, being created righteously, received, but after he was deceived by the serpent, this garment was taken away from him. About this same nakedness it is said: blessed is he who watches and keeps his clothes, so that he does not walk naked (Rev. 16:15) 389. For we "keep our garments" when we keep the precepts of innocence in our hearts, that while guilt lays us bare, repentance should enable us to return to the innocence that we have lost. And this is well said: where, I ask? for the sinner, man, refused to stand where he was created; and at the same time, here, where he fell, he is forbidden to stay for a long time. Willingly he lost his country, and reluctantly he is driven out of the exile he enjoys. Where is he, who is not in His love, where is he really? What follows: Verse 11, 12. As water flows out of the sea, and a river runs out and dries up: so a man lies down and does not get up (Job 14:11-12) 390. 10. Man's mind is like the sea, and the thoughts of his mind are, as they really are, the waves of the sea, which sometimes rise in anger, sometimes become calm by grace, and again from hatred come to bitterness; but when a person dies, “water flows out of the sea,” because, according to the psalmist: on the same day all his thoughts disappear (Ps. 146:4) 391. And again it is written about the soul of those who die: their love, and their hatred, and their jealousy will perish together (Eccl. 9:6) 392. Thus, "and the river runs dry and dries up" because when the soul is withdrawn, the body remains empty. For a lifeless body is like an empty canyon of a river, in which, as an attentive eye can note, real life, that is, the time while the soul remains in the body, is likened to the sea and the river, for the waters of the sea are salty, and the waters of the river are sweet. And because we who live here are at one time under the influence of certain trials, and at another time are in a sweet state of calm and bliss, the path of present life is described as like the sea and the river. 11. But what is added next seems extremely difficult to understand, so a person will lie down and not get up. Why then do we work and work so hard if we do not rise after the reward of the Resurrection? And why did he say: and will not rise, when it is written: We will all rise again, but not all of us will change? (1 Cor. 15:51) 393. And again: if in this life only we have hope for life in Christ, then we are the most miserable of all people (1 Cor. 15:19) 394, and when the Truth says itself: all that are in the graves will hear His voice, and will come out; they who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28–29) 395. But the sentence that is added indicates what difference is hidden in the previous sentence. For he adds: As long as the heavens exist, they will not awaken and rise from their sleep (Job 14:12) 396. 12. For it is clear that they will not be resurrected while the heavens exist, i.e. until the end of the world comes, the race of mankind will awaken to life from the sleep of death. In other words, he is not teaching that they should not be resurrected at all, but he is teaching that the human race will only be resurrected after the collapse of the heavens. Moreover, one more thing must be noted, for after he above calls a man dead, below he designates this no longer by the word “died,” but by the word “sleeping,” and says that he will never rise from his sleep until the sky falls. By this, he clearly made it clear to us that, by analogy with a tree that died but returned to life again, he denotes a sinner, that is, one who has abandoned a righteous life; but when he speaks of the death of the flesh, he prefers to call it not death, but sleep, and teaches us, of course, the hope of the Resurrection; that as quickly as a person wakes up from sleep, so he will be resurrected in an instant by the glance of the Creator from the death of the body. For weak minds are terribly afraid of the word “death,” but they are not afraid of the word “sleep.” That is why Paul, in his instruction to his disciples, says: But I would not leave you ignorant, brothers, about those who sleep, so that you do not grieve like people without hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so those who also died in Jesus God will bring with Him again (1 Thess. 4:13–14) 397 . Why does the great preacher call the death of the Lord “death,” but he calls the death of the Lord’s servants not death, but sleep? For, taking into account the weak hearts of his listeners, he mixes the medicine of his preaching with beautiful art, and about Him, of whom they already knew that He had already risen, he undoubtedly says “died,” and about those who have not yet risen, so that he can teach them the hope of the Resurrection, he says not dead, but sleeping. For he was not afraid to call Him dead, the One Whom the listeners already knew as the Risen One, but he was afraid to call those dead whose resurrection they only believed. That is why blessed Job, seeing and having no doubt that those who have died in the flesh will awaken again to life, calls them sleeping and not dead. What follows: Verse 13. Oh, that You would be willing to protect me in hell! (Job 14:13) 398. 13. For before the coming of the Mediator between God and man, every man, even though he may have lived a pure and righteous life, descended into the prisons of hell, and there is no doubt about this, for man who fell through his own act could not by his own action return to the peace of Paradise, except through Him who came, and who in the mystery of His incarnation should open the way to Paradise. For after the sin of the first man it was recorded that a flaming sword was placed at the entrance of paradise (Gen. 3:24) 399, which is also called "versatilis", because the time will come one day that it may even be removed. Also, when we claim that the souls of the righteous did descend to hell, we do not say that they were imprisoned in places of punishment; for it can be believed that there are higher regions in hell, and there are lower regions, and they are separated from each other so that the righteous can be at rest in the upper regions, and the unrighteous can be tormented in the lower ones. Therefore, for example, the psalmist speaks of the grace of God protecting him: you saved my soul from the very depths of hell (Ps. 85:13) 400. Thus, blessed Job, knowing that he would go to hell before the coming of the Mediator, begs the merciful hand of his Creator to protect him so that he will not know the place of execution; and while he could remain there in peace, he could also be hidden from punishment. Therefore he adds: So that you hide me in a secret place while Your anger passes by completely. 14. For the wrath of Almighty God exercises the force of its gravity every day, so that those who live unworthily are consumed by it in the most just punishments. This anger is indeed "passing away" for the time being, but in the end it is "wholly passing away" because now it will be fulfilled, but at the end of the world it will finally be completed. However, this anger towards the souls of the righteous “passes away entirely” at the coming of our Redeemer, the Mediator between God and man, who rescues them from the prisons of hell to the joys of Paradise when He Himself descends there in His mercy. And on this subject it should be known that the term "anger" as we understand it does not refer to the Divine Essence, since in His anger there is no anxiety disorder affecting the nature of God. Therefore, for example, it is said: but You, the Lord of power, condemn with calm, rule with great mercy (Wis. 12:18) 401. But since the souls of the righteous were once liberated from hell by the Coming of the Mediator, although they were not in places of punishment, the righteous man also provides for this and, pleading, adds: And appoint me a time when I must be remembered (Job 14:13). 15. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent His Son, who was born of a woman, subject to the law, to redeem them who were in accordance with the Law (Gal. 4:4-5) 402. Thus the man of God, foreseeing this ransom, in which many from the heathen world were also destined to be delivered, as he himself says: Though these things thou shalt hide in thy heart, yet I know that thou shalt remember all things (Job 10:13) 403, prays for a time to be remembered, and to be appointed with Almighty God. For this means what the Lord says in the Gospel: and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Me (John 12:32) 404, that is, “all the elect.” For when He returned from hell, the Lord did not draw both the elect and the reprobate together, but He brought out from there only those things which He created in foreknowledge as joining Him. Therefore He also says by the prophet Hosea: I will be your Death, O Death; I will be a thorn, O hell (Hosea 13:14) 405. Now we are put to death, and when we bite something, we take some and leave some. Therefore, while the Lord completely destroys death in His members - the Elect, He rightfully calls Himself "the Death of Death", but while He took only a part from hell, and left the other part there, He did not completely destroy it, but, as it were, “bite off”, therefore He is the sting of hell. Therefore, he also says: I will be your Death, Death; those. “for My chosen ones, I will completely destroy you, death.” And “I will be your sting, O hell,” which means: “I will pierce you partially, accepting only the elect.” And therefore let blessed Job, knowing this coming of our Redeemer into hell, pray for what he foresaw in the future, and let him say: And appoint me a time when I must be remembered. Verse 14 Do you think that a dead man should live again? (Job 14:14) 406. 16. This is common in the behavior of righteous people, for even if they themselves feel the confidence and validity of a statement, they still sometimes question something, as if in doubt, in order, as it were, to put the words of the weak into their own mouths; and immediately after this, they answer with a strong affirmation to him who remains in doubt, so that he may see that by sharing his doubts for a moment, they can in some degree condescend to his weakness, and by immediately providing a confident answer to these doubts, they can attract the doubting minds of the weak to the solid certainty of the foundation. And so they do according to the example of our Head. For our Lord, when He was close to His passion, took into Himself the voice of those who were weak, saying: My Father, if it is possible; let this cup pass from Me (Matthew 26:39) 407, and to remove their fear, he took it into himself. And again proving the power of obedience, He says: nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. And just so, when we do not want any thing to happen that threatens us, we must pray in weakness so that it does not happen, and yet also in strength, we must be ready for the will of our Creator to be carried out, even against our own desire. Following this example, the words of weakness are sometimes accepted by the strong, so that their strong sermons are more easily accepted by weak hearts. Therefore, blessed Job, when he uttered the words as if in doubt, saying: Do you really think that a dead man should live again? immediately added a statement of his true belief, saying: All the days that I now carry out military service, I will wait until my replacement comes (Job.14:14) 408. 17. He who awaits his change with such ardent anguish clearly shows how great is his confidence of being resurrected, and he shows how carefully he looks at the course of the present life, defining it as “military service.” For in military service, every passing day brings its term closer to the end, day after day its completion is expected. Thus, he despises the course of this life, and seeks its stop in immutability; he who voluntarily serves it, subject to changeability, yet hastens to reach the final point of his change. For for a righteous person in this life the burden of his corruption is very heavy. His vigils lead to fatigue, and he seeks sleep, but his work and the result of his vigil may be lost, for sometimes even sleep kills. Hunger torments the body, and in order for this craving to be expelled, it looks for food, but often even the food found is depressing, the one that was needed in order to drive away the oppression of weakness. And so the weight of corruption is a heavy burden, and if it were not so heavy, Paul would never have said: for the creation was subjected to vanity, not voluntarily, but by the will of him who subjected it, in the hope that the creation itself would be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together; still . (Rom.8:20-22) 409. So, let a holy man, longing for the state of incorruption, say: All the days that I now carry out military service, I will wait until my replacement comes. And about this same change that occurs, he adds: Verse 15. You will call me, and I will answer You (Job 14:15) 410. 18. It can be said about us that we respond to someone if we perform any equivalent actions, in turn, in response to his actions. Thus, in this change, the Lord “calls” and man “answers,” because before the brightness of Incorruption, man is revealed incorruptible after corruption. Now, while we are subject to corruption, we can by no means be wise enough to “answer” our Creator, seeing how far corruption is from incorruption, we do not have, and there can be no answer worthy of Him. But about this change it is written: when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is (1 John 3:2) 411. Then, therefore, we will truly “respond to God,” Who will “call” when, by the will of the Supreme Incorruptibility, we will arise incorruptible; and because a being is not able to earn it of itself, but it is the gift of Almighty God only, that it should be changed to that great glory of incorruptibility, is justly added: You want to stretch out Your right hand to the work of Your hands. 19. It was as if he had said in simple words: “It is only for this reason that Thy corruptible creation is able to be restored to incorruption, that it is supported by the hand of Thy power, and is preserved by Thy mercy, that it may be restored.” For a human being is such a being that, if it acts on its own, it sinks below itself, but man, receiving from his Creator the opportunity to be supported and raised above himself by contemplation, is firmly held in incorruption. So that the creation cannot fall below itself, but can be kept in incorruption, it rises to the firmness of immutability at the right hand of its Creator. Moreover, this can also be understood in such a way that in the title “right hand” the Son can be designated, because all things were made by Him (John 1:3) 412. Thus, only Almighty God can “stretch out Your right hand to the work of Your hands,” because only He can raise the human race to the heights so that it renounces servility in lower things, and for this He sent His Only Begotten, Incarnated as one of them. Only by His Incarnation have we been vouchsafed, who fell into corruption of our own free will, so that one day we might respond to God when He calls us in the glory of incorruption. And who and how can appreciate the generosity of God’s Mercy if He brings a person after sin to such heights and glory? God sees the bad things we do, but by the grace of His mercy He forgives them in His mercy towards us. And therefore, let him add one more thing: Verse 16. Now You number my steps, but You spare my sins (Job 14:16) 413. 20. God “numbers our steps” when He marks each of our actions, making up for them. For what is indicated by steps, if not each specific action of ours? Thus, God Almighty “numbers our steps” and “spares our sins” in that He immediately sees our actions accurately, and yet forgives them in mercy to those whom He sees stubbornly committing sin, and yet mitigates it in repentance by giving grace. Thus, He counts sins in that He transforms ourselves into those who can mourn the things we have done. And He forgives them with mercy if we punished ourselves for them, and He Himself never judges them in the final reckoning, as Paul testifies, who says: if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged (1 Cor. 11:31) 414. And then it is additionally added: Verse 17. Thou hast sealed up my sins; but You have healed my iniquity (Job 14:17) 415. 21. Our sins are sealed in the bag, because every thing that we ourselves do in outward action, except when we wash it away by repentance, is kept in the secrets of God's decisions, in a kind of hiding place, but one day it can also come out of this bag into public judgment. Therefore, for example, Moses said: Is it not hidden in Me, and is it not sealed in my treasuries? On the day of vengeance I will repay them (Deut. 32:34–35) 416. But when we punish the evil things we have done with severe discipline and cry repentance, He sets a seal on them and heals our iniquities, in that He punishes these things here and does not leave them to be punished in the Judgment. Thus, He seals our sins in that He marks them with precision here to punish them with punishment, but He heals them because He completely forgives them after punishment. Therefore, for example, the iniquities of this persecutor of Him, whom He laid prostrate on the earth, He also sealed and healed, and this is evident from what He said regarding his Ananias: He is My chosen vessel, to proclaim My name before the nations and kings and the children of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name (Acts 9:15-16) 417 for this man, who has past sins on his account, He still threatens with future suffering, and therefore, certainly, everything that he has done wrong, He has sealed everything in his heart; but in the same way, having sealed it, He healed its iniquities by calling it “the chosen vessel.” Or, of course, “our sins are sealed in the bag,” when we constantly reflect on the evil things of which we are guilty with a vigilant heart. For what is the heart of man, if not God’s “bag”, into which, if we sincerely look, we will see how many sins we have, and we will see our sins, as it is, sealed in God’s bag. Did not David keep his sin “sealed up in his bag” when he said: For I acknowledge my iniquities, and my sin is always before me (Ps. 50:5) 418. And because the mistakes we have made are revealed to us in repeated consideration, the merciful Creator forgives them to us, after "the sins are sealed in the bag," it is rightly added: but Thou hast healed my iniquity: as if he had said in simple words: "All the things which Thou now sealest up, that I may in repentance see them, surely Thou dost so that in the last retribution they may never be revealed," and what follows: Verse 18, 19. And, of course, the mountain, falling, moves away, and the rock leaves its place. The waters carry away stones, and, being washed away little by little, the earth is corroded, and You also destroy man (Job 14:18–19) 419. 22. It very often happens that when a rock falls, a piece of rock is carried away to other places; and the waters carry away the stones, and little by little the earth is washed away by the flow of waters: but we must consider with great diligence what follows: and also You destroy man. For what is meant by the description of mountains falling, rocks being dislodged, stones being carried away, and the earth being washed away by streams, if not the destruction of man? For here we are clearly given to understand that there are two kinds of temptations: one kind that comes to the consciousness of even a good man, as if by a sudden natural calamity, and to such temptations he can be exposed so suddenly that from the surprise he becomes more vulnerable, and falls to the ground, and he does not even see that he is falling until he has already fallen; while there is another kind of temptation that comes little by little, and gentle offers corrupt the soul of the resister, and it is not the excess of the temptation, but its importunity that consumes all the strength of righteousness. Now, while there is one kind of temptation, which by a sudden attack very often throws a man down to the earth, certainly let it be said: a mountain falling is thrown away, and a rock is removed from its place, that is, the holy mind, whose place was in righteousness, being subjected to a sudden impulse, is thrown into sin. Again, because there is another kind of temptation that pours itself carefully into the heart of a person, and carries away all the firmness of his intention, it must be said: Waters carry away stones. In this case, for example, the subtle and soft flattery of lust sucks away the hardness of the soul, and slowly penetrating, the evil habit corrodes the hard and firm goal-setting of the mind. Therefore he added: and, being washed away little by little, the earth is corroded. For just as when water flows, the earth is gradually eroded, so when a bad habit creeps in little by little, even a strong mind is swallowed up by it. Therefore, he well added: You also destroy man, i.e. in this case, when You allow temptation to suddenly gain power over the mind of the righteous, who clearly stands high, You allow “the mountain to fall away,” and when he is inclined to evil, “the rock comes down from his place,” but while You allow the slow but relentless temptation to prevail over the minds of those who are considered strong, “the waters carry away the stones, and are washed away little by little, the earth is corroded” because the hardness of the mind, being subdued by quiet temptation, softens. 23. Let us see how David was the "high mountain," the one who was exalted to view such great mysteries of God by the Spirit of prophecy; but let us also note how he "slipped" by a sudden fall, he who, walking into the sun, at the behest of lust carried off another man's wife, and killed her husband, losing his own army. Then the mountain, falling, went away, when the mind, which was accustomed to live among heavenly mysteries, was overcome by a sudden temptation, and brought into itself the most monstrous defilement. And so the rock came down from its place, when the prophet's mind was closed to the secrets of prophecy, and presented dirty things. Let us see how the waters carry away the stones, and, being washed away little by little, the earth is corroded, when Solomon, whose intemperance and frequency of relations with women led him to build a church of idols, and he who, before, built a church to God, according to the frequency of lust, bowing in error, was not afraid to build churches of idols. And it so happened that the constant depravity of the flesh led him astray in the spirit. What else is this, if not an example of the fact that “waters carry away stones, and, being washed away little by little, the earth is corroded,” if, due to the encroachment of sin, the water flowed little by little, and the earth of his heart crumbled? So let blessed Job consider both types of temptation, be it a sudden and excessive temptation or a mild and prolonged one; let him, having seen the fall of his fellow men, from those things that happen outwardly, let him, catching the main thread of reflection, say: And, of course, the mountain, falling, goes away, and the rock moves out of its place. The waters carry away stones, and, being washed away little by little, the earth is corroded, and You also destroy man, i.e. “just as these things can at one time suddenly fall to the ground, at another time they can be gently carried away a little by the waters of existence, in the same way the one whom You created as a rational being, You can overthrow either by a sudden temptation, or by a long but gentle temptation.” And he directly describes this intelligent being in the following words, saying: Verse 20. You strengthened him in a small space, so that he could pass forever (Job 14:20) 420. 24. The man was fortified here in a small space because he received the strength to live here for some time, and he must go forever to a place where he will no longer be bound by the ban of the end of his life. But in this space, where for a moment, “he was strengthened,” he comes to the conclusion that in the eternal world he will either find eternal joy forever, or will forever receive punishment. And for the reason that “it was fortified in a small space,” so as to “pass forever,” this is rightly added: You want to change his face and send him away. 25. "The face of a man changes" when his form is exuded by death; but “he departs” because from those things that he held willingly, he will have to move into the eternal world against his will, and while he is transferred, about these things that he left behind, which he kept in himself for a long time and about which he thought about what and how would happen to them now - he knows nothing about this. Therefore it is added: Verse 21. Whether his sons will be in honor or in dishonor, he does not feel (Job.14:21) 421. 26. For just as they, who still live, know nothing about the souls of the dead, in what place they arrive, so the dead, about the life of those who live after them in the flesh, also do not know how it proceeds; just as the life of the spirit is far from the life of the flesh, just as corporeal and incorporeal things differ in their nature, so they differ in knowledge. This, however, should not be attributed to the holy souls who contemplate the brightness of Almighty God within, and we cannot even for a moment suppose that there is anything there that they do not know. But because carnal people give their chief affection to their children, blessed Job says that they are not hereafter aware of what they loved here with all their hearts, so that “Whether his sons shall be in honor or in dishonor, he does not feel,” because that is what has always occupied their minds. All this, however, should also be understood in a spiritual sense, for rightly our works are also designated by the name “sons,” as Paul says about a woman: despite this, she will be saved in childbearing (1 Tim. 2:15) 422, and it does not say that a woman who has never given birth to children should not be saved, but it is said that she should be “saved by childbearing,” because by doing good works, she is united in eternal salvation. Thus, sons in honor are good deeds, and sons in dishonor are bad deeds. And often a person strives to do things with good intention, but due to the numerous moments that happen to him, how his actions will be seen by Almighty God is unknown to him. So, “Whether his sons will be in honor or in dishonor, he does not feel,” because he cannot say whether his actions will be approved or condemned when sifted by the close Court. Thus, here a person is in the hardships of labor, and there he is brought in timidity and apprehension. Therefore, he adds even further about the work of his present life: Verse 22. But his flesh, while he lives, is pain, and his soul mourns itself (Job.14:22) 423. 27. Regarding those who are married, Paul says: nevertheless, such will have tribulations according to the flesh (1 Cor. 7:28) 424, but they may “have tribulations according to the flesh,” even those who even now lead a spiritual life. Why did he say, as if in a special sense, that there is “sorrow of the flesh” in marriage, seeing that the same is true for spiritual life; only because they usually meet with the worst sorrows of the flesh, who delight themselves with the pleasures of the flesh. And this is well said: and his soul mourns itself; for everyone who wants to please himself, even by simply immersing himself in sorrow, is that he goes far from true joy. For the true joy of the soul is the Creator. Therefore, it is clear that a person will find sorrow within himself, who, having left his Creator, seeks joy within himself. Art.1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, will a wise man answer as if speaking to the wind, and will his belly be filled with heat? ( Job 15:1–2 ) 425 . Allegorical interpretation 28. We have already said more than once that blessed Job personifies the Holy Universal Church, and that his friends appear before us in the likeness of heretics, who, as it happened, under the pretext of protecting the Lord, are looking for an opportunity for idle talk, and speak offensive words against good people; everything that a believer thinks is unpleasant to them, as if his thoughts were uttered into the wind. Therefore, now they say: will the wise man answer as if speaking into the wind? They do not consider the words of a good person to be spoken with meaning, but perceive them as an example of madness. Therefore he added: will his belly be filled with heat? In these things that they want to say by insult, they seem to bend in politeness in order to soften them, as has already been said, supposedly in order to protect the Lord. Therefore Eliphaz adds: You justify yourself by saying that they are not suitable for you, and you say that it is not appropriate for you (Job 15:3) 426. 29. Now they believe that no one has the fear of the Lord except those whom they can attract to the stupidity of their confession. Therefore he adds: Yes, you have put aside fear and taken up prayer before God (Job 15:4) 427. “Take” here means “take away,” as if he were saying directly: “Presuming your own righteousness, you refused to pray for the grace of Your Creator.” For when heretics do not find real evil to call for good, they feign things so that they can reproach with them, and so that they themselves can appear righteous, and it very often happens that they come to utter words of insult. Therefore, it is still additionally added: For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you follow the tongue of the evil ones (Job 15:5) 428. 30. “Iniquity teaches the lips,” when something due to a bad life is spoken in an even worse form. Now, because blessed Job was as free in his speech as he was holy in his actions, his friends, who reflect the type of heretics, immediately find fault with him, declare him unrighteous both on the basis of an evil life, and on the basis of the boldness of his lips, so that they must say: thy iniquity teacheth thy lips. It was as if it had been said to him in simple words: “You learned all the lies that you say from your evil life.” But it often happens that heretics, while they seem to revere God, oppose His mystery, and they think that it is humility if they deny the truth. For there are some who imagine that they will damage the majesty of God if they admit that He has taken on true flesh, or if they think that He actually dies to us in the flesh. And although they strive, as they did, to give God a greater degree of glory, they thereby deny the real glory of His mercy. For what could be a greater glorification of His mercy than to acknowledge that in our name He did all these things, made them happen to Him, all those things that seem unworthy of Him? But the Holy Church confesses His true Flesh, His truly true Death, but hearing the announcement of these things, the heretics consider them a humiliation for God. Therefore they often say to Her: You follow the tongue of the evil ones. And when any adversity befalls her in this world, they say that these are the consequences of the harmfulness of Her preaching. Therefore they also additionally add: Verse 6. Your mouth will condemn you, not I; yea, your own mouth will answer you (Job 15:6) 429. 31. For they believe that the evil of adversity comes due to the error of its teaching; therefore they tell her “your mouth will condemn you,” from which it is clear that they consider the guilt of statements to be the cause of disasters. But besides that, they want to suppress it, as it were, with their reasoning; therefore Eliphaz begins to rebuke blessed Job as it is, basing his speech on the principles of reasoning and saying: Verse 7, 8. Were you the first man born? or were you before the hills? Have you heard the secret of God? and should His wisdom be inferior to you? ( Job 15:7–8 ) 430 . 32. It is as if, speaking in His name, he said directly in simple words: “You who speak from the Eternal One are considered to be a being of time. Do you, who argue with His wisdom, remember that You do not know His counsel? But heretics undertake to defend the Lord for this purpose, so that they themselves can show themselves as scientists, and while they seem to be supposedly defending the glory of God, they actually glorify their knowledge, and the very words of Eliphaz are added to the testimony, who really began to speak about the wisdom of God, but immediately fell into delight about himself, saying: Verse 9. What do you know that we didn’t know? What do you understand that we would not have? (Job 15:9) 431. These same statements clearly show in what self-exaltation of mind everything that comes from them is pronounced, although it sounds as if it were said in defense of the Lord. What follows: Verse 10. With us are also gray-haired and old men, much older than your father (Job 15:10) 432. 33. That all heretics left the Holy Universal Church, John testifies when he says: They went out from us, but they were not ours (1 John 2:19) 433. But those things which they support, they can teach to the weak minds of their neighbors, based on the sayings of the ancients, and they testify that they have ancient fathers, and being supposedly experts in the doctrine itself, they declare themselves masters of their own teaching. And looking at today's preachers, they are proud with unfounded arrogance, as if having the ancient fathers as mentors, declaring that what they themselves affirm, the ancient fathers also confirmed so that what they are not able to build in truth and righteousness, they could also strengthen with the authority of the ancients. But because it is written: whom the Lord loves, he punishes; beats every son whom he receives, often the Holy Church suffers from countless adversities in this life, and the life of the children of perdition is free from adversity, to the extent that no reward is provided for them. But heretics, seeing the misfortunes of the Holy Church, look at her and imagine that she has been beaten with so many blows because of false doctrine. Therefore it is additionally added: Verse 11. Is it not a great thing that God should comfort you? But your evil words will not allow this (Job 15:11) 434. 34. It was as if he had told him in simple words: “If you yourself had changed your approach to faith to the correct one, you might have long ago had consolation in your troubles.” And then it continues: Verse 12. Why does your heart lift you up, and your eyes are amazed, as if you were thinking of great things? (Job 15:12) 435. 35. Often the mind of the righteous is so suspended, contemplating things on a high level, that outwardly their faces seem to be stricken with stupor. But because heretics do not know how to use the power of contemplation in secret, they think that what they themselves cannot obtain into possession cannot exist in others. The following is added: Verse 13. Why is your spirit rebelling against God that you let such words come out of your mouth? (Job 15:13) 436. 36. Very often, when the righteous suffer from any troubles, they are forced to confess their good deeds, as blessed Job did after his righteous life was exposed to blows; but when the unrighteous hear their sayings, they think that they are uttered in self-exaltation, and not in truth. For they weigh the words of the righteous with their feelings, and do not think that good words can be spoken in humility of spirit. For it is a great sin if a person ascribes to himself something that does not exist, but it is not a sin at all if he speaks with humility about the good that really exists. Hence it often happens that the righteous and the unrighteous utter similar words, but since their hearts are always dissimilar and very different, the same utterances for which the Lord punishes the unrighteous He grants mercy to the righteous. Therefore, for example, the Pharisee, when he entered the church, said: I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get (Luke 18:12) 437, but the tax collector went away more justified than he. King Hezekiah, when he was struck by illness of the body and brought to the last point of life, said in his heart, saying in prayer: remember, Lord, I beg you, how I walked before You in Truth, and with a pure heart, and the Lord did not allow this recognition of his perfection to be ignored, and did not refuse him, the one whom He immediately heard effectively through his prayer. The Pharisee justified himself by works, and Hezekiah remembered in thought that he was righteous, behold, one act, by which one angered, and the other appeased God. Why could this happen, if not because Almighty God evaluates words only by the thoughts within, and those who utter them without humility of heart are vile to His ear? Consequently, blessed Job, when he enumerated his deeds, did so without the least swelling against God, because those things which he did do he spoke in humility of spirit. However, heretics are accustomed to mixing some true things with statements of their erroneous beliefs. And the friends of blessed Job, although they generally deceived in unjust reproaches, perhaps they will even say some things justly, which they learned from frequent communication with him. If this were not so, the Apostle Paul would never have emphasized the statement of Eliphaz, saying: he takes the wise by their own wickedness (1 Cor. 3:19) 438. And so, because those things that they say correctly in principle, they unjustly pronounce against blessed Job, let us in their statements immediately trample underfoot the malice of immodesty, but at the same time, sift out the grain of rightness. What follows: Verse 14. What is man, that he should be clean? (Job 15:14) 439. 37. For here, where he is called “man,” by this word he is described as earthly and weak; for the name of man comes from the earth (homo - from the word humus, i.e. humus, as Adam is called in Hebrew). And how is it possible for him to be free from dirt, who, having been raised from the earth, fell into weakness by his own will? And further it will be added, and he, born of a woman, how can he be righteous? For the very first part of unrighteousness was what the woman gave to the man in Paradise. And so, how can he be righteous, the one who was born from her, who showed the way to unrighteousness? Verse 15. Behold, among His saints there is not one who is unchangeable; the heavens are unclean in His sight (Job 15:15) 440. 38. He repeated himself, calling for the second time “heaven” what he had previously designated by the word “Saints”; for about these Saints it is written: The heavens proclaim the glory of God (Ps. 18:2) 441; all of them have by their nature variability in themselves, but at the same time they sincerely desire to attach themselves to the eternally unchanging Truth, and by attaching themselves they become unchangeable; and while they keep themselves anchored to Her in the fullness of love, they will one day, rising above themselves, receive the best for having been changeable. For what is variability if not a form of death? death, which, while one thing changes into another, as it was, kills what was and begins what was not. And this is written about the Creator of all things: the only One who is unchangeable (1 Tim. 6:16) 442, because only He is unchangeable in Himself. Concerning whom it is written by James: With whom there is no variability or shadow of change (James 1:17) 443. For variability is itself a shadow, which, if it has covered the light with any changes, makes it, as it were, unclear. But because variability does not enter into God, “not a shadow of change” distorts His Light. Therefore he said well: the heavens are unclean in His sight, because before the strict knowledge of God, even they cannot be pure to perfection, those who are preachers of purity, as John testifies, who says: if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8) 444. If “among His saints there is not one who is unchangeable; The heavens are unclean in His sight,” then who can assume righteousness in himself? Therefore it is additionally added: Verse 16. How detestable and worthless is a man who drinks iniquity like water? (Job 15:16) 445. 39. The one who first said that it is impossible for a person to be clean from sin and to be righteous calls it “disgusting” and “useless.” "Abominable" refers to his impurity, but "useless" refers to the unrighteousness of an imperfect life; "disgusting and useless", however, can be understood in another sense. For often a bad man seems to do some things well, but the evil deeds which he also does nullify his good deeds; because not only evil deeds are very displeasing to God, but also those that seem good. And therefore he is “disgusting” before God in his evil deeds, and “useless” in his good; because until he shows before God that he has turned away from evil deeds, everything that comes from him that seems right will not be acceptable. And it is well said: he who drinks iniquity like water. For what is eaten is swallowed with delay, since it is chewed before it can be swallowed; but what is drunk does not linger before swallowing, because there is no need to chew for this. And because sin is committed by fools without looking back, lawlessness is drunk like water. For, while doing illegal things, he is not afraid that he swallows iniquity unhindered. What follows: Verse 17. I will show it to you, listen to me; and what I have seen I will declare to you (Job 15:17) 446. 40. All arrogant people have this manner towards themselves, that when they have understood something, even if it be the smallest thing, they turn it to the service of pride, and the same act, as a result of which from understanding a high thing they could actually be exalted, they exalt themselves in the swelling of pride and only fall into the pit of self-exaltation, trying to show themselves better and gain self-respect from their brothers, and stand in it and teach as if they are saints. That's why it says: I will show it to you, listen to me. And since it is obvious that the one who only heard teaches with less power and authority than the one who saw, in order that Eliphaz could claim a stronger kind of authority and greater respect for himself, he says: what I have seen, I will declare to you. But heretics sometimes themselves destroy the judgments of their fathers, and yet hide behind, as they did, the authority of those whose statements they foolishly and undeservedly rejected; the great audacity of the heretics is rightly shown when he said: Verse 18. Wise people acknowledge and do not hide their fathers (Job 15:18) 447. 41. And immediately they jump into praise of themselves, and boast that they were, as it were, the only rulers of the Church. Therefore, they further add: to whom the land was given to one, and no stranger walked among them (Job.15:19) 448. They think that the land was given only to their fathers because the leaders of their erroneous doctrine actually had power in the Church. And who is called a “stranger” if not the apostate Angel? That is why the psalmist said about all the evil spirits together: For strangers have risen up against me, and the oppressors seek my soul (Ps. 53:5) 449. And so the heretics, because they think that the hearts of their teachers are not subject to the apostate Angel, say that “no stranger walked among them.” For when a stranger passes through each person, he plants wicked thoughts in his heart. And therefore it is said in the voice of the prophet about the evil spirits standing against the souls of the righteous: Who say to the soul, bow down, that we may go (Isa. 51:23) 450. But while Eliphaz the Temanite, when he is about to say certain things, wants to be heard, and although he knows many things that are worthy of being said, he still does not know that they are not fit to be said to blessed Job. Let us still hear the proposals that are spoken against blessed Job. For we will not here consider the person to whom this was said, but only what was said. What follows: Verse 20. An evil man is proud all his days (Job 15:20) 451. Literal and moral interpretations 42. The Chosen also tend to feel pride in some of their thoughts and actions. But since they are the chosen ones, they cannot feel proud all the days, because before they end their lives, they turn their hearts from self-exaltation to humility. But an evil man is proud all his days, because he carries his whole life so far to the very end that he never retreats from self-exaltation. He looks around him at everything that flourishes in time, but he neglects to consider where it leads in eternity. He defends his belief in the life of the flesh, and thinks that these things will last a long time, those that he holds at the moment. His mind is set in self-exaltation, every one of his fellow men is in disrespect, and he does not reflect how suddenly death creeps upon him, and how precarious is the happiness about which he has never reflected; and even if he did this, but does not turn his eyes away from the uncertainty of fleeting life, he will never be able to hold uncertain things in certainty. And hence he also added: And the number of years of his tyranny is not determined (Job.15:20) 452. 43. For he should not feel pride at all, even if he suddenly received confirmation of the number of his years, knowing how long he would live, and could know in advance when to withdraw from self-exaltation. But since real life is always uncertain, death must always be expected, the more it cannot be foreseen. And he rightly calls the pride of the wicked “tyranny.” For he is rightly called a tyrant, one who takes leadership without having the right to do so. And let it be known that every proud man, every one in his own way, is a tyrant. For one person applies tyranny in society, in this case, by the power of a high position assigned to him, some in the province, some in the city, and another, who does not have an office, in his own family, this is another hidden practice of tyranny, but all these practices come from their own malice in their hearts. You also need to know that the Lord does not take into account the amount of evil that each person can do, but rather He takes into account how much evil a person wanted to do. And when he desires external power, he is a tyrant in himself, one whose lawlessness dominates him from within; and even if he does not outwardly oppress his neighbors, yet inwardly he strives to have power in order to oppress them; and because Almighty God considers the hearts of men, the evil man has already done in His sight what he intended. And our Creator willed that our end should be hidden from us, so that, while we do not know when we will die, we will always be ready to face death. Therefore, after it has been said: an evil man is proud all his days, he rightly adds: and the number of years of his tyranny is not determined. As if it were said in simple words: why does he rise as if his life is full of certainty, one whose tenure, his whole life, is spent under the penalty of uncertainty? But Almighty God not only reserves future punishments for those who live wickedly, but even here, when they go the wrong way, He punishes their hearts with punishment: simply by the fact that they sin, they beat themselves, and are always trembling, always full of suspicions, they are afraid to face those actions from others that they remember doing to others. Therefore, further additional information is added about these crafty people: Verse 21. The sound of horrors is constantly in his ears, and even in times of peace, he suspects conspiracies (Job 15:21) 453. 44. There is no greater happiness than the simplicity of the heart, for to the extent that it shows innocence towards others, to the same extent there is nothing that it is afraid to encounter from others. For it has its own simplicity, as a kind of citadel of strength, and it does not suspect and is not afraid to experience what it has no memory of itself having done. Solomon said it well: In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence (Proverbs 14:26) 454. Who again says: the mind is safe like an eternal holiday (Proverbs 15:15) 455. For the simplicity of security and safety is rest and peace. While, on the other hand, the evil mind is always in pain and toil, because it either imagines to harm others, or fears that something will fall upon it from others; and always, when conspiring against his neighbors, he is afraid that his neighbors will conspire against him. This is a life that is full of suspicion on all sides, and also full of anxiety on all sides. Everything that comes to mind is seen as hostile to him, and therefore he, who has no peace of security, has, of course, a “terrible sound in his ears” always. And it often happens that his neighbor, whoever he is, speaks to him with one purpose, and does not mean anything hostile, but “even in times of peace, he suspects conspiracies,” one who has always acted treacherously, and therefore he expects that they will do the same to him. And therefore, as it is written, when an evil person comes into the pit of sinners, contempt comes with him (Prov. 18:3) 456, and he, overwhelmed by the darkness of his iniquity, subsequently despairs of seeing the light. It follows from this: Verse 22. He does not believe that he will return from darkness, and he waits for the sword (Job 15:22) 457. 45. For because he considers himself exposed to ambushes and conspiracies on all sides, despairing of salvation, he constantly grows in evil. There are times, too, when this wicked one turns his eyes to judgments from above and fears their coming. But at the same time, he strives for privileges in real life, and these same judgments, which he began to fear, being the conquest of the madness of greed, he nullify. And sometimes, he really thinks that it is possible, that he can die in sin, but still he does not stop sinning. Verse 23. When he forces himself to seek bread, he knows that the day of darkness is already in his hand (Job 15:23) 458. 46. ​“Bread” is the blessings of this life, and the “day of darkness” is the time of reckoning. And therefore, by his behavior, a wicked person sometimes correctly understands the wrath of the Judge above, but still does not depart from evil, so as to prevent his death. His conscience accuses him, he is afraid of punishment, but still something is constantly growing in him, as a result of which he must be defeated. He does little for his return, he despairs of mercy, he carries himself high in sin, but he has fear within, a witness of his wickedness. And although he seems to outwardly do evil, although inside his heart he trembles. Therefore it is written: While wickedness is fearful, it gives evidence of condemnation (Wis.17:11) 459 when a man does unlawful things, he fears the things he does; and the open evidence of his condemnation is the very fear of the iniquity that he does, but despite the fear of evil, he cannot stop doing it. He further adds about the same: Verse 24. Trouble will frighten him, need will oppress him, like a king ready for battle (Job 15:24) 460. 47. In everything that an evil person does, he is clouded with melancholy, sorrow, and need, because his soul arrives in anxiety and fear. One man secretly dreams of seizing other people's goods by force, and he makes efforts and thinks constantly in the thoughts of his heart so that he cannot be detected. Another man, abandoning the truth, makes his mind lie, so that he can deceive the minds of those who hear him; but what a lot of work it costs to guard this deception with sufficient attention so that it is not discovered! For he puts before his eyes what answer those who know the truth can give him, and what enormous effort of thought he makes, in accordance with the technique of lying, in order to surpass the evidence of the truth. He hides himself here and there, and on the side where he can be exposed, his answer should look something like an answer resembling the truth, whereas if he were like-minded, he could simply tell the truth, undoubtedly, without this pain. For the path of truth is smooth, but the road of lies is hard. And, therefore, the prophet said: they have accustomed their tongue to speak lies, they have worn themselves out with sin (Jer.9:5) 461. Therefore, he said well: Trouble will frighten him, need will oppress him, because in himself he destroys himself, tired of fear, the one who leaves the path of truth - the companion of security. And he is rightly compared to a king prepared for battle, for seeing that what he has done is very bad, he is immediately alarmed and depressed; his conscience immediately trembles, but he is suffocated with desire; fears swell high; fear and apprehension lift him up in a spirit of insolence. Moreover, we must know that the “king who is preparing for battle” not only fears the enemy, but he also fears for the very army he leads, lest it be tempted, lest it take flight, lest the desertion of his soldiers leave him open to the arrows of the enemy. And so need will press on him, like a king ready for battle, because while he practices false things and utters false words, he is afraid that he will lose his own soldiers, i.e. arguments of lies that are attacked by the arrows of truth, and there is always a chance that he will not have enough statements to counter the truth on the side of deception. And although the spirit trembles, although the conscience accuses, the evil man is subdued by his passion; and, forcing himself under fear, he receives insolence from his iniquities. And often, when retribution overtakes him, he raises himself against God; he decides not to accept punishment from His hand, and while he is in this life, while he has the right, he can do whatever he pleases. And therefore let it be added: Verse 25, 26. For he stretched out his hand against God, and strengthened himself against the Most High; He runs towards Him with his neck raised up, armed with a strong neck (Job 15:25–26) 462. 48. By these things is more clearly understood the head of the wicked himself, that is, the Antichrist, who, having raised his hand against God, is said to have been "strengthened," because for a time he was allowed to exalt himself, so that, in proportion as he was allowed glory for a while, he might be punished more mercilessly in eternity; but, considering all the wicked members of him who then at the end of the world must go this way, let us see how this is now done by each of the wicked individually. Thus there are some who, even if they had ever tried to do things against the will of Almighty God, weakened by the very impossibility of carrying out their will, looked upon themselves, and turned their eyes to Him whom they despised, and they, who might have gone far from Him if they had been able to do what they resolved to do, are sometimes saved by their failure to do what they wickedly designed; and, therefore, having examined themselves, they see what their real condition is, and they grieve that they were plotting to do things contrary to the Truth. And there are those who, under the punishment of the righteous Court of God, were able to fulfill in the worst malice what they in malice desired to do against God. And although evil flares up from action, and power strengthens them, from now on they are not able to achieve knowledge of themselves in their dissipation, to the extent that fate pampers them with abundance, and gives them the strength to even surpass themselves. It is about these minds that it is said here that he stretched out his hand against God, and strengthened himself against the Most High. For to “stretch out your hand against God” is to continue to do evil, ignoring the judgments of God. And since God is the more angry, the more He tolerates acts that should not even have been thought of, this evil man is strengthened against the Most High, because he is allowed to suffer in his wicked behavior so that he continues to do evil things, and yet live in visible happiness, about which they also add further: He runs at Him with his neck raised up. 49. For “to run against God with your neck erect” means to do with shamelessness such things as are disgusting to the Creator. What is well said: he runs, that is, he has no obstacles or difficulties in order to do evil. In relation to which it is also additionally added: armed with a strong neck. A “strong neck” is proud wealth, backed by storehouses overflowing with wealth, as if a strong neck were backed by an amount of flesh. And a bad person, convicted of power, is “armed against God with a strong neck,” because he, swelling with temporary blessings, is adjusted by the number of carnal things against the commandments of truth. For what is poverty if not thinness, and what is abundance of treasures if not the fatness of real life? And so he raises himself, armed with a strong neck against God, the one who puts temporary abundance in the service of pride. For the strong and the wicked, being engrossed in false riches, neglect the true riches of God, and the less they understand this, the more they rise in false attainments. For care and concern for earthly things, when it takes possession of a person, completely blinds the vision. Therefore, it is also rightly added: Verse 27. Fat covered his face (Job 15:27) 463. 50. For the gaze always catches the face as the most worthy part of the body. Therefore, all the best that is in a person is quite rightly called “his face,” which, moreover, whichever way we turn, we will see. So, “fat covered his face,” it is said about those whose sincere thirst for the abundance of earthly goods weighs on the eyes of the mind, and what should be worthy in them makes them unworthy in the eyes of God, because it pulls them down with the burden of many worries. Who, however, will not find this sufficient to fill him with pride, even if those who are associated with them themselves boast to others of their fatness. For there are those who, thanks to the patronage of the stronger, themselves exalt themselves in pride, and by the power of their patrons rise up against the disadvantaged. From here it is added even further: And the fat hangs off the sides. 51. For fat is an excess of flesh, and those people who are, as it were, “sides”, i.e. the confidants of the rich, whom we see associated with them, are called "the fat that hangs from his sides," because whoever gives himself to a strong and evil man of his own free will, and himself, as it were, swells with the fat of good things, so that after the wickedness of the evil patron he himself loses the fear of God, he oppresses the weak whom he can, and as many as he can, and exalts his heart in temporary glory. So when there is one who is attached to a powerful and evil man, it is true enough that it is said of him, “And the fat hangs down his sides.” Regarding them, it is also additionally added: Verse 28. And he dwells in desolate communities, in desolate houses that become ruins (Job 15:28) 464. 52. For, as the "common" takes its name from the community of persons living together in a common place, the "deserted commons" are the crowds of wicked followers, by whose cries the wicked man deserves to be applauded when he hastens to carry out his wickedness in evil deeds. Where it is written from: a sinner is valued according to the desires of his soul, and he who does injustice is blessed (Ps. 10:3) 465. But the desolate house is the evil thoughts that dwell in this evil man, and in everything he does he seeks to please the wicked thoughts. What communities are rightly called “ruined,” and what houses “deserted,” if not those who have abandoned Almighty God in favor of their previous sins, and come to worse ones. And it is well said that they become ruins. For the destroyed and ruined buildings of houses and the city really become ruins; and while the wicked are united with each other in evil works, bound together by intertwined paths of conduct, they show, without a doubt, that they have fallen from the edifice of life. What follows: Verse 29. It should not be inhabited, its wealth will not survive, and its roots will not grow in the ground (Job 15:29) 466. 53. This is the place where it says: It should not be inhabited, I found in some other copies in this form “it should not be enriched”; but the meaning of the two different expressions is not contradictory, although the phraseology is different. For he is “enriched” with virtuous achievements, whose mind is “inhabited” by Almighty God. But the thoughts of a proud man cannot be “inhabited” by the grace of his Creator, and therefore, of course, he is not “enriched” with virtues. And regarding the fact that it is empty inside, it must be said: it should not be inhabited. But in relation to the one who swells from the possession of things that are temporary, he rightly added that: his wealth will not survive. As if it were said in simple words: “It seemed to him that he had what outwardly passes, but he did not have what is eternal.” And, therefore, it is rightly included: its root will not sprout in the ground. If we understand in this place by the word earth plain, then a tree that has no root in the earth falls to the ground at the slightest breath of wind; and every proud man, when he is "strengthened against the Almighty Lord," while he runs against Him with his neck erect, and when he is armed with a strong neck against the Creator, he is seen to stand like a tree; but his position has no root, because he falls from a light breath, and as it is, in secret judgment, his life has no root. But if in this passage we understand the word “earth” as the Eternal Country, of which the prophet speaks: My part is in the land of the living (Ps. 141:5) 467, this evil man will not “sprout his roots in the earth,” because he never sows the thoughts of his heart in the desire of eternal life. For what is a root for a tree, the same is the thought in his own heart for every person; for what is visible externally is the consequence of what is not visible externally. And, therefore, the prophet said: the root will again send down and bear fruit upward (Is. 37:31) 468. For when we direct our thought in sympathy to our poor neighbor, we, as it were, send the root down, in order perhaps to receive the fruit of reward from above. What follows: Verse 30. He will not escape from darkness (Job 15:30) 469. 54. If this proud man were persuaded to turn from sin to righteousness, he could “walk away from darkness.” But since he does not seek the light of truth, he will not escape the darkness. Following his example, also those who attached themselves to him breathe themselves in the creation of earthly achievements, are ignited by the torches of avarice and burn at the fires of other carnal desires. And therefore it is added: The flame will dry up its branches (Job 15:30) 470. 55. For if he united within himself those who seek the Eternal Land, he would contain green “branches” within himself. But since they, who are united with him, are also inflamed by earthly passions, because the flame of passions kindles the hearts of his followers, will certainly dry up the flame of his branch, because they will not be able to bear the fruits of good deeds, seeing that for the sake of the pursuit of the lowest objects, they are suffocated in evil. And this is well added further: And by the breath of his mouth he will be taken away (Job 15:30) 471. 56. For a proud man, the more powerful he is in this life, the more shameless freedom he allows the rein of his tongue, so that he utters bad things of all kinds, does not perceive any other person with his words, hurts others with insults, throwing curses at them. But sometimes he is carried away in blasphemy against his Creator, as the psalmist said about such people: they turn their lips to the heavens, and their tongue walks along the earth (Ps. 72:9) 472. And therefore, for example, a rich man, being on fire, begs for a drop of water to fall on his tongue from the finger of Lazarus. Based on this circumstance, it becomes clear that in that part where a person has sinned the most, in that part he will burn the more fiercely. Therefore, he rightfully now says: And with the breath of his mouth he will be taken away; because he will receive punishment to the extent that he did not hold back the breath of his lips in the fear of God. Verse 31. Let him not believe, having been vainly deceived, that he must be redeemed at any cost (Job 15:31) 473. 57. As often as we perform a merciful act after a sinful one, we, as it really is, pay the price for the bad action. That is why the prophet also said about them doing this: he will not give God his propitiation, nor the price of the redemption of the soul (Ps. 49:8-9) 474. But sometimes the rich, while oppressing those below them, seizing the things of others, still in a certain sense give something to some others; while they oppress crowds of people, they sometimes give some support and protection to specific people, and for the iniquities they never cease to commit, they seem to offer to pay this price. But atonement by mercy only frees us from our sins when we mourn them and renounce the things of which we are guilty. For the one who has sinned and is going to sin in the future, he, as always, having given alms, pays this price in vain, because he will not redeem his soul, he will not refrain from evil habits. Therefore, let it be said as now: Let him not believe, having been vainly deceived, that he must be redeemed at any cost. For the alms of a rich and proud man have no power to redeem him, seeing that he at the same time robs the poor, for this will not allow him to rise in the eyes of God. This can also be understood in another sense. It often happens that proud rich people, when they give alms, do not give it with the desire for eternal life, but do it to prolong temporary life; they think that they can buy themselves out of death with offerings, but let them not think that they must be redeemed at any cost; for he will not be able to provide with any gifts to avoid the coming of the end, which is death for him, when his evil deeds shorten his life. This also adds: Verse 32. Before his days are completed, he will perish, and his hands will dry up (Job 15:32) 475. 58. The number of days is predetermined to every man by Divine Foreknowledge, and can neither be increased nor decreased, except when they are also foreseen in advance, either as extended if they are accompanied by the most perfect deeds, or as shortened for the most wicked deeds. Hezekiah received the extension of days as a gift for tears, but, as it is written about the wicked: death meets the disorderly (presumably the quote is taken from Eccl. 20:9) 476. However, often an evil person, although in the Secret Foreknowledge of God there are no long days of life for him, desires to live according to the flesh as long as possible, and sets the length of his days in his imagination. And because he cannot reach that time which he hopes for, as indeed it is, before his days are ended, he will perish. We can also understand this in another sense. For very often we see people who lead evil lives reaching a very old age. Why then did he say that before his days were completed he would perish, when in the case of particular persons we often see that their limbs no longer move because of their age, and yet their passions do not cease to embody their malice? 59. There are some who, after a lost way of life, will return to themselves, and their conscience, accusing them, will force them to abandon deceit and change their actions, to resist their old evils, to leave the earthly path, and to pursue heavenly goals, but before they are firmly established in these holy goals, from the lifelessness of the mind, they return again to the things on which they began to condemn, and return again to the evil habits which they decided to shun. For while it often happens that for the benefit of many, even holy people bend their necks to external actions, and, for example, are drawn into the government of the people, the weak, seeing this, and still having their former pride in themselves, striving to follow the example of the saints, are also drawn into external modes of action; but since they come to this not yet imbued with the Spirit, they do these things in a carnal way. Only the heart, which has first confirmed itself in heavenly desires by long-term use of good practice, when it pours out deeds from itself to accomplish external things, can build all its deeds on good practice in the future. Therefore it is rightly said about an evil man: Before his days are completed, he will perish. Because, even if he begins to accidentally do something well, before he has established himself in this doing for a long time, he returns to the world around him and angrily abandons what he seemed to have started rightly. And, therefore, he added not in vain: and his hands will dry up; because he begins to take part in external activities prematurely, and he runs out of good practice. From here they also add correctly: Verse 33, 34. His bush will be spoiled like a vine that first blossoms, and like an olive tree it will lose its blossom. For the hypocrite's harvest is barren. ( Job 15:33–34 ) 477 . 60. It should be noted that the Divine Word first speaks of this wicked man in general terms, and then reduces his description to his specific crimes. For what is said: His bush will be spoiled like the grapes of the first blossom, and like the olive tree it will shed its blossom; it is immediately added: For the harvest of the hypocrite is barren, which shows us that in this evil man the sentence of condemnation is pronounced upon his hypocrisy. Now we must consider how it is that the hypocrite's bush "will be spoiled like the grape of the first flower, and like the olive it will drop its blossom." If a vine in its first flowering is touched by excessive cold in uneven weather, immediately all its greenery will wither. And in the same way there are some who, after walking for a long time along the paths of evil, begin to follow the path of holiness, but before good desires are established in them, as we have already said, some part of the current life falls on them, which entangles them with surrounding problems, and while it leads their minds away from the warmth of inner love, as it was, it exposes them to the cold, and everything that seemed to be happening in them in the flowering of virtue is killed. For in the actions of earthly paths the mind becomes very cold if the internal gifts have not yet firmly established themselves in it. From this it follows that the supreme government or external affairs which are intended to be useful for the needs of their neighbors must be assumed and carried out by those persons who already have the firm habit of judging themselves and submitting themselves to the power of internal virtue. For when any weak person is carried away either by the office of a ruler or by the execution of external affairs, to the extent that he is not rooted, like a tree that has not yet taken deep roots, falls from a gust of wind, if it lifts itself high in its crown; and the faster it falls lower, the more it grows up without roots. But sometimes the flower vine dries out not only from the cold, but also from the heat, when it comes into contact with high temperatures, and the flowers fall off and the bushes wither. And it very often happens that those who have come to good works with the wrong intention, when they see that they are pleasing their fellow men, become even more furious in doing the same good works, carefully doing what they expect to gain approval in the eyes of people, and become, as it were, warmed up in holy devotion. What is this if not the heat that comes at the moment of flowering for those whom greed for human applause deprives of fruit? Therefore it is well added: and like an olive tree sheds its flower. For when an olive tree is in bloom, if it is touched by an excessive fog, it loses its fruit. And, in the same way, often people who do good deeds begin to become exalted, and take pleasure in thanking themselves, thereby causing a fog of understanding in their thoughts, and can no longer discern with what intention they do a thing, and lose the fruits of their deeds, as it were, in the fog of human applause. Hence Solomon said well: Let us rise early to the vineyards, let us see whether the vines bloom, and whether the flowers bear their fruit (Song. 7:13) 478. “The vines bloom” when the minds of believers are set on good works; but they do not "fruit" unless in what they set out to do they succeeded because some other erroneous practice got the better of them. 61. Thus, we must first look not at whether the vines bloom, but at whether the bases of the flowers are strong enough to bear fruit; because it is not worth admiring much that a person begins good deeds, for he deserves real admiration only if, with the right intention, he continues to do good deeds. Hence it very often happens that if the right intention is not guarded in a good deed, even the most good deed, which is supposed to be good, loses its good result. For we have often seen people renouncing the earthly things they had, and henceforth not striving for anything transitory, and yet doing it for the sake of this temporary life. Once a true mind manifested this in itself, as if an olive tree bore flowers, but then it begins to seek the glory of the world, because of which it falls and begins to choke with an insatiable desire for earthly things, which it seemed to despise, and enters into struggle for it, and plots against its neighbors; then the olive tree will indeed shed the flower that it gave birth to earlier, because it will never bring to perfection the germs of a good goal by deeds. But we must keep in mind that such things often happen to those who do not follow God with a pure and singular purpose. Therefore he rightly added: For the harvest of the hypocrite is barren. For the good things he started he would not have lost if he had not been a hypocrite. Now the hypocrites reap good works, but their very harvest is unfruitful in that what they do they never do to obtain fruit in eternal reward. They appear fruitful and flourishing to the eyes of their neighbors, but before the eyes of the secret Judge they appear barren. And often, inflamed with the fever of greed, they display their deeds before the eyes of people the more they want to have the reward offered to them by their neighbors. From here they also add: And fire will consume the tents of those who are ready to take rewards (Job 15:34) 479. 62. For just as the body dwells in the tabernacle, so the mind dwells in thought. But “fire will consume the tents” when the heat of greed consumes thoughts. And it very often happens that a hypocrite despises receiving gold or expensive things for the body from the hands of his neighbors, and because he does not accept them, he strives at this expense to win more praise from them; and perhaps he doesn't feel like he's "rewarded" because he refuses to take good things for his body. Therefore, in fact, it is known that a gift is sometimes something from an outstretched hand, and sometimes something from the mouth. Thus, the one who gives money gives a reward from his hands; but he who bestows words of applause gives reward from the lips. And although the hypocrite refuses to accept external gifts, which may be justified by earthly necessity, he, desiring to be exalted, aims to be paid with the reward of the lips. And because in the desire of praise his heart is kindled with excessive heat, let it be justly said: And the fire will devour the tents of those who are ready to take rewards. 63. But if we understand by the word "tents" the bodies that inhabit their souls, then fire consumes their tents, because those who are here burning in the soul with the flames of greed are consumed by the fire of hell, and because the mind of a hypocrite is never at rest because of wicked thoughts, whether he goes after earthly things or after applause, he is jealous of those things in others that he wants to have for himself, and strives to do so that others will appear wicked to the extent that he desires to appear more holy to the whole world. And by making others despised, he can show himself more worthy of respect. But it happens that he comes to the point that in relations with his neighbors, he spreads the network of his language so as to generate in the judgments of his neighbors a good opinion of those whom he wants to please. From which it also follows: Verse 35. They conceive grief, and bring forth iniquity, and their belly prepares deception (Job 15:35) 480. Thus, by the name womb, the mind is correctly understood, since just as offspring is conceived in the womb of the mother, so thoughts are generated in the mind. And just as flesh is contained in the womb, so are thoughts contained in the mind; and so the “womb” of the hypocrite prepares deception, because he conceives in his mind the greater malice against his neighbors, the more he strives to show himself above all innocent people. Therefore Eliphaz said these things, looking at the blessed Job, being struck by this great scourge of his hypocrisy. But his words, although they are applicable to many, are not subject to being spoken precisely to the person to whom they were spoken, for the holy man had none of this in his behavior, the man whom the Truth of Genesis, with its testimony, glorified for the simplicity of his heart. If the days are determined for him, and the number of his months is with You, if You have set a limit for him, which he will not cross. Longevity is in her right hand, and in her left are wealth and glory; (truth comes out of her mouth; she carries law and mercy on her tongue.) ...if You have set a limit for him that he will not cross. In those days Hezekiah fell mortally ill. And the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him: Thus says the Lord: Make a testament for your house, for you will die and not recover. then turn away from him: let him rest until he finishes his day as a mercenary. There is hope for a tree that, even if it is cut down, it will come to life again, and the branches from it will not stop coming out: even if its root has grown old in the ground, and its stump has frozen in the dust, but as soon as it senses water, it gives off shoots and puts out branches, as if newly planted. And man dies and disintegrates; left, and where is he? But I, like a meek lamb led to the slaughter, did not know that they were plotting against me, saying: “Let us put poisonous wood for his food and tear him away from the land of the living, so that his name will not be mentioned again.” And all the trees of the field will know that I, the Lord, bring down the high tree, I make the low tree high, I wither the green tree, and make the dry tree to bloom: I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it. for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. When the clouds are full, they will pour rain on the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or north, then it will remain where it falls. And he said in his heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mountain in the assembly of gods, at the edge of the north. She is a tree of life to those who acquire her, and blessed are those who keep her! For if they do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry tree? Even if its root has grown old in the ground, and its stump has frozen in the dust, but as soon as it senses water, it gives off shoots and puts out branches, as if newly planted. By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will return. In the eyes of the foolish, they seemed dead, and their outcome was considered destruction. On the last great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” and whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. and the Chief of life was killed. This one God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And man dies and disintegrates; left, and where is he? And the father said to his servants: Bring the best robe and dress him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. Behold, I come like a thief: blessed is he who watches and keeps his clothes, lest he walk naked, and lest they see his shame. The waters of the lake leave, and the river dries up and dries up: so a man will lie down and not stand; until the end of heaven he will not awaken and rise from his sleep. His spirit departs, and he returns to his land: on that day his thoughts perish. and their love and their hatred and their jealousy have already disappeared, and they no longer have a part forever in anything that is done under the sun. I tell you a secret: we will not all die, but we will all change. And if in this life only we hope in Christ, then we are the most miserable of all people. Do not marvel at this; for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who did good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who did evil into the resurrection of condemnation. so a man will lie down and not stand; until the end of heaven he will not awaken and rise from his sleep. I do not want to leave you, brothers, in ignorance about the dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. Oh, if only You would hide me in the underworld and cover me until Your anger passes, set a time for me and then remember me! And he drove out Adam, and placed Cherubim and a flaming sword that turned around in the east of the Garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life. for great is Thy mercy toward me: Thou hast delivered my soul from the depths of hell. but, possessing power, You judge leniently and rule us with great mercy, for Your power is always in Your will. but when the fulness of the time had come, God sent forth His (Only Begotten) Son, who was born of a woman, made subject to the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons. But You hid even this in Your heart - I know that You had it. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me. I will redeem them from the power of hell, I will deliver them from death. Death! where is your sting? hell! where is your victory? I will have no repentance for that. When a person dies, will he live again? On all the days of my appointed time, I would wait for my replacement to come. And going away a little, he fell on his face, prayed and said: My Father! if possible, let this cup pass from Me; however, not as I want, but as You want. ...On all the days of the time determined for me, I would wait for my replacement to come. because the creation was subjected to vanity not voluntarily, but according to the will of the one who conquered it, in the hope that the creation itself would be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. You would call, and I would give You an answer, and You would show favor to the creation of Your hands. Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be. We only know that when it is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. Everything came into being through Him, and without Him nothing came into being that came into being. for then You would have numbered my steps and would not have been in wait for my sin. For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. my iniquity would be sealed in a scroll, and You would cover my guilt. Is this not hidden from Me? is it not sealed in My storehouses? With Me is vengeance and recompense, when their foot fails; For the day of their destruction is near; the prepared thing for them will soon come. But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is My chosen vessel, to proclaim My name before the nations and kings and the children of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for My name. for I acknowledge my iniquities, and my sin is always before me. But the mountain falls and is destroyed, and the rock comes out of its place; water wears away stones; its spilling washes away the dust of the earth: so You destroy the hope of man. You push him to the end, and he leaves; you betray his face and send him away. Whether his children are honored - he does not know; whether they are humiliated - he does not notice. However, he will be saved through childbearing if he continues in faith and love and in holiness with chastity. but his flesh hurts on him, and his soul suffers in him. However, even if you get married, you will not sin; and if the girl marries, she will not sin. But such will have tribulations according to the flesh; and I feel sorry for you. And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, Shall a wise man answer with empty knowledge, and fill his belly with the scorching wind? justify yourself with useless words and speech that has no power? Yes, you have put aside fear and consider speaking to God as a small thing. Your wickedness has set your mouth this way, and you have chosen the tongue of the wicked. It is your mouth that accuses you, not I, and your tongue speaks against you. Were you the first man born and created before the hills? Have you heard the advice of God and attracted wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we don't know? What do you understand that we would not have? And there is a gray-haired man and an old man among us, longer than your father in days. They left us, but they were not ours: for if they were ours, they would have remained with us; but (they went out, and) through this it was revealed that they were not all ours. Is God's consolation small for you? And this is unknown to you? Why does your heart yearn for you, and why do you look so proudly? Why do you direct your spirit against God and utter such speeches with your lips? I fast twice a week and give a tenth of everything I acquire. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God, as it is written: It catches the wise in their wickedness. What is man that he should be pure, and that he who is born of a woman should be righteous? Behold, He does not trust His saints, and the heavens are unclean in His eyes. The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. the only one who has immortality, Who dwells in the unapproachable light, Whom no man has seen and cannot see. Honor and eternal power to him! Amen. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. the more unclean and corrupt the person who drinks iniquity like water. I will tell you, listen to me; I'll tell you what I saw. what the wise heard and did not hide what they heard from their fathers. to whom alone was the land given, and among whom no stranger walked. for strangers have risen up against me, and the mighty are seeking my soul; they do not have God before them. And I will give it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you: “Fall on your face so that we can walk over you”; and you made your backbone as if it were earth and a street for those who passed by. The wicked torments himself all his days, and the number of years is hidden from the oppressor. ...and the number of years is closed from the oppressor; the sound of horrors in his ears; in the midst of the world the destroyer comes against him. In the fear of the Lord there is sure hope, and He is a refuge for His sons. All the days of the unfortunate man are sad; and he who has a cheerful heart always has a feast. With the coming of the wicked comes contempt, and with disgrace comes reproach. He does not hope to be saved from darkness; sees a sword in front of him. He wanders everywhere for a piece of bread; knows that he is already ready, the day of darkness is in his hands. Fear is nothing more than the deprivation of help from reason. He is frightened by need and cramped conditions; overcomes him like a king preparing for battle. Everyone deceives his friend, and they do not tell the truth: they have trained their tongue to speak lies, they deceive until they are tired. because he stretched out his hand against God and resisted the Almighty, rushing against Him with a proud neck, under his thick shields. for he covered his face with his fat, and covered his lads with fat. And he settles in ruined cities, in houses in which no one lives, which are doomed to ruins. He will not remain rich, and his property will not survive, and his gain will not spread throughout the earth. I cried to You, Lord, I said: You are my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. And the remnant that survived in the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit above. Will not escape from darkness; The fire will dry up its branches and carry it away with the breath of its lips. ...its branches will be dried up by fire... ...and will carry him away with the breath of his lips. They raise their mouth to heaven, and their tongue walks across the earth. Let the lost one not trust vanity, for vanity will also be his reward. a man will in no way redeem his brother and will not give God a ransom for him: the price of redeeming their soul is dear, and it will not be so forever, It will not die on its own day, and its branches will not grow green. English version editor's note He will shed his unripe berries like a vine and shake off his blossom like an olive tree. Thus the house of the wicked will be desolate, and the fire will consume the tents of bribery. in the morning we will go to the vineyards, see if the vines have blossomed, if the buds have opened, if the pomegranate apples have blossomed; there I will show you my caresses. Thus the house of the wicked will be desolate, and the fire will consume the tents of bribery. He conceived evil and gave birth to lies, and his womb prepares deception. The lamp of the Lord is the spirit of man, testing all the depths of the heart. My womb! my womb! I grieve in the depths of my heart, my heart is agitated within me, I cannot remain silent; for you hear, my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of battle.