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A rich man came to the Judge (Matthew 19:16-30), wanting to bribe Him with the gifts of sweet speech, and the Judge showed that at His Judgment Seat He does not accept gifts and does not look at faces. “Why do you call Me good?” (cf. Matthew 19:17) when should I be fair in what you want to know from me? For the sake of the sinner’s wife, the righteous God became good, because she came to Him as a forgiver (of sins), but this (rich man) came to Him as a lawgiver, who hid His mercy and mercy when he gave the law, saying: “Whoever kills shall die” (cf. Matt. 5:38). “What... should I... do... to be alive?” (cf. Matthew 19:16). The Judge showed the severity of His truth. But when the zealot of the law announced that he had carefully kept the law, then the legislator rejoiced and rejoiced over him, which made it clear that that previous flattery had not brought any benefit, but this observance of the law helped. “If... you want,” he says, “to enter eternal life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). Flatterers love to call many, out of partiality, good, but the Son knows One Good One, Who is so good that He did not learn from anyone else how to do good. For with the same name with which the rich man honored the Son out of flattery, the Son honored the Father in truth, not to please Him, but to testify of Him. Then the rich man called Him good in order to give Him this name as if on loan, just as people usually give pleasant names to their comrades. The Lord deviated from what man gave Him in order to show that He has goodness from His Father by His nature and birth, and not by name only. He says: “Only... is good” (Matthew 19:17), and after this he did not remain silent, but added: “Father,” to teach that the Father has a Good Son, like Him. The rich man called the Lord a good teacher, as if one of (a number of other) good teachers. He answered him: “There is no other good thing,” as you thought, “except only God the Father” (cf. Matt. 19:17). He said: “God” to explain who he was talking about, and added: “Father,” in order to teach that God cannot be called Father except for the sake of the Son. And since they could create many gods for themselves in heaven, therefore he says: “No one is good but one Father, who is in heaven” (cf. Matt. 19:17). Not God and God, but God from God, and the Good from the Good. God is also Christ, since he says: “Father.” After all, when you hear about a good tree, then the evidence of goodness also extends to its fruit. Since this lawyer came in order to learn (from Christ), as if from the law, Christ gave him the answer, as if from (the face of) the law: “I am, and there is no other besides Me” (cf. Deut. 32:39). Likewise (he says) in this place: “No one is good but one” (Matthew 19:17), and both (sayings) mean the same thing, as do the following words: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God, there is only one Lord” (cf. Deut. 6:4). Next. This man had abundant wealth according to the blessing of the law and was confident of his earthly prosperity, which the law promised, and he came in the hope of receiving a testimony from the Lord about his wealth and deeds. He asked the Lord about the law, with the intention of following this up to ask Him whether reward should already follow on this earth for those who kept the law. And the Lord (in his speech) about keeping the law omitted something 226 until he (the rich man) came up and said: “What else do I lack?” (Matthew 19:20). And while he hoped that now the Lord would reveal to him those other virtues with which he was perfect, like Paul 227, the Lord offered (him) not what he wanted to hear, but what he did not want, and the thought of hearing what did not come to his mind. Thus, the Lord set forth to him the truth of the law and added (to it) the seal of solid food. Go, he says, lay up your earthly wealth in heaven and thus you will have confidence in it, because it has been saved for you. No matter how much you have on earth, least of all hope for it. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (cf. Matt. 6:21) - and not on earth. So, instead of milk and honey, which were given to babies, nails and a cross are offered to the perfect ones. Seeing that his whole heart had long been buried in this earth, the Lord first brought him into amazement, shook off the dust of the earth from him and directed his mind to heaven. “No one,” he says, “is good except one who is in heaven” (cf. Matt. 19:17). Instead of the earth, he showed him the sky and instead of his fathers - one Father. If, he says, there is only one Good One, and He dwells in heaven, then raise your heart from earth to heaven to the Good One Whom you love. But when he left, the Lord said: “how difficult it is for those who place their hopes in possessions” (cf. Matt. 19:23), because they believe that self-interest and acquisition decide this matter too 228. It is difficult for them because they enter the Kingdom of Heaven through the cross. “If,” he says, “you do not show Me, your Judge, your deeds, then you will not receive life. From now on,” he says, “you need something else” (cf. Matt. 5:16). So, he made up for the lack of the old with the new, which is why he said: “I came... to fulfill it” (cf. Matt. 5:17). But if the law blesses, saying: “You will possess estates and wealth,” then You remove us from acquisitions, saying: “You need other things from now on,” - this is Your fulfillment of the law. However, know that the one who gives property and the one who preserves it so that it is not stolen by theft are one. One gave wealth on earth, and the other prepared a house of treasures in heaven. Thus, the law gave earthly blessings, and the Lord gave higher blessings, that is, each (gave) from his gifts. Then, those who kill their heirs may possess earthly blessings, but those who are killed may possess the highest blessings. God gave the fathers 229 wealth, through which He encouraged the Jews to imitate their fathers and from their fathers learn to feed the poor. But the children fixed their eyes on the wealth of their fathers, and not on their righteousness; The pagans turned to the truth, and not to their wealth. Notice that the Lord said to him: “Do this and you will live” (cf. Matt. 19:21). How is this difficult? It is difficult for such people to enter the Kingdom of Heaven only through the gates of those who are perfect and bear (their) cross. Just as there is a gate for those who lead a virgin life, so there is a gate for those living in the world, and those living in the world can enter the Kingdom through their gates, but it is difficult for them to enter through the gate of virgins. This is what the Lord confirmed, saying “difficult” (Matthew 19:23), but “impossible.” Seeking a reason (to tempt the Lord), the Pharisees wanted to (intentionally) create (such) a reason, and one of them came to tempt the Lord and find out whether the fulfillment of the law that He taught would not destroy the law. The Lord immediately curbed the mouth of this tempter, saying: “No one is good but one” (Matthew 19:17), and then: “Do you not know the commandments?” (Matthew 19:17). With these words, He, firstly, rejected another God, so that his name would no longer be mentioned, and taught that the life-giving commandments were before Him; secondly, he showed that they could be observed, and, thirdly, since he looked at him with love 230, he (by this) let him know how pleasing to Him are those who fully observe the ancient commandments. Having added: “You need something else from now on,” he explained that His appearance was not in vain and empty. Therefore, the lack of completeness in the ancient law does not give rise (to the need for recognition) of another God. If the Pharisee had lied when he said, “I did this,” then who could prevent him from saying, “I do this too?” After all, a lying person does not retreat from any lie. However, if he were not ashamed to say: “I do this too,” then wouldn’t he be afraid at least of those who knew that he did not do this? Further, that he (the young man) was saddened, and not feignedly, but actually saddened, this is clear from the fact that the Lord saw that he was saddened. After all, if he had lied, he would not have been saddened, because in that case he would not have been prepared (for this) by keeping the commandments. But as a person who considers himself perfect, he approached the Lord so that the Lord would make his praise obvious (to everyone). Seeing that he had shortcomings, he was saddened to see that his praise was silent, since he aligned his righteousness with the praise of the law and had already received benefits for it. The Lord looked at him with love in order to teach how pleasing to Him are those who strive for perfection. For whoever loves serves those who are lower than him; he who is above him obeys. He loved him in order to teach how beloved (to Him) is the one who strives for the highest degree (of perfection). With the words: “The good teacher” (Matthew 19:16) (the rich one) sent, as it were, some gift, because at first he tried to bribe the Lord with gifts (of the tongue). But the Lord rejected the reason for partiality in order to teach that we should say and listen to what is fair. And he looked at him with love, in order to thus attract him and raise him to that perfection that was established by the Lord and, in fact, was then offered to him. But since his truth was consistent with the law, according to which people acted righteously in the hope of earthly blessings, he hoped in his possessions, as if they were a reward for his righteousness. Therefore, “hardly rich” (cf. Matt. 19:23) and those who place their hope in this kind of thing, because they think that what they possess is a reward and reward for their exploits. For those who think that they are the reward of their righteousness cannot leave their wealth. Then, so that (the rich man) does not say: “from the very beginning he met me with displeasure and therefore, taking advantage of the pretext, rejected me,” for this (the Lord) says: “one... only... is good” (Matthew 19:17). If this is so, then isn’t He Himself good, since He is called the Son of the Good? That is why he also looked at him with love, to make it clear that this rich man did not praise himself. And he was also rich, who dressed in purple (Luke 16:19). From the fact that this (last) says: “Father Abraham” (Luke 16:24), and also: “Moses and the prophets are there” (cf. Luke 16:29), it clearly follows that he was an Israelite. “No one is good except one” (Matthew 19:17). But, Lord, are you not good? “Only... one,” he says, “is good.” But is not Your coming the coming of goodness? “But I,” he says, “did not come from Myself” (cf. John 7:28). But aren’t Your deeds good? “My Father,” he says, “who abides in Me, does these works Himself” (cf. John 14:10). Isn’t Your new sermon a sermon of goodness? “He who sent Me,” he says, “Himself gave Me a commandment, what to say and what to say” (cf. John 12:49). If Your coming, and Your words, and Your deeds are from the Father, then are You not Good from Good? But the prophet also said about the Spirit: “Let Your good Spirit guide me” (Ps. 142:10). So, the Lord did not give the departing rich man any reason for him to move away (from Him), so that his removal would be worthy of reproach. Wanting to give a new commandment, the Lord confirmed the law and honored the Lord of the law, so that the rich would not say that Christ is their adversary 231 and introduces a new teaching about an alien God; because he clearly showed that poverty had already been approved of Him, since “An angel carried him into the bosom of Abraham” (cf. Luke 16:22). “What... do you call Me good?” (Matthew 19:17). With these words he offered an example of His humility in order to honor the Father, although in other places He called Himself good, saying: “Your eye is evil, but ... I am good” (cf. Matt. 20:15), and also: “The good shepherd lays down ... his life for his flock” (cf. John 10:11). Saying: “What... do you call Me good?” (Matthew 19:17) - (with this) answer he rejected the thoughts of the questioner, since he thought that Christ was from this earth and was, as it were, one of the teachers of Israel. So, since the rich man considered Christ a (simple) man, and called Him good, like God, therefore he says: “Why... do you call Me good?” (Matthew 19:17) - that is, if you really thought so, that I came from above and am the Son of the Good, then you would correctly call it good; But if I am from this earth, as you think, then you call Me good in a bad way. After all, if he had called Christ the Good God and Christ had rejected this name, then His word 232 could have been appropriate. But he called Him teacher, not God. How did He reject this name, Who Himself said about Himself: “The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep?” (cf. John 10:11). And all the teachers who transmitted the holy teaching, and all the righteous and honest ones, are called good. “The Lord do good to me” (cf. Ps. 124:4), says (Scripture). Also: “he who sows... the seed of the holy bread is the Son of Man, and the seed... is good and they are the sons of the kingdoms” (cf. Matthew 13:37–38). How can a seed be good, but the one who sows be bad? Or: how (here) did he reject the name of good, but in other places made Himself a partaker of Divine dominion and worship? All evil boldly enters the human race through the rule of passion; therefore the Lord declared pride unclean before God, since it makes a person unclean before God. He gave humility to all people, as if some kind of bridle, since (He Himself) in humility obeyed the will and law of His ancestors 233. The death of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–26) were the same, but the reward for the death of Lazarus was different. He, whom even the servants once did not want to approach, was glorified by the muscles of the Angels. Since the rich man did not give him a place in his house, Abraham’s bosom became his resting place. For the rich man (this) was a double punishment, firstly, because he himself suffered, and, secondly, because he saw Lazarus in joy. The Lord compared the priests of the people to a rich man dressed in purple, whom no one surpassed in nobility; He compared the disciples of the Cross with Lazarus, who was the most insignificant of all. He designated the name of His friends with the name of Lazarus, His beloved friend (John 11:3, 11), and He wanted to designate the name of His enemies with the words: “if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets” (Luke 16:31). So, it is not those who are alive who live, nor those who are dead who are buried. Consider: how pampered the rich man was with luxury, so pitifully he was humiliated later, and the more pitiful and poor Lazarus was, the higher his crown turned out to be. But why did (the rich man) see only Abraham and Lazarus in his bosom, and not other righteous people? And since Abraham was kind to the poor, that is why he saw him, in order to teach us that we should not hope for forgiveness at the end (of life) if we do not have deeds of mercy. After all, if Abraham, who was a friend of strangers and showed mercy to the Sodomites, could not have mercy on one who did not have mercy on Lazarus, then how could we hope for forgiveness? For although the rich man called Abraham his father and Abraham said to him “my son” (cf. Luke 16:25), he could not help him. “Remember,” he says, “my son, that you received... your good things in your life, and Lazarus your torments” (cf. Luke 16:25). About the workers whom the lord of the vineyard hired at the third, sixth and ninth hours (Matthew 20:1-18). When he began to give (payment) to the latter, the former thought that they would receive more, but he equalized them with the others. When they began to grumble, he said: “If I am kind, then why is your eye envious?” (cf. Matthew 20:15). And to those,” he says, “mercy was shown, and these 234 with a joyful face exclaim about their reward. But pay attention to how it is said. When he asked them: “Why do you... stand... idle all day until evening?” (cf. Matthew 20:6) - they told him: “no one came and hired... us” (cf. Matthew 20:7). This means that they were ready (to work) because (they say) no one hired them. For the one who sleeps because no one woke him up, and comes later, is convicted, just like the one who sleeps out of laziness; but there is also a difference (between them), since one remains grateful for his work to the one who woke him up, while the other, due to his laziness, repays those who woke him up with anger. So, it is clear that the idleness of the lazy is worse than the (idleness) of the hard worker. The workers who had failed and stood idle because there was no work (for them) and no incentive to work, were hired by a voice and awakened by a word. Due to their hard work, they did not even agree with him about the payment, as the first ones did. Based on his knowledge, he assessed their work and equalized their payment. And I set out this parable so that someone would not say: “since I was not called in childhood, (therefore) I was not accepted later either.” So, he showed that a person will be accepted no matter what hour he turns. I didn’t want to distribute (the payment) to the first ones first because they were confident in their payment, but so that the latter would not think that they would receive less, the division (of payment) began with them. Further, that he went out early in the morning, at the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hour and at sunset, this should be understood about the beginning of His sermon, which He continued until His Cross, since at the eleventh hour the thief entered the vineyard, that is, into paradise (Luke 23:43). In order not to be reproached for this reason (for the late forgiveness), he clearly showed his full readiness, because if (the lord of the vineyard) had ever hired him before, he would have also worked hard. “No one,” they say, “hired... us for a fee” (cf. Matt. 20:7). If we gave to the Divine that which is much lower than Him, then the Divine gives us that which is much higher than us. We are hired to work according to our strength, but we are called to pay rewards that exceed our strength. At the end of the world, the faithful will speak to the Lord in freedom, but the wicked - according to the necessity imposed on them, because He established freedom in this life (and) necessity in the next for both the good and the evil; for the good will not become unrighteous there, even if they wished, and the evil will not be justified, even if they wished. In the matter of the vineyard, neither His mercy was blamed, nor His truth was overthrown. In justice he gave what was agreed upon, in mercy he was merciful as much as he wanted. The Lord made it clear that this was the reason He spoke this parable. “Do I not... have the power to do whatever I want in My house?” (cf. Matthew 20:15). If this refers to the Judgment and the end of the world, then why did the Lord insert the words: “if your eye is envious” (cf. Matthew 20:15)? Who will allow the last righteous to live like those of the past who did not work 235? Then, among those who were hired early in the morning, weren't there children who died? Here Abel was the first to die as a youth; did Seth, who took his place 236, grumble against him? Since James and John saw Moses and Elijah together with the Lord, they, inflamed with desire, said: “Give us power to sit... one on your right side... and the other on your left” (cf. Mark 10:37), in the likeness of those who appeared on the mountain. “We want,” they say, “for you to do for us what we ask. He answered them: “I will do it for you” (cf. Mark 10:35–36) - and he did not. He said this not because he did not know what they were asking for, but because he knew that they would remain silent if he did not promise: “I will do it for you” (cf. Mark 10:36). So, I said this in order not to delay requests in their mouths. But after they and the others revealed their thoughts, He began to correct them all together. Since the Lord asked openly, in front of all his comrades, and (since) the latter were saddened, He rejected their requests and did not give what they asked for, so as not to create enmity among them. I saw that they asked unreasonably, since I had already satisfied all their requests earlier. After all, if He had not been true in His first promise, then He would not have been true in the second and third. If he was true, then, without a doubt, he gave. He gave Simon what he asked for, but refused them, because he asked for everyone, saying: “What will happen to us?” (Matthew 19:27) - and not “to me.” After all, if (Simon) had asked for only himself, then (the Lord) would have refused him too. But Simon asked for everyone together, and the Lord gave to everyone, and no one was saddened by Simon’s request, but it made everyone happy. In addition, he refused them what they asked for (also) because it was not useful for them to receive what they asked for now. Another was what they heard from the mouth of the Lord, and another was what they themselves begged (Him). For He said to them: “Behold, we are going to Jerusalem, and they will take Him and lead Him to the cross” (cf. Matt. 20:18). They, having left the love they had for Him in order to endure reproach and death with Him, began to show the love they had for Him for their own sake, saying: “let us sit on the right and left... side... of You” (cf. Mark 10:37). The Lord laid out all these His reproaches (the upcoming Passion) in front of them in order to show who was the one who would hasten to have compassion with Him. “If,” he says, “we suffer... with Him, then we are glorified... with Him” (cf. Rom. 8:17). If (then) he did not give them (what they asked for) because he did not have the power, then why did he give it to the twelve apostles? Did he give or didn’t he give? If he did not give, then His promise is not true; if (it is) true, then he really gave it to them once (forever). Otherwise, what would be the meaning of saying: “All that My Father has is Mine” (cf. John 16:15), and: “What I have is My Father’s” (cf. John 17:10)? But since they came to choose a place for themselves before their companions, the Lord said to them: “Can you drink the cup that I will drink?” (cf. Mark 10:38) to make it clear that this place is bought with a price, as it is said: “Therefore God has exalted and highly exalted Him” (cf. Phil. 2:9). When they learned that this place should be purchased by works, then (the Lord) continued (His) speech like this: “If you learned that this place is won by works, then it may easily be that there will be those who will strive or have labored better than you. And the one who by his feat surpasses all people, and at the Judgment of the Father turns out to be chosen, that place is prepared for him.” Thus, since they approached (to Him) with the intention of receiving that place without works, by election (only), the Lord rejected them and showed that He has no power, so as not to grieve them, as there: “About ... the hour ... no one knows” (cf. Matt. 24:36). “It is not given to you,” he says, “to know times and seasons” (cf. Acts 1:7). So, the Lord offered the request of the sons of Zebedee to the disciples as a crown with which the bravest in the war waged for Him is crowned. “And he will test,” he says, “the thoughts of his heart, and... each of us will receive praise from God” (cf. 1 Cor. 4:5). Zacchaeus prayed (Luke 19:2-10) in his heart and said: “Blessed is he who is worthy that this righteous man should enter his house.” And the Lord said to him: “Zacchaeus! quickly get down from there” (cf. Luke 19:5). Realizing that the Lord knew his thoughts, (Zacchaeus) said: “If He knows these thoughts, then He also knows what I have ever done.” Therefore, he answered: “Whatever I have ever received from anyone unrighteously, I will repay for it fourfold” (cf. Luke 19:8). Quickly,” he says, “come down from this fig tree, because I must visit you.” Let the ancient fig tree of Adam be consigned to oblivion through the new fig tree of the publican, and the name of the guilty Adam through the righteous Zacchaeus. “Behold,” he says, “Lord, half of all my property... I will give to the poor, and everything that I have ever received from anyone unrighteously I will repay for it in quadruple” (cf. Luke 19:8). – Because: “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). May the unbelieving people be ashamed by the instant repentance of this man, who yesterday was a kidnapper, and today (became) a donor, yesterday (was) a publican, and today (became) a disciple. Zacchaeus with his mind abandoned the righteous law (Old Testament) and climbed an insensitive fig tree, which signified the deafness of his hearing; but as soon as he climbed in, the fig tree became an image of his salvation. For he left earthly thoughts and, having climbed (up a fig tree), ascended, as it were, upward to behold the highest Divinity. And the Lord commanded him to quickly leave this senseless fig tree, that is, to withdraw from his affairs; so that he would no longer remain in his deafness, but, flaming with love for the Lord, would produce new shoots. Having melted (Zacchaeus, the Lord) he reforged him in order to destroy the rigidity in him and form a new man. And in order to know that he has now been born again, he says: “for he is also a son of Abraham” (cf. Luke 19:9). Light came into the world to give light to the blind and to teach faith to the unbelievers. When the Lord approached the blind man, the blind man began to shout and say: “Jesus, Son of David! have mercy on me” (Luke 18:38). O happy beggar! having extended his hand to receive an obol from a man, he turned out to be worthy to accept a gift from the Lord! He says: “Jesus, son of David a! have mercy on me” (Luke 18:38). He thought well that He was the son of David, who showed mercy to the blind and lame Jebusites 237. And what (the Lord) answered him? “See the light! your faith has saved you” (Luke 18:42). He didn’t say, “Your faith has given you sight,” in order to show that faith gave him first salvation, and then the opening of his eyes. “They forbade and did not allow this blind man to approach Jesus, so he shouted... louder” (cf. Luke 18:39). When the blind man asked: “Who is this?” - they said: “Jesus Nazar the citizen” (cf. Luke 18:36–37). He realized that they did not tell him this out of love, but he left what belonged to his enemies and took what belonged to his friends. “Son of David a! have mercy on me” (Luke 18:38). He shouted like that because they prevented him for the reason that, having seen the opening of his hair, he would not weaken in hatred (towards Him). “There was a certain blind man sitting by the way at a crossroads, and his name was Bartimaeus, the son of Tim, and I, throwing off my outer garment... came to Him” (cf. Mark 10:46, 50). Seeing that his inner eyes were enlightened, but his outer ones saw absolutely nothing, the Lord made these (external eyes) clear, just as those (inner ones) were, in order to become visible and obvious to him when he then wanted to approach Him. And what “sheep and bulls were sold inside the church” (cf. Matt. 21:12), these were those that the priests accumulated (accumulated) from the sacrifices. All the words spoken by that “Pharisee who ... prayed” (cf. Luke 18:9-11) were true, but he spoke them for the purpose of self-praise. The publican in humility revealed his sins. The one who confessed his sins pleased God more than the one who confessed his righteousness. It is, of course, more difficult for a person to admit his sins than to admit his righteousness, and God turns His gaze to the one who endures and endures more difficult things. So, in the mere fact that he humbled himself, it was revealed that the tax collector bore and suffered a heavier burden, and (therefore) he walked away more justified than the other (Pharisee). Because if the Pharisee was a sinner, then by his prayer he added sin to sins, but the Lord declared the publican clean from such sin. The Pharisee, although he prayed, (but) with his prayer provoked the wrath of God. So, out of this anger, learn to pray like the publican. He did not list all the commandments of the law. The Apostle Paul, who before his conversion possessed legal righteousness. Those. They believe that with wealth you can acquire everything, even the Kingdom of Heaven. That is, Christ, who rejected the name “good.” The meaning, apparently, is this: if the rich man had called Christ the Good God in the sense in which Marcion called Him, then Christ’s rejection of this name would not have been understandable, but the rich man called Him a good teacher, and not God. In the following, Saint Ephraim explains that, by rejecting the name of the good, the Lord wanted to give people a lesson in humility. "Superiorum Suorum" - Moses and the Prophets; or: “those who are higher than themselves,” that is, the Father (cf. John 14:28). The first, because not all of them complained. The meaning of these words, apparently, is this: who will allow the righteous who appeared at the end of the world to live and enter the Kingdom of Heaven in the same way as those last who, being called at the eleventh hour, entered the Kingdom without difficulty? If this parable refers to the last Judgment, then those called from morning to evening should mean all people who, from the beginning of the human race to the end of the world, are called into the Kingdom of God, and about all of them it is said that they worked for the Kingdom of God and grumbled against the Lord; but Abel, called early in the morning, was killed by the youth and therefore could not work for the Kingdom of God, and the righteous Seth, given to Adam instead of Abel, did not grumble against God This refers to 2 Samuel 5:6–8 (according to the Syriac translation). In the Russian translation (from the Hebrew it is similar to the translation of the 70) this passage reads like this: “and the king... went against the Jebusites... but... they said to David: you will not enter here, for the blind and lame will drive you away,” that is: David will not enter here. However, David took the fortress of Zion... and said... “whoever kills the Jebusites, let him strike with a spear the lame and the blind, who hate the soul of David.” That is why it is said: “The blind and lame shall not enter the house.” But in the Syriac text and in the interpretation of Saint Ephraim at this place it is read differently: “you will not enter here unless (since) you drive away the blind and the lame.” This is what the Jerusalemites said to David when he intended to take the fortress of Zion. The meaning is this: if you think that you can take our city, then keep in mind that the blind and lame will have to be expelled (from it) before you achieve what you are so recklessly deciding on; for even if only they alone (the blind and lame) remained there to defend the fortress, then even then this place, thanks to its natural properties, would turn out to be such that it could not be taken either by force or by hunger. “Whoever (smiting the Jebusites - so in the Syriac and Hebrew translations; but in Assemani: qui diligit lebusaeum, although these words are not in the Syriac text of St. Ephraim) touches the blind and lame with a shield, he hates the soul of David,” that is: “David is not loved by those who are hostile to the blind and lame, and those who take care of the Jebusites are those who who wish to exterminate this race of people” (Sancti Ephraemi Syri Opera omnia, ed. Rom. Opp. t. 1, p. 401). The saying of Saint Ephraim from the interpretation of the Four Gospels in the given place from his interpretation of 2 Samuel 5:6-8 finds not only a parallel explanation, but also proof of its authenticity You might be interested in: