Книга 11 [глава 12, стихи 6–25, глава 13, глава 14, стихи 1–4]

The twelfth chapter from the sixth verse, the thirteenth, and the first four verses of the fourteenth chapter are explained, and a different style of presentation is used, due to the need to limit time. Historical interpretation 1. Although in long-term work diversity of style should not be a matter of reproach, yet if anyone should criticize me for changes in my way of expressing myself, in the Message which was the preface to these books, I explained the reasons why I never brought the third part of this work into similarity and agreement with the others, making amendments and additions to it. And while they are omitted, it must be added that the interpretation of this part begins with the verse in which he says, The tents of robbers are many (Job 12:6), 243 and comes further to what is written, Their sweetness is for the weak, 244 and which in fact includes so much that it is impossible to express everything in an acceptable volume, except to reduce everything to brief conclusions; and thus let one, free from other occupations, read the other parts, which are written with great multiplication, but for one who does not have time to read diligently, this part is best suited, a part in which we do not so much convey completely everything that we have in our minds, but briefly indicate what we have. Thus, while I have here left many things as they first came from my lips, kind reader, accept this change of style, because when people eat frequently the same foods, a difference in preparation is usually welcomed. And as you read the other parts, be sure to remember what I have already stated: the blessed Job, who is called “The Sorrowful,” signifies the sufferings of our Lord and His Body, that is, the holy Church, and his friends signify the heretics, who, as we have often said, while they seek to defend, only offend God; and they, while they falsely incite, wound the souls of the saints. However, not everything they say is invalid and deprived of the right to consideration in the knowledge of truth, but for the most part they merge together what is meaningful with what is stupid, and what is true with what is false; therefore, while they first offer something on the side of truth, they can immediately and easily attract to the side of lies. And, therefore, also the friends of the blessed Job are at one time worthy of contempt, and at another time worthy of admiration, therefore the holy man sometimes refutes them with condemnation, and sometimes recognizes them with affirmation, and transfers to the account of righteousness even those things that, although correct in essence, are not so in the manner of their announcement; and therefore he despises them when they despise his poverty, and, sitting on a dung-heap, he shows how high he sits inwardly, when he speaks of the riches of this life being no value, which he describes as abundantly bestowed even upon the sons of perdition, saying: Verse 6. The robbers have many tents, and they anger God with boldness; when He gave everything into their hands (Job 12:6). 2. It is easy for a person to despise wealth when he has it, but it is difficult to consider wealth worthless when a person lacks much. Hence it is clearly shown how great the contempt for earthly things was in the bosom of blessed Job, who then declares that all this is not good, something that he had plenty of, even when he had lost everything he had. Thus, according to him, the robbers have many tents, and they anger God with boldness; for it very often happens that bad people set themselves the more against God, the more they are enriched by His mercy in spite of their emptiness, and those who seem to have been converted through abundant gifts to better behavior become even worse, having received such a blessing. 3. But we must figure out separately why they are called “robbers,” whereas it is said about them; when He gave everything into their hands. For if they are robbers, then they took by force, and there is no doubt that God is not the accomplice of those who use force. In what sense then is it to be understood that He Himself gave what robbers take away with evil means? We must then know that what Almighty God in His mercy vouchsafes is one thing, but what He forces in His wrath to be possessed is quite another; because robbers do what is contrary to what is righteous, the Just Distributor justly allows them to do this, so that the person who robs, being inwardly blind, might increase his guilt, and so that the one who suffers from his robbery may now, having suffered misfortune, thanks to it, not be punished later for some sin of which he was guilty before. For example, here is a man who has taken a position in the passage between the mountains and lies in wait for travelers passing by; and he, who is traveling, happened to do some wickedness at one time or another, and Almighty God rewards him for his evil deeds in this life, and gives him into the hands of the one lying in ambush so that he suffers - either his goods will be spoiled, or even he will be killed. And so, the robber who set his sights on an unjust deed is at the same time justly allowed to commit this deed by the Just Judge, so that one could justly atone for what he did contrary to justice, and the other could one day or another receive a worse punishment for the crime committed, which Almighty God allowed the first as a punishment for a previous sin. He is purified, the one who suffers: for when he does unrighteousness, his guilt accumulates; and either from the depths of wickedness he may one day be brought back to repentance, or bearing eternal damnation, he will be burdened with it as long as he has been in his sin. He treats the first mercifully, so that he can stop sin, the other - harshly, so that he can significantly add to his guilt if he does not bring himself to repentance; in the first, evil deeds are erased as he suffers violence; in the other, they accumulate as he continues to commit them. Therefore it is worthy and righteous that Almighty God allows what He forbids to be done, that by the same act He is now patient in their unrighteous deeds, that He might one day smite them even worse. Therefore, the words are true: Robbers have many tents, and they anger God with boldness; when He gave everything into their hands. For what is taken away by evil, He Himself rewards them, Who could have kept them from robbery if He had intended to pity them. 4. However, it can also mean spiritual things. For it very often happens that some of them, having been deemed worthy to receive gifts, still have the desire to show themselves to be greater than others. And they anger Almighty God by exalting themselves among their neighbors, having received His gifts. They are also, quite rightly, called “robbers.” For while they say with words what they never do with their actions, they steal the righteousness of service from the word in the turns of their speech. But since these very words of heavenly grace honor some other people, whose lives, thanks to this, depart from the path of evil, they, while themselves being “robbers,” still possess the good that was given to them from above. And then follows: Art. 7, 8. But ask the cattle now, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air will tell you. Or speak to the earth, and it will answer you: and the fish in the sea will tell you 245. 5. What should be understood by “cattle” if not people who work hard; and what are the birds of the air, if not those who have experience in high and majestic truths? For “cat,” in the sense of those who work hard, people are called, when, for example, this is written; Your livestock will live in it (Ps. 67:10) 246, and because those who have understanding for those exalted soar among the words of the Savior, it is written: so that the birds of the air come and take refuge in its branches (Matt. 13:32) 247. And what can be understood by “earth” if not people whose desires gravitate towards earthly things? Therefore, it is also said about the first man who left Heaven: You are dust, and to dust you will return (Gen. 3:19) 248. What are to be understood by “fishes in the sea,” if not the inquisitive creatures of this world, of whom the psalmist says, the fishes of the sea, who pass through the paths of the seas (Ps. 8:9), 249 who are as busy themselves in great explorations of things, as in unknowable streams. Now after all these questions have taught us, he adds, saying: Art. 9. Who does not recognize in all this that the hand of the Lord created this 250? 6. It is as if he had said directly: “Whether you ask those who labor by the sweat of their brow, or those who are full of the highest things, or those who are committed to the earthly path, or people who are busy studying this world, they all acknowledge God, the Creator of all things, and unanimously acknowledge His authority, although they do not live unanimously in submission to Him. For what the righteous says in his way of life, the wicked, as a rule, only says in words or does not even say; but still, even the villains who do not pay tribute to the Creator of all things, against whom they rebel with their deeds, against whom they dared to fight with their lives, even they cannot deny Him as the Creator of all things. Who in all this does not recognize that the hand of the Lord did this? But the same statement can be understood for a good purpose in the literal sense; since every creature, when looked at, seems to utter words of its own accord, testifying to them only by the form it has. We ask "cattle" or "birds in the air," "earth" or "fish," while we examine them, and they answer us unanimously that "the hand of the Lord has created all things," and while they present their shapes to our eyes, they testify that they are not of themselves. For by the mere circumstance that they exist, by the form which they represent, they raise, as it were, a voice of confession to their Creator, Who created everything with His Hand as it should be. Therefore it is added: Art.10. In whose hands is the soul of all living things and the spirit of all human flesh 251. 7. For “Hand” signifies Power. Thus, “the soul of every living creature, and the spirit of all human flesh,” is in His power, from Whom it has its being, that He Himself must determine in what state it should be, that which was not, but which was vouchsafed to be. But “the soul of every living creature” can also mean the life of animals. Almighty God animates the soul of animals to the extent that the bodily senses allow, but He raises the spirit of man in spiritual understanding; and thus, “in His hand is the soul of every living thing and the spirit of all human flesh” because, firstly, He bestows this power on the soul so that it can give life to the flesh, and secondly, He nourishes the soul to such an extent that it can achieve an understanding of eternity. But we must bear in mind that in Holy Scripture "spirit of man" is commonly used in two senses. For sometimes "spirit" is used for the soul, sometimes for the spiritual world. So, for example, “spirit” is used for the soul, as it is written about Our Head, and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30) 252. For if the Evangelist had called anything else “spirit” other than the saved soul, then, of course, when the spirit had gone, the soul would have remained. In addition, the term “spirit” is used for the spiritual world, as, for example, it is written, Who makes His angels spirits, His servants are blazing fire (Ps. 105:4) 253. For preachers are sometimes called “Angels,” that is, “bearers of the message,” for example, in the Holy Scriptures it is said by the Prophet: the lips of the priest keep knowledge, and they seek from His mouth the law, because he is the Angel of the Lord of Hosts (Mal.2:7) 254. Thus Almighty God “makes His angels spirits,” in that He changes His preachers into spiritual men. In this passage, “the soul of every living creature” simply refers to the life of the body, while “the spirit of all human flesh” is a spiritual understanding. What follows: Art. 11. The ear discerns the words, and the mouth of the one who tastes savors 255. 8. There are few people who do not know that the five senses of our body, namely, sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch, in all their operations of perception and discrimination, receive this power of perception and discrimination from the brain. And while there is only one judge who presides over them, namely, the perceiving brain, but receiving signals from them together, it still keeps all five senses different. And this is the great miracle of God that neither the eye should hear, nor the ear should see, nor the mouth should feel the aroma, the nose should taste, the hands should smell, while all this is controlled by one brain. However, none of the senses can do anything other than what it was assigned by the Creator. And we also leave these bodily and external mechanisms in order to collect internal and spiritual ones; so that from what is open to the eye within us, we must pass to the mystery of what eludes our eye. For we observe that while there is one Wisdom, it manifests one thing in one person, another in another. For one it gives one function, and for another it gives another; and in a similar way, like the brain, processes them together, although for each of us these functions remain different and dissimilar, and each of us performs different and heterogeneous operations: one person receives the gift of wisdom, another the gift of knowledge, a third the mastery of languages, a fourth the grace of healing. 9 . But in these words, where blessed Job speaks, the ear discerns the words, and the mouth of the taster savors, he seems also to mean something about the elect and the damned; for the words of wisdom that the children of perdition only hear, the elect not only hear, but also taste, because they penetrate their hearts, but they do not reach the hearts of the damned, they only fall into their ears. For it is one thing just to hear about food, and another thing to taste it; for the elect hear the food of wisdom in such a way that they immediately taste it, and what they hear further is full of pleasure for them in their very hearts from love; but the knowledge of the outcasts extends only to the recognition of sound, so that they hear truly virtuous things, but from the coldness of their hearts they know nothing of what they taste like. In these same words, blessed Job condemns the inexperience of his friends, and all who exalted themselves in wisdom by their learning, saying that it is one thing to know something about God, and another thing to taste on the lips what you know. Therefore, he said well: the ear understands the words, and the mouth of the one who tastes savors. As if it were said in simple words: “The words of instruction that came to you only insofar as they fell into the ear, for me are also filled with taste in my mouth.” But since a certain age must be reached in order to preach, even if a person has correctly tasted the right taste, and he should not show careless haste in preaching, he rightly added: Verse. 12. Wisdom is with the ancients, and understanding is with the ancients 256. 10. For by this saying the root of wisdom is quickly established, which in the constancy of life is also strengthened by the practice of deeds. But because many who received long life were not yet worthy to receive the grace of wisdom, it is further revealed on whom decisions about gifts depend, when he immediately adds: Art. 13. With Him is wisdom and strength: He has counsel and understanding 257 . 11. We fairly interpret these words about the Only Begotten Son of the Supreme Father if we understand them in such a way that He is Himself the “Wisdom and Power of God.” For Paul also testifies in favor of our interpretation, saying: Christ is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24) 258, which are always “with Him,” because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). the understanding is that He alone knows all of ours. “Advice” can also mean a kind of postponement of a secret judgment, since He, it seems to us, sometimes hesitates in punishing egregious offenders, but not because he does not see the sins of bad people, but so that before the condemnation, which is delayed, there would be a chance for those who do evil to repent; although from this it may seem that His advice is slow on this matter. And the guilty one will not remain without retribution one day, just as clearly to us, because He was with the Almighty Lord in council before the world began. It continues: Art. 14. If He destroys, no one will build: if He shuts a man, no one can open 260. 12. Almighty God "destroys" man's heart when He forsakes him; He builds it as He fills it. But He does not destroy a person’s soul, as people do with houses in war, this happens when He simply takes Himself away from him, because when a person remains on his own, everything he wants is to his own destruction. Therefore, it usually happens that when the heart of the listener, because of his sins, is not filled with the grace of Almighty God, it is all in vain that he is outwardly warned by the preacher. For no matter whose mouth speaks it, the words will remain mute unless He speaks them with His voice in the heart within, He Who inspires the words that are received in the ears. Therefore, the prophet says, if the Lord does not build a house, those who build it labor in vain (Ps. 127:1) 261. That is why Solomon says: Look at the works of God; who can establish the one whom He has left (Ecclesiastes 7:13) 262? And it is not strange that the preacher cannot approach the soul of the rejected one, as happens when the Lord Himself has abandoned him, and in the things that he says, those who rejected Him will be even more rejected. For, for example, Cain was admonished even by the very voice of God, but it could not be changed, because, due to the sin of his evil heart, God had already abandoned the soul to which outwardly He was still speaking with words so that they would serve as a testimony. And it is well added that if He shuts a man, there is not one that can be opened; for every person, no matter what he does wrong, he himself will become the prison of his conscience, so that the guilt of his soul will oppress him, although no one blames him for this. And when, by the judgment of God, he remains in the blindness of his evil heart, he is, as it were, closed within himself so that he can never find a place to escape, which he never deserves to find. For it often happens that there are people who actually spend a lot of time giving up their bad practices, but because they are pulled to the ground by their weight, being imprisoned by a bad habit, they are unable to move forward of their own accord. And there are those who are impatient to continue their crimes, and turn into even worse criminals by doing what they themselves consider to be done right; and they have to go through this, because what they thought they had done to find a way out captivates them even more. Thus the wretch Judas, when he brought death to himself, out of anger at sin, was brought to the punishment of eternal death, and his payment for sin was made in a more heinous manner than he had committed the sin. 13. Therefore, it must be said that if He closes a person, no one can open it. For as no man can bear His mercy without His presence, so no man can bear His justice in abandonment; and so, if God closes a person, no one can open it; and, therefore, for example, it was said to Moses about Pharaoh: I will harden his heart (Ex. 7:3), for God says to “harden the heart” in the execution of justice, when He does not soften the ignorant heart by bestowing grace. And so, He “shuts up” the person whom He leaves in the darkness of his own affairs. And, for example, Isaac showed a desire to open this “lock” for one of his sons when he tried to set it higher than his brother by blessing him. But the son whom the father desired, the Lord rejected; and the one whom the Lord desired, the father blessed even against his will; so that he, who sold his birthright to his brother for food, could not receive the blessing of the firstborn, which he refused because of gluttony; and who, while pursuing earthly objects, went after temporal things, he, desiring to inherit the blessing, was rejected. For he found no room for repentance, although he asked for it with tears (Heb. 12:17) 263; Tears have no fruit if they are spent on regretting things destined for destruction. And so Isaac could not even reveal his son, whom Almighty God imprisoned in the prison of his evil heart for righteous judgment. Art. 15. If He holds back the waters, everything will dry up. If He lets them in, they will transform the earth 264. 14. By “water” we should understand knowledge for preaching, as it is written: the words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, and the spring of wisdom is like an overflowing stream (Prov. 18:4) 265; for when the water is withheld, all things dry up, for if the preacher's knowledge is taken away, the hearts of those who might flourish in eternal hope immediately "dry up," for they are doomed to remain in hopeless barrenness, while, in the love of transitory things, they do not care to seek those which they ought to observe. But if by the term “water” the grace of the Holy Spirit is designated, as said by the voice of truth in the Gospel: he who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38) 266; and in the next place the Evangelist immediately added, This He said about the Spirit, which those who believed in Him were about to receive 267; and the meaning embedded in these words becomes clear, where he says: If He holds back the waters, everything will dry up, because if the grace of the Holy Spirit is taken away from the listeners, then the meaning of what was heard will immediately “dry up,” which, through hope, seemed to have sprouted green shoots in the listener. And because he does not mention "water" in the singular, but says "waters" in the plural, this refers to the sevenfold grace of spiritual gifts, since everything is filled, so to speak, with as much water as he is replenished with gifts, and of which he immediately adds: If He lets them in, they will move the earth. 15. For what is “earth” if not a sinner to whom it is said: dust you are (Latin Terra - earth), and to dust you will return? 268 Thus the earth remains unchanged when the sinner neglects to obey the commandments of the Lord, when he erects the neck of pride, and closes the eyes of the mind from the light of truth. But at the same time it is written, the leg stood straight, and the earth moved (Havak.3:6) 269; because when the Truth settles in the heart, the immobility of the mind is shifted, if the grace of the Holy Spirit and the dedication from above give correspondence to the voice of the preacher. And instantly the earth “moves,” because the stubbornness of the guilty soul is removed, and the stubbornness of his immobility goes away, and he prostrates himself in weeping before the Lord, just as he previously raised his neck in the swelling of pride against Him. For you can see that the earth of the human heart, when the waters of God's blessing are poured out upon it, then joyfully bears away that which was formerly brutally rejected by it; and he gives of his own free will, he who formerly laid his hands on the things belonging to others; then he torments the flesh with the practice of abstinence, whereas previously he lived in carnal pleasures, and loved freedom in deadly pleasures; and after that he loves even his persecutors themselves, whereas before he refused to love even those who love him. So, when a man's soul is watered by God's grace, it begins to act contrary to his habits, and the "earth is turned upside down" because that part is laid down which formerly held itself on high, and the heart rises upward, which before, under a load, was deep below. 16. It seems good to use the example of Paul to illustrate this point, although he is one of many. Who, when he was on his way to Damascus, armed with letters against Christ (Acts 9:1) 270, being watered on his way by the grace of the Holy Spirit, was changed on the spot, and first abandoned these bloodthirsty purposes which he had, and thereafter traveled preaching in the name of Christ; this is the one who previously, when he lived only in the flesh, sought to send the saints of the Lord to death, and then rejoiced at the opportunity to make a sacrifice of his flesh for the sake of the life of the saints. These cold-blooded targets of cruelty are transformed into the warmth of pity; and he, who was previously a blasphemer and persecutor, later becomes a humble and compassionate preacher (1 Tim. 1:13) 271, the one who made no small efforts to destroy as many of Christ’s disciples as possible (Acts 9:1), now says: “Christ is my life, and death is my reward” (Phil. 1:21) 272. And so, when He sends the waters, the earth really turns over in Paul's mind, at that moment when he received the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the anchorages of his stubbornness and cruelty were changed. What the Lord rebukes in Ephraim through the Prophet, saying: Ephraim is like bread under ashes, it is not turned over (Hos. 7:8) 273. For the bread under the ashes lies with its clean side towards the ground, and has its upper side contaminated with ashes, to the extent that the ashes have fallen on it. And also the mind that lurks under earthly thoughts, what else does it do if it does not carry a load of ashes? But if it is "turned over", then the clean surface that was at the bottom will turn to the top when it turns over, shaking off the ashes that were on it. So, if we get rid of the ashes of earthly thoughts in our mind, like “bread under the ashes,” so that the pure side of our mind can subsequently turn over and shake off the ashes of sycophantic thoughts, and the pure side turns to the top, our right inclinations of the mind will not further bog down under the weight of earthly desires. But we can never do it ourselves, except if we are watered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, when God Almighty “let down the waters, they will overturn the earth.” Because: Art. 16. With Him is power and wisdom 274 . 17. It was said a little higher that with Him is wisdom and strength; but now it is said that with Him is strength and wisdom. For Almighty God, when in the mystery of compassion He became Man, first gave a lesson in meekness, and then in judgment He showed the power that He had; therefore it is done correctly that in the place above Wisdom was mentioned before Strength, when it speaks of the Only Begotten Son from the Father, with Him Wisdom and Strength. But when He comes to judge, He will appear Fearful in His power to the damned who will be cast off, and Wise will appear to His chosen ones in His eternal Kingdom, as “Wisdom” from the Father. Therefore, he correctly said in the subsequent sentence that with Him first “strength” and then “wisdom”. Thus, in the first sentence, saying in the order of words that wisdom and power are with Him, he showed that He first teaches through gentleness and mercy, and reveals power through the Resurrection. But in the subsequent words in which he speaks, power and wisdom are with Him; he tells us more clearly that He first punishes the rejected on the Day of Judgment by force, and then shines into the souls of the chosen the perfect light of the Eternal Kingdom. But because until the day of the Last Judgment, He never ceases to judge the affairs of mortals daily with His secret rewards, he again returns to what is done constantly in the present tense, and adds: Art. 16, 17. He knows both the deceived and the deceiver, He brings advisers to a foolish end, and judges to foolishness 275. 19. It also leads advisers to a stupid end, when they do something well, even without a good goal, but go after for compensation for a temporary reward. For if the Only Begotten Son of the Most High Father, having become a man, preached eternal truths, and therefore is called the Angel of the Great Council, we rightly interpret “advisers” as preachers, for they “advise” about life to their listeners. But when any preacher preaches the truths of eternity in order that he may gain temporal advantages, he certainly brings the counselors to a foolish end, in that he strives to reach by painstaking effort the point from which he should have fled in honesty of mind. 20. And this is rightly added: “and judges to stupidity.” For all those who are determined to study and evaluate the behavior of other people are rightly called “judges.” But when such a person makes the mistake of not diligently studying the lives of those under his authority, without thoroughly becoming acquainted with the one whom he must correct, then “the judge is reduced to stupidity,” in that the one who should have judged things that were wrongly done will never actually know those things that should be judged. And then follows: Art. 18. He strips the kings of their baldrics, and girds them with bridles and reins 276 . 21. Those who know how to properly govern the desires of their members are rightly called “kings.” But when the mind comes into contact with pride on the basis that great abstinence has been achieved, it very often happens that Almighty God, for pride, allows it to fall in unclean deeds. And so, He deprives the kings of the baldric, when in the case of those who seemed to govern their members correctly, for the sin of pride He takes away from them the belt of chastity. Now, what is meant by “bonds,” if not sin? As Solomon says, his own iniquities enslave him, and he falls into the bonds of his sin (Prov. 5:22) 277 and because carnal satisfaction receives its dominion in the “reins”, the strict Judge of conscience, deprives the kings of the baldric, and girds them with a bridle with reins, since when the belt of chastity is taken away, then the satisfaction of sin receives power over all the members, and those whom pride pollutes in secret, they can even show openly how disgustingly low they have fallen. And then it continues: Art. 19. He brings the priests to disgrace and overthrows the brave 278. 22. The great glory of a priest is the righteousness of those who depend on him. Therefore the glorious preacher also says to his disciples: For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of praise? Are you not before our Lord (1 Thessalonians 2:19) 279? But when priests neglect the lives of their flock, and bear no fruit in their progress towards the Lord, what else is this, and what is it called, if not dishonor? And before the strict Judge they will not find glory, those who do not now seek it in the lives of those whom they should lead to it in their preaching. And this is well said, it overthrows the brave. Because, by righteous judgment, He leaves the hearts of these people to be guided not by the search for internal reward, but by the joy of temporary superiority instead of eternal glory, and they are cast down into that by which they were deceived. Therefore He “overthrows the brave” in that, while they lose sight of the true blessings of the Heavenly Country, they wallow here on earth in their own pleasures. And then it continues: Art. 20. Who takes away the tongue from the truthful, and takes away the meaning from the elders 280. 23. When a priest does not act correctly in what he says, even the very word from his mouth is taken away from him, so that he no longer dares to say what he does not practice; as said by the Prophet, but God says to the Sinner: “What shall you do to declare My statutes, and that you will take My covenant in your mouth (Ps. 49:16) 281. Therefore he begs, saying, “Do not take the word of truth completely out of my mouth” (Ps. 119:43) 282. For it reflects that Almighty God gives the word of truth to those who support words with deeds, and takes it away from those who do not practice it. And when he prays that “the word of truth may not be taken from his mouth,” what else is he praying for if not for the mercy of righteous deeds? It was as if he had said in simple words, “Let me not wholly stray from the path of good works, lest while I lose the rule of good living, I also lose righteousness of speech.” For, for the most part, a teacher who teaches what he neglects to do himself, in time ceases to talk about the good that he disdained to do, and begins to teach his students the evil things that he does. It is so governed by the righteous judgment of the Most High that a person will not be able to speak good words in the future, which will not have a good life; and while his mind is inflamed with love for earthly things, he begins to talk about earthly things. Therefore the Truth speaks in the Gospel, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure (Matthew 12:34,35) 283. That is why John says: they are of the world, that is why they speak of the world (1 John 4:5) 284 Therefore he said well: He who takes away the tongue of the righteous, and takes away the meaning of the elders. Since those who were previously “righteous” in preaching about heavenly things direct their feelings to the temporal, and fall, He takes away the tongue from the truthful, and takes away the meaning from the elders; In this love for temporary things, they never follow the precepts of their predecessors, and if they suddenly take a place of power, it is only for the sake of the fruit of their own pleasure, and not for the sake of the righteous crown of labor. 24. This can also be clearly understood in relation to the Jewish people, who before the incarnation of the Lord were “truthful” in that they believed that He should come and proclaimed it; but when He came in the flesh, they denied that it was He. Therefore He “takes away the tongue of the truthful,” since it was the One whose Incarnation they predicted they denied when He actually came; and “takes away the meaning from the elders,” in that they did not follow in faith those things that they remembered that their fathers had predicted. Therefore, it is also promised about the coming of Elijah that he should “turn the hearts of the children to their fathers,” so that the “meaning of the elders,” which is currently “taken away” from the hearts of the Jews, by the mercy of the Lord to them, could be returned when the children begin to understand about the Lord, Whom their fathers foretold. But if by “elders” we also understand those Jews who, due to the convictions of unbelief, erected a wall of opposition to the word of Truth in front of them, then the “meaning of the elders” was “taken away” from them, so that the Church, consisting of pagans, being truly young, would receive it, as the psalmist says, I mean more than the elders (Ps. 119:100) 285. And because through embodied deeds she came to an understanding that is greater than the elders, she explains this by adding directly, because I keep Your commandments. For it is aimed at putting into practice every thing that it has learned, that it has been vouchsafed to understand, and that it can teach. Therefore it is also added: Verse 21. He pours out dishonor on princes and exalts the humble 286. 25. For while the Jewish people still lived according to the prescription of the law, and the whole pagan world knew nothing of the commandments of God, the former seemed to be “princes” by faith, and the latter had fallen low and lay in the depths because of unbelief. But when Judea renounced the mystery of the Incarnation of our Lord, and the pagan world believed, the “princes” fell into dishonor, and those who previously lay despised because of the sin of unbelief were “exalted” in the freedom of the truth of faith. But Jeremiah, who saw this fall of the Jewish people long before it happened, says, the Lord became, as it were, an enemy; He destroyed Israel; He abandoned all his palaces; He destroyed its bastions (Lam. 2:5) 287. Now “palaces” in cities are for decoration, but “bastions” are for defense. And the gifts that keep us safe are one thing, but the gifts that keep us beautiful are another. For in prophetic teaching, different styles of language are used, and the power of them is a kind of "palaces" of the mind, and even if a person does not possess them, he is still able to build a defense of faith and righteousness, although he is not adorned with the towering height of the gifts of power; and faith, hope and love are not our “palaces”, but our “bastions”, which, if we neglect to possess, then we expose ourselves to the machinations of the enemy. In the case of Judah, therefore, seeing that the understanding of her prophecies, and teaching, and miraculous signs will be taken away from her, he says: “He abandoned all her palaces. And because, through her hardness of heart, He will take away from her the faith, hope and love bestowed before, he will also add that He has destroyed his bastions. And so we observe the correct order, in that the "palaces" and then the "bastions" are described as destroyed, because when the sinful soul is abandoned, the first gifts of miracles that were given in the manifestation of the Spirit will be taken away, and then the foundations of faith, hope and love will be taken away. Everything that was taken from those who rejected, the Lord gave to the pagan world, and with the things that He took from unbelievers, He adorned the minds of believers. Therefore, for example, it is written, and divide the spoils of the decorations of the house (Ps. 67:13) 288. For when He took away from the Jews the given power, He gave His gifts to adorn the houses of the hearts of the pagans, whom He was pleased to convert to faith. The same thing happened when the words of God, on the one hand, were interpreted by the people of Israel according to the “letter” that “kills,” and on the other hand, the same words were interpreted by the converted pagans in the “Spirit that gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6) 289. And then it is directly added: Art. 22. Who reveals the deep from the midst of darkness and brings to light the shadow of death 290 . 26. For when a few mystical truths are recognized in the secret words of the prophets by those who believe, what else is it but something profound from the midst of darkness? Therefore, the Truth Itself, speaking in parables to the disciples, says that I will tell you in the darkness what you say in the light (Matthew 10:27) 291, for if in the explanations we have unraveled the mystical knots of the allegories, then we seem to be “saying in the light what we heard in the darkness.” And now the “shadow of death” is the firmness of the Old Law, which imposed on everyone who sinned the responsibility of punishment with the death of the body. But when our Redeemer restrains by His humility the severity of the measures of the Law, and no longer predetermines the death of the flesh as a sentence for sin, but shows how terrible the death of the spirit is, then, of course, he brought into the light the shadow of death. For this death, in which the flesh is separated from the soul, is the “shadow” of that death in which the soul is separated from God, and therefore “brings to light the shadow of death,” because when the understanding of the death of the spirit is realized, in comparison with this, the death of the body is not at all scary. But this can also be understood in another sense. For they are also justly called “princes,” who, by judicious intention, govern the thoughts of their hearts all the time, and by the power of wisdom keep down all the movements of foolishness. But it very often happens that the mind secretly rises, because of its wisdom, to the top with steps of pride, and then falls to the ground because of those very evil habits about which it rejoiced that it had won. Therefore he said well, He pours out dishonor on princes. But since it sometimes happens that those who lie prostrate in the evil ways of life, having recourse to tears of repentance, gather together and repel the sins to which they have been subjected, he rightly added and exalts the humiliated. There are some who, being enlightened by a gift from above, can see in what great impurity of their sinful actions they lie humiliated, and wash away with tears the stains of their misdeeds, and henceforth restrain the movements of the flesh for which they formerly lay prostrate on the earth. 27. Thus, by the excellent dispensation of Almighty God, it is introduced into our existence that in this life every thing should be considered uncertain, and no one will be confident of establishing forever the preservation of his chastity, seeing that He pours out dishonor on princes, and no one will be in eternal despair because of his evil deeds dragging down, seeing that He also exalts the humble. And because when these things are done, from the secret thoughts of God sometimes the verdict of a person becomes open, it is easily shared, it reveals the deep from the midst of darkness. 28. For the Lord reveals deep things from the midst of darkness when He openly displays His judgment from His secret plans to show what He thinks about a particular person. For because the Creator always sees all things, but man does not see His plans, the psalmist said well about Him, He made darkness the cover of His secret place (Ps. 17:12) 292, but He, as it were, releases from this darkness into the light when He shows what His thoughts are regarding the actions of each person. And at the time when he, who has fallen under the weight of his sins, is corrected to the truth, he for the first time sees what death is, in which he is going to destroy himself, and at the same time he is still too blind to understand it; therefore it is easily added, and brings to light the shadow of death. For the “shadow of death” is the evil deeds that appear as the bodily outlines of our old enemy. Of whom the same is said, and his name was Death (Rev. 6:8) 293. And it very often happens that his evil incitement influences the minds of people, and because of the circumstance that it is secret, is even more successful. And so bringing to light the shadow of death is that the evil that our ancient enemy is doing is revealed in the consciousness of the Saints so that it can be brought to an end. Art. 23. He who multiplies nations and destroys them, and those whom He has overthrown, He revives completely 294 . 29. We can understand that the Lord multiplies nations and destroys them in such a way that every day people are born who are destined to die, and that those whom He overthrows He revives completely, we can also understand that those who die will be resurrected. However, we must also interpret all this more deeply, in a better sense, if we think about what is happening in their souls. For He multiplies nations and destroys them, because He at the same time increases the multiplication of their offspring, and yet leaves them in unfaithfulness; but those whom He has cast down He restores completely, because those whom He left in the fall of infidelity He at one time or another restores in the saddle of faith. But even restored to a full state of mind, the ancient people who seemed to be faithful to God, being rejected, fall deep in their hearts, and, being deceived by their own error, they then rebel against Him, Whom they had previously preached. The following is added: Art. 24, 25. Those who change the hearts of the heads of the people of the earth and leave them to wander in vain in the desert, where there is no way, they grope in the dark, without light, and stagger like drunken people 295 . 30. For “the hearts of the heads of the nations of the earth were changed,” when the chief priests and elders of the people in Judah set themselves against Him by their counsels, although they had previously declared that He should come. And when they sought to drive out His Name by persecuting Him, deceived by their own malice they tried in vain to “wander where there is no way,” because it was impossible that “the way” would be opened for cruelty directed against the Creator of all things. They saw miracles, they feared His power, but they refused to believe, and still sought to receive signs, while they said: by what sign will You prove that we will see and believe You? ( John 6:30 ) 296 Therefore he said well, they grope in the dark, without light. For he who doubts in the midst of such an abundance of manifest miracles as this was, “gropes in the dark,” in which he does not see what he touches. But every man who “staggers” walks as if he were being carried first here, then there, and because at one time they believed, as when they said, if He were not from God: He could do nothing (John 9:33) 297, and at another time they denied that He was from God, as when they said: Is not this the carpenter’s son? Isn't His Mother called Mary? and His brothers Jacob, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? And are not all His sisters among us? (Matthew 13:55,56) 298 this is rightly added, and they stagger like drunken men. For they saw that He raised the dead, and yet that He was a mortal being. Who would not believe that He was God, whom they saw raising the dead to life? But on the other hand, when they saw that he was mortal, they disdained to believe that he was an immortal God, and so here, too, because Almighty God showed himself in their eyes, and capable of manifesting divine signs, and going through human suffering, he made them stagger like drunken men, because their pride, which chose to reject the mystery of the Incarnation rather than follow it, at the same time rose up against His human nature, and marveled at the power of His Divine nature that shone from within. And because they were all present before the eyes of blessed Job in the spirit of prophecy, it is rightly added: 31. For how else could he follow all that he sees, when he was present in Him, for Whom neither the future comes at some later time, nor the present passes from the past; but everything is present at once and together before the eyes. And therefore, those things that should come, he partially saw as happening before his eyes, and partially heard, as spoken in words, therefore he said correctly, my eyes saw all this, my ear heard 300. But words are useless if you do not understand them. Therefore he correctly added, And I understood in all respects 301. For when any thing is revealed or heard, if the understanding of it has not been granted, it is little for prophecy. So, for example, Pharaoh saw in a dream the things that were to come to Egypt, but since he could not understand what he saw, he is not a prophet. King Balthasar "saw the fingers of a hand that wrote on the wall"; but he was not a prophet because he did not reach an understanding of what he saw. Therefore, that blessed Job might testify that He was in the spirit of prophecy, he does not merely say that he "saw and heard," but also that he understood it all. And that he did not exalt himself highly on the basis of this understanding, his words are added with evidence when he says, Art. 2. What you know, I know the same, also; I am not lower than you 302. 32. According to the same words that he said, he showed great humility, the one who says that he is “not lower” than them, although in his holy life he far surpassed them. For he does well, saying: “What you know, the same I know,” he who, knowing about Heaven, has transcended his earthly thoughts through the spirit of prophecy. What follows: Art. 3. Nevertheless, I will still speak to the Most High, and I would like to reason with God 303. 33. We "speak to the Most High" when we implore His pity; But we reason with Him when we unite ourselves with His righteousness, and sift through our actions by judging ourselves moment by moment. Or else, “to reason with God” can the one who obeyed His commandments here in order to go with Him hereafter, as a judge to judge the people. As it was said to preachers who forsake everything: Verily I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28) 304. Therefore the Lord also says to Isaiah: save the oppressed, the orphan, ask for the widow. And then let's reason together (Is. 1:17,18) 305. For these are the ones who must reason with God about their charges in the judgment, who, in the words of God, completely abandon the present world. Thus, “speaking” refers to prayer, and “reasoning” refers to decision, so the holy man “speaks” to the Almighty now, so that he can “reason” with the Almighty in the future, so that they can go with God later as judges, who here, at the present time, were acquainted with Him in prayer. But the Holy Church, which, as we have already said, is personified by the blessed Job, not only then judges the wicked when the day of the Last Judgment comes, but even now, does not cease to condemn everyone who either acts wickedly or thinks stupidly. And therefore he adds further: Art. 4. The first showed that you are builders of lies and adherents of incorrect teachings 306. 34. With these same words, he clearly showed us that his friends, in the form of heretics, oppose the decision of the court of the holy man. For it is clear that they do not reflect the image of the righteous, those who are called “followers of incorrect teachings.” And it should also be noted that they are called builders of lies. For just as a building is built of stones, so a lie is built of words. For when there is no false speech, but only the pure sense of truth, it is like a fortified hill, which arises not by construction, but by its nature. And then follows: Art. 5. Oh, if you were silent, you would be considered wise 307! 35. Just as in a house, when the door is closed, it is not known which family members are hidden inside it, so, generally speaking, if a fool is silent, he hides whether he is wise or foolish, only, however, if other deeds do not lead to light, which can tell about the mind even when he is silent. For this reason, the holy man, seeing that his friends were trying to show what they were not, asked them to remain silent, no matter what they showed what they were. Therefore Solomon said: Even a fool, when he is silent, may seem wise (Prov. 17:28) 308 but because when a fool speaks, by what he brings in his own words, he is not able to reflect the words of the wise, after he asked about silence, he adds a little further: Art. 6. Hear my reproofs, and give heed to the judgment of my mouth 309 . 36. Now he has well placed “reproof” first, and “judgment” after that. For if the swelling of stupidity is not first suppressed by reproof, the righteous judgment will not be understood at all. What follows: Art. 7. Does God really need your lies, that you told lies for Him 310? 37. God does not need lies, and Truth does not seek to be erected with the help of untruths. But heretics are unable to defend the things they mistakenly think about God, standing on the principles of truth, and it turns out that they are, as it were, looking for the shadow of a lie in order to show what a ray of light is. And they tell a lie for Him, in that weak minds, being senselessly seduced by them, are deceived by them in understanding Him. What follows: Art. 8. Will you accept His identity? Will you bind yourself to judge for God 311? 38. For when foolish people contemplate the deeds of the wise, they seem blameworthy to them; who, having forgotten their own emptiness and shortcomings, judge the problems of others more readily, in proportion as they are more deeply ignorant of their own. But, on the other hand, when the righteous denounces the deeds of the wicked, realizing his weakness, he controls the reproof, and although he opposes them outwardly, he loves them inwardly; it belongs to Him alone to expose the sins of people without a sense of weakness and fellowship, Who, by the omnipotence of His nature, does not commit sin. Therefore, when the friends of blessed Job reproached his works as if they had no sin in them, it is well said in this place: Will ye accept His person? Will you commit yourself to judge for God? For to accept the person of God is to accept His authority in an act of judgment; and he will tie himself up to judge for God, who, reproaching weaknesses in others, does not feel weakness in himself and does not experience a sense of fellowship. What follows: Art.9. Or will it please Him, from Whom nothing can be hidden? Or how will you mislead Him with deception 312? 39. Heretics deceive God in that they say and do things that cannot be pleasing to the Essence in Whose Name they are spoken. And, while they show themselves as if they were defending Him, they only insult Him with words in which they fight against Him, Whom they seem to serve by preaching. Therefore the psalmist spoke in order to make the enemy and defender silent (Ps. 8:2) 313. For every heretic is an “enemy and protector” of Almighty God, for in seeking to defend Him in his own way, he thereby fights against His truth. But nothing can escape the eye of God; He judges by what is in them, what they think, what is in their heart, and not by what they show outwardly, supposedly serving Him. Therefore, God cannot be deceived by deception, like a person. And further he adds: Art. 10, 11. He will punish you severely if you secretly take His face. When He rises, He will punish you; and His fear will fall upon you 314 . 40. This part, in which he says that “you will take His face in secret,” can be understood in two ways. For there are some who at the same time perceive the truth in their hearts, and at the same time say outwardly things about God that are false. For they do not show humility, and at the same time they know the truth within themselves, and at the same time they attack externally. Therefore he said well in this place: He will punish you severely if you secretly take His face. It was as if it were expressed in simple words: “You will be even more accused in His sight of perpetrating a lie, if you see in yourself what is true.” For there are indeed those who, when they turn to the depths, contemplate the justice and righteousness of God, and in prayer and weeping tremble with fear, but after an hour of contemplation of the past, they return with as much boldness to their unclean works as if, being placed behind His back, they had not been seen in the light of His righteousness. And therefore they take His face in secret, in that at the same time, when they are present in Him, they flatter Him with their tears, and, when they seem to leave His sight, they do evil against Him in their deeds. And they deserve to be punished more for their evil deeds, to the extent that in the secret of their hearts they know the righteous judgments of God. And therefore it is added: When He arises, He will punish you; and His fear will fall upon you. 41. We know that Almighty God is immutable in His essence, and in the severity of judgment He cannot move or change; Therefore, we understand the expression of a righteous person about God, Who will “rise”, as His Justice of management, with the help of which the corruption of man is punished. The fear of God is conceived in the righteous before His wrath, which may arise against them; they fear Him even at rest, so as not to feel Him risen in anger. But, on the other hand, the wicked may be struck with fear for the first time when they are under the rod of His rebelling wrath, which awakens them from the sleep of their insensibility, when it rises up against them with might and main. And therefore, this is why the Prophet said, and terror will arise from one rumor (Is. 28:19) 315. For when the wicked are stricken with disease as a punishment for despising and neglecting God's commandments, then they begin to understand the things that they have heard. And the psalmist says, when he killed them, they sought him (Ps. 79:34) 316. Therefore he said well: When He rises, He will punish you; and His fear will fall upon you; because the hearts of the children of perdition do not fear Him who is at rest, and only punishment produces fear in them. What follows: Art. 12. Your memories are like ashes 317. 42. All who have been disgraced to this state of being by their earthly mentality, by all that they do, try to leave a memory of themselves in this world. Some in the snares of war, some in the towering walls of buildings, some in the eloquent books of this world of knowledge, all of them eagerly toil in the quest to create for themselves a name of memory. But while this life itself is aimed at the end, bringing it closer and faster with the passage of time, what can be in it, what will stand firm, when even itself, by the nature of transience, will quickly be taken away. For even a breath of fresh wind catches ashes, as it is written; not so - the wicked, but they are like dust that the wind lifts up from the face of the earth (Ps. 1:4) 318. And so, the memory kept by fools is rightly compared to “ashes,” because where it is, it can easily be carried away by a breath of fresh air. For whatever man labors to achieve the glory of his name, he makes for himself “a memory like ashes,” because the wind of mortality is in a hurry to blow him away at any moment. In contrast to what he wrote about the righteous: the righteous will be remembered forever (Ps. 112:6) 319 by the very fact that he imprints his deeds on the eye of God, he establishes his name of memory in the eternal world. And then follows: And your necks will be turned towards the dirt 320. 43. Just as sight is signified by the word “eye,” so pride is signified by the word “neck.” Thus "the neck turns to the mud" when every proud man is humbled in the death of the flesh that has risen in the rot of the mud. For let us consider how the corpses of the rich lie in their graves, and what form of death is this of lifeless flesh, if not the rot of filth. And, of course, these were the same people who used to shine with distinction, who were swollen with things obtained illegally, who looked down on others, and rejoiced as if standing alone. However, while they were never aware of where they were going, they knew nothing at all about what they were. But their “necks are turned to the dirt,” because they lie neglected by the rot in which they swollen earlier in the void. “Necks will be turned towards the mud,” because what is good for the strength of the flesh leads to rotten mud. What follows: Art. 13. Stand still, dumb, so that I can say everything that my mind commands me 321. 44. He shows that they spoke with the perception of the flesh, therefore, he asks them to stand still in order to silence him so that he can say what “his mind tells him.” It was as if he said in simple words: “I do not speak in a carnal sense, but in a spiritual sense, because I heard this from the perception of spiritual things, which I was worthy of for the service of the body.” Therefore he immediately ascends to heights, and rises upward into mysteries, and also changes discourse into mystical edification, which he endures, saying: Art. 14. Why do I take my body with my teeth, and put my life in my hand 322? Mystical interpretation 45. In the Holy Scriptures, “teeth,” as we should understand, are sometimes used to designate holy preachers, and sometimes to designate inner feelings. Thus, of the holy preachers it is said to the Bride, your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep coming out of the pool 323 (Song of Solomon 4:2). And therefore, it was said to one of them, when the Gentiles were presented to him in a vision, kill and eat (Acts 10:13) 324, i.e. “slaughter their old age and convert them into the body of the Church, that is, into its members.” Again, “teeth” can often be understood as internal feelings, as the prophet Jeremiah spoke of when he said: he has crushed my teeth in number. (Lam. 3:16) 325. Indeed, it is with the “teeth” that food is broken into pieces so that it can be swallowed. Therefore, we can quite rightly understand internal feelings under the word “teeth,” which also seem to chew or crush for us the information that occurs in the mind and transmits it to the womb of memory, and about which the prophet says that “they were crushed in number.” For, to the extent of each specific sin, blindness to understanding is generated in our perception, and to the extent that each person has committed something bad externally, his understanding of the meaning of what he could understand internally and invisibly is dulled. Therefore, it is also rightly written: Everyone who eats sour grapes should have his teeth set on edge (Jer. 31:30) 326. For what are “sour grapes” if not the preservation of sin? For “sour grapes” are fruit picked before their time has come. So this is said about those who want to be satisfied with the pleasures of this life, as if in a hurry they were eating unripe fruits, picked before their time came. Thus, “Whoever eats sour grapes should have his teeth set on edge,” because he who feeds on the pleasures of temporary life quickly overloads all the inner senses so that they are no longer able to chew, that is, understand, spiritual things. And while the soul feeds on sin, it cannot eat the bread of righteousness, and the teeth, being bound by the habit of sin, cannot chew anything good at all, even if there is an inclination to this in the interior. In this place also, since, as we have already said, we understand by the word “teeth” the capabilities of the internal senses for perception, we must consider very carefully what the righteous are in the habit of doing. Those who, usually, if they discover in themselves any, even a small point of the carnal kind in their inner feelings, furiously pursue it in their own personality, strike themselves with self-punishment, punish themselves according to their inner judgment, even for the smallest thing that is wrong in them, and condemn it with repentance. They do this, firstly, because they know that in the field of view of the eternal Judge they can be as far from Him as they did not admit their guilt, and, secondly, because others, seeing how they judge themselves, may be inflamed with a desire to change themselves and move away from their crimes. And this blessed Job did in the presence of his friends, who seized upon quick temporary glory, and exalted themselves in temporary blessings. However, he could not make their minds see the benefit of the adversities he suffered so that they too could realize that Almighty God not only gives prosperity, but also sends adversity to us, by His grace. Therefore he says well in this place: Why do I take my body with my teeth? It was as if he said in simple words: “Why do I hunt with my inner feelings to destroy things of the flesh, why do I do this if I cannot thereby benefit those who are watching me?” And then he rightly adds: and I put my life in my hand? 46. ​​For to carry our life in our hands is to proclaim the aspirations of the heart in our deeds. For the righteous should, in all that they do and in all that they say, seek not only their own growth, but also the edification of their neighbors. Sometimes they judge themselves and thereby, at some point, they may lead idle listeners to examine themselves. Sometimes they display acts of kindness in ways that may make their viewers ashamed not to emulate what they see. For it is written that they saw your good works and glorified your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16) 327. Thus he who exercises the inclination of his mind in his deeds "carries his life in his hand," but when any good man, by condemning himself, or manifesting good works, does not contribute to the benefit of his neighbor by what he has done, he returns to the words of sorrow. Therefore he rightly said in this place: Why do I take my body with my teeth, and put my life in my hand? those. “Why do I judge myself strictly before people, or show myself in my deeds that my heart is changing, if I do not thereby promote my neighbor to good, either by correct condemnation of my evil, or by good deeds?” But the righteous, even when they say so, never give up in trying to set a good example for their neighbors. Therefore, blessed Job, showing even more patience before the eyes of his friends, says: Behold, He kills me, but I will trust in Him 328. 47. For in prosperous conditions there is no room for cultivating the virtue of patience. He is truly patient, one who, under the blows of misfortune, still does not give up his hope. As for the attitude of mind of a rejected person, it is written about him: he will glorify You when You do well with him (Ps. 49:18. Vulg. 329). Thus we see how the righteous thought is distinguished from the unrighteous, for even in the midst of adversity it gives praise to Almighty God, it does not break with its worldly fate, does not fall along with the fall of external glory, but hereby confirms even more that the one who previously had worldly goods, but lost them, remaining strong, is indeed strong. Art. 15, 16. But I will reprove my ways before Him. He is my salvation 330. 48. As Paul the Apostle says: For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged (1 Cor. 11:31) 331. We find the Lord to be our “Salvation” to the extent that we now convict ourselves of our sins from the fear of God. Therefore, the chosen ones never spare their sins in order to then find mercy from the Judge for them; and they are looking now, so that later they can really find Him as “Salvation”, the One Whom they now fear as their Judge. For whoever spares himself now in sin will not escape further punishment, therefore let it be said, but I will expose my ways before Him. And to understand what outstanding results such a formidable voice can bring, let it be added: He is my salvation. And further follows: For the hypocrite will not walk before Him 332. 49. While we know that the Judge, when He comes, will place the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left, why then did he say so in this place: “For the hypocrite will not go before Him,” if the goats still stand on the left hand of the Judge? But we must keep in mind that we will come before the Lord in two ways. One of them is the result of an accurate accounting of our sins here, for which we punish and judge ourselves before Him with tears. For as often as we remember by our perception the power of our Creator, we stand before Him. Elijah, the man of God, spoke about this very well: The Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand (1 Kings 17:1) 333 . Otherwise, we stand “before God” when at the Last Judgment we present ourselves before His Judgment. And thus, the hypocrite, at the last moment of reckoning, still comes before the Judge, but because he closes his eyes to the consideration and mourning of sins, he refuses to appear before the Lord. For the righteous set their eyes on the severity of the judgment that is to come, and remember their sins in memory, and mourn what they have done, and judge themselves strictly, and therefore they will not be judged; but hypocrites rejoice in the outer world, and therefore do not look within themselves, and exalt themselves entirely in the words of their neighbors, and think of themselves that they are holy, because they are considered so by their neighbors. And while they scatter their opinion of themselves by the words in which their own praises sound, they never remember the jurisdiction of sin, never notice where they offend the internal judgment, and have no apprehension about its gravity, since they believe that they are as pleasing to Him as to their fellow men. However, if they take His severity into account, the very fact that they have wrongly aimed themselves at earning the praise of their neighbors will make them more afraid. Therefore, he said well: “For the hypocrite will not go before Him,” for he will not appear before the Eye of God’s severity while he tries to please the eye of man. And the one who places himself in the presence of God in search of his conscience will undoubtedly cease to be a hypocrite. What follows: Art. 17. Listen to my words, and receive riddles in your ears 334 50. At the same time, by saying “riddles,” he shows that he will speak figuratively in some parts of his speech. Further added in the voice of believers: Art. 18. If I am judged, I know that I will be found right 335. 51. Here blessed Job only communicates in relation to himself what the Truth internally declared to the eternal enemy in relation to him: Have you paid your attention to My servant Job? For there is no one like him on earth? And yet this is much less what the holy man said about himself than what the Lord said about him. For it is one thing to be “right”, and another thing to have no one with whom he could compare. Thus, he thought humbly of himself, who, while he was truly one of a kind, did not call himself someone superior to others, but simply said of his condition that he was “right.” It seems, however, that there is room here to raise another question according to him, the one who said above: I have reproached my ways before Him; and again he says further, You impute to me the sins of my youth (verse 26) 336; and, seeing his sins clearly before his eyes, he speaks even further: my iniquity is sealed in a bag 337 (Job 14:17), and now he says: If I am judged, I know that I will be found right. For it is impossible for sin and righteousness to meet each other. But a holy man, attributing evil to himself, and cleansing from it to Almighty God, immediately sees that he is a sinner in himself and knows that he has received righteousness as a gift. One who, even in the midst of righteous deeds, has received the abundant grace of the lashes laid upon him. And he is already rejoicing that he will be judged, but will also be found right, the one who was already scourged before the Court. Therefore, too, when he says later, my sin is sealed in the bag, he adds directly: but You have healed my iniquity. He, therefore, who describes himself as “right” in court does not at all say that he was unjustly punished, because although the Lord did not intend to destroy his sins with disasters, He thereby increased his merits. What follows: Art. 19. Who is he that will sue me? Let him come 338. 52. Holy people protect themselves in such a way in their good deeds, with God's help, and therefore it happens that the basis for their accusation cannot be found; but within the secret thoughts of their own hearts, they watch themselves with such care that, whenever this happens, they can at any time appear blameless before the eyes of the inner Judge. But even when they can influence never to slip in external action, they are not always able to do this internally - never to take a wrong step in thought. For the human conscience, from the very fact that it is cut off from things in really deep and secret limits, it is always on a slippery surface. Because it often happens that even holy people slip into them. So, let Saint Job, speaking in his own name, and in the voice of all the elect, say who he is, that he will sue me? Let him come. For, seeing that in external actions there is no reason indicating his guilt, he freely looks for an accuser. But since the conscience of even a righteous man sometimes infects itself with stupidity of thought, on this subject he adds: Why am I absorbed in silence? 53. Because he is “swallowed in silence” by the one who, blaming himself for the stupidity of his thoughts, is gnawed away in his own heart by the tooth of conscience. It’s as if he said in simple words, “Just as I already lived, so that I was not afraid of the external accuser, I would like me to live in such a way that my conscience within me would not have anything to accuse me of.” For he is “swallowed in silence” who discovers within himself the reasons why the fire of conscience gnaws at him. What follows: Art. 20. Just don’t do two things to me: then I will not hide from Your face 339 . 54. What do we mean here by “the face of God” if not His saving punishment? For, while He sees, He also punishes our sins, from which even a holy man wants to hide, if the two things for which he pleads are not removed; about them he adds: Art. 21. Remove Your hand far from me, and let not Your fear make me afraid 340. 55. By this, what else does he ask for in the voice of prophecy, if not times of grace and redemption? For the Law kept the people unprotected from vengeance, and whoever committed sin under its yoke must immediately be punished with death. Also, the Jewish people serve God not out of the principle of love, but out of fear. But truth can never be improved by fear, for according to the voice of John, perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18) 341. Paul comforts the children of adoption by saying: For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to live again in fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry: Abba, Father (Rom. 8:15) 342. Therefore, in the voice of humanity one can hear the desire to shorten the time of the firmness of the Law, and the impatient desire to move from fear to love, and therefore he named, begging that God would place two things far from him, when he said: Remove Thy hand far from me, and let not Thy fear make me afraid; those. remove the blow from me, take away the weight of fear, and at that time the grace of love will illuminate me, pouring out upon me the spirit of confidence that if I were not removed far from the blow and fear, I know that I would not be locked in the severity of seeking Thy. Because he cannot be justified before You, who serves You not out of love, but out of fear. And he strives for the presence of his Creator Himself, so that it would be clearly in the bodily form, so that he could, thus, both hear what he does not know and be heard in what he knows. For he adds directly: Art. 22. Then call, and I will answer; or I will speak, and You answer me 343. 56. Who, at the time when He appears in the flesh for the eyes of mankind, reveals to people their sins that they do and do not know. Therefore he adds: Art. 23. How many iniquities and sins do I have? show me my crimes and my transgressions 344 . 57. But “call” and “answer” can also be understood differently. For God “calls” us when he singles us out in His love and choice, and our “answer” is obedience to His love in good works. And then it is correctly added: either I will speak, and You answer me. For we “speak” when we plead with Him in our desire to see the face of God, and God answers our words when He appears before us who love Him. But because he is one who, with a yearning for eternal peace, he examines his deeds, accepting himself the task of doing it in the most careful manner, and seeking that there be nothing in him as a result of which he may offend the face of his Creator, he rightly adds: How many iniquities and sins have I? show me my crimes and my violations. This is the task of the righteous in this life to know themselves, and having known themselves, bring themselves to a better state by crying repentance and self-imposed punishment. And although John the Apostle tells us that there is no difference between lawlessness and sin, when he says, lawlessness is sin (1 John 3:4) 345; nevertheless, in simple figures of speech, "lawlessness" sounds something more than "sin", and a person recognizes himself as a "sinner", but sometimes he is ashamed to call himself a lawless person. And in the same way, the difference between “crime” and “violation” is that “crime” exceeds the severity and measure of sin, but “violation” does not exceed the severity of sin; for therefore, when the sacrifice was commanded to be offered according to the Law, it undoubtedly applied to "sin," and to "iniquity" too. But a crime is never committed otherwise than in fact, while a violation is most often committed in thought alone. Therefore, the psalmist said: who can name, who understands his violations? (Ps. 19:12) 346, seeing that the sins of deeds become known more quickly as they appear outwardly, but the sins of thought are more difficult to perceive, for they are lost from sight. Therefore, anyone who becomes caring out of the love of Eternity, tries in his heart to appear pure before the Judge who will come, and considers himself the more right now, the more freely he then wants to present himself to His Severity; and he begs that He will show him where he is trespassing, that he may punish this thing in himself by repentance, and, by judging himself here, may appear less heinous in judgment. 58. But in this we must also observe how great the punishment of our exile has fallen on us, those who are now brought to such a degree of blindness that we do not know ourselves. We do evil, and we cannot quickly detect it, even when we have done it. For the mind, being expelled from the light of truth, finds in itself nothing but darkness, and very often plunges its foot into the pit of sin, and does not even know it. This is also the reason for the blindness of the state of exile, that being exiled from the Lord, he even lost the ability to see himself in loving the face of his Creator. Therefore it is added; Verse 24. Why do you hide Your face? Do You consider me Your enemy? 347 59. Man enjoyed the light of inner contemplation in Paradise, but when he departed from himself, he lost the light of the Creator, and fled from His face to the trees of Paradise, seeing that after his sin, he was afraid to see Him, the One whom he was accustomed to love. But notice, after sin he suffered punishment, and from punishment he returns to love, because he understands what was the consequence of his crime, and the face that he feared in sin, awakening to the right meaning, he strives to see, and through punishment from now on leave the darkness of his blind state, and shrinks from horror that he does not contemplate his Creator. With heartfelt anguish the holy man exclaims: Why do you hide Your face? Do You consider me Your enemy? because if you consider me as a friend, You will not deprive me of Your light. And, continuing, he adds about the fickleness of the human heart, saying, Art. 25. Do you want to show Your power against the leaf driven back and forth? and will You pursue a dry straw? 348 60. For what is man if not a leaf that fell from a tree in Paradise? For what is he, if not a leaf, one who is caught by the wind of temptation and lifted upward by gusts of passion? For a person’s mind is confused, as it really is, by as many impulses as temptations come and go. Thus, very often anger agitates him; when the anger is gone, the empty joy of success comes. He is carried by tormenting lust, or the fever of greed overcomes him, to scatter him far and wide, and to aim at things that belong to the earth. Sometimes pride lifts him up, and sometimes excessive fear sinks him lower than dust. Therefore, seeing that he is lifted up and carried by so many gusts of temptation, a person is well compared to a “leaf.” Hence it is well said by Isaiah: we have all fallen like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. For our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away in that when we do not stand in the fortress of strength, they lift us up in the empty arbitrariness of delight. And it’s good that after a leaf, a person has the right to be called a “straw.” For he who was a “tree” by his creation made himself a “leaf” at will, but after that he became a “straw” in his fallen state. For in that when he fell from on high he was a leaf, but while in the flesh he was a man on the earth, even when he seemed to stand still, he is described as a "straw." But since he has lost the greenness of inner love, he is now a “dry straw.” So let the holy man show us both the weakness of man and the power of God, and let him say: Do you want to show your strength against the leaf that is driven back and forth? and will You pursue a dry straw? It’s as if he, openly sobbing, says: “Why do You throw him down with such force when You know how weak he is in temptation?” And then it continues: Art. 26. For You write bitter things against me 349. 61. Knowing that everything we say passes, but what we write remains, it is said about God that you do not “speak,” but rather “write bitter things,” because His punishments on us will last a long time. For didn’t He once say to a man when he sinned, dust you are, and to dust you will return? And the Angels appeared many times and gave instructions to people. And Moses, the lawgiver, restrained sins by strict measures. The only begotten Son of the Most High Father, Himself came to redeem us, He swallowed up death, dying, He declared eternal life to us, whom He called into Himself; But still, the sentence that was pronounced in Paradise about the death of our flesh remains unchanged from the very first beginning of the human race until the end of the world. Is there a person who lived and did not see death? 350, about which the psalmist also says again, You are terrible, and who can stand before You when You are angry? 351. He, who was “wrathful” when man sinned in paradise, pronounced a sentence of death on the flesh, which, not now, not at the last moment, will never change one iota. Therefore let it be said: For You write bitter things against me. And then it is additionally added: And you impute to me the iniquities of my youth 352. 62. Note that the holy man is no longer worried about having ever sinned in his adulthood, but is afraid of the sins of his youth. Now it is necessary to know that, just as in the body, so there are certain means of growth in the mind, which depend on age. Thus the first age of man is infancy, when, although he lives in innocence, he cannot speak the innocence that is in him; and then follows adolescence, in which he henceforth has the power to say what he wants; then comes youth, which, as we know, is the first age in active life, followed by manly maturity, that is, that age which is accompanied by courage of mind; and then old age, which, as we know, goes along with the maturity of the mind. Therefore, since we have named the first age that can manifest itself in conscious good deeds - youth, then the righteous, when they have advanced far in the maturity of the mind, sometimes remember the beginning of their actions and blame themselves for the first acts of their beginning the more strongly, the deeper they have advanced in the maturity of the mind, because they believe that they were once deprived of prudence, to the extent that they subsequently more carefully achieved the stronghold of prudence. And it is true that now, according to the holy man, it is the sins of his youth that fill him with horror. But if this has already been written, we must draw a conclusion from this, and consider how grave the sins of adults and elderly people are, even if a holy person is so afraid of what they did wrong in their years of weakness. What follows: Art. 27. You set my feet on the block, and lie in wait for narrowness in all my ways; You notice the prints of my feet 353. 63. God puts the feet of man on the block in that He quickly binds his wickedness with the severe sentence of His punishment. And He observes the narrowness in all his ways, in that He judges with precision all the little particulars and trifles that belong to him. For paths, as a rule, are narrower than “roads,” but also by “road” we mean actions, therefore, we can rightly understand the word “paths” as a name for our thoughts. Thus, God lies in wait for narrowness in all ways, in that in all our actions He takes into account the thoughts of the heart too; and He notices the prints of our feet, in that He judges the intentions of our deeds, how far from right they are, so that what is done well in action will be done for the right reason. But it is also possible that under the footprints some things that were done poorly can be understood. For walking literally leaves imprints on the path. And very often, when we do some things wrong, while our brothers see it, we set a bad example for them, and our foot, as it were, moved aside, thereby leaves a crooked path for those who follow in the tracks of our steps, and by our own actions we pave the way for other people to be condemned by conscience. But it is very difficult for a person to remain on his guard, and never undertake to do evil, and so that in his good deeds he does not waver in intention, and so that in the midst of righteous deeds the wrong goal does not deceive him. However, Almighty God examines all this information in detail and weighs each of them in court. But has a man, bound by the weakness of the flesh, the power to rise up against all of them with precise thoroughness, and maintain the line of honesty of deeds with an unwavering thought of the heart? Therefore he correctly added: Art. 28. Who am I, like the rot of decay and like a garment that will be eaten away by moths 354 . 64. For, just like a piece of clothing eaten by moths, all dilapidated in itself, so a person, containing rot within himself, is, as it were, gnawed from the inside both in what he is and in what he should not be. This can also be understood in another sense, such as what is said in the voice of a person when he is in temptation: Who am I, like the rot of decay and like a garment that is moth-eaten. For for a person to be “like the rot of decay” is to waste himself in the rotting of his flesh. And because the uncleanness of temptation approaches a person through himself, just as moth consumes clothing, so temptation consumes the flesh that is on him. For man contains within himself a reason from which temptation arises. And therefore, the moth destroys clothes while these clothes are on a person. However, we must bear in mind that the moth gnaws its path through clothing without a sound, and it very often happens that a thought pierces the mind in such a way that the mind itself is not clearly aware of it until the bite pierces it. Therefore, he well said that a person is “like a garment that will be moth-eaten,” because sometimes we do not know the wounds of temptation, and we recognize them only after they pierce our souls. Considering this weakness of ours, the holy man rightly adds: Verse 1 A person born of a woman does not live long, and is full of many sufferings 355. 65. In Holy Scripture the word "woman" is sometimes used to denote gender, or to denote "weakness." For example, the word woman denotes gender, as it is written that God sent His Son, who was born of a woman, subject to the law (Gal. 4:4) 356. But in the sense of weakness, this is said by the sage: Better is the iniquity of a man than the good done by a woman (Ecclesiastes 42:14) 357 For “man” is a word that denotes all strong-minded and reserved people, but “woman” denotes people who are weak or immodest. And it often happens that even a reserved person suddenly falls into guilt, while a weak and immodest person displays outwardly good deeds. But he who is weak and immodest sometimes exalts himself even more due to the fact that he has done something well, and falls into an even worse sin; but the restrained man, even from seeing what he has done wrong, takes it as an additional occasion to apply to himself the judgment of severity and means of correction, and is further strengthened in righteousness by the same action by which he seemed to have fallen for a time. And it is in this sense that he correctly said: Better is the iniquity of a man than the good done by a woman; is that sometimes, because of guilt itself, the strong become even stronger, and the weak come to sin. In this place, by the word “woman,” what else, if not “weakness,” is signified when he said, A man born of a woman? As if it were said in direct words: “What strength can he have in himself, who was born in weakness?” 66. Does not live long, and is full of many sufferings. According to the holy man, we immediately see what a person’s punishment is, which is summarized in the fact that he immediately knows that he lives little and in misfortune. For if we consider with precision everything that happens to us here, it is indeed punishment and suffering. For in the very corruption of the flesh there is in itself a need for things that allow suffering, to such an extent that clothing must be found to protect against cold, food - from hunger, coolness - from heat. And the health of the body is maintained only with great care, but even during storage it is lost, and when lost, it is restored not without great difficulty, and even after it is restored, it is still always in danger; What else is this if not the suffering of mortal life? For we love our friends, yet fearing that they may be offended by us; we fear our enemies, and really try to avoid those whom we fear; we often speak to our enemies as confidentially as to our friends, and often accept the sincere words of our friends, who perhaps really love us very much, as the words of our enemies; and we do not want to be deceived or deceived, to make mistakes in people anymore, and exercise our caution; What is all this if not the suffering of human life? After the Heavenly Country has been lost, the exiled man is dragged down by cares, and yet he closes his eyes to consider how great his burden is, that he is full of many thoughts; that he is deprived of internal illumination, and even in this life he wants to prolong his state of blindness; What else is this if not suffering, the legacy of our punishment? However, although he wishes to remain here for a long time, he is still driven by the simple flow of his earthly life in order to leave it. Therefore the holy man adds: Art. 2. He comes here like a flower and falls: he runs like a shadow, and never remains in the same state 358 . 67. For, “He comes here like a flower,” in that he blooms first in the flesh; but he “falls” in that he comes to decay and decay. For what is a man born into the world if not a flower in a field? Let us open our inner eyes to the breadth of the modern world, and behold, it is filled, as it really is, with as many colors as there are human beings. So life in the flesh is like a flower in the grass. Hence the psalmist said well concerning man, his days are like grass; like the flower of the field, so it blooms (Ps. 103:15) 359. Isaiah says: all flesh is grass, and all its glory is like a flower in the field (Is. 40:6) 360. A person comes out like a flower from a secret refuge, and suddenly reveals himself in the open day, and immediately by death he is again taken from the open space into the hidden. The green of the flesh appears to expose us to the open, but the withering of the dust leads us away from human eyes. Like a flower, we appeared, those who were not; and like a flower, we will wither, those that appeared only in time. 68. And since man approaches death every day, moment by moment, he rightly added: he runs like a shadow and never remains in the same state. But, after all, the sun also constantly moves along its path, and never remains in a state of rest, so why is the path of human life likened to a “shadow”, and not compared with the same “sun”? This can only be explained by the fact that when a person parted with love for the Creator, he lost the warmth of his heart and remained in the coldness of his iniquity. And in accordance with the voice of Truth, iniquities will multiply, the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12) 361. And indeed, he who has no warmth of heart in the love of God, and yet cannot preserve the life he loves, undoubtedly flees like a shadow. Hence it is well written about him that he is the one who pursues the shadow (Ex. 34:2) 362 . And then he said well, and is never in the same state. For while infancy passes into childhood, childhood into youth, youth into maturity, maturity into old age, and old age into death, in the course of the present life he is forced, in the course of the ascent of these steps, to actually descend towards the grave, and actually waste himself, although it seems to him that he is increasing the space of his life. We cannot fix ourselves unchanged at any point in our stay here, a point where we have come only to move on to another; and this is the circumstance of our life, so that day after day we leave our lives. The first person could not have known this course of events before he committed the crime; he only saw that time was passing, but he remained. But after he transgressed, he put himself in a kind of sliding changeable temporary state, and because he ate the forbidden fruit, he immediately found all the hardships of such a state. From these obligations of changeability a person suffers not only externally, but also internally when he strives to take the path of action. For by the weight of changeability the mind always drives it forward into some other thing than the one with which it is occupied, and, unless it keeps itself in strict discipline, will always slide back into something worse. For that mind which has abandoned Him Who always stands unchangeable has lost the dwelling in which it could continue. From now on, when he strives for something better, he must strain his strength, as if swimming against the current. But when he relaxes in his craving for rest, without any effort he is, as it were, carried back by the current to the lowest point. Thus, while in ascent there is effort, in descent there is rest from effort, and the Lord warns us that we must enter into the narrow gate, saying, Strive to enter into the narrow gate (Luke 13:24) 363; when He speaks of entering the narrow gate, He specifically emphasizes strive, because unless there is an ardent desire of the heart, the current of the waters of the world will not be overcome, and as a result the soul will be carried to the lowest place. And so while the man “He comes here like a flower and falls: he runs like a shadow, and never remains in the same state,” let us hear what he further imparts in this direction. What follows: Art. 3. And have you deigned to open your eyes to such a person and bring him into court with you 364? 69. For he had already considered above both the strength of Almighty God and his own weakness; he put himself and God before his gaze, the One who will come to judgment, and the one with whom the judgment will be. He saw, on the one hand, man, on the other hand, his Creator, i.e. dust and God; and he exclaims: And did you deign to open your eyes to such a person? For for Almighty God to open his eyes means to fulfill His judgment on whomever to smite. For, as it really is, when He has His eyes closed – He does not want to look at him, whom He does not want to hit. From here he immediately added about the judgment itself, and to bring him to court with You? But while he is being considered by God coming to judgment, he again looks at his weaknesses. He sees that he cannot be cleansed of himself, who has come out of impurity. And, he adds, Art. 4. Who can cleanse a thing that comes from an unclean seed? Isn't it You who alone can do this 365? 70. He, the only One who is pure in Himself, can cleanse the unclean. For the man who lives in corruptible flesh is unclean from the temptations that have taken root in him, seeing that he brought them out from his birth. For its very conception, for the sake of carnal satisfaction, is impurity. Consequently, the psalmist says: behold, I was conceived in evil, and my mother gave birth to me in sin (Ps. 50:7) 366. From here it follows that he is very often inclined to do something even against his will. Hence the fact that he suffers from various impure things in the imagination, although he strives to get rid of them, this is all for the reason that he was conceived in impurity, and while he pursues purity, he strives to make the best of what he is. But the one who has tamed the movements of secret temptation and overcome the impurity of thought should never attribute purity to himself, for no one can make clean a thing that has come from an unclean seed, except He Who alone is pure in Himself. Let him, who has already reached a pure place, cast a glance at the path he has come, and from there see himself, and that in his own power he does not have the purity of life, the beginning of which was created in impurity. But the meaning of this statement can also be understood in such a way that the blessed Job speaks about the incarnation of the Savior, for he saw that only this Man in the world was not conceived from an unclean seed, Who came into the world from the womb of the Virgin in such a way that He never received anything polluting. For He does not come from man and woman, but from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. He only turned out to be truly pure in His flesh, which was not affected by the gratification of the flesh, and it was not for the gratification of the flesh that He came here. The tents of robbers are quiet and those who irritate God are safe, who seem to carry God in their hands. I didn’t find a quote (even in English texts), perhaps it will be clear later what kind of fragment this is. And truly: ask the cattle, and they will teach you, and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or talk to the earth, and he will instruct you, and the fish of the sea will tell you. You, O God, poured abundant rain on Your inheritance, and when it was exhausted from labor, You strengthened it. Your people dwelt there; According to Your goodness, O God, You prepared what was necessary for the poor. which, although smaller than all seeds, when it grows, is larger than all grains and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air fly and take refuge in its branches. 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. birds of the air and fish of the sea, everything that passes along the sea paths In His hand is the soul of all living things and the spirit of all human flesh. When Jesus tasted the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!” And, bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. You create Your angels as spirits, Your servants as blazing fire. For the mouth of the priest shall keep knowledge, and the law shall be sought at his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Is it not the ear that understands words, and is it not the tongue that recognizes the taste of food? In the old is wisdom, and in the long-lived is understanding. With Him is wisdom and power; His advice and wisdom. for those who are called, Jews and Greeks, Christ, God's power and God's wisdom; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. What He destroys will not be built; whomever He imprisons will not be released. If the Lord does not build the house, those who build it labor in vain; If the Lord does not guard the city, the watchman watches in vain. Look at the working of God: for who can make straight what He has made crooked? For you know that after this he, desiring to inherit the blessing, was rejected; I could not change my father’s thoughts, although I asked him to do so with tears. The water will stop and everything will dry up; He will let them in, and they will transform the earth. The words of men's mouths are deep waters; the source of wisdom is a flowing stream. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. This He said about the Spirit, which those who believed on Him were about to receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given to them, because Jesus was not yet glorified. He stood and shook the earth; He looked up and made the nations tremble; the age-old mountains fell apart, the primeval hills fell; His ways are eternal. Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, came to the high priest. me, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender, but received mercy because I acted this way out of ignorance, in unbelief. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Ephraim mixed with the nations, Ephraim became like unturned bread. With Him is power and wisdom; before Him he who errs and misleads. erring and deceiving before Him. He makes counselors rash and judges foolish. He strips the belts of kings and ties a belt around their loins. The lawless one is caught by his own iniquities, and he is kept in the bonds of his sin. deprives princes of their dignity and overthrows the brave. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of praise? Are you not also before our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? takes away the tongue of the eloquent and deprives the elders of meaning. But God says to the sinner: “That you preach My statutes and take My covenant in your mouth.” Do not completely take away the words of truth from my lips, for I trust in Your judgments. Spawn of vipers! how can you say good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man brings good things out of a good treasure, and an evil man brings evil things out of an evil treasure. They are from the world, that’s why they speak worldly, and the world listens to them. I am more knowledgeable than the elders, for I keep Your commandments. covers the famous with shame and weakens the strength of the mighty. The Lord became like an enemy, destroyed Israel, destroyed all its palaces, destroyed its fortifications and spread lamentation and lamentation among the daughter of Judah. Kings of armies flee and flee, but she who sits at home divides the spoil. He gave us the ability to be ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, because the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. reveals the deep from the midst of darkness and brings the shadow of death to light. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and whatever you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And he made darkness His cover, the darkness of waters and clouds of air surrounding Him. And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider, whose name was “death”; and hell followed him; and power was given to him over the fourth part of the earth - to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, and with the beasts of the earth. multiplies nations and destroys them; scatters the nations and gathers them together. takes away the minds of the heads of the people of the earth and leaves them to wander in the desert, where there is no way: 25 they grope in darkness without light and stagger like drunken men. To this they said to Him: What sign will You give, so that we may see and believe You? What are you doing? If He were not from God, He could not create anything. Isn't He the son of carpenters? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers Jacob and Joses and Simon and Judas? And are not His sisters all among us? where did He get all this from? my eye has seen it, my ear has heard it. As much as you know, I know too: I am no lower than you. But I would like to speak to the Almighty and would like to compete with God. Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the rebirth, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. learn to do good, seek truth, save the oppressed, defend the orphan, stand up for the widow. Then come and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; if they are red as crimson, they will be as white as wool. And you are gossipers of lies; you are all useless doctors. Oh, if only you would be silent! it would be counted to you as wisdom. And a fool, when he is silent, may seem wise, and he who shuts his mouth may seem prudent. Listen to my reasoning and delve into the objection of my mouth. Should you have spoken untruths for God's sake and told lies for Him? Should you have been partial towards Him and argued so much for God? Will it be good for Him to test you? Will you deceive Him as a person is deceived? From the mouths of babes and sucklings You have made praise for the sake of Your enemies, in order to silence the enemy and the avenger. He will punish you severely, although you are secretly a hypocrite. Does not His greatness frighten you, and does not His fear attack you? As soon as he goes, he will grab you; He will walk every morning, day and night, and one rumor about him will inspire horror. When He killed them, they sought Him and turned, and from early morning they resorted to God. Your reminders are like ashes; your strongholds are strongholds of clay. Not so - the wicked; but they are like dust blown by the wind. He will never be shaken; the righteous will be in eternal memory. your strongholds are strongholds of clay. Be silent before me, and I will speak, no matter what befalls me. Why should I tear my body with my teeth and put my soul in my hand? Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep coming out of the pool, each of them having a pair of lambs, and not one barren among them. And a voice came to him: Arise, Peter, kill and eat. He crushed my teeth with stones and covered me with ashes. but each will die for his own iniquity; whoever eats sour grapes will have his teeth set on edge. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Behold, He kills me, but I will hope. No similar quote found. I would only like to defend my ways before Him! And this is already my justification. For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. because a hypocrite will not go before Him! And Elijah the Tishbite, one of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand! in these years there will be neither dew nor rain, except at my word. Listen carefully to my word and my explanation with your ears. So, I filed a lawsuit: I know that I will be right. For You write bitter things against me and impute to me the sins of my youth. my iniquity would be sealed in a scroll, and You would cover my guilt. Who can challenge me? For I will soon fall silent and give up the ghost. Just don’t do two things to me, and then I will not hide from Your face. Remove Thy hand from me, and let not Thy terror shake me. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because in fear there is torment. He who fears is imperfect in love. Because you did not receive the spirit of slavery to live in fear again, but you received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry: “Abba, Father!” Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and You answer me. How many vices and sins do I have? show me my iniquity and my sin. Whoever commits sin also commits iniquity; and sin is lawlessness. Who will see their mistakes? Cleanse me from my secrets Why do you hide Your face and consider me Your enemy? Is it not the plucked leaf that You crush and the dry straw that You pursue? For You write bitter things against me Which of the people lived and did not see death, and delivered his soul from the hand of the underworld? Thou art terrible, and who can stand before Thy presence in the time of Thy wrath? and you impute to me the sins of my youth. and you set my feet in a block and lie in wait for all my paths - you pursue in the tracks of my feet. And he, like rot, disintegrates, like clothes eaten by moths. A man born of a woman is short-lived and full of sorrows. but when the fullness of time came, God sent His (Only Begotten) Son, who was born of a woman, subject to the law. like a flower, it comes out and falls; runs away like a shadow and doesn't stop. Man's days are like grass; like the flower of the field, so it blooms. The voice says: Proclaim! And he said: What shall I proclaim? All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. and, because iniquity increases, the love of many will grow cold. strive to enter through the strait gate, for I tell you, many will seek to enter and will not be able to. And to him do You open Your eyes, and lead me to judgment with You? Who will be born clean from an unclean? None. Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sin.