Weaned from the Milk of the Law
Tomos 2.
“Those weaned from milk, those drawn away from the breast: expect affliction upon affliction, hope upon hope, yet a little while, yet a little while, because of the contempt of lips, through another tongue” (Isaiah 28:9–11).
Our first discourse ended for us with the words: “To whom have we announced evils? And to whom have we announced a message?” (Isaiah 28:9). In explaining the force of what was said before, we say that the person of the holy prophets was brought in, rebuking in a way those of the blood of Israel, because they had met the prophets’ words to no purpose and had gained no benefit at all, even though both evils and a message had been foretold to them. By “evils” we firmly hold that the punishments prepared for those used to sinning are meant, and by “message” the honors that rest on good hopes. So, since those of the blood of Israel had gained nothing whatever, even though the prophets had announced to them the things that come from God, I mean threats and promises of the good things to come, he says: “To whom have we announced evils? And to whom have we announced a message?”
But now that the holy prophets have, as it were, fallen silent and brought their own speech to a stop at this point, the God of all himself calls out to the saints, saying: “Those weaned from milk, those drawn away from the breast: expect affliction upon affliction, hope upon hope.” For the undisciplined, he says, who are badly sick with unruliness, have rightly been thrust out; they have no share in the salvation that is in Christ, and they will go on to destruction. But you, from now on, who through faith have been called to the knowledge of the truth; who have been drawn away from the tutoring of the Law as from a breast and from milk; who once received food fit for infants and had a less instructed mind, but have now advanced “to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13), and have moved on to the food that suits the mature, and have not remained “unskilled in the word of righteousness” (Hebrews 5:13–14): direct your hearts to receive the new proclamation of the gospel way of life, of the decrees given through Christ. Take courage to endure. Even if affliction comes upon you, again and again, one blow after another, as trials rise up and the cruelty of your persecutors grows against you, hold out a little while, and for a little while expect afflictions, so that you may also be rich in hope, I mean the hope that is beyond human understanding.
Greek
ΤΟΜΟΣ Βʹ.}1 9Οἱ ἀπογεγαλακτισμένοι ἀπὸ γάλακτος, οἱ ἀπ- εσπασμένοι ἀπὸ μαστοῦ, θλίψιν ἐπὶ θλίψει προσ- δέχου, ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι, ἔτι μικρὸν, ἔτι μικρὸν, διὰ φαυλισμὸν χειλέων, διὰ γλώσσης ἑτέρας.9 Κατέληξε μὲν ἡμῖν ὁ πρῶτος λόγος εἰς τὸ, Τίνι ἀνηγγείλαμεν κακά; καὶ τίνι ἀνηγγείλαμεν ἀγγε- λίαν; ∆ιερμηνεύοντες δὲ τῶν προειρημένων τὴν δύ- ναμιν, λέγομεν ὅτι τὸ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν εἰσεκο- μίσθη πρόσωπον ἐπιτιμώντων τρόπον τινὰ τοῖς ἐξ αἵματος Ἰσραὴλ, ὡς εἰκῆ μὲν τοῖς παρ' αὐτῶν ἐντε- τυχηκόσι λόγοις, ὠφεληθεῖσι δὲ παντελῶς οὐδὲν, καί- τοι καὶ κακῶν αὐτοῖς, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἀγγελίας προηγορευμένων. Καὶ κακὰ μὲν εἶναι τὰς τοῖς εἰω- θόσι πλημμελεῖν ηὐτρεπισμένας κολάσεις διαβε- βαιούμεθα, ἀγγελίας τε τὰς ἐπ' ἀγαθαῖς ἐλπίσι τι- μάς. Ὡς οὐδὲν οὖν τὸ σύμπαν ὠφελημένων τῶν ἐξ αἵματος Ἰσραὴλ, εἰ καὶ ἀνηγγέλκασιν αὐτοῖς οἱ προ- φῆται τὰ παρὰ Θεοῦ, ἀπειλάς τέ φημι καὶ τῶν ἐσο- μένων ἀγαθῶν ὑποσχέσεις, Τίνι, φησὶν, ἀνηγγείλα- μεν κακά; καὶ τίνι ἀνηγγείλαμεν ἀγγελίαν; Σεσιγη- κότων δὲ ὥσπερ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν, καὶ μέχρι δὴ τούτων τὸν οἰκεῖον στησάντων λόγον, αὐτὸς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐπιφωνεῖ λέγων· Οἱ ἀπογεγα- λακτισμένοι ἀπὸ γάλακτος, οἱ ἀπεσπασμένοι ἀπὸ μαστοῦ, θλίψιν ἐπὶ θλίψει προσδέχου, ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλ- πίδι. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀνουθέτητοι, φησὶν, καὶ πολὺ νο- σοῦντες τὸ ἐξήνιον, ἐξώσθησαν εἰκότως, καὶ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ σωτηρίας ἀμέτοχοι γεγονότες βαδιοῦνται πρὸς ὄλεθρον. Ὑμεῖς δὲ λοιπὸν οἱ διὰ πίστεως κεκλη- μένοι πρὸς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας, οἱ καθάπερ τινὸς ‹70.625› μαστοῦ καὶ γάλακτος ἀπεσπασμένοι τῆς ἐν νόμῳ παιδαγωγίας· οἱ τροφὴν μὲν πάλαι νηπιοπρεπῆ δε- χόμενοι, καὶ ἀμαθεστέραν ἔχοντες τὴν φρένα, προ- βεβηκότες δὲ νῦν εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ εἰς τὴν τελείοις πρέπουσαν μεταφοιτήσαντες τροφὴν, καὶ οὐ μεμενη- κότες ἄπειροι λόγου δικαιοσύνης, κατευθύνατε τὰς ἑαυτῶν καρδίας εἰς παραδοχὴν τοῦ νέου κηρύγματος τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας τῶν διὰ Χριστοῦ θεσπι- σμάτων. Ἀνδρίζεσθε πρὸς ὑπομονὴν, καὶ εἰ θλίψις ἐπέρχοιτο συχνή τε καὶ ἀλλεπάλληλος ἐγηγερμένων τῶν πειρασμῶν, καὶ τῆς τῶν διωκόντων ὠμότητος ἐπιφυομένης ὑμῖν, καρτερήσατε βραχὺ, καὶ ἐπὶ βραχὺ προσδέχεσθε τὰς θλίψεις, ἵνα καὶ ἐλπίδα πλουτήση- τε, τήν γέ φημι τὴν ὑπὲρ νοῦν τὸν ἀνθρώπινον.