Matthew 7:24–26
The hearer of the law understood spiritually, who is not also a doer, is compared to a house built on sand. In a time of trial it falls and is buried when the spirits of wickedness blow, when troubled waters enter as far as the soul, and when the muddy torrent of their lawlessness disturbs it and shakes the danger concerning the last things.
He well said “I will liken him” (Matthew 7:24–27) of the prudent man, but “he will be likened” of the foolish. The worker of virtue is altogether “strong in the Christ who empowers him,” (Philippians 4:13) from whom comes every setting-right for humans, from whom come wisdom and understanding and likeness toward the good. The base person does not have God as cause of his badness and folly; he likens himself to the senseless, having stood away from what is according to nature and come to be in what is against nature.
Greek
Ὁ ἀκροατὴς νόμου τοῦ πνευματικῶς νοουμένου οὐ μὴν καὶ ποιητὴς οἴκῳ ἀπεικάζεται ἐπὶ τῆς ψάμμου οἰκοδομηθέντι, ὃς ἐν καιρῷ πειρασμοῦ καταπίπτει καὶ χώννυται τῶν πνευμάτων τῆς πονηρίας ἐπιπνευσάντων, τῶν ταραττομένων ὑδάτων ἕως ψυχῆς εἰσελθόντων καὶ τοῦ θολεροῦ χειμάρρου τῆς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν ἐκταράξαντος καὶ τὸν περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων ἐπισείσαντος κίνδυνον. καλῶς δὲ ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ φρονίμου ὁμοιώσω αὐτὸν εἶπεν, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ μωροῦ ὁμοιωθήσεται· ὁ μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐρ γάτης πάντως "ἰσχύει ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντι" αὐτὸν Χριστῷ, παρ' οὗ πᾶν ἀνθρώποις τὸ κατορθούμενον, παρ' οὗ σοφία καὶ σύνεσις καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐξομοίωσις. ὁ δὲ φαῦλος οὐχὶ θεὸν ἔχει τῆς ἑαυτοῦ κακίας καὶ ἀφροσύνης αἴτιον, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁμοιοῦται τῷ ἄφρονι τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν ἀποστὰς καὶ ἐν τῷ παρὰ φύσιν γενόμενος.
About this text
Catena fragments on Matthew (CPG 5206). Contents follow Matthew chapter and verse. Edition fragment numbers stay in About this text and under each passage.
English follows the named copy-text (Aegean/khazarzar Migne PG 72 extract). Other prints were checked as noted; no silent merge of recensions.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Migne PG 72 Commentarii in Matthaeum (Aegean Digital Patrologia / khazarzar) (Greek · CPG 5206 catena fragments (290 parsed heads))
- Checked print matia.gr mirror of same Aegean extract (Greek · Byte-identical PDF; integrity check only)
- Checked print Internet Archive PG 72 volume OCR (bim … 1859_72) (Greek (OCR damaged) · Locus confirmation only; not used as reading text)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.