The Logic of Intercession
Sympathy and the prevention of the words being made hollow. 'For what did I ask? Do I depend on the strength from you, so that you might rescue me from the hand of enemies or from the hand of the powerful?' The irrationality of the rebuke, even while he himself corrects it, he says: if, when I am asking for myself, you say you are unable to carry the prayer for me because it is in sin, there was a reason. But since this has not happened, the charge against me is in vain.
And we have this same thing in the divine writings. For sometimes a prayer happens for those having an inclination toward repentance, but for those opposing, what happens has no reason. Immediately also, God says to the prophet: 'And you, do not pray for this people.' And he says he can proceed with the reasoning of not needing to bring a prayer to him, saying: 'Do you not see what these are doing? Their sons are gathering wood and their fathers are burning fire and the women are making hollows for the army of heaven,' they have introduced a common zeal through a common sin; therefore, do not pray for them.
It is necessary, therefore, if ever an embassy is sent to God by a holy person concerning someone, to run together for that one for whom the embassy is made. For if one acts contrary to the one interceding, he does something similar to what is said: 'One building and one tearing down. What more did they profit than labors?' Furthermore, it is as if the intercessor is shamed.
The Mosaic things testify to this; for when he had ascended to God, it was said to him concerning the people passing below: 'Hasten down; your people have sinned' (Exodus 32:31). And observe what has been said; for when he was being sent to begin for them and to lead and to legislate, God himself says from his own face: 'Go and bring out my people' (Exodus 3:10). For it was worthy of him to be a people. When he turned away from the sincere healing toward him, they are no longer God's but man's. For he says: 'Your people have sinned' (Exodus 32:31), and he is not being philanthropic by this. For having seen the people unworthy of himself, he did not reject them completely, but again through Moses he lets them go, bringing them back to the care concerning them by saying: 'your people,' so that he might thus intercede for them and again turn them back from error, which also happened. For he said, praying: 'If indeed...'
blot me out from your book
Greek
συμπάθειαν καὶ πρὸς τὸ μὴ χαυνοῦσθαι τὰ ῥητά. "τί γάρ; μή τι ὑμᾶς ᾔτησα ἢ τῆς παρ' ὑμῶν ἰσχύος ἐπιδέομαι, ὥστε με σῶσαι ἐκ χειρὸς ἐχθρῶν ἢ ἐκ χειρὸς δυναστῶν ῥύσεσθαί με;" τὸ ἄλογον τῆς ἐπιπλήξεως τῆς κα θ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐλέγχων φησὶν ὅτι· εἰ μὲν ἐμοῦ ἐξαιτουμένου παρ' ὑμῶν τι οἷον εὐχὴν εἰς θεὸν ἐφάσκεστε μὴ δύνασθαι ἀνενεγκεῖν τὴν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ εὐχὴν διὰ τὸ ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ εἶναι, λόγον τινὰ εἶχεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῦτο οὐ γέγονεν, μάταιος ὁ κατ' ἐμοῦ ἔλεγχος. καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ ἔχομεν ἐν τοῖς θείοις γράμμασιν. γίνεται γάρ ποτε εὐχὴ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδείως ἐχόντων εἰς μετάνοιαν, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν ἀντιτεινόντων οὐκ ἔχει λόγον τὸ γινόμενον. αὐτίκα γοῦν καὶ τῷ προφήτηι φησὶν ὁ θεός· "καὶ σὺ μὴ προσεύχου περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου." καὶ ἐφεξῆς τὸν λογισμόν φησιν τοῦ μὴ δεῖν ἀναφέρειν πρὸς αὐτὸν εὐχὴν λέγων· "οὐχ ὁρᾷς τί οὗτοι ποιου῀̣σιν; οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτῶν συλλέγουσι ξύλα καὶ οἱ πατέρες καίουσιν πῦρ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες ποιοῦσιν χαυῶνας τῇ στρατιᾷ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ", κοινῷ ἁμαρτήματι κοινὴν σπουδὴν εἰσαγαγόν181 τες· διόπερ μὴ προσεύχου περὶ αὐτῶν. δεῖ οὖν, εἴ ποτε πρεσβεία θεῷ ἀναπέμπεται ὑπὸ ἁγίου περί τινος, συντρέχειν κἀκεῖνον ὑπὲρ οὗ ἡ πρεσβεία γίνεται. ἐὰν γὰρ ἐναντίως τῷ πρεσβεύοντι ποιῇ, ὅμοιόν τι ποιεῖ περὶ ὧν λέγεται· "εἷς οἰκοδομῶν καὶ εἷς καθελών. τί ὠφέλησαν πλέον ἢ κόπους;" ἄλλως τε καὶ ὡσανεὶ καταισχυνεῖται ὁ πρεσβεύων. τούτου μαρτυρία τὰ κατὰ Μωσέα· ἀνελθόντι γὰρ αὐτῷ πρὸς θεὸν εἴρηται τοῦ λαοῦ κάτω παραβαίνοντος· "σπεύσας κατάβηθι· ὁ λαός σου ἥμαρτεν." καὶ παρατήρησαι τὸ εἰρημένον· ὅτε γὰρ ἐπέμπετο καὶ ἄρξαι αὐτῶν καὶ στρατηγῆσαι καὶ νομοθετῆσαι, αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ ἰδίου λέγει· "πορεύου καὶ ἐξάγαγε τὸν λαόν μου." ἄξιος γὰρ ἦν αὐτοῦ λαὸς εἶναι. ὅτε ἀπέστη τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰλικρινοῦς θεραπείας, οὐκέτι θεοῦ ἀλλ' ἀνθρώπου ἐστίν. φησὶν γάρ· "ὁ λαός σου ἥμαρτεν", καὶ οὐ τούτῳ φιλανθρωπευόμενος. ἑαυτοῦ γὰρ ἀνάξιον τὸν λαὸν θεασάμενος οὐ παντελῶς ἀπέρριψεν, ἀλλὰ πάλιν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ Μωσέα ἀφίησιν, ἀνάγων αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ κηδεμονίαν διὰ τοῦ λέγειν· "ὁ λαός σου", ἵν' οὕτω πρεσβεύσηται ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καὶ πάλιν αὐτοὺς ἐπιστρέψῃ ἐκ τῆς πλάνης, ὃ καὶ γέ182 γονεν. εἶπεν γοῦν εὐχόμενος· "εἰ μὲν ἀφεῖς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτῶν, ἄφες. εἰ δὲ μή, ἐξαλεῖψον κἀμὲ ἐκ τῆς βίβλου σου ἧς ἔγραψας." ὅμοιον τούτῳ Παῦλος λέγει· "ηὐχόμην γὰρ ἐγὼ ἀνάθεμα εἶναι ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν συγγενῶν μου κατὰ σάρκα." καὶ ὅτι προθέσει ἀγαθῇ οἱ ἅγιοι ὑπέρ τινων εὔχονται, κἂν φαῦλοι ὦσιν, 50 μάλιστα ὅταν ἐνοῦσαν ᾐ῀̣ α̣ὐτοῖς εἰς μετάνοιαν ἐπιτηδειότητα θεάσασθαι, ταῦτα εἴρηται. ἐμφαίνει δὲ τό· "μή τι ὑμᾶς ᾔτησα;" καὶ τὸ ἀδυνάτους αὐτοὺς εἶναι ἐπαμῦναι· οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι θεοῦ μόνου ἐστὶν τὸ σῶσαι τοῦ καὶ τὴν συγχώρησιν δεδωκότος. ἐπιστημονικῶς γὰρ οἱ ἅγιοι καὶ τὰς αἰτήσεις ποιοῦνται. "διδάξετέ με, ἐγὼ δὲ κωφεύσω. εἴ τι πεπλάνημαι, φράσετέ μοι." καὶ τοῦτο μετὰ πλείστης ὅσης πραότητος ὁ ἅγιος παιδεύει αὐτούς, πῶς χρήσωνται λόγοις πρὸς τοὺς ἐν περιστάσει λέγων· διδάσκειν ὀφείλετε, οὐκ ἐλέγχειν ἀκαίρως, εἰ μὴ καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς παίδευσιν ποιεῖ κατὰ τὸ λεγόμενον ὑπὸ Παύλου· "ἔλεγξον, ἐπιτίμησον, παρακάλεσον". ἔτι δὲ καὶ μετριότητος χαρακτὴρ ὑπάρχων ἀπαιτεῖ καὶ παρὰ τοιούτων λόγον διδασκαλί183 ας, μή που εὕρῃ τι χρήσιμον. εἰ δὲ οὕτω ποιεῖ ὁ ἅγιος, οὐ δεῖ τινα ὑπερηφανεύεσθαι καὶ ὀκνεῖν παρ' ὁτουοῦν παιδεύεσθαι. "ἀλλ' ὡς ἔοικεν, φαῦλα ἀληθινοῦ ῥήματα." ἔλεγχός ἐστιν οὗτος κατὰ τῶν ὑπερορώντων τὰς τῶν δικαίων ἢ ἄλλως ὀρθῶν ἀνθρώπων γνώμας, ὅπερ ὑπερήφανοι ποιεῖν εἰώθασιν, οὐ γνώμῃ καὶ βίῳ προαιρέσει ὀρθῇ προσέχοντες, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἔξωθεν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· "πλούσιος ἐλάλησεν καὶ πάντες ἐσίγησαν καὶ ᾔνεσαν τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ, πτωχὸς ἐλάλησεν καὶ εἶπαν· «τίς οὗτος;»." καὶ δῆλα ταῦτα ἐκ τῆς ἐν̣αργείας. δῆλον δὲ ὅτι ἀληθινὸς ἦν ὁ μακάριος, ὃ καὶ θεὸς μαρτυρεῖ. τὸ δὲ "φαῦλα" ἀντὶ τοῦ εὐτελῆ, λε γομένου ποτὲ τοῦ φαύλου ἀντὶ κακοῦ. "οὐ γὰρ παρ' ὑμῶν ἰσχὺν αἰτοῦμαι." τοῦτο σύμφωνον τοῖς ἄνω, ἔνθα ἔλεγεν· "τί γάρ; μή τι ὑμᾶς ᾔτησα;" διὰ μέσου εἰρημένου τοῦ· "διδάξετέ με" ἕως τοῦ· "ἀλλ' ὡς ἔοικεν". καὶ α̣ὐτοῖς οὖν ἐκείνην τὴν διάνοιαν ἐφαρμοστέον. "οὐδὲ ὁ ἔλεγχος ὑμῶν ῥήμασί με παύσει." λόγος γὰρ χωρὶς ἔργων προφερόμενος ἀβέβαιός ἐστιν καὶ ἄπιστος, ἄλλως τε καὶ μὴ ἀληθῶς προϊὼν ἔτι τὸ ἀσθενὲς ἔχει. 184 φησὶν ὅτι· ὑμεῖς τοιούτωι ἐλέγχωι χρώμενοι οὐ παύετέ με οὔτε τοῦ τὰ ἀληθῆ προφέρειν οὔτε
About this text
Didymus the Blind on Job.
Original English Translation — new OET from PG Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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.