The Futility of Labor Without Reason
The Gospel proclaims that the Savior has fulfilled the law and the prophets, from which point the house was founded and the temple was built, upon the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the most holy Virgin Mary, the power of the Most High having overshadowed her. For then truly the words of the prophets before us were fulfilled, having reached the outcome which was decreed.
How then do the hands of those hearing the words of the prophets not grow strong, when there is born from the virgin her whose name shall be called 'God with us' (Matt 1:23)? For when the Lord is with us, our hands at once grow strong as if to shout in praise: 'The Lord of hosts is with us, our God is the help of Jacob' (Ps 80:17).
For having received the one who fans away evil, that is, Jacob, having acquired the surpassing strength of God Almighty, let us shout in triumph: 'God is with us. Know, O nations, and be humbled; listen, even to the ends of the earth. For if you are strong, you shall be humbled again, and any word you shall speak shall not remain with you, because the Lord God is with us.' When will these achievements be, either when our hands grow strong, the house having been founded and the temple having been built, according to all the interpretations rendered of the existing prophetic utterance?
Because before those days the wages of men will not bring profit, and the wages of cattle shall not exist, and to the one going out and the one coming in there shall not be peace from oppression; and I will send all men, each one to his neighbor (Zech 8:10).
Having foretold many things concerning the coming glorious restoration to the benefited people and the rising of holy Jerusalem, the holy house being founded upon it and the temple being built for the benefit and joy of the people, whose hands grow strong in the prophetic words, before the days of the promise, when the city was laid waste, held by those who had captured it, the wages of men by no means had profit, vainly striving and acting without purpose.
Regarding the vain striving of men, and the wages of cattle not existing, not for something profitable, that is, striving or...
While they are toiling, having the wage of men as a burden and the wage of cattle not existing, when the house is being founded and the temple is being built; for only then is there peace from affliction for the one coming in and the one going out, I say, from the drawing up of sweat and toil for the sake of improvement and the end of those striving.
He said: there is by no means peace from affliction for the one coming in and the one going out, the work of men and cattle being useless and unprofitable; the wage of rational mortal animals shall be in vain and the wage of cattle shall not exist, as men rise up against each other, all stability and harmony having been fled due to the ferocity and wildness of hatred existing from passion and without moderation.
The word says: it is for the purpose of bringing back to reason men, because they seem to use reason while toiling and striving in vain, not to have the wage as a burden, but also not having the wage of those who are more beast-like through habit, from whom he forbids irrationality, and commands habit and forbids wildness: 'Do not become like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding' (Psalm 32:9).
For how can there be a wage for those not having understanding, doing all things with irrationality? Even if some men seem to be doing all things with bad skill, working without pay and uselessly, they do not have a profitable wage, because of 'wisdom not entering into their bad-skilled soul, nor dwelling in the body of sin which uses things wrongly,' having the wage of toil for that which is above virtue and piety.
For the soul that is acting, 'which remains for eternal life as food' and turns the holy commandments into works, the 'paymaster' God says: 'There is a wage for your works' (1 Cor 3:8). Equally with this comparison, concerning the unseemly workers, the Apostle Paul in Christ writes: 'Each one will receive his own wage according to his own work' (Rom 2:6).
Know precisely if only those things given for praiseworthy works are called a wage, as opposed to the punishments preferred for sins, which are named punishments but not wages.
What then will be added to the wage of men being a burden, and the wage of cattle not existing, or that peace from affliction shall not be?
Greek
διαγορεύει τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, πληρώσαντος τοῦ Σωτῆρος τὸν νόμον καὶ τοὺς προφήτας, ἀφ' οὗ τεθεμελίωται ὁ οἶκος καὶ ὁ ναὸς ᾠκοδομήθη, ἐπελθόντος τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐπὶ τὴν ἁγιωτάτην παρθένον Μαριάμ, τῆς τοῦ ὑψίστου δυνάμεως ἐπισκιασάσης αὐτήν. Τότε γὰρ ἀληθῶς ἐπληρώθησαν τῶν ἔμπροσθεν προφητῶν οἱ λόγοι, ἐκβάσεως τετυχηκότων τῶν προθεσπισθέντων. 2.314 Πῶς γὰρ ου᾿̣κ̣ ἰσχύουσιν αἱ χεῖρες τῶν ἀκουόντων τῶν προφητ̣ῶν τῶν̣ λόγων, ὅταν τεχθῇ ἐκ τῆς παρθένου οὗ τὸ ὄνομ̣α κ̣εκλήσεται «μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός»· ὅταν γὰρ μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ Κύριος̣ γένηται, τὸ τηνικαῦτα αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν κατισχύουσιν ω῾̣ς ὑμνοῦντας ἀναβοῆσαι· «Κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων μεθ' ἡμῶν, ἀντιλήμπτωρ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακώβ.» 2.315 Ἀντιλαβομένου γὰρ τοῦ πτερνίζοντος τὴν κακίαν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τοῦ Ἰακώβ, Θεοῦ παντοκράτορος ἰσχὺν ὑπερφυῆ κεκτημένοι, ἐπινικίως βοήσωμεν· «Μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός. Γνῶτε, ἔθνη, καὶ ἡττᾶσθε, ἐπακούσατε ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἰσχύσητε, πάλιν ἡττηθήσεσθε, καὶ λόγον ὃν ἐὰν λαλήσητε, οὐ μὴ ἐμμείνῃ ἐν ὑμῖν, ὅτι μεθ' ἡμῶν Κύριος ὁ Θεός.» Πότε δὲ ταῦτ' ἔσται τὰ κατορθώματα, ἢ ὅτε κατισχύουσιν αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν, τοῦ οἴκου θεμελιωθέντος, καὶ τοῦ ναοῦ οἰκοδομηθέντος, κατὰ πάσας τὰς ἀποδοθείσας ἑρμηνείας τοῦ ἐκκειμένου προφητικοῦ ῥητοῦ. 2.316 Zach. VIII, 10: ∆ιότι πρὸ τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐκείνων ὁ μισθὸς τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἔσται εἰς ὄνησιν, καὶ ὁ μισθὸς τῶν κτηνῶν οὐχ ὑπάρχει, καὶ τῷ ἐκπορευομένῳ καὶ τῷ εἰσπορευομένῳ οὐκ ἔσται εἰρήνη ἀπὸ τῆς θλίψεως· καὶ ἐξαποστελῶ πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἕκαστον πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ. 2.317 Πολλὰ προαναφωνήσας περὶ τῆς ἐσομένης ἐνδόξου ἀποκαταστάσεως τῷ εὐεργετουμένῳ λαῷ καὶ τῆς ἐγέρσεως τῆς ἁγίας Ἰερουσαλήμ, θεμελιουμένου ἐπ' αὐτῆς τοῦ ἁγίου οἴκου καὶ τοῦ ναοῦ οἰκοδομουμένου ἐπ' ὠφελείᾳ καὶ εὐθυμίᾳ τοῦ λαοῦ, οὗ αἱ χεῖρες κατισχύουσιν ἐν τοῖς προφητικοῖς λόγοις, πρὸ τῶν ἡμερῶν τῆς ὑποσχέσεως, ὅτε ἠρήμωτο ἡ πόλις, κρατούντων τῶν αἰχμαλωτισάντων αὐτήν, οὐδαμῶς ὄνησιν εἶχεν ὁ μισθὸς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κενῶς σπουδαζόντων καὶ ἀν̣η̣ν̣ύτως πραττόντων. 2.318 Πρὸς τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κενοσπουδίᾳ, κα̣ὶ τῶν κτηνῶν ὁ μισθὸς οὐχ ὑπάρχει, οὐκ ἐπὶ συμφέρον τι ἤτοι σπουδαζόντων ἢ ἀχθοφορούντων, τοῦ μισθοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὄνησιν ἔχοντος καὶ τοῦ τῶν κτηνῶν ὑπάρχοντος, ὅταν ὁ οἶκος θεμελιῶται καὶ ὁ ναὸς οἰκοδομῆται· τότε γὰρ τότε καὶ τῷ ἐκπορευομένῳ καὶ εἰσπορευομένῳ οὔσης εἰρήνης ἀπὸ τῆς θλίψεως, φημὶ τοῦ ἱδρῶτος καὶ πόνου ἀναντλουμένων ὑπὲρ βελτιώσεως καὶ τέλους τῶν σπουδαζομένων. 2.319 Οὐδαμῶς οὔσης εἰρήνης ἀπὸ τῆς θλίψεως τῷ εἰσπορευομένῳ καὶ ἐκπορευομένῳ, ἀνηνύτου καὶ ἀνωφελοῦς οὔσης τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ κτηνῶν ἐργασίας, ἔφη· μάταιος ὁ μισθὸς τῶν λογικῶν θνητῶν ζῴων ἔσται καὶ ὁ τῶν κτηνῶν οὐχ ὑπάρξει, ὡς ἐπανίστασθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἕκαστον ἐπὶ τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ, πάσης εὐσταθείας καὶ συμφωνίας πεφυγαδευμένης διὰ θηριωδίαν καὶ ἀγριότητα ὑπάρξασαν ἐκ θυμοῦ καὶ ἀσπόνδου ἔχθρας. 2.320 Ἔστι πρὸς ἀναγωγήν, ἀνθρώπων διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν λόγῳ χρᾶσθαι μάταια πονούντων καὶ σπουδαζόντων μὴ εἶναι τὸν 74 μισθὸν εἰς ὄνησιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μὴ ὑπάρχοντα τῶν δι' εὐήθειαν κτηνωδεστέρων, ὧν ἀπαγορεύων τὴν ἀλογίαν, εὐήθειάν τε καὶ ἀγριότητα, ὁ λόγος φησίν· «Μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς ἵππος καὶ ἡμίονος, οἷς οὐκ ἔστιν σύνεσις.» 2.321 Πῶς γὰρ ὑπάρξειν οἷός τ' ἐστὶν ὁ μισθὸς τῶν σύνεσιν οὐκ ἐχόντων, τῶν σὺν ἀλογίᾳ πάντα πραττόντων; Κἄν ποτ' οὖν τινες ἄνθρωποι εἶναι δοκῶσιν, πάντα σὺν κακοτεχνίᾳ δρῶντες, ἀμισθὶ καὶ ἀνηνύτως ἐνεργοῦντες, ὀνήσιμον μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχουσιν, διὰ τὸ «μὴ εἰσέρχεσθαι σοφίαν εἰς τὴν κακότεχνον αὐτῶν ψυχήν, μ̣ηδὲ κατοικεῖν ἐν τῷ καταχρέῳ ἁμαρτίας σώματι», ὄνησιν μισθοῦ ἔχοντος τοῦ ὑπὲρ ἀρετῆς καὶ εὐσεβείας. 2.322 Τῇ ἐνεργαζομένῃ γοῦν ψυχῇ «τὴν μένουσαν εἰς αἰώνιον ζωὴν βρῶσιν» καὶ εἰς ἔργα μεταβαλλούσῃ τὰς ἁγίας ε᾿̣ν̣τολάς, ὁ «μισθαποδότης» Θεός φησιν· «Ἔστιν μισθὸς τοῖς σοῖς ἔργοις.» Ἰσοδυναμούντως τῇ ἀμείψει ταύτῃ, περὶ τῶν ἀκαταισχύντων ἐργατῶν ὁ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἀπόστολος Παῦλος γράφει· «Ἕκαστος λήμψεται τὸν ἴδιον μισθὸν κατὰ τὸ αὑτοῦ ἔργον.» 2.323 Ἐπίστησον ἀκριβῶς εἰ μόνα τὰ διδόμενα ὑπὲρ ἐπαινετῶν ἔργων μισθὸς καλεῖται, τῶν ἐφ' ἁμαρτίαις προτινομένων κολάσεων, ἀλλ' οὐ μισθῶν, ὀνομαζομένων. 2.324 Τί δ' ἕψεται τοῦ μισθοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς ὄνησιν οὐκ ὄντος καὶ τοῦ μισθοῦ τῶν κτηνῶν οὐχ ὑπάρχοντος, ἢ ἀπὸ θλίψεως εἰρήνην μὴ εἶναι ἀπὸ
About this text
Didymus the Blind on Zechariah.
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- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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